Social networks and small business performance in West African border regions

This paper studies the links between economic performance and social networks in West Africa. Using data collected on 358 small-scale traders in five border markets, we show that social networks can be simultaneously a resource which positively contributes to labour market outcomes and a social burden that has a negative economic impact. Testing the effect of social networks between small traders and three categories of actors, we find that the most well-connected actors are also the most successful in terms of monthly profit. The effects of social networks are, however, dependent on the type of persons with whom traders are connected. We show that support received from state representatives and politicians is converted into economic performance, while the impact of law enforcement officers on the monthly profits of traders is not significant. We also find that interacting with traditional religious leaders has a negative effect on economic performance. Our work has two implications: Firstly, collecting data on social networks remains challenging due to endogeneity. Secondly, network-enhancing policies should aim at improving both the internal connectivity of economic actors at the local level and their external connectivity with the rest of the world.     

Rural Economies and Transitions to Capitalism: Germany and England Compared (c.1200–c.1800)

Based on a synthesis of the empirical scholarship on England and Germany, this paper demonstrates that in both regions, rural socio‐economic developments from c.1200 to c.1800 are similar: this period witnesses the rise to numerical predominance and growing economic significance of the ‘sub‐peasant classes’, which had a growing impact on the market as a result of their increasing market dependence, and from which – towards the end of the period – a rural proletariat emerged. Against the influential theory of Robert Brenner, it is argued that the period c.1200–c.1400 cannot really be categorized as ‘feudal’ according to Brenner's definition; and ‘agrarian capitalism’ does not adequately describe the socio‐economic system that obtained by the end of the sixteenth century. A genuine transition to capitalism is only evident from after c.1750, and can be found in Germany as well as in England; it is predicated both on ideological shifts and on the evolution of the rural proletariat, which is only found in large numbers by or after c.1800.     

基于DEA模型的山东省农地利用经济效益分析

山东省农地面积较广,利用类型丰富,农地的合理利用对推进山东省农业经济发展及土地资源的可持续发展具有重要意义。文章阐述了山东省农地利用状况,从自然因素、土地投入、农业土地利用结构、农业从业人员素质、农产品市场意识及经营手段等方面探讨影响农地利用经济效益的因素,通过构建DEA模型,对农地利用经济效益进行应用分析,并提出加大农业用地投入和建设、优化农业用地结构和规模、强化市场经营意识和管理等提高山东省农地利用经济效益的对策建议,以期为山东省土地合理规划利用提供理论依据。     

四川省农村区域经济差异分析

由于国家政策和地理位置等方面原因,我国各省区的农村区域经济发展存在较大差异,严重影响了全面小康社会的建设步伐。文章以四川省21个地级农村区域经济差异为研究对象,通过文献分析和建立数学模型的研究方法,对四川省农村区域经济差异的显著性进行分析,结果表明:(1)四川省农村区域经济存在一定差异,其中经济发展较快的城市为成都市、绵阳市。(2)对四川省区域经济发展测算得出:2010~2014年期间,区域三内部差异的波动幅度较大,范围在0.14~0.01之间,说明经济发展潜力较大。区域二内部差异呈"降低—增高—降低"的趋势,经济发展潜力一般;区域一由于地理位置和气候资源等因素限制,经济发展较慢。该研究为四川省农村区域经济的均衡发展提供理论参考。     

广东省农村基础设施建设与农业经济增长的关系探究

作为提高农业生产效率、改善农民生活质量及促进农村经济增长的重要物质基础,农村基础设施建设对扩大农村地区内需增长点,解决农村剩余劳动力就业问题以及全面推进城乡统筹发展具有至关重要的意义。广东省作为我国南部地区经济发达省份,具有丰富的农业生产自然资源,但其农村基础设施发展程度相对来说却比较低,其成为农村经济发展的"瓶颈",不利于农村经济结构优化升级。为了保障农村基础设施的供给与农村经济发展水平保持协调一致,文章以广东地区农村为例,采用多元非线性回归分析的方法,在论证农村基础设施建设对农村经济增长的作用机制的基础上,从农村基础设施建设与农业生产、非农生产和农民人均纯收入3方面的内在关系进行计量分析,结果表明,首先农村基础设施对影响农业经济增长的3方面因素都发挥了显著的规模经济效益;其次农村基础设施建设中的教育变量对农业经济增长的作用最为显著;再次,农业机械设施在农业生产中的作用相对于其他影响因素而言不太显著;最后,道路、通讯设施对非农生产和农民人均收入收入的贡献率相对其他变量数值较低。并提出健全农村基础设施建设投融资机制、加大农村基础设施的资金投入力度、提高农村基础设施建设和利用水平、全面推进农村基础设施建设进程等优化策略。     

中国城市土地经济密度的分布动态演进

研究目的:探究城市土地经济密度的整体分布特征及其演进规律,为实现城市土地利用系统与城市社会经济系统的高效融合及协调发展提供指导与参考。研究方法:核密度估计,马尔科夫链。研究结果:(1)中国城市土地经济密度的整体水平不断提高,但存在着显著的空间非均衡特征,基本呈现出东部地区中部地区西部地区的地理格局;(2)在全国层面和东、中、西部三大区域层面,城市土地经济密度的地区差距在样本考察期内都不断加剧,且各地区城市土地经济密度在发展过程中都出现过不同程度的极化现象;(3)中国不同水平城市土地经济密度之间的流动性较差,各省份在总体城市土地经济密度分布中的相对位置比较稳定,且城市土地经济密度的长期均衡状态将处于中高水平和高水平。研究结论:采取差异化的城市土地利用管控策略和经济调控策略,实现东部、中部和西部地区城市土地利用与经济发展的协同共进。     

合肥市产业结构与土地经济密度的关联协调研究

研究目的:探讨合肥市产业结构与土地经济密度的内在关系及相互作用,为区域产业结构调整优化和土地利用规划提供参考。研究方法:灰色关联度模型,协调度模型。研究结果:产业结构合理化和产业结构高级化对土地经济密度的影响作用显著;劳动生产率与土地经济密度的增长幅度一致时,二者的关联性强;第二产业占比大于第三产业且超出范围较小时,产业结构高级化水平仍较高;产业结构和土地经济密度保持较高关联、协调性时,二者相互促进。研究结论:在一定的经济发展阶段产业结构与土地经济密度密切相关,通过调整劳动生产率增速、GDP增速和各产业占比状况,能使二者的相互促进作用达到最优。     

吉林省农产品进出口对农业经济增长的效应———基于出口扩展型生产函数的实证研究

吉林省是一个农业大省,农产品进出口在整个对外贸易中占有举足轻重的地位,进出口贸易与经济增长之间的相互关系历来也是学术研究的重点。文章首先分析吉林省农产品贸易的发展状况与特点,研究了吉林省农产品贸易对农业经济的贡献率与拉动率;然后以柯布道格拉斯生产函数为基础,构建出口扩展型生产函数模型,对吉林省农产品进出口与农业经济增长,农业劳动投入、资本投入与农业经济增长的关系进行了实证分析,结果表明吉林省农产品进出口、农业固定资本投入对农业经济增长均具有正向的促进作用,农业就业人数的变化对农业经济增长的作用不显著。其中吉林省农产品出口额每增加1%,会促进农业地区生产总值增加0.198%,进口每增加1%,促进农业经济增长0.205%,农产品进出口总额每增加1%,农业地区生产总值增加0.227%。因此,吉林省要努力发展外向型农业,提高优势农产品在国际市场上的份额;同时增加农业资本投入,优化投资结构。     

河南省农业面源污染成因分析

近年来,农业面源污染给我国农村生态环境造成了一定的破坏,挖掘农业面源污染的成因及问题对今后农业面源污染的治理具有重要意义。文章以河南省为探讨对象,首先阐述了农业面源污染含义及主要特点。利用文献分析和统计方法对河南省农业化学品投入使用及污染情况进行分析,2007~2014年河南省化肥及农药产量和使用量均呈上涨趋势,污染面积及范围进一步扩大,面源污染的主要来源是化肥、农药、秸秆及生活垃圾。而人口快速增长、经济利益驱使、政策方面不健全是造成农业面源污染主要原因。该文认为,解决农业面源污染应从推广减量技术,积极发展有机(生态)农业;提高思想认识,树立科学农业发展理念;大力推广精准农业,减轻面源污染程度;建立健全环境法规,完善政策及管理体系等4个方面入手,以期为其他地区农业面源污染治理提供借鉴和参考。     

CEO career horizon,corporate governance,and real options: The role of economic short‐termism

Research Summary: Combining studies on real options theory and economic short‐termism, we propose that, depending on CEOs’ career horizons, CEOs have heterogeneous interests in strategic flexibility, and thus, have different incentives to make real options investments. We argue that compared to CEOs with longer career horizons, CEOs with shorter career horizons will be less inclined to make real options investments because they may not fully reap the rewards during their tenure. In addition, we argue that long‐term incentives and institutional ownership will mitigate the relationship between CEOs’ career horizons and real options investments. U.S. public firms as an empirical setting produced consistent evidence for our predictions. Our study is the first to theoretically explain and empirically show that a CEO's self‐seeking behavior will impact real options investments. Managerial Summary: This article helps to explain how a CEO's self seeking‐behavior may shape a firm's real option investment, which could result in different level of strategic flexibility. We argue that CEOs with short career horizons have less time to exercise their firms’ real options, which should lower the investments in the firms’ real options portfolios relative to CEOs with long career horizons. We study a sample of U.S. public firms and find strong evidence that a CEO's expected tenure in the firm is positively related to the real options investments at the firm level. We find that this agency issue can be mitigated by adopting appropriate corporate governance mechanisms such as long‐term incentives and institutional investors.