Framing Modern Monetary Theory

This article argues that Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) has struggled to gain traction in wider economic and political debates due to: (1) An incomplete understanding of key macroeconomic terms among economic commentators, especially journalists, and the wider community (lack of education); and (2) The deployment of key macroeconomic terms (incorrectly) in the context of pervasive cultural metaphors to support policy interventions that effectively benefit a privileged few at the expense of the majority. We provide a conceptual basis for understanding how the language we use constrains our thinking and we examine some of the key metaphors used to reinforce the flawed message of orthodox economics. We examine key ideas of modern monetary theory—an apolitical model of macroeconomic operations—and propose effective ways of expressing those key ideas in a progressive social and economic framework.     

农村养老保障：从“家庭”到“社会”

二元经济结构条件下,我国的社会保障制度安排长期向城镇居民倾斜,作为农村社会保障体系核心内容的农村社会养老保障制度的不健全,给我国农村经济与社会发展造成极为不利的影响。随着经济的发展与社会的变迁,农村的家庭养老模式面临着严峻的挑战。现阶段,要促进农村经济发展与社会稳定,实现整个国民经济的良性循环和可持续发展,实现全面建设小康社会的宏伟目标,就必须从农民养老保障的客观需求出发,顺应我国农村的养老方式向社会化方向转变的必然趋势,致力于农村社会养老保障制度的改革与完善。     

Towards systemic and adaptive governance: Exploring the revealing and concealing aspects of contemporary social-learning metaphors

This paper uses metaphor theory and analysis to explore competing and sometimes contested claims about the nature and utility of social learning. Seven metaphor clusters — performance metaphors, action metaphors, communication metaphors, governance mechanism metaphors, social learning as a paradigm, social learning as a form of cognition and social learning as a wheelbarrow full of frogs, were identified from the sustainability and natural resource management (NRM) literature. Rather than seeking to define social learning rigidly, and thus limiting its potential utility to open up spaces for innovation in NR governance, social learning can be positioned in future discourse so that it holds a cluster of revealing and concealing features. This position shifts responsibility for clarity and rigour away from the concept, useful because of its fluidity, to the user of the concept who must then articulate the way(s) in which they choose to use it. This shift is consistent with reflexive, systems practice for systemic and adaptive governance and invites practitioner responsibility rather than conceptual reification.     

关系经济地理学产业集群理论研究进展及其评析

关系经济地理学认为,产业集群的网络组织是一个经济、社会、文化俱乐部,是一种科斯制度的形式,由于地理现象的非线性特征,在产业集群的空间经济发展中,社会、文化、制度等因素起着重要作用。文章介绍了关系经济地理学产业集群理论的主要观点,探讨了其研究的新进展,并作出了简要评析。     

中国农村养老保障两种观点的比较——兼论中国农村养老保障的模式选择

关于中国农村养老保障模式有两种观点,有支持家庭养老的,也有支持社会化养老的。通过比较研究,两种观点之间既有共识又有分歧;有分歧是因为逻辑路径不同。农村社会养老保险经过数次改革仍然低效是因为缺少公共资源。尝试给出农村社会养老保险的出路。     

The New Comparative Political Economy

With the collapse of communism in the late 1980s the field of comparative political economy has undergone major revision. Socialism is no longer considered the viable alternative to capitalism it once was. We now recognize that the choice is between alternative institutional arrangements of capitalism. Progress in the field of comparative political economy is achieved by examining how different legal, political and social institutions shape economic behavior and impact economic performance. In this paper we survey the new learning in comparative political economy and suggest how this learning should redirect our attention in economic development.JEL classification: B53, O10, O20, P0     

Homo Oeconomicus Returns: Neoliberalism,Socio-Political Uncertainty and Economic Policy

The aim of this paper is to discuss how neoliberal policy is changing the way people conceive of the economy and of society. After a brief outline of the main features of neoliberal policies, it argues that neoliberalism does not consist in a mere set of wrong economic theories or in the plain reflection of vested interests. It is a full-fledged view of how society should be organized. The paper then argues that these policies and the ideology that backs them up determine major institutional changes which affect economic, social and polity-related variables but also the general understanding that peo-ple have of the economy and of society. More specifically, it enhances uncertainty about one’s future and favors a non-solidaristic view of social relations. These changes tend to prejudge the effectiveness of employment policies and to reinforce the neolib-eral consensus. The conclusion is that it is not possible to conceive of an appropriate macroeconomic policy unless institutional changes are taken into account that trans-cend macroeconomics as such and re-establish the social underpinnings for that policy. These include changes in how the economy is coordinated but also changes in the bar-gaining power of workers and citizens relative to business.     

Theoretical foundations of sustainable economic welfare indicators — ISEW and political economy of the disembedded system

The conceptual foundations of the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) are surveyed and critiqued. It is argued that the three underlying theories of community, psychic income, and social welfare economics supply certain theoretical foundations for the ISEW. The focal point of the theories is to evaluate the positives and negatives of economic growth, with the hope of achieving a practical measure of sustainable economic welfare. However, they are not as well developed as they should be: the three theories have partial, underdeveloped explanations of the benefits (services) and costs (disservices) generated in the system. The theoretical particulars of ISEW abstract from the workings of the capitalist system, because the ISEW advocates have not specified a society in the socioeconomic system which we currently have. Specifically, there is no underlying linked systems view of the disembedded economy — where the exchange economy tends to dominate other aspects of culture. Without a systematic understanding of the political economy of capitalism, the ISEW is potentially flawed in design. Therefore, there is a need to search for a critical approach to sustainable economic welfare. As a point of departure, it is better to have a political economy theory. The political economy of the disembedded system provides an alternative theoretical approach to ISEW.     

Engines of Growth in China: The Limits of Informal Institutions

Abstract:

Since the 1978 reforms, China has experienced rapid economic and social development. GDP growth has been in the double digits on average yearly, creating the fastest sustained economic growth recorded by a major economy in history. Not only did this transform the economy and society at large, China reached important milestones in terms of reducing poverty and creating prosperity in a short period of time. This article uses the conceptual framework of new institutional economics to examine China’s economic growth and how growth has been achieved largely by ‘informal institutions’ that are grounded in culture, customs, and private interactions that emerge spontaneously. The trajectory by which these informal institutions left their imprint on China’s complex economic landscape and how they can constrain future economic growth are also of central importance. After examining decentralization and risk management practices, property rights, and the legal system, we emphasize the importance of creating formal institutions necessary for long-term growth, most importantly innovation. Preliminary evidence shows total factor productivity is tapering off which may reflect the constraints of China’s institutional environment. This ought to be reversed if China is to enjoy long-term sustained growth.     

Economic Growth,Happiness and Socialism: Durkheim’s Critique of Economic Reason and Beyond

The paper argues that Durkheim’s positions on happiness and socialism are relevant in today’s neoliberal and post-affluent societies. Durkheim dissociates happiness from economic progress and makes it contingent upon the relationships between the individual and society. An important component of Durkheimian happiness is the dynamic equilibrium between desires and means. Therefore, his friendly criticism of the socialist project is that it promises to fulfil the desires that were released by a disembedded market economy. Durkheim’s point helps us to understand why the social democratic promise was broken and how the neoliberal imperatives of competition and unlimited wants sow unhappiness.     

社会资本在农村集体经济改革中的演变与构建

狭义上的社会资本指网络关系、社会规范以及信任程度,中国农村集体经济在这些方面具有不同于西方国家的特点。论文分析了在中国改革开放这一制度变迁的过程中社会资本发生变化的机理及其对农村集体经济的影响。根据理论研究提出应重构农村集体经济社会资本,这对于建设和谐社会、实现经济转型和提高农民收入等具有重意义。政策含义是：培育农村经济中介和社会中介组织,建立发挥合作经济的作用,明确供销社和信用社合作性质,同时,基层政府和社区的互动应该有边界。     

论市场经济体制下的政府与社会保障

社会保障是社会主义市场经济体制下的重要支柱,被称为社会的“安全网”和“减震器”,而政府是社会保障中十分重要的角色,是社会保障中的制度主体。从经济理论上进行分析,市场失灵决定了政府必须对社会保障进行干预,同时也存在政府失灵的问题,在社会保障中政府与市场应密切结合。提出：目前发挥我国政府在社会保障的作用,有利于维持社会经济生活的正常运行和推动我国社会保障事业的发展。     

Power,Intergroup Conflicts and Social Stratification in the United States: What has the Global Crisis Taught us?

Abstract

Drawing on early sociological analyses of how power and intergroup conflicts can affect the development of modern economies, this paper investigates how the recent Global Crisis (GC) has affected the stratification of the US society. The paper argues that the consumerist society has reinforced the historical stratification of social identities with white men in high-paid, high-social status managerial and financial occupations at the top, and black women in low-paid, low-status service occupations at the bottom. This paper calls for a deconstruction of the neoliberal individual into a unique combination of identities in a stratified capitalist society in order to reveal how social stratification has evolved during the GC. The paper finally concludes on the importance of heterogeneous identities in reflecting the diversity of societal and economic interests in order to address the issues of financial stability and sustainability at the corporate and societal levels.     

中英经济语篇中概念隐喻的认知研究

隐喻是从一个具体的概念域向另一个抽象概念域的跨域映射（cross-domain mapping）。认知语言学家们认为,隐喻将复杂抽象的概念转化为人们直观具体的概念,这一转换有利于人类理解抽象概念,进行抽象思维。以经济语篇中的隐喻为研究对象,运用认知语言学理论,以定量和定性相结合的方法,对经济语篇中的隐喻进行检索、辨别、归类、分析,尝试去发现中英经济语篇中隐喻目标域类型及其特点,以及两种语言在隐喻方面的异同及其背后的原因。通过统计分析发现,中英在经济语篇中共映射到9个领域,按隐喻出现频率由高到低排列为：人类〉旅程〉空间〉机器〉战争〉流水〉游戏〉容器〉植物。中英在隐喻分布方面具有很大相似性,但在具体目标域,因为两种文化、历史传统以及语言本身等原因,具有一定差异。     

浅谈社会工作人才的培养

在党的十六届六中全会提出要建设宏大的社会工作人才队伍后,如何培养合格的社会工作人才的全新课题摆在了全国人民面前。在我国,由于社会工作事业起步时间较短,现阶段的社会工作者更强调必须具有社会工作专业教育背景,以社会工作为职业。我们要根据构建社会主义和谐社会的客观需要,明确社会工作人才培养的规模结构、目标任务、专业和课程设置,推进中国特色的社会工作专业教育。     

社会建设的关键在于“民生服务型”财政

要实现经济社会的协调发展,实现经济发展和社会公平的均衡,实现政府职能向公共服务的转变,实现个人和社会关系的全面调整,社会建设需要在制度和政策方面有所创新,并紧紧抓住"民生服务型"财政这一关键。     

South Korean social enterprises and their networks: On their organizational linkages at the interstice between the third,public, and corporate sectors

Social enterprise and government interactions have become an increasingly prominent theme in the literature on social entrepreneurship, due in part to the pressures confronting the welfare state and the rise of precarious work. This analysis is motivated by the efforts of the government of South Korea to incubate social enterprises since 2007. The constant scaling of the South Korean government's monitored social enterprise certification scheme had led to the registration of approximately 3440 social enterprises as of May 2021. This study documents the interorganizational network behaviour of these enterprises relative to the public sector, corporate sector, and civil society and the social economy. A cluster analysis approach is utilized to analyse network data obtained from a self-administered survey of 103 government-certified social enterprises operating in South Korea. We find that a sizeable number of government-certified social enterprises have diversified networks, as opposed to public sector-centric networks, although such social enterprises are in the minority. This study references social innovation cluster theory to argue that the aforementioned scheme has attained a partial degree of success in facilitating the emergence of social enterprises with diversified networks.However, the majority remain quasi-governmental implementers of government contracts and, generally, do not engage in networking.     

社会治理与治理模式

社会主义市场经济发展进程中,由于利益格局发生调整,产生一系列矛盾与冲突,进而影响到社会的发展与稳定。党的十八届三中全会提出国家治理体系和治理能力现代化,如何应对这些社会问题所带来的机遇与挑战,使经济发展与社会进步同频同振,有效地进行社会治理至关重要。通过对社会治理基本问题的理论展示,运用马克思主义原理,提出基本思路与发展路径,希冀对社会治理的政策与实践有所裨益。     

Religion and Economic Development in History: Institutions and the Role of Religious Networks

I argue that the role of religion on economic performance is mainly through the networks of small religious groups. These groups form social networks that enable individuals to conduct non-formal contract enforcement mechanisms. I analyze the effects of religions on societies, focusing mainly on the institutional aspects that affect the capabilities of creating social capital via networks which enhance cooperation and decrease transaction costs. Since the interaction between institutions and organizations is expected to shape the institutional evolution and economic performance of an economy, religions that have a communal form of organization rather than a vertical (hierarchical) structure, thus allowing many different denominational sub-communities within a society, can be more beneficiary for development and growth. Such institutions may not only provide allocative and production efficiency, but also adaptive efficiency that is a key to long-run growth. However, these effects may turn negative depending on these institutions’ role in causing group hostility and exclusion.     

社会和谐程度研究——基于无锡、徐州、镇江的比较分析

建设和谐社会是新世纪经济社会发展的主题。从经济水平、社会结构、社会公平、人口素质、生活质量、社会稳定等六个方面来衡量社会和谐程度,拟选择41个评价指标,运用主成分分析方法对无锡、徐州、南京的社会和谐程度做一综合评价,确定地区间的相对进程,并简要分析影响地区和谐社会程度的主要因素,希望对地区的进一步发辰提出有效的政策建议。