Trust and development

In this paper we examine linkages between social trust and economic development using, for the first time, a panel of data. We confirm earlier cross-sectional studies finding that trust is a significant factor in development and also show for the first time that trust significantly interacts with both investment in physical and human capital. We provide a robustness analysis of our results via a set of jackknife experiments on our main equations, and the trust coefficients and interactions are very tightly distributed, indicating that the results are not highly sample dependent. We also consider whether trust directly influences investment and find that in a panel framework it does not unless we allow for a trust–education interaction in the investment equation.     

人力资本与大学生就业——基于2010年对北京18所高校毕业生的调查

综合素质作为人力资本的核心体现,总体上不能提高就业概率,就业意愿和就业行为有助于展示人力资本价值,可提高就业率。与2008年相比,2010年综合素质和就业行为对大学生就业的作用减弱,就业意愿的作用增强,在一定程度上支持了"读书无用论"的观点,这会打击人力资本投资的热情,导致"弃考"、"弃学"现象,并最终影响国民素质的提高和经济的可持续发展。因此,要高度重视大学生就业问题。首先,要完善大学生就业机制,促进高素质人才顺利就业。打破体制性分割,建立全国统一的劳动力市场体系,提高社会保障的统筹层次,并加强就业服务与指导,减少交易成本,促进双方匹配。其次,要加强市场监管,规范信息发布、面试、录用等环节,确保透明、公开、公平,让拥有真才实学的优秀大学生脱颖而出。再次,要从创业教育、创业指导、创业资金等方面扶持更多的大学生创业,开辟一条"增量型"就业之路。     

THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AND SUPPLY‐SIDE ECONOMICS

The coalition has given the Liberal Democrats the opportunity to demonstrate their support for – or opposition to – supply‐side economics. The person who has done most on the supply side is Ed Davey, in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. In a remarkable legislative achievement for a Parliamentary Under Secretary in under two years in office, Davey ensured that the privatisation of Royal Mail reached the statute books, liberalised the terms and conditions for Post Office counters, and liberalised employment and retirement laws.     

Consumers' reaction to fair trade motivated price increases

Consumer perception of price increases and their reactions are a topic of great relevance for marketing research and practice. We investigate consumers' acceptance of price increases justified by higher costs due to company's corporate socially responsible activities by conducting two experimental studies. In the first study we examine perceived fairness and intentions following a price increase justified by a fair trade commitment. To assess the green attitude–behavior gap in consumer behavior our second study incorporates a real world experiment to explore actual consumer behavior against stated intentions. Our investigation adds nuance to our understanding of the effects of corporate social responsibility on consumer response to price increases. Our results reveal that a price increase due to a fair trade commitment is perceived as fair and does not have a negative impact on purchase behavior. We contrast our findings with a price increase due to higher taxes and due to profit increase. Our results demonstrate that fair trade justified price increases can skim twice the amount compared to tax justified increases. Furthermore, consumers' actual buying behavior reveals no difference to their stated intentions. Hence, prior research proclaiming an attitude–behavior gap in the context of consumers' socially responsible buying behavior has to be called into question.     

Is the development of the agro-processing industry pro-poor?: The case of Thailand

We examine how the development of the agro-processing industry contributed to poverty reduction in Thailand. The effects on farmers’ income are emphasized because most of the poor in Thailand are farmers. The development of the agro-processing industry could improve farmers’ income through two channels: (i) the purchase of agricultural products; and (ii) the employment of the poor farmers at factories. We show that the development of the agro-processing industry, which also played a leading role in the high economic growth of the Thai economy, contributed to poverty reduction through both of the two channels. It was hence pro-poor.     

政府促进农民工就业的对策思考

农民工就业工作关系到农村经济发展和农民增收，对经济社会发展全局意义重大。当前农民工就业存在着层次低、组织化程度低、权益易遭侵犯等特点。该文分析了农民工就业问题产生的深层次原因，认为当前政府促进农民工就业重点是要做好六个方面的转移工作。     

扩大消费需求的8个关系

扩大城乡居民消费。涉及经济生活中诸多层面的关系，必须用辩证的观点，正确认识和处理扩大消费中的一些重大问题，以扩大消费领域，改善消费结构，提高消费水平。     

以防御性策略应对全球金融危机

本文分析了全球金融危机的成因、本质和影响,解释了改革开放以来中国经济增长的奇迹,剖析了当前中国经济增长出现困局的原因。目前,要客观分析我国经济运行的态势和环境,科学确定我国经济增长目标,努力保持人民币市场均衡汇率水平,合理制定长期稳定的房地产市场政策,有效转变经济增长模式,积极推进利率自由化,谨防信用风险和通货膨胀重现,实现经济金融的持续健康发展。