The Informal Financial Sector in Bangladesh: An Appraisal of its Role in Development

Informal financial markets in developing countries, and their role in the development process itself, form a relatively neglected area when it comes to research and policy planning. It seems, however, that this may be due to inaccurate perceptions of the value and effectiveness of this sector, and of its relationship to formal sector financial institutions. This paper uses data from an extensive research project on informal financial markets in Bangladesh to examine the size of the informal market, its relationship to the formal financial sector and the part it plays in the process of development. The paper concludes that, in all these aspects, the informal financial markets are more important, more efficient and more equitable than is generally supposed.     

Site Management: An Application to Wadilmeluk (the Valley of the Kings)

‘Value has always been the reason underlying heritage conservation. It is self‐evident that no society makes an effort to conserve what it does not value.’ ¹ 1. de la Torre and Mason, Assessing the Values of Cultural Heritage, 3–4. However, assessing the value of a cultural heritage asset as a representative sample of our tangible and intangible heritage for present and future generations is a difficult concept to deal with. It is, therefore, the aim of the researchers to help the conservation decision process by attempting to make an assessment of the values attributed to the cultural heritage assets of one of the most notable heritage sites in Egypt: the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.     

Labour Productivity and Energy Use in a Three‐Sector Model: An Application to Egypt

This article presents a model of a developing economy with three sectors — industry, agriculture and energy. Industry and energy are assumed to be demand‐constrained, but agriculture supply‐constrained. The model highlights: (a) structural transformation, through labour transfer from agriculture to industry; (b) inflation, driven by the interaction of demand and the supply constraint in agriculture; and (c) the link between energy use and labour productivity. Employing a Kaldor‐Verdoorn productivity rule in industry augmented with energy intensity — energy per unit of labour — as an argument, we emphasize that labour productivity growth is driven by energy intensity rather than energy productivity growth. As a consequence, emissions reduction without North–South technology transfer and financial assistance costs growth.     

Community of Practice in the Kuwaiti Medical Sector: An Exploratory Study

Community of Practice (CoP) is a relatively new concept in the Middle East and North Africa. The concept has been used for a number of years in the business sector; however, the use of CoPs in the health sector has not been as widespread. The aim of this study is to provide insights into the status of CoPs in the health sector and the knowledge sharing practices that take place among members of such CoPs in Kuwait. Ninety‐eight questionnaires were distributed among medical practitioners. Results showed that the majority of members perceived the CoP as a source of increasing professional knowledge. Respondents focused mainly on the COPs fostering social interactions at the workplace or during task‐oriented activities. They mostly discussed specific problems and immediate concerns. The desire to learn and the desire to help others were the main motivators for doctors to share their knowledge. Lack of time and lack of technology and knowledge transfer mechanisms were reported as the primary obstacles to sharing knowledge. Nearly 65 percent of the CoP members responding to the survey stated that they did not receive any financial support from their management. In recent years the role of communities in learning and knowledge sharing has attracted much attention among those interested in knowledge as a situated practice. The concept of Communities of Practice (CoP) was originally developed by Lave and Wenger (1991 ), who suggested that learning took place in social relationships rather than the simple acquisition of knowledge. Lave and Wenger's observations have formed the basis of the “situated learning theory,” which describes that learning takes place in a setting functionally identical to a space where the knowledge is applied ( Lave & Wenger, 1991 ). The CoP concept has been used in the business sector for over 20 years, but the use of CoPs in the health sector has been recent ( Li et al., 2009 ). In addition, results of two studies, conducted by Traboulsi (2002 ) and Johnson and Kalidi (2005 ), revealed that the CoP is a relatively new phenomenon in the Middle East and North Africa. This article aims to provide insights into the status of CoPs in the health sector and their knowledge‐sharing practices in Kuwait.     

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.     

Gender and the Human: An Introduction

This forum offers critical perspectives on the intersection between gender and the politics of the human. The three articles that comprise it showcase dilemmas that have produced an impasse in feminist politics, as well as the possibilities that feminist analysis offers for rethinking the politics of humanity. The introduction traces the historical intertwining of gender and the human, beginning with the paradox of Enlightenment universalism and female exclusion that launched modern western feminism. It considers both the resilience of this dominant framework of feminist analysis and the limitations it has produced. By examining both the implications of the juridical focus on women's inclusion and rights, and the significance of gender and the body for new forms of modern state power particularly in colonial and post‐colonial contexts, it seeks to sustain new feminist interrogations of the modern politics of the human.     

An Information-theoretic Analysis: An Application to Soviet-COMECON Trade Flows

This paper develops a classificatory methodology designed to assign geographic entities to groupings based upon the multivariate flow profiles displayed by the entities and a dispersion statistic designed to detect dynamic shifts in these flow profiles over time. Information statistic, provide the mathematical basis of the analysis and the changing trade profiles of the member nations of COMECON provide an illustrative case study.     

宋代的财政督理型准政区及其行政组织

宋代存在着各种准政区。其中对于国家政治生活影响最大的,是以发运使、总领、提举茶马、提点坑冶所管辖的财政督理型准政区。以发运使等为长官的准行政组织,受中央政府委托,在各自辖区内履行财政职能,并且围绕各自的职能,直接或间接地参与地方行政事务。它们对本政区内的州、县,甚至路一级的官员存在着事实上的上、下级关系,使中央政府对地方行政事务的监察与管理进一步加强;但是它们的权力扩张受到中央政府的抑制,最终未能成为正式的行政组织,使宋代地方行政体系运作迟缓的发展趋势受到一定程度的遏制。     

Heterogeneity,Group Size and Collective Action: The Role of Institutions in Forest Management

Collective action for sustainable management among resource‐dependent populations has important policy implications. Despite considerable progress in identifying factors that affect the prospects for collective action, no consensus exists about the role played by heterogeneity and size of group. The debate continues in part because of a lack of uniform conceptualization of these factors, the existence of non‐linear relationships, and the mediating role played by institutions. This article draws on research by scholars in the International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) research network which demonstrates that some forms of heterogeneity do not negatively affect some forms of collective action. More importantly, IFRI research draws out the interrelations among group size, heterogeneity, and institutions. Institutions can affect the level of heterogeneity or compensate for it. Group size appears to have a non‐linear relationship to at least some forms of collective action. Moreover, group size may be as much an indicator of institutional success as a precondition for such success.     

The Service Sector in the Chinese Economy: A Geographic Appraisal

A U.S.-based economic geographer and observer of China's economy examines the rapid expansion of the country's largely overlooked service sector, at both the national and regional levels. A particular focus of the author's research is on identifying regional variations in the development of services within the country and exploring some of the more important contributing factors. Based on the findings, the paper also discusses structural shifts that occurred in China's regional economies, disclosing inter alia that inequality in the contribution of services to GDP did not follow the same trajectory as that of employment in services. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: L800, O180, P230. 6 figures, 4 tables, 82 references.     

财政格局与大学“再国立化”——以抗战前中央大学经费问题为例

1921年国立东南大学在南京建校,经费完全由江苏省截留的"国税"承担。1927年南京国民政府成立后,东南大学改组为国立中央大学。与此同时,南京政府对中央与地方财政收支进行重新划分,直接影响中央大学教育经费的来源。各方围绕该校经费的来源和数额问题展开旷日持久的博弈。直到1932年8月,中央大学经费完全由中央财政承担,学校完成教育经费层面上的"再国立化"。抗战前中央大学经费问题的演变,透视出近代中国大学"国立"的政治经济蕴含,以及国民党治下中央与地方关系的新框架中,政治与学术的复杂关系。     

Intended Ties with Local Institutions as Factors in Innovation: An Application to Spanish Manufacturing Firms

In this paper we seek to check for a number of interactions between firms and the external environment. We aim to contribute to the discussion on the role of the regional environment in a firm's innovation performance. We test the statistical significance of a number of particular interactions between institutions and firm innovation. In particular, we have hypothesized the association between trade and professional institutions, technological centres, and cooperation arrangements and innovation. In contrast with existing studies, we have provided empirical evidence of the impact of external factors on individual firms.     

Coloniality as a Barrier to Climate Action: Hierarchies of Power in a Coal-Based Economy

South Africa has a coal-based energy system and extractive economy, largely responsible for its high emission levels relative to countries with similar GDP. This extractive, coal-based economy began during British colonisation and today shows few signs of transitioning rapidly to limit climate change. This paper interrogates the role of coloniality in climate delay, given that colonisation is responsible for establishing fossil fuel dependence in South Africa. Combining theory on decolonisation, specifically colonial hierarchies of power, with a critical discourse analysis, this research uses interview and policy data to show how colonial power hierarchies can lead to climate delay in South Africa, through normalising emissions intensive development and silencing alternatives. In doing so, it highlights the need to recognise the colonial foundations of climate change and the potential for a coalition between decolonisation and climate action to motivate for radical change both in South Africa and at a global level.     

罗斯福"新政"金融立法评介

自从二战结束以来,美国国内关于美国金融体系的争论一直没有停止过。20世纪80年代的放松管制改革．1999年《金融服务现代化法案》的通过,标志着美国的金融体系进入了一个新的历史发展时期。这场争论似乎是以对罗斯福“新政”金融立法的全面否定而告终。在这一历史背景之下,有必要对“新政”的金融立法进行客观的评价。     

上海私营金融业的联合之路:由联合放款、联合经营到联合管理

1949年5月上海解放后,不同层次的私营金融业在走向公私合营的共同目标中,所需的时间、具体的过程有着较大的区别。上海私营金融业曾两次组织对生产与其他经济事业的联合放款,此外规模较大的银行较早实现了公私合营,而数十家中小行庄公司则通过组成四个联营集团进行多种业务的联合经营并逐步过渡到两个联合总管理处,实现了从业务到人事、财务、组织多种形式的联合管理,最后在条件成熟的时候与大银行共同组成统一的公私合营银行。政府对上海地区数量众多的私营金融机构采取了导向联放、联营和联管的循序渐进的谨慎政策,是符合整个中国金融业历史实际的正确之举,体现了中国私营金融业社会主义改造的历史必然性和复杂性。