Home economics and development

The development of home economics shows that the satisfaction of people's social and economic needs has always been its broad aim through history. Home economics focuses on the family as ecosystem and the improvement of the individual's interaction with the environment. Effective management of available resources in order to satisfy the food, housing and clothing needs of the family is an important factor in the improvement of quality of life and also of the functioning of families within the community. Home economics extension helps to maintain the balance between economic and social factors in community development. The learning of physical skills or tasks to satisfy short terms needs therefore serves as the starting point for ultimately developing people's abilities, attitudes and values which will lead them to self‐determination.     

The contribution of agricultural economics to development

Agricultural economics is an applied discipline with a broadly based application to development theory. The importance of agriculture in economic development has led to pressing demands on the role which agricultural economists are required to play. At all stages, a major part of the planning and implementation input is contributed by agricultural economists. The development of agricultural economics was therefore dynamic as well as problem related. Within the Southern African development context, the agricultural economist has had a long standing involvement. For example, Professor F R Tomlinson chaired the important Tomlinson Commission in the 1950s, while Dr Simon Brand is the Chief Executive of the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Both are agricultural economists. In general, agricultural economics has contributed to the fields of research and training, smallholder and rural development, project planning and management, and the formulation, planning and analysis of macro‐policy.     

Monitoring and evaluation of women's rural development extension services in South Africa

In South Africa, rural women's extension services are frequently based on the Western, middle-class ideology of a woman's place being in the private or domestic sphere of the home. Consequently, almost all extension services have a home economics feature which advocates the teaching of Western-type domestic skills, such as sewing, crocheting, knitting, cookery and child care, to name a few. The home economics extension services offered to rural women are inappropriate and ineffective in relation to women's triple role pertaining to reproductive, economic and community managing activities. Furthermore, most of the extension services are irrelevant to the real conditions of poverty prevailing in rural areas. Much of the planning of extension services is based on the needs of rural communities as decided by policy planners. Even where participatory approaches have been adopted, the monitoring and evaluation of progress made in achieving the objectives are often neglected. This article defines the concepts of monitoring and evaluation, explains their purposes in rural extension services, identifies suitable indicators for measuring sustainability of programmes, and highlights appropriate methods for collecting, handling and analysing data. In recognition of the inadequacies of and confusion in women's rural extension programmes, the article encourages reorientation of the processes used in monitoring and evaluating agricultural and rural development extension services in South Africa.     

Early Analytical Agricultural Economics in Australia

Analysis of home consumption pricing by Giblin and Copland in the 1930s preceded the development of an identifiable Australian agricultural economics profession. They demonstrated that costs of increasing domestic prices of agricultural products above export levels would be borne largely by lightly assisted exporters and hinder their development. This work was taken up later within a framework of computable general equilibrium modelling. Now largely of historical interest, their work sheds light on likely consequences of some past policy debates ? of protection all round in the 1920s and tariff compensation in the 1970s.     

西部少数民族地区农村收入不平等分析——基于云南红河州农村住户数据

本文基于云南红河州农户调查数据,采用多层统计分析方法对西部少数民族地区农村收入不平等进行分析。研究发现,收入不平等不仅存在于乡镇之间,还存在内部家庭之间;地理地势是影响农户在乡镇之间收入差异的重要因素,而土地、种植结构、资本投入、教育、工资比重、负担率、培训、非农产业参与率反映了农户之间的个体差异。研究结果表明,发展区域特色经济、实现农业产业化经营是减少收入不平等的重要途径。     

It depends: Planning and managing induced innovation in uncertain environments; a contingency approach to extension reforms in Lesotho

Uncertain environments and much innovation typically characterise agricultural extension education programming. Hence, rational approaches to planning may not be as effective as more incremental types. Organic management strategies premised on a contingency planning approach may prove more useful Effective decentralisation of management, improved communication between the farmer, extension personnel and technical specialist, and appropriate skills levels of staff are common extension concerns. The concept of organisation as open systems serves a useful management mindset. In Lesotho this mindset, coupled with an interactive management and contingency planning strategy, provided the foundation for a single eclectic programme dealing with all of these issues.     

五年制高职园林技术专业课程改革的探索

通过对园林、园艺企业发展和人才市场需求进行市场调研，开展职业分析和教学分析，确定五年制高职园林技术专业人才的知识、能力、素质结构，制定五年制高职园林技术专业人才培养方案，建立以职业岗位为切入点，突出职业能力培养的课程标准，积极与行业企业共同开发紧密结合生产实际的校本教材，实施理实一体，工学结合的模块制教学模式，让学生通过园林设计、施工、养护等典型的完整工作过程，真正实现学校与企业的无缝对接。     

Access to agricultural extension,credit and markets among small‐scale farmers in southern Zambia

This article used survey data to determine the extent to which small‐scale farm households in the Choma district of Zambia's southern province have access to agricultural extension services, credit and markets. The findings show that the majority of the sample households had access to extension and credit services. They also showed that the resource base or wealth of the households — as manifested by farm size, livestock ownership and human capital or management capacity (the household head's training in agriculture) — is a significant factor when accounting for differential access to extension and credit. On the other hand, study findings suggest that farm households are facing problems with marketing their produce under the liberalised agricultural marketing system. Based on these findings, the article discusses recommendations for providing solutions to some of the problems affecting small‐scale farmers in accessing production services.     

Participation,planning and linkages: International lessons for agricultural extension in South Africa

This article considers the experience with agricultural extension in less developed countries (LDCs) and the international shift to participatory techniques and practices. It examines the causes and effects of the poor impact of extension, the poor institutional and personal linkages in the field, and the poor planning in LDCs. All the role‐players in government, agricultural extension and research in South Africa will need to act with energy and commitment if the country is to benefit from the international lessons.     

高校家庭经济困难学生“后资助”机制的构建研究

为了更好地促进家庭经济困难学生的全面发展、进一步做好受资助后的家庭经济困难学生的教育工作,本文从以学生为本的核心思想出发,探索构建高校家庭经济困难学生"后资助"机制,将资助后的工作赋予更多的育人理念,提出了提高帮困助学育人功能的建议。     

影响家电下乡的因素及对策

家电下乡是扩大内需、建设社会主义新农村的重要举措。本文对家电下乡活动进行了分析,研究其影响因素,提出了相关的对策。     

以企业为主导的工学结合人才培养模式研究

以企业为主导的工学结合人才培养模式是职业教育发展职业属性的本质要求,也成为教育行政部门和学校的共识。教育部积极推行工学结合人才培养模式,引发我们积极探索国内外的工学结合模式。从国外成功的模式来看,大多是以企业为主导,以学生为本位,而国内还没有真正形成以企业为主导的工学结合模式,因此有必要对国内外各种工学结合模式进行分析,以构建以企业为主导的工学结合人才培养模式。     

Marcus Alexis and Regulatory Reform in Surface Transportation Industries

Marcus Alexis was a major contributor to the debate on deregulation of the surface transportation industry. He hypothesized that easing restrictions on rate-setting and firm-entry would promote efficiency and enhance consumer welfare in trucking and railroad industries. As commissioner and interim chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) he supported legislation that opened these industries to greater competition. This study revisits the model used by Alexis to derive his hypothesis, and uses current information to test its predictive accuracy long after the initial passage of deregulation. Findings from this study are consistent with Alexis’ forecast. Such evidence of his research expertise is just part of his legacy as a pioneer in the economics profession.     

Nea presidential address, 1993: Why black economists?

This article looks, with humor, at the role of black economists in academia and in the economics profession.     

碳排放量和能源利用效率不公平及其原因探析——基于中国37个规模以上工业行业数据研究

＂高排放（高消耗）低产出＂是社会公平正义在经济学领域出现偏颇的映照。文章引入福利经济学领域洛伦茨曲线和基尼系数,发现我国行业碳排放量与能源利用效率差距很大,基尼系数分别为0.59、0.49;并利用分位数回归探索行业碳排放行为存在不公平的关键因素在于要素禀赋结构不合理,行业投资拉动型增长方式是碳排放行为不公平的根源;进一步测算行业碳排放量存在拐点,当且仅当单位能耗低于1.6-1.7万吨标准煤/亿元;1/3左右的行业能源效率需进一步改进,主要集中在能源采选业、以能源加工为主的冶炼业和以能源使用或转变为主的发电、制水、制气和化工等重工业领域。最后提出促进行业能源利用效率提高,实现能源分配公平的政策建议。     

构建农业合作经济组织若干基础的思考

农业合作经济组织是建立在相关的经济、文化、法律、制度等基础之上的,分析把握现阶段这些基础的基本状况．从中寻找出影响其发展的有利条件和不利因素,有针对性地采取措施,扬长补短,对于促进农业合作经济组织的健康快速发展,充分发挥其在农业产业化、提高农民组织化程度方面的作用以及加快“三农”问题的解决有重要的意义。     

Audit Firm Tenure,Bank Complexity,and Financial Reporting Quality

Theory from organizations and economics research posits that in an inter‐organizational relationship, both parties invest in relationship‐specific knowledge, which in turn facilitates the effectiveness of the relationship while strengthening the attachment between the parties. In complex settings where there are more opportunities for knowledge creation, the investments will be larger and the attachment stronger. Because banks are complex institutions that present unique challenges to auditors, we suggest that effective audits critically depend on the accumulation of significant investments in client‐specific expertise through a long association with the client. We find a positive association between audit firm tenure and financial reporting quality, and this association is particularly strong in banks that are more complex. Also, contrary to recent research we find that benefits of audit firm tenure for complex banks accrue even for long tenure and are not limited to medium tenure. Our findings largely support the notion that a long relationship with the client reflects the underlying demand for expertise, which is critical for high‐quality audits of complex organizations. Imposing short‐term limits on audit firms would adversely affect the investments in client‐specific expertise especially in the cases where this expertise is needed the most. Our findings do not support calls for mandatory audit firm rotation for large complex institutions.     

Fiscal Subsidy Policy on Home Appliances: Its Effects on Domestic Consumption and Exports in China

This paper evaluates the effects of the Home Appliances Going to the Countryside (HAGC) policy, a fiscal subsidy program implemented in China to boost private consumption of home appliances in rural areas from 2007 to 2012. Using the policy as a natural experiment and employing the difference‐in‐difference estimator, we find that the policy did not increase domestic sales of relevant goods as expected; instead, it actually reduced domestic sales and significantly promoted exports. These surprising results are robust across regressions of alternative datasets, more controls, and different regions. We further provide detailed information of undisclosed audit data for a county in Zhejiang province to shed light on the underlying mechanism of such unexpected results, suggesting loopholes in the HAGC and changes in export tax rebate rates.     

Agricultural extension system reform and agent time allocation in China

We conducted a nationally representative survey to measure the impact of China's institutional reforms in public agricultural extension on the time allocation of its one million agricultural extension agents. We found that Chinese agents spent much less time than their titles would suggest on providing agricultural extension services, and that agents whose base salaries were funded fully or partially by commercial activities spent substantially less time serving farmers. The institutional incentives associated with the source of funding have a much larger effect on agent time allocation than do the levels of funding. We conclude that the recent government policy to separate commercial activities from extension services is a step in the right direction and should be expanded. The results also suggest that, at least for agricultural extension, the goal of many national governments and international donors to develop locally financing institutions to sustain development projects may be misguided.     

Perceived levels of farming skills and problems of small‐scale commercial farmers in Ciskei

The aim of the study was to determine the potential for improved agricultural production among small‐scale commercial farmers at irrigation schemes in Ciskei, not by removing physical constraints but rather by enhancing human resource capabilities. A combination of individual and group interviews was used to examine perceptions of farmers about their farming skills and farming problems. It is apparent from this study that more emphasis needs to be placed on literacy training in the black farming community. Extension officers should also receive substantially more human relations training. There should also be more female extension workers to cater for the needs of female farmers.