Courts and Firm Investments in Real Property

The legal environment and rule of law are important for business, but existing studies often treat rule of law holistically. This article examines the role of courts, specifically the speed of court decisions, the enforcement of edicts, and the impartiality of decision-making as perceived by firms of various sizes, and the impact this has on firm investments in real property. The article analyzes a panel of 6,300 firms from 27 countries in the period from 2002 to 2009 to find that (i) firm size affects perceptions positively, while (ii) paying bribes affects perceptions negatively. At the same time, (iii) a firm’s connections to the government have no apparent impact. More importantly, while all three components have a positive correlation with the amount firms invest in land and machinery, the speed of courts has the greatest significance and the highest marginal effect. Firms perceiving courts to be quick invest nearly four times as much as the average real property investment. This finding suggests that policymakers should focus on reducing backlogs in the court system, perhaps by encouraging more arbitration or staffing more clerks.     

OPTIMAL MONETARY POLICY WITH THE STICKY INFORMATION MODEL OF PRICE ADJUSTMENT: INFLATION OR PRICE‐LEVEL TARGETING?

I investigate the optimal monetary policy in a New Keynesian macroeconomic framework with the sticky information model of price adjustment. The model is solved for optimal policy, and welfare implications of three alternative monetary policy regimes under this optimal policy are compared when there is a cost‐push shock to the economy. These monetary policy regimes are the unconstrained policy, price‐level targeting and inflation targeting regimes. The results illustrate that optimal policy depends on the degree of price stickiness and the persistence of the shock. Inflation targeting emerges as the optimal policy if prices are flexible enough or the shock is persistent enough. However, the unconstrained policy or price‐level targeting might be preferable to inflation targeting if prices are not very flexible and the shock is not very persistent. The results also show that as prices become more flexible, the welfare loss usually gets bigger.     

公共危机视角下我国政策主体问题研究

现代社会是一个高危社会,公共政策在危机管理中发挥着不可替代的作用。公共危机所具有的特性不仅增加了危机政策制定的难度,也对公共危机政策主体提出了更高的要求。目前我国危机政策主体还存在危机决策者的综合能力不高、政策研究组织的作用不强、民众有效参与及意见反馈机制缺失、大众传媒的作用不到位等较多不足,需要从提高危机决策者的素质、发展"外脑"提高政策质量、吸引民众、大众传媒参与危机政策制定过程等方面加以完善。     

Analysis of China＇s Renewable Energy Development under the Current Economic and Technical Circumstances

At present, the development of renewable energy relies mainly on government support. The government invests in a considerable number of projects to improve public welfare and to assist in poverty relief If China is to replace fossil fuels on a large scale with renewable energy sources, the production costs and prices of renewable energy must be brought down. All countries are facing the challenge of moving to a more secure and low-carbon energy system without weakening economic and social development. In this regard, China is facing an even greater challenge in terms of economic cost, as cheap coal remains the main energy form. Technical innovation and industrialization in the area of renewable energy is an important means of lowering cost. China is in for a period of high-speed development of its economy and the rising demand for energy is irreversible. If the technical progress and development speed of renewable energy lags behind the growth in demand, it will be difficult to realize the improvement of its energy structure.     

论陕甘宁边区政府团结非党人士的政策原则

陕甘宁边区政府自成立以后,在民主与法制、经济与文化建设等方面取得了突出成绩,特别是在抗日民族统一战线政策的贯彻执行上,大力推行民主政治,与非党人士合作共事,从生活上关心、照顾非党人士等原则,博得了非党人士的信任,充分调动了非党人士的工作积极性,为推动边区政府的建设和发展做出了贡献。     

Food Prices Policy in Israel: A Strategic Instrument

Abstract:

The goal of this research is to demonstrate a significant importance of state policy of food prices supervision in Israel. The article begins with a detailed discussion of the healthy food basket’s components, based on the Israeli Ministry of Health recommendations. Next, we present the prices of the goods included in the basket, and a calculated estimate of the per capita cost of funding the basket. Based on this cost figure, we assess the economic ability of Israeli households to purchase the basket. The results show that two lowest quintiles would have trouble paying the price of a basic health food basket. Further, it describes the food prices in Israel and its significance, Israel’s food market and the major regulatory tools associated with the food market. In the end, we define the need for short-term and longer-term regulation of food costs, and the necessity of expanding competition in the food market.     

Does China＇s Huge External Surplus Imply an Undervalued Renminbi？

A pegged exchange rate regime has been pivotal to China's export-led development strategy. However, its huge trade surpluses and massive build up of international reserves have been matched by large deficits for major trading partners, creating acute policy concerns abroad, especially in the USA. This paper provides a straightforward conceptual framework for interpreting the effect of China's exchange rate policy on its own trade balance and that of trading partners in the context of discrepant economic growth rates. It shows how pegging the exchange rate when output is outstripping expenditure induces China's trade surpluses and counterpart deficits for its trading partners. An important corollary is that given its strictly regulated capital account, China's persistently large surpluses imply a significantly undervalued renminbi, which should gradually become more flexible.     

关税理论的研究综述与评析

从历史渊源上来看，历史上存在着自由贸易关税和保护贸易关税理论的分歧、争论甚至是对立。但就长期的动态利益而言，贸易自由化符合各国的利益，必然成为各国经济发展的主流趋势。所以，WTO原则约束下公平和贸易自由化是对外贸易税收调整的主流方向，但各国在对GATT/WTO的实践中不乏“例外”和“灵活性”，这决定了公平和贸易自由化只能是相对的、渐进的。     

21世纪初中国老龄产业发展的指导思想及政策构想

分析了中国老龄产业发展的宏观背景、历史机遇及发展所面临的困难与挑战,提出了推进老龄产业发展的指导思想、基本思路和政策构想.     

Review Essay: Is a Chilean-Style Tax on Short-Term Capital Inflows Stabilizing?

Open Economies Review - In the wake of the 1997–1998 East Asian financial crisis, some economists recommended that affected countries adopt a Chilean-style tax on short-term capital inflows...