The origins of agricultural inheritance traditions

We investigate the origins of agricultural inheritance traditions, equal partition and primogeniture. Our case study is the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Our empirical findings suggest that rural inheritance traditions were primarily determined by geography. First, fertile soils allowed splitting of the land among siblings for longer and with fewer conflicts, and hence we find more equal partition in areas with higher soil quality, especially at elevation levels conducive to intensive agriculture. Second, geography determined the settlement pattern. Areas that were settled before the Middle Ages, when land was abundant and free, are more likely to apply equal partition today. In areas that were largely uninhabited until the Middle Ages, primogeniture is the norm. We argue that these areas were deforested with the obligation of primogeniture, imposed by feudal lords.     

The scope and scale of the informal food economy of South African urban residential townships: Results of a small-area micro-enterprise census

Growing urbanisation in South Africa is reflected in burgeoning Working class and informal township settlements on the fringes of its major towns and cities. Paired with this is an increasing reliance on cash as the primary means of economic transaction, which has in turn stimulated the growth of micro-enterprise business activities within the township context. This article discusses the findings of an eight-township small-area census which occurred between 2010 and 2013 in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Durban townships representing 250 000 residents. The researchers were able to establish the scope and scale of informal food and drink retailing in these localities. Of the 10 049 micro-enterprises located in the study, some 3966 (or 39% of the total) trade in food. These include enterprises in primary production, fresh produce retailing, grocery retailing from house and spaza shops, and informal foodservice enterprises. Food is the basis for much township informal business and plays an important role in making food increasingly affordable and locally accessible, and in creating cash employment. The article builds on the knowledge base of the township informal economy role in bolstering food security needs for the marginalised.     

地区关系文化与企业创新

作为中国文化的重要组成部分，关系文化在制度改革进程中，促进了体制约束或资源匮乏背景下的企业创新行为。然而，浓重的地区关系文化犹如无形的制度牢笼，束缚着企业创新活动。利用中国内地120个城市工业企业数据，实证考察了地区关系文化对企业创新的影响。结果显示，地区关系文化对企业创新具有显著促进作用。随着地区关系文化的发展，企业创新活动将受到抑制，两者呈现显著倒“U”型关系。进一步研究表明，地区关系文化对企业创新的倒U型效应仅在规模较大的企业中显著；相较于国有企业，该效应在非国有企业样本中更显著；企业是否属于高技术行业则对两者关系无实质性影响。     

云南傣族农村聚落分类体系与建设整治途径研究

通过形态分类即以地形条件、水文条件、农田分布、人口规模和聚落占地面积为依据的分类原则,对勐龙镇12个办事处和89个聚落类型(自然村)进行了较为详细的分类研究,其中傣族聚落有12个类型,傣族与其他民族混居聚落有1个类型,哈呢族聚落27个类型,拉祜族聚落11个类型,布下聚落1个类型,阿克人聚落2个类型,末标式聚落2个类型,布朗族聚落9个类型,汉族聚落有1个类型,对各聚落的类型特征作了评价分析,提出了傣族农村聚落分类分级体系。探讨了山区、半山区和坝区农村聚落现状特征与存在问题,并针对不同的聚落类型提出各具特色的建设方向和整治途径。     

兰州城市人居环境可持续发展综合评价

在提出兰州市城市人居环境可持续发展评价指标体系和评估方法的基础上,综合分析、评价了兰州城市人居环境可持续发展的整体水平、发展的持续性及其系统的协调状况,并据此对兰州城市人居环境向良性方向发展提出相应的对策建议.     

非正规部门就业:效应与对策

我国当前和未来就业形势不容乐观，非正规部门就业不仅是缓解就业压力的有效途径之一，也能够促进社会经济持续稳定发展。针对非正规部门就业存在的问题，应采取鼓励非正规部门发展等措施促进非正部门就业。     

关于中国经济发展与非正规就业的现状研究

本文回顾了国内外对非正规就业的理论研究，通过宏观上对非正规就业与经济发展程度在国际国内差异的比较，认为我国非正规就业与现今的经济发展阶段相适应，在就业数量和比例方面具有较大就业岗位创造的潜力，并且，与国际普遍认知不同，中国非正规就业与正规就业之间存在替代而非互补的关系，同时指出非正规就业重要性和其就业现状的不匹配，将在未来对经济发展产生瓶颈式的制约，并提出相应的微观和宏观建议，以促进我国的经济长远发展和社会稳定。     

The efficiency of small and medium enterprises in informal metal manufacturing in Zimbabwe: Implications for stakeholders in the agricultural sector

This study uses the structure–conduct–performance framework to examine the structure and efficiency of small and medium enterprises in the informal metal manufacturing sector in Zimbabwe. Small and medium enterprises provide a lifeline to the country's resource-poor farmers, whose numbers increased exponentially after the agrarian reform in 2000. The study utilises nationally representative, enterprise-level data from five major towns (Harare, Chitungwiza, Bulawayo, Mutare and Rusape) in Zimbabwe. Various performance measures are applied at the industry level to assess efficiency, profitability and competitiveness; these include the Herfindahl–Hirschman index, concentration ratios, average yearly profits and Tobin's q ratio. The results indicate that small and medium enterprises in Zimbabwe are modestly efficient, profitable and competitive. These findings highlight the need to integrate informal metal fabrication activities into Zimbabwe's national economic development plans.     

A game theoretic approach to optimize multi-stakeholder utilities for land acquisition negotiations with informality

To combat the critical stresses of rising urbanization, the government acquires land from private owners using the power of eminent domain. This land assembly causes negative externalities such as increasing social tension and injustice that may impose a long-term threat to stability and sustainable development. Therefore, there is a need to make the land acquisition process more transparent and just. Considering the unique Indian context where informality has a strong presence, we propose an approach based on game theory that models the bargain through a three-stage Nash equilibrium game. Four agents – the government, the private developer, the landowner, and the free rider – are considered. We provide conditional solutions for the generalizable Case and proceed to model different stakeholder behavior patterns through two utility functional forms – linear and exponential. In the linear case, we find that the free rider obtains half of the revenue of the project, whereas the landowner gains between one-fourth and one-half of the revenue. Thus, we highlight the undeniably crucial role free riders play in land acquisition negotiations. However, closed form solutions cannot be obtained for the exponential form, due to which we use simulations to demonstrate a solution procedure. We conclude by stating that the proposed model can be useful in formulating future land policies in a sustainable and inclusive manner, with optimal utility derivations for all concerned stakeholders. Our model can also be extended to other spatial contexts where informality features heavily in the land market, especially in the Global South.     

Non-farm entrepreneurship in rural sub-Saharan Africa: New empirical evidence

We report on the prevalence and patterns of non-farm enterprises in six sub-Saharan African countries, and study their performance in terms of labor productivity, survival and exit, using the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study - Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA). Rural households operate enterprises due to both push and pull factors and tend to do so predominantly in easy-to-enter activities, such as sales and trade, rather than in activities that require higher starting costs, such as transport services, or educational investment, such as professional services. Labor productivity differs widely: rural and female-headed enterprises, those located further away from population centers, and businesses that operate intermittently have lower levels of labor productivity compared to urban and male-owned enterprises, or enterprises that operate throughout the year. Finally, rural enterprises exit the market primarily due to a lack of profitability or finance, and due to idiosyncratic shocks.