Can Social Capital Reduce Poverty? A Study of Rural Households in Eastern Bhutan

This study examines the impact of social capital on the poverty of rural households in eastern Bhutan, with a particular focus on households' participation in community groups, which can be a proxy for the structural aspect of social capital. Using a two‐stage probit least squares simultaneous equation model, the present study reveals that social capital positively contributes to poverty reduction in Bhutan. This study also finds that non‐farm income is important for poverty reduction in rural areas. Our results, however, indicate that poor households in remote areas are discouraged from participating in community groups.     

When Does Economic Growth Reduce Poverty and Strengthen the Middle Class? A State-Level,Sector-Specific Analysis of Peru

Using novel state-level data of Peru from 1997 to 2010, we investigate how growth in different sectors affects poverty rates and the middle class. Our results indicate that only the manufacturing sector seems to robustly decrease poverty. Growth in the service sector emerges as a meaningful predictor of a rising middle class. Allowing for regional differences, we find substantial variation across the 25 Peruvian states with large shifts in magnitudes, signs, and statistical importance. Beyond the immediate implications for Peru, these findings highlight the importance of analyzing the link between economic performance and poverty rates on a subnational level. Policy implications are likely to differ substantially, depending on the source of economic growth and regional particularities.     

On the Dialectic Time Philosophy of Shakespeare's Sonnets——A Case Study of Sonnet 19

Sonnet 19 is a reflection of Shakespeare's dialectic time philosophy.For one thing,time is extremely destructive by killing off beautiful attributes of everything and everybody.However,the speaker can make full use of poetry to perpetuate the beauty of his sweetheart.Thus time has amazingly intertwined its destructiveness with beauty retention.     

Changes in Competitive Behavior of Foreign-invested Enterprises: A Case Study of the Chinese Detergent Industry

China began absorbing FDI towards the end of the 1970s. By the end of 2002, China had approved the establishment of 424,196 foreign-invested enterprises, involving a total contractual volume of US$ 828.06 billion, 447.966 billion of which were put into actual use.The probability of transnational corporations monopolizing the market of a host country and their important position in certain industries in China have prompted many to ask: Will transnational corporations     

Organization Transformation： A Case Study of China Railway Express

China Railway Express （CRE）, which completes most of its transport by rail, makes great success in the past 10 years. In this paper, we make comparison between the traditional transport organization in Chinese state railway and the parcel express transport charged by CRE, and introduce the organization transformation of CRE. We argue that to provide speedy and seamless transport product for the consumers and to continually increasing central control power of the whole transport process are playing more and more import role in strengthening the transport enterprise＇s competitiveness under new economy.     

Organization Transformation： A Case Study of China Railway Express

China Railway Express （CRE）, which completes most of its transport by rail, makes great success in the past 10 years. In this paper, we make comparison between the traditional transport organization in Chinese state-owned railway and the parcel express transport by CRE, and introduce the organization transformation of CRE. We argue that to provide speedy and seamless transport product for the consumers and to continually increase central control power of the whole transport process are playing a more and more important role in strengthening the transport enterprise＇s competitiveness under new economy.     

Especial Motives for Accounting Fraud ——A Case Study of Insider Trading

Guilin Jiqi is a pharmaceutical company listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1997. Possible motives for her accounting fraud in 2000 are thoroughly analyzed. Guilin Jiqi made up the accounting profit in the semi-annual report. Interestingly, the employee shares of Guilin Jiqi began to be tradable from June. After rejecting other possibilities, we find that this accounting fraud is possibly intended to help her employees, except top managers, to sell their shares at a huge profit.     

Use of Tractors in South Sulawesi: A Case Study Approach∗

Mathematical programming models of six farm-households in South Sulawesi were developed to investigate sample farmers' choices between tractors and draught cattle for the preparation of rice land. Selected aspects of the research are summarised here. Previous work on the impact of tractor use on crop yields and labour supply are first outlined. The study area, kabupaten Luwu, is then described. The basic structure of the programming models is presented, followed by a discussion of the most significant results of the modelling exercise. Implications regarding the importance of farmers' beliefs about the yield effects of tractor use are then discussed.

     

Do Stringent Environmental Regulations Reduce the International Competitiveness of Environmentally Sensitive Goods? A Global Perspective

In this paper I examine whether stringent environmental standards reduce the international competitiveness of environmentally sensitive industries using a comprehensive dataset of trade flows of environmentally sensitive goods (ESGs) disaggregated at the four-digit level of the Standard International Trade Classification. The data relate 1965–95 and cover 34 countries, accounting for nearly 80% of world exports of ESGs in 1995. I find that export performance of ESGs for most countries remained unchanged between the 1960s and 1990s, despite the introduction of stringent environmental standards in most developed countries in the 1970s and 1980s.     

Informal Credit,Usury, or Support? A Case Study for Vietnam

The informal credit market remains an important source of finance for the poor in Vietnam. Yet, little if anything is known about the impact of informal loans on poverty and inequality, and the Vietnamese government has no policies towards the informal credit market. In the present study paper, we found that the effect of credit from friends and relatives on per capita expenditure is positive but not statistically significant. Meanwhile, the effect of credit from private moneylenders on per capita expenditure is positive and statistically significant. Borrowing from private moneylenders increases per capita expenditure of households by around 15%. Further, it reduced the poverty incidence of borrowers by around 8.5 percentage points in 2006 and significantly decreases the poverty gap index and the poverty‐severity index. Borrowing from private moneylenders also reduces expenditure inequality, albeit at a very small magnitude.     

A Study of the China Model and Its Sustainability

I.IntroductionThe ChinaModel,widely viewed asa successfulmodel for developing countriesto reform,open up and enter the world system,has received increasing attention and studies fromallover theworld.Foreign scholars havetermed this Model the Beijing Consensus,comparingitwith the Washington Consensus.Thisshowsthat theChina Modelhasbecomea globallyrecognized model.This paper makes a theoretical recapitulation of the main idea of ChinaModel and its contribution to the transitional economic t…     

The Growth of China＇s Private Sector： A Case Study of Zhejiang Province

I. Introduction Today, the private sector is the most important component of the Chinese economy. It grows especially fast in the eastern coastal areas, such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shandong provinces and Shanghai Municipality. The development of the private sector started firstly in southern Jiangsu province with township and village enterprises (TVEs) in110 Zhikai Wang / 109 – 120, Vol. 14, No. 3, 2006 ?2006 The Author Journal compilation ?2006 Institute of World Economics…     

Does Cultural Distance Hinder Trade in Goods? A Comparative Study of Nine OECD Member Nations

We examine the effect of cultural distance, a proxy for the lack of a minimum reservoir of trust necessary to initiate and complete trade deals, on bilateral trade flows. Employing data for 67 countries that span the years 1996–2001, we estimate a series of modified gravity specifications and find that cultural dissimilarity between nations has an economically significant and consistently negative effect on aggregate and disaggregated trade flows; however, estimated effects vary in magnitude and economic significance across measures of trade and our cohort of OECD reference countries. The consistently negative influence of cultural distance indicates that policymakers may wish to consider mechanisms that enhance the build-up of trust and commitment when seeking to facilitate the initiation and completion of international trade deals. Our findings also imply that coefficient estimates from related studies that do not account for the trade-inhibiting effect of cultural distance may be biased.     

Does Increased Funding for Homeless Programs Reduce Chronic Homelessness?

This article tests whether programs that provide housing assistance to homeless people can reduce chronic homelessness. I analyze data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for 130 communities across the United States over the period 2005 to 2007. Because the amount of federal money allocated to a community to combat homelessness may depend on unobserved characteristics of that community, I estimate a fixed‐effects model that estimates the effect of new federal homeless funding on chronic homelessness. I find that the first‐year cost of moving one chronically homeless person into permanent supportive housing is $55,600. An analysis of new funding to specific types of homeless programs indicates that programs that provide long‐term housing and services to homeless people with disabilities drives this relationship.