A South African Variety of Capitalism?

This paper explores the South African political economy through the lens of a variety of capitalism (VoC) approach. It argues that attempts were made in the early post-apartheid period to forge a more social-democratic and co-ordinated variety of capitalism, but that this floundered as the government adopted neoliberal macroeconomic policies against the wishes of organised labour, and as black economic empowerment policies further undermined an already racially-fraught business sector. Organised labour was able to push for, and maintain, protective labour market policies – but this came at the cost of growing policy inconsistency notably with regard to trade liberalisation which, in the presence of growing labour-market protection, has exacerbated South Africa's unemployment crisis. Unemployment remains intractable (and with it inequality) and corruption/patrimonialism appears to be a growing problem.     

Inequality and the Phases of Capitalism

We live in a capitalist world characterized by economic inequality. Inequality is a real curse, but it does not have to always increase. In different phases of capitalism, it may be increasing, constant, or decreasing, depending on the dominant type of technical progress (capital-using, capital-neutral, or capital-saving), on the organizational capacity of the workers, on the competition from other countries with lower wages, and on the prevailing degree of democracy. But distribution faces an economic constraint: the expected profit rate must remain attractive to business entrepreneurs. From the mid-twentieth century, we would expect technological progress to change from neutral to capital-saving, which would allow wages to increase at a faster rate than productivity. Indeed, this happened in the Golden Years of capitalism, but such progress stalled in the succeeding neoliberal years, dominated as they were by a class coalition of rentier capitalists and financiers.     

对乌克兰科技创新发展经济的认识

科技创新发展经济是全球科技与经济发展的趋势，本文研究了乌克兰在经济转型期依赖科技创新发展经济的一些主要政策和措施，对我国开展技术创新与发展经济有一定的借鉴意义。     

中国民营银行发展的国际经验借鉴

民营银行区别于国有商业银行,是中国特有的商业银行形态。其最大的特点是按市场机制自主运作,不受政府干预。但这一优势的发挥是以健全的信用环境、发达的金融市场和有效的监管体系为前提的。纵观境内外民营银行的发展历程,有成功也有失败。中国开放民营银行应当充分吸取国外失败的教训,学习其成功经验,从宏观与微观的角度做足准备,迎接金融深化改革的新纪元。     

The Socioeconomic Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi: As an Origin of Alternative Development

This paper tries to present the overall socioeconomic thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as an origin of alternative development. The first section of the paper provides Gandhi's criticism of modern civilization, that of economics and that of Marxist socialism and communism. The second section analyzes his ideas for a "post-modern" construction of India, where his views on Swadeshi (self-reliance), his theory of trusteeship (theory of class and distribution) and his images of an ideal village economy are examined. The paper, referring to the works of E. F. Schumacher and the Other Economic Summit as well, concludes that Gandhian style of development theories have persistently furnished a critique of "modern" ways of thinking and presented alternative visions of socioeconomic development.     

The Contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises to Economic Development in Ukraine and Belarus: Some Policy Perspectives

The paper considers the development of small and medium enterprises (SME) in two transition economies where market reforms have been slow (Ukraine and Belarus), focusing specifically on the role of government in the process. Empirical data from a study on SMEs and economic development in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova are used to consider the contribution of SMEs to different aspects of transformation whilst data from a second project are used to show the support needs of SMEs.Following the introduction, which summarises the aims and methodology, the second section presents brief profiles of the context for SME development in each country. Part 3 summarises some of the main empirical findings, focusing on those aspects that have potential policy significance, specifically with respect to employment, innovation, and market orientation, whilst the fourth section considers survey evidence of the support needs of SMEs. The final section draws out the main policy implications of the findings, whilst also setting out an agenda designed to increase the contribution of SMEs to economic development in the future.On the whole, the empirical results demonstrate that some SMEs have developed in Belarus and Ukraine despite the actions of governments, although the number of private enterprises per capita remains small and their qualitative characteristics often reflect the difficult operating conditions. As a result, their contribution to economic and social change is less than it could be, mainly due to an unstable environment and an institutional context that has yet to establish the framework conditions for sustainable private sector development. In terms of policy priorities, the survey data suggest that reform of the distorted legal and financial infrastructures that exist in these countries is the highest priority need.     

小城镇建设的国际经验借鉴

我国正进入城镇化快速推进时期,作为城镇化重要内容的小城镇建设,如何解决当前发展过程中存在的诸如布局规划不合理,规划建设随意性大,小城镇产业特色不突出等问题,是摆在我们面前的首要任务。国外小城镇建设早于我国几十年,在发展过程中积累了相当经验,这些经验对于我们具有相当大的借鉴意义。为此我们应当坚持扬弃吸收原则,借鉴国外经验,结合我国具体国情,推进我国小城镇建设健康发展。     

Lessons from using scenarios for strategic foresight

Strategic foresight requires a longer and broader view of the environment and, as we at the Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) would argue, a conscious attention to the organization's vision and visionary scenarios in the environment. Having promoted foresight on six continents for a wide range of governments, corporations, and non-profit organizations, we have developed lessons on the design and set-up of foresight efforts, their use and follow-through. Lessons include: Scenarios using ‘aspirational futures’ should include expectable, challenging, and visionary alternatives; beware of and understand ‘allergic reactions’ to foresight given some individuals', particularly leaders', psychological preferences; foresight is most effectively done by and for top leadership but foresight for units or regions of the organization can also be successful; to get the most value, it is important to err on the side of boldness and vision in developing scenarios; foresight efforts create a ‘safe space’ for exploring challenging situations; associations as collections of companies or professionals have unique foresight needs including elected leadership that rotates every year, and the need to communicate the results of foresight efforts to their members effectively; government and corporations have more similarities than differences in foresight, but companies have more resources and can move quickly to develop and use the foresight.     

空间利用的变革：北京的经历

Specific changes in land use can, and often do, occur when any social economic system moves from one form to another. When traditional societies transit from traditional land uses to philosophically determined land uses, as in the case of the introduction of socialism or the transition from system of planned economy to a market system, such changes seem concentrated and perhaps exacerbated. Certainly, such circumstances provide the opportunity to see the process of social philosophy and its impact upon land use in a telescoped fashion, The discovery and explanation of these elements might provide some insight into basic human behavior, and its relationship to social control and how people organize space both with and without control. This paper presents the results of observations of changes in land use as they have occurred during the course of transitional economic development in Beijing, China for the past decade. It suggests three new generic categories that can be applied to any culture or society.     

析日本企业错失知识经济发展机遇的制度性因素

日本的企业虽然以其不同于欧美的模式实现了经济的快速增长,但在20世纪末期的知识经济大潮中却增长乏力.成长期的王牌在新的环境里变成了桎梏.结合知识经济与日本企业的特点,认为制约其发展的弊端是主银行制、交叉持股、内部治理结构三个方面.同样的制度在不同环境背景下的不同意义,掌握其中不断变化的国情和不变的规则对我国是有益的.     

俄罗斯设立经济特区历史进程与经验教训

本文系统考察了俄罗斯举办经济特区的历史沿革和最新动向,阐述了俄罗斯经济特区分布状况、主要形式、管理体制和优惠政策,分析了俄罗斯设立经济特区的经验教训。     

The Evolution of the Use of Space：Lessons from Beijing

Specific changes in land use can, and often do, occur when any social economic system moves from one form to another. When traditional societies transit from traditional land uses to philosophically determined land uses, as in the case of the introduction of sooialism or the transition from system of planned economy to a market system, such changes seem concentrated and perhaps exacerbated. Certainly, such circumstances provide the opportunity to see the process of social philosophy and its impact upon land use in a telescoped fashion. The discovery and explanation of these elements might provide some insight into basic human behavior, and its relationship to social controt and how people organize space both with and without control. This paper presents the results of observations of changes in land use as they have occurred during the course of transitional economic development in Beijing, China for the past decade, it suggests three new generic categories that can be applied to any culture or society.     

Fiscal decentralization and corporate investment: empirical evidence from China

This paper examines the effect of fiscal decentralization on levels and efficiency of corporate investment. The results indicate that as the extent of local government fiscal decentralization increases, the level of new investment by firms under their jurisdiction rises. Furthermore, fiscal decentralization has an impact on corporate investment by aggravating over-investment rather than alleviating under-investment, leading to a situation whereby fiscal decentralization is negatively associated with investment efficiency at the level of the firm. Finally, the impact of fiscal decentralization on over-investment, under-investment and investment efficiency is not different between state-owned enterprises and non-state-owned enterprises, suggesting that economic leverages are the dominant government intervention measures. The findings imply that fiscal decentralization is another determinant of firm-level investment and corporate investment efficiency, which broadens the existing literature on the economic consequence of fiscal decentralization, resulting in important implications for policy-making.     

Equity and Australian Development: Lessons from the First Century

Australians' commitment to equitable distribution means that in the twenty–first century we will have all or none of economic reform, income security, full employment and strong economic growth.     

转变经济发展方式:城乡经济社会协调发展的视角

转变经济发展方式是一项长期而艰巨的历史任务,自党的十三大提出转变经济增长方式以来,国内理论界对此进行了长期探索。城乡经济社会协调发展是实现经济发展方式转变的内在要求和重要内容,从城乡经济社会协调发展的视角出发,由城乡分割到城乡融合、由工业偏向到工农并重、由被动城市化到主动城市化是城乡经济社会协调发展的具体内涵,同时也是加快转变经济发展方式的重要依托。     

The Infusion of Relational Market Obligations into the Austrian Agenda—Some Lessons Learned from Economic Sociology

Given its dictum of market equilibrium, economics in general obviously does poorly in shouldering market dynamics. Pervading obligatory traits of the market (other than mere dyadic contracting) is yet another area where not much attention is devoted. Whereas the Austrian agenda fills the first of these voids in a most sophisticated manner, its current discourse appears as oblivious concerning the manner in which market exchange transforms into relational interconnected obligations. That is to say, exchange is hardly understood as an indispensable facet of durable market obligations such as relationships 'constituting the market', but exclusively as immediate entrepreneurial arbitrage. Apart from an outright peculiar failure to recognize some of its own roots in this regard this omission unnecessarily delimits the manner in which Austrians can proceed and deepen their market analysis. The principal idea of this paper is to scrutinize the manner in which relational market obligations can be introduced into Austrian reasoning by drawing on ideas from within economic sociology. Max Weber's dictum on market openness takes on a particular role in this regard. An adjacent contribution strived for is to let this scrutiny foreshadow the manner in which such a partial reconciliation of market ideas from within economic sociology and Austrian economics could proceed.     

Lessons from Environmental Regulation for the Nonprofit Sector

As the third sector's economic and social impact grows worldwide, efforts by governments to regulate the sector have focused on increasing compliance in tax–exempt organizations. This article turns to the environmental sector for guidance, summarizing key characteristics of environmental regulation and noting what strategies are likely to prove useful for application to regulation of nonprofit organizations. The article finds some value in promotion of market–based enforcement schemes, but little value in promulgation of laws specifying governance structures and performance standards by a central authority. The most promising opportunity for improvement of the nonprofit regulatory process involves incorporation of financial incentives into monitoring schemes.     

日本创新体制的经验教训及其借鉴

导致日本战后经济成功的创新体制为什么要对近年来日本国际竞争力的不断下降负有重要责任?本文认为,日本创新体制在以工艺创新为主的渐进创新方面具有独特的优势,但由于日本目前在灵活生产方式、产业信息化和创造新产业方面所遭遇的严重困难,这种优势难以发挥。特别是,由于基础研究和大学体制等方面的落后,日本创新体制无法适应激进创新的要求,从而未能抓住跨越式科技发展的机遇。本文还通过日美比较和德美赶超英国经验的总结,扼要讨论了日本的经验教训对我国“科教兴国”战略所提供的重要启示。     

国外中小企业发展的金融支持对我国的启示

为根本解决我国中小企业融资难问题,借鉴美国、日本为发展中小企业提供金融支持的成功经验,得出我国应设立专门的政策金融机构为中小企业提供贷款和担保、发展地方中小金融机构、完善资本市场与创立风险投资基金等几点启示。     

Lessons from the transition process

The illusions that market mechanism would transform former communist countries easily into welfare states were gradually replaced by disappointments. Major problems are common to all countries in transition; they all endured an unprecedented fall in measured output and rise of unemployment. Four countries: former Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia constitute a group in which the fall was the lowest and which also have reached the bottom. While the mechanisms of depression in these countries differ basic links of the vicious circle seem to be similar. The transition is reflected in constitutional provisions on property rights; new constitutions depart radically from their socialist predecessors, return to the principles of French revolution, and provide more than adequate protection of private property. Equally important are legal frameworks for market activities, and privatization aimed to improve efficiency, enable fairness, and serve in the abolition of the monoparty system.