The Study of Local Public Economies: Multi‐organizational,Multi‐level Institutional Analysis and Development

One important extension of the IAD framework has been to the study of local public economies. These are multi‐organizational, multi‐level arrangements defined as the set of governmental jurisdictions, public and nonprofit agencies, and private firms that interact in various patterns to provide and produce public goods and services within a specific locality or region. Commonly, the localities or regions studied from this perspective have been U.S. metropolitan areas, often defined as a central city and its surrounding or adjoining county. Localities can be delineated, however, on various terms, and in the IAD framework, it is the geo‐physical nature of a locality that, in substantial part, drives the analysis. One of the strengths of the approach is its capacity to explain local variations in public organization as a function of the geo‐physical diversity of localities, while at the same time developing empirical generalizations and normative principles that apply across diverse regions. What, for example, might the organization and governance of a complex metropolitan area have in common with the organization and governance of a complex protected area, such as the greater Yellowstone eco‐region or the Adirondack Park? Construing both sorts of regions as local public economies can enhance our overall understanding of public organization at the same time that it permits a more nuanced understanding of diverse localities. Such work contributes to the ongoing IAD project of “understanding institutional diversity.”     

Restructuring of Beijing's Social Space

Four China-, U.S.-, and UK-based senior specialists on the urban geography of Beijing team up to present the results of their investigation of the change in the city's social landscape on the basis of restricted subdistrict-level data covering the period from 1982 to 2000. Adopting a factor ecology approach, the authors seek to identify the extent to which factors that shape urban social landscapes in Western countries have played a role in Beijing during a period of economic transition (e.g., from administrative toward market allocation of housing). Similarly, they investigate the relative strength of processes of social differentiation vis-à-vis mixing accruing from the restructuring of Beijing's physical space (e.g., housing cost differentiation and accelerated in-migration that lead to the emergence of concentrated areas inhabited by migrants and/or minorities, and of relatively low density suburbs) revealed by the 2000 Census. The paper includes a section on developments since 2000, citing data (through 2006) on population, scarcity of affordable housing, traffic congestion, and industrial and residential relocation, relating in part to the forthcoming Olympic Games in 2008. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: I31, O15, O18, P20. 6 figures, 7 tables, 93 references.     

Financial policies in the Papal States, 1790s–1848: a comparative study of Napoleonic Europe

This article discusses the financial policies of the Papal States from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century in relation to the rest of Europe, and especially Italy. Its crucial starting point is the Napoleonic economic reforms, which had important and often lasting effects throughout its former empire. French reliance on debt reduction and heavy though equitable taxation improved the financial conditions of most European lands even as they convulsed from the protracted wars. The economic austerity prior to 1814 forced post-Napoleonic Europe to make decisions on the degree of continuity on these two financial fronts. Political instability beginning in the 1820s for some, and the early 1830s and late 1840s for the rest, upset the rather tenuous financial position that most lands found themselves in. For the Papal States, the Napoleonic period improved its financial position to the detriment of ecclesiastical institutions. The period also revealed the inherent flaws in its financial system, necessitating a decentralized approach to the restoration, relying on individual (or institutional) initiatives and large foreign loans, in lieu of overarching policies. By the 1850s, a further lack of financial control induced the renewal of Peter’s Pence.     

抗战时期的国统区农村金融--以农村合作金融事业为中心

抗日战争爆发后,南京政府认识到抗战将是持久战,持久抗战的关键之一在于农村能否持久地提供支持。因而,维持和发展农村经济就成为坚持抗战的重要一环。而维持和发展农村经济的关键又在于是否能够为农村提供金融支持。本文以台湾"中研院"近代史研究所档案馆藏有关资料为中心,特别是农林部中央农业实验所农业经济系所作的农村金融调查资料,辅以其他史料,对1939年至1944年间国统区15个省的农村金融借贷、放款利率、放款期限、借贷办法、放款机关等情况进行具体考察,分析和观察其成效与特点,并与抗战前后的情况进行比较,以期对抗战时期国统区的农村金融发展和演变情况,有一个较为清晰的认识。     

完善青海省农牧区社会保障制度促进社会和谐发展

完善社会保障制度,是社会安定的重要保证,是关注民生、构建和谐社会的首要问题。加快富裕、文明、和谐新青海建设进程,必须切实解决青海省农牧区社会保障制度中存在的问题,制定相应的对策。     

构建环青海湖少数民族循环经济示范区之我见

本文依据循环经济的理念,结合环青海湖地区经济社会发展的实际和特点,提出了建设环湖少数民族循环经济示范区的重要意义、发展目标及其措施。     

汉画像石文字考释

本文对汉代画像石文字中的通借字、异体字作了介绍和探讨,对某些疑难字作了具体辨识,为了解、研究汉代文字面貌及增补《碑别字新编》等工具书提供了新的资料。     

Power to the people: when culture works as a social catalyst in urban regeneration processes (and when it does not)

This article focuses upon the relationship between culture, urban regeneration schemes, and their impact on socio-cognitive assets – namely, social and human capital. It examines three major urban regeneration projects in the districts of Saint Michel (Montreal, Canada), Auburn (Sydney, Australia) and Bicocca (Milan, Italy), where culture has been invoked as a main transformational driver at the economic and socio-environmental levels, but with different approaches and results. Through comparative analysis, we develop a more general reflection on the social impact of culture-led urban transformation processes, questioning the actual role of cultural initiatives – particularly those related to the creation of new cultural facilities and the programming of big cultural flagship events – and participation as a means to improve the local social milieu. We find that a key role for social efficacy is played by projects’ capacity to elicit the commitment of residents through inclusive cultural participation, as opposed to instrumental top-down initiatives mainly addressing city and neighbourhood branding and real estate marketing purposes.     

清代早期四合如意云寸蟒纹织金妆花缎的结构分析与保护修复

受北京艺术博物馆的委托,对两件香色地四合如意云寸蟒纹织金妆花缎进行保护修复。两件妆花织物质地柔软、组织结构紧凑、纹样细腻、设色庄重。但经长期自然和人为因素的影响,织物多处破损、开裂、脱丝、破洞、污渍等,圆金和片金纹纬上的金片大量脱落,整体污染较为严重,质地脆弱,无法研究和展出。本文通过研究妆花所承载的历史文化信息、综合织物的质地、组织结构、纹样形态、设色特征等诸多因素,将其定为清早期织物。应用三维视频显微镜和电子丝绸尺软件对织物组织结构、破损程度进行了分析。在此基础上,制定了保护修复工作目标和方案。修复后的两件织物基本恢复了原貌,效果较好,可以作为研究中国丝织品的实物根据。