The Rational Development of Logistics in China

Logistics has become more and more popular in recent years in China. There are five reasons that can explain the phenomenon. It is a problem that logistics development neglects the trade or commerce. The trade flow guides the logistics. So the logistics should develop calmly. If not, it might cause the problem of irrational and aimless resources allocation.     

The simultaneity in human capital estimations： The case of China

Existing papers on human capital and growth in China has been using single equation estimations. This might cause a simultaneity bias if a two-way causality between the two variables exists. In this paper, the author performs vector autoregressive estimations using panel data on the number of graduates at each level of education as a proxy for human capital in China during 1991-2005. The results show that investment in human capital increases output per worker at all three levels of education. Regarding the effects of output per worker on the accumulation of human capital, the author finds mixed results with the primary-school graduates＇ benefits the most from increases in per capita output.     

Identity in a World of Scarcity： The Book of Eli

This paper examines the construction of identity in Hugue＇s brothers movie, The Book of Eli setting in an America post-apocalyptic world destroyed by nuclear war and environmental disasters. Economic relations in this world without time or history and without production of goods and commodities, are based on ancient practices such as barter. The goods are exchanged for goods according to the need and the currency lost its meaning before the supreme usefulness. Essential items to human life like water now have a very high value due to its complete scarcity. Eli （played by Denzel Washington） toured the United States for 30 years westward circling the wasteland leading the only existing copy of the King James version of the Bible. Then he reaches the town, which is under the control of Carnegie, the villain, whose ambition is to have the holy Bible in order to exercise power. In this world full of shortages, power belongs to the old that has the memory of the past. Texts of Giddens, Beck, Lash, Benveniste, and Marx compose the theoretical apparatus that allow understanding how to reconstruct the identity in a world in crisis, and no shortage of complete story without memory card with the movement of goods excluding currency.     

The ‘Value’ of Europe: The Political Economy of Culture in the European Community

During the 1970s and 1980s the “cultural sector” became one of the primary motors for wealth creation in the European Community. At the European and national scales, a group of actors helped transform Europe's vast array of practices and services (tourism, heritage, books, audio-visual products, etc.) into “cultural industries” and pushed the EC to develop a common cultural policy to support these industries. Documenting these changes at the European scale, I argue that the perceived impact of cultural policy for particular national economic competitiveness was also significant. Italian MEPs and members of Italy's national government were especially important, as they fought to protect the country's historical heritage and promote tourism. France pushed the strongest and I show how that country's efforts were primarily intended to protect its audio-visual and publishing industries from the EC internal market's liberalisation policies, which were vocally supported by Britain because they would have served that county's national economic interests.     

The Status Quo Analysis of New Ventures in China

New venture has developed as an important topic in entrepreneurship research. In this paper we analyze the status quo of new Ventures in China from four aspects： capital demand scale of new ventures, the characteristics and motivation of entrepreneurs, the attitude of new ventures toward the intervention of venture capital firms and the external environmental factors of hindering new ventures. The data in this research come from 104 ventures in four cities （Peking, Shanghai, Changchun and Shenyang） in China. The empirical analysis indicates that there are many problems in the development of the new ventures in China.     

The Study on Optimization of Energy Structure in China

In the paper, the author analyzes the dependence of economic growth upon energy with the method of GRA （gray related analysis）. Through studying statistical figures, the author finds out the problems in energy structure. Finally, putting forward some advice to optimize energy structure.     

The Characteristics and Countermeasures of Technology Innovation in LDCs

There are two significant characteristics of LDCs＇ technology innovation： one is original innovation substituted by imitation and adaptive innovation, and the other is government guiding innovation. From the experiences of LDCs after World War Two, the key to achieve effective technology innovation exits in two facts： technological capability of innovation and reaction mechanism of innovation induction~     

The coordination of regional interest in developing river basin

1. IntroductionRiver basin is a typical natural region andcatchments of rivers or water systems, which takes ariver as its central line and is surrounded by dividingwater line, and it is an independent, self-systemic hy-drology unit from source to mouth of river with spe-cific scope in region. River basin is a special kind ofregion, in which all-natural factors have close relationwith each other and there is remarkable influence be-tween inter-regions, especially between upper andlower reaches…     

The Condition of Fostering Core Competitiveness of Equipment Manufacture Industry in Our Country

The equipment manufacture industry occupies the important position in our national economy, and the research on its core competitiveness is an important aspect of protecting the healthy development of equipment manufacture industry. Researches on core competitiveness of equipment manufacture industry are to cultivate, strengthen and perfect enterprise＇s core competitiveness and bring about the advance to enterprise.     

Too Much of a Good Thing? The Economics of Investment in R&D

Research and development is a key determinant of long-run productivity and welfare. A central issue is whether a decentralized economy undertakes too little or too much R&D. We develop an endogenous growth model that incorporates parametrically four important distortions to R&D: the surplus appropriability problem, knowledge spillovers, creative destruction, and duplication externalities. Calibrating the model, we find that the decentralized economy typically underinvests in R&D relative to what is socially optimal. The only exceptions to this conclusion occur when the duplication externality is strong and the equilibrium real interest rate is simultaneously high.     

The Status Quo of Reverse Logistics in China and Countermeasures

With the market competition becoming more and more fierce, awareness in the art and science of logistics is continuing to increase, and the field of Reverse Logistics is experiencing great interest. The purpose of this paper is to describe what Reverse Logistics is, what is it benefits, the status quo of Reverse Logistics in china and its difficulties, and give some suggestions and countermeasures on how to manage Reverse Logistics successfully under China＇s current situation.     

The effects of education on spouses’ satisfaction in Europe

This article identifies the effects of both own and spouses' education levels on individual economic satisfaction for European households. To that end, it estimates several specifications based on the family collective approach, for each of the 14 EU countries, by using the eight waves of the European Community Household Panel, 1994–2001. After demonstrating that the IV Hausman–Taylor procedure is the selected estimation method in the majority of cases, the empirical results show that male and female income satisfaction significantly increases when the husband achieves higher education qualifications in the majority of European countries. However, the positive effect of the wife's higher education on female income satisfaction only appears in a very limited number of countries. Additionally, increases in individual wage and nonwage incomes generally lead to higher satisfaction levels.     

The Political Economy of Monetary Institutions in Brazil: The Limits of the Inflation-targeting Strategy, 1999–2005

Abstract

This paper suggests that the time-inconsistency approach is inadequate to analyze the political economy of monetary policy in Brazil. The paper develops an alternative theory that emphasizes distributive conflict, and argues that building credibility with a fixed exchange rate and through inflation-targeting was not central for stabilization. A contested-terrain analysis of the Brazilian case suggests that the current monetary regime benefits financial or rentier interests while the manufacturing sector and workers bear the costs of this policy.     

The Motor Tycoon of The world

NewDeparturesTosecureapositionamongthetopglobalcompetitors,acompanyneedstobeabletoadaptswiftlytochangingcondi-nons.Thereisnoalternative.Businesses,processandstructuresmustberegularlyscreenedtoensuretheircontinuingfitnesstomeetever-changingchallenges.TheDaimler-BenzGrouprecentlyconductedacomprehensivereviewofitsbusinessportfolio,whichresultedinthePrevious35businessesbeingreducedto23.FOllowingthisstrategicrepositioning,Daimler-Benzisnowactiveinthefol-lowingfields:Passengercars,commercialvehi…     

Lost in translation? The relative wages of immigrants in the Portuguese labour market

This article examines the wage gaps between immigrant and Portuguese workers using matched employer–employee data for the 2002–2008 period. We found that most of the wage gap is not due to the worst endowments of the immigrants but to differences in the returns to those characteristics and to the immigrant status effect. In particular, immigrants’ education and foreign experience are significantly less valued in the Portuguese labour market. Overall, the wages of immigrants do not fully converge to those of comparable natives as domestic experience increases. The assimilation rates tend to be stronger in the first years after migration and for immigrants with higher levels of foreign experience. Total immigrants are a heterogeneous group of different nationalities, with immigrants from the EU15 and China starring as the two extreme cases.     

What is in a surname? The role of ethnicity in economic decision making

This article reports results from two experiments that investigate possible incidence of discrimination against people with foreign backgrounds in Sweden. In the first experiment, participants played the trust game and the dictator game with co-players of different ethnic affiliation. The family name of the players was exposed to their co-players. Results for the trust game showed no significant discrimination against co-players with foreign backgrounds. On the other hand, the results for the dictator game showed a statistically significant discriminatory behaviour by men against co-players with non-European backgrounds. The discriminatory behaviour was solely a male phenomenon. In the second experiment, the dictator game was replicated to check the stability of the results in the first experiment. The second experiment also examined whether people with foreign backgrounds discriminate against other people with foreign backgrounds; that is, the purpose was to discover whether discrimination is systematic. The observations in the second experiment underlined the results found in the first experiment: foreign co-players are discriminated against by Swedish players. However, we did not find that people with foreign backgrounds discriminated against other people with foreign backgrounds.     

Generational management in corporate America： The differences and challenges in management of four generations of working adults

There are many differences and challenges that employers face while managing employees in the current work force. Our present day workforce is made up of a diverse group of people： Matures, also known as Veterans （age 55＋）, Baby Boomers （age 45-54）, Generation X （age 35-44） and Generation Y also known as Millennial （age 18-34）. The differences and challenges among these groups will be evident when reviewing recognition and praise, managerial styles, subordinate responses to generational leadership. Companies are stepping back and looking more holistically at how to develop programs and deploy technology that will speak to four distinct generations in the workforce （Sprague, 2008）. Each generation has their own definition of work ethic, responsibility, and performance. The best way to deal with the multi-generations is coming up with ways that make everybody feel like they are members of a team, thus helping them to learn how to develop a better way of communication than what exists between them now. If everybody is a part of a team, then they are all sharing the benefits that the other generations can bring to the table, making them a strong entity. Matures and boomers can become mentors to the X and Y＇s, and the X and Y＇s can then share and impart their knowledge of technology to the Matures and boomers. Companies in today＇s workplace must learn a better way to understand the values of the four generations, for it is very important in understanding and guiding these people in the workplace. Without this proper understanding, the guidance and alliance that managers are hoping to achieve will be even longer in the making and then one, possibly two, whole generations will be gone from the workforce and their knowledge and skill gone as well.     

The Impact of Automation in Service Industries＂ An Empirical Study

Academic research into service industries has explored the characteristics of interpersonal interactions between employees and customers, but there are few studies addressing the issues of consumer interaction with technology and its influence on the objectives and results of the operations subsystem. This study examines the elements of the service encounter, and the changes automation originates in them and their relationships. The paper also examines changes in the elements and results of the operations subsystem, as a result of automation. We propose that the customer＇s relationship with employees and/or technology and automated systems for the service impact the objectives and results of the operations subsystem, all of which could have an effect on the company＇s competitive position. The empirical study is focused on four industries, namely, toll motorways, car parks, carwash and video/DVD rental companies, in an attempt to identify objectives that lead companies to implement automated processes affecting the customer＇s relationship with the company. The hypotheses generated are contrasted with a structural equation modelling. The results confirm that the customer＇s relationship with employees and automated systems for the service impacts the objectives and results of the operations subsystem. Also, the results show how automation can enable firms simultaneously to achieve acceptable levels of flexibility and productivity, two dimensions that have traditionally been considered opposites.