Mining and Social Movements: Struggles Over Livelihood and Rural Territorial Development in the Andes

Social movements have been viewed as vehicles through which the concerns of poor and marginalized groups are given greater visibility within civil society, lauded for being the means to achieve local empowerment and citizen activism, and seen as essential in holding the state to account and constituting a grassroots mechanism for promoting democracy. However, within development studies little attention has been paid to understanding how social movements can affect trajectories of development and rural livelihood in given spaces, and how these effects are related to movements’ internal dynamics and their interaction with the broader environment within which they operate. This paper addresses this theme for the case of social movements protesting contemporary forms of mining investment in Latin America. On the basis of cases from Peru and Ecuador, the paper argues that the presence and nature of social movements has significant influences both on forms taken by extractive industries (in this case mining) and on the effects of this extraction on rural livelihoods. In this sense, one can usefully talk about rural development as being co-produced by movements, mining companies, and other actors, in particular the state. The terms of this co-production, however, vary greatly among different locations, reflecting the distinct geographies of social mobilization and of mineral investment, as well as the varying power relationships among the different actors involved.     

A theory of innovation for process-based innovations such as nanotechnology

Many see Nanotechnology as the technology that will underlie the next Schumpeterian wave creating new opportunities for wealth and job creation. Further it is a process based or materials technology. Yet all currently used models of innovation are based on assembled products or service products and these simply do not recognize the differences in materials products nor the “enabling” nature of Nanotechnologies. If nanotechnology is poised to become the economic engine of this millennium and if current models of innovation, which are utilized, by policy makers and firm based strategist alike are based on technology product paradigms that are dissimilar to the realities of nanotechnology and other process-based technologies then there is cause for concern.Here the authors provide a model and supporting cases demonstrating a new process or materials based innovation model that is based on the tight coupling between product and process innovation of not only Nanotechnology-based products but other process-based products. This is an important finding, because it identifies and remedies a gap in the literature associated with earlier process and product innovation models. For process-based products like materials, food, chemicals and nanotechnologies any change to the manufacturing processes results in significant changes in end product features. The implications of this model to practice are considered.     

Disclosure of reserve quantum in the extractive industries

We explore why some firms in the extractive industries disclose mineral reserve quantum in their annual reports and others do not. We propose that the firms' reserve disclosure policies are a function of the extent of information asymmetries, as well as information production, litigation and proprietary costs. More specifically, we propose that a firm's decisions to disclose reserves in the annual report are a function of the stage of the firm's operations, use of project financing, and the cost of measuring reserves. Empirical tests are confirmatory.     

Reduced Form Auctions Revisited

This note uses the Theorem of the Alternative to prove new results on the implementability of general, asymmetric auctions, and to provide simpler proofs of known results for symmetric auctions. The tradeoff is that type spaces are taken to be finite.     

温州龙湾区传统产业集聚发展路径研究

温州龙湾区历来是温州的工业大区和经济强区,其产业集聚的形成和发展,是温州整个工业经济发展的缩影,因而具有普遍性和代表性。本文以产业集聚形成和发展的内生机制为切入点,在分析温州龙湾区产业集聚发展的历史和现状基础上,提出本区产业集聚发展的路径选择。     

河南省战略性新兴产业发展的现状分析与策略选择

近年来,河南省以高新技术产业为主体的战略性新兴产业发展较快,成效显著,但同时也存在着总量规模小,产业集中度低,创新能力弱,体制、机制不完善等问题。十二五时期,河南省战略性新兴产业的发展面临着国内外激烈竞争的格局,存在着巨大的挑战和前所未有的机遇。从产业基础、资源禀赋、发展实践等多方面来看,河南省发展战略性新兴产业的策略选择,应定位于依托传统优势产业发展战略性新兴产业,并通过制定差异化的产业政策、推动传统优势产业的链式发展、发挥老工业基地的示范带动作用等措施来实施这一策略。     

人力资本与战略性新兴产业发展——基于105家上市公司的DEA-Malmquist指数分析

利用DEA-Malmquist指数,对我国7大战略性新兴产业2007年—2011年全要素生产率的变动做了纵向和横向比较,并进一步测算了各产业分别以人力资本和物质资本作为单一投入要素的Malmquist指数,即对战略性新兴产业全要素生产率分行业进行了要素分解,从而对人力资本投入对于培育和发展战略性新兴产业的重要性,以及各细分行业的人才战略实施情况有一个整体把握。结论认为要充分发挥人力资本的作用,依靠企业内部的高强度人才招聘和培训是其中一方面,而更应从价值链重构、产业结构调整的视阈中开拓人才战略的新思路。     

知识型服务业国际转移趋势与中国承接对策

近年来,以美国为代表的发达国家知识型服务业向具有智力人才优势的新兴市场国家转移的新浪潮正在兴起,标志着经济全球化进入了新的发展阶段.目前我国知识型服务业基本上还处于发展的起步阶段,但同时也存在着巨大的发展潜力,面临着承接国外转移的良好机遇.当前要站在国家产业发展的战略高度来充分认识承接知识型服务业国际转移的重要性和迫切性,并采取积极有效措施来迎接这轮新的全球产业布局调整.     

中国劳动密集型产业竞争力提升出路何在——新《劳动合同法》实施后的调研

本文在企业调研的基础上对新《劳动合同法》实施后劳动密集型产业竞争力的提升问题进行了研究。调研中我们发现新《劳动合同法》并没有增加守法企业的用工成本;工资上涨不是《劳动合同法》实施的结果;《劳动合同法》有助于维护正常的用工秩序;《劳动合同法》实施也没有减少劳动力市场需求。在调研的基础上,我们认为劳动密集型企业升级的路径应是主动将价格优势升级为品牌与渠道优势;注重研发,提升产品档次;注重人才培养,把以人为本的理念落到实处。在经济快速增长的时期,多数企业在快速增长中较少关注创新、品牌与人才;而当经济形势不好时,多数企业就会快速从繁荣到破产。但少数企业家在企业快速增长时期就比较注重自身竞争力的提升,在繁荣时不断提升企业能力,因而在危机时不仅可以渡过难关,甚至可以在危机中发现机遇,在危机中相对提升自身竞争力,在危机过后迎接新一轮增长期。以下两个因素已成为制约劳动密集型产业竞争力提升的障碍:一是中国软实力的不足;二是高水平产业技术工人的匮乏。中国的劳动密集型产业需要发展,更需要升级。可以说,中国的产业将与劳动力素质一起升级;甚至可以说没有劳动力素质的升级,中国的产业升级将仅是镜中花,水中月。在可以预计的时期内,中国劳动密...     

江苏主导产业战略性选择及发展研究

本文从各产业的发展潜力与需求、劳动生产率的变化、产业之间的关联关系、进出口的状况和资金技术密集状况五大方面对新世纪江苏主导产业的战略性选择及发展进行了探讨。