UNION ORGANIZING AND THE REAGAN NLRB

President Reagan's appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have issued many controversial decisions. This has caused a debate between liberals viewing the Reagan NLRB as anti-union and conservatives viewing the recent NLRB decisions as a return to proven and appropriate policies. This paper investigates Reagan NLRB decisions over the years 1982-1986 so as to shed some light on the facts underlying the debate. The analysis reveals that the Reagan NLRB decisions have been either favorable to employers or unfavorable to unions. The NLRB's decisions undoubtedly contribute to the organizing difficulties faced by unions.     

THE CONTEMPORARY DECLINE OF UNION STRENGTH

This paper reviews six explanations for the contemporary decline in United States union strength. The authors, after reviewing the conceptual basis and available evidence for each of these explanations, conclude that–for the present–each explanation has some merit. In other words, the contemporary decline in union strength results from the combined impact of various forces. However, employer suppression activities (e.g., illegal discharges for union activities) apparently represent the single most powerful explanation for union decline. Attempts by unions or policymakers to reverse this decline are more likely to be effective if the multiple causes of union decline are better understood.     

FISCAL CONVERGENCE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION BEFORE THE CRISIS

This article investigates fiscal convergence attained by EU countries in the period 1991–2008, by employing β‐ and σ‐convergence techniques complemented by a time series analysis. Overall our results highlight a distinctive convergence pattern in the European Union. Fiscal discipline leading to a fast convergence of deficit/GDP ratio over the 1990s markedly weakened in the following decade. Nonetheless, after the Euro debut a pronounced convergence in total revenue and total government spending emerges, with different patterns characterizing each expenditure component. Despite this evidence of fiscal harmonization, European treaties failed to attract countries toward a common share of government debt over GDP. (JEL E61, H11, C23)     

THE SUITABILITY OF A GREATER CHINA CURRENCY UNION

Abstract. The study assesses the level of integration among the three Greater China economies (China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and examines the suitability of a Greater China currency union. The three economies already have extensive trade and investment linkages. Our analyses show that they share common long‐run and short‐run cyclical variations. We also estimate the output costs of relinquishing policy autonomy to form a currency union. The estimated output losses, which depend on, e.g., the method used to generate shock estimates, seem to be moderate and are likely to be less than the efficient gains derived from a currency union.     

地中海联盟移民问题及政策研究

地中海联盟国家之间的移民问题是地中海地区的一个重要议题。从地中海南岸和东岸流向地中海北岸欧盟国家的移民数量众多,且呈现不断上升的趋势。这些移民一方面对欧盟经济发展做出了积极贡献,另一方面,也给移民接收国带来了许多社会问题。为解决地中海地区的移民问题,欧盟与地中海沿岸国家积极开展合作,形成了欧盟、地区、国家多层级的移民政策体系,但其收效并不理想。尽管如此,地中海联盟移民政策体系对中国移民政策发展仍有一定的启发意义。     

前苏联游憩地理学研究进展

文章系统分析了前苏联游憩地理学的发展历程,指出,“地域游憩系统”概念的产生和发展是游憩地理学走向成熟是要标志。认识在游憩地理学学科形成过程中,以Ｂ．我奥布拉仁斯基为首的地理学家自始至终起到了不呆替代的作用。     

THE TRANSITION TO EUROPEAN MONETARY UNION AND THE EUROPEAN MONETARY INSTITUTE

The European Monetary Institute (EMI) will prepare a framework for European Monetary Union (EMU) monetary policy during the transition to the EMU. This involves a trade-off between deepening financial market integration and harmonizing central bank instruments, a choice between centralized and decentralized monetary strategies with significant welfare implications, and a trade-off between expected welfare and certainty of policy outcomes. As a result of being dominated by national central bankers and of the conflict between the core and the periphery of the European Community (EC), the EMI is biased toward an inefficient solution. Enlargement of the EC by the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) group would raise the probability of a more efficient, two-track EMU, which initially would involve only the core group.     

城乡空间结合理论研究的走向

通过对国外城乡空间结合理论研究的历史回顾,在把握科学思想发展的进程中,梳理出该领域研究的系统化、生态化走向,从而为我国城乡空间整体规划的探索提供借鉴和启迪.     

OUTLOOK FOR THE EUROPEAN MONETARY UNION: THE MESSAGE FROM EASTERN EUROPE

The European Community (EC) seems headed toward monetary union, either with "permanently" fixed exchange rates or with a common currency. Ceteris paribus, the breakup of the Soviet empire in Eastern Europe makes monetary union less desirable. One can expect further shocks from the East. Analyzing stock markets' reactions to events in the East from late 1988 to early 1990 shows that these shocks typically differentially affect EC members, particularly Germany. These differential shocks often call for adjustments in relative national price levels, which can be accomplished most easily with exchange-rate adjustments. The likelihood of such pressures reduces the credibility of a system of pegged rates and makes the system more vulnerable to speculative runs. A common currency is more credible by its nature but may give an inflationary bias to the European Monetary Union.