The development status of women in South Africa: Patterns and progress in the provinces

The development status of women in South Africa declined between 1996 and 2001. This study examined whether the decline was pervasive throughout the nine provinces, and whether any development patterns were apparent among the provinces. The findings revealed that women had lost ground across the board, both in absolute terms and relative to men. They also showed that certain ranking patterns prevailed among the nine provinces and, notably, that women in provinces with pre-existing poor development statuses may also be predisposed to a poor development status relative to men. This double burden may translate into a perpetuation of poverty for women who find themselves in these provinces.     

The biological standard of living in early nineteenth‐century West Africa: new anthropometric evidence for northern Ghana and Burkina Faso1

West Africans are on average shorter than Europeans today. Whether this was already the case at the end of the Atlantic slave trade is an important question for the history of nutrition and physical welfare. We present the first study of changing heights for people born mostly in what are now northern Ghana and Burkina Faso during the early nineteenth century. The dataset, not used before for anthropometry, documents men born between 1800 and 1849. Mostly purchased from slave owners, they were recruited into the Dutch army to serve in the Dutch East Indies. We find that height development was stagnant between 1800 and 1830 and deteriorated strongly during the 1840s. In international comparison and after taking selectivity issues into account, these Ghanaian and Burkinabe recruits were notably shorter than north‐western Europeans but not shorter than southern Europeans during this period.     

The relationship between financial sector development and savings mobilisation in South Africa: An empirical study

This article examines the link between financial sector development and savings mobilisation in South Africa for the period 1980–2012. Taking the life-cycle hypothesis as our theoretical background and using Johansen co-integration that allows for hypothesis testing, the empirical results revealed a long-run relationship between savings, interest rates and financial sector development. We find an inverse relationship between the interest rate and savings, implying that South Africans are net borrowers because the income effect overwhelms the substitution effect. This in part explains the low level of savings in recent time. Important policy lessons for boosting the national savings rate are discussed.     

An ecological economic approach to forest and biodiversity conservation: The case of vanuatu

The paper presents an ecological economic approach to forest and biodiversity conservation. Constructivist philosophy of social science is critically reviewed and adopted as the methodological basis of the approach. The paradigmatic basis of ecological economics is discussed and a model of human behavior suited to ecological economics is presented. This model accounts for altruistic, normative/affective, and irrational behavior, as well as the role of institutions. A discussion of participatory land use planning, which also accounts for intergenerational equity issues, completes the presentation of the ecological economic approach. Its application to the conservation of forests and biodiversity in Vanuatu demonstrates the operational applicability of the proposed approach.     

论差异思想政治教育法

个体差异的存在是差异思想政治教育法的前提 ,马克思关于人的全面发展理论是差异思想政治教育法的理论依据。实施差异思想政治教育法应围绕个体差异测断 ,有的放矢和提高教育工作者素质来进行     

农村非正规金融：发展特点、制度分析及规范

当前我国农村非正规金融的发展具有规模大、利率弹性大、借贷方式不规范等特点。制度分析表明农村非正规金融之所以占据农村金融市场的半壁江山,在于其较低的交易成本、灵活的抵押机制、内生的风险控制机制等制度优势。同时农村非正规金融也有活动范围规模狭小、有一定的蔓延性、缺乏国家政策和法律支持等制度缺陷,需要通过合法化、加强监管、促进农村正规金融与非正规金融的合作等方式加以规范。