The Russian Copper Industry and the Noril'sk Joint-Stock Company in the Mid-1990s

An American resource geographer examines current production in one of the world's major copper industries, with special emphasis on the Noril'sk Nickel Joint-Stock Company—the world's most important producer of platinum-group metals, a leader in nickel and cobalt output, and the leading Russian producer of copper as well. The author documents and analyzes changes in operating procedures and raw material supplies in the industry during the 1990s, focusing on adjustments (such as tolling arrangements and imports of concentrate in the raw-material-deficient Urals and efforts to introduce cost economies in resource-rich Noril'sk) prompted by the severing of industry production linkages of the Soviet period and their partial reintegration under new corporate structures. In addition to restructuring, likened to similar adjustments in the American copper industry, the investigation covers exploration and new mine development at various Russian locations as well as the economics of producing copper and other exportable metals at Arctic production centers. 1 figure, 4 tables, 103 references. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: L61, L72, Q32.     

The Russian Steel Industry, 1990-2009

A noted specialist on Russia's industries surveys the restructuring of Russia's steel industry in response to the challenging conditions of the 1990s (collapsing domestic markets, the nonpayments crisis, and insider privatization) and its subsequent stabilization during the early years of the 21^st century due to effective implementation of a "survival model" at many plants. The author examines the major elements of that model, namely an export orientation made possible by relatively low labor and energy costs, reliable access to basic raw materials, a focus on crude (rather than specialty) steel, not inconsequential investment in process modernization, and effective control exercised by new private ownership. The paper's concluding section explores the new challenges faced by the industry due to the global financial crisis of late 2008-2009, and particularly the decline in world steel and company share prices, the extreme tightening of credit, the difficulties of servicing existing levels of debt, and provisions of a government assistance program that appear to preclude major capacity closures as a means of reducing costs. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: D290, L610, O140, P230. 3 figures, 1 table, 97 references.     

Changes in the Structure and Distribution of Russian GDP in the 1990s

The author, a noted Japanese observer of Soviet and post-Soviet economic affairs, examines System of National Accounts data for the Russian Federation in order to analyze changes in the structure and distribution of Russian GDP during the six-year period commencing in 1989. The study, based in part on first-hand investigation in Moscow in late 1995 and on hitherto unpublished raw data, represents an initial attempt to examine the methodology underlying the compilation of Russian System of National Accounts statistics, which the Russian Government began to publish only recently. A distinct focus is on GDP by sector of origin and by end use, and on distribution of income. 9 tables, 22 references. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O11, O47, P24.     

1930年代中叶乡贤推选活动考论

1934年,在新生活运动发起后不久,蒋介石在南昌发布通令,要求各省分别推选历代乡贤,报送中央,作为本省楷模.这场乡贤推选活动以激发民族精神和增进国家认同为宗旨,是蒋介石及国民政府在意识形态领域塑造统一价值信仰的重要举措.活动发起后,在各地得到一定程度上的响应.各省围绕乡贤推选办法、乡贤具体名单、乡贤事略编纂等问题展开激烈讨论.乡贤推选活动是1930年代中叶由官方发动、民间参与的一场文化活动,最终因抗战的全面爆发而终止,虽曾在各地营造起崇敬乡贤、团结同乡的社会氛围,但并没有起到为国民党政权凝聚人心的作用.     

Production Activities in the Household Economies of Plantation Slaves: Barbados and Martinique,Mid-1600s to Mid-1800s

Formerly British and French colonies, the eastern Caribbean islands of Barbados and Martinique were major players in the early development of European overseas empires dependent on African slave labor and the large-scale production of sugar. Utilizing documentary and archaeological data we discuss and compare the independent production activities or household economies of plantation slaves on these two islands. The household economy was one of the more prominent aspects of plantation slave life throughout the Caribbean, and in this paper we examine the multiple adaptive production strategies slaves employed to ameliorate the poverty of their material and economic lives.     

20世纪90年代中期以来中国出版业的改革与发展

20世纪90年代中期以来,中国出版业经历着从计划经济向社会主义市场经济转变的历史性进程。从1993年开始到1998年,出版业改革的主线是由“规模数量为主要特征向以优质高效为主要特征”的“阶段性转移”;从1998年开始到2002年,集团化发展成为出版业改革的主题;从2003年开始,企业化转制成为出版业改革与发展的方向和主线。十多年来,出版业的政策走向反映了中共中央、国务院对出版工作的高度重视和大力支持,反映了出版业逐渐加快了产业化、市场化、国际化进程,反映了出版业改革不断深化的脉络。     

Japanese archaeology in the 1990s

As scientific archaeology takes hold in Japan, our understanding of the nature and content of Japanese prehistory is changing radically. All of the period boundaries of Japanese prehistory are being rewritten, and many new “archaeologies” are growing up around particular scientific techniques. New publications in English give greater access to archaeological thinking in Japan, while Japanese publications focus on ever-narrowing aspects of prehistoric lifeways. Policy changes are giving archaeologists more access to the imperial tombs, and rescue teams are under less obligation to “save everything” as selective preservation is instituted.     

19世纪中叶俄国进步舆论对中国时局的反应

今年是新中国成立60周年,也是中俄两国建交60周年.中国人民自1840年鸦片战争以来,经过100多年前赴后继的英勇斗争,终于在中国共产党的领导下于1949年取得了新民主主义革命的伟大胜利,建立了中华人民共和国,同时开辟了社会主义建设的美好前景.俄国人民同样经过了长期艰苦卓绝的斗争,终于在以列宁为首的布尔什维克党的领导下取得了1917年伟大十月社会主义革命的胜利.     

Italian religious historiography in the 1990s

Abstract

This article examines Italian religious historiography of the past decade, taking into account the difficulty of this national limitation, given the increasingly frequent arid profitable exchanges among the diverse European traditions. The review first examines some general works and then focuses on certain themes that mark the historiographical trends: ecclesiastical institutions, with particular reference to the period of the Reformation and the Counter‐Reformation; religious complexity, with special reference to heterodox movements, to Jewish culture and to the Islamic presence; and people's religious experiences, with particular emphasis on those of women, in their interaction with both cultural production and social history.     

Housing Developments in Moscow in the 1990s

Ownership of an apartment is fast becoming something that most Muscovites will have in common. The privatization of the housing stock has resulted in a highly speculative housing market, and the buying and selling of apartments is slowly altering the social geography of Moscow. The construction of Western-style housing catering to the newly wealthy, while still very limited, is nonetheless symbolic of the changes under way. Control over property, that is, land and buildings, is a highly contentious political issue in Russia. Land represents wealth, and in Moscow there is strong political resistance to allowing private ownership of it. This paper examines some of dimensions of the privatization of housing in particular, and the private and public sector interests involved in property development in general. 7 figures, 2 tables, 16 references.     

20世纪90年代以来中国旧石器考古学

20世纪90年代是一个旧石器时代考古学变革的年代,新的发现接连不断,新的方法逐渐应用并普及,新发现和新方法的基础之上提出了新的观点,形成了国内活跃的学术气氛,也促使学科向更深的领域扩展。不论从田野考古发掘实践到研究内容、还是从方法到理论都在不断地发生变化,中国旧石器时代考古学已开始在世界史前史的框架下重新定位。     

Public Housing and Intergovernmental Reform in the 1990s

The problem identified in this paper is twofold. One is the plight of public housing at the end of the decade, with State programs undermined by Commonwealth funding cuts; the other is the problem of intergovernmental reform and its consequences for discrete areas of policy such as housing. The paper traces developments in CommonwealthState housing arrangements, beginning with the reforms initiated through the Council of Australian Governments through to the still uncertain future of public housing under the Howard government. It examines a number of inquiries into housing and recommendations for reform which served the plans of reformist governments intent on separating out the functional roles and responsibilities of the Commonwealth and the States. In particular, these inquiries advocated an ‘affordability’s benchmark which sought to blur the distinction between public and private rental housing leading, inevitably, to the residualisation of the public housing sector.     

Planning in the 1990s: An international agenda

This paper, originally presented to the AESOP‐ACSP joint conference in Oxford in 1991, stresses that both in Europe and in the US, there is a major difference for planning in the switch from boom to recession. During the 1990s a major challenge will be to find new ways of public‐private partnership in financing new urban infrastructure at a time when developer contributions — a major innovation of the 1980s — have dried up. This particularly applies to the European high‐speed train system — one critical element of which will run through the East Thames Corridor, one of Britain's major urban developments in the coming years. In the US, planners are likely to remain more locally focused, less internationally concerned, than in a Europe in which national barriers are rapidly eroding.     

The Transformation of Labor Relations in Russian Industry: The Influence of Regional Factors in the Iron and Steel Industry

The author examines the role played by the economic geography of the former Soviet Union in the evolution of labor relations in Russian industry, using the iron and steel industry as a case study. More specifically, three regional factors are analyzed as they affect enterprise economic strategies, organization, and management-labor relations: (1) the inherited industrial structure; (2) the degree of product specialization at the regional level; and (3) the level and sophistication of regional political and labor structures combined with the presence (or lack of same) of a “regional agenda.” These factors are examined within the context of a model predicting several possible variants of post-communist labor relations at the enterprise level. 36 references.     

20世纪90年代以来的中国宏观经济政策调整

20世纪90年代以来,中国政府的宏观经济政策经历了三次较大的调整。即:1993-1996年政府实行了适度从紧的财政、货币政策,降低高通胀率,使国民经济顺利实现第一次“软着陆”;1998-2002年财政货币政策由适度从紧转向积极有限度扩张,扩大内需,降低高失业率,使国民经济顺利实现第二次“软着陆”;2003年下半年至今政府采取稳健的财政货币政策,加强宏观调控,抑制部分行业投资增长过快,减缓物价上涨压力,对保持经济平稳较快发展而避免大起大落起到了显著的作用。