A NEW DIRECTION IN WORLD BANK URBAN LENDING TO LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES*

The urban development loans of the World Bank are acquiring a regional rather than a city-specific orientation in several countries, especially in Latin America. These broader operations often dovetail national trends of decentralization in the political, administrative and fiscal structures. Given the current constraints of the central governments in meeting the growing demands of urbanization through incremental top-down grants, these operations aim at a gradual substitution of unrequited transfers with long-term loans to regional and local governments. The paper reviews the implications of this approach in terms of distribution and efficiency and suggests that it may be more suitable in countries undergoing economic adjustment. The objective is to sustain motivation in fiscal effort and resource mobilization at the city level, and possibly establish a different rationale for external credit supporting local infrastructure and service improvements.     

体育竞赛表演在“城市经营”中的作用探析

本文就体育竞赛表演的发展对城市发展的作用进行分析,认为主要有以下方面:①为城市基础设施建设吸引资金;②提高城市知名度;③丰富广大市民业余文化生活;④改善居住环境;⑤促进相关产业的发展等。同时,提出了如何发挥体育竞赛表演的作用以及应当注意的问题。     

Who Builds Cities in China? How Urban Investment and Development Companies Have Transformed Shanghai

While there is general acceptance that urban governance in China is entrepreneurial in nature, little has been written about the precise ways in which Chinese cities implement entrepreneurial policies. In this article we argue that the primary agents of urban entrepreneurialism in China are urban investment and development companies (UIDCs), known in Chinese as chengtou for short. We start by defining UIDCs as a category of state-owned enterprise, but one that is wholly owned by local (often city) governments. We note that in the literature UIDCs are generally recognized for their involvement in raising funds for projects and piling up hidden debts, but their multiple roles in urban development tend to be neglected. We introduce here four UIDCs that have been largely responsible for the transformation of Shanghai into a modern city spearheading Chinese state entrepreneurialism, and in doing so we delineate the full range of the activities of these urban business empires. We argue in particular that they represent a corporate involvement by the state in urban development—the state presenting itself in the guise of a market player, a corporate entity able to raise funds and act as if it were a private company. UIDCs are the driving force behind China's urban entrepreneurialism and are without a clear parallel elsewhere.     

The Causes of Urban Sprawl in Spanish Urban Areas: A Spatial Approach

This paper explores the presence of local spatial interaction on urban development patterns of Spanish urban areas and whether this interaction might be due to the strategic behaviour of neighbouring local governments. Using remote-sensing data from aerial photography and satellite imaging along with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, it studies urban development patterns across the country with unprecedented detail. The results confirm the main hypothesis that spatial interaction exists in the levels of sprawl between neighbouring municipalities, suggesting that local governments do indeed compete for the creation of new suburban settlement developments, hence promoting excessive urban sprawl.     

Competition for private capital and central grants: the case of Japanese industrial parks

Local governments invest in public infrastructure to develop their regions. When they depend on intergovernmental grants for local development and have opportunities to lobby upper-level governments for such grants, horizontal intergovernmental competition in lobbying activity may emerge in addition to competition over public infrastructure. This paper empirically examines the existence of these interactions between Japanese localities, by using data on the value of industrial parks as infrastructure provisions and on personnel interchanges between the central and local governments as a measure of lobbying activity. Our results suggest that a Japanese local government’s choice of the size of industrial parks and its invitation to central officers to act as a director on loan are positive responses to the neighboring local government’s policy choices. As the value of the industrial parks in a district is affected by the neighboring districts’ lobby activities and their industrial park values, we can interpret these results as evidence of inter-regional competition in these two dimensions, rather than control by the central government in this unitary state.     

日本城市蔓延及治理

日本在二战后经历了高速经济增长和快速城市化,出现了城市蔓延现象.在日本,城市蔓延一般是指缺少公共服务地、向邻近非城市区域弥漫式扩展,这种开发模式是地方政府在实施城市规划中对发展的企业、土地持有者和中央政府等做出让步的结果,并产生了高额社会成本、财政成本和土地成本.虽然日本城市规划者将土地重整视为城市规划之母和抑制城市蔓延的有效手段,但并未达到预期效果.最近日本政府提出建设紧凑城市的政策,旨在降低小汽车依赖性和重新繁荣市中心以应对不断减少的人口和快速老龄化.     

Financing China's Suburbanization: Capital Accumulation through Suburban Land Development in Hangzhou

China's rapid urbanization has resulted in substantial suburbanization over recent decades. However, limited research has been conducted into how land‐based capital is mobilized, accumulated and circulated within the circuits of the capital accumulation process, or how land‐based capital is used to finance massive investment in suburbanization by China's local governments, especially since the trend in land commodification during the 2000s. We examined the capital switching experience in the city of Hangzhou and our findings indicate that local governments have attempted to simultaneously strengthen housing development and industrial growth. In contrast to experiences of suburbanization in Western countries, a real estate boom during the early days of suburbanization in Hangzhou was not necessarily the result of diversion of excess capital from over‐accumulated investments in the manufacturing industry. Rather, it was a consequence of capital accumulation facilitated by land‐reserve systems and land‐based financing of infrastructure orchestrated by local government. Local governments and their affiliated land‐reserve centers and local investment platforms have acted as entrepreneurs by using profits from suburban property development to subsidize industrial investments and fund the infrastructure‐supported expansion of outer suburbs. These findings highlight the potential risks of land‐centered accumulation and provide important reflections upon the theory of David Harvey in the context of urban China.     

地方国企非效率投资来源选择：债权资金优先还是股权资金优先？

以2001—2009年地方国有上市公司为样本对地方国企非效率投资来源选择进行研究,结果显示：地方国企非效率投资来源选择首先是债权资金,其次才是股权资金;当拥有较多长期贷款时,企业会更倾向使用债权资金代替股权资金,并且这种选择是理性和不可逆的;在产权保护较强和信贷配置市场化程度较低的地区,企业选择债权资金替代股权资金的动机更强;随着政府干预的增强,债权资金对股权资金的替代作用减弱。     

论信用信息基础建设项目成本风险的分担

本文认为,信息基础建设是我国信用体系建设的关键性基础性工作。现阶段,信用信息基础项目建设,应由政府和从社会引入项目主办方共同投资,此种项目投资建设,也会面临影响项目成本进而影响项目收益的风险,这些风险应该在政府与项目主办方之间按比例分担,本文给出了项目成本风险分担比例的计算方法。     

When Conflict Strikes: Contesting Neoliberal Urbanism outside Participatory Structures in Inner‐city Dublin

This article examines how community representatives from a disadvantaged neighbourhood engage with neoliberal urban governance structures and assess the power afforded to them. It seeks to understand how community groups manage the challenges they face in times of neoliberal urbanism. This study follows calls to pay greater attention to the existence of imaginaries other than neoliberal ones, examining community actions and discourses surrounding the Historic Area Rejuvenation Project (HARP) area in Dublin, a project aimed at stimulating private property development and investment. The case highlights tensions between the pursuit of community‐based and collaborative urban regeneration and the increased legitimacy of neoliberalism as a guiding principle of public policy. It confirms the existence of resistance movements and the importance of local and national contexts in explaining the outcomes of contestation. Despite participative structures established by the local authority, the views and interests of local community activists were ignored and excluded. Furthermore, in contrast to trends towards co‐option within participative structures, the community actively resisted the imposition of neoliberal plans. Overall, while they had little success in influencing the plans or mindsets of the local authority, they did succeed in delaying the process until the project became unviable as a result of the economic crisis.     

高质量发展背景下西部城市基础设施PPP模式的探析——以新疆城市基础设施为例

随着西部地区城市经济的不断发展,城市基础设施建设项目日益多样化,提高了对项目融资的要求。论文围绕新疆城市基础设施项目投融资进行了探究,首先阐释了在高质量发展之下,城市基础设施投资和PPP融资现状,其次分析PPP模式对城市经济的重要性,最后针对如何优化城市基础设施PPP项目模式适用性提出了相关的建议。     

Developmental project management in emerging countries

Aid organizations, governments and even citizens in emerging/developing countries have long complained about the efficacy of developmental projects. Given the vast resources being plowed into developmental activities and the dire needs, it is imperative that such projects are cost-effective, finish on time and provide the specified deliverables. Unfortunately, the procedure to guide such projects is not well developed. In this research, we rely on qualitative case study methodology to provide possible insights to project managers. We examined a total of eight cases related to developmental projects in India. Through these cases, we identify five project management components including: project characteristics, external environment, internal project elements, project management process, and project outcomes. The constructs within each element and the relationships amongst them provide guidance to development agencies in terms of project size, project goals, resource availability, infrastructure, stakeholder variance and organizational flexibility. These constructs influence the internal elements of a project including the level of information, complexity and uncertainty/risk. In turn, the internal elements affect the project outcomes of duration, costs, and deliverables. This research provides guidance to agencies in their project management process in terms of team integration and interactions, communication, and networking with local communities and organizations, all of which can influence standard project outcomes (duration, cost and deliverables), while also helping to build reputation to garner additional funding.     

政务信息化与地方政府预算资金使用效率

近年来信息化技术快速发展,与政务活动紧密结合,为提升政府预算资金使用效率创造了新契机。本文选取2016—2019年我国地级市面板数据,使用DEA-Tobit两步法分析政务信息化对地方政府预算资金使用效率的影响及其作用机理。研究发现：较高的政务信息化水平有助于地方政府预算资金使用效率的提升,且在国家审计功能效应强或是信任环境好的地区,政务信息化对地方政府预算资金使用效率的提升作用更加明显。作用机制分析表明,政务信息化可以通过提升财政透明度和公众关注度进而提升地方政府预算资金使用效率。最后,本文就地方政府如何提升预算资金使用效率提出一些政策建议,以期为政府相关部门提供有益参考。     

市政给排水工程造价控制与管理

市政给排水工程是一项市政基础建设事业,与广大市民的生活质量及切身利益息息相关,并在完善城市规划、绿化城市环境等方面具有重要的保障作用,提高资金的使用效益是市政建设者必须努力和追求的方向。     

Local development and business creation. The role of local development workers in project management

The participation of social inclusion workers in project management is to a large extent aimed at setting up businesses and mainly entails working with businessmen and women and entrepreneurs. Policies formulated to this end involve four lines of action: improving infrastructure; managing local businesses; supporting and managing the creation of micro-businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises; and carrying out socio-economic studies which aid the economic and social development of a particular local community. This study includes an analysis of the characteristics of the service provided by local development workers with regard to the development areas concerned, the nature of the work carried out and the groups involved, the characteristics of the service offered to entrepreneurs and groups of entrepreneurs and the characteristics of the projects managed. Field work was carried out during the 2004 which entailed the use of a questionnaire intended for all local development workers included in our own directory.     

地方本科院校贷款办学风险分析及防范

在客观分析地方本科院校贷款办学的原因及其面临问题的基础上,提出了一些针对地方本科院校防范贷款风险的措施。这对地方本科院校科学使用信贷资金,促进地方本科院校教育事业的发展有一定的借鉴意义。     

高校信贷资金形势分析与建议

高校招生规模逐年扩大,优质教育资源严重短缺,办学条件急需改善等实际情况,决定了学校向银行贷款的紧迫性;高校是特殊的法人主体,没有破产之忧,金融风险低下等各种优势,决定了银行主动向高校提供贷款的必然性;高校信贷资金规模扩大,效益潜伏期较长,缺乏责任人制度和还贷机制,同时又具有很大的债务风险性。为了保持高校适度的信贷规模,建议政府加大对高校发展的支持,高校要进一步完善信贷资金管理制度,高校要利用自身优势争先创优,保证高校信贷政策的顺利实施。     

Land Pooling for Resubdivision and New Subdivision in Western Australia

Abstract . Land pooling is a technique for the unified subdivision of separate private landholdings in urban-fringe areas. Pooling projects are self-financing and the costs and profits of each project are shared between the participating landowners. It provides local governments with a powerful tool for implementing their municipal land use plans and for ensuring an adequate supply of urban land. Local governments in Western Australia began using land pooling in 1951, first to redesign and service old, undeveloped subdivision estates (development projects), then to install special infrastructure works in new suburban areas, and later for the progressive development of their municipalities. By 1982 a total of 56 pooling projects ranging from 1.5 to 250 hectares had been undertaken in metropolitan Perth. The technique and its use in the state of Western Australia are described and discussed and improvements 3re proposed. A case history of a typical pooling project is presented in the appendix. The West Australian experience shows that land pooling could be adopted to improve urban development and land supply for housing in the U.S.A. and Canada, and in other mixed-economy countries.     

Effect of local government decision‐making competition on carbon emissions: Evidence from China's three urban agglomerations

Analyzing the effect of local government decision‐making competition on regional carbon emissions is important for reducing carbon emissions in rapidly urbanizing areas. Taking the energy rebound effect into account, this study analyzes the effect on carbon emissions of competition between local governments in decision making. Focusing on China's three urban agglomerations, this study further discusses how to avoid this influence. The results show that local government decision‐making competition is one of the main causes of the regional “green paradox”; the effect of local government decision‐making competition on carbon emissions has significant regional heterogeneity and spatial dependence, and the short‐term energy rebound effect is greater than the long‐term energy rebound effect; and local government decision‐making competition has three effects on carbon emissions that also have interaction and substitution effects between them: factor market distortion, investment bias, and the “race to the bottom” of environmental policies. However, four measures can reduce the effect of local government decision‐making competition on carbon emissions: one, improving the performance evaluation system of local governments; two, promoting the marketization of factor prices; three, improving both the energy efficiency and upgrading of industrial structures; and four, introducing macro emission reduction policies that allow the central government to intervene directly.     

地方政府投融资平台风险及其防范措施——基于地方政府投融资公司视角

2010年末地方政府的投融资平台作为最活跃、最值得关注的融资主体,引起国内各界人士的广泛关注,政府投融资平台的迅速发展在对地方投融资带来积极的正效应的同时,也对政府债务产生重大影响,且进一步波及银行,有可能导致政府信用危机。本文从地方政府投融资机构的角度,提出强化行业管理;重申投融资平台的使命;拓宽融资渠道和运用平衡记分卡,建立投融资机构绩效评价体系这四个方面的地方政府投融资平台风险防范措施。