Anxious communities: the decline of mine migration in the Eastern Cape

This article addresses the neglected question of what happens to development when migration goes into decline. It examines two villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa's poorest province and long dependent on mine migration, which is now burdened with returning ex-miners because of retrenchments in the mining industry. It describes the negative effect on ex-migrants' psychological wellbeing and standing in the community, and other effects such as the emergence of women as the new migrants as ex-miners fail to cope in other sectors or to apply mine skills at home; an increase in poverty through loss of wages; lack of money for education; a decline in investment in agriculture; the conversion of farmland to grazing; lack of business development; and dependence on pensions and child welfare grants. The article concludes that although migration did not provide a route out of poverty, its absence is making the poor a lot worse off.     

Governing the Palm-Oil Sector through Finance: The Changing Roles of the Indonesian State

By analysing the different roles of the Indonesian state in arranging finance schemes for palm-oil development since 1945, this article aims to answer two questions: What are these roles? And to what extent have they prioritised or balanced economic growth, social equity, and environmental protection? We conclude that the state has never been absent from the palm-oil industry but has had different and changing financing roles that are historically contingent and shaped by the evolving economic and political landscape. Furthermore, these roles reflect Indonesia’s priorities of achieving economic growth through palm-oil development, furthering social equity, and, recently, promoting environmental sustainability.     

A dream denied? Mining legislation and the Constitution in Indonesia

Indonesia is blessed with a wealth of natural resources. After wresting power from the Dutch, the leaders of the new republic adopted a constitution that required this national wealth to ‘be controlled and utilised by the State for maximum prosperity of the people’. The dream of turning the country's abundant natural resources into a catalyst for socio-economic development was not pursued actively until 1967, when Soeharto's incoming New Order government introduced policies that supported a significant expansion of the mining industry. The combined effect of the Asian financial crisis and domestic political unrest in 1997–98 interrupted this process. It was anticipated that the introduction of a new mining law in 2009 would re-invigorate the sector. Based on an analysis of five significant elements of the new legislation, this article finds it is unlikely to result in a mining industry that provides maximum benefit to the Indonesian people.     

BLASTING OUT: EXPLOSIVES PRACTICES IN QUEENSLAND METALLIFEROUS MINES, 1870–1920

The use of explosives in mines in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was notoriously unsafe. In Queensland's underground metalliferous mines, explosive practices could be dangerous not only because of the attitudes of miners and managers, but because of problems inherent to the technology, conditions underground, economic fluctuations, and the persistence of outmoded practices. Some limited specialisation of labour occurred in the interests of safety, and although newer technology had the potential to deskill the work of miners, these developments were quite dissimilar to the highly specialised work practices that were adopted for large-scale mining in the United States during the same period.     

The role of the Spanish imperial state in the mining‐led growth of Bourbon Mexico's economy1

Colonial Mexico's economy experienced a long phase of growth during the eighteenth century. Around 1800, silver exports and fiscal surplus remittances from the colony rose to unprecedented levels. We study the contribution of the Spanish imperial state's policy to the expansion of silver production and the leading role of mining in economic growth and its fiscal implications. We find evidence to support a more favourable view of both the mining sector and the imperial state than that commonly presented in the literature. The interruption of colonial ‘mining‐led growth’ helps to explain the ‘lost decades’ for the economic development of Mexico after independence.     

大理乳业发展现状及问题研究

作为大理州传统优势产业的乳业承担着稳定经济发展大局,促进农民收入,保障贫困户稳定脱贫的重要任务。首先对大理州乳业的现实发展状况进行了描述;然后分析了当前制约大理州乳业发展的影响因素;最后通过现状和问题的探讨,试图从完善奶牛良种繁育体系、提高技术创新能力、加大资金投入、强化政府支持力度、提升奶农环保意识、加强销售终端建设六个方面提出促进大理州乳产业健康发展的对策建议。     

INTEGRATING THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY GOLD RUSHES

In the century preceding World War I, the world experienced a series of gold rushes. The wealth derived from these was distributed widely because of reduced migration costs and low barriers to entry. While gold mining itself was generally unprofitable for diggers and mine owners, the increase in the world's gold supply stimulated global trade and investment. In this introductory article we integrate the histories of migration, trade, colonisation, and environmental history to identify endogenous factors that increased the world's gold supply and generated sustained economic growth in the regions that were affected by gold rushes.     

Did closures do any good? Labour productivity,mine dynamics,and rationalization in interwar Ruhr coal mining

Throughout the late 1920s, German coal mining saw an exceptional surge in labour productivity, led by the performance of the Ruhr coal mines. It is commonly accepted in the relevant literature that the economy‐wide ‘rationalization boom’ explains that pattern. This study tests the related hypothesis that ‘negative rationalization’, in the form of a massive wave of mine closures over the period 1924–9, played a significant role in stimulating aggregate labour productivity in the Ruhr coal district. Using an original dataset for the totality of Ruhr coal mines, the causes of productivity change over the broader period 1913–38 are identified, using the decomposition method of Foster, Haltiwanger, and Krizan. Results suggest that labour productivity was driven largely by improvements at individual mines, attributable to the intensified mechanization of underground operations. In sharp contrast, turnover effects were marginal, overall, compared to the effects stemming from the producer dynamics among surviving mines. Thus, the practical productivity implications of mine closures during the rationalization boom are negligible and overrated in the literature. These findings indicate the necessity of testing the relative importance of ‘negative rationalization’ in the form of plant closures in other branches of the Weimar economy.     

Twenty-year review of South African fiscal policy: A tale of two sustainabilities

In 2014 democracy in South Africa was 20 years old. The democratic government in 1994 inherited both a high and increasing public debt/gross domestic product ratio and significant development backlogs. The government had to establish fiscal sustainability, yet also pursue development in a sustainable way. This article explores the government's performance in reconciling fiscal sustainability with sustainable development. The article shows that fiscal policy has been sustainable over the 20 years, with some risks appearing towards the end, and that the government pursued sustainable development through reallocating resources within the budget and by spending more in real terms. Three phases can be identified: 1994–2000, 2001–08 and 2009–13. However, poor service delivery and low levels of government investment during the 20 years threaten to undermine economic growth. Lower growth consequently threatens the sustainability of both fiscal policy and development, which, in turn, again undermines growth prospects. Hence, the article also identifies key future challenges.     

An economic survey of northern Sulawesi: turning weaknesses into strengths under regional autonomy

The separation of North Sulawesi and Gorontalo into two provinces in 2001 complicated the issue of making regional autonomy work for northern Sulawesi, a region far removed from Indonesia's centre of power. Although the region had come through the economic crisis relatively well, the over-reliance on coconuts and the lack of a focus for dynamic development remained a challenge. Tourism, mining and services were the most dynamic sectors but, for different reasons, none of these sectors can be relied on for steady long-term growth. With the selection of the corridor from Manado to Bitung as one of Indonesia's 13 integrated economic development zones (Kapet), and given the new North Sulawesi province's potential role as a ‘gateway’ to Northeast Asia, the longer-term prospects for this province are brighter than those of Gorontalo. Nevertheless, capitalising on North Sulawesi's potential remains a formidable challenge.     

中国第三产业经济贡献的实证研究

第三产业为我国经济增长做出了突出贡献,而定量研究这种贡献可为我国第三产业发展措施的制定提供指导。运用投入产出分析法,通过对直接贡献、后向波及效应、前向波及效应、消费波及效应、综合就业系数等经济衡量指标的实证研究,发现第三产业对我国国内生产总值和劳动就业的贡献都是十分显著的。因此,在当前金融危机情况下,大力发展第三产业,对于推动我国经济发展、创造更多的就业机会具有不可替代的作用。     

International shipping and national economic growth: shipping earnings and the Greek economy in the nineteenth century 1

In Greece, a small peripheral European economy, the service sector and shipping in particular played a highly important role in nineteenth‐century economic development. Despite its importance, however, the difficulty of calculating the ‘invisible earnings’ from the shipping industry's engagement in international activities has led to its underestimation in most analyses of the country's economic growth. This article presents the first estimation of Greek shipping income in the nineteenth century. In addition, it examines the shipping industry within the context of Greek development as a whole, highlighting its significant role in the fully marketized and integrated area of the country's economy in the context of a wider world economy.     

Colonies,copper, and the market for inventive activity in England and Wales, 1680–1730

Between 1680 and 1730 the English and Welsh copper industry rose from the dead and by the mid‐eighteenth century it had become Europe's leading copper producer. The revival followed the extension of sugar cultivation in England's colonies and the creation of a strong new demand for copper, which was reflected in rising exports and rising prices. Buoyant demand created a favourable market for the inventive activity needed to cut costs in the native industry, which encouraged investment in a systematic programme of research and development and culminated in important breakthroughs in smelting and mining technologies which transformed the non‐ferrous metal industries. The story provides an insight into how the economic context shaped the way useful knowledge was produced and consumed. Colonial expansion not only provided England with additional resources overseas but also encouraged the reallocation of human and financial capital to make better use of slack resources at home. Empire and technical change intersected with positive consequences for economic growth.     

Hazardous waste management in South African mining – a CGE analysis of the economic impacts

There is no doubt that improved hazardous waste management in mining and mineral processing will reduce environmental and health risks in South Africa. However, sceptics fear that waste reduction, appropriate treatment and disposal are not affordable within the current economic circumstances of the country. In particular, it is argued that higher treatment and disposal costs would weaken the country's international competitiveness in important export markets on the one hand, and place heavy adjustment costs on black workers on the other. Thus, improvements in waste management are not enforceable, from either an economic or a social point of view. This article deals mainly with the first aspect and touches upon the second. It investigates the short-term and long-term sectoral impacts of an environmental tax on hazardous waste in South African mining, using an open-economy multisectoral computable general equilibrium (CGE) model. The results bear out the expectation that the possibilities for shifting higher production costs are limited in an open economy. Moreover, the results also show that the brunt of the adjustment resulting from an isolated approach towards hazardous waste management will have to be borne by black workers.     

上海现代服务业集聚区发展模式探讨

现代服务业集聚区是在地理区位、基础设施、人口特征、产业结构、政策制度等各类因素的相互作用和影响下,通过集群化、规模化发展形成服务产业集群集聚的区域。现代服务业集聚区建设是上海转变经济发展方式、发展现代服务业的重要探索和载体,是上海落实"创新驱动、转型发展"的重要内容,是上海加快建设"四个中心"、服务长三角、服务全国的重要战略。本文在深入分析和总结现有相关研究文献的基础上,深入阐述国内外现代服务业集聚区发展实践的前提下,对上海现代服务业集聚区发展模式进行探索研究,第一次提出三种模式:产业链主导型,产业融合发展型,产城融合型。并对上海服务业集聚区的新一轮发展提出创新性建议思路。     

露天矿山地质环境修复技术研究——以乌当区照福露天矿为例

近年来，随着矿石类资源不断开发，矿区周围环境遭到破坏，甚至严重影响到地貌景观，违背了“绿水青山就是金山银山”的理念，同时还存在许多地质灾害的隐患，危及人身安全。针对这一问题，以贵州省处于停采状态的乌当区照福露天矿为工程背景，通过现场调查对治理区生态环境进行评估，结合以往工程实践，针对性提出“采坑回填+削坡-岩壁治理-土壤重构+植被复绿-截排水及蓄水”综合治理模式，并以区内矿坑1中局部区段作为主试验点进行应用研究。工程结束后，消除或减轻了矿山地质灾害隐患，为更好地利用区内资源奠定了基础，促进了矿区生态恢复，增加了百姓收入，产生了一定的经济效益。     

Forecasting the impact of economic sanctions on the development of the Russian aircraft industry

The article has analyzed the prospects for the development of Russia’s aircraft industry in the context of international economic sanctions. It has been shown that the forced localization of the entire technological chain of aircraft production in Russia may lead to the increase in the contribution of the industry to Russia’s GDP. However, since the national labor productivity is lower than the world average, the development of the industry’s production potential would require a significant rise in investment.     

低碳经济背景下我国旅游业与区域经济协同发展研究

低碳化是旅游业和区域经济发展的共同转型方向,旅游业对区域经济发展具有巨大的带动作用,区域经济可以为旅游业的可持续发展创造有利条件。文章认为,要实现旅游业与区域经济的协同发展,必须完善制度安排,提高低碳旅游发展的保障力;坚持资源规划与产业链构建并重,强化区域经济发展带动力;扩容以低碳旅游为核心的旅游形态,增强旅游业与区域经济发展的协调性和可持续性。     

地下开采矿产资源节约集约利用评价指标体系构建——以浙江省为例

选取浙江省113座不同类型的典型地下开采矿山,利用2014-2018年各类矿山的开发利用数据进行综合研究,全面分析评价指标选取影响因素,从矿产资源开发利用与矿山生态保护的角度,借助专家技术研讨咨询和论证,确定了规范开采、矿产资源利用、循环利用、科技水平、经济社会效益共5个方面的评价指标体系要素层,并进一步明确了16个指标层,构建了评价指标体系。对选取的评价指标项进行标准值计算,采用德尔菲法确定了指标项权重值。结果显示,要素层权重以规范开采、矿产资源利用、循环利用为主,权重值分别为21.9、35.2和20.8。研究为加快推动资源节约型和环境友好型社会建设、科学管理矿产资源节约集约利用提供了技术支撑。     

矿权法律制度问题基本探讨

矿权法律制度不完善、矿业市场混乱不堪等原因造成了我国矿产资源大量浪费,生态环境严重受损。完善的矿权法律制度无疑是提高我国矿产资源利用率的基础,也是促进我国矿业发展适应社会主义市场经济要求的动力源泉。文章在对矿权法律制度进行简要介绍的基础上分析我国现行矿权法律制度实施中存在的问题及其原因,并提出相应的对策。