澳大利亚国企改革实践及对中国国企改革的启示

本文介绍了澳大利亚国企改革的私有化、开放市场等的具体进程,分析了改革对于效率、价格、社会服务、国有资产流失等方面的影响。尽管澳大利亚与中国有许多不同之处,但是两国国企改革中也有许多共同性的问题,文中就一些共性的问题,分析了澳大利亚国企改革对于中国国企改革的借鉴作用。     

The relation between international capital flows and interest rates: A theoretical analysis

Summary Commonly, macro trade models which analyze the effects of governmental policies assumed that the rate of the international flow of capital is dependent upon international interest rates. This paper demonstrates that such a specification is inconsistent with the assumption of arbitrage in securities internationally.This is demonstrated first within a conventional static macro trade model, second within a class of dynamic models where short-run capital flows, but not total capital flows, depend upon interest rate levels, and, finally, within a general portfolio macro trade framework.We recommend the assumption of international arbitrage behavior.The authors are respectively Visiting Associate Professor of Economics at University of California at Santa Barbara, California and Professor of Economics at Wayne State University. We wish to gratefully acknowledge the suggestions and criticisms of Dr. S. K. Kuipers.     

Gradualism Versus Shock Therapy: (Re)Interpreting the Chinese and Russian Experiences

The concepts of gradualism and shock therapy are reconsidered in respect of the Chinese and Russian experiences. It is suggested that success in reform is determined not only by sharp and speedy measures for attaining macroeconomic financial stabilization, but also, more importantly, how rapidly a critical mass of genuine market forces and competition can be achieved in the microeconomic sphere. In contrast to the orthodox interpretation, it is concluded that the ‘weighted combination’ of macroeconomic and microeconomic reforms in China can be regarded as true ‘shock therapy’, which has brought the Chinese reforms to a successful outcome. In contrast, despite initial macro-financial shock, the Russian reforms have been slow and inconsistent and, for that reason, less successful than in China.     

Some Reflections on the Teaching of Economics and Commerce in a Developing Country

The author, a teacher of economics and commercial subjects in Papua New Guinea which recently became independent, reports on the difficulties encountered in teaching these subjects in this developing country, where education of the western type is still associated in the minds of many with an aura of “cargo-cult” thinking. Other problems are the lack of textbooks in the language of the country, and the fact that the traditional beliefs of the majority of students run counter to principles of modern business and economics, making for a lack of even the most elementary economic understanding. Thus, the author believes, the transplanted course now being taught in Papua New Guinea cannot achieve the objective of providing basic economic understanding.

Mr. Smyth also suggests that the teacher “should be concerned with searching out those aspects of the traditional culture fhat can be used as ‘spring boards’ into a more complex study of the modem economy.”     

Spatial economics of biological control: investing in new releases of insects for earlier limitation of Paterson's curse in Australia

Paterson's curse and related weeds (Echium spp.) were introduced as garden flowers before 1850 and have spread to over 30 million ha in southern Australia. Four hundred successful releases of crown weevil (M. lawatus) populations specifically targeting Echium spp. were made in the 1993–2000 period. Based on the timing, location and performance of these past releases of beneficial insects, spatially and temporally specific trajectories of biocontrol have been simulated. Insect populations established by the past releases are expected to cover expanding areas at densities sufficient to limit host Echium infestations only over the next 25‐50 years. The present analysis tackles the questions of where and how many additional releases are economically justified to speed up this process. We identify 31 districts in which diminishing niches for further insect releases are projected over time, according to the locations of damaging weed infestations and the timing, location and numbers of past insect releases. Benefits of biocontrol are expressed in terms of the value of recovered pasture productivity, keyed to estimates of loss and to historical district livestock inventories converted to dry sheep equivalent (DSE) feed availability levels to which prices are applied. Expected marginal contributions of increments of new releases were simulated for each of the 31 districts, subject to the spacehime limitations of each niche. Our explicit accounting for the spatial and temporal dimensions has made possible the economically optimd targeting of new biocontrol releases. For example, at $12/DSE and a marginal cost of $2000 per release, with a discount rate of l0%, we find there is a case for a program of over 400 new releases targeted to 17 districts, with as few as five releases to each of several and as many as 70 releases in one district.     

Volatility switching and regime interdependence between information technology stocks 1995–2005

In this paper we use SWARCH models to analyze volatility regime switching and regime interdependence for information technology (IT) stocks in Canada, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, the United States and a composite Emerging Markets (EM) index. We find that prior to the IT bubble country effects were more important for IT stocks, but the effect of the IT bubble has been to make industry effects more important than country effects in explaining the volatility switching behavior of IT stocks.     

The Game is Not the Same: The Demand for Test Match Cricket in Australia

We estimate a cricket demand equation for test matches played in Australia. Consistent with previous studies of the demand for professional sport, demand is specified as a function of both economic factors (such as admission price, income and market size) and match specific factors (such as the uncertainty of outcome, weather conditions and the presence of star players). Our results suggest that match specific factors, rather than economic factors, influence attendance. We compare our results to those of previous studies for Australia and England which estimate the demand for cricket.     

Social inclusion,new regionalism and associational governance: the Queensland experience

In recent years there has been a resurgence of decentralized social governance concerned with the spatial dimensions of disadvantage. This article examines aspects of this resurgence in the Australian state of Queensland where, after the hasty birth of ‘place management’ in response to the rise of ‘Hansonism’, a plethora of ‘joined‐up’ policy initiatives were undertaken in relation to the regional dimensions of poverty. We propose that these trends reflect in part new ways of thinking about the spatial aspects of disadvantage which have emerged in recent years and which have the potential to take regional policy beyond the narrow confines imposed by neoliberal economic orthodoxy. These new ways of thinking have arisen in social policy through the reframing of disadvantage in terms of social exclusion and in regional economic policy through the influence of the so‐called ‘new regionalism’. The article shows how together these bodies of theory point us towards a new model of ‘associational governance’. The article reviews recent Queensland experience and indicates those features of ‘associational governance’ which have become characteristic of locality‐based social policy ideas in Queensland. ‘Joined‐up’ and regional policy aspirations of the Queensland State government have shown the influence of these new approaches. The political and policy sustainability of these trends, however, is uncertain. The lingering shadow of managerialism and neoliberal policy frameworks remains a significant barrier to the innovation and viability of these approaches. More directly, the inherent limits of the ‘local’ or ‘regional’ initiatives in the face of broader national and global factors will significantly constrain the capacity of associational governance systems to deliver positive democratic, social and economic outcomes. The article examines recent Queensland policy reforms in light of this complex set of factors and concludes by offering directions for future research and policy development. Ces dernières années ont vu réapparaître une gouvernance sociale décentralisée soucieuse des dimensions spatiales des cas défavorisés. Des aspects de cette ré‐émergence sont étudiés dans l'état australien du Queensland où, après la démarche précipitée vers un ‘management de lieu’ en réaction à la montée de ‘l'hansonisme’, une multitude d'initiatives politiques ‘combinées’ ont été entreprises à l'égard des dimensions régionales de la pauvreté. Ces tendances reflètent en partie de nouveaux modes de pensée sur les aspects spatiaux des cas défavorisés. Apparus depuis peu, ces courants sont susceptibles de sortir la politique régionale des limites étroites qu'impose l'orthodoxie économique néolibérale. De plus, ils ont surgi dans la politique des régions grâce au recadrage de la pauvreté en termes d'exclusion sociale, et dans la politique économique régionale grâce à l'influence du dit ‘nouveau régionalisme’. L'article montre comment ces deux corpus théoriques orientent vers un modèle nouveau de ‘gouvernance associative’. Partant de l'expérience récente du Queensland, l'étude identifie les traits de gouvernance associative qui y sont devenus caractéristiques des réflexions de politique sociale de portée locale. Ces approches ont été traduites dans les ambitions de politique ‘combinée’ et régionale du gouvernement du Queensland. Pourtant, leur viabilité au plan politique et stratégique est incertaine. L'ombre persistante du néolibéralisme et du managérialisme continue de faire obstacle à l'innovation et à la pérennité de ces tendances. Plus directement, les limites inhérentes aux initiatives de type local ou régional comparées aux influences nationales et mondiales vont énormément restreindre la capacité des systèmes de gouvernance associative à produire des résultats démocratiques, sociaux et économiques positifs. Après un examen des récentes réformes politiques au Queensland à la lumière de cet ensemble complexe de facteurs, la conclusion propose des orientations de recherches et des lignes politiques à développer.