Policy and practice in the Netherlands

Abstract: As in many other areas of public policy in the Netherlands, development of consumer protection in banking and financial services has been characterized by a consensual approach. Consumer organizations have been involved along with representative business bodies in building self-regulatory systems within a statutory framework, especially in relation to issues related to overindebtedness. This approach has characterized dispute settlement procedures as well as a code of conduct on good lending practice and a national credit registration system. The Consumer Credit Act provides a system of maximum interest rates for different kinds of credit, which may be varied according to market conditions. The needs of consumers at the lower end of the credit market are specifically catered for by a network of municipal credit banks, which also provide debt settlement services.     

Policy and practice in the United Kingdom

Abstract: The UK currently has well-developed but very fragmented systems and structures for consumer protection in banking and financial services, including legislation, regulatory bodies and various forms of self-regulation. At the time of writing, the government has launched proposals for a much more integrated, statute-based system that would cover a large part of the market place and that would be implemented by a single new regulatory body, the Financial Services Authority. However, a number of significant details are still absent from the proposals or are the subject of strong criticism, either from the industry side or from consumer organizations. Also, some types of life assurance, non-life insurance and most mortgage lending may remain outside the proposed new system. It remains to be seen when the proposals will become law and what precise form they will take.     

美英德货币政策框架比较及启示

本文对美国、英国、德国实行的货币政策框架进行了比较,并借鉴三国经验,对我国的货币政策框架选择问题进行了分析.认为我国目前实行通胀目标法存在困难,当务之急是进一步完善以货币供应量为中介目标的货币政策框架.     

Ethical selving in cultural contexts: fairtrade consumption as an everyday ethical practice in the UK and Germany

Fairtrade consumers, by enacting their political and moral concerns through consumer choice, are at the same time constructing themselves as ethical selves. I will argue that they can only do so by drawing on cultural contexts. While fairtrade is instituted in supranational organizations and acts on a global level, there are still differences on a national level. On the basis of an Anglo‐German study, this paper seeks to map out the cultural contextualization of fairtrade consumption on both a supranational and a national level. The paper identifies the framing role of global consumer culture and an implicit ethics of equitability inscribed in capitalist practices of exchange and specifies how these play out differently in Germany and the UK. In both cases, there are strong references to sovereign consumer choice, and expectations of equitability in commodity exchange have been found. But while, in the British case, there is more emphasis on individual choice and taste, German fairtrade consumers seem to follow more what they perceive as an authoritative discourse. And, while British respondents envisaged the relation to be achieved with producers along the lines of a business relationship, German respondents conceptualized it more as a paternalistic employment relation between fairtrade organizations and producers. Differences will be explained in terms of distinctive consumer cultures, national moral economies and colonialist histories. I will argue that the two national settings not only offer different opportunities and challenges in terms of market success but also pose distinct ethical questions for fairtrade marketers.     

日德本币升值下的政策得失及对我国的启示

在本币升值背景下,日本与德国采取了不同的应对政策。德国首先着眼于国内宏观经济的稳定,放开汇率的波动,从而更好地保持了国民经济的稳定与增长;而日本试图阻止和缓解日元升值压力,其结果却是日元持续急剧升值,并造成了日本高通货膨胀和泡沫经济。综观日本、德国汇率波动的历史可以得到以下启示：人民币汇率升值是必然趋势;坚持货币政策的独立性十分重要;在坚持货币政策的独立性的同时,实现缓慢渐进式汇率改革;区域货币合作有利于区域内强国减少投机资本冲击,减少汇率升值对贸易品部门的负面影响;加快经济发展战略的转型,促使内外经济均衡发展。     

Cultural differences in Germany and Australia

This article discusses examples of cultural differences between the German and Australian cultures, their implications in the marketing and business decision making function, and provides recommendations for successful business conduct between Germans and Australians. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

我对德国商业社会的认识--来自德国的工作报道

笔者有机会被派遣到德国工作,2003年里增添了许多“精彩”体验。岁末年初,记录在此,希望对大家有所裨益。     

在德国坐"大奔"

男孩子几乎没有不迷汽车的.上小学时,我和小伙伴在往返于学校的途中,常喜欢辨认各种汽车的品牌.那时,小轿车以华沙、伏尔加等东欧"社会主义阵营"的车居多,偶尔会有法国的雪铁龙、美国的福特……但我们都听说过德国的奔驰车是世界上最好的、随着年龄的增长,社会的开放,有关奔驰车的事知道得越来越多了.但在去德国之前,我从没坐过奔驰车.     

Fiscal consolidation in Germany

The German federal government’s fiscal consolidation package, announced in June, is designed to permanently reduce the federal deficit to a new target level. This article uses a three-region version of the European Commission’s QUEST model to gauge the impact of the package on Germany and the spillover to the rest of the euro area and the rest of the world.     

难产的德国"磁悬浮"

第一批运到上海的磁悬浮列车已在调试之中.从上海市区到浦东国际机场的高架路轨也已基本竣工并将很快试运行.然而,德国作为磁悬浮高速列车技术的发源地,却仍在为能否上马第一条商业营运的磁悬浮铁路系统争执不休.     

德国的公司治理结构

公司治理结构是金融体系的一个重要内容.德国的公司治理结构与英美模式相比具有显著的差异,从而为国际比较提供了有益的参照.本文在介绍德国公司法律结构的基础上,分析其特殊的双层委员会治理结构和股权结构,并考察银行和资本市场在德国公司治理中的作用.     

East Asian FDI in Europe and Germany

During the 1980s foreign direct investment (FDI) expanded remarkably. Simultaneously, the regional structure of foreign direct investment changed. This relationship is discernible among industrial countries, as well as between industrial and developing countries. Of particular importance is the interface of foreign trade relations between the “Triad” and the economically dynamic East Asian and Pacific area. This article highlights, in particular, foreign investment coming from Eastern Asia into Europe and Germany.