当代中国收入分化的现状及主要原因

中国在现代化进程中面临着一些现代性问题的困扰,其中,贫富分化成为社会矛盾的焦点之一。改革开放以来,中国居民生活水平得到整体提升,但也出现了结构上的分化。造成贫富差距的原因是复杂多重的。其中,城乡二元体制造成了城乡资源分配不公和收入差距,垄断行业的存在则使得资源在少部分群体中集聚,加深了贫富之间的鸿沟。此外,中国的社会保障制度没能充分发挥其调节作用,使得部分底层群体无法解决温饱问题,造成"极贫"群体的出现。值得关注的是,单位体制下的既得利益者,在住房制度改革后又获得福利性住房,住房不公平由此产生财产不公平。国家对于不断拉大的收入差距主要采取宏观政策加以调控,改革财税制度和完善社会保障同时进行,但这并不能因此改变由城乡二元体制和垄断等所带来的必然结果,因而只能起到局部调节收入差距的效果,不能实现真正的社会公正。     

The contribution of Western fast food to fast-growing body mass in China

The westernization of Asian countries has led to the rapid expansion of Western-style fast-food restaurants, which are believed to be fueling an unprecedented rise in body mass in these countries. This study tests this belief using longitudinal data from China. Exploiting the opening of a Western-style fast-food restaurant in a particular community, we conduct a transition analysis to make a more convincing causal interpretation than the standard cross-sectional or fixed-effects approach. Considering several measures of fatness, we find no robust evidence of Western fast food having a substantial effect overall, but there is some indication of effect heterogeneity.     

Consumer behavior and purchase intention for organic food: A review and research agenda

In this article, we review and discuss the factors, which affect the change in the consumer behavior towards organic food. We extract findings from various studies conducted in different countries and analyze those factors and provide suggestions for future research. We find that health-conscious consumers show a growing preference for organic food over the conventionally grown food. This shift in the attitude of the modern consumers is greatly influenced by the rising incidence of lifestyle diseases, such as heart disorders and depression. The need to purchase organic food to improve the quality of life will have huge implications for the retail, distribution and marketing functions of business.     

Land tenure insecurity in post-certification Amhara,Ethiopia

It is generally believed that tenure security has improved due to the programme of land certification. In this paper I argue the opposite. Tenure security concerns three different rights: possession, renting and latent rights. Rights of possession are believed to have improved, but the evidence is weak and conflicting. Land rentals are expanding and farmers face high tenure insecurity. The main problem, though, is latent rights, with great insecurity and increased conflict levels. Despite rapid economic development there is considerable social malaise, an unfortunate agricultural structure, and considerable pressure for land redistribution due to unresolved land tenure issues. The paper is based on the certification literature and primary material from North Shäwa.     

Does buffet choice architecture affect intake? The effect of relocating butter at a breakfast buffet on food intake

The aim of this study was to investigate if a changed default reduces the intake of butter among students at a breakfast buffet. Students were divided into two groups and served themselves from a breakfast buffet. The control group was offered a buffet where the butter was easily accessible, whereas the intervention group was offered a buffet where a request had to be made for butter. Single packed portions of butter taken from each part of the buffet, the number of students, and the number of habitual users in each group were recorded. At the regular buffet, 67 of 115 students were habitual butter users and 81 packs of butter were taken. At the buffet with the changed default, 16 of the 56 students were habitual butter users. Seventeen packs of butter were taken from the buffet. Slightly displacing butter at a breakfast buffet and forcing students to ask for that option significantly reduced uptake.     

我国住宅建筑工程设计施工中存在的问题和改进措施

建筑工程施工的组织设计是建筑工程的必要保障。近些年以来,随着我国经济的迅速发展,原有的建筑工程施工组织计划已经完全不能适应目前的施工建设了,根据建筑工程组织设计所存在的这些问题及改进措施提出改进措施,使建筑工程组织设计发挥出真正的重要作用,以达到经济效益与社会效益双丰收的目的。     

An econometric analysis of demand for food quantity and quality in urban China

This article offers an analytical framework for studying consumer demand for food quality based on a theory‐consistent demand model, namely, the Exact Affine Stone Index specification. Importantly, it accounts for unobserved consumer and regional heterogeneity, and allows for arbitrary Engel curves. The empirical value of our framework is illustrated in an econometric analysis of demand for food quality in China. Evaluating possible structural changes in consumer food expenditures in China is of paramount importance, given the ever‐increasing global role of China and the implications of the structural food preference changes for the global food system. The major findings emerging from this study indicate that income is an important determinant of demand for food quality and quantity with the relatively more affluent provinces having a higher affinity for food quality.     

A Systematic Review on the Effects of Personalized Price Promotions for Food Products

Recent decades have witnessed the increasing adoption of personalized price promotion (PPP) at grocery stores. Despite the growing body of research debating whether PPP is more effective than untargeted price promotions, there is no literature synthesizing the relevant evidence on food products. Therefore, we conduct a systematic review to examine empirical findings on the effects of PPP targeting food products. Outcomes of 12 identified studies demonstrate larger sales and profit boosting effects of PPP than its non-personalized counterparts. Meanwhile, the results on how this approach influences consumer behavior are mixed. The effectiveness of PPP varies among different targeting strategies (e.g. reward or cross-selling) and information collection methods (e.g. using within- or across-chain data). The findings of this review have important managerial implications for the future evaluation and application of PPP as well as imply potential directions of further research on this topic.     

Patterns of poverty among elderly Americans: a latent class Markov model

This article studies poverty persistence and the role of social security programmes on poverty among elderly in the US. We use a Latent Markov model to disentangle unobserved heterogeneity and state dependence. Because of its dynamic nature, unobserved heterogeneity is modelled to vary over time. This allows to capture different latent states of poverty that change over time. Result indicates the existence of three unobserved types evolving over time according to their propensity to be poor. Moreover, a strong persistence in poverty especially for women, individuals living alone and ethnic minorities is found. Finally, the estimates indicate that giving social assistance tends to reduce poverty.     

Reorganizing School Lunch for a More Just and Sustainable Food System in the US

Public school lunch programs in the United States are contested political terrains shaped by government agencies, civil society activists, and agri-food companies. The particular organization of these programs has consequences for public health, social justice, and ecological sustainability. This contribution draws on political economy, critical food studies, and feminist economics to analyze the US National School Lunch Program, one of the world's oldest and largest government-sponsored school lunch programs. It makes visible the social and environmental costs of the “heat-and-serve” economy, where widely used metrics consider only the speed and volume of service as productive work. This study demonstrates that such a narrow understanding of the labor of lunch devalues care and undercuts the potential for school food provisioning to promote ecological and feminist goals. Further, it proposes a “high road” alternative and outlines an agenda for reorganizing school food provisioning to maximize care in all its dimensions.