‘Post‐Third‐World City' or Neoliberal ‘City of Exception'? Rio de Janeiro in the Olympic Era

This article considers processes of urban development within the context of mega‐event preparations in Rio de Janeiro. We begin with a brief overview of these development processes, highlighting their connections to political and economic change in recent years. Proponents of these mega‐event‐led initiatives argue that Rio is undergoing a period of inclusive growth and integration: a perspective we call here a ‘post‐Third‐World city' narrative of urban renewal. Critics, however, contend that urban officials are harnessing mega‐events (e.g. the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games) to push forward a neoliberal agenda of socially unjust policies benefiting the interests of capital and marginalizing the city's poor and especially its favelas (i.e. the ‘city‐of‐exception' thesis). In this article we explore the insights of these two perspectives and consider why they have grown popular in recent years. Though we side generally with the city‐of‐exception thesis, we argue that important geographic and historical particularities must also be accounted for. Without carefully situating analytical perspectives empirically—in particular, cases in which theoretical models are drawn from European and North American contexts—urban researchers risk concealing more than they reveal in analyses of rapidly developing countries like Brazil.     

中国城市空间结构调整的性质

当前及相当长一段时期内 ,内外空间结构双重调整是中国城市空间结构演化的主要性质。竞争尚未成为城市关系、区域关系中的主要方面。由此决定了城市的理性选择应是有机结合的内外空间结构双重优化     

EDITORIAL: The economy,unemployment and industrial relations.

In analysing and criticising current UK economic strategy Brian Towers comments that the present level of mass unemployment is the most serious economic, social and political problem to face the developed countries—and with devastating consequences for the Third World—since the end of the Second World War. Yet a large part of the explanation for the deepening recession lies in the policies of individual states with support from several international economic organisations, notably the IMF.     

Global monetary instability: The role of the IMF,the EU and NAFTA

This paper argues that the global monetary system has exhibited significant instability since the collapse of the Bretton Woods regime in 1971. The current challenge for economists and policy makers is the creation of a global monetary system that offers greater exchange rate stability without sacrificing international capital mobility. This paper proposes a solution that consists of three components. First, strengthening the international financial architecture to bring stability, primarily to emerging nations. Second, eventually creating a monetary union in NAFTA and extending it to other countries of the Western Hemisphere to bring stability to this region à la the European Monetary Union (EMU). Third, coordinating economic policies among the U.S., EU and Japan to stabilize these three key global currencies.     

An alternative quality of life ranking on the basis of remittances

Remittances provide an essential connection between people working abroad and their home countries. This paper considers these transfers as a measure of preferences revealed by the workers, underlying a ranking of countries around the world. In particular, we use the World Bank bilateral remittances data of international salaries and interpersonal transfers between 2010 and 2015 to compare European countries. The suggested least squares method has favourable axiomatic properties. Our ranking reveals a crucial aspect of quality of life and may become an alternative to various composite indices.     

The EU and the Caspian Sea region: An energy partnership?

This paper explores the scope to foster European Union (EU) energy security through stable long-run economic relations with the Caspian Sea region. It is part of a longer-run research programme focusing on the following issues: what are the determinants of the EU long-term energy interests in the Caspian Sea region, and how far does genuine security depend not only on diversifying energy sources geographically but also on stable political and economic structures in the energy-exporting states? An important motivation of this paper is to identify factors relevant to internal and external stability in the Caspian region to assess the impact of current policies and to elucidate policy options that can help increase EU energy security.     

National versus supranational bank regulation: Gains and losses of joining a banking union

We ask how the structure of international banking affects the decision of a national regulator to join a banking union and to transfer regulatory powers to the supranational level. The focus is on bank supervision and bank resolution. A national regulator ignores possible gains or losses, which accrue to other jurisdictions if banks are internationally active. A supranational regulator takes these regulatory external effects into account. While supranational regulation improves total welfare, this is not necessarily the case for welfare in single countries. By analyzing the size and determinants of spillover effects we show how they constrain a country’s willingness to participate in a banking union. Our results may explain why some member states of the European Union currently hesitate to join the European Banking Union.     

东南亚国家联盟与欧盟、北美自由贸易区之比较

东南亚国家联盟现已经成为很有影响的多边经济合作组织.在很多方面,它不同于欧盟、北美自由贸易区这两个区域经济一体化组织.这种差别体现在组织内成员国之间的地缘亲和力、经济优势的互补性、组织的发展历程、组织的运作机制、区外合作模式以及内部关系等方面.     

Fiscal policies and business cycles in an enlarged euro area

This paper compares the cyclical properties of fiscal policies across the 12 original eurozone countries and the future members from Central and Eastern Europe. For the sample period 1995–2005, the fiscal balance exhibits less inertia and is more counter-cyclical in Central and Eastern European countries than in members of the eurozone. The main differences arise from the revenue side. Differences in the formation of fiscal policy between current and future eurozone countries decrease over time. Both autonomous and counter-cyclical fiscal policies have little or no effect on cyclical variability in the eurozone countries, while such policies appear to be effective in Central and Eastern European countries.     

International human resource policies and practices in japanese,european, and united states multinationals

This article presents the results of a survey comparing international human resource policies and practices in Japanese, European, and United States multinational companies. The survey focused on the use of expatriates over local nationals in overseas management positions, adoption of nonethnocentric policies, and incidence of international human resource management problems. Regression analysis using the entire sample indicated that ethnocentric staffing and policies are associated with higher incidence of international human resource management problems. Also, Japanese companies as a group are shown to have more ethnocentric staffing practices and policies, and they experience more international human resource management problems than do American and European firms.     

Internal and external transmissions of monetary and fiscal policies in the EMU

With the introduction of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the sovereignty of national monetary institutions has been replaced by a common monetary institution, the European Central Bank (ECB) and national currencies have been replaced by a common currency, the euro. EMU therefore implies the loss of national monetary policy autonomy and internal exchange rate flexibility inside the EMU area. However, external exchange rate adjustment, i.e. adjustment of the euro exchange rate, remains a feasible adjustment mechanism. This paper analyses how internal and external exchange rate flexibility affect macroeconomic adjustment in EMU and non-EMU countries. To do so, a model is constructed in which three countries interact: two countries that decide to form a monetary union and a third country that does not participate in the monetary union. Numerical simulations of a representative example are used to characterise the adjustment dynamics induced by monetary and fiscal policies before and after the start of the EMU.     

Resource Depletion and Third World Development; Is the West Guilty?

Is the Third World poor because of the prosperity of the West? David Osterfeld, of St Josephs College at Rensselaer in Indiana, argues that Western countries have become rich because of their open societies. To become rich the poor countries must follow their example.     

The price responsiveness of housing supply in OECD countries

The responsiveness of housing supply to changes in prices bears important implications for the evolution of housing prices and the speed of adjustment of housing markets. Based on a stock-flow model of the housing market estimated within an error correction framework, this paper estimates the long-run price elasticity of new housing supply in 21 OECD countries. Estimates suggest that the responsiveness of housing supply to price changes varies substantially across countries. It is relatively more flexible in North America and some Nordic countries, while it is more rigid in continental European countries and in the United Kingdom. The responsiveness of housing supply depends not only on national geographical and urban characteristics but also on policies, such as land use and planning regulations.     

International trade,pollution, and economic structure: evidence on CO2 emissions for the North and the South

This study investigates the mechanics of international trade and CO₂ emissions in two blocs of countries (‘North’ and ‘South’) by analyzing data from the World Input–Output Database. We adapt the Miyazawa technique to estimate the linkages between international trade and the environment at a global scale. Therefore, this study is in line with the idea of highlighting the role of feedback effects as well as the nature and extent of extra-regional influences on an economy in response to an additional stimulus. This is a contribution that, to our best knowledge, has not yet appeared in the literature. Our results suggest that both the North and the South have become less pollution-intensive (technique effect) over the years. Interestingly and in contrast to much of the literature, we also find support to the hypothesis that the South has specialized in relatively more pollution-intensive activities (composition effect).     

欧美城市贫困集中研究述评及对我国的启示

从城市地理学、城市规划学和城市社会学的视角,综合评述了欧美国家城市贫困集中的现象,分析了贫困集中所造成的居民收入和就业机会下降、社会隔离及歧视加剧、社会治安环境恶劣、孩子遭受不良影响和公共配套设施短缺等问题,探究了市场、政府、特殊人文因素和产业结构转型等因素对贫困集中的影响。欧美城市经验为我国城市发展提供了有价值的启示,为了减少贫困集中以及由此引发的社会问题,政府应主动进行调控,缩小居民过大的收入差距,避免经济适用房和廉租房住区的集中布局,建设多样化混合社区,以及使公共住房政策由供给导向向需求导向转变。     

Insights into Innovation in European Museums

Abstract

Innovation has become a key tool enabling museums to adapt to the major changes that have taken place in recent decades in the milieu in which such organizations operate. However, countries' differing cultural policies, coupled with the particular nature of museums themselves (size, type of collection, organizational structure, system of funding, etc.), have a practical impact on the ability of such organizations to innovate and adapt to the new situation. In this context, our study posits three aspects through which innovation may appear in museums: technological innovation in management, technological innovation in visitor experience and organizational innovation. We also explore the extent to which the nature of cultural policies in different countries, how museums are managed and their size and funding impact each type of innovation. The empirical analysis was conducted for art and history museums in four European countries: France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. We felt that exploring these relations in cultural organizations would be of interest and would make an important contribution to the field.     

An exploratory cross-country comparison of strategic purchasing

This research utilises a survey to explore differences in three antecedents of strategic purchasing between seven North American and European countries. The extant literature identifies three factors associated with strategic sourcing: (1) Professionalism: purchasing's skills, knowledge, and professionalism; (2) Status: purchasing's status within the organisation; and (3) Supply Management: purchasing's sophistication in managing external relationships. Based on the international purchasing and management literature, we propose that these factors will differ depending on the nation in which the purchasing function operates. Factors are derived from the data and MANOVA are used to test the proposed differences. The results indicate that differences exist among several countries within these three strategic purchasing factors. In addition, the exploratory survey captured both current and desired levels across these factors. Comparisons between current and desired levels are measured and discussed.     

中国企业跨国并购投资中的风险分析

国际形势风云变幻,世界金融危机席卷全球,欧美国家的企业纷纷出现经营困境,世界经营格局发生了巨大变化。这些都为中国企业的跨国并购提供了难得的良机。然而,跨国并购并不是一帆风顺的,甚至可能是一个巨大的陷阱,对并购行为中风险的模糊认识会危及并购企业本身。跨国并购风险分析已经成为了企业实施并购行为时的必要工作。     

POLICIES AND PERFORMANCES: The Real Estate Markets in Hong Kong, Singapore, and West Coast Cities

The flow of international funds in real estate investment between Asian and North American cities in the Pacific Rim is now a major financial force to be recognized. This paper reviews the differences in the characteristics and performances of the real estate markets in Hong Kong, Singapore, and several west coast cities. The residential and office price movements among selected Pacific Rim cities over the last 20 years are compared. The paper attributes the differences in the performances to the differences in economic and planning policies in these cities, the differing strategies adopted by the market players, the differences in East and West cultural values, and the differing opportunities and risks created by the various "rules of the game" in each city. If Asian countries continue to enjoy robust economic growth, and the differences in regional real estate markets persist, the flow of international funds within the region and across the Pacific will continue to dominate the 1990's.