Pre‐colonial culture,post‐colonial economic success? The Tswana and the African economic miracle

Cultural explanations of economic phenomena have recently enjoyed a renaissance among economists. This article provides further evidence for the salience of culture through an in‐depth case study of one of the fastest‐growing economies in the world during the last 50 years—Botswana. The unique culture that developed among the Tswana before and during the early days of colonialism, which shared many features with those of western nation‐states, appears to have contributed significantly to the factors widely seen as determinants of Botswana's post‐colonial economic success: state legitimacy, good governance and democracy, commercial traditions, well‐established property rights, and inter‐ethnic unity. Neighbouring Southern African cultures typically did not exhibit these traits.     

Can Cultural Affinity Promote Trade ? HSK Test Data from the Belt and Road Countries

As Chinese culture is “going out,” more and more non‐native Chinese speakers are beginning to study Mandarin and are taking the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) test. Mandarin has become a very important trade language for the Belt and Road countries. This paper uses the difference‐in‐difference model and the Mahalanobis distance and the nearest neighbor distance matching methods to study the internal relationship between culture “going out” and foreign trade. We find that cultural affinity is an important factor in promoting trade, and that the HSK project has expanded China's exports to the Belt and Road countries. Culture's promotion effect in Asia is stronger than that in Europe. Culture's promotion effect shows the characteristics of regional differences, a time‐lag and a fluctuating upward trend. Therefore, further enhancing the international influence of its culture would help China to find a new source of export growth.     

The role of the psychologist in culturally diverse Southern Africa∗

This paper attempts to make a contribution to the on‐going debate among psychologists in Southern Africa about the relevance of their discipline to the social problems of this region. It argues that the main focus of attention among psychologists in this region should be directed at the poverty and underdevelopment that characterize most Black areas in Southern Africa. The paper further argues that the main cause of this poverty and underdevelopment lies in cultural factors, which account for a ‘person‐environment mismatch’ between the Western‐oriented organizations found in the region and the traditional African culture that characterizes most Black members of these organizations. It describes the main differences between Western and traditional African culture and considers whether psychologists and other behavioural scientists interested in contributing towards a solution of this problem, should attempt to Westernize the Africans or to Africanize the organizations.     

Retail growth and consumer changes in a declining urban economy: Antwerp (1650–1750)

This article examines the interplay between retail changes and transformations in the material culture of Antwerp, a provincial town in the southern Netherlands. We argue that major changes in the eighteenth‐century material culture and retail sector were not significantly linked to preconditions of economic growth and urbanization. The Antwerp ‘retail paradox’ is that of a shrinking economic horizon running parallel to material culture and retail transformations, usually connected to expanding urban economies and societies. Changing retail and consumer practices explain the growing and prospering retail sector, rather than a growing economy.     

‘The city has been wronged and abused!’: institutional corruption in the eighteenth century

Corruption by office holders in eighteenth‐century British institutions, from state to local level, played an instrumental role in the emergence of modern bureaucracy, and the development of accountable, professionalized systems of administration. Due to the similarities between the institutional culture of eighteenth‐century Britain and those within many contemporary developing societies, social scientists have also sought to draw lessons from Britain's historical experience of corruption. Yet little is known about the extent, impact, and causes of corruption by eighteenth‐century office holders. This article presents the first detailed research into the topic. It utilises the rich administrative and financial records associated with the institution charged with funding and undertaking the maintenance of London Bridge—the Bridge House—to conduct a systematic qualitative and quantitative study of corruption by office holders. The article identifies an ingrained culture of corruption amongst Bridge House officers, and provides quantitative evidence of the substantial impact corruption had on the organization's finances. However, contrary to existing studies on corruption, this article concludes that, although extensive and significant, corruption did not perform a functional role in the context of this institution. The article also provides a methodology and comparator for future studies into this topic.     

The Long‐Term Consequences of Cultural Distance on Migration: Historical Evidence from China

This paper uses a unique dataset of long‐run migration in China to provide new measures of cultural distance based on biological evidence. We utilise this information to examine the effect of cultural distance on migration in China from the Song Dynasty until the twentieth century. Our findings show that culture has strong effects on migration between regions when controlling for other socio‐economic and geographical factors. Population flow is greater where there are fewer cultural differences. This finding not only provides quantitative empirical evidence on linking cultural distance and migration but also leads to a better understanding of the mechanisms resulting in migration for much of China's history.     

Inner hybridity in the city: Toward a critique of multiculturalism

Muddled as an idea and flawed as a public policy, multiculturalism in Canada advocates conformity to a unitary culture in the public place and tolerance of diverse cultures in the private place. This tolerance of cultural heterogeneity in the sphere of the intimate is often upheld as a defining characteristic of Canadian society. Yet multiculturalism is not without criticisms. For one, multiculturalism is at odds with the desire of the children and grandchildren of the Chinese immigrants in Canada to adapt themselves to their host society, thus transforming themselves as well as the larger society. A multicultural policy that continues to hark back to the past turns a blind eye to the fierce generation and gender politics within the Chinese family. Neither does the multicultural policy square well with a more progressive social theory of self, identity, and culture that is cognizant of the duality of the psychological make‐up of human beings: that one looks backward and forward, committed to preserving roots of the past and exploring routes to the future. As such, the Canadian multicultural policy suffers in a two‐fold way: empirical and theoretical. A possible way out is to pursue a Hegelian dialectics that sees culture as an aftermath of a collision of dissimilar cultures, a kind of forced entanglement of things different We need a new urban social theory that sees integration, fusion, and hybridization—not assimilation, and not cultural pluralism—as possible and desirable outcomes. This is a completely different vision of society altogether, a kind of Utopia. We need a public policy that sees a distinct promise of the city in designing institutions and public spaces that promote hybridism in the mind, an inner deliberation, a mental turmoil—which is not afraid of confronting modern life's many moments of contradictions, ironies and paradoxes.     

‘Because family and friends got easily weary of taking care’: a new perspective on the specialization in the elderly care sector in early modern Holland

This article investigates the causes of the remarkable growth in and specialization of elderly care institutions in the Netherlands during the early modern period, and relates these developments to a number of major changes in the household formation process, which had both a direct and an indirect impact on the need for elderly care in general and on the relationships between the elderly and next of kin (partners, children, and other family members). Some specific features of the specialization in care, such as the care provisions for couples, point towards an underlying change in these relationships, which may have resulted from a combination of factors such as neolocality, high marriage ages for both men and women, and, related to this, the small spousal age gap and large numbers of singles. In the typical nuclear household society of early modern Holland, even when children lived close enough and were financially capable to provide help, parents often still relied on extra‐familial elderly care provisions. This article also argues that this practice was embedded in a persistent moral culture accentuating independence, agency, self‐help, investment in the younger generation, and community, instead of putting family responsibilities first.     

Field Experiment Tests for Discrimination against Hispanics in the U.S. Rental Housing Market

This article tests for discrimination against Hispanics in the U.S. rental housing market using e‐mail correspondence with landlords advertising units online. We divide Hispanics into two groups: those that appear assimilated into American culture and recent immigrants. We find little difference in the treatment of assimilated Hispanics and whites; however, Hispanics we portray as recent immigrants receive less favorable treatment with margins of net discrimination as large as 6.89% of landlords. We also find discrimination varies significantly at the region level and by the ethnic composition of neighborhoods.     

Commercials,careers, and culture: travelling salesmen in Britain, 1890s–1930s*

Within the lower middle‐class, British commercial travellers established a strong fraternal culture before 1914. This article examines their interwar experiences in terms of income, careers, and associational culture. It demonstrates how internal labour markets operated, identifies the ways in which commercial travellers interpreted their role, and explores their social and political attitudes.     

SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM BY THE CARDOSO GOVERNMENT OF BRAZIL: CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS OF REFORM TEN YEARS AFTER “DEMOCRATIZATION”

This article has two purposes. The first is to analyze politically why the Cardoso government's social security reform could not be completed. Though democratic political systems (election and political party systems) were reintroduced after the re‐democratization in 1985, Brazil continued to suffer from elements of its traditional political culture such as corporatism, clientelism, nepotism, etc. These were the stumbling blocks for Cardoso's reform. The second purpose is to deepen understanding of Brazilian democracy by casting light on the behavior of political actors (the government, congress, and political parties) over social security reform issues under the Cardoso and Lula governments.     

“法家治企,儒家待人”——东方文化与企业经营管理之道

中国传统文化中包含着丰富的管理思想,这些思想始终贯穿着中国从古到今的管理实践。文章从中国传统文化包含的管理哲学论述了中国传统文化在现代企业管理中的体现和运用。在此作者以一家民营企业的管理实践为例,阐释东方文化中法家制度治企与儒家人本管理的“刚柔相济”的内涵;侧重分析“法家治企”（即制度管理）与“儒家待人”（即人本管理）相结合的企业管理模式在企业发展过程中的积极作用。     

European integration and corporate restructuring: the strategy of Unilever,c.1957–c.19901

European integration and corporate restructuring: the strategy of Unilever, c.1957‐c.1990. While much has been written about the politics of European integration, discussion about the role of business in this process has been largely confined to lobbying activities. This article focuses on the business reaction to European integration. It highlights the constraints facing one of Europe's largest firms in building a regional detergents business. These included divergences in market demand and political obstacles to rationalization, but more serious was a corporate culture based around local decision making and consensus. The study demonstrates that a full understanding of the European integration process must incorporate a firm‐level analysis of how Europe‐wide businesses were built after 1957.     

“法家治企,儒家待人”——东方文化与企业经营管理之道

中国传统文化中包含着丰富的管理思想,这些思想始终贯穿着中国从古到今的管理实践.文章从中国传统文化包含的管理哲学论述了中国传统文化在现代企业管理中的体现和运用.在此作者以一家民营企业的管理实践为例,阐释东方文化中法家制度治企与儒家人本管理的"刚柔相济"的内涵;侧重分析"法家治企"(即制度管理)与"儒家待人"(即人本管理)相结合的企业管理模式在企业发展过程中的积极作用.     

儒家文化对涉农上市公司多元化战略的影响研究

文章以2010-2021年中国涉农上市公司为研究对象，从儒家文化视角考察非正式制度对涉农上市公司多元化战略的影响机理。实证结果得出，儒家文化会促进涉农上市公司多元化战略的实施。交互效应检验结果表明，正式制度环境与非正式制度的儒家文化在影响涉农上市公司多元化战略选择上存在互补关系；调节效应检验结果表明，外来文化削弱了儒家文化对涉农上市公司多元化战略选择的促进作用；基于不同农业产业链环节的异质性检验结果表明，儒家文化对多元化战略的促进作用在中游涉农上市公司中更显著；基于产权性质的异质性检验结果表明，儒家文化对多元化战略的促进作用在民营涉农上市公司中更显著。     

全球化背景下的民营企业文化重构

在经济全球化进程中,民营企业如何构建适应国内竞争和参与国际竞争的核心能力已经成为不可回避的话题。本文试图从企业文化的视角,对民营企业发展的内在推动力问题作一探讨。本文认为,民营企业文化重构可以从构成企业文化主体内容的企业价值观、经营理念和管理理念入手,创建企业价值观—共同愿景—核心竞争力链、企业员工—顾客—相关利益者链和企业诚信—协作共赢—创新链,以此来重构民营企业文化,从而为企业的发展寻求更深层的文化驱动。     

Testing the “Inverted‐U” Phenomenon in Moral Development on Recently Promoted Senior Managers and Partners*

This paper examines the change in the average level of moral development over a 7.5‐year period of promotion, attrition, and survival in five Big 6 firms. The study improves upon previous cross‐sectional studies that found decreases in the average level of moral development at the senior manager and partner levels, which has been referred to as the “inverted‐U” phenomenon. Problems with these studies that limit the generalizability of their findings include their cross‐sectional nature and samples that usually come from one or two firms. Over a 7.5‐year period, we found that the participating Big 6 firms retained auditors with higher average levels of moral development (measured using the defining issues test), while those with lower average levels left the firms. The average level of moral development for new partners was at least as high as the group from which they came. This research suggests that the concern about Big 6 firms retaining a higher proportion of auditors with lower moral development may be an artifact of research design.     

Market In efficiency in Person‐to‐Person Betting: Examining ‘Known Loser’ Insider Trading on the Exchanges

Applying the Shin z measure of market efficiency to the relatively new person‐to‐person internet betting exchanges, Smith, Paton, and Vaughan Williams found “significantly lower market biases” compared to bookmaker‐dominated markets. A reduced favorite‐longshot bias is interpreted as evidence that insider trading on the exchanges “is not widespread” and “not as commonplace … as is sometimes portrayed in the media.” Given that the Shin measure assumes “betting with bookies,” whereas the exchanges represent “betting without bookies,” the present study employs the notion of ‘significant mover’ to empirically test for the presence of ‘known loser’ insider trading on the exchanges where traditional notions of bookmaking do not apply. Findings indicate that, far from being less problematized by insider trading compared to racetrack betting, activity aimed at profiting from “known losers” may be potentially commonplace on the exchanges. This includes profiting from horses that are unplaced. This study offers new insight into the efficiency of betting markets.     

Motivation of Parent–Child Co‐residence Behavior: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study

This paper examines the motivations of parent‐child co‐residence behavior in China using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We test three possible motives: social norms, self‐interest and altruism. We find that social norms play an important role in household co‐residence behavior, showing that the belief that “sons take care of parents” is strong, and children in different birth orders take different responsibilities. Taking the one‐child policy as a natural experiment, we compared co‐residence behavior between only‐child and multi‐child families. This allowed us to test whether children in multi‐child families with wealthier parents more often co‐reside in order to compete for a bequest. We find that parents' wealth is more appealing to children in multi‐child families. The results support the life cycle theory that co‐residence decisions are motivated by self‐interest. We also find some evidence of altruism when parents and children make co‐residence decisions. These findings provide some insights for designing future elder‐support policies in China.     

民营企业文化重构的路径选择分析

文章从企业文化的视角,对民营企业发展的内在推动力问题进行了探讨.文章认为,民营企业文化重构可以从构成企业文化主体内容的企业价值观、经营理念和管理理念入手,创建企业价值观-共同愿景-核心竞争力链、企业员工-顾客-相关利益者链和企业诚信-协作共赢-创新链,以此来重构民营企业文化,从而为企业的发展寻求更深层的文化驱动.