R&D Activities In a Peripheral Region: an Empirical Study with Special Reference to the North East Region of the UK

This study examines the incidence of research and development (R&D) activities, type of R&D undertaken and the incidence of R&D co-operation among manufacturing firms located in a key urban area of the North East England, a peripheral region of the UK. We have found that over 62% of manufacturing firms in this urban growth area to be R&D active, suggesting that R&D active firms tend to be concentrated in urban area s in a peripheral region, as it is the case in the leading regions. However, the incidence of R&D co-operation was found to be relatively low among R&D active firms. It is also found that the key determinants of undertaking R&D to be the existence of a core competence/product and exporting activities. These findings might be of interest to policy makers promoting economic growth via firm’s R&D activities.     

TO ADMIT OR NOT TO ADMIT: THE QUESTION OF RESEARCH PARK SIZE

A theoretical model is used to explore the determinants of the optimum size of a private research park and the effect of university affiliation on that optimum size. Parks are assumed to operate as cooperatives where costs are equally shared among the member firms, and optimality occurs when the firms’ average net benefits are maximized. To achieve this, existing members of a park will limit the park's size, denying entry to firms who wish to join and are willing to share the costs. University affiliation may either increase or decrease the optimum size of a park.     

R&D policy in a vertically related industry

In this paper, we analyze the effectiveness of public policy aimed to stimulate business-performed R&D in a vertically related market. We examine the role of an R&D active upstream supplier in a four-stage R&D model, where we incorporate public funding. The considered policy instrument is direct funding of firms’ R&D efforts. We calculate the optimal policies and show that they have a positive impact on firms’ R&D investments. From a welfare point of view, it is optimal to differentiate the subsidy rates between the upstream and the downstream markets. Competition in the product market leads to a higher subsidy rate to the upstream supplier than to the downstream firms. When concentration is high in the downstream market, the optimal solution is an R&D subsidy for these firms, otherwise the optimal solution is an R&D tax for the downstream firms.     

Network structure and robustness: lessons for research programme design

The information and communication technology (ICT) network of the last two European Research Framework Programmes (FPs) is deeply influenced by two distinct groups of organizations: a small group of hubs (3% of the participants) hold the key to keeping the network together and a second group of non-hub connectors large enough (39% of the participants) with a significant share of the overall networking activity provide a robust base for the network. The ICT network can survive the removal of single important funding instruments such as integrated projects or specific targeted research projects. Increasing policy rhetoric on innovative application in the new FP (Horizon 2020) should be reflected in a shift of core participants from largely public research and teaching organizations to private-sector companies.     

The two sides of academic research: do basic and applied activities complement each other?

It is generally acknowledged that the cuts in government funding for research implemented in several European countries will induce academic researchers to increase their interaction with non academic entities to promote the acquisition of external funding for research. Indirectly this implies that there will be a shift in the focus of academic scientific activity from basic to applied research via private research contracts and consultancy work. The aim of our paper is to assess the extent of the trade-off between basic research and applied activity in academic research departments. We use data for the universe of Italian academic departments over the period 2006–2011 and estimate whether increased applied activity is substituting or complementing basic research activity. We provide empirical evidence of a strong substitution effect for life sciences departments and, to a lesser extent, for engineering and technology departments, while there does not seem to be evidence of a substitution effect for departments whose scientific activity revolves around basic science.     

新加坡公共研发投入体系变革及其启示

为适应经济社会发展和应对未来挑战,新加坡不断加大公共研发投入规模,同时调整公共研发投入体系。近年来,新加坡更加注重部门与统筹投入兼顾,全方位支持创新活动和关注研发与经济社会关系,并通过新设或改造公共部门实施这些变革。这些做法促进了新加坡通过公共研发投入实现国家目标,对我国当前财政科技投入从分配到协调的转变具有重要借鉴意义。我们应该：适应国家经济发展,不断调整投入重点;既要强调自由研究,也要进行科学评估;建立多环节协调机制,营造良好的创新环境．     

The impact of research collaboration on academic performance: An empirical analysis for some European countries

The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of internal and external research collaborations on the scientific performance of academic institutions. The data are derived from the international SCOPUS database. We consider both quantity (the number of publications) and quality indicators (the field-weighted citation impact and the share of publications in the 10% most-cited articles) to evaluate universities' performance in some European countries (Germany, France, Italy, the UK and Russia). To this end, we develop a non-overlapping generations model to evidence the theoretical idea of research externalities between academic institutions. Moreover, we implement an empirical model to determine the extent to which the impact of internal and external collaborations on universities' performance is sensitive to the geographical dimension of the data.     

邓小平发展党内民主思想研究综述

党内民主历来是党的建设的一个重大问题。邓小平同志在长期的领导实践中,对发展党内民主问题深谋远虑,形成了丰富深邃的发展党内民主思想。研究、学习邓小平同志的发展党内民主思想,必将促使我们思考发展党内民主对党和国家的重要意义。近年来,学术界对邓小平发展党内民主思想进行了广泛地探讨并取得了诸多成果。本文就此项研究中的关于邓小平发展党内民主重要性思想、发展党内民主重要举措思想及发展党内民主思想鲜明特色等三个问题加以综述。     

中国养老保险统筹账户的财务可持续性研究——基于开放系统的测算

文章运用精算估计方法,预测分析了我国城镇职工养老保险统筹账户的财务状况和财务可持续性。研究结果表明,年度支付危机会在2018-2036年之间出现,2023-2050年内源性基金累积不足值得格外关注。从长期看,如果没有外源性融资,仅靠制度本身的资金支持,统筹账户的财务可持续性难以为继。现阶段政府关注的重点应是如何扩大养老保险收入来源和完善养老保险的制度设计。     

建造合同新准则应用研究

建造合同,是指为建造一项或数项在设计、技术、功能、最终用途等方面密切相关的资产而订立的合同。2006年2月财政部发布了新的《企业会计准则》,实现了与国际会计准则的趋同。其中第15号准则——建造合同,对建造合同的确认、计量和相关信息的披露进行了规范,对施工企业的管理与职业判断提出了更高要求。本文通过对比新旧建造合同准则以及旧的施工企业会计制度,分析了施工企业在执行新建造合同过程中遇到的重难点问题,对其解决途径进行了探讨。