The Question of Market Dependence

Capitalism is a system of social-property relations in which survival and social reproduction are dependent on the market; a system that is, therefore, driven by the imperatives of competition and a relentless drive to improve the forces of production. This article explores the nature of that market dependence and the specific historical conditions in which it emerged. In debate with Robert Brenner's recent article in this journal (vol.1, no.2) about the early development of capitalism in the Low Countries, it is suggested that, while the Dutch Republic was a highly developed commercial society, it seems to have lacked the specific conditions that made market dependence a basic property relation, as it was in early modern English agrarian capitalism. The differences between Dutch and English patterns of economic development reflect some fundamental differences between commercial and capitalist societies.     

What Obscures the Skill Content Embodied in China''s Net Export?

China will exert a great impact on the world market after its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) with its labor-intensive exports, since China has more than 20% of the world's population.¹ Among which farmers make up 78.1% of the share.² This paper intends to measure the skill content embodied in China's net exports by using Maskus' (1994) methodology. The empirical results indicate that other factors tend to overshadow ranking of the skill content. It goes against the conventional wisdom that the Chinese farmers are not regarded as an abundant factor. The paradoxical result can be explained by mismatching of resources, identical homothetic preference and quality of input. Migration from rural areas to the coastal regions within the country will accelerate after China's entry to WTO. Moreover, upgrading of the skill content becomes imperative for China in its adjustment of export structure and resource allocation.     

以农用地定级结果为基础确定耕地保有量的理论模型研究

随着社会经济的发展,耕地数量急剧减少和各项非农建设占用耕地面积不断扩大的矛盾日益突出。为解决人口高峰年的粮食安全问题,国家提出了通过总体规划实施耕地保护的重要手段。首先,本文针对在总体规划中耕地保有量计算中存在的问题提出了耕地保有量计算的新模型。其次,提出了人口对耕地总需求潜力分计算模型。最后,用上年保有耕地生产力潜力分、年度耕地生产力供给分的变化量和人口对耕地生产力需求潜力分变化量综合确定本年的保有耕地生产力潜力分。     

CDM机制下技术转移的荷兰模式与日本模式比较

CDM机制是京都议定书中三个实现减排目标的合作减排机制之一,它对于促进发展中国家的技术进步,帮助发达国家实现京都议定书中规定的减排任务都具有重要意义。本文对在CDM机制下开展技术转移处于领先地位的荷兰与日本的转移模式进行了分析,并总结了两国在技术转移模式中的可借鉴之处。     

The Use of Organic vs. Chemical Fertilizer with a Mineral Losses Tax: The Case of Dutch Arable Farmers

The paper focuses on farm-level nitrogen fertilization strategies of Dutch arable farmers for analyzing the substitution of organic fertilizers (manure) with chemical fertilizers. The model developed investigates the impact of the major parameters affecting the inferiority of manure compared with chemical fertilizers, including the low availability and non-uniformity of the nitrogen in manure, and the low level and high non-uniformity of plant-available nitrogen supplied via manure. The sensitivity of the optimal fertilization decisions and its associated environmental impact to product price, manure cost, and environmental tax is also examined. The theoretical analysis is applied to a representative Dutch grower of ware potatoes in the northern part of the Netherlands. The results suggest that in the absence of a subsidy the representative farmer will prefer to apply nitrogen only via chemical fertilizers.     

现代农业建设的基础工程:农路、农地、农场

农路、农地和农场建设是现代农业建设的三个最基础的工程.田间标准农路的兴建关系到农业机械化以及农民的最终解放;深化农地使用制度的改革是为了加速农地使用权的流转和发展适度规模经营,而"农地重划"则是通过"互换分合"实现一户一块制,二者都是为了提高农地的利用效率;标准化的农路和地块是发展现代家庭农场企业的基础条件,而家庭农场企业本身则是现代农业基本的生产组织形式,其发展依赖于农外就业机会的大量形成和现代农场主的培育.     

A fiscal vaccine against the Dutch disease

The Dutch disease is a concern when a country is blessed with positive terms of trade (ToT) shocks. This article assesses the effects of a structural balance fiscal rule – which saves part of the revenues from better ToT – in limiting the real exchange rate (RER) appreciation. We find that the elasticity of the RER to ToT has declined (or is zero) in Chile and Norway, during the years in which the fiscal rule has been in place, although only for the part of ToT that accrue to government revenues.     

Reducing Pesticide Use and Pesticide Impact by Productivity Growth: the Case of Dutch Arable Farming

This paper employs a dynamic Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to measure the composition of productivity growth of pesticides and the environmental impacts of pesticides. The application focuses on panel data of Dutch arable farms over the period 2003–07. A bootstrap regression model is used to explain farmers' performance, providing empirical evidence of the impact of producer‐specific characteristics and environmental factors. The results show that Dutch arable farms have substantial inefficiency in the use of pesticides and high pesticide environmental inefficiency, and appear rather unconcerned about the environmental impacts of their current pesticide use decisions on next period's production environment.     

The development of the Dutch national accounts as a tool for analysis and policy

Since the start of modern national accounting in the 1930s, the Netherlands has played a dominant role in the development of the national accounts. This paper discusses the origins and development of the Dutch national accounts. This includes the surprisingly slow start of political arithmetic in the Netherlands, the views of van Cleeff and Tinbergen on planning and national accounting, the role of Derksen and Oomens as fathers of the Dutch national accounts, the Dutch School of National Accounting, the interaction with national statistics and the role of the international guidelines and the European Union. The paper also takes a look into the future. The major challenges are to bridge the gap with data users and to increase relevance by, e.g. extended accounts, long-term time series on government finance and modules on education, health care and social security.