Dehkans,Diversification and Dependencies: Rural Transformation in Post‐Soviet Uzbekistan

This paper describes how political and economic transition has affected the system of agricultural production in Khorezm, Uzbekistan in terms of economic practices and relationships. Based on recent fieldwork, the paper argues that the local agricultural economy is a hybrid economy, where production for market, quasi‐market and subsistence merge into and co‐constitute one another. In order to keep the system going, and to make up for the uncertainties in the formal context of production, the relation between new private fermer and the peasant (dehkan) households is of particular importance. This relation resembles neo‐patrimonial patron–client relations, which are both personal and informal while also being based on formal, contractual relations. The relations are asymmetric and based on the limited and unevenly distributed resources. The division of power is unequal but not fixed, due to the ongoing transition of the economic system.     

中国楼市的双重问题

正在过去两年中,面对利率的不断变化、供应量的增加和经济的增速放缓,房价一直在上下波动。政策制定者不得不采取小心翼翼的平衡措施,让房地产行业降温,同时又不能导致其崩溃。如果你最近没有去看上海著名的天际线,那就再看看吧,你很可能会大吃一惊:黄浦江畔的浦东新区,自20世纪90年代开发以来拔地而起的高层建筑群中,最近出现了一座新的摩天大楼。上海中心大厦计划将于2014年竣工,这座外表覆盖玻璃、螺旋式上升的大楼将高达632米,成为全城最高建筑。     

Informed Traders,Intervention, and Price Leadership: A Deeper View of the Microstructure of the Foreign Exchange Market

This article identifies price leadership patterns in foreign exchange trading, with a focus on central bank intervention as an informational trigger for leadership positioning. Granger causality tests applied to DM/US$ spot rate quotes reveal Deutsche Bank as a price leader up to 60 minutes prior to Bundesbank interventionary reports. By the minus 25-minute mark, interbank quote adjustments become two-way Granger-causal. These results suggest that central bank activity is revealed in stages: first to the price leader, then to competitors, and lastly to the general public.     

DOLLARIZATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: RATIONAL REMEDY OR DOMESTIC DILEMMA?

This paper reviews the policy implications of dollarization in developing economies. It outlines channels of U.S. currency access abroad and illustrates progressing stages of dollarization for various country examples. It analyzes the costs of large seigniorage losses facing domestic governments vis-a-vis the U.S. issuer. Finally, it provides three explanations for the observed inertia in dedollarization following domestic stabilization policies: (i) high transactions costs of switching monies, (ii) dollar revenues related to illegal commercial activities, and (iii) network externalities associated with foreign currency usage.     

The Use of Sponsorship-Linked Marketing by Tobacco Firms: International Public Policy Issues

Worldwide, the marketing and promotion practices of tobacco firms are coming under scrutiny. Although tobacco advertising in traditional media such as television has been banned in most countries for many years, the use of nontraditional media such as sponsorship has only recently come into question. This paper analyzes how sponsorship-linked marketing programs function like advertising in promoting tobacco products. The various marketing tactics utilized by international tobacco firms are discussed as are policy recommendations for governments, businesses, households, and communities that seek to reduce tobacco promotion in their environments.     

Social Forums as Space: A Response to Peter Marcuse

Debates about whether to consider Social Forums as a movement in itself or as a workspace for movements to network have been an integral part of the Forums’ formation processes ever since their emergence in 2000. Referring to Social Forums as the‘successor and culmination’ of previous social struggles raises problems of representation and suggests that all kinds of social struggles converge in this particular organizational form. Rather, struggles for social change today are being fought by social movements on a variety of scales and dimensions. Social Forums can offer a space where these various forms and scales of experiences are linked and politicized — but they can hardly act as actors themselves. Taking a next step, political experiences gathered at Social Forums can be transferred to these various kinds of struggles and inspire them. From this perspective organizational structures which enable exchange, debate, learning and the handling of differences are an important feature of Social Forums. Se demander si les Forums sociaux sont un mouvement à part entière, ou un espace d’interconnexion entre des mouvements, participe aux processus d’organisation des forums depuis leur apparition en 2000. Définir les Forums sociaux comme ‘le successeur et aboutissement ultime’ des luttes sociales antérieures pose des problèmes de représentation et suggère que tous ces types de luttes convergent vers cette forme organisationnelle spécifique. Cependant, les combats actuels en faveur du changement social sont le propre de mouvements sociaux de portées et de tailles très variées. Les Forums sociaux procurent un espace où ces diverses formes et échelles d’expériences sont reliées et politisées, même s’ils ne peuvent guère intervenir en tant qu’acteurs. Dans une phase nouvelle, les expériences politiques réunies à ces Forums peuvent être transmises à ces différents types de luttes et les inspirer. Les structures organisationnelles qui permettent échanges, débats, apprentissage et gestion des différences constituent alors une caractéristique importante des Forums sociaux.