Growth-focused or profit-focused firms: Transitions toward profitable growth

Profitable growth is the most desirable state tourism and hospitality firm managers can hope to achieve. In reality, however, it is not easy for a tourism and hospitality firm to consistently grow and accumulate profits. In order to achieve profitable growth, some firms focus on sales growth while victimizing profits, while others concentrate on profits and hold off on growth. To better understand these strategies, this study investigated the growth state, profit state and transitions of restaurant firms. The findings of this study supported that profit-focused firms are more likely to achieve profitable growth than growth-focused firms. In addition, growth-focused firms with low liquidity had a higher likelihood of transitioning to a state of low growth and low profit in the short-term, and this liquidity effect was more serious for small firms in terms of long-term performance. Further, when profit-focused firms had few growth opportunities, large free cash flows increased the likelihood of transitioning to a state of low growth and low profit in the short-term. More detailed results are provided in this paper.     

推进我国风险投资发展的对策

风险投资作为一种新兴融资方式,在我国已有了一定程度的发展,但也存在不容忽视的问题,必须采取有效措施,推进我国风险投资的发展。     

城市圈可接近性与城市经济增长--以珠三角、武汉城市圈为例

针对我国目前正在兴起的建设城市圈的热潮,本文讨论了城市圈形成的一个模型,运用空间计量以及面板数据的方法对我国已经发展较成熟的珠三角城市圈以及正在建设的武汉城市圈进行了比较研究,结果发现:城市圈的可接近性能显著地促进位于城市圈内的城市的经济增长水平。本文还提出了发展边缘城市、实施组团式发展的城市圈发展策略。     

The Scottish Path to Capitalist Agriculture 2: The Capitalist Offensive (1747–1815)

The first in this series of articles left Scotland on the verge of agrarian transformation. Although the nation geographically nearest to England, it remained in 1745 considerably more distant in social structure. England was the first state unambiguously to complete the transition from feudal to capitalist agriculture. Unlike England, however, those that followed did not have a period of several centuries in which to undertake the process. Lenin identified the alternatives that they faced as the Prussian 'reformist' and American 'revolutionary' paths. Scotland was to prefigure the Prussian path, where the feudal landowners themselves instigated the transition to capitalism in the countryside. After the final defeat of Jacobitism at Culloden in 1746, the Scottish feudal landowners were juridically stripped of the powers (military tenures, local jurisdictions) with which a section of them had threatened the British state. They were, however, allowed to retain most of their power over their tenants. With no remaining alternative but to adapt to the capitalist mode of production, they systematically used these powers to reorganize their estates along existing English lines. The speed and extent of the transformation that followed remains unprecedented in Western European history.     

Privatization and corruption in transition economies: a panel study

By using three corruption indices, six privatization indicators, and taking the endogeneity problem into consideration, we test the hypothesis that privatization contributes to a decrease in corruption in transition economies. We identified a highly statistically significant and negative association between privatization and corruption in transition economies for three different corruption indices and six different privatization indicators.     

How does economic transition breed corruption?

Based on the existing literature, this paper discusses the relationship between economic transition and corruption, and argues that economic transition is one of the main roots of the spread of corruption in transitional China. It divides economic transition into four parts, and examines various channels by which economic transition breeds corruption opportunities. By applying the case statistical analysis method to analyze 594 major corruption cases, it finds the most corruption-prone areas, and provides some empirical evidence on the existence of such channels.     

Reason's shadow: Notes on the psychodynamics of obstruction

The remarks that follow are made with regard to the behavior of leaders whose self-image is threatened by a variety of conditions comprising the world problematique. Of all those conditions, surely those associated with violence and warfare are the most threatening. I would speculate, therefore, that what I've written here is especially pertinent for deliberations on how to encourage peace and disarmament.While these remarks are focused on the behavior of leaders—especially those in government—they can hold, too, for those in the public who identify with those leaders…itself another psychodynamic process. Of course, the public's contexts differ so the degree of threat and response will differ, too. This is a matter for further attention.Moreover, self-images are usually rich in content and while some aspects are threatened, others may not be or, indeed, may be attracted by new rational ideas. The resultant struggle within the psyche complicates the overt expression of these unconscious conflicts.But these dynamics mirror those comprising the problematique, especially its expression around issues of war and peace. Therefore, psychodynamic matters deserve as much attention and utilization as we now give to conventional, indeed, often ritual means, masquerading as rationality, for dealing with violence and armaments.     

对马克思按分配原则的反思

马克思的劳动价值论不仅是剩余价值的理论基础和分析资本主义分配的理论依据，同时也是马克思设想的社会主义按劳分配的逻辑起点。只是以往我们对按劳分配原则的最本质的含义理解不够透彻。实质上，应该说马克思设想的按劳分配原则最本质的内容包括三点，即在未来的社会主义社会中，个人消费品的分配以劳动量的大小为依据，等量劳动获取等量报酬，承认能力本位。在社会主义市场经济条件下的按劳分配原则，仍然没有偏离这三点本质的含义，但已经有了新的特点和形式。