Regulatory initiatives and related activities in the United States

Prevention of chemical incidents is an important issue in the chemical petroleum industries. This issue is receiving focus and attention from a wide spectrum—Industry, Labor, Professional Associations, Environmental Groups Government and the Public. The purpose of this paper is to review the various regulatory initiatives and related activities regarding chemical process safety.     

On the Effectiveness of state anti-corporate farming laws in the United States

Structural changes in US agriculture toward a more corporate-oriented and vertically aligned system have focused attention on the relative efficacy of the anti-corporate farming laws of nine Midwestern states. Using state-level data from a survey of agricultural lawyers and the U.S. Census of Agriculture, we find that the restrictiveness of the laws vary among states, and the relative restrictiveness of the laws have changed over time. Also, strengthening a law tends to limit acreage under non-family corporate ownership arrangements.     

The Union Avoidance Industry in the United States

This paper analyses the development of the union avoidance industry in the United States during the past half‐century. Focusing on one leading example from each group, it examines the activities of the four main actors that constitute that industry: consultants, law firms, industry psychologists and strike management firms. Although these firms have experienced a fall in business as unions have declined in strength and numbers — a development that the union avoidance industry has contributed to — they continue to play an important role in the US system of industrial relations. Over three‐quarters of employers hire consultants when confronted by organizing campaigns, and large union avoidance firms are increasingly seeking export markets for their expertise.     

美运动服饰消费趋升

根据Just—Style的统计数字，从2003年至2008年，美国运动服饰市场约增长了8．5％，消费总量从130亿美元上升至141亿美元，并预计到2014年，还将增长8．5％至153亿美元。     

Enterprise Unions in the United States

Through a case study of a large industrial company ( TRW ) , this paper examines the history and functioning of independent local unions ( ILUs ). TRW's ILU plant wages were about the same as those at affiliated union plants and higher than those at nonunion plants. The premium explains why TRW and other companies discarded ILUs in favor of a "new" nonunion model. Yet ILUs can remedy some of the defects in that model and thus belong on the policy and research agenda     

Privatizing Highways in the United States

We review the experience of both private toll-roads built in the United States during the 1990s, and argue that the problems they encountered could have been avoided if the length of the franchise contract would adapt to demand realizations. We also argue in favor of adjudicating private toll-roads via BOT-type contracts in competitive (Demsetz) auctions. The lessons of this paper are relevant since growing congestion and troubled government finances have made private toll-roads increasingly attractive in the United States.     

The imbalances of telephone traffic for the United States

The US posts a large and growing deficit in international telephone services, a phenomenon often blamed on the accounting rate system. Using data for international calls between the US and 148 foreign destinations between 1991 and 1997, this paper finds that the increasing payment deficit for the US is associated with decreasing accounting rates. In other words, the international revenue settlement is related more to imbalances in telephone traffic than to accounting rates. The econometric model shows that growing asymmetries in teledensity, market concentration, and income levels between the US and the rest of the world explain the imbalances. Therefore, the appropriate solution to the payment deficit in telephone services is to focus on long-term economic factors that determine the flow of traffic.     

伊朗国家电视台称伊将送美国无人机玩具模型

新华社电伊朗国家电视台17日说，伊朗政府将把一架美国“RQ-170”型无人机玩具模型送还美国，以回应美方要求归还无人机的要求。 报道说，这个无人机玩具以1：80的比例仿造，在伊朗的商店有售，售价大约4美元。     

Globalization and Declining Unionization in the United States

For decades, the private‐sector unionization rate in the United States has been falling. At the same time, the integration of the United States into the world economy has been rising. Many anecdotes suggest the latter has played a role in that decline, with unions feeling pressured to reduce employment and/or compensation demands in the face of rising cross‐border activity of employers. To investigate this possibility econometrically, in this paper I assembled a panel of U.S. manufacturing industries that matches union‐coverage rates with measures of global engagement such as exports, imports, tariffs, transportation costs, and foreign direct investment. The main finding is a statistically and economically significant correlation between falling union coverage and greater numbers of inward FDI transactions. Possible interpretations of this finding are then discussed. Because U.S. affiliates of foreign multinationals have higher unionization rates than U.S.‐based firms do, this correlation does not reflect just a compositional shift toward these affiliates. Instead, it may reflect pressure of international capital mobility on U.S.‐based companies, consistent with research on how rising capital mobility raises labor‐demand elasticities and alters bargaining power.     

An analysis of the intra-firm sales activities of Japanese multinational enterprises in the United States: 1977 to 1989

This paper examines the activities of the largest Japanese multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in the United States by looking at data on exports, imports, and intra-firm trade between the Japanese subsidiaries in the United States and their parent and other foreign groups. It also examines how much of the domestic sales in the United States are accounted for by local production of the Japanese subsidiaries. Sales data provide an indication of the advantages of being multinational, which are mirrored in the growth of the post-investment sales of overseas units (both manufacturing and non-manufacturing). Data on the flows and stocks of foreign direct investment (FDI) represent the initial decisions to undertake FDI and largely ignore the learning effects of having overseas production.The authors are from the City University of Hong Kong and NORTACK Software Limited. We would like to thank the Editor, Dr Leung Hing-Man, the anonymous referees, and Don Daly, Wendy Dobson, Hiroaki Izumi, Terutomo Ozawa, Alan M Rugman and Rob Tran for their helpful comments. All errors and omissions, however, remain the responsibility of the authors.     

美国量化宽松政策的原因及其影响

美国在财政政策和传统货币政策空间有限、国会的贸易保护主义环境和政党竞争激烈的情况下,为了刺激本国经济复苏,采取了量化宽松政策。短期来看对刺激美国经济有一定的作用,但是由于美元在国际货币体系中的中心地位,该政策会加大全球通货膨胀压力、助推大宗商品价格上涨、引起货币竞相贬值和更广泛的贸易保护主义。长期来看该政策增加的流动性大量外流,对美国经济刺激作用有限,并影响美元的地位。因此需要国际社会广泛合作审慎应对该政策的影响。     

中、俄、美欧与中亚国家能源合作现状及前景

中亚地区拥有丰富的能源资源,欧亚各国都加强了与该地区的能源合作.中、俄、美和欧洲国家与中亚国家开展能源合作具有各自的优势和劣势,目前在中亚地区已形成"四面竞争"的能源竞争格局.未来中、俄、美欧在中亚地区能源领域的合作与竞争将继续存在,但由于该地区不具备左右国际关系和国际格局的战略地位和能力,并不会影响大国间的友好关系.这种合作与竞争的局面也有助于中亚地区的能源开发,进而有助于中亚地区的稳定与发展.     

美国《消费品安全改进法案》及变化动态——美国ASTMF963-08标准与中国GB6675标准对比

《美国消费品安全改进法案》的主要内容是：在全美建立统一的强制性国家标准;进一步规范含铅玩具;玩具上加贴可追溯性标签;将自愿性标准ASTMF963转化为强制性标准;对某些儿童产品实行强制性第三检测;对玩具中的6种邻苯二甲酸盐实施控制。     

对美国天然气法律与政策的思索

美国天然气工业历经了百余年的历史，政府在天然气的不同发展时期制定了不同的法律与政策。1938年颁布了《天然气法》，主要是加强政府对自然垄断的管道运输行业的监管；1954年制定的菲利普斯决议和1978年出台的《天然气政策法》虽然在天然气定价方面显得背道而驰，但都是为了解决当时的问题；1985年颁布的FERC456号法令与l992年颁布的FERC656号法令为天然气行业引入竞争、规范行业行为做出了重要贡献。美国天然气法律与政策的演进对中国的天然气行业具有借鉴意义和参考价值。目前，中国天然气行业的发展还处于初级阶段，应结合我国的具体情况，借鉴美国的成功经验和失败教训，逐步建立和完善我国的天然气立法与政策，促进天然气行业健康有序的发展。     

美欧玩具标准的比较

我国玩具出口以欧美地区为主,欧美的玩具政策和标准主导着世界各国政策的制定,通过研究欧美最近更新的法规,可以更好地掌握玩具标准法规的发展趋势。     

加拿大与美国的能源监管及其对我国的启示

加拿大与美国经过长期不断的调整和改革，形成了一整套完整、科学的能源管理体制框架。两国政府都分别设立了能源主管部门和能源监管机构，实行分级监管相互协调的监管方式，并建立了完整的监管法律体系。能源主管部门负责能源大政方针及相关的政策研究；监管机构负责监管政策的制定和执行，独立于政府并具有司法审判功能，有效地保证政府的能源政策的落实；按现代监管模式制定的法律法规大大减少了行政管理的不确定性、管理人员实话监管的随意性以及处于自然垄断领域的企业滥用市场优势地位的可能性，增加了投资者、经营者和消费者三方的信心。我国亟待加强能源管理，为此建议：恢复国家能源委员会；在国家能源委员会下设国家能源监管委员会，并通过立法法规定其具有在国家能源领域独立监管的权力；尽快启动监管法律法规的制定和完善工作；从天然气行业下游领域先行启动监管；在过渡期成立天然气下游领域的临时监管机构负责过渡期的监管工作。