The Economics of Rural Households in Russia: Impact of Village Location

An American specialist on Russia's agrarian sector and two collaborators explore the effects of distance to nearby urban markets on the agricultural output and income of Russian rural households. Unlike previous studies that have largely tested such effects on the basis of household distance from relatively large oblast administrative centers, the authors adopt a micro-level scale of analysis, focusing on distance from smaller rayon centers. Comparison of two sample populations (near vs. remote from rayon center) from a larger survey population of 900 households in nine representative regions of Russia reveals marked differences in household incomes, commodity output, and real holdings of land that are statistically verified by a linear regression model. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O18, P32, Q15, Q18. 4 tables, 46 references.     

Factor Decomposition of Rural Income Inequalities in China

A Chinese geographer explores changes in inter-provincial rural income inequality in China since the late-1970s economic reforms by decomposing it into different component factors based on the Gini index (more specifically, into contributions by different income sources: wages, household operations, properties, and transfers). The influence of each factor on inequality changes is further decomposed into its structure effects and its real inequality effects. Quantitative analysis then makes it possible to determine the relative influence of each component on changes in rural provincial inequality over time.     

被边缘化的群体：印度华侨华人社会的变迁

针对国内外印度华侨华人研究边缘化的现状,从人口特征、职业特征、文教事业及社团、宗教信仰及族际通婚等方面对20世纪50年代的印度华侨社会进行了分析,对印度排华运动、由此造成的印度华人社会的衰落,以及中国政府接侨及归侨的安置情况进行了阐述,认为印度社会经济的快速发展和两国关系的改善和发展,将会对印度华人社会产生积极的影响。     

印尼棉兰华人族群融入主流社会初探

以田野调查数据为基础,从国家认同、民族认同、生活习俗,以及华人社团的宗旨及活动等方面分析探讨了棉兰华人族群融入主流社会的程度及其存在的问题。认为印尼棉兰华人族群目前已处于融入主流社会的进程中,这是一种历史发展的必然趋势,又是一个缓慢渐进的社会过程。这种融入是一个非强制性的行为,是双向的、群体性的运动,其程度和速度受时空和各种主客观因素的制约。     

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.     

Youthful Creativity in Regional Australia: Panacea for Unemployment and Out‐Migration?

This paper addresses the theme of youth out‐migration from rural Australia, in the context of recent policy discussions about creativity and its role in regional development. Ethnographic fieldwork in one rural location – the New South Wales Far North Coast – is drawn upon to highlight how creative industries are being cast as a potential way of promoting cultural activities and jobs for young people, and in turn, how they might be imagined as a means to mitigate youth out‐migration. Yet, creative industries have contradictory employment and social outcomes. Creative industries are likely to generate higher rates of youth participation in economic activities than public data reveal. However, strategies for future job growth should also consider the limitations and instabilities of creative industry employment. Second, and more broadly, the paper discusses those socio‐cultural dimensions of nascent creative industries that may have a more substantial impact when conceived as part of strategies to stem youth exodus from rural areas. Creative activities may contribute to rural development in indirect ways, especially if linked to policy goals of increased tolerance of youth activities, better provision of cultural services, and improved well‐being for young people. While formal job‐creation may be limited, creative industries could mitigate some of the impacts of youth migration to cities by enriching regional social life and mediating perceptions of the advantages and drawbacks of rural versus urban life. This kind of policy imagination requires a shift in attitudes towards young people and a more genuine commitment to encourage young people to feel that they belong in non‐metropolitan areas.     

要重视土地改革对乡村社会的深远影响——读《土地制度变动与中国乡村社会变革》有感

最近10年来,随着解决三农问题成为中国共产党和政府工作的重中之重,追溯和研究三农历史的论著也层出不穷,最近读了当代中国研究所王瑞芳研究员以考察新中国成立初期土地改革运动为中心写成的《土地制度变动与中国乡村社会变革》(社会科学文献出版社2010年版),感到作者运用历史唯物主义的基本原理和方法,通过透视生产关系的变革来研     

城镇化对农业农村的多维度影响——基于省际面板数据实证研究

基于面板数据，从综合系统-子系统-要素等三方面定量测度省域人口、土地与产业城镇化对农业农村发展的影响程度，深入剖析城镇化不同要素对农业与农村系统发展的作用机理。研究结果表明：①人口城镇化与产业城镇化对农业农村的影响更加明显，对农村生活系统影响的弹性系数大于1的地区比重分别为58.06%和64.52%；土地与产业城镇化对农业生产系统产生负向影响较为明显，弹性系数小于0的地区比重分别为29.03%和38.71%；②城镇化率、产业结构和建成区比重对人均耕地面积、乡村劳动力比重和人均粮食产量呈显著负相关，与农民人均纯收入、人均农业产值和单位面积机械动力呈显著正相关；③通过深入分析近30年省域城镇化对各地区农业农村发展的作用机理，对于新时期新型城镇化、农业农村转型发展等战略的贯彻落实具有重大的现实意义。