The impact of Chinese monetary policy shocks on East and South‐East Asia1

We study the effects of Chinese monetary policy shocks on China's major trading partners in East and South‐East Asia by estimating structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) models for six economies in the region. We find that a monetary expansion in Mainland China leads to an increase in real GDP (temporary) and the price level (permanent) in a number of economies in our sample, most notably in Hong Kong and the Philippines. The impact could result from intertemporal substitution present in a general equilibrium framework, which allows for positive domestic impacts of foreign monetary expansions. Our results emphasize the growing importance of China for its neighbouring economies and the significance of Chinese shocks for the design of monetary policy in Asian economies.     

韩国实施工业反哺农业政策对我国的启示

党的十七届三中全会明确提出了“坚持工业反哺农业”的方针。如何有效地实施“工业反哺农业”方针,实现目标任务,韩国实施工业反哺农业的目标导向明晰化、财政支持力度大、实施手段法治化、重视智力反哺和提高农民的组织化水平等成功经验,为我国提供了有益的启示。     

南海油气资源开发研究--基于石油安全的视角

石油是不可再生的重要能源资源,在经济和社会发展中具有不可替代的重要作用。随着我国经济的快速发展和世界油价的不断攀升,石油供需矛盾日益突出,石油安全面临着严峻挑战。在陆地油气资源日渐枯竭的背景下,开发海洋油气资源已成为人类的必然选择。在我国四大海区中南海不仅海域面积辽阔,而且油气资源蕴藏丰富,开发潜力巨大,开发南海资源,对保障我国能源安全和维护国家海洋权利具有重要的战略意义。加快南海开发步伐,不仅需要国家从战略层面制定中长期规划、加大开发力度,而且要提高自主创新能力,在深海勘探、生产和运输等关键技术领域实现突破;还要妥善处理好与周边国家的关系,在致力于最终解决南海争议的同时,探讨共同开发的有效机制。     

Clustering attendees at the Philharmonic Orchestra’s Summer Festival

There has been an increase in the number of arts and music festivals held annually in South Africa. These festivals range from wide all-encompassing arts festivals, such as the National Arts Festival, to specific festivals that cater for very specific audiences, such as the Jazz Festival and the Philharmonic Orchestra Festival. It may therefore be expected that the attendees of the various types of festivals would differ quite substantially. While much research has been conducted to understand visitor behaviour at general arts festivals and the economic contributions of these festivals, attendees of these more specialised events have been neglected. However, understanding who the attendees are and their behaviour is paramount to the sustainability of these festivals. Therefore, this paper aims to address this void and set the following objectives: (1) to compile a profile of attendees at the Philharmonic Orchestra Festival; (2) to cluster attendees of the Festival into distinct groups; and (3) to compare the various clusters with one another. Data were obtained by administrating 500 visitor questionnaires during January 2010. Using cluster analysis, visitors are grouped based on various characteristics and the differences between the clusters are explored using factor analysis and analysis of variance. Main results indicate that most visitors are mature in age and well educated, from which three clusters were identified with differences evident between the clusters.     

The Rise and Decline of Small‐Scale Sugarcane Production in South Africa: A Historical Perspective

South Africa's sugar industry has long been distinguished by its large number of small‐scale sugarcane growers (SSGs) farming on ‘communal’ land and its peculiar privately administered regulatory structure. In recent years, however, the numbers of small‐scale growers have declined precipitously. This paper argues that the relationship between the rise and fall of SSG production and the industry's governing regulatory structure is closer than usually appreciated. The emergence of SSG production in the late 1970s and the 1980s can be traced to industry‐subsidized initiatives, disguised as small‐scale credit, to bring commercially inalienable Bantustan land into cane production with strong miller oversight. From the late 1980s to 1990s, however, the elimination of these subsidies encouraged millers to subcontract support to farmers, while simultaneously instigating an increase in SSG numbers by removing restrictions on grower registration. Although low rainfall is a central proximal factor in the rapid decline of the SSGs in the 2000s, their rapid increase was structurally fragile.     

Policy Determinants of School Outcomes under Model Uncertainty: Evidence from South Africa

In this paper, we assess the determinants of secondary school outcomes in South Africa. We use Bayesian model averaging techniques to account for uncertainty in the set of underlying factors that are chosen among a very large pool of explanatory variables in order to identify the subset of explanatory variables most strongly associated with the dependent variable. Our analysis indicates that the socio‐economic background of pupils, demographic characteristics such as population groups (Black and White), as well as geographical locations account for a significant variation in pupils’ achievement levels. We also find that the most robust policy determinants of pupils’ test scores are the availability of a library at school, the use of IT in the classroom as well as school climate.     

中日韩新能源合作探析

新能源已经成为目前各国竞相发展的产业,新能源技术开发甚至被喻为"第四次科技革命"。在从熊彼特创新理论角度探讨新能源开发重要性的基础上,分析了中日韩三国在新能源领域合作的基础和意义,最后提出了相应的政策建议。     

Estimating the Private Economic Benefits of Sons Versus Daughters in India

In order to understand the economic incentives behind gender discrimination in India, this paper provides the first estimates of the magnitude of the economic benefits of having a son instead of a daughter. The study estimates large gains from a first-born son to per capita income and expenditure, household assets, and a reduction in the probability the household is below the poverty line. Estimates show that a first-born son may provide economic advantages through a reduction in total children born and also from an adult son’s labor supply contribution to his parents’ household. The observed pattern of incentives is also compared with observed patterns in sex selection as a test of whether the relative economic value of first-born sons and daughters can explain the prevalence of sex-selective abortion.     

韩国队植入式广告的规制与启示

植入式广告是当今时代普遍应用的一种广告形式和市场营销方式,其健康有序的发展不仅需要建立健全相关法律法规,而且还要进行合理的监管。韩国针对植入式广告制定的一系列规约制度以及行之有效的监管模式,对我国合理规制植入式广告,实现植入式广告健康,稳定发展具有重要启示作用和积极的借鉴意义。     

韩国科研器材开放共享法规制度调研

近年来,韩国政府非常重视科教事业,希望通过科技创新实现经济可持续发展,为此,投入大量的科研经费,取得了一些成绩。然而,科研经费投入的增加,科研器材采购管理监管的缺位,造成了韩国大量的科研经费的浪费。为避免浪费,实现科研器材的最大化利用,韩国政府制定了诸多法律法规来规范科研器材的使用和管理,如,《科学技术基本法》、《技术研发促进法》、《基础科学研究振兴法》等相关法律法规。通过对韩国科研器材共享法律法规、科研器材的购置管理和科研器材共享流程等内容的分析研究,期望韩国科研经费使用,特别是在科研器材管理和共享方面好的做法,对我国科研器材管理、完善健全科研器材开放共享机制有所借鉴。