MODELING THE NEXUS BETWEEN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND RENEWABLE ENERGY: THE AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES

Motivated by the gained momentum of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) under the umbrella of the United Nations organization, in the light of the SDG‐7, which stipulates the access to affordable, sustainable, and modern energy, this paper explores the dynamic relationship between renewable energy and the pillars of sustainable development. Its insights are driven using a simultaneous equation model based on a panel of 25 African economies covering the period 1990–2014. The results show that renewable energy is important for sustainable development and that higher levels of renewable energy can increase sustainability. The findings also confirm the positive influence of renewable energy on the economic, environmental, social, and institutional dimensions. These positive effects stem from investment in clean energy in the whole of Africa, combined with structural changes promoting the use of clean energy and the achievement of the millennium development goals. The findings should be useful for policymakers in Africa. Aggressive renewable energy policies will be crucial for achieving energy‐policy goals and the “multiple benefits” of renewable energy, such as reducing climate change and air pollution, improving energy security, and increasing access to energy.     

2012’未来城市可持续发展论坛暨第十届地产经济主流高峰论坛

未来城市可持续发展论坛暨中国地产经济主流峰会论坛是由中国房地产业协会、中国市长协会指导主办,由中国房地产最具影响力媒体《房地产导刊》联合《广州日报》、《北京青年报》、《天津日报》等权威媒体发起并主办的中国目前规格最高、影响最大的房地产专业论坛和城市发展论坛。     

REINVENTING FOREIGN AID FOR INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: KUZNETS,PIKETTY AND THE GREAT POLICY REVERSAL

This survey essay reviews close to 200 papers in arguing that in order to achieve sustainable and inclusive development, foreign aid should not orient developing countries toward industrialization in the perspective of Kuznets but in the view of Piketty. Abandoning the former's view that inequality will fall with progress in industrialization and placing more emphasis on inequality in foreign aid policy will lead to more sustainable development outcomes. Inter alia: mitigate short‐term poverty, address concerns of burgeoning population growth, train recipient governments on inclusive development, fight corruption and mismanagement and avoid the shortfalls of celebrated Kuznets’ conjectures. We discuss how the essay addresses post‐2015 development challenges and provide foreign aid policy instruments with which discussed objectives can be achieved. In summary, the essay provides useful policy measures to avoid past pitfalls. ‘Output may be growing, and yet the mass of the people may be becoming poorer’ (Lewis). ‘Lewis led all developing countries to water, proverbially speaking, some African countries have so far chosen not to drink’ (Amavilah). Piketty has led all developing countries to the stream again and a challenging policy syndrome of our time is how foreign aid can help them to drink.     

DECENTRALIZED PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: The Case of Indonesia*

The government of Indonesia frequently has stressed the need for decentralization to achieve effective regional development, but yet has hesitated to proceed because of fears that such action would undermine national unity and disrupt centrally defined national priorities. Furthermore, the entrenched bureaucratic hierarchy, reinforced by the persistence of patrimonialism, would have to surrender its planning and decision making authority to popularly constituted bodies. This paper examines this dilemma and argues that deconcentration of planning and implementation functions to lower administrative levels does not constitute decentralization. The analysis concludes by suggesting that collaboration between government and non-governmental organizations might be the appropriate means for encouraging popular participation for sustainable development.     

技术创新的可持续发展战略与企业核心技术能力培育

加强技术创新、培育企业核心技术对国企的振兴与发展、企业市场竞争力的提高、产业结构调整下企业经营方式转变、企业可持续性发展能力提高乃至实施国家可持续发展战略都起着至关重要的作用。要实现国企效益的普遍提高 ,必须克服现有企业技术创新系统中存在的科技、经济脱节和技术创新激励机制弱化等问题 ,使企业成为真正的创新主体。     

PLANNING BY NEGOTIATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A TALE OF TWO HABITATS

In the December 2005 issue of Economic Affairs , a collection of authors considered alternative institutions for planning and managing urban affairs. Following up the idea of 'planning by contract', this paper reflects on the role of negotiation in securing gains from trade over contested local environmental resources. The idea of an obstructive classical planning game is contrasted with the concept of creative negotiation by reference to two case studies.     

THE ROLE OF MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: THE INDISSOLUBLE NATURE OF SOCIO-POLITICAL AND TECHNICAL SKILLS*

This paper explores the role of management consultants in the development of information technology (IT) in organizations. Contending that the process of IT systems development is characterized by the exercise of power, the central theme of the argument concerns the indissoluble nature of the technical and socio-political skills inherent in IT consultancy practice. IT consultancy practice is not just socio-political when winning a contract - the sales pitch - and technical when developing an IT system. Rather, socio-political skills centred on the mobilization of discursive and symbolic resources are an inherent part of the construction of such systems.     

BOTTOM-UP APPROACH FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN SRI LANKA

Low-income communities, whether in urban or rural areas, need certain basic facilities that are difficult or impossible to acquire either due to poverty or other constraints. Welfare-oriented governments have, therefore, attempted to provide these basic facilities, but not with great success. Recently new approaches have been adopted to improve the situation by encouraging people to become involved in community-level decision making with respect to their needs and to implement the construction of acceptable facilities. The communities would then shoulder a greater responsibility, leading to development with a higher degree of sustainability.     

LOCATION OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT – THE ISRAELI CASE

This paper reviews and empirically examines the effectiveness of the Israeli government's declared policy to induce the location of high technology industries in developing regions. The first section of the paper reviews the literature on high technology industry location. The second section presents the findings from the analyses of a sample of 53 high technology Israeli firms in regard to their critical locational determinants. The findings corroborate the results reported in other similar studies. High technology industries, primarily those engaged in research and development, appear to favor the large urban concentrations, where agglomeration economies, large pools of skilled workers and high quality educational and cultural facilities exist. High technology firms which choose to locate in peripheral regions engage primarily in production activities and employ larger proportions of unskilled and semi-skilled labor. The average size of these firms is greater than their counterparts, firms located in and around urban concentrations.     

FOSTERING SUSTAINABLE COMPLEXITY IN THE MICROFINANCE INDUSTRY: WHICH WAY FORWARD?

The microfinance movement has gained tremendous popularity over the past 30 years, but it is still far from meeting its full potential. The industry stands at a crossroads between increased commercialisation and increased philanthropic aid. Standard economic discourse does little to resolve the debate. F. A. Hayek's concept of the'extended order' sheds new light on how we might understand the future development of microfinance.     

DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom abolished domestic property taxation, the major autonomous revenue source for local authorities, in 1989 (Scotland) and 1990 (England and Wales). The introduction of a flat rate personal charge (called by the Government 'the community charge' and by its opponents 'the poll tax') aroused huge political controversy. The choice of a substitute tax, to operate from 1993, and based at least partly on property, was one of the major domestic issues in the recent General Parliamentary Election. This paper examines the background to the abolition of domestic property taxation and why it was such a key political issue, explains why the "community charge" failed and describes the immediate prospects.     

限购之下,房地产产业链企业发展之道

主持语：随着地产调控的进一步加剧,房价上涨过快的三线城市逐渐被纳入调控的范围,下半年将继续巩固和加强调控成果,这会令楼市更扑塑迷离。继部分房企转战商业地产、旅游地产后,广州地产商美林基业天生卫康投1.2亿发展养猪事业,这点燃了房企转战多元化经营的新天地,也从某种程度上表明了目前房地产行业发展的不景气。房地产发展的不景气及＂达芬奇效应＂在高端家具行业不断显现出来,促使建筑、景观、室内设计等公司未雨绸缪,重新思考如何提升设计附加值,改善人们的生活环境,进而提高其在行业的竞争力,他们是如何看待目前的市场,正在思考些什么？     

审计资源约束下的内涵发展

在目前条件下,我国国家审计如何求得内涵发展呢?主要对策有:●充分利用已有的基础;●重视精品与特色发展;●收缩战线,调整审计工作的整体布局;●审计内容转变;●突出重点,抓大放小;●改进审计技术与方法;●提高人员素质;●提升审计管理水平;●具体审计工作的创新。根据调查资料显示,当前我国审计机关(主要是基层机关)反映强烈的问题是:审计资源紧张、审计经费缺口较大、审计手段不足、审计工作独立性不强和审计信息化工作相对滞后等五个方面,其中繁重的审计任务与现有审计资源相对不足的矛盾名列榜首,这也是目前我国审计工作面临的主要困难…     

REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN THE PROCESS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

This paper examines the policy actions of earlier administrators in Nigeria. The account reveals that regional inequalities in the country evolved during the 100 years of British Colonial Administration. Moreover, activities of various ethno-linguistic groups in the country after political independence undoubtedly exacerbated the situation. The paper concludes that the major structural changes in agriculture, transportation and education initiated by the British during the colonial period: (a) had profound effects on the evolution of regional disparities; and (b) established an important basis for further development of the country. Nonetheless, activities of post-independence administrators have perpetuated and even aggravated the regional and individual socio-economic disparities in the country.     

THE DESIGN OF MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDS

Municipal Development Funds (MDFs) have become the preferred means of many donors and, increasingly, national governments for the finance of urban infrastructure. This article assesses their performance and design based on extensive data collection on ten MDFs and recommends changes. MDFs have two overall goals: credit and development. The greatest appeal of MDFs as credit providers is that they can wholesale funds for a wide variety of small urban infrastructure project to many local governments. However, they have largely failed to move toward market principles, and, too often, have succeeded in building infrastructure without strategically promoting local development. In this context, donors have focus sed on gearing MDFs to promoting local development - improving project appraisal, rationalizing the inter-governmental transfer system, establishing capital budgeting and fiscal planning, distributing funds among regions and municipal-size categories, and promoting community participation. But MDFs have also produced uneven results in achieving these goals. At bottom, MDFs have failed to connect with local demand. Local governments often have little idea what local people - particularly poor communities - want and need. Not surprisingly, they often fail to accept or repay charges for MDF projects. The best hope for improving MDFs lies in relating these funds closer to local people's preferences. Means to this end include: involving neighborhood associations and households in project selection; relying on project revenues rather than transfers as the main guarantee and source for loan repayment; using commercial financial institutions to underwrite, disburse, and collect loans; and hiring community development staff at the MDF.