英国超级市场行业的竞争与垄断

近年来,以超级市场为代表的零售业发展速度已经超过了传统制造业。本文基于对英国超级市场行业的市场集中化程度以及行业竞争战略的分析,对跨国零售企业进入中国后我国零售业面临的挑战进行了预测。     

英国崛起时期经济板块化和全国性整合

英国是世界上第一个工业化和最早的现代化国家。15世纪以前,英国经济落后且分散,发展水平从东南向西北成梯度式下降。16、17世纪,由于乡村工业等因素推动,英国经济一方面是区域性特征日渐显著;另一方面则有全国性整合趋势,但形成的是伦敦控制的偏倚的全国经济体系。1700年后,随着乡村工业发展和工业革命发生,英格兰西北崛起为工业中心,成为经济增长的强劲一极,与以商贸金融为主的伦敦南北呼应;中间地带则在南北两极所造成的全国性整合中,成为两极间的过渡带和资源供应区。三大板块构架了强劲的英国经济整体。     

Bennet Woodcroft and the value of English patents, 1617–1841

We examine the potentialities of a new indicator measuring the value of English patents in the period 1617–1841. The indicator is based on the relative visibility of each individual patent in the contemporary technical and legal literature as summarized in Bennet Woodcroft's Reference Index of Patents of Invention. We conclude that the indicator provides a reasonable proxy for the value of patents and that it can be usefully employed to shed light on the timing and scope of innovation during the Industrial Revolution. In particular, our indicator offers a suitable reconciliation between the patent records evidence and the Crafts–Harley view of the Industrial Revolution.     

Rural Economies and Transitions to Capitalism: Germany and England Compared (c.1200–c.1800)

Based on a synthesis of the empirical scholarship on England and Germany, this paper demonstrates that in both regions, rural socio‐economic developments from c.1200 to c.1800 are similar: this period witnesses the rise to numerical predominance and growing economic significance of the ‘sub‐peasant classes’, which had a growing impact on the market as a result of their increasing market dependence, and from which – towards the end of the period – a rural proletariat emerged. Against the influential theory of Robert Brenner, it is argued that the period c.1200–c.1400 cannot really be categorized as ‘feudal’ according to Brenner's definition; and ‘agrarian capitalism’ does not adequately describe the socio‐economic system that obtained by the end of the sixteenth century. A genuine transition to capitalism is only evident from after c.1750, and can be found in Germany as well as in England; it is predicated both on ideological shifts and on the evolution of the rural proletariat, which is only found in large numbers by or after c.1800.     

Seasonal concentration of tourism demand: Decomposition analysis and marketing implications

This paper analyzes seasonality in the United Kingdom, specifically the English regions in relation to tourists' place of origin and main travel motivation. The method used is a decomposition of the Gini index, which provides relative marginal effects that facilitate the identification of market segments open to counter-seasonal marketing efforts. This method has been combined with a graphical multivariate technique (biplot), which groups segments according to their seasonality characteristics. Seasonal patterns associated with particular segments differ significantly when studied on a disaggregated basis. Therefore, an adequate level of disaggregation is essential in the design of counter-seasonal strategies. Although this study focuses on British destinations, this methodology could be used as a control and monitoring measure in the regional analysis of any destination, facilitating regular adjustment of regional tourism marketing campaigns to minimize seasonality effects, specifically by targeting the types of tourists less prone to seasonality.     

STATE EDUCATION IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: DEMANDED OR IMPOSED?

This article challenges the popular perception that the free market was unable to supply education to meet the needs of nineteenth-century Britain. Provision of education in fact largely accorded with parental demand, and this level of voluntary consumption was optimal for the time. Government intervention could therefore be ineffective at best, if not actively harmful.     

The Need for a Field of Study of Implementation of Innovations

The study of innovation has been approached from many disciplines and from the point of view of different real life problems. As a result, we have a series of clusters of knowledge that are related but seldom integrated. Chris Voss suggests it is time we closed at least one of these gaps. He suggests there should be a field of study should be established that will build a bridge between work on the process of innovation and work on the diffusion of innovation. He presents a starting point for the new field of study.     

Determinants of Success in the Development of Applications Software

In this article, the third in the trio of software innovation articles, Chris Voss outlines the key factors that determine whether a new software development is likely to be successful. His research draws on an innovation framework that has emerged from previous research. His results are similar to those of the earlier studies and suggest that the software innovation process has many demands that are common to innovation in other product areas.     

慈善事业:美、英的实践模式及其启示

慈善事业是一项基于道德的社会事业。美、英两国都十分重视慈善事业的发展,并且各自形成了独具特色的实践模式。美国慈善事业的特色包括:民间主导型的实践模式、税收激励下的慈善动机和稳定的社会公信力。英国慈善事业的特色包括:"慈善模式以政府资助为主、民间组织为辅"以及慈善事业具有良好的监管制度。美、英两国慈善事业的实践经验为我国慈善事业的发展提供了诸多有益的启示:一是要完善慈善法律体系;二是要降低慈善组织的进入门槛;三是要加强慈善组织的内部结构治理;四是要加强政府对慈善组织的支持力度;五是要加强对慈善组织的管理与监督。