The Global Flea Market: Migration,Remittances and the Informal Economy in Tonga

Some common assumptions about the form and use of migrants' remittances in the South Pacific are examined and questioned in the light of information from a micro-economic study of one group of remittance recipients in the flea market of Nuku'alofa, the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga. The findings of this study suggest that economic analysis and policy recommendations based on the existing macro-economic data on recorded remittances and other economic aggregates should be treated with caution. The unrecorded inflows of remittances in kind and the associated spread of the domestic informal sector have had some important implications for the functioning of Tonga's economy. There is some evidence to suggest that the growth of informal, international trade is fostering other significant changes in the domestic economy. The functioning of remittance-dependent economies such as Tonga is much more complex than existing economic analysis suggests, and involves substantial investment – not just consumption – with the emergence of entrepreneurs and the manipulation of dependence, rather than merely passive receipt of cash and expenditure focused on consumption.     

Market Relations as Wuwei: Daoist Concepts in Analysis of China's Post-1978 Market Economy

This paper shows how wuwei (effortless action) and associated concepts drawn from Daoist thought are applied in analyses of the Chinese market economy and state-economy relations published in recent issues of social science and Communist Party journals in the People's Republic of China. Such use of traditional concepts partially displaces Marxist terminology from “diagnostic economics”. In discussing the use of these concepts in 5 articles published between 2000 and 2008, the economic theory of Daodejing is also presented.     

The Challenges of Managing an Archaeological Heritage Site in a Declining Economy: The Case of Khami World Heritage Site in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper explores the case of the Khami archaeological site, whose degradation by the local communities in recent years was as a result of socio-economic problems caused by the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy combined with the inability of the Zimbabwean government to support the site. We argue that the negative attitude by the local communities towards the management of cultural heritage sites is embedded in the colonial history of the country, and has been driven by the socio-economic difficulties emanating from the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy in recent years. We begin by explaining the history of Khami, its architecture, and the local communities residing around it. We then show and assert that the subsequent degradation of Khami and the landscape around it by the local communities is linked to the socio-economic problems of the country and poverty, which emanated from the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy. In the end, we contend that the economic constraints are part of the reasons why the local communities have from time to time failed to respect the importance of protecting cultural heritage sites in the country.     

From terrorism to dispossession: Pakistan's Anti‐Terrorism Act as a means of eviction

The discourse of the ‘war on terror’ fails to address the complex and multifaceted structural violence of landlessness, food insecurity and environmental degradation that afflicts the world. Pakistan, for instance, has been a subject of great discussion and geopolitical analysis as the ground zero in the war against terror. However, the scholarship on terrorism in Pakistan analyzes militant and jihadi groups as discrete agents of primordial conflicts, spy agencies and sectarian rivalries with little analysis of the history of the cold war and the effects of the Afghan war. In this article, the author analyzes how the global ‘war on terror’ has proliferated into seemingly unrelated domains of life, and specifically how anti‐terror security legislation has pulled the rug out from under the most successful peasant land rights movement in Pakistan.     

走向市场经济的三线建设调整改造

198 3年中央确定了三线企业“调整改造 ,发挥作用”的方针 ,1986年开始 ,历经三个五年计划 ,从布局、产品方向、产业结构和技术改造几个方面 ,对三线企业进行了调整改造 ,改善了企业的外部环境 ,稳定了职工和科研队伍 ,促进了企业的技术进步和体制转变 ,增强了企业市场竞争能力 ,为建设社会主义市场经济和西部大开发战略提供了重要准备     

The Liberalization of the Land Market in Spain: The 1998 Reform of Urban Planning Legislation

Against a general climate of liberalization, the Spanish Government has made a concerted effort to bring about a reduction in house prices. A legislative reform in April 1998 has sought to liberalize land and planning, through (a) refining the category of land previously excluded from development to enable residential development to take place, (b) allowing for greater flexibility of land uses and building controls, and (c) reducing administrative controls. This paper discusses the extent to which such reforms are likely to meet their anticipated objectives, resulting in beneficial effects in the land and housing markets, as well as the territorial impact of such reforms from a sustainability perspective.     

论社会主义市场经济条件下的民族关系研究

社会主义市场经济的形成,为我国民族关系发展提供了新的条件与环境,并已经对我国民族关系产生了重要影响。本主要从在社会主义市场经济条件下研究民族关系的必要性,影响民族关系的主要因素．民族关系研究的主要内容与方法三个方面进行了论述,提出了在现阶段研究我国民族关系的现状及发展趋势的重要意义。     

Deep-Water Shipwreck Initial Site Formation: The Equation of Site Distribution

Deep-water shipwrecks and associated debris often sit on the bottom with relatively little disturbance, except for the natural bio-chemical deterioration. The distribution of shipwreck material can often be calculated mathematically as a function of heading, speed, time, and water depth. The Equation of Site Distribution is a method aimed to better understand deep-water site formation and the wrecking events themselves. With the use of a few relatively simple formulas, key elements of a site can be discovered, as well as greater insight of the overall wrecking event achieved.     

市场经济在当代中国起动之历史透视

尽管有在计划经济体制下20年的经济增长,70年代后期中国依然是一个低收入国家。1978年中国经济体制改革的逻辑起点。实质是用高投入的方式保持经济增长已走到尽头。要继续使经济高速增长就必须提高生产率的增长率,这在逻辑上必然导向市场取向的改革。在双轨体制下市场体制的高效率昭彰在人耳目,为市场体制的改革创造了条件。邓小平的南方谈话极大地推动了中国理论观念的革新及其有关政策的确立。     

论中国社会主义市场经济发展的六个阶段

社会主义市场经济在中国相继经历了萌芽、受挫、恢复探索、理论形成、体制建立、完善成熟等六个发展阶段。中国共产党在1956年完成三大改造之后就开始了这一探索过程,毛泽东等第一代领导集体对社会主义市场经济的探索是中国社会主义市场经济的萌芽阶段,所取得的成果是邓小平经济理论的源头和起点;从“计划经济为主,市场调节为辅”到尝试“计划与市场内在统一”的社会主义有计划商品经济体制,再到建立适应社会主义有计划商品经济发展的、计划经济和市场调节相结合直到社会主义市场经济的经济体制和运行机制,中国共产党对社会主义市场经济的认识日益深化,我国经济体制改革在理论和实践上取得重大突破和进展。中国社会主义市场经济的发展过程,说明了市场经济是人类文明的重要成果,是经济发展不可逾越的客观规律。     

The Moral Economy of Saint Thomas Aquinas: Agent Sovereignty,Customary Law and Market Convention

The ethical authority carried in the conventions of fairness and human well-being has been widely adopted under the idea of “moral economy,” forming an eclectic and interdisciplinary debate. Significant, though external to this debate, is a corpus of medieval thought which exhibits a fundamental interest in legitimate market protocols, and the political rights and obligations of agents in relation to the common good of the community. This article asserts the imperative status of a customary basis for understanding not just the analytic version of moral economy but the legacy contained in what might be termed the “the moral economy of Aquinas.”     

The Spatial Dispersion of Informal Investment at a Regional Level: Evidence from the UK

Although there have been various studies on the geographical specialization of venture capital in the UK, there remains a gap in the research on regional differences in the behaviour of those informal investors who make a significant contribution to the funding of entrepreneurial ventures. Utilizing a unique data set from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor project, this study will estimate the level of informal investment activity across the different regions of the UK. The relationship between informal investment and early stage formal venture capital availability is also examined to determine which areas display the greatest funding gaps in the provision of equity finance. It shows that while formal and informal investments are heavily concentrated in highly prosperous areas such as London and the South East of England, informal investments make a larger relative contribution to early stage and expansion equity capital within poorer regions.     

Site Conservation in Morocco: The Emergence of a Practice at Aghmat

Abstract

It is still uncommon for foreign and national archaeological excavations in Morocco to include architectural or site conservators during the excavation and post-excavation periods. The few existing examples of conservation have all been carried out long after the site or the building had been excavated. The site conservation activities during the Aghmat excavations in summer 2006 illustrate how the presence of archaeological conservators, advising the archaeological team and implementing urgent interventions, has ensured a safe excavation and has contributed to the preservation of the physical integrity of the excavated buildings. The excavation of the imposing archaeological features of the medieval bath of Aghmat provided the first opportunity in Moroccan archaeology for Moroccan archaeological conservators to be involved in condition assessment, planning, and provision of conservation activities to preserve the bath.

The primary aim of this paper is to present the site conservation experience in the Aghmat project, which is the first such project to be initiated during an excavation, and to be conducted mainly by a Moroccan team; it aims also to highlight the conservation procedures adopted and to incite discussion.     

从社会主义商品生产到社会主义市场经济的理论发展轨迹

在新中国历史发展的不同阶段上,毛泽东、陈云和邓小平对计划和市场的理论与实践进行了不断的探索和创新,20世纪50年代末60年代初毛泽东关于社会主义商品生产的理论,70年代末和80年代初陈云关于社会主义计划经济与市场调节相结合的理论,70年代末至90年代初邓小平关于社会主义也可以搞市场经济的理论,都极大地丰富和发展了马克思主义,展现了我国从社会主义商品生产到社会主义计划经济和市场调节相结合再到社会主义市场经济的理论发展轨迹。     

Argyle Diamonds: The Political Economy of a Lost Resource

The discovery of the Argyle diamond field in the north of Western Australia during the late-1970s heralded a new phase in Australia's mining history. Initial forecasts rated Argyle's potential output as internationally significant. Even before full-scale mining commenced it was clear that production from Argyle would pose a serious challenge to the South African-based diamond marketing cartel - De Beers. De Beers, through its strategic holdings in a range of foreign and Australian mining companies, worked to bring Argyle production under its control. Despite its strong criticism of the manner in which the Fraser government dealt with the development of Argyle, when in government, Labor too seemed unwilling to exercise regulatory controls. Eager to encourage foreign investment the Federal and State Governments permitted South African mining interests to arrange the terms and conditions for the mining and marketing of Argyle diamonds free from significant public scrutiny.     

The Cultural Economy of Soil and Water Conservation: Market Principles and Social Networks in Eastern Burkina Faso

Soil and water conservation interventions in Africa have had a chequered history, calling into question the way in which soil and water conservation technologies have been studied in the past. This article draws on a case study from eastern Burkina Faso to explore an area usually ignored by soil and water conservation studies — the role of social institutions in guiding decisions regarding the use of technologies. It looks at soil and water conservation through the historical development of what the authors call the ‘cultural economy’, that is, a system of exchange in which a market economy has mixed with pre‐existing forms of exchange. The approach adopted by the authors identifies concepts on which the cultural economy is based and uses these ideas to analyse institutions that affect the choice of soil and water conservation technologies. The article shows how this approach leads to a reconceptualization of the ways in which soil and water conservation technologies are to be considered.     

The Transportation Sector of India's Economy: Dry Ports as Catalysts for Regional Development

Two East Asian specialists review the development of dry ports in India as part of a broader national program to eliminate transportation bottlenecks, improve transport efficiency, and spur the economic development of interior regions by lowering road and rail freight tariffs, and thus decreasing the costs of imports (and making exports more competitive). A key focus is on comparing the relative efficiency of public- versus private-sector operation of dry ports, and on examining the effects on dry port efficiency of current Indian Government policy. The authors test two hypotheses relating to the efficiency of port operations using information derived from their field study/interviews at 28 dry ports in Northwest India (reflecting three different types of ownership/operation combinations) as well as quantitative data measuring port efficiency.