Existence of solutions to principal–agent problems with adverse selection under minimal assumptions

We prove an existence result for the principal–agent problem with adverse selection under general assumptions on preferences and allocation spaces. Instead of assuming that the allocation space is finite-dimensional or compact, we consider a more general coercivity condition which takes into account the principal’s cost and the agents’ preferences. Our existence proof is simple and flexible enough to adapt to partial participation models as well as to the case of type-dependent budget constraints.     

An improved bound for the Shapley–Folkman theorem

We provide an up to 30% improvement in the Shapley–Folkman theorem error-bound, and briefly discuss its consequences for the course allocation problem.     

The State as Both Regulator and Player: The Politics of Transfer of Development Rights in China

The conventional argument that the introduction of transfer of development rights (TDR) shifts the power of land use regulation from the state to the market is increasingly under challenge. In China, the state's grip on land is reinforced through TDR, in which the state is both regulator and player. This state-dominated form of TDR affects China in three ways. First, competing aspirations of different scales of government complicate how TDR is implemented. Although the central state promotes TDR to maintain a national balance of arable land, some local states instrumentalize it to expand their landed basis of accumulation. Secondly, TDR tends to benefit the state but not its people. It may increase the fiscal income of the sending government and lessen the land shortage of the receiving government, but sometimes at the expense of the interests of land users without land ownership. Thirdly, given the state's deep involvement in TDR programs, the key for China's TDR to protect arable land lies not so much in clear property rights or a fully fledged market as in effective checks and balances regarding the state's powers over TDR. These three observations attest to the embeddedness of TDR in the local political economy.     

People,Actors, and the Humanizing of Institutional Theory

In much contemporary institutional scholarship, the term ‘actor’ is used as a shorthand for any entity imbued with agency. Talking about actors in institutions thus serves the necessity of allocating agency before returning to the analysis of institutional structures and processes. We find this approach to actorhood limiting, conceptually and normatively. Grounded in the perspective of pragmatist phenomenology, we assert the need for distinguishing between persons and actors, and the value of integrating the person into institutional analysis. We conceive of persons as humans with a reflective capacity and sense of self, who engage with multiple institutions through the performance of institutional roles. People may acquire actorhood by temporarily aligning their self with what is expected from a particular actor-role in an institutional order. Conversely, institutions enter people’s lifeworld as they are personified in people’s social performances. We outline this perspective and examine conceptual and normative implications that arise from the integration of human experience in institutional analysis.     

试论农民合作经济组织的法人地位

农民合作经济组织是在中国市场经济环境中发育起来的一种独立的经济组织形式。它是小农家庭进入市场的桥梁和纽带;是提高农民社会经济地位的主要途径。但这些组织存在法人地位不明确问题,该问题严重制约了农民合作经济组织的发展。因此,中国应尽快确立农民合作经济组织的法人地位。     

面向“健全”的成功——从弗洛姆“健全的人”看当代中国的成功观

成功是一个内涵极为丰富的范畴,不同时代的每个主体对于成功的理解都有所不同。成功是一个人的生命价值不断得以体现的过程。作为弗洛伊德主义的马克思主义者,弗洛姆以现代人的心理机制为切入点,从“健全的人”的视角来关注人的价值实现。本文基于弗洛姆的这一思想,赋予“成功”以新的内涵：成功是在创造性的爱和工作中体验到自身的力量、财富和潜能的呈现和释放;成功是在人的自由全面发展中唤醒的内心自我生命力。     

深入社会改革,加快建设和谐无锡——无锡“十二五”社会改革途径探讨

经过三十多年的改革开放以后,无锡和全国一样,经济社会有了巨大的发展,但是,社会发展滞后于经济发展的情况仍然存在,急需深入社会改革,推动社会发展。本文在回顾无锡在"十一五"期间社会改革取得的成就基础上,分析了无锡社会发展存在的问题和面临的挑战和机遇,提出了"十二五"期间无锡深化社会改革的目标以及在政府职能转换、社会管理模式创新、实现公共服务均等化和城乡协调发展等四个方面的改革建议,最后提出了保障改革的一些措施。     

Advertising,Price and Quality in Self–regulating Professions: A Survey

This paper surveys the theoretical and empirical literature on the relationship between advertising, fees and quality in the self–regulating professions. Much of the literature is derived from the perspective of advertising as an information–enhancing device, helping to reduce the information asymmetry between professional and client. This is consistent with the majority of the empirical studies which suggest that advertising tends to have a downward effect on professional fees, with little if any adverse effect on quality. There are, however, important issues of method and measurement which may lessen the force of this conclusion     

Divergent and Convergent Idea Generation in Teams: A Comparison of Computer-Mediated and Face-to-Face Communication

Many tasks and decisions in business, including management consulting, are performed in group settings. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools (e.g., Lotus Notes) are increasingly being used by businesses to support teams in a variety of settings. Considerable research in information systems has demonstrated the advantages of electronic brainstorming (EBS) for generic tasks involving only divergent thinking. However, it is unclear whether the benefits of CMC extend to tasks that require both divergent and convergent processes. Per task–technology fit theory (TTF) (Zigurs and Buckland 1998), the use of computer-based group communication support tools, including chat systems in wide-spread use today, may be less effective for convergent processes than for divergent processes. This study experimentally compares the performance of computer-mediated and face-to-face (FTF) teams on tasks requiring both divergent and convergent processes. Consistent with theoretical predictions, the results revealed that computer-mediated teams outperformed FTF teams in the divergent aspects of the tasks, while FTF teams outperformed computer-mediated teams in the convergent aspects of the tasks.     

乡村精英的崛起与政治认同的获得——国家政权与乡村关系新形态的探讨

20世纪80年代以来,随着国家权力在乡村社会的收缩和市场经济的渗透为乡村经济和社会活动提供了空间、风险和机遇,一些有能力有闯劲的乡村精英因而崛起。这些崛起的乡村精英们有意愿带领乡邻一起走向富裕,因为这样不仅能提升他们在乡村社会的地位,也能为他们继续创造财富提供保障;而他们带动乡邻一起致富的意愿同样也与国家发展农村经济富裕农民的愿望相契合;同时农民不仅需要这些精英们为他们代言、反映他们的愿望和要求,也希望这些精英们利用他们的能力、财富、关系、见识等带领自己致富。由此这些精英通过选举真正成为乡村领导者,而他们的乡村领导者地位的获得也得到了国家的支持和认同。