The “necessaries of life” in British political medicine, 1750–1850

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the medical concept of “necessaries of life”—i.e., food, heat, clothing, and shelter—became controversial in Britain. The new domain of political economy, in both its Smithian and its Malthusian modes, challenged the view that necessity was either a measurable concept or a deliverable right. For the political economists, “necessity” was relative, a standard erected by class and culture. Many doctors and surgeons resisted that relativism, insisting that the fever epidemics they were responding to could be directly or indirectly attributed to the absence of such “necessaries.” The first half of the article reviews the distinct debates between doctors and economists on these issues in England, Scotland, and Ireland during the first half of the nineteenth century. By mid-century these so-called “necessaries” had largely been de-medicalized and transformed into the status of consumer commodities. The second half of the paper describes the quite different list of necessities that replaced them in public health campaigning and administration during the second half of the century.     

Underwriter learning about unfamiliar firms: Evidence from the history of biotech IPOS

This study examines the ability of underwriters to properly value unfamiliar firms prior to issuance. I use a sample of IPOs in biotechnology, a relatively new but thriving industry. The first American biotech IPO was in 1980. Through the end of 2004, almost 500 biotech IPOs have appeared in the public market. I find that biotechnology differs from other industries in the attributes of individual firms valued by the market. In particular, R&D and the quality of human capital (e.g., star scientists on the staff) are much more important for biotech valuations. I find also that underwriters appeared not to appreciate this distinction for early biotech IPOs; in those cases, first-day market returns were predictable by firm attributes not used by underwriters to establish IPO issue prices. I also find that underwriters have learned over time, albeit slowly. Over the 20+ years of biotech history, IPO issue prices have become more dependent on firm attributes unique to biotechs while first-day market returns have become less predictable.     

三圃制与中古英国的运输革命

从12世纪开始，三圃制在英国的推广普及使得燕麦有了稳定的产量，加上套马技术的进步，从而为马在经济尤其是交通运输中发挥作用解决了饲料问题和技术问题。到13世纪中叶马已取代牛成为运输的主要畜力，14世纪马车已成为陆路运输的主要工具。中世纪英国的运输革命加速了经济的发展、促进了城乡之间的交流、加深了商品经济的复杂性、密切了农民与市场的联系。     

应对突发公共事件的新理念——试析《国家突发公共事件总体应急预案》

《国家突发公共事件总体应急预案》充分反映了当代公共行政的价值取向，体现了政府应对突发公共事件的新理念；认真研究和把握这些精神和理念，有利于我们积极、主动应对和处置各类突发公共事件，实现处置突发公共事件的人本化、法治化和科学化。     

The Performance of State–Owned Enterprises Revisited

Many theoretical and empirical studies look at the ownership–performance relationship. So far, the literature in finance and in accounting mainly refers to the property rights, agency and public choice theories. Despite the fact that the results of these studies are more or less conclusive, it is usually considered that the private enterprise performs better than the state–owned enterprise. In this article, we argue that these studies suffer from one major limitation. They do not recognize that the goals of the state–owned enterprise are different from the ones espoused by the private firm. Using a sample of state–owned entreprises and private firms for the period 1976–1996, we present empirical evidence that the state–owned enterprises, when their main goal is to maximize profit, perform as well as the privately owned enterprises. Therefore, the alleged under–performance of the state–owned enterprises may only be the result of pursuing other goals while the poor quality of public managers may be another urban myth.     

公共危机管理的社会资本作用分析——以汶川大地震和SARS的对比为例

在介绍公共危机管理的基础上,将社会资本引入其领域,通过两件公共危机事件:SARS和汶川大地震中社会资本作用的不同,指出在公共危机管理中社会资本的坏的和积极作用;提出在公共危机管理过程中必须合理有效地发挥社会资本的积极作用。     

A qualitative analysis of factors associated with user acceptance and rejection of a new workplace information system in the public sector: a conceptual model

This study examines the factors that lead employees to endorse or resist the introduction of a new information system (IS). Findings suggest that attitudes toward adopting IS are related to psychological characteristics of the potential adopters, including, open‐mindedness, self‐efficacy, interest in the information and communication technology, and time remaining before retirement. Also figuring prominently in influencing attitudes are the end‐users' perceptions and expectations with respect to project management, IS quality, IS usefulness, and its effects on organizational positions, work organization, performance, skills, jobs, and worker health. Finally, user attitudes also relate to features of change management practices, including leadership, training, support, recognition, communication, and participation. An integrative conceptual model of IS user adoption is proposed and suggestions for future research are offered. Copyright © 2008 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Demographic shift, relative costs and the allocation of local public consumption in Norway

Local government responses to shifting demand and supply conditions are investigated. The desired allocation of local public consumption is determined in a voter group decision model where different age groups compete for services within an exogenous budget constraint. The model is implemented in an AIDS demand system built into a partial adjustment framework. The estimates indicate that the dramatic shift in the age composition of the population from the young to the elderly during the period studied has led to higher educational spending per pupil and less health care services per elderly. Age groups in decline are able to resist reallocations and gain in terms of spending per head.     

宪法关怀与政府公共服务:农村医疗保障的制度创设及立法设想

农民是农业生产的主体,其健康状况直接影响农业和国民经济的发展.但目前我国农民仍被排除在国家基本医疗保障体系之外.政府应担负公共服务职能,秉承宪法精神,建立有层次性的农村新型医疗保障制度,并以立法保证实施.     

中国农村养老保障两种观点的比较——兼论中国农村养老保障的模式选择

关于中国农村养老保障模式有两种观点,有支持家庭养老的,也有支持社会化养老的。通过比较研究,两种观点之间既有共识又有分歧;有分歧是因为逻辑路径不同。农村社会养老保险经过数次改革仍然低效是因为缺少公共资源。尝试给出农村社会养老保险的出路。