Trade Liberalization,Economic Restructuring and Urban Poverty: The Case of China*

Increased trade openness and rapid market-oriented transformation have largely altered the patterns of wealth accumulation and wealth distribution in post-reform China. In the present paper, with the help of Chinese provincial level data over the period of 1986 to 2000, simultaneous equations estimation and generalized method of moment techniques are applied to investigate the relationship between trade and poverty in urban China. Empirical results suggest that China's trade liberalization helps to reduce urban poverty both directly and indirectly through its favorable impacts on economic growth.     

欧盟区域间集体安全的构建——基于欧盟在非洲危机管理行动经验分析

欧盟区域间集体安全是欧盟在共同安全防务政策的制度和区域间合作框架中形成的对外危机管理概念。欧盟在非洲的危机管理行动经验表明,作为普遍性集体安全与区域性集体安全的"中间体",它既有集体安全的共同逻辑,如主权国家通过组织化的集体行动应对战争或其他大规模暴力的发生,具有大国主导和利益导向等特征;又有普遍性和区域性集体安全的共有特征,如依据《联合国宪章》等通行的国际法来指导其行为;也有区域性集体安全的共同特征,如拥有独立的制度框架和冲突预防的机制化;更有显著的"自我特性",如超国家机构的引入,综合安全方法和安全部门改革的机制化,军事权力、民事权力、规范权力的综合运用以及有效多边主义下的包容性进程等。作者认为,虽然欧盟区域间集体安全亦有明显的局限性,如行动的选择性、军事能力的不足、决策的单向性等,但它构建起了一种新的集体安全实践模式,进一步丰富了集体安全的内涵。     

The Food (In)Security Impact of Land Redistribution in South Africa: Microeconometric Evidence from National Data

The South African land-reform program has been widely criticized for its slow pace as well as its apparent lack of contribution to poverty reduction. No econometric evidence of the impact of land transfers has been provided to date and this paper attempts to fill this gap by considering the impact of receiving a land grant on households’ food insecurity. Propensity score matching and univariate probit estimates using two national household surveys indicate that, on average, land grant recipients are more food insecure than comparable non-participants. Recursive bivariate probit estimates suggest that selection bias is not driving this result.     

China's Free Trade Ports: Effective Action Against the Threat of De‐globalization

With sluggish external demand and increasing trade protectionism by the USA and the European Union, China is facing severe challenges in implementing its deeper, ongoing reforms. To respond actively to such challenges, the Communist Party of China's 19th National Congress proposed to “promote a new pattern of all‐round opening up.” In particular, the establishment of free trade ports is considered an important means to realize deeper integration with the world economy. This paper discusses the background, the motivation, the possible challenges as well as a feasible path for the successful implementation of free trade ports in China. Based on the international experience, the construction of free trade ports in China requires freer trade in goods, high mobility of talent and free capital flow.     

Gender, poverty and deprivation: Evidence from the Republic of Guinea

The article examines the relationship between gender and consumption poverty and between gender and deprivation in the Republic of Guinea. National household survey data reveal that women are not more likely than men to be consumption poor or to suffer greater consumption poverty. Participatory Poverty Assessment data from the village of Kamatiguia reveal that women are “worse off” than men when deprivation includes, inter alia, excessive work load and reduced decision-making authority. When consumption poverty poorly correlates with other dimensions of deprivation, it should not be the sole guide for equity-based policy intervention.