Can Russia Break the "Resource Curse"?

A noted European economist argues that the Russian economy and its post-2000 growth have been heavily dependent on natural resources, especially hydrocarbons, and are bound to remain so for some time to come. Given that many economists have come to view rich natural resource endowments as a "curse" that undermines development, the question arises as to whether Russian economic development is doomed. The author argues that while the challenges posed by resource dependence are serious, they can be overcome, or at least substantially mitigated, if accompanied by the right economic policies as the examples of Australia, Canada, and the Scandinavian countries demonstrate. He analyzes what these economic policies are for Russia, and how to set up Russian economic and political conditions to facilitate their implementation. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: E6, O1, O52, P2, Q43. 4 figures, 2 tables, 50 references.     

《考工记》营国制度与中原地区古代都城布局规划的演变

<考工记>营国制度的产生,标志着中国古代都城布局规划理论体系的正式形成.以这一理论为标尺,可将中原地区古代都城布局演变划分为四个阶段.分析考察可知,<考工记>营国制度在当时的历史背景下,只是儒家描绘的一幅"理想王都"的美妙蓝图,只有在统一的封建社会盛世,才有可能将这幅蓝图变为现实.     

Cultural Capital and Place: Coles Bay and the Freycinet Peninsula,Tasmania

This paper poses the question: what is the role of cultural capital at the interface of environment, economy and society, and what other factors affect this role? A review of Pierre Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital and later developments of this concept by ecological economists serves to establish the values that comprise cultural capital, and its relationship to natural capital and economic capital. These relationships are investigated through a case study of a small coastal community, Coles Bay and the Freycinet Peninsula, in Tasmania. Three study groups are identified which comprise the communities associated with this place; long‐term residents, repeat visitors and tourists making a single visit. The complexity of the relationships of people with place are revealed through an examination of the different forms of capital (social, cultural and economic) relating to the different study groups. The dynamics of the social, economic and environmental realities of Coles Bay and the Freycinet Peninsula are seen to be complex and interlinked, with the potential to provide a model for action in communities of similar character and location.     

Does graduate human capital production increase local economic development? An instrumental variable approach

Using a survey on Italian graduates, we investigate whether universities' degree production affects the economic development of the regions where academic institutions are located. To deal with suspected endogeneity between human capital development and economic growth, we employ an instrumental variable approach, using a global lump sum transferred to each university as an instrument for human capital production. Once we control for the regional flow of mobile students and graduates, the findings reveal the beneficial effect of the university system on local economic development through the gain in human capital.     

IS SOCIAL CAPITAL USEFUL FOR EXPLAINING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN POLISH REGIONS?

The concept of social capital is widely perceived as a promising tool for explaining differences in economic development between countries and regions. According to this theory, weak links (bridging social capital) and social trust in an area favour its better access to other forms of capital, that is, economic and human capital. However, strong links (bonding social capital) may stifle creativity and entrepreneurship. Since the vast majority of research on the impact of social capital on economic development focuses on highly developed Western European countries, it seems particularly interesting to evaluate the usefulness of this approach when applied to post‐communist countries with their different experiences. The objective of this article is to identify the spatial variation of different forms of social capital in regions of Poland and then to test a hypothesis on the impact of this capital on regional economic development. The results demonstrate that despite the existing differences between regions there are no significant relationships between levels of social capital and economic development. This may be explained either by low social capital levels or by the overall degree of Polish economic development.     

Financialization of hotel corporations in Spain

One of the cutting-edge topics being currently debated in social sciences is the impact of financialization on corporations and on different geographical contexts. Surprisingly enough, there have been very few studies that have explicitly dealt with this issue within tourism studies. In this paper, the issue of financialization within tourism is addressed through an analysis of hotel corporations. Taking a case-study approach, it is argued that Spanish hotel chains are increasingly becoming financialized since a minimization of the impact of global financial crisis on these corporations is urgently required. The argument is not that hotel corporations’ financialization is necessarily new, but rather that the impact of the global financial crisis has led to an intensification of this very process. Taking as case studies the three largest Spanish hotel corporations (Meliá Hotels International, NH Hoteles and Grupo Barceló), the current crisis-led hotel financialization is dealt through four interrelated spheres: (1) built environment (hotel buildings property becoming controlled by financial funds), (2) actors (emergence of new agents as a result of hotel corporations intertwining with financial corporations), (3) hotel profit extraction (reliance on the secondary circuit of capital), (4) financial engineering instruments (forms of fictitious capital that are new in the context of hotel corporations). The article shows how the process of financialization of hotel corporations illustrates broad trends of both financialization and capital accumulation. Specifically, the main findings are on one hand, that financialization not only fixes capital on the ground, but also creates liquidity. On the other hand, that the selling of property titles is an increasing profit niche with differentiated geographical locations. The last significant finding is that financialization helps to improve profitability of non-financia corporations such as hotel chains.     

先唐时代之宣城：江南奥壤,山水诗都

唐代以前的宣城,走过了由县邑到郡治、由江南西部的行政中心到江南地区的政治腹地与经济沃壤的历程。其间几个关键节点是:楚国置爰陵邑,西汉置丹杨郡,孙吴丹杨郡迁治建业,西晋分置宣城郡,六朝时代之宣城既为近畿要地、又逐渐成长为文化名邦。以南齐谢朓为标志人物的山水诗的创作与影响,既反映了南朝时代宣城的文化特色,也使得宣城成为中国文学史上名副其实的"山水诗都"。     

北洋政府的侨资政策及其评价

民国北洋政府时期是华侨回国投资兴办实业蓬勃发展的阶段。这与海外华侨资本的迅猛增强密切相关 ,同时也与这一时期积极的工商政策与侨资政策有着直接的联系。北洋政府的侨资政策不仅继承了晚清积极引进侨资的政策 ,而且有所发展 ,有所创新 ,并收到了一定的成效     

郑韩故城出土青铜器的矿料来源初步分析

基于富集在铜料中而保留其母矿信息的元素可以用于示踪青铜器的矿料来源,为了解郑韩故城青铜器的矿料来源,利用ICP-AES方法对郑韩故城出土东周时期青铜器的微量元素进行了检测。结果显示,21个青铜器样品微量元素特征具有相对一致性,推测可能具有相同的原料来源。与小双桥遗址出土青铜器的微量元素特征进行对比,二者存在明显的差异,说明从商代中期到春秋战国时期,这一地区的原料来源发生了改变。研究结果可为研究东周时期这一地区铜业发展状况提供线索。     

对《再论郑州商城的年代、性质及相关问题》的商榷

本文对《再论郑州商城的年代、性质及相关问题》中的几个问题进行了商榷,认为郑州商城隞都说是站不住脚的。