Outward foreign direct investment by Polish state-owned multinational enterprises: is ‘stateness’ an asset or a burden?

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are commonly associated with undue advantages due to preferential treatment by the state. Simultaneously they are often quoted as handicapped given the notorious state interference, management problems and agency tensions. They used to be regarded as a mainly domestic issue but in the context of globalisation and the fact that states enter treaties with new obligations, SOEs’ performance ceased to be solely a domestic problem, increasingly so as state-owned multinational enterprises (SOMNEs) emerge. This article presents the results of research on Polish SOEs’ outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). It offers an overview of overseas activities of nine major Polish firms with a state stake and aims to contribute to the conceptual literature on foreign investments conducted by SOMNEs. We distinguish between FDI by SOMNEs as specific – privileged (facilitated) or discriminated (hampered) – investments subject to the home country’s state power and the host country’s state perception.     

Chinese consumers’ preferences for food quality test/measurement indicators and cues of milk powder: A case of Zhengzhou,China

Many food regulations focus on test/measurement indicators, such as hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) and traceability, etc. Other than these indicators, the food industry uses various cues such as product origin as indicators of product quality. However, in an environment where consumers’ confidence in food safety is low due to frequent food safety scandals, little is known about the efficiency of these test/measurement indicators and cues. This paper used the primary data collected in Zhengzhou (China) to estimate consumers’ preferences for test/measurement indicators and a new cue of “own farm” for milk powder. Our results show that country of origin is the most important cue attribute, followed by price and own farm. The importance of test/measurement indicators such as organic, traceability, and HACCP certification is relatively low. Also, the individual parameter estimates show that consumers’ preferences for test/measurement indicators currently in the market are weak and fragile. Interestingly, price has an inverse-U-shaped relationship with consumer utility, implying that Chinese consumers may perceive low-price milk powder as low quality. The results of this study provide important insight for regulatory authorities and the food industry to develop more effective policies and programs to improve consumer preferences for milk powder.     

浅谈行政事业单位国有资产的有效管理

目前我国国有资产管理主要侧重于经营性资产，行政事业单位的非经营性资产管理仍处于模糊状态。加强行政事业单位国有资产的有效管理，应改革管理体制，健全机构、明确职责，全面清产核资，加强资产配置、使用、处置等环节的管理。     

论"入世"后我国农产品市场不利因素的逆转性

“入世”对我国农产品市场虽然会造成诸多不利因素，然而，这些因素将会得到逆转。这是因为：一方面，“入世”后，这些因素客观上具有逆转的必然性；另一方面，通过调整农村产业结构、扩大集约化规模经营以及实施各种利农政策，从主观上说，这些不利因素亦具有逆转的可能性。     

化解国有企业过度负债的措施

本文针对国有企业过度负债问题,提出了三方面的解决措施。     

规范、有序、健康推进国企改制

本文从规范、有序、健康推进国有企业改制与国企改制大局关系的视角,对国务院国资委《关于规范国有企业改制工作意见》作了深入的解读分析,提出了国有企业改制需要正确处理好的几个关系。     

Does a Switch of Budget Regimes Affect Investment and Managerial Discretion of State-Owned Enterprises? Evidence from Italian Firms

We investigate the investment decisions of Italian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) across budget constraint regimes and carry out a natural experiment that exploits a regime switch in 1987. Drawing on the theory of capital market imperfections, we apply an empirical framework for investment analysis to a panel of manufacturing SOEs in competitive industries. We identify parallels between SOEs and widely held, quoted companies afflicted by agency problems, managerial discretion, and overinvestment. We argue that, in the case of SOEs, the soft budget regime increases managerial discretion, facilitates collusion with vote-seeking politicians, and results in wasteful investment. Consistent with our predictions, we find that the regime switch disciplines SOE's investment behavior. Following a hardening of the budget constraint, managers lose discretion to indulge in collusion and overinvestment. J. Comp. Econ., June 2002 30(4), pp. 787–811. London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom; and CERIS–CNR, Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth, National Research Council, Via Avogadro, 8, 10121 Turin, Italy. © 2002 Association for Comparative Economic Studies. Published by Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: E32, G31, G32, L32, M40.     

国有资产管理体系的改革与新体制的建立

改革传统的国有资产管理体制,探索有效的国有资产实现形式,是增强国有经济竞争力,深化经济体制改革的重要课题。本文从我国国有资产管理体制改革的历史背景出发,分析了我国现有国有资产管理体系中存在的主要弊端和问题,对建立和完善国有资产管理体制的改革思路和新举措进行了     

农产品物流不畅的原因分析及改善

农产品物流不畅影响农民的增收,而农产品物流不畅的根源在于我国农业传统的生产方式、经营方式和技术.改善和发展农产品物流需要政府和企业共同努力.     

国有战略性竞争行业的竞争力、调整方式及发展趋势

本文分析了国有经济介入到战略性竞争行业中的原因。运用主成分分析方法,对战略性竞争行业国有经济的竞争力进行了实证分析,得出战略性竞争行业国有经济的竞争力得分、排名及竞争力走势,并对战略性竞争行业中国有经济的调整方式及发展趋势进行了探讨。