On the Use and Abuse of Thorstein Veblen in Modern American Sociology, II: Daniel Bell and the 'Utopianizing' of Veblen's Contribution and Its Integration by Robert Merton and C. W. Mills

A bstract . The analyses and applications of Thorstein Veblen's social theory by Daniel Bell, Robert Merton , and C. Wright Mills are criticized. Bell's analysis is deficient because it distorts Veblen's proposal for economic reconstruction and because it treats him as a hopelessly Utopian theorist. Merton's use of Veblen's theory of status emulation by linking it with latent and manifest functions is a noteworthy accomplishment; yet Merton's utilization of Veblenian concepts is too sparing and essentially apolitical. Only the treatment of Veblen's theories by Mills is theoretically systematic and sufficiently political in tone. The significant import of Veblen's work for an indigenous critical theory resides in his theories of social value , status emulation, conflict and cultural lag.     

关于构建区域合作体制的研究——以法国为例

区域公共管理理论主要从制度建设出发,强调要确保地区经济合作的顺利进展,除了要采取相应的政策措施外,更需要建立大量的制度安排来约束与引导区域经济合作的良性发展.区域合作协调机制包括政府适度干预的协调机制、区域产业政策的协调机制和区域合作的功能性协调机制等等.     

Veblen's Theory of Institutional Change: An Explanation of the Deregulation of Japanese Financial Markets

A bstract In his 1915 essay "The Opportunity of Japan," Thorstein Veblen theorized that traditionai Japanese institutions would undergo evolutionary change as Japan exploited borrowed industrial technology and became integrated into the global business enterprise system. This article explains the recent liberalization of Japanese financial markets which followed Japan's rise to economic prominence within the context of Veblen's theory of institutional development of the enterprise system. The Japanese process of financial deregulation is reviewed, Veblen's predictions Japan are presented and an explanation provided for the liberalization of Japanese financial markets .     

Bell, Merton and Mills as Veblen Critics: A Comment

A bstract . Professors Tilman and Simich offer some thought provoking and reasoned criticisms of the analysis and applications of Veblen's social theory by Bell, Merton and Mills. However, while Tilman and Simich identify some key concepts and ideas central to Veblen's social theory development, they fail to articulate the inner logic of Veblen's paradigm which integrates and amplifies the individual concepts and ideas: the genetic, evolutionary development of the life process. Veblen's evolutionary paradigm not only challenges but threatens the very legitimacy of much of orthodox analysis in such disciplines as sociology, economics and political science.     

对我国互联网接入产业监管的思考

本文首先对我国互联网接入产业的技术经济特征进行了剖析,指出了该产业发展状况和政府监管现状,接着分析了产业监管中面临的主要问题,最后为政府监管部门制定相关产业政策提供建议。     

On the Use and Abuse of Thorstein Veblen in Modern American Sociology, I: David Riesman's Reductionist Interpretation and Talcott Parsons' Pluralist Critique

A bstract . The analyses and applications of Thorstein Vehlen's social theory by David Riesman and Talcott Parsons are found to be deficient. Riesman's study of Veblen lacks viability because the reductionist methodology he uses psychologizes and sociologizes Veblen rather than examines the theoretical import of his work. Parsons is wrong in denying the originality of Veblen's work and in treating him as an eccentric Utopian. Thus the paradigmatic and ideological bias of both Riesman and Parsons preclude a proper understanding and use of such Veblenian concepts as status emulation and conflict.     

Was Vilfredo Pareto Really a ‘Precursor’ of Fascism.?

A bstract . Vilfredo Pareto has been labelled a fascist and 'a precursor of fascism' largely because he welcomed the advent of fascism in Italy and was honored by the new regime. Some have seen in his sociological works the foundations of fascism. This is not correct. Even fascist writers did not find much merit in these works, and definitely condemned his economic theories. A s a political thinker he remained a radical libertarian till the end, and continued to express serious reservations about fascism, and to voice opposition to its basic policies. This is evident from his correspondence with his close friends. There are strong reasons to believe that, had he lived long enough, Pareto would have revolted against fascism.     

Larceny

A dynamic general equilibrium model of larceny - or property crime - is presented in which both economic conditions and government policies affect the commission calculus. The model provides a behavioral framework that is used to estimate the effects of government policies on the commission of larceny. Calibrating the model using data from cities in Los Angeles County, the impact of a number of government policies and of economic development on larceny are quantified. The simulations show that longer prison sentences and higher conviction rates for criminals are the most effective methods to reduce larceny; subsidizing leisure activities, increasing police expenditures and income transfers have little effect on larceny. Using a game-theoretic optimality criterion, all the policies examined are currently overfunded.     

Beyond a Liberal Critique of ‘Trickle Down': Urban Planning in the City of Malmö

This article scrutinizes the much used, but less examined, concept of ‘trickle down' in an urban setting. We make a distinction between the production of and distribution in the city, and argue that trickle down in contemporary urban policy could be regarded as the liberal link between production and distribution. Based on interviews with key figures and document analyses, we look at the transformation of the Swedish city of Malmö from an industrial to a post‐industrial city, where, during the last two decades, we have found three concurrent components: the ideology of trickle down; several urban policy programs and governmental policies to ‘make' money and resources trickle down; as well as increased economic polarization and segregation. A liberal critique of trickle down would argue that market mechanisms cannot by themselves solve distribution, and that government policies therefore are needed. We argue for the need to go beyond a liberal critique of trickle down and stress how unequal distribution is built into the unequal production of the city.     

地方政府债券违约风险形成机制及防范——基于委托代理问题的分析

就地方政府债券而言,在地方政府和居民之间涉及两类委托代理问题:债权债务的代理问题和公共政策的代理问题。地方政府依凭中央政府的"父爱心理",具有向上转移债务的动机,导致地方政府债券规模人为扩大;地方政府"经济人"特性促使其有意识地运用公共债务追求自身利益而罔顾公共财政风险。这些都隐藏着潜在风险无限增加的可能性。可以从建立相应的法律法规制度、居民退出机制、地方政府内在约束机制、事前制约机制、事后监督机制以及深化政务公开制度来防范信用风险。     

Interpreting Institutions' in Veblen's Evolutionary Theory

A bstract . The form and basic properties of Thorstein Veblen's evolutionary theory are analyzed as an interpretative strategy for understanding the social institutions of modern industrial society. By formulating hypothetical historical reconstructions based on his principles of social action and institutional transformation , Veblen creates an heuristic construction that serves as a formula for observation and analysis of what he finds to be the essential meaning of existing behavior. This gives to his work a critical style, but also a depth of analysis that has a degree of predictive validity.     

对民办高校青年教师职后教育的思考

职后教育已成为学校和教师发展的共同需求。民办高校青年教师职后进修困难有政府、学校，也有教师自身的原因。政府政策导向，学校探索灵活有效的方式，教师提高自身职业道德，共同营造良好的职后教育环境，提高职后教育实效。     

‘Don't Waste a Crisis’: Opening up the City Yet Again for Neoliberal Experimentation

This essay calls for a systematic investigation of the financial‐economic crisis as a source of new urban governance rationalities across Europe. We propose combining an understanding of neoliberalization as a variegated social phenomenon with a cultural political economy approach sensitive to the discursive dimension of variegation and the evolutionary mechanisms through which discursive variation is translated into geo‐institutional differentiation. We illustrate how this theoretical framework may help to analyse the impact of the crisis on urban governmental rationalities. Rather than offering a complete cultural political economy account of the responses of European cities to the financial‐economic crisis, we analyse how the crisis and the responses to it have been represented in discourses on urban policies and development by focusing on two discursive sites that are of strategic importance, namely OECD LEED and URBACT. Our preliminary findings suggest a re‐assemblage of existing discourses rather than the emergence of a new post‐neoliberal urban government rationality.     

Financial Liberalisation and Economic Development: An Assessment

Abstract.  The financial sector has always played a central role in economic development, but analysis of its precise role has been hampered by the emphasis on 'real' factors in the main stream of economic thought and the static nature of financial theory. Empirical studies confirm the importance of finance to economic development, but are indecisive on the efficaciousness of the widely advocated policies associated with financial liberalisation. To be successful, strategies for financial liberalisation must deal with problems generated by asymmetric information and have policies to promote competition, the disclosure of information and the maintenance of governmental integrity.     

Thorstein Veblen's Analysis of German Intellectualism: Institutionalism as a Forecasting Method

A bstract Veblen's critique of German intellectuals during World War I ran parallel to his overall critique of Imperial Germany . Elements from the modern West (liberal ideas or technology ) were seen as grafted onto the German authoritarian structure in such a way as to temporarily strengthen that structure. Analysis of wartime writings by German academics verifies Veblen's assertions. Those writings presented the authoritarian state as a better protector of the interests of all the German people than was the type of constitutional state found in Britain. The shrill wartime writings of Werner Sombart wete of a different tone than those of the moderates, verifying Veblen's concerns over the explosiveness of the mixture of the modern and authoritarian, as well as its fascistic potential. Veblen's institutional forecastting can, with reservations, be rewarding in analyzing similar atavistic continuities today.     

诺斯经济增长理论对转变我国经济增长方式的启示

诺斯应用现代产权理论说明制度变迁与经济增长的关系,指出制度变迁是经济增长的重要因素之一,有效率的制度促进经济增长和发展,无效率的制度则会抑制甚至阻碍经济增长和发展。发展中国家普遍面临维持经济增长与提高经济效率两大难题,问题根源在于其基本制度框架普遍缺乏发展市场经济的制度背景。因此,在发展中国家,必须发挥政府的"主导"作用,制订一套公开、透明的规则体系,防止寻租、以权谋私和欺诈行为,为市场经济运作创造出公平合理的制度环境,以利于实现市场经济的顺利转型和高效运作。     

态度形成论在高校共青团工作中的应用

思想政治教育工作者不仅要对党的方针政策作宣传,还要使人民群众接受党的政策观念,使他们自觉地拥护党的领导。高校共青团工作的根本目的就是要使学生自觉地接受并拥护党的方针政策。因此研究态度理论并应用于共青团工作,影响大学生的思想观念,加强学生对党的方针政策的肯定,对更好地开展共青团工作具有重要意义。     

The Economics of Edward Alsworth Ross

A bstract . Edward Alsworth Ross gained fame as a founding father of American sociology; however, he was trained as an economist by Richard T. Ely and made significant contributions in economics before he moved into sociology. Ross was the John Kennneth Galbraith of the popidist-progressive era. The similarity in background, methodology, Weltanschauung , and controversial academic and political styles of these men is discussed. Ross became a cause célébre after his dismissal from Stanford University in 1900 which became a major academic freedom case. Although he was a professional economist for only six years, Ross made original contributions in the areas of taxation, debt management, value theory, uncertainty , and location theory. The discussion of uncertainty as a factor in production precedes Knight's concept of risk and uncertainty and challenges neoclassical policy conclusions in a dynamic environment. His treatment of location theory includes a discussion of agglomeration, externalities, regional dualism, factor endowment, and comparative advantage to explain economic mobility.     

Interpenetration Versus Embeddedness

A bstract .   The economy and economics are important fields in Talcott Parsons's work. Parsons's contributions on this subject were, however, mostly critically received in the new economic sociology. In this article, main points of criticism of Parsons's economic sociology will be discussed and the question asked whether the importance of Parsons's works in economic sociology was adequately treated. It will be demonstrated that the critical assessments was based for the most part on theoretical conceptions Parsons developed during his structural-functionalist period. Hence the assessments neglected to discuss the theory of expressive-symbolic communication of affect that Parsons developed in his later systems-functionalist period. However, precisely these later theoretical developments correlate directly with the concept of social embeddedness as a key concept in the new economic sociology. A stronger linking with this development in Parsons's theory could bring economic sociology closer to finding a foundation in action theory, which has been missing up to the present.     

Time-inconsistent preferences and time-inconsistent policies

Social security is commonly viewed as a commitment device for hyperbolic consumers. We argue that such common intuition is not consistent with formal economic theory. In a model where the government can choose either time-consistent or time-inconsistent policies to govern its social security arrangement and credit markets are complete, only a time-inconsistent policy achieves true commitment by hyperbolic consumers. This rules out a traditional social security program as a commitment device.