财政透明度的国际分析及其对中国的启示

我国公共财政体制改革工作始于改革开放时期,政府财政透明度建设工作起步更是相对较晚。随着与国际交流的日趋密切,推进我国财政透明度工作进程愈发紧迫。本文通过对比我国与西方发达国家的财政透明度现状,并借鉴国际经验,立足我国国情,从转变意识完善法律机制、建立财务报告体系和监督机制方面,提出提高我国财政透明度的建议对策。     

国际投资法中的人权保护问题研究——以国际投资仲裁实践为视角

现有的国际投资协定极少对人权问题作专门规定,而双边投资协定为投资者确立了很高的保护标准,这使得东道国居民人权与投资者财产权之间的冲突与矛盾难以避免。投资者—东道国投资仲裁庭的实践则将这种潜在的矛盾明朗化。仲裁庭在实践中热衷于保护投资者的财产权,对于东道国居民的经济、社会等方面的人权,一般以程序问题为由加以规避。这些矛盾与问题源于对"国际投资法的自足性"和"仲裁庭身份定位"这两个前提性理论问题认识的不清。为平衡东道国居民的人权保护与投资者财产权保护,须从对投资协定实体方面和投资仲裁的程序方面,对国际投资法进行完善。     

债务治理中的透明度规则:国际实践与政策启示

近年来,债务透明度规则成为全球债务治理领域的热点和焦点问题。国际货币基金组织(IMF)和世界银行等治理实体相继提出一系列主权债务透明度规则标准与改革意见,但目前尚未形成统一的、具有强制性的全球方案。本文认为,中国作为重要的新兴双边债权人,既要“以我为主”地对接和借鉴有关国际组织的透明度规则,加强债务信息披露方面的法律规范,适度提高中国国内及“一带一路”倡议下的债务信息披露水平和质量,也要积极参与全球债务治理,主张尊重广大发展中国家特别是最不发达国家的基本国情和合理关切,倡导最优透明度原则,反对美国等西方发达国家出于反华目的将债务透明度问题政治化、工具化、武器化。     

论国际投资协定中的环境规则及其演进——兼评析中国国际投资协定的变化及立法

为了平衡投资自由化和环境保护间冲突,早期的环境条约意图规范加入投资规则。晚近以来,在国际投资协定中纳入环境规则已经成为新式投资协定发展的重要特色。从国际投资协定纳入环境规则的立法模式看,经历了从投资协定到自由贸易协定的多元化发展;从立法内容看,已经形成从实体规范和程序规范的日趋完善的发展;从规范对象看,意图直接规范跨国公司的倾向已经显露。我国的投资协定在国际背景下也产生了重要的变化,但是无论是国际和国内两个层次上都存在不足,需进一步完善。     

论国际投资争端解决的管辖权冲突及应对——以CAFTA投资争端解决机制为视角

文章从CAFTA投资争端解决机制入手,对国际投资争端管辖权冲突的成因进行了分析,认为:当事方在不同条约下享有的投资权益的竞合是管辖权冲突的根本原因;在不同条约下,同一措施导致的当事方投资利益的减损所产生的多重诉由是管辖权冲突的直接原因;当事方根据其享有的争端解决请求权所进行的多重选择是管辖权冲突的关键原因。文章认为,争端解决方式的选择应考虑投资争端解决机制的近期发展及国际投资环境的变化,需经过识别和利益衡量两个主要阶段,并应基于尊重主权,利益最优化,以及立足区域一体化、兼顾全球化、稳固双边投资促进和保护等原则进行利益衡量,以确定具体的方式。     

国内媒体建设性新闻实践路径探究——以《冰点周刊》60篇新闻文本为中心的考察

在西方新闻业界的影响及新媒体环境的冲击下,国内媒体开始对“建设性新闻”展开一系列理论探索和初步实践。基于对《冰点周刊》建设性新闻报道的文本分析可以发现,其在主题选取、内容呈现、语言风格、叙事策略上都彰显了建设性新闻理念。建设性新闻发挥了正向价值,也存在一些问题,要重点关注人才培养和理论研究,重塑新闻价值和新闻角色。     

刍议国际投资协定中的税收仲裁机制——以中国的缔约实践为例

为减少与包括WTO协定和避免双重征税协定在内的其他涉税条约争端解决机制之间的冲突,特别是,避免原有的投资者与国家间投资仲裁机制对本国税收主权的过度限制,中国晚近缔结的国际投资协定引入了专门的税收仲裁机制。这一尝试值得期许。然而,该税收仲裁机制仍存在诸多的不足,这可能会削弱其应有的作用。对此,中国应参考有关国家的实践,作出相应的调整。     

国际投资市场准入“国民待遇与负面清单”研究——以美国晚近缔约实践为主要研究对象

投资准入规则是平衡国家经济监管权和开放投资义务之间的重要砝码,核心是准入阶段外资的待遇标准。目前最先进的外资准入模式是"负面清单"基础上的"国民待遇"。负面清单是外资准入阶段不适用国民待遇原则的特别管理措施规定的汇总,其中最具谈判空间的是"不符措施"。不符措施以附件清单的方式,列明缔约各方针对具体产业部门,维持现有和未来采取背离国民待遇的措施。在中美BIT谈判中,中国面临的最大挑战是列出恰当的负面清单,将外资准入国民待遇对经济的不利影响降至最低。而中国未来国际投资条约签订过程中,应根据实际情况,以投资便利化为目标,灵活地选择准入阶段外资待遇标准。     

An Examination of Learning Preferences of U.S. and International Students

Learning styles and preferences are often discussed topics in educational psychology, but are less prevalent in business education. International students are another understudied segment of business education. This article reviews literature regarding learning styles and preferences and examines whether U.S. and international students have different learning preferences using the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) model. The findings indicate a large percentage of both populations have multimodal learning preferences. For the students who have one preferred learning mode, differences do exist between international and U.S. students.     

国际投资协议中国民待遇原则与清单管理模式的比较研究及对中国的启示

本文从国际投资协定中国民待遇的基本内涵出发,围绕国民待遇适用标准及与之相配合使用的清单管理模式,比较研究准入前国民待遇和准入后国民待遇,以及正面清单、负面清单和混合清单3种清单管理模式的具体内容、特点与实践情况,重点结合当前国际投资协定中国民待遇与清单管理的两种主要组合模式——"欧洲模式"和"北美范本",深入探讨"准入前国民待遇+负面清单"模式在中国的具体适用问题。     

关于国际投资争端中违约竞合的法律问题分析——以ICSID裁决为视角

近年来,很多中国企业对海外资源领域投资采用与拥有资源的某些发展中国家政府直接签订合同,即采用了国家契约的形式。当东道国国家行为违反国家契约项下的义务时,就可能同时违反了东道国与投资者母国所签订的双边投资保护协定中的承诺,这就构成了违约竞合。本文将结合ICSID裁决的案例对该违约竞合的法律问题进行分析,并对中国在对外签订双边投资保护协定方面提出建议。     

论美国对华特保措施调查中的行政惯例

美国国际贸易委员会发起的对华特别保障措施调查以1974年贸易法第421条为法律依据。由于421条款内容简略,国际贸易委员会必须通过法律解释和创立行政惯例的方式才能对案件作出裁决。在美国的行政领域,行政惯例虽然不是法的渊源,但由于行政程序中"正当法律程序"的要求,行政惯例对行政机关的裁决仍有一定拘束力。针对行政惯例受到行政机关高度尊重和确信但又并非法源的特点,中国企业应区分不同类型的行政惯例并准备相应的对策。     

A Five-Year Regional Review of Advertising and Public Relations Education at U.S. Colleges and Universities

Abstract

This study is an investigation of advertising and public relations education over the past five years, presenting a regional analysis using data from the annual research project Where Shall I Go to Study Advertising and Public Relations? The results show the American Midwest, heartland and birthplace of advertising education, holding forth as the major region for advertising preparation. The Southeastern U.S. currently ranks first in public relations enrollment while the Midwest awards more PR degrees. In combined advertising/public relations programs, the Eastern U.S. leads in degrees awarded and student enrollment. Nationwide, all regions have experienced varying degrees of growth, reflecting the increased numbers seen in the national aggregate.     

The Role of Economic-Demographic Factors in U.S. International Restaurant Franchising:

This paper studies the effect of both economic and demographic factors on the international restaurant franchising (IRF). The study utilizes regression analysis of pooled cross-section (6 countries) and time series (10 years)data. It is found that among the economic factors, the market size has a strong positive effect on IRF. On the other hand, the ratio of female workers to the total labor force is positively related to international restaurant franchising. The paper also investigates the relationship between demo-economic factors and IRF for two subsets of interest, developed and developing countries.     

美在华直接投资与中国对美出口商品结构关系研究

文章运用大量数据分别考察了美国在华直接投资的结构特征与中国对美国出口商品的结构特征,发现它们之间存在显著相关性.通过计量方法进一步论证了美国在华直接投资每增加一个百分点可带动劳动密集型和资本密集型产品及低、中、高技术产品对美国出口的不同出口效果,据此说明美国在华直接投资对中国向美国出口的商品结构产生了极大的影响.     

International retail format transfer: A comparison study of Australian and U.S. warehouse club members

Costco successfully transferred its Warehouse Membership Club (WMC) format to Australia. This research: 1) develops a conceptual framework to examine the role of consumer perception of format-specific core attributes in shaping the hedonic shopping experience and customer loyalty; and 2) compares Australian consumers' responses to the novel WMC format with U.S. consumers' responses to the familiar, mature format. We collected survey data from Australian and U.S. Costco members after Costco's entry into Australia's retail market and we tested the proposed model with a multiple-group structural equation modelling technique. Our findings suggest that value and hedonic shopping experience contribute to consumer loyalty in both countries. However, value is perceived as more important in shaping hedonic shopping experience, but less important in building loyalty in Australia than in U.S. When transferring a retail format that is novel to host country consumers, global retailers should factor in the novelty effect and emphasize the management of core format attributes that embrace the differences and carry particular importance in building customer loyalty.     

The Corporate Social Responsibility of Pharmaceutical Product Recalls: An Empirical Examination of U.S. and U.K. Markets

The pressure on companies to practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained momentum in recent times as a means of sustaining competitive advantage in business. The pharmaceutical industry has been acutely affected by this trend. While pharmaceutical product recalls have become rampant and increased dramatically in recent years, no comprehensive study has been conducted to study the effects of announcements of recalls on the shareholder returns of pharmaceutical companies. As product recalls could significantly damage a company’s reputation, profitability and brand integrity, this paper investigates the effect on shareholder wealth and the extent to which the adoption of CSR practices by pharmaceutical companies in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States (U.S.), the two largest markets for pharmaceutical products in the world, affected market reactions surrounding product recall announcements. The analysis of product recall announcements from 1998 to 2004 compiled from The Pharmaceutical Journal and U.S. Food and Drug Administration enforcement reports revealed marked differences in the way market participants in the two countries responded to news of product recalls. U.S. investors penalised firms according to the severity of product defects while U.K. investors were indifferent. While U.K. investors rewarded product recalls by firms which were not usually CSR-active, U.S. investors punished non-CSR active firms that performed recalls. These observations could pose strategic challenges to pharmaceutical firms operating in both countries. Jeremy Cheah is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Nottingham University Business School, Malaysia Campus. His research interests lie in the area of applied corporate finance and investment management. Wen Li Chan was an Advocate and Solicitor in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before assuming the post of University Teacher in Information Systems and Strategy at Nottingham University Business School, Malaysia Campus. She is currently investigating the roles and implications of information on firm valuation, particularly in the area of corporate cyber-litigation and corporate social responsibility. Corinne Chieng is a Corporate Executive at Star Publications (M) Berhad, Malaysia. She has previously worked as a tax consultant at Arthur Andersen Malaysia. Her research interests include the financial implications of corporate social responsibility on the valuation of firms.