The Impact of State-Controlled Banks on the Russian Banking Sector

A senior Russian economist examines the structure, governance, and balance sheets of state-controlled banks in Russia, which accounted for over 55 percent of the total assets in the country's banking system in early 2011. The author offers a credible estimate of the size of the country's state banking sector by including banks that are indirectly owned by public organizations. Contrary to some predictions based on the theoretical literature on economic transition, he explains the relatively high profitability and efficiency of Russian state-controlled banks by pointing to their competitive position in such functions as acquisition and disposal of assets on behalf of the government. Also suggested in the paper is a different way of looking at market concentration in Russia (by consolidating the market shares of core state-controlled banks), which produces a picture of a more concentrated market than officially reported. Lastly, one of the author's interesting conclusions is that China provides a better benchmark than the formerly centrally planned economies of Central and Eastern Europe by which to assess the viability of state ownership of banks in Russia and to evaluate the country's banking sector.     

上海中外银钱业联合会筹建述论(1921～1929)

中外银钱业联合会是1920年代上海中外银钱业三方共同组建的一个金融合作组织。中外银钱业的三个同业公会为筹建该联合会进行了长期交涉。该联合会虽在组织制度上使外国银行得益较多,但它的成立也为本国银行拓展外汇业务提供了有利条件。考察中外银钱业联合会的筹建过程,可为揭示近代上海中外银钱业在三足鼎立格局中的互动关系提供一个直接例证。     

Bank Liquidity Creation in Russia

Two EU-based senior economists analyze the contribution of bank liquidity creation to the Russian economy, as well as changes in creation of liquidity occurring during the global financial crisis. Applying the methodology of Berger and Bouwman's (2009) study of U.S. banking to a rich panel dataset for Russian banks for the period 1999-2009, the authors compute three alternative measures of bank liquidity creation. They find evidence of increased creation of liquidity in real terms over the period and also determine that state-controlled (versus private) banks and Russia's largest banks (versus intermediate-size and small banks) contributed most to liquidity creation (lower in Russia than in the U.S.). Their findings suggest that consolidation of the Russian banking sector may prove more instrumental in increasing liquidity creation than privatization per se.     

Spatial inequality and dynamics of foreign hypermarket retailers in China

The globalisation of retailing has intensified since the mid‐1990s with the rise of a group of international retailers. Foreign retailers have greatly impacted the Chinese retail market since the opening up of the retail sector in 1992. This study aims to examine spatial inequality and dynamics of foreign hypermarket retailers at different geographic scales in China. Although the relative gaps in foreign hypermarkets among Chinese regions are narrowing, the absolute gaps are widening. Logistic regression models are used to identify locational determinants of foreign retailers Carrefour, Wal‐Mart, and RT‐Mart at the intercity level. Carrefour prefers cities with larger urban district populations, longer time of being open to international retailers, and more foreign investment. While urban district populations are significant to Wal‐Mart and RT‐Mart as well, they favour cities where people have higher annual salaries and aim to achieve internal economies of scale at the provincial level. The three leading foreign retailers also have different first‐city and city size preferences in their provincial expansions.     

Development of Local Financial Systems in Mainland China

Two Beijing-based economic geographers present a comprehensive study of local financial systems in China. The paper analyzes the most recently available (2006) regional data on exogenous (state-owned, foreign-owned, and joint shareholder-owned) and endogenous (city commercial banks and rural credit cooperatives) banks, highlighting the differences between the country's coastal and the lagging rural provinces located in China's central and western macroregions. A key component of the analysis is the geographic distribution of bank branches and assets. Special attention is devoted to Shanghai, the country's traditional financial center, which has attracted the bulk of foreign-owned banks and financial service providers seeking entry into the vast Chinese market. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: G21, G28, O18, P34. 9 figures, 3 tables, 54 references.     

Real Estate FDI in Chinese Cities: Local Market Conditions and Regional Institutions

Two China-based geographers test the importance of market conditions and local institutions in determining the locational pattern of foreign direct investment in real estate development (FDIRE), a major component of China's urban growth since the 1980s. Using data from 35 major Chinese cities, they trace the diffusion of FDIRE from a concentration in China's major coastal cities in the late 1990s to a more dispersed pattern including large inland cities in 2008. In addition to investigating the general association between FDIRE, local market opportunities, and liberalized economies/more developed land markets, the authors assess differences in the locational behaviors of developers from Hong Kong-Taiwan-Macao and foreign countries. A concluding section explores the implications of FDIRE activity for the restructuring of China's urban system. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F210, L850, O180, R330. 3 figures, 7 tables, 35 references.     

近代上海外汇市场发展述略(1843-1937)

上海外汇市场是随着上海对外贸易的发展应运而生的,而其发展亦随着贸易的渐趋发达而日益成熟.从上海开埠到抗战爆发,上海外汇市场从萌芽到形成、发展,经历了长达近一个世纪.到20世纪20年代末,外汇市场的交易以及运作仍主要是由外商洋行、银行操控.直到第一次世界大战期间,随着华资银行开始涉及外汇业务,外商银行独霸的局面始得改观.30年代初,政府更多介入金融业的管理,随之而来的金贵银贱、白银风潮等金融动荡,使得国民政府通过中中交三行,颁行禁止外汇投机等法令,直接间接介入上海汇市的管理.而法币改革后,中国的货币制度改为外汇汇兑本位,控制汇市达到货币政策的正常运行,变得格外重要,这一时期,政府逐渐施行外汇市场的直接管理.     

中国外资银行空间网络演化的结构特征及其影响因素

本文基于外资银行网点数据,借鉴连锁型网络模型,构建了1990年、2001年和2015年中国外资银行空间网络并分析演化结构特征,最后借助条件Logit模型探讨了外资银行空间分布的影响因素。研究表明：①中国外资银行空间网络小世界网络特征明显,具有较大的集聚系数和较小的平均路径长度,网络中局域小集团网络化特征和核心-边缘结构明显。②随着网络规模的平稳增长,网络的有序性呈现出增强趋势,网络中金融连接度和金融可达性增加,金融传输效率和组织效率进一步提高,核心-边缘结构现象有所加剧。③外资银行空间分布的主导因素在不同时期不一样,1990年主导因素是市场机会和区位效应,2001年和2015年的主导因素是金融集聚,但指标的具体影响概率有所降低。     

上海金融业与太平洋战争爆发前上海的外汇市场

抗战爆发后．国民政府调整中的外汇政策和措施仍得以在上海执行。政府银行运用自有外汇、英美政府资金和相关银行先后介入．维持上海汇市。大部分外商银行是官方牌价外汇的争购者和暗市的主角,其市场行为在中美英政府联手推行外汇管理后有所约束。普通华商行庄未能在维持外汇市场方面发挥主动性作用,但以银钱业同业公会为代表的L海金融业仍奉西迂内地的国民政府为惟一合法的中央政府,国民政府的有关监管政策和措施大体上仍能令行禁止,这成为太平洋战争爆发前外汇市场得以维持的重要因素。日伪金融势力则始终是维持上海外汇市场的破坏力量。     

全球化浸入中国城市的时空演化过程及影响因素分析——以8家大型跨国零售企业为例

本质为地理过程的全球化与跨国公司相伴而来,其浸入区域、城市具有时空差异性。本文以八家大型跨国零售企业为例,研究全球化浸入中国城市的时空演化过程及影响因素。研究发现:第一,全球化浸入表现出明显的空间推移规律,即稳定的"沿海-内陆"深度格局,以及"东广西疏"转向"南袤北稀"广度格局;第二,全球化浸入中国城市遵循规模等级推移规律,包括人口规模、经济发展水平以及行政等级;第三,人口规模、对外交流水平对全球化的浸入影响显著性稳定,开放政策、城市区位因素弱化,居民收入水平影响增强。     

中国城市地理研究的若干问题:海外学者的观点

海外学者是中国城市地理研究的一支重要力量,取得了许多重要的研究成果,提高了中国城市地理在国际学术界的地位。本文就海外学者对中国城市地理研究的主要问题:经济发展与城市化、全球化与城市发展、体制改革与城市转型及城市地理的理论与方法等方面进行归纳总结,期望加强了解,取长补短,相互学习,共同促进中国地理学的发展。     

Countermovement,Neoliberal Platoon,or Re‐Gifting Depot? Understanding Decommodification in US Food Banks

In this paper, I explore the decommodification that takes place in US food banks. I argue that food banks are neither Polanyian countermovements re‐embedding the market in society nor tiny platoons of neoliberalism that advance market relations and state withdrawal. Rather, food banks are best understood as re‐gifting depots that are part of the capital accumulation process. Recent scholarship on primitive accumulation, the disarticulations approach, and waste suggests that the devaluation of food products and the exclusion of human labor are everyday elements of capitalism. I conclude by examining the potential for progressive politics in US food banking.     

Serious chemistry on set: the molecular structure of film investment in China

ABSTRACT

Using the case of the Mainland Chinese film industry, this paper argues that the competing features that attract commercial capital investment and drive state centralization create a molecular structure of national film investment, or the division of investment in the film industry into several interdependent centers. A combination of regulations, institutions, the built environment and access to capital leads to a distributed investment of strategic assets linked by bonds of complementarity. Beijing dominates in the area of state-supported production. Shanghai outperforms other cities in terms of foreign direct investment. Qingdao has attracted domestic Chinese private investment and entrepreneurship. Unlike the capital agglomeration seen in countries like the United States where film investment is driven centrally by financial considerations, the Chinese national film industry is strategically divided into several centers that rely more dominantly on political or financial resources. While this paper focuses on China, understanding the molecular structure of the Chinese film industry helps us understand both developed and developing countries that are characterized by robust state oversight and strong commercial media sectors.     

Making Banks Fit for the People: Confidence,Democracy, and the Rise of Banking Alternatives in America, 1880–1914

At the turn of the twentieth century, many Americans lacked confidence in the nation's banks. In various ways, privately owned or operated banking institutions were viewed to be adverse to the interests of “the people.” Still, beginning in the late nineteenth century, deposit banking came to be accepted as a vital “public service.” This article explains how that happened and illustrates how multiple people-oriented alternatives gradually emerged. While these have been explored previously, this article demonstrates how new ideas about the importance of banking facilitated the emergence of a broad movement aimed at popular participation and control. To reveal this history and to gauge popular ideas, it favors materials that appeared within the public sphere. This approach demonstrates how underlying confidence issues motivated a broad movement that aimed to democratize banking institutions.     

外资金融机构在中国的区位分布研究

随着我国金融业开放领域和地域的逐步扩大,在中国的外资金融机构数量迅速增加,但地域分布很不平衡。章从地区和城市这两个层次分析了其分布的总体特征,并认为影响外资金融机构区位分布的主要因素是市场规模、政策导向、人力资源、信息流通、历史传统和地缘经济等。今后,随着我国对外开放的深入和西部大开发战略的实施,外资金融机构将逐步向内地推进,中西部地区的外资金融机构数会不断增加,但现有的总体分布格局在短期内不会改变,外资金融机构仍然会向几个主要的金融中心集聚。     

抗战前后四邑侨乡侨汇运营体系的转变——对一起侨汇纠纷的分析

论文通过对一起侨汇纠纷的分析,揭示了从大萧条到战后初期四邑侨乡侨汇运营体系的重大转变和战后初期侨汇运营实态。大萧条使中国从货币银本位进入纸币时代,此后,侨汇汇兑经常与通货膨胀联系在一起。战时的特殊环境,使民间侨汇运营体系进一步衰落和中断,官方银行主导和垄断了侨汇运营。官方银行为主的侨汇运营体系不仅强化了官方银行对民间金融的控制,也加强了乡村自治机构的控制能力。战后官方银行运营能力的不足及其繁琐的领款手续,使侨汇兑换令人望而生畏,这和通胀压力一起催生了广阔的侨汇兑换的"中间人"市场,而国家控制能力的强化使"中间人"随时可能成为侨汇的"冒领者"。     

Locational Conflict in Metropolitan areas: Melbourne and Sydney, 1989

A content analysis of newspaper reports of locational conflict in Melbourne and Sydney in 1989 revealed very similar overall patterns. Although locational conflict peaked in central areas, it was widespread in both cities, with the main disputes being about noxious nuisances and transport facilities. The main difference between the cities was that Melbourne had more conflicts relating to commercial land use. Overall, a great many locational conflicts pitted State Governments against individuals or pressure groups of one sort or another.     

转型期中国城市网络空间结构演变——基于商业银行分支机构网络的视角

21世纪以来,城市网络研究成为全球和区域城市体系研究关注的焦点,但当前对国家层面城市网络空间结构演变的研究还较少涉及。基于2001—2016年间中国商业银行网点空间分布变化数据,运用社会网络分析方法,对中国城市网络空间结构的时空演变特征进行了研究。研究结果显示：中国城市网络结构由等级化向网络化转变,具体表现为在轴辐结构基础上向连通性更强的链锁网络演进;与此同时,城市网络同时呈现少数城市网络连接度的极化以及多中心扩散的特征。区域层面,东部沿海地区,特别是长三角、京津冀和珠三角三大区域的城市网络发展较为完善,与其它区域的差距持续拉大,但山东、东北和福建等省份与区域内外的联系增长也较快。大多数城市的出度和入度差异明显,但这一差异正在逐渐缩小。     

Bank Depositor Behavior in Russia in the Aftermath of Financial Crisis

An international team of economists examines the factors influencing the behavior of Russian depositors in the immediate aftermath of that country's 1998 financial crisis, drawing upon two largely unutilized data sources—data from the Russian state savings bank Sberbank and a November 1998 household survey. After first reviewing the evolution of the household deposit market during the 1990s, they explore regional variations in net withdrawals from Sberbank branches during the period August-October 1998 as well as identify characteristics of individual/household depositors making (or attempting to make) such withdrawals. More severe runs on Sberbank outlets are found to be associated with more affluent and entrepreneurial regions, regions of more youthful and less educated population closer to Moscow, and areas with greater media freedom. Subsequent public opinion survey analysis of the socioeconomic correlates of runs on all Russian banks during the 1998 crisis reveals some interesting differences (in the effects of education in particular) on the propensity to successfully withdraw deposits.     

东北经济区对外通道研究

基于东北区在东北亚地区的特殊地位与作用,本文从东北亚区域系统的角度,对东北区对外通道的现状、特点及其发展趋势进行了深入研究,认为东北经济区在向市场经济的转轨过程中,必须加大与东北亚地区经济合作的力度,而通道建设是个关键。