The Long Emergence of a Modern Insurance Industry in China

Abstract

From 1949 through 1979, China had no insurance industry, as the state self-insured. Government policy was cautious and growth slow for the next 15 years, but since the early 1990s the pace of policy change has accelerated and the industry has grown at more than twice the gross domestic product. Nevertheless, the industry's development and market penetration, particularly in general insurance, remains extremely low by international standards, and continues to be retarded by a mix of forces. This paper examines the drivers for and against the long emergence of China's insurance industry, followed by a projection of the future development of the industry in China.     

Income Redistribution and Direct Taxes and Transfers in New Zealand

This article examines the redistributive effects of direct taxes and transfers in New Zealand. First, it reports summary measures of the income tax-and-transfer system using the NZ Household Economic Survey. Second, the article examines the characteristics of low-income NZ taxpayers. A decomposition by individual and household characteristics shows that different groups of low-income taxpayers can be affected quite differently by various aspects of the tax-and-transfer system. In particular, reforms involving tax-free zones do not appear to be well targeted to help those most in need.     

Tourism destination competitiveness: a quantitative approach

Recently, researchers have suggested an approach to tourism destination competitiveness that goes beyond conventional destination attributes to include, in addition, generic business factors of competitiveness. Despite its apparent promise, there appears to have been little applied research building on this combined approach. This paper is designed to address this gap. Factors pertaining to the competitiveness of both the destination's attractions and its tourism industry were used to construct an instrument that was used to survey tourism practitioners in Hong Kong. Respondents were asked to rate the factors for both importance and relative competitiveness, in a method consistent with importance performance analysis (IPA). The results were analysed and discussed by reference to the IPA Grid. The paper concludes that the study has developed a promising research methodology that offers a quantitative, theoretically informed empirical analysis that will be able to provide a basis for managerial and policy decisions in the tourism industry.     

Negotiating ‘ethically important moments’ in research with young people: reflections of a novice researcher

The latter half of the twentieth century witnessed a surge in interest around ethics in research. Originally focused on the compilation of ethics guidelines and the importance of having all research approved by institutional review boards before commencement, discussions of research ethics have more recently centred on how such guidelines translate into ethical practice during the research process. Leisure research has been no exception to this trend. Using as an example, a research project in Ireland centred on focus groups with young people (aged 15–19) regarding their physical activity behaviours and preferences, this paper explores the situated judgement of the interviewer, a novice researcher, as she attempted to navigate four ethically important moments. Discussions centre on moments where the interviewer’s situated judgement resulted in research ethics being compromised and moments where the interviewer experienced difficulty reconciling personal and research ethics. Our intention in sharing the situations and resulting questions from this research is to shine a light on the decision-making which takes place during the research process and consider how researchers might prepare adequately to make decisions in an ethically sound way.     

Debate on Margaret Kohn's The Death and Life of the Urban Commonwealth

This interventions forum presents a debate on Margaret Kohn's The Death and Life of the Urban Commonwealth. Four contributors from different disciplinary backgrounds discuss and critique Kohn's book, which offers an exploration of the political in an age of modern urbanism. Building on theories of solidarism and social rights, Kohn puts forth a set of new arguments about how the city might be a more governable commonwealth. Her book lays bare some of the great contradictions inherent in questions of the distribution of wealth and space in the metropolis. It builds on classical and current political theory and philosophy, theories of justice, and debates on gentrification and social mobility. The reviewers appreciate the great contribution the book is making to current debates in urban politics, geography and law, but they also point to significant areas for further debate along various lines as laid out by the author. Kohn concludes the debate with a response to the critical interventions.     

A test of the relationship between person–environment fit and cross-cultural adjustment among self-initiated expatriates

Understanding an expatriate's cross-cultural adjustment to the various aspects of their host environment and organization has been a focal point of research for several decades. Person–environment (PE) fit refers to the degree of fit an individual has with various dimensions of their host environment, and past research suggests that successful PE fit positively influences adjustment. However, the strength of these relationships remains under-researched. Drawing upon data gathered from 369 self-initiated expatriate doctors working in Ireland, we examine the strength of the relationship between PE fit and cross-cultural adjustment. Our results suggest that dimensions of PE fit influence cross-cultural adjustment to varying degrees. Thus, person–job needs-supplies fit was the only fit dimension to influence interaction adjustment, while person–job demands abilities influenced both work adjustment and, to a lesser extent, interaction adjustment. Person–organization fit influenced work adjustment, while person–supervisor fit had no relationship with adjustment. These findings have implications for organizations when recruiting and supporting self-initiated expatriates.