湖南西部旅游资源一体化开发战略研究

湖南西部地区有着丰富而独特的旅游资源,但旅游开发很不平衡。站在湖南省经济发展战略全局的高度,应当将西部的旅游资源进行有效的整合,实施一体化开发战略,从而形成以张家界为核心的旅游产业大发展的新格局,把旅游产业真正发展成为西部地区的龙头产业,全面带动西部地区的经济发展。     

Problems of private industrial economic development and its countermeasures for Zigong City,Sichuan Province,China

The differences of regional economic development between underdeveloped areas and developed areas are mainly embodied by different levels of private economic development. Since 20-year reform and opening-up to the outside world, the private industry of Zigong has developed gradually, become more and more economically competitive, and played a more and more important role in the economic structure of Zigong. This paper analyzes the problems of private economy and its countermeasures based on the research on its status quo.     

对外贸易对西部经济增长作用的实证分析

西部大开发实施以来,西部对外贸易对GDP的拉动度并没有发生显著变化,对GDP的贡献也远低于全国平均水平。促进西部经济增长,应优化出口商品的结构,提高进口增长率,保持进出口平衡,拓展边境贸易,发展西部各省的特色经济。     

中部崛起与西部开发的财政收支分析

本文研究表明，在西部开发进程中，国债投资占有较大比重，中部崛起需要充分调动地区的积极性；中部、西部与东部相比，地方企业上缴税收的能力相对不足；中部、西部对于行政收费和农业税收依赖较重，取消农业税后需要开辟新的财政收入渠道；优化中部、西部地区的财政收支状况，关键在于调整地方财政的收支结构。     

Analysing job creation effects of scaling up infrastructure spending in South Africa

In a first for South Africa, this article draws on literature on infrastructure productivity to model dynamic economy-wide employment impacts of infrastructure investment funded with different fiscal tools. Using a dynamic computable general equilibrium model, the South African investment plan is modelled, given the infrastructure externality. Alternative fiscal scenarios to finance the policy are modelled in the article. In the long run, unemployment decreases for all types of workers under one of the scenarios. In the short run, only elementary occupation workers benefit from a decrease in unemployment; for the rest, unemployment rises.     

Female participation in African labor markets: The role of information and communication technologies

This article investigates the effects of information and communication technologies (ICT) on female labor force participation in a sample of 48 African countries. We specify and estimate linear regression and dynamic panel data models with fixed effects (FE) and system-generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) estimation over the period 2001–2017. The three main results are that ICT use (mobile phone and internet) significantly stimulates female labor force participation in Africa; this effect is enhanced by financial development and female education; the effect of ICT on female employment in Africa is strongest in the industrial sector. These results remain robust to the provision of social, cultural, and institutional variables.     

Extinction accounting and accountability: Empirical evidence from the west European tissue industry

Recently, human activities are more and more invasive with respect to biodiversity. Several studies highlighted the key role played by accountants in contributing to the development of tools able to support company in assessing, reporting, and disseminating, as well as accomplishing, the preservation of natural species and ecosystems (King and Atkins, 2016). Corporate reporting of environmental information might increase the credibility of forest certifications, given that some scholars argued that certified forests are not often run, in a sustainable way. Moreover, certifications sometimes cover harmful forest practices (Elad, 2014) and do not ensure a good quality of environmental reporting and performance. The research question therefore intends to explore how extinction accounting and accountability (EAA) is able to reflect ex post the company's business strategy and, at the same time, influence ex ante its formulation by easing the prevention of deforestation risk and addressing the issue of credibility through specific actions. In more detail, the “Emancipatory Framework for Extinction Accounting and Accountability” (EFEAA) (Atkins and Maroun, 2018) was tested using content and interpretative analyses based on the reports inherent to top four companies working in West Europe in the tissue industry, where the preservation of forest heritage is a “compulsory route” for assuring the business sustainability, in terms of both raw material renewal and brand reputation. The findings highlighted the first attempt to carry out a qualitative research over the management of forest issues. In our study, companies tend to report advantages arising from the use of forest, but this kind of disclosure is too generic without providing evidence over the ecosystem services forests produce. Moreover, firm size affects the quantity and the quality of disclosure. At last, managerial implications and future research avenues are outlined and discussed.     

The impact of population growth and climate change on food security in Africa: looking ahead to 2050

Providing nutritious and environmentally sustainable food to all people at all times is one of the greatest challenges currently facing society. This problem is particularly acute in Africa where an estimated one in four people still lack adequate food to sustain an active and healthy life. In this study, we consider the potential impact of future population growth and climate change on food security in Africa, looking ahead to 2050. A modelling framework termed FEEDME (Food Estimation and Export for Diet and Malnutrition Evaluation) was used which was characterized to model the impacts of future climate changes (utilizing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emissions Scenarios projections) and projected population growth on food availability and subsequent undernourishment prevalence in 44 African countries. Our results indicate that projected rapid population growth will be the leading cause of food insecurity and widespread undernourishment across Africa. Very little to no difference in undernourishment projections were found when we examined future scenarios with and without the effects of climate change, suggesting population growth is the dominant driver of change. Various adaptation options are discussed, such as closing the yield gap via sustainable intensification and increasing imports through trade and aid agreements. These strategies are likely to be critical in preventing catastrophic future food insecurity.     

The potential for technology and knowledge transfers between foreign and local firms: A study of the construction industry in Ghana

Multinational corporations (MNCs) and other foreign firms can be conduits for technology and knowledge (T&K) transfer to host countries in the developing world. Most of the existing research focuses on T&K transfers through FDI and are drawn from Asia not Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), although SSA is increasingly receiving foreign investment. There is a paucity of research that gives insights into project-level T&K transfer issues in SSA countries. Using the Ghanaian construction industry as an empirical focus, this article explores T&K transfer potential. The findings reveal significant weaknesses in T&K transfer across industry subsectors and between foreign and local firms. This arises from the potentially complementary but dissimilar resource and knowledge bases. The weaknesses are compounded by the absence of coherent government T&K development policies.