创新，拒绝浮躁

当下，创新成了时尚的流行语。尤其在党政机关的文件、讲话、简报中无处不在。革除积弊，提高效能，激发活力，确实需要创新。近几年在各级领导的积极倡导和舆论的强烈引导下，创新之风盛起，创新之举频出，很多方面亦颇有建树。然而，毋庸讳言，人们日益膨胀的浮躁心气给创新蒙上了阴影，让创新造成了“创伤”。     

Unemployment,marriage and divorce

In this article, we examine whether the business cycle plays a role in marriage and divorce. We use data on Spain, since the differences between recession and expansion periods across regions are quite pronounced in that country. We find that the unemployment rate is negatively associated with the marriage rate, pointing to a pro-cyclical evolution of marriage; however, the response of the divorce rate to the business cycle is mixed. Results show the existence of different patterns, depending on geography: divorce rates in coastal regions are pro-cyclical, while in inland regions divorces react to unemployment in a counter-cyclical way.     

The effect of divorce laws on divorce rates in Europe

We analyze the effect on divorce rates of the legal reforms leading to “easier divorce” that took place in Europe during the last four decades. We construct a 54-year-long panel and exploit the different timing and nature of the reforms in divorce laws across countries. The reforms range from countries that legalized divorce to the introduction of no-fault grounds and unilateral divorce. We estimate that the introduction of no-fault, unilateral divorce increased the divorce rate by about 0.6, a sizeable effect given the average rate of 2 divorces per 1000 people in 2002.     

“乡镇企业第一厂”诞生记

江苏省无锡市锡山区东亭镇春雷村，这个面积才2平方公里、只有3500人的小村庄，当年的中国“社队企业第一厂”所在地，经历了新中国成立后，在党的领导下中国农村乡镇企业从诞生、发展到壮大所发生巨变的历程。     

中国:奥巴马面临的初次考验

《商业周刊》2009年1月12日全球经济衰退能够暴露出贸易伙伴最糟糕的一面。由于国内需求疲软,中国和美国的制造商纷纷遭遇产能过剩的问题。     

没有惩罚就没有道德

十几年前,笔者与已故北大经济学教授陈岱孙同在一个教研室。每周一次严肃的政治学习中也难免讲一点社会新闻,讲的最多的是干部腐败与假冒伪劣产品横行。陈老把这些现象的原因归结为惩罚太轻。他说,对这些劣行的惩罚总是像“三娘教子”中所唱的:“我把鞭子高高举起,轻轻打下”。陈老主张“乱世用重典”,加大惩罚力度。十几年过去了,陈老也已作古,但陈老的忠言仍是一种善良的愿望。     

外资"超国民待遇"难言终局

尽管对外资的依赖日减,但牵扯到备方的利益格局,政策转向的速度和实效将打折扣[编者按]     

Marriage, commitment and divorce in a matching model with differential aging

This paper analyses a matching model of the marriage market with directed, on-the-job search. Everyone is born attractive but “matures” according to a Poisson process into unattractiveness. Marriages between equally attractive people are stable but mixed marriages are not. The implied patterns of marriage and divorce are consistent with those identified in the empirical literature. When the utility from being single is low, in order to commit to their relationship, attractive people in mixed marriages may voluntarily divest of their attractiveness.     

A theory of rational marriage and divorce

Despite high rates of cohabitation before marriage, and considerable efforts invested in the search for a life partner, a high number of marriages end in divorce. This paper develops a model of household formation and dissolution in which it may be rational for individuals to marry, fully anticipating that they will subsequently divorce. Economies of scale associated with living as a couple rather than in two separate households provide an incentive to marry; problems with free riding in the provision of household collective goods may lead to divorce. Marriages which involve partners who are similar, in tastes or in their productive capacities, and in which private goods are equally shared, are the most likely to be stable. In contrast, marriages which involve very disparate partners, or which share the fruits of market labor very unequally between the partners, are more likely to be shortlived and end in divorce.     

论农村实现“多予少取”的转变

"多予、少取、放活"的农村工作方针的实施,有力地促进了农业发展、农村进步和农民增收,然而在落实中存在的"多予"相对不足和"少取"名实不符的现实局限,制约了其作用的充分发挥。要根本解决"三农"问题,必须实现从狭义的"多予"向广义的"多予"转变,从显性的"少取"向隐性的"少取"转变,并最终实现"多予少取"向"多予不取"的转变。     

Explaining divorce rate determinants: new evidence from Spain

This article examines the main determinants of divorce rates in Spain for the period 1995 to 2010. According to the results, the so-called Express Divorce Law (passed in 2005) seems to be positively associated with divorce rates in the short term. Income level and growth, female employment rate, and the proportion of foreign population are also positively related to divorce rates. However, as expected, the percentage of conservative vote seems to have a negative impact.     

No Pain, No Gain: Rethinking the Telecoms Crash

This paper reflects upon the boom and bust of the telecommunications industry from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Unlike the conspicuous burst of the dotcom bubble, the telecoms crash came quietly, but turned out to be bigger and more catastrophic. This paper argues that bounded rationality, decision making under uncertainty and the focus on short-term individual interest all played a significant role in the telecoms crash. However, this painful crash also had its positive effects. Executives, specialists, regulators and government policy makers should pay more attention to the fundamentals and balance the need for both short-term and long-term interests in approaching the coming challenges in the fast-changing telecoms industry.     

A review of economic research into determinants of divorce

"This paper reviews econometric work on the determinants of divorce. There is a fair degree of agreement over some of the key variables. It seems well-established that the effect of male wage rates is negative while the effect of female wage rates is positive. Nonetheless, controversy still rages over the effect of legal changes. Further work is needed on this. Viewed as a scientific research programme, the study of the determinants of divorce needs access to a wider range of populations. The databases at present are primarily U.S. sample surveys."