Why Developing Countries Have Failed to Increase Their Exports of Agricultural Processed Products

The article uses the case study of coffee, tea and cocoa to analyse whether tariff escalation constitutes a barrier to market access that thwarts diversification efforts of developing countries into exports of value‐added agricultural processed products. It also examines the extent to which non‐tariff barriers act as market access barriers that constrain developing countries from developing their exports of agricultural processed products. Our analysis shows that tariff escalation is not the main barrier; rather it is the prevalence of non‐tariff barriers (including domestic non‐tariff barriers) that limits the ability of developing countries to increase their agricultural processed exports. This has important policy implications in terms of the emphasis that trade negotiators and policy planners should place on addressing non‐tariff barriers.     

An Overview of Russia's Largest Corporations Abroad

SUMMARY

Russian outward foreign direct investments have grown rapidly during the past few years. The natural-resource based companies have been the main drivers of the international growth of the Russian economy. Whereas the leading companies in oil, gas, and metal industries already rank among the top global players, the manufacturing and telecommunication industries are increasingly catching up and seeking for growth outside the Russian borders. The current article seeks to provide an overview of the international activities of the leading Russian companies in several industrial sectors with additional policy conclusions regarding the internationalisation patterns of Russian enterprises.     

Emerging Interaction of Political Processes

Abstract

The emerging interaction of political processes sets the stage for the level of macro uncertainty and specific risk events that may occur in an international relationship. Strongly defined social control in Cuba, formal and informal, dominates the dynamics of the relationship, while simultaneously government, formal, action in the U.S. dominates the ability of American individuals to further the relationship. This study examines the development of a long-term relationship between two universities from the U.S. and Cuba. Over a period of eight years the relationship changes considerably as events on the macro stage play out and the environment for détente shifts. The key focus of this relationship lies with developing the study abroad program, taking students from the U.S. to Cuba.     

Sustaining urban place-making

Educational travel, a neglected area of study in sustainable tourism, has grown substantially over the last 20 years in part as a response to institutional missions to promote international education, but also as a result of the USA's national security concerns to nurture a global citizenry. Considerable future growth is predicted following the bipartisan Lincoln Commission report and under the pending new legislation in the USA. Our pre-test/post-test study of almost 5% (n = 651 US students) of the entire short-term, US educational travel market to Australia and New Zealand between 2008 and 2009 revealed significant differences between the cohorts of the two programs, both of which focused on sustainable development. The Australia program not only produced significant increases in global citizenship (as measured by scores on consumer behaviors, support for environmental policies, and environmental citizenship) beyond that of the New Zealand program, but any initial differences between the programs were erased following participation. Reasons for the differences in attitude change are discussed. Analysis also noted key differences between students with different political orientations, but no gender differences. Implications for managing educational travel, marketing Australia's and New Zealand's tourism, sustainable tourism planning, and theory advancements are discussed.     

中国民族工业保护的早期经验及启示

对民族工业的适度保护可以促进民族工业的发展与壮大。本文认为,近代中国对民族工业的保护措施及其效果为:专利制度对部分企业的有限保护、关税对民族企业的微弱保护、国货运动对民族企业的有力保护。中国早期对民族工业的保护经验,对于正处在全球化之中的当代中国企业有着重要借鉴意义。     

国有商业银行上市及其风险研究——从制度的角度

当前,国有商业银行正紧锣密鼓进行股份制改革,其中的重头戏就是实现上市。国有商业银行上市属于一种典型的产权制度变迁,是国有商业银行调整公司治理结构、改变“一股独大”局面的一个主要手段。作为一种新制度的设计与安排,在实际中肯定将面临很多问题,特别是制度变迁与移植过程中固有的一些隐性风险,是国有商业银行上市改造中不容忽视的问题。     

Intercultural Competency Development in Conjunction With a Short Term Study Away Experience： Changes in Undergraduate Students

The purpose of this research was to examine whether undergraduate business students who participated in a short term study abroad course and intercultural competence building coursework demonstrated a significant increase in intercultural competence over those who only enrolled in the study abroad course. The 20 participants attended a small liberal arts College in Midwestern United States. The Intercultural Development Inventory （IDI） was administered to the participating students before and after their study away experience. The IDI （v.3） is based on the theoretical framework of the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity （DMIS） introduced by Milton Bennett. The DMIS is based on the assumption that intercultural competence can be strengthen through the development of intercultural knowledge and experience with people from other cultures. The IDI has been used in numerous scholarly studies and has demonstrated valid and reliable results. It is a self-administered 50-item series of statements in which participants are asked to rate the level of their agreement with statements that address their relationship to and evaluation of cultural difference. In the model, people progress in a linear developmental fashion through six stages： defense, denial, polarization, minimization, acceptance, and adaptation. This study was designed to determine if students who studied away and completed intercultural coursework （prior intercultural knowledge and an intercultural experience） would increase their level of intercultural competency more than those students who just studied away （intercultural experience only） as measured by the change in their IDI scores. The results of this small sample show that intercultural coursework in conjunction with a short term study away experience can have a positive impact on individual intercultural development.     

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。     

The institutional ideas virus: the case of Johan Åkerman

Swedish economists have received impulses from historical or institutuionalist sources on many occasions. A couple of these economists, Gunnar Myrdal and Johan Åkerman, received obvious impulses from American institutionalism. This article deals with the case of Åkerman. To attempt a wall-to-wall chart of institutional influences on an economist is hardly possible. But what is possible is to examine occasions when he was exposed to powerful ‘jolts’, viz in conjunction with studies at an American university. Johan åkerman studied at Harvard in Cambridge in 1919–20. he evetually became – alongside Myrdal – the leading institutional economist.     

基于效率的文化软实力研究:国外经验及借鉴

胡锦涛同志在党的十七大报告中提出了“文化软实力”这一概念，并指出：要坚持社会主义先进文化前进方向，兴起社会主义文化建设新高潮，激发全民族文化创造活力，提高国家文化软实力。可见，提升文化软实力已经成为新的国家战略，对激发民族凝聚力和创造力、增强综合国力有举足轻重的意义。本文在借鉴国外经验的基础上，探讨了基于效率的提升中国文化软实力的路径，包括发展文化产业、实施文化走出去战略、转变政府职能、激发文化创造活力等。