Which Way is “Up” in Upgrading? Trajectories of Change in the Value Chain for South African Wine

Global Value Chain (GVC) analysis uses the concept of upgrading to highlight paths for developing country firms to “move up the value chain,” usually through the lenses of four categories—product, process, functional, and inter-sectoral upgrading. The implicit normative expectation is that these firms move toward producing higher value-added products and/or take on more sophisticated functions along a value chain. In this article, upgrading is approached more broadly as “reaching a better deal,” including a balance between rewards and risk. The case study of South African wine shows that better product quality, improved processes, and some functional upgrading have co-existed with processes of “downgrading,” higher risks, and limited rewards, especially in traditional export markets. A reflection on further conceptual development and directions for empirical research is also provided.     

对我国西三角经济区县域特色产业发展的探究

西三角地区的经济发展对于我国西部大开发的成功具有举足轻重的作用,而特色产业作为一种具有高效联动作用的产业集群,对带动区域经济的发展十分重要。本文从该地区县域内特色产业发展的现状入手,在分析县域特色产业发展中取得的成绩和经验,独特的发展思路以及发展中存在问题的基础上,提出适合西三角地区县域特色产业发展的有效途径和可行的发展模式。     

深化漳台产业合作的几点思考

立足漳州市情，深化漳台产业对接，构建具有核心竞争力的现代产业体系，是落实“海西建设，漳州先行”发展战略的重要举措。比较分析漳台产业的互补性，运用经济学原理论证漳台产业对接的现实性与可行性，并提出深化漳台产业合作曲建议。     

Why Do Property‐Liability Insurers Destroy Liquidity? Evidence from South Africa

This paper examines liquidity creation behaviour in the property‐liability insurance market in South Africa. Using annual data on 76 insurers from 2007 to 2014, the paper employs the three‐stage approach to estimate liquidity creation. The results suggest that property‐liability insurers are characterised by liquidity destruction by transforming liquid assets in cash and investable securities into illiquid reserves liabilities. The findings also indicate that the R1.32 billion in liquid assets were transformed into illiquid reserves liabilities in 2014, an increase from the R700 million liquidity de‐created in 2007. The increases were mainly driven by large insurers which accounted for about 70% liquidity de‐created. The results of panel regression analysis provide evidence in support of the “risk‐absorption” hypothesis which argues that high levels of capital increases liquidity creation. In addition, size, leverage and reinsurance were also identified as the firm‐level factors that explain liquidity creation. The policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

我国海峡西岸经济区市域农业综合生产能力评价分析

构建了市域农业综合生产能力评价指标体系,采用层次分析法确定评价指标的权重。在此基础上,对我国海峡西岸经济区20个地市的农业综合生产能力进行了评价,得出各市农业综合生产能力的评价结果及二级指标评价结果的排名,进一步指出各市所处的梯队,各市农业综合生产能力二级指标的长、短板属性,并分析了评价结果。最后,提出提高市域农业综合生产能力的建议。     

Financial development and private investment in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study examines the relationship between financial sector development and private investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. It uses panel data covering the period 1991-2004 from 18 countries in Africa. The main findings of the study are as follows: there is a negative relationship between interest rate and private investment, signaling large interest rate spreads in African economies. It is also found that both the credit to the private sector and the turnover ratio have significant relationships with private investment. However, the effect of turnover ratio on investment is insignificant. The insignificance of the stock market indicator reflects the low stage of stock market development in most of the African economies. In addition, it is found that the informal sector is still large and has positive effects on private investment and that institutional variables play a key role in determining the level of private investment in Africa.     

北非动荡与中国企业对非投资的对策思考

自2010年底以来．北非国家发生了持续性政局动荡,给中国企业带来巨大损失。本文分析了北非局势变化对中国企业带来的机遇与挑战,并从政府和企业两个层面对中国企业在非投资的风险控制与可持续发展提出建议。     

海西建设背景下的福建文化旅游发展研究

文化旅游在当前的旅游产业中具有重要的功能。目前福建的文化旅游面临良好的机遇和发展空间,但也存在着一些问题与不足。在海西经济区建设的背景下,福建应充分挖掘文化旅游资源特色,发挥文化旅游开发的优势条件,实现福建文化旅游的深度开发,打造“海峡旅游”品牌,提升福建旅游竞争力。