Recognizing the Significance of Culture and Ethnicity: Exploring Hidden Assumptions of Homogeneity

Despite increasing focus on culture and its impact upon study results, researchers may be unaware of or ignore their own cultural biases and assumptions in interpretation of the data. Often when similarities exist between researcher and participant, the researcher may assume cultural homogeneity exists. This article provides an illustration of the problematic nature of such assumptions through the examination of a study on entrepreneurship and the intersection of work, leisure, and family. Participants included 13 men and women who were home-based business entrepreneurs living in an urban community within Newfoundland, Canada. Additional themes were uncovered when culture was addressed, including the importance of family, the division between public and private in the household, and the interconnection of gender and culture. A recommendation is given to use greater care when conducting research with participants who share a similar racial background with the researcher.     

Trade liberalization, foreign ownership, and the environment in a small open economy

This paper examines the effects of trade liberalization on firm ownership and the environment for a small open economy. It is found that trade liberalization via tariff reductions can result in a dramatic switch in firm ownership from domestic to foreign, coupled with a lower pollution tax.     

Pollution and life expectancy: How environmental policy can promote growth

This article investigates the influence of environmental policy (EP) on growth in an AK-type growth model, when finite lifetime is introduced and the link between pollution and life expectancy (through the detrimental impact of pollution on health) is taken into account.Using an overlapping generations model à la Blanchard [Blanchard, O. (1985). Debt, deficits and finite horizon. Journal of Political Economy, 93:223-247], we demonstrate that finite lifetime introduces a “generational turnover effect” which modifies the influence of the EP on growth. Thus, when lifetime is finite and independent from pollution, we show that the “generational turnover effect” limits the detrimental impact of the EP on growth, if agents smooth their consumption over time. When pollution negatively influences life expectancy through health, we demonstrate that the “generational turnover effect” is magnified and that the EP and growth have an inverted U-shaped relationship in the steady-state. In this case, we show that the environmental policy is more likely to promote growth (i.e. it stimulates growth for a wider range of environmental taxes) when the impact of pollution on health is important and/or public expenditures in health are low. Finally, using numerical simulations, we find that for the value of parameters that we have chosen, the EP will be more likely to promote growth when agents smooth consumption over time.     

新形势下西藏金融生态环境建设现状分析

建设良好的金融生态环境对于西藏地区金融业发展、维护地区金融稳定具有重要作用。本文分析了西藏地区自2006年以来金融业发展的外部环境和内生环境现状,研究了目前西藏金融生态环境建设存在的主要问题,提出了营造西藏良好金融生态环境的对策建议。     

以企业文化为切入点加强和改进企业思想政治工作

企业为了搞好经营，都十分重视提高员工的工作积极性，而提高员工的工作积极性往往采取增加薪酬、改善福利的方式，当然，这种方式的运用无可厚非，也比较见效，但随着企业各项制度的不断完善和员工构成的高学历化，单纯的经济刺激已不足以应对员工的多元化需求；因此重新审视我党的思想政治工作，将它与企业文化建设有机结合，在提高员工经济收入的同时，努力提高员工的“精神收入”，成为企业提升管理品质、吸引人才、锻造内力的有效途径。     

吉林省经济增长与环境污染水平计量模型研究

根据吉林省1992~2004年经济与环境数据,以废水、固体废物、烟尘、粉尘、SO2和COD的排放量作为环境污染程度指标,以人均GDP作为经济发展指标,建立了吉林省环境库兹涅茨曲线的计量模型。研究结果表明,吉林省人均GDP在4000~5000元时,环境污染程度达到最大。经分析可知,决定吉林省环境库兹涅茨曲线特征的主要因素是粗放型的经济增长模式。