China？World？Expo! ：From 1851 to Today -China in the World Expo

An exhibition is always a convenient window to catch a glimpse of the whole story hidden behind the scenes. To be more open to the outside world. China, armed with a variety of expos, stretches out to display .her unique fascination to other nations. In the mean time, to build closer ties with the international community, more global elements have been added to the expos held at home. What links the two sides together is the essence of the expo industry, and the further China walks, the more expos she will want to host.     

International investment patterns: Evidence using a new dataset

This paper examines the bilateral, source and host factors driving portfolio equity investment across a set of countries using International Monetary Fund's new dataset on international equity holdings at the end of 1997, 2001 and 2002.The paper finds that the bilateral equity investment is strongly correlated with the underlying patterns of trade in goods and services. The information asymmetries and cultural-institutional proximity are important for bilateral equity investment. The size of domestic stock market is the key correlate of aggregate foreign portfolio equity asset and liability holdings. The scale of aggregate foreign equity asset holdings is larger for countries having high income per capita.     

关于主辅分离发展生产性服务业的探讨

在推进制造业主辅分离发展生产性服务业的过程中,需要给予相应的政策鼓励和利益激发,尤应注重对主辅分离发展生产性服务业的相关保障机制的研究与建构,实现主辅分离工作的持续与有序。     

Inhibitors to host community participation in sustainable tourism development in developing countries

The involvement of host communities (or destination residents), particularly in developing countries, is critical to the success of tourism development and to the creation of a “Just Destination”. This paper investigates host community perceptions about obstacles to their participation in tourism development in Lombok, Indonesia, providing new insights into institutional influences on tourism opportunities and issues. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques targeted separate groups of destination residents who live in a developed tourism destination, a less developed tourism destination, a remote rural village far away from tourism destinations, as well as a group of university students. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, qualitative questionnaires and observation, and were analysed using content analysis. Results show three main institutional factors inhibit host community participation in tourism: tourism agencies, private sector providers and tourism infrastructure, and perceptions of the negative impacts of tourism. The underperformance of state tourism agencies and private sector providers resulted in a lack of tourism infrastructure and limitations on host community opportunities to participate in tourism development and businesses. The findings suggest the need for improvement in the training of state tourism agency employees, better coordination among government agencies, and improved education and training for tourism operators.     

Branding Taiwan for tourism using ‘Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory’ and ‘Analytic Network Process’ methods

Countries should have a clear, credible, appealing, distinctive image in a wide and diverse global marketplace. Nation branding is a good method for countries to survive and prosper in a wide and diverse global marketplace, and many countries have embraced the concept. Nation branding is a sophisticated endeavor, which includes economics, tourism, culture, and political destiny. This paper addresses the problem of branding Taiwan's tourism using the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory approach combined with the analytic network process method to evaluate the performance criteria of branding Taiwan. The results show that ‘festival’ is the critical criterion for branding Taiwan for tourism.     

In search of authenticity in historic cities in transformation: the case of Pingyao,China

This article uses a series of controversies that unfolded in the Little Bighorn Battlefield area of Montana (USA) to critique the guest/host distinction that pervades tourism research. The battlefield where Custer made his legendary last stand is now a popular but contested American heritage site. This article describes how individuals have used the discursive space opened by the conjuncture of local conditions and the site's growing touristic appeal to accomplish objectives marginal to tourism. Many of those have taken shape within and served local, regional, and national identity politics. All have sought to either challenge or defend the status quo. The issues raised and positions defended during the struggle for control of the battle site and story reveal social rifts and ideological differences among, as well as between, guests and hosts. The events and interactions described complicate those categories and blur the distinction between cultural politics and critical public history. The article concludes by calling for an elaboration of the social relations found within the touristic context driven by indigenous saliences rather than scholarly concepts. Only then can the intersection of touristic and non-touristic processes be brought within the analytical purview.     

Social capital in Malaysian homestays: exploring hosts’ social relations

This paper explores social capital among Malaysian homestay providers. More specifically, this work focuses on the social relationships between (a) the homestay providers and their family members; (b) the homestay providers and other accommodation providers; and (c) the homestay providers and other members of the community not involved in the homestay business. Despite the conspicuous body of knowledge on social capital in the social sciences and the increasing number of studies on social capital in tourism, little is known on whether and how homestays contribute to increase levels of social capital among the host families and between the host families and other members of the community in Malaysia. In an attempt to fill in this gap in knowledge, a qualitative study was conducted in a Malaysian homestay programme to explore hosts’ social relationships. One of the findings of the study is that homestay contributes to strengthen social capital among certain groups of the host community. However, as communities are constituted by heterogeneous groups with diverse interests, the dynamics of social capital and conflict vary according to the different groups of the host community.     

Pricing in the sharing economy: a hedonic pricing model applied to Airbnb listings

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the impact of a variety of variables on the rates published for Airbnb listings in five large metropolitan areas in Canada. The researchers applied a hedonic pricing model to 15,716 Airbnb listings. As expected, the results show that physical characteristics, location, and host characteristics significantly impact price. Interestingly, more reviews are associated with a drop in price. This information is useful to hosts who are forming a pricing strategy for their listings as well as for Airbnb, who needs to support them. The paper raises important questions about pricing in the sharing economy and suggests avenues for future research in this area.     

游牧行国到农耕邑居转型中的城市形态--迁都平城前拓跋政权的都城问题

迁都平城前拓跋政权分为两个阶段:代政权时期和北魏初年(386-398年)。鲜卑拓跋部于首领猗卢时城盛乐以为北都,修故平城为南都。然而,通过对史料文献和考古资料的检讨,发现代政权时期除以盛乐为都外,尚有许多冠以都名号的城市,如盛乐宫、(故)平城、小平城等,后来尚有迁于东木根山、大宁等记载,而这些所谓都城的城市功能也较为简单,具有浓重的王庭或军事城堡的性质。拓跋珪复国后至迁都平城前的13年间也并不存在功能完善的都城。拓跋政权都城之所以呈现出此种特点,是由于这一时期拓跋鲜卑社会受农耕文化的影响凸显,正处在由游牧迁徙向城郭而居的过渡阶段。     

财政扶持汽车产业自主创新研究——基于开征研发税的构想

汽车产业自主创新要取得长足进展,诸多要素中的关键在于有效融资和资源有效配置。但自主创新成果的公共物品属性使R&D融资市场失灵、项目申报的私人物品属性使财政R&D配置政府失灵、导致汽车产业R&D投入不足和R&D配置失效。从国家理性行为体假说出发,提出了开征研发税的构想,通过国家税收行为积累资金,创新R&D投入体制,加大财政扶持力度,促进汽车产业自主创新发展。