Fiscal policy and structural reforms in transition economiesAn empirical analysis

This paper provides an empirical examination of the relationship between fiscal balance and structural reforms using panel data from 25 transition economies. The results indicate that privatization and restructuring, via unemployment, affect the fiscal balance negatively. This finding provides support for ideas in theoretical transition economics that maintain that fiscal pressures are most severe in fast-reforming countries. In contrast, price liberalization has a robust positive impact on fiscal performance. In addition, the results differ somewhat over different countries and transition time.     

浅谈企业会计政策选择

从会计政策的涵义出发，阐述了社会主义市场经济条件下，会计政策选择的必然性，以及在我国准则体系不完善的情况下，进行会计政策选择的总体原则。最后探讨了在目前情况下进行了会计政策选择要注意的问题。     

Data Envelopment Analysis of different climate policy scenarios

Recent developments in the political, scientific and economic debate on climate change suggest that it is of critical importance to develop new approaches able to compare policy scenarios for their environmental effectiveness, their distributive effects, their enforceability, their costs and many other dimensions. This paper discusses a quantitative methodology to assess the relative performance of different climate policy scenarios when accounting for their long-term economic, social and environmental impacts. The proposed procedure is based on Data Envelopment Analysis, here employed in evaluating the relative efficiency of eleven global climate policy scenarios. The methodology provides a promising comparison framework; it can be seen as a way of setting some basic guidelines to frame further debates and negotiations and can be flexibly adopted and modified by decision makers to obtain relevant information for policy design. Three major findings emerge from this analysis: (i) stringent climate policies can outperform less ambitious proposals if all sustainability dimensions are taken into account; (ii) a carefully chosen burden-sharing rule is able to bring together climate stabilisation and equity considerations; and (iii) the most inefficient strategy results from the failure to negotiate a post-2012 global climate agreement.     

Commentary. Stuck in low GEAR? Macroeconomic policy in South Africa, 1996-98

Despite its ideology while in opposition, once in power theANC government implemented an orthodox macroeconomic policywhich stressed deficit reduction and a tight monetary policy,combined with trade liberalisation. The stated purpose of thispackage (the Growth, Employment, and Redistribution programme,or GEAR) was to increase economic growth, with a 4.2% rate programmedfor 1996-2000. At mid-term of the programme, growth remainedfar below this target. The GEAR's lack of success cannot beexplained by unfavourable external factors; rather, the disappointingperformance seemed the result of fiscal contraction and excessivelyhigh interest rates.     

Prospects for food security in the 21st Century: with special emphasis on Africa

Food security for the world in 2025 is possible and probable if the right set of things are done, starting now. But the task will not be easy. It is both a technology and a political/economic challenge. The challenge for sub-Saharan Africa is even greater. While other regions improved per capita food availability over the last 30 years, Africa's availability declined. But food security is about more than supply. It is also about access which means income generating employment is critical. Meeting future requirements in Africa and the world will require sustainable intensification of complex production systems, appropriate national and international policies and continued investments in agricultural research. Without these conditions and increased employment intensive growth, prospects for the future are less bright.     

我国生产力布局差异实证分析

我国东西部地区之间经济差距的增大 ,将成为我国经济发展和社会稳定的主要障碍。文章对我国生产力布局差异及差异形成的原因进行了实证分析 ,目的在于吸取东部地区发展经验的同时 ,能为开发大西部制定出更好的政策作准备。     

Economics of Summitry: An Empirical Assessment of the Economic Effects of Summits

Since 1975 the leaders of the seven industrial countries (the G-7) have held annual summits to discuss issues of common interest, attempt to coordinate their economic policies, and set goals for their economies. To empirically assess the effects of summit announcements and the degree of compliance with the stated goals on macroeconomic variables is an important, interesting, and well-defined undertaking. The present paper uses fuzzy membership function to model the degree of compliance with the stated goals and a VAR framework to test for the summit effects.     

Patent Protection, Transnational Corporations, and Market Structure: A Simulation Study of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

This study examines the role of patent protection on the behavior of transnational corporations and market structure in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The method of analysis is the calibration of a theoretical model to firm-level data from two therapeutic groups of the Indian pharmacy market, and a simulation analysis asking the hypothetical question of what the market structure would be if India granted patent protection to pharmaceutical products. The model developed for the simulation analysis explicitly accounts for the complex demand structure for pharmaceutical goods that results from the presence of therapeutic substitute drugs, and product differentiation among chemically equivalent drugs.     

我国区域经济政策调整的趋势性框架

近年来,随着一系列促进区域协调发展战略和政策的实施,我国区域经济格局出现了一些积极的变化,在推进区域协调发展方面取得了显著的成绩。在区域竞争模式的主导下,现阶段,区域发展在效率、公平、可持续方面的问题依然突出。推进区域协调发展,要准确把握区域发展的国际经验和客观规律,明确界定各级政府间的权责、改变GDP至上的地方竞争模式。就具体策略而言,要消除各种限制要素流动的体制和政策,推进基本公共服务均等化,严格环境生态等方面的社会性规制,改变区域政策碎片化趋势。