The ‘credibility thesis’ and its application to property rights: (In)Secure land tenure,conflict and social welfare in China

Debates over tenure insecurity have been divided between those favoring private, marketable, and formalized property rights versus champions of grassroots’ customary and communal arrangements. By positing the “credibility thesis”, this article argues that it might be more insightful to move beyond concepts of formal and informal, private and common, or secure and insecure institutions, to leave the discussion about institutional form for a discussion about function. The notion of credibility does so by drawing attention to institutional function over time and space rather than to a desired form postulated by theory or political conviction. Apart from furthering the theoretical foundations on credibility and institutional functionalism, this article aims to develop its methodology and empirical study by taking China as a case study, with particular reference to its rural land-lease system, which is perceived to be highly insecure due to forced evictions and government intervention. Paradoxically, the study finds significant social support for the rural land-lease system and a low level of conflict. These findings might indicate that the form of the Chinese rural lease system (insecure tenure) is the outcome of its present function (provision of social welfare). Simultaneously, it was also found that when conflict does occur expropriation is a prime cause for it.     

Urban containment in action? Long-term dynamics of self-contained urban growth in compact and dispersed regions of southern Europe

The present study illustrates an indicator of self-contained urban growth derived from official statistics with the aim of verifying if a shift from compactness towards settlement diffusion has occurred in cities with different socioeconomic and morphological characteristics. According to this approach, changes in settlement's distribution and density were assessed in four Mediterranean cities (Lisbon, Barcelona, Rome, and Athens) during 80 years between 1919 and 2001. Results indicated that settlement distribution, building density and self-contained urban growth diverged in the four regions since the early 1980s. However, cities with a compact form showed an higher self-contained growth rate than cities with dispersed form. These findings contrast with the similarity in settlement characteristics, population trends, and spatial organization of economic activities observed during the ‘compact growth’ phase (1950–1980) in all examined regions. Comparative analyses of exurban development through morphological indicators may inform strategies promoting self-contained urban growth.     

基本公共服务均等化如何促进了个人创业--来自医保改革的证据

在高质量发展目标下,推行基本公共服务均等化、促进大众创业是中国经济新常态下的工作重点。基于中国城镇职工基本医疗保险在创业者和非创业者之间可得性的外生差异,本文使用中国健康与营养调查(CHNS)的微观数据,研究社会保险这一基本公共服务在创业者和非创业者之间的相对可得性如何影响个人的创业决策。我们发现,如果城镇职工基本医疗保险对于非创业者更可得,将成为“创业枷锁”,降低个人选择创业的可能性;如果城镇职工基本医疗保险对于创业者更可得,将成为“创业催化剂”,提高个人选择创业的可能性。此外,我们发现,城镇职工基本医疗保险的“创业催化剂”作用对于来自中等收入家庭和小家庭的个人更为显著,而“创业枷锁”效应则更多地影响城镇职工基本医疗保险在薪酬体系中重要性更高的个体。本文认为中国的社会保险对于大众创业具有积极正面的影响。这对于我国社会保险制度的设计和促进经济高质量发展具有重要意义。     

高铁开通与城市创新研究综述

高铁网络的建设大大提高了中国铁路运输的效率,缩短了不同城市之间的时空距离,使居民在不同城市工作和消费成为可能。同时高铁服务通过加速人口和要素在区域间的流动,对城市之间的空间联系和城市社会经济的发展产生了重要的影响。高铁在影响经济格局的同时也深刻影响了区域的创新格局,现通过梳理相关文献,整理归纳了高铁开通对城市创新的影响及其作用机制,并对现有的实证研究方法进行总结。在此基础上提出目前存在的问题,为后续的研究指明方向。     

基于多源数据的环长株潭城市群县市区活跃度测度与分析

了解一个城市群内各县(市)区的活跃度可以为该城市群服务设施的配置及等级结构的优化提供依据。基于环长株潭城市群夜间灯光数据、客流量数据以及新浪微博签到数据,利用数理统计分析,对环长株潭城市群内64个县(市)区的活跃度进行测度,并对经济活跃度和人口活跃度的组合状况进行分类分析。结果显示:长沙市内五区的活跃度居前五位,而距离各中心城区较远的县市区活跃度较低,总体上呈中心-外围的圈层分布,且具有沿轴向扩展与多极点并存的空间分布格局;核心区的经济活跃度与人口活跃度基本一致,而外围区则不一致;从经济活跃度和人口活跃度的组合关系来看,表现出高-高、高-低、低-高及低-低等4种类型。     

城市土地整理的长效运作制度创新

市地整理是对城市原有的土地利用方式的一种改变与提高,从而有助于提升市地的经济自然环境以及景观美感的多目标体系的综合效益.以科学发展观为指导,建立健全科学的市地整理长效运作制度,有利于处理好城市发展与城市用地总量与结构平衡,实现城市土地整理区城内的社会经济协调发展.     

我国三大经济区的区域化收益及其影响因素——基于城市经济效率的视角

经济区域化是目前我国城市经济发展的根本趋势,考察各类城市参与经济区域化的获益程度及其影响因素具有很强的现实意义。本文借鉴Byrnes和Storbeck(2000)的方法,基于城市经济效率的视角,考察了长三角、珠三角和京津冀地区的区域化收益水平,并基于Tobit模型对影响区域化收益的各种因素进行了计量分析。结果显示,我国三大经济区的区域化收益存在显著差异,京津冀地区的区域化收益最高,长三角地区次之,珠三角地区最低。进一步的计量分析发现,专业化分工和技术研发能力有利于区域化收益的实现,而外资的引进、政府的作用和城市空间影响则扩大了区域化收益,多样化分工和对外贸易对区域化收益的影响尚不明确,分地区的计量分析也基本上得出了同样的结论。加强区域内与区域间分工,是实现区域化收益和提升城市经济效率的根本途径。     

Backcasting for sustainability: Introduction to the special issue

In this introductory paper we introduce the special issue on “Backcasting for Sustainability”. We present briefly a historical background, and position backcasting in the wider context of future studies, in which it can be related to “normative forecasting” and normative scenarios. We reflect on the diversity and variety of backcasting studies and experiments, as presented in the ten papers for this special issue. After summarizing the papers we formulate a future research agenda.     

城乡收入差距、民工失业与中国犯罪率的上升

本文利用1988—2008年省级面板数据研究后发现:首先,没有明显的证据表明省内城乡收入差距的扩大必然增加各省的犯罪率。其次,中国犯罪率的上升和"第五次犯罪高峰"的产生与城市登记失业率有关:一方面,它意味着民工失业率也可能在上升,城市居民和民工失业的增加都会直接推动犯罪率上升,而由于失业的民工缺乏最低生活保障和社会保险,他们会更加脆弱并更容易走向犯罪,因此会更容易推动犯罪率的上升;另一方面,城市失业率的上升还会推动地方政府采取更加歧视民工的就业政策来保护城市居民的就业,因而在犯罪率上升和犯罪高峰持续的过程中起到了推波助澜的作用。本文的解释对于理解中国经济社会的发展及制定降低犯罪率的公共政策提供了重要启示。     

皖江城市带城市经济联系与中心城市辐射范围分析

分析经济区内城市间经济联系不仅有利于引导城市的空间发展,而且有利于空间经济的合理组织。以皖江城市带为例,引入克鲁格曼指数、建成区面积、人口素质权重系数等指标修正了以往的引力模型,并利用城市间的日发车班次数据对修正模型进行了检验。在此基础上,利用修正模型确定了各城市的主要对外联系方向及联系强度,采用断裂点公式计算了中心城市的吸引范围。结果表明:①皖江城市带内各城市对外经济联系强度差异较大;②各城市的主要联系方向呈现中心城市指向性和地域相邻指向性特征;③合肥和芜湖为皖江城市带的两个经济中心城市,它们的对外吸引范围较为狭小。