Prospective trends in the development of the agricultural sector: Through thorns to innovations

The principal directions and trends in the development of the agricultural sector under the conditions of the world’s economic crisis are considered in the article. The specification of priority directions of economic growth for the efficient use of resources and increasing competitiveness based on innovation factors is validated.     

Constraints to the economic development of the Republic of Transkei

A number of general constraints to the economic development of less developed countries are also to be found in Transkei. They include political fragility, conflict between traditionalism and modernization, shortage of skilled manpower, lack of clearly defined economic development strategies, inappropriate economic policies, and a shortage of capital.

In addition, there are constraints particular to Transkei's development, such as recent socio‐political developments in South Africa, the absence of an organizational structure to facilitate the formulation of relevant policies, a decline in the inflow of private sector investment, and a shortage of technical and managerial expertise. The author proposes a number of principles to maximize manpower productivity in Transkei.     

Man in the public sector

Summary This paper addresses the question of how to model government behavior. The central thought is that in principle the same behavioral model should apply to the behavior of individuals in the private sector as well as the public sector. The paper starts, therefore, with an outline of the contours of a general model of individual behavior. Use is thereby made of the so-called interest function approach that I developed inOn the Interaction Between State and Private Sector (Amsterdam, North-Holland, 1983) and which is somewhat further elaborated in this paper. The model is subsequently applied to the behavior of the individuals that make up the government organization, bureaucrats and politicians. The potential importance of the approach is indicated by a short survey of the theoretical and empirical results obtained with it so far.     

Economics of the public sector

Likierman, A. 1988: Public Expenditure: Who Really Controls it and How? London: Penguin, £4.99.

Helm, D. (ed) 1989: The Economic Borders of the State. Oxford: Oxford University Press, £35.00 cloth, £15.00 paper.

Collard, D. (ed) 1989: Fiscal Policy: Essays in Honour of Cedric Sandford. Aldershot: Avebury, £35.00 cloth.

Hare, P. (ed) 1988: Surveys in Public Sector Economics. Oxford: Blackwell, £37.50 cloth.     

Investment appraisal in the public sector

Recent developments, such as privatization and the private financeinitiative, have raised the issue of which assets should beowned by the public sector and whether assets have differentvalues in the public and private sectors. In order to answerthe questions, we first note that the allocative considerationsthat usually motivate government intervention need not requirethe direct provision of services by the government using government-ownedassets. We then argue that the government should own the assetsused to provide the services where the private sector fearsexpropriation by the government, or where ownership conferson the private sector such power as to preclude efficient allocations.Finally, we argue that the discount rate for governments' projectsequals the expected return on comparable investments in thecapital markets. The government should, however, discount pre-taxcash flows at the pre-tax discount rate, for it receives alltax revenues.     

Using the practice of foreign agricultural logistics for reference

China is a big agricultural country, but because of region, technology, policy and other reasons, Chinese agricultural products have not got a good circulation in nationwide scope. With the diversion of bottleneck which affects peasants＇ income from production field to circulation field, developing agricultural logistics has been a breakthrough to solve rural problems. The paper proposes some references, which are useful to solve ＂three agricultural problems＂, increase peasants＇ income and develop rural economy.     

Impact of public research and development and extension on agricultural productivity in China from 1990 to 2013

Agricultural research and extension are two main policy tools that governments can use to generate agricultural growth and transformation. China has made major investments in agricultural research and extension such that it achieved the largest research and extension systems worldwide. This study examined the contribution of public agricultural research and extension to provincial agricultural productivity in China from 1990 to 2013 and estimated the social rate of return on these investments. Employing different lag distribution structures (e.g., trapezoid, gamma, and polynomial) for public agricultural research and extension in the regression analyses, this study found that public agricultural research and development, public extension, and farmers' education have made major contributions to agricultural productivity growth in China. On average, the real rate of return to public investment in agricultural research and development was around 50%, and agricultural extension was 29%. Returns to public research ranged from 24% to 76% and the extension, from 11% to 52% across different provinces.     

Unemployment: The role of the public sector in increasing the labour absorption capacity of the South African economy

The critical proportions of unemployment and the mainly structural nature of the problem necessitate a re‐evaluation of policy measures in order to foster a pro‐poor growth and development process in South Africa. The propblem could be addressed by implementing an integrated and comprehensive policy package. The public sector expenditure programme is a potent policy measure for stimulating employment growth in the economy. It is argued that a restructuring rather than an expansion of the public sector expenditure programme can result in short‐term, enduring employment effects. The restructured public sector expenditure programme should include characteristics of special employment programmes, focusing on the procurement and provision of more labour‐intensive goods and services and a reorientation of expenditure programmes in favour of the unemployed and the poor.     

嘉兴港口经济对区域经济发展的辐射作用探析

港口经济是指由港口运输业和依托港口发展起来的相关产业有机组合而成的一种经济形态。作为本地区与外界物资和信息交换的重要载体，港口经济与区域经济发展之间有着极强的关联性，并对区域经济的发展有很大的辐射作用，是区域经济发展的“增长极”。嘉兴港作为浙北地区唯一的集装箱装卸港口，虽然起步比较晚，规模尚小，但便利的交通条件和腹地经济强有力的支持，使嘉兴港的发展取得了令人瞩目的成就。     

On the development strategy for the grain sector

This article attempts to outline a development strategy for the grain sector in agrarian economics under complicated conditions in the world economic relations and the processes of globalization and regional integration.     

Similarities and differences between male and female entrepreneurial attributes in manufacturing firms in the informal sector in the Transkei

Although South Africa has consistently registered positive economic growth rates since the democratic government took office in 1994, there has been no surge in new formal sector jobs. The public and private sectors have been shedding labour in response to economic imperatives of the domestic and global circumstances. Accordingly, more and more people are taking the route to informal sector entrepreneurship. Traditionally more men than women ventured into business; currently an increasing number of females are turning to self-employment. However, much that is known about business individuals is based on studies of male entrepreneurs. This article presents a comparative assessment of selected entrepreneurial attributes of male and female individuals engaged in informal sector manufacturing activities in the Transkei. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire administered to a sample of 80 micro-entrepreneurs in four urban centres. This study shows that the general entrepreneurial tendencies of the surveyed male and female micro-entrepreneurs are more similar than they are different. However, differences exist in value adding and job creation between the two groups.     

Southeast Asian monies and the problem of a common measure,with particular reference to the nineteenth century

From the early seventeenth to the late nineteenth century, the Mexican silver dollar was accepted as a common currency of Southeast Asia, though local governments issued their own dollars based on it. The decline of the value of silver relative to gold after 1870 introduced a gradual shift to official currencies pegged to a gold standard in Europe.