Free Trade Agreements and the Neo-Liberal Economic Paradigm: Economic,Ecological, and Moral Consequences

Abstract

Since signing and implementing the North American Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the early 1990s, the United States has pursued other free trade agreements with nations in Latin America and Asia. The premise undergirding FTAs is that trade liberalization within the neo-liberal global economy produces economic growth and development among all parties, and reduces poverty in poor nations. We examine arguments of proponents of free trade and the neo-liberal economy— particularly those of Martin Wolf, author of Why Globalization Works— to test these claims. We explore alternatives that center on norms of ecological sustainability and social justice, holding these two as inseparable. The central moral question of how to achieve needed socioeconomic development in the Global South in ways that are both ecologically sustainable and socially just frames our analysis. We conclude by proposing five principles for an alternative, more sustainable and equitable economic paradigm.     

The Industrial District and the 'New' Italian Economic Geography

The industrial district is one of the theoretical concepts by which Italian economic geography has redefined a large part of its scientific and methodological status. The successful of industrial district is linked to the explanation of the Italian model of light industrialization, that is to the role played by small firms in Italian manufacturing industry. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to know that industrial district was introduced as a theoretical paradigm to stress the territoriality of the production process and the gain of productiveness and innovativeness for the firm which sources from the embedding of economic activity within the local society where the production takes place. Support for this approach is found in the Marshallian external economies. This article addresses the importance of industrial district from the point of view of this neo-Marshallian reading of the organization of production. This framework of reference provides the basis for the formulation and implementation of local policies which recast traditional economic, social and infrastructural ones as specialist policies aimed at the creation of the institutional and environmental conditions for the competitiveness of places.     

Economic Governance and the Evolution of Industrial Districts Under Globalization: The Case of Two Mature European Industrial Districts

For many mature European industrial districts, the present decade has been one of trying (and often failing) to meet the difficult challenges posed by the rising tide of globalization. The future of these districts in the new global economy has become a key issue for regional and local development policy, and, in this respect, it has sparked a renewed interest in economic governance. Economic governance is important in that it underpins a region's long-term economic development path. This article is a contribution to the study of the economic governance of industrial districts and the related policy debate. The article does so by specifically exploring the economic governance issue by considering the experiences and challenges currently facing two mature European industrial districts in the global economy.     

Urban Design,Urban Space Morphology,Urban Tourism: An Emerging New Paradigm Concerning Their Relationship

The paper concerns the relationships between the physical form of the urban environment and leisure activities. It examines how urban space morphology - i.e. spatial patterns and formal patterns - may have an impact on tourists' attraction and preferences in the contemporary cultural context of urban tourism. Can urban design and the physical form of space in themselves determine anything in urban tourism development?     

《实业计划》与孙中山的经济思想

从《实业计划》作中,对孙中山的经济思想作了分析。如：交通运输网的建设,大、中、小商港的建立;重、轻工业,房建业以及河道、运河治理;利用外资、引进技术人才等诸多方面的宏远规划、设想,都表现出了孙中山丰富的经济思想内容;以及他的富国强兵,民生民计、吸取国外科学技术,实现中国近代化的强烈愿望等,都是值得我们借鉴和学习的。     

建好四个工业集中区推动土乡经济大发展

"十一五"时期是互助土族自治县工业发展的重要战略机遇期,笔者认为,搞好威远镇、塘川、高寨、小寨四个工业集中区的建设,对于培育土乡新的竞争优势、实现土乡工业新的跨越有着重要意义,是顺利完成"十一五"工业发展目标任务,推动县域工业经济发展所应采取的重要措施之一,故本文就此略谈管见,以就教于方家。     

The Economic Geographies of the Outer City: Industrial Dynamics and Imaginary Spaces of Location in Copenhagen

The paper focuses on the changing economic geographies of the outer city of Copenhagen. The outer city is not a well-defined place but can be understood as a set of processes transforming the urban economic landscape outside the built-up area. Several central and interrelated economic processes transform the outer city. The paper examines the changing industrial dynamics and location spaces within the framework of geographical proximity and relation propinquity in order to examine the social and cultural embeddedness of location. Imaginary spaces of location are the social constructs of the firm (of the interviewee representing the firm). They are representations of the perception, experience and interpretation of the location of the firm. The imaginary spaces of firms in the outer city are different from those of the firms in the built-up area, and a survey points to the fact that multiple rationalities are important in order to understand industrial location.     

Network Governance Amidst Local Economic Crisis

This paper examines the operation of a network governance experiment that accompanied political and policy responses to an economic shock in an Australian provincial city. The economic shock was precipitated by the closure of a steelworks operation, wiping out a significant base of employment in the city. Challenges to the operation of network governance raised in the study relate to: asymmetries of information, capabilities, resources and power; political agendas by higher-tier governments; the diverse calls of interests and, not least, the tensions and indeterminacies of a liberal, market-oriented variety of capitalism. Implications for the development of network governance approaches are discussed.     

资源委员会接管台湾工矿企业略论

二次世界大战结束后,资源委员会负责从日本人手中接管台湾省的工矿企业。面对战争带来的严重破坏和接管期间的种种困难,该会举全会的物力、财力和人力,先是监理,继而接管了台湾重要的工矿企业,掌握了台湾的经济命脉,为日后台湾经济的起飞做出了重要的贡献。     

“五反”运动后的政策调整对私营工商业的影响

"五反"运动后,私营工商业在公私关系、劳资关系等方面产生了一些新的矛盾和问题,影响了生产和经营,党和政府及时采取措施进行了调整。通过调整,不仅使私营工商企业的劳资关系普遍得到了改善,而且还使私人资本主义经济发生了巨大而深刻的变化,出现了新的因素,从而为实现从新民主主义经济向社会主义经济的平稳过渡创造了有利条件。     

Industrial Sectors and Industrial Districts: Tools for Industrial Analysis

The article begins by showing that the traditional concept of industrial sector has been radically criticized on both theoretical and empirical grounds. The reasons for the concept's inadequacy are raised, and they are identified as: (i) the fact that in a rapidly changing world empirical classifications must be changed; (ii) the fact that when scholars seek to classify reality they must take account of the classifications of that reality made by the actors concerned. Given the diverse importance for different productions of technology and social context, of tacit and codified knowledge, the article sets out some practical rules, exemplified by the Italian footwear industry, for empirical research. It then proposes to dynamize analysis of the Marshallian industrial district, first conceptually in its elementary processes, and then with a view to empirical study of the convergence of these processes on the district form and the reasons for reviving the district analysis originally formulated in the 1960s and 1970s.     

简论战后台湾工矿企业的重建（1945—1949）

抗战时期,盟国空军对台湾实施了战略轰炸,许多企业损失惨重;战后绝大多数日籍员工随日俘日侨一并遣返回国。因此,战后台湾很多工矿企业已大量减产或被迫停工,整个经济处于百废待兴的状况。1946年5月国民政府资源委员会接办台湾工矿事业后,在调查研究的基础上,制定了一整套恢复重建的措施。这些措施成效显著。它使各工矿企业的生产迅速恢复和增长,为战后的台湾经济注入了活力;使台湾经济走出了对日本严重依赖的阴影,为台湾初步建立了现代工业体系。从总体上讲,战后台湾经济恢复重建的水平走在全国的前列。     

Prospects of Development of the Industrial Complex of the Volga-Vyatka Major Economic Region

The Volga-Vyatka region, one of the Soviet Union's leading machinery and chemical producers, has potentialities for further growth in these two industries. Favorable factors are a skilled labor force and a central transportation location in European Russia, midway between raw-material suppliers and markets. In view of industrial overcrowding in the Gor'kiy and, ultimately, Kirov urban areas, future industrial construction should be planned in medium-size and small cities and in the region's peripheral areas.     

Approach to Trading Off Economic and Environmental Values in Industrial Land-Use Planning

Few contemporary issues have received as much sustained attention as the deterioration of the quality of our natural environment and, particularly, the need to manage the trade-off between economic growth and the quality of that environment. This paper discusses research currently under way to develop a land-use planning methodology that will help planners address the trade-offs between environmental quality and economic development. The methodology is used to evaluate the social, economic, and environmental impact of alternative land-use plans. The methodology consists of a regional analysis submodel and a site analysis submodel. The first component is based on an expanded input-output analysis incorporating land use, resource inputs, and waste-emission outputs. The second component is an empirical analysis based on the specific suitability and compatibility of proposed land-use development packages. The land-use planning model developed is applied to a case-study area centered on Charleston, South Carolina.     

浅析经济互动趋势中的中国企业对日投资

2004年．中日经贸活动持续发展,经贸与投资再跃新台阶并屡创历史新高,双方贸易额达1680亿美元．往来人员达到435万人,中日之间缔结的友好城市达到262对,双方每周有500班次各种飞机对飞。在华投资日本各种企业包括办事处合计2．48万家,在华常住日本人有7．3万人．仅上海一地就有日本企业4500家,常住日本人3．4万人。在日本的中国人已经超过60万人．中国已经成为向日本输出留学生最多的国家,2万多名中日婚姻的国际婴孩诞生。上述经贸及民间交流使中日关系即使在部分日本政要否认历史导致中国国内发生连续及大规模的反日示威游行时也没有受到严重冲击。     

产业结构调整与日本的东北亚经济合作战略构想

一、日本产业结构调整的方向 众所周知,从上世纪90年代中后期开始,尤其是进入21世纪以来,曾经不可一世的日本制造业在长期的不景气下,纷纷出现企业亏损、负债经营及设备投资迟迟跟不上等现象。同时IT产业也滞后于世界发展潮流,加上社会高龄化等因素影响,使日本在国际上的竞争力开始钝化。在以信息共享和标准化为目标的IT产业方面日本甚至落后于部分亚洲新兴工业国家。总体上看,其原因应归罪于规制缓和的速度及范围调整不当、金融秩序混乱、优秀人才被局限和高新技术的应用及新型商业模式的开展不力等因素。