Squatting as a transition problem in South Africa

This paper applies principles of transition to land tenure and squatting in South Africa. Political transition in South Africa reassigned political property rights, which produced contestable, and rent‐seeking incentives for squatting as a means to privatize land and redistribute wealth. Government failure to establish and protect private property rights in a squatter camp resulted in common‐pool problems that resisted private and public resolution with consequent rent dissipation and social loss. In response to this retreat from duty, informal agents emerged to claim their own share of the prize. Without enforceable rules of capture, the growth of squatter camps in South Africa will continue. JEL classification: D7, H8, K1, K4, R1, R4.     

Long-Term Performance Following Rights Issues and Open Offers in the UK

Abstract:  This study finds evidence of significant long-term underperformance following rights issues made during 1986-95 in the UK. The findings are resilient to a number of methodological controls. In contrast, our results for a smaller sample of open offers made during 1991-95 show strong positive performance over a 5-year post-issue period, implying that firms making open offers had better growth prospects than firms making rights issues. During 1986-90, a period when open offers were rarely used, firms appeared to be making rights issues to exploit overvaluation. However, this was not evident for rights issues made during 1991-95, a period when open offers were more commonly used.     

Inequality and Income Distribution in Global Value Chains

Global value chains (GVCs), led by transnational corporations (TNCs), have reshaped the world division of labor over the past two decades. GVCs are pervasive in low technology manufacturing, such as textile and apparel, as well as in more advanced industries like automobiles, electronics, and machines. This hierarchical division of labor generates wild competition at the lower value-added stages of production, where low wages and low profit margins prevail for workers and contract manufacturers in developing countries. At the top of the hierarchy another kind of competition prevails, centered on the ability to monitor and control intellectual property rights related to innovation, finance, and marketing. We argue that GVCs have had crucial effects on income inequality and the appropriation of rents in modern capitalism.     

反思与超越：水权交易中公民参与维度的构建

在水权交易中提高公民参与的力度,契合民主社会发展之需要,促进水资源的优化配置。利益博弈是公民参与水权交易主要动因,社会讯息互动、法律制度保障、公民参与精神等的缺失是当前制约公民参与水权交易的现实困境,因而今后应着力进行公民参与的多重建构,具体可在水权交易中引入公共参与的概念并对之进行具体体系构建,从法律和精神两个层面出发,通过全局体系构建模式完善公民参与制度。     

经营性房屋租赁承祖人权益研究——以承租人权益的特殊保护为重心

经营性房屋租凭是房屋租赁的一种特殊类型,与居住性房屋租赁存在诸多区别,而我国有关于房屋租赁的法律主要立足于后者采取一体立法的模式,忽略了经营性房屋租赁的特殊性。一般租赁基本规则难以完全适用于经营性房屋租赁．导致了经营性房屋租赁承租人权益处于保护不利的局面,因此有必要在租赁用途、租赁权续展、租赁权转让方面给予特殊规制。     

论企业商业秘密权与劳动者自主择业权的冲突与平衡

对于现代企业发展而言,商业秘密权是一项尤为重要的财产权利,它类似于企业的知识产权,是企业的巨额无形资产,具有很高的市场价值。在商战中,保护企业的商业秘密非常重要。在我国,企业往往通过与员工签订竞业禁止协议的方式,要求离职员工保守其商业秘密。但是自主择业权是宪法赋予劳动者的一项基本权利,关系到劳动者的生存及发展,属于基本人权范畴,具有宪法权利的属性,应该予以很好的保护。因此,需要解决好劳动者的自主择业权与企业的商业秘密权二者之间的冲突关系。     

Human Rights in Asia: A Selective Review of Problems and Responses

ABSTRACT

Asia, despite its financial crisis, continues to be a region of significant economic potential. Unfortunately, ongoing frictions with Western nations over human rights issues in Asia have clouded East-West commercial relations. In this paper, distinctions are drawn between economic and political human rights and these are examined within the contexts of four Asian countries: China, India, Burma/Myanmar and Indonesia. These nations' human rights records are reviewed within their wider political and economic contexts and with respect to Western reactions to them. International companies emerge as key players in monitoring economic rights within individual countries. Political rights are more complex and are best dealt with at national and supranational levels. Most countries are placing increasing emphases on constructive engagement policies.     

效率与公平框架下的失地农民权益保障对策分析

为践行效率与公平并重的收入分配方针及解决农民在失去土地后的权益保障问题,综合运用文献检索与综合分析方法、调查研究法、观察研究法,从法理学角度分析了失去农用地和失去宅基地农民的权益受损类型,并有针对性的提出了相应的保障对策,为更好的保障农民权益提供了一定的依据和借鉴。     

ETHNIC DIVERSITY,PROPERTY RIGHTS,AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Countries rich in natural resources constitute both development failures and successes depending on their underlying socioeconomic fundamentals. Recent empirical evidence and theoretical work provide support for a resource-curse hypothesis based on ethnic fractionalization. There is also increasing empirical evidence suggesting that ethnic heterogeneity based on polarization is a strong deterrent of economic growth. In this paper, we explore the interlinkages between natural resource abundance and both measures of ethnic heterogeneity. In a two–simultaneous equation system, we assess the effects of fractionalization and polarization on property-rights protection, and thereby on growth, both directly as well as in interaction with our resource-abundance proxy. We find that ethnic polarization is more likely to have a direct negative impact on the effectiveness of property rights in a resource-rich context, which as we explain may suggest that different ethnic groups treat the contestable resource base as a semi-public good.     

从呼唤到运作:权利理论研究的中国演进

权利问题始终是法理学研究中的核心问题之一。特别是在近30年发展中,从最初"权利本位"与"义务本位"的学术争论中确定权利的地位开始,权利理论就成为了中国法学研究中的重要问题。在经历了对权利的呼唤、使得权利意识被整个社会接受之后,如何实现和保障权利,也就是权利的运作问题逐渐成为权利理论发展的重心。进入新世纪之后,权利运作中对社会权利的关注又成为权利理论中新的热点问题,这是对权利运作的深化和拓展。