德语国家休闲与旅游地理研究的回顾与进展

德语国家的旅游地理学研究发端于汉斯·波塞尔(Hans Poser)1939年对利森山区(Riesengebirge)旅游景区的分析研究.他将景观看作旅游的背景,认为地理学研究旅游要从分析景观和度假之间的关系入手.二战后形成的以休闲行为研究为主的慕尼黑学派,更重视游客及其休闲行为.目前的旅游地理学研究主要以应用为主,如可持续旅游发展、空间承载力以及社会变迁对旅游供求市场的影响等.另一个趋势是地理多元空间(如物理空间、行为空间、虚拟空间等)对休闲和旅游的影响研究.另外,休闲旅游发展的整体性研究方法又重新复活.     

Modelling international tourism and country risk spillovers for Cyprus and Malta

Small Island Tourism Economies (SITEs) are developing sovereign countries that rely on tourism as a source of exports, and need a consistent inflow of foreign investment in order to facilitate economic growth. Access to international capital markets helps SITEs smooth out their consumption over time, while absorbing adverse domestic production shocks. This paper provides a comparison of tourism growth, country risk returns and their associated volatilities (or uncertainty) for 2 SITEs, namely Cyprus and Malta. Monthly data are available for both international tourist arrivals and composite country risk ratings compiled by the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) for the period May 1986 to May 2002. The time-varying conditional variances of tourism growth and country risk returns for the 2 SITEs are analysed using multivariate models of conditional volatility. Empirical results show that Cyprus and Malta are complementary destinations for international tourists. Changes to tourism patterns in Cyprus lead to changes to tourism patterns in Malta. Hence, tour operators and national tourism promotion authorities in Cyprus and Malta should collaborate closely in marketing and promoting joint tourism products. Moreover, foreign entities interested in investing in the tourism sectors of Cyprus and Malta should consider investment projects that span a long period of time. The performance of the tourism sector and the associated composite risk are independent of each other for the two countries. However, there is a direct relationship between the tourism sectors of Cyprus and Malta and their respective country risk settings.     

西方国家文化产业的就业特点

自"世界文化政策大会"召开20余年来,文化产业发展大潮已席卷大多数西方国家.根据西方学者的相关研究,西方国家文化产业就业主要呈现以下七个特点:巨大的就业量、较快的就业增速、主要分布在都市区、分布倾向于发达大城市、各地域具有不同的优势部门、产业结构中"生产"功能增长显著、生产活动中中小型企业处支配地位.结合我国的实际状况,西方国家文化产业就业可以给我国如下启示:就业应成为文化产业发展的指示器;文化产业不是绝对的支柱产业;要扶持优势产业以促进城市竞争力;农村地区可以适当发展文化产业;文化产业不等同于高新技术产业;注重对小企业的扶持.     

The Role of Total Factor Productivity Growth in Middle-Income Countries

We examine the importance of total factor productivity (TFP) growth in middle-income countries (MICs) based on cross-country panel data for the period of 1975–2014. We find that TFP growth contributed significantly to a country’s upward transition from middle-income to high-income country group. The TFP growth model reveals that the catch-up effect, human capital, smaller population, weak currency, and research and development growth are significant sources of TFP growth. We do not find a systematic difference in the TFP growth models for MICs. In analyzing the role of factors influencing TFP growth at different income stages, strengthening innovative activities and building innovative capacities are important in overcoming the challenges that MICs face when transitioning to the high-income group. Governments of upper MICs need to initiate reform to motivate innovation by optimizing national R&D systems, and redesigning the educational system to target promoting innovation.     

Institutions and human resource practices in European countries

Abstract

Stemming from differences between approaches to new institutionalism, this paper analyses the impact of institutions on the adoption of human resource practices (HRP) in organizations. With this aim in mind, two opposing hypotheses are presented: should configurations of national institutions be related to the actual implementation of HRP by organizations or not? This empirical analysis uses a sample of 29,959 employees who work in organizations established in 27 European countries and takes into account the employees’ perception about the HRP used in their organizations and which affect them. The results support the approach to new institutionalism that emphasizes legitimacy and isomorphism, since these results show empirical regularities when countries are compared. Specifically, a country’s configurations of regulative, normative and cognitive institutions are related to the actual implementation of HRP, such as internal promotion, job participation, job design, work-life balance, job training, assessment and teamwork. These results suggest relevant practical implications for human resource managers and policy-makers.     

广西科技文献共享与服务平台为东盟国家提供服务的构想

广西科技文献共享与服务平台链接中国-东盟博览会官方网站,依托广西平方软件强大的后台服务为东盟国家提供信息服务。文章详细介绍了广西科技文献共享与服务平台的优越性和可行性,并展望其辉煌前景。     

发达国家城市水污染治理的比较与启示

城市水污染对人类的生存安全构成重大威胁。我国城市水污染日益严峻。在广泛借鉴欧、美、日等发达国家已有治理经验的基础上,深入对比中外城市在管理体制、治理方式与监督机制等方面的差异,提出建立分工协作机制、明确市场作用、强化法律与公众的监管作用等途径,营造我国良好的城市水环境。     

External adjustment

Gross stocks of foreign assets have increased rapidly relative to national outputs since 1990, and the short-run capital gains and losses on those assets can amount to significant fractions of GDP. These fluctuations in asset values render the national income and product account measure of the current account balance increasingly inadequate as a summary of the change in a country's net foreign assets. Nonetheless, unusually large current account imbalances, especially deficits, should remain high on policymakers' list of concerns, even, for the richer and less credit-constrained countries. Extreme imbalances signal the need for large and perhaps abrupt real exchange rate changes in the future, changes that might have undesired political and financial consequences given the incompleteness of domestic and international asset markets. Furthermore, of the two sources of the change in net foreign assets—the current account and the capital gain on the net foreign asset position—the former is better understood and more amenable to policy influence. Systematic government attempts to manipulate international asset values in order to change the net foreign asset position could have a destabilizing effect on market expectations. JEL no. F21, F32, F36, F41     

Effects of health information on Nordic meat and fish demand

Increasing public concerns about health risks associated with dietary intakes of cholesterol are expected to have significant impacts on the demand for foods with high fat content. This paper investigates how information about cholesterol, as measured by two newly constructed indices based on published medical research, has affected the demand for meats (beef, chicken and pork) and fish in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). To compare the effects of information across countries and over time, the demand equations for all the countries are estimated within one system, and a complete set of price and expenditure elasticities is estimated. Our findings suggest that health information has affected consumption in a healthy way in all countries studied except for Denmark. We find positive effects on the demand for chicken in Finland, Norway and Sweden and for fish in Finland and Sweden. A negative effect on the demand for beef in Sweden also is found. First version received: May 2001/Final version received: December 2001 RID="*" ID="*"  The authors would like to thank Wen S. Chern and Bj?rn Sl?en for their assistance in the construction of the health information indices. The suggestions of two anonymous referees have also been of great assistance. The EU (contract FAIRS-CT97-3373) and the Research Council of Norway (grant no. 134018/110) provided financial support for this research.”