从美国BIT范本最新修改谈对我国的启示

在经历了为期三年的审查程序后,美国于2012年4月公布了新的双边投资条约范本（以下简称BIT范本）。范本公布之后,中美也开始了进行新一轮BIT谈判。文章从2012年美国BIT范本修正重点和修正方向出发,强调我国应当谨慎对待“投资”定义和投资自由化、积极制定中国版本BIT范本,以期对我国未来参与FTA或与美国BIT谈判有所贡献。     

库存控制综述及JIT采购的意义——关于在祁南煤矿物资采购中实行JIT采购的设想

JIT采购作为一种科学的库存控制采购模式,能极大地降低物资库存成本和采购费用,精简物资采购业务流程,提高企业的管理水平和核心竞争力,对企业具有十分重要的意义。新形势下,祁南煤矿实行的传统采购模式已不适应现在市场的变化,仍存在煤矿生产效率低、库存占用资金量大、采购费用惊人等问题。为消除生产中的库存和不必要的浪费,祁南煤矿可采用JIT采购方法来进一步降低库存成本,节约物资采购费用,从而有效提高其经济效益和核心竞争力。     

福岛核事故后日本能源战略及对中国的启示

福岛核事故导致日本电力供给不足,石化能源消费量激增,其政府更加重视可再生能源和节能降耗的作用。日本核事故的爆发是由于主观上轻视安全、监管上漠视漏洞、宣传上文过饰非。重塑安全高效的能源版图,日本在缩减核电方面需要更加可行的替代方案,在可再生能源政策上应建立明确产业激励机制,在节能手段上需更加重视社会的可承受程度。中国应吸取日本的经验教训,确保核电安全,谨慎发展核电;确保能源供给,实现能源结构多元化;建立能源危机管理体系,提高能源危机应对能力。     

Determinants of mobile phone ownership in Nigeria

Mobile phones are recognized as a primary platform for mitigating the digital divide and increasing economic growth, and the same appears to be true for Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa. Since 2012, mobile phone penetration has shown nearly linear growth, reaching 83% in 2016. However, this statistic falls to only 46% after correcting for ownership of multiple SIM cards and sharing of mobile phones among multiple users. The determinants of mobile phone ownership in Nigeria are poorly understood, which hinders research that could inform policies capable of increasing mobile phone penetration and eliminating the digital divide. To begin to fill this research gap, we have analyzed socio-economic factors related to mobile phone ownership in the country. We used a logit model and the latest national-level Datafirst ICT dataset (2012) about mobile phone adoption from 1552 individuals. The sample was stratified, clustered, and probability-weighted to make it representative of the situation at the national level. The results suggest that factors such as geographic location and income may not strongly influence mobile phone ownership, in contrast to what was previously thought. Instead, the strongest factors appeared to be education level, informal work, social engagement, type of electricity supply and employment status. Our analysis suggests that to increase mobile phone ownership and close the digital divide, policy makers should target younger adults, provide training in digital literacy specifically for mobile phone use, invest in electricity supply infrastructure, and develop content and applications in non-English languages. These findings may contribute to understanding mobile phone distribution in Nigeria as well as inform implementation of the country's ICT Roadmap 2017–2020 and Vision 2020.     

资产建设理论视阈下农村贫困救助政策的启示

以资产为基础的社会政策是对穷人的福利政策方向的一个基本改变。对个人发展账户进行分析,将"资产建设"这个新理念引入我国农村贫困救助政策,比较两种以资产为基础的贫困救助政策:个人发展账户和村级互助基金,发现:为贫困者设立个人账户并建立村级互助资金,是适合我国国情的资产政策。     

Public transit user satisfaction: Variability and policy implications

This research focuses on passenger's perception of transit performance with an emphasis on the variability between operators and the policy implications of such differences. Two statistical methods (factor analysis and ordered logit modeling) have been used to assess the quality implications of the variability of the users’ perceived satisfaction across operators. A market segmentation analysis (between male and female respondents) provides further insight into the differences among groups of the population. Five transit systems in the two major conurbations in Greece, Athens and Thessaloniki, have been examined. The analysis demonstrated that a well-coordinated transportation environment should be the primary aim of the policy makers in Athens, followed by other quality attributes such as service frequency and accessibility. In Thessaloniki, the sole transit operator should include in its policy plans immediate corrective measures addressing the service frequency, waiting time and vehicle cleanliness attributes.     

Comparative Performance of Chinese Commercial Banks: Analysis,Findings and Policy Implications

This paper investigates the financial performance of Chinesebanks by using financial ratio analysis. The analysis shows that the lowprofitability of state-owned commercial banks results from their higherratio for non-interest expenses and lower interest margin thanjoint-equity banks. The much lower profit margin in state-owned banksdraws down their levels of ROE and ROA, even with the offsetting effectsof more efficient utilization of their assets and higher financialleverage. Although data limitations prevent us from studying the riskprofiles of the banks in detail, it is clear that these Chinese banksgenerated lower returns with higher financial risks than their Westerncounterparts. The paper concludes with a discussion of major issuesaffecting Chinese bank performance. Significant difficulties encounteredin assessing bank performance are also identified anddiscussed.     

International Trade and Health Policy: Implications of the GATS for US Healthcare Reform

This paper examines the implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the World Trade Organization’s agreement governing trade in health-related services, for health policy and healthcare reform in the United States. The paper describes the nature and scope of US obligations under the GATS, the ways in which the trade agreement intersects with domestic health policy, and the institutional factors that mediate trade-offs between health and trade policy. The analysis suggests that the GATS provisions on market access, national treatment and domestic regulation, which are designed to eliminate ‘regulatory barriers’ to global trade in health services, limit the range of options that state and federal regulators and legislative bodies can employ to regulate the health sector and implement healthcare reforms. As such, the paper identifies the broader social and ethical implications of free trade policy.     

Wives' involvement in tourism decision processes

This study segments tourism decision-making tasks into 17 categories. Wives were asked to assign a score to their level of involvement in each task. A marginal involvement in tasks related to the “financing aspects” of the trip was observed whereas involvement was high in tasks such as “shopping”, “selecting restaurants”, “collecting information”, and “preparing luggage”. Two hypotheses were tested: the socioeconomic characteristics of wives and trip characteristics have a positive effect on the level of involvement in the tourism decisions; and levels of task involvement are consistent for the 17 tasks (stability in tasks involvement). Marketing implications and recommendations for future research were also discussed.

Résumé

La participation des épouses aux décisions de voyages. Cette étude segmente les décisions et taches des voyages en dix-sept catégories. On a demandé aux épouses d'attribuer une valeur numérique selon leur niveau de participation dans chaquetâche. On a observé peu de participation aux “aspects financiers” tandis que la participation était élevée pour le “shopping”, le “choix des restaurants”, la “collecte d'information”, et la “préparation des bagages”. On a vérifié deux hypothèses: que les caractéristiques socio-économiques des épouses ainsi que certaines caractéristiques du voyage ont un effet positif sur la participation des épouses aux décisions du tourisme, et que les niveaux de participation pour les dix-sept tâches sont stables. On discute aussi des implications de marketing et des recommandations pour la recherche future.     

Relevance of Academic Research and Researchers' Role in the IASB's Financial Reporting Standard Setting

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) faces a vast number of standard‐setting issues at all levels of financial reporting. The purpose of this article is to explore the relevance of academic research for financial reporting standard setting and the role of academic researchers in the standard‐setting process. We contribute to the current debate surrounding International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by drawing inferences from prior findings regarding the role of research in the IASB's standard‐setting efforts. After defining three broad categories of standard‐setting questions, we explore how the international heterogeneity of its constituency imposes constraints on the IASB's work. Then, whether and how academic research can inform policy makers is investigated from an epistemological perspective. Based on a review of extant literature, the general criteria which a piece of research should fulfil in order to be perceived as relevant and useful by standard setters are discussed. This discussion is followed by more detailed considerations regarding the suitability of different research approaches for each of the three categories of standard‐setting questions. We also touch on the subject of inferential problems inherent in most academic accounting research. Since the main objective is to contribute insights relevant to the IASB's efforts, we analyse academics' career systems and their incentives to engage in research intermediation, before discussing possible ways in which interested researchers can channel their insights into the IASB's standard‐setting process. Overall, the international dimension of IASB standard setting and its implications for relevant research are emphasized.