A Review of Nigerian Agricultural Efficiency Literature, 1999–2011: What Does One Learn from Frontier Studies?

Abstract: The objective of the study is to provide a critical overview of Nigerian agricultural efficiency literature covering 1999–2011. A total of 156 frontier studies which yields 210 observations were used for the review. The preliminary findings from both the Funnel Plot and Funnel Asymmetry Test revealed that publication bias is not a severe problem in the selected literature. Our findings via univariate scatter plot and Spearman correlation provided evidence that reported efficiency scores positively correlated with the year of survey in the primary study. However, this observation might be an indication that positive efficiency change in the total factor productivity (TFP) growth characterized the development of Nigerian agricultural sector over the years. The average efficiency estimate from all the reviewed studies is about 0.71, thus suggesting, there is considerable room for improvement in the sector. To further distil important policy findings from the primary literature, we observed that 48 percent of the observations identified education as a significant determinant of efficiency in the Nigerian agriculture over the years. Likewise, experience was shown to be an important variable by 33 percent, while 23 percent identified age as a key determinant. Also, 19 percent showed that extension and family size are important. The directions of future research are also outlined.     

Interaction between theory and observation in development

The author reviews empirical research carried out over the past 30 years with respect to the process of development. He first examines the extent to which economic theories and generalizations derived from the experience of the developed countries are relevant to the developing countries. He next explores the relationship between the ‘structural transformation’ that occurs in the process of development and economic growth, summarizing his own current research on several issues. Finally he compares applications of the neoclassical growth model to both the more advanced countries, whose economic transformation is near completion, and the developing countries still in the process of structural transformation. The author argues that further empirical work can reduce the controversy between neoclassical and structural approaches to development by making possible the formulation of computable models in which the distinction between developing and developed countries can be largely reduced to observable differences in certain statistical parameters: initial conditions, price and income elasticities, and adjustment lags.     

贵阳市与周边城市旅游信息竞争力比较研究

伴随三十多年改革开放，我国旅游业也踏上快速发展的轨道，对旅游经济的研究正成为当前旅游研究的热点之一。本论文以贵阳市及周边城市旅游信息化竞争力为研究对象，分别建立四个城市旅游产业信息竞争力的指标体系，采用定量分析与定性分析相结合的研究方法，通过选择四个城市在这方面的对比，了解贵阳市在旅游信息竞争力的欠缺之处，在此基础上为贵阳市旅游业发展提供一个基础数据分析及政策建议。     

服务业FDI与服务贸易关系的文献综述

自2001年我国加入WTO后,我国服务业就呈现出稳步发展的良好势头。与此同时,服务业吸引的外商直接投资(FDI)规模逐年扩大。国内外对服务业、服务贸易和FDI的研究早已展开,尤其是近年来,在此领域的期刊文献越来越多,但较系统的文献综述较少。鉴于此,本文将对服务业FDI和服务贸易的关系的进行综述。     

基于DEA的上市公司并购绩效研究

企业并购活动已经发展延续了100多年,由于企业并购活动产生得巨大经济效应和社会效应,无数学者展开对企业并购绩效得研究并形成多种理论。本文采用DEA方法,对上市公司并购前后的财务数据进行分析并进行横向和纵向比较来判断企业并购行为对其总体绩效的影响。     

Labour trends in agriculture: The case of the summer rainfall grain‐producing area

The impact of changes in the labour force on commercial agriculture has received little systematic research attention. In this study the major trends in the post‐war years are described and analysed. It is shown that there has been an increasing substitution of labour for capital over the past fifteen years. The causes of this substitution trend are identified, and it is shown that these should be taken into account in the formulation of farm policy. Labour trends in commercial agriculture also have implications for the broader Southern African economy, and some tentative remarks in this regard serve as motivation for further research.     

Are Auditors Compromised by Nonaudit Services? Assessing the Evidence*

Ruddock, Taylor, and Taylor (2006) use an earnings conservatism framework to investigate the effects of nonaudit services (NAS) on earnings conservatism, and to test whether audit quality was impaired by NAS in Australia during the 1990s. They find no evidence of differential conservatism conditional on the level of NAS fees paid to auditors, and thus conclude that NAS have no adverse effect on audit quality. While this result may not extrapolate to the U.S. setting due to institutional difference between the two countries, the study does add to a growing body of empirical evidence that questions whether there is any logical rationale for restricting the scope of the services that auditors provide to their audit clients. In reviewing the NAS research literature over the past 40 years, one has to conclude that there is no “smoking gun” evidence linking the provision of nonaudit services with audit failures. However, the literature also finds that NAS can adversely affect the appearance of auditor independence, and this may be more than a “mere perception” problem, because there is also evidence that stock prices are significantly lower for companies that pay their auditors large fees for nonaudit services.     

啤酒持久战

张守荣向记者一板一眼地介绍趵突泉啤酒的“突围”战略，眉宇之间透露出势在必得的坚定。     

明星开店赔多赚少

几年前，腾格尔曾在西安和平路上开了西安的第一家明星餐厅“腾格尔酒楼”，到如今周杰伦等在西安安营扎寨做生意时，腾格尔已悄然退出“江湖”，他的餐厅两三年前就已倒闭，在西安赔了300万。     

The scholarly output of economists: A description of publishing patterns

This paper analyzes the research productivity of a cohort of economists over the 15 years following receipt of their doctorate degrees, contrasting their results in publishing articles, books, and textbooks after controlling for the individual characteristics of the economists in the sample. Specifically, this paper considers the quality of graduate school, the type of employment, the general area of dissertation research, and the gender of each individual in the cohort. Primary conclusions indicate that scholarly journals are the most important research outlet, and that book production is a complementary activity to output in scholarly journals. Moreover, publishing success is closely related to the quality of the graduate school attended as well as the type of employer. According to this research, women do not face a statistically significant disadvantage to publishing. Finally, the analysis documents that midway through the 15-year time span covered by this study, output begins to decline, reflecting the post-tenure drop-off in research productivity.     

地下空间规划热点和趋势——基于CiteSpace的国内外比较研究

随着城市化进程的加速发展，城市用地日益紧张，而地下空间的开发利用可以有效缓解这一问题。因此，近年来地下空间的开发和利用越来越受到重视，相关研究也越来越多。研究城市地下空间开发利用的研究热点和发展趋势对城市用地集约化发展具有重要现实意义。运用CiteSpace软件，以地下空间规划为关键词，对CNKI（中国知网）和Web of Science（科学引文索引）数据库中的相关文献进行可视化分析。结果表明：关于地下空间规划的研究主要集中在2000年后，且呈现波动增长趋势；研究内容主要集中在空间规划、轨道交通、综合管廊、国土空间、城市更新等方向，随着时间的变化，其研究侧重也有所不同。借助对上述内容的分析和整理，归纳总结地下空间规划研究的热点和趋势，为地下空间规划的相关研究提供参考。     

Land distribution and inequality in a black settler colony: the case of Sierra Leone, 1792–1831†

Land distribution is considered to be one of the main contributors to inequality in pre‐industrial societies. This article contributes to the debate on the origins of economic inequality in pre‐industrial African societies by studying land inequality at a particularly early stage of African economic history. The research examines land distribution and inequality in land ownership among settlers in the Colony of Sierra Leone for three benchmark years over the first 40 years of its existence. The findings show that land inequality was low at the founding of the Colony but increased substantially over time. We suggest that this increase was enabled by a shift in the type of egalitarianism pursued by the colonial authorities, which was reflected in a change in the redistributive policy applied, which allowed later settlers to appropriate land more freely than had been previously possible.     

The viennese connection: Alfred schutz and the Austrian school

Conclusion All in all, it seems clear that the Miseskreis must have influenced Schutz significantly, and much more than acknowledged by Wagner. Schutz participated in the seminar not only in the years in which he formed the foundations of his phenomenology, but even before this. After just three years at the university this group of friends and colleagues provided him with a forum of peers interested in the very same problems-the only forum he had, and probably the best he could possibly get, for formulating, developing, and presenting his own ideas. Earlier versions of the paper were presented at the Colloquium on Austrian Economics, New York University, and the Austrian Scholars Conference.     

隐逸大家陶渊明与梭罗的不同点解读

陶渊明是我国东晋时期著名的隐逸诗人,因为＂不能为五斗米折腰向乡里小人＂而毅然辞职归隐家乡,隐居后开始进行田间劳作,并把这种＂悠然见南山＂的生活写进了诗歌,开创了我国田园诗派,成为后世知识分子的精神楷模。亨利·戴维·梭罗是美国早期文坛巨匠、超经验主义哲学先驱,为了体验纯自然的生活,一度跑到马萨诸塞州的瓦尔登湖畔过起了隐居的生活。近年来对两者的比较研究很多,但大多数是相似点的比较,两者隐居的时代背景、原因、精神境界以及对后人的影响等不同点则研究得比较少。     

China’s evolving inequality

China’s inequality is evolving. This paper brings the story up to date, drawing on recent research, much of it by the author. It begins with a brief account of rising inequality, and its causes, over the period of economic reform. It then examines the fall in the inequality of income in recent years and the reasons for this reversal of trend. Inequality of wealth, by contrast, has risen over the twenty-first century: its dimensions, components and causes are analysed. The final substantive section considers the evaluation of inequality in more depth and detail than is conventional, and provides pointers as to how value judgements about inequality might be made.     

Social development and social protection: New opportunities and challenges

The growing interest in social protection in the interdisciplinary field of development studies presents new challenges and opportunities. However, to respond effectively, development scholars should be cognisant of the extensive research that has been undertaken over many years in the interdisciplinary field of social policy into what is known as ‘social security’. They have hitherto neglected this research, but it can make a significant contribution to their own work. At the same time, they have a rare opportunity to inform social policy research, which has historically relied on a Eurocentric ‘welfare state’ approach that is of limited relevance to the developing world. By forging closer links between these two fields, we can address the challenges facing social protection more effectively.     

历史实证方法在管理学研究中的回归

近年来,管理学界着眼于企业本身个案式的实证研究已广泛展开,而联系历史背景对企业进行动态的深层次的历史实证研究尚未引起充分注意。历史实证方法力图按照发展的顺序和历史事实来说明历史,注重组织和事件本身的复杂性和动态性,把企业发展或国家经济的真实历史事件作为研究背景,根据管理学理论对企业历史数据进行分析。历史实证研究方法从动态的、多维的历史角度对企业成长及管理进行剖析,使管理学研究突破静态分析方法的限制,与当前管理学的主流研究方法互为补充。     

基于知识图谱的中国城市治理研究热点分析

快速推进的城镇化进程、人口集聚和经济社会快速发展导致城市治理愈加复杂,城市治理面临诸多挑战。利用CiteSpace对中文社会科学引文索引数据库中近20年中国城市治理研究的高质量文献进行可视化分析。结果表明,该领域发文作者和机构处于小集中、大分散的特点,城市治理研究立足于国情市情与政策导向作用。城市治理研究内容可划分城市治理机制、城市治理模式和城市治理评价3个方面。在创新驱动发展战略的实施背景下,智慧城市、城市大脑和数字城市研究成为未来的研究重点,学者们致力于将大数据和物联网技术应用于智慧城市建设,实现城市数字化转型和城市治理现代化。     

Reducing China's regional disparities: Is there a growth cost?

While China's growth has been spectacular over the past 30 years, it has masked growing underlying disparities in the regional distribution of income with coastal provinces growing at a much faster rate than the rest of the country, exacerbating already marked differences in per capita income. Policy focused on addressing these growing disparities has had to face the possibility that spreading growth more evenly around the country will require a sacrifice of the national growth rate. Yet there is almost no empirical evidence that this is so and, if it is, how big the required sacrifice is. This paper contributes to filling this gap by analyzing the relationship between aggregate growth and the inequality of regional output distribution. We use a VAR model to simulate the effects over time on growth of a reduction in inequality and also the effects on inequality of an increase in growth. We find, first, that in the long run a more equal distribution can be obtained without a growth sacrifice. Second, in the short run a reduction in inequality reduces growth. Third, in the short and long runs an increase in growth actually reduces inequality.     

关联规则挖掘在学生成绩分析中的应用

关联规则技术是数据挖掘的最重要的组成部分之一,它用于发现大量数据中项集之间的有意义的关联和相关联系。本文使用关联规则挖掘技术对学生考试成绩进行了分析,挖掘出了具有一定可信度的规则,对指导教学有很重要的意义。