Financial Inclusion or Subordination? The Monetary Politics of Debt in Cambodia

Financial inclusion is a leading driver of household debt across the global South. Although critical geographers have analysed this debt through the lens of financialisation, few have examined it in terms of monetary politics. This is a salient issue, because poorer nations often have limited control over their monetary policy due to their dependence on foreign currencies, which can adversely affect the structure of their financial markets. Building on the concept of monetary dependency from scholarship on financial subordination, I analyse the monetary politics of debt in Cambodia. Drawing on elite interviews and ethnographic research, I argue that Cambodia's extreme monetary dependence on the US dollar has shaped monetary and fiscal policies that compel poorer households to take on private debt to pay for their basic needs. This paper advances critical geographies of debt and development by studying financial subordination and its impact on financial inclusion in the global South.     

Has the euro sustainably increased home price co‐movement?

A low level of co‐movement between different euro country housing markets creates difficulties for the ECB in setting monetary policy. Such co‐movement across eurozone countries has been the subject of a number of studies, using different methodologies and finding mixed results. In this study, we use endogenous break methods to explicitly test for whether the introduction of the euro has changed home value co‐movement. We also employ informal correlation analysis. Endogenous break results indicate no sustainable increase in co‐movement attributable to the euro, whereas correlation analysis is suggestive of a decrease in synchronization since the currency's introduction.     

简析中日能源联合议价的成本收益

作为世界第二和第三的大能源消费国,中国和日本在分散竞争的条件下承受了过多的进口成本。本文在分析能源商品的价格决定因素基础上,探讨中日两国进行能源联合议价的成本与收益。认为这种努力可以在消除能源的亚洲溢价、减少能源竞争成本、促进亚洲能源期货市场发展、增强区域经济联系等方面获得显著收益。同时,联合议价的经济成本比较小,国家安全成本和政治成本则在两国之间存在不对称性,并且难以量化。     

INVESTMENT RISK AND THE TRANSITION INTO HOMEOWNERSHIP*

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the extent to which house–price uncertainty affects the transition of renter households into homeownership. Using a 14‐year household panel from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics during the years 1984–1997 and measures of the time‐varying risk and return to owner‐occupied housing, we estimate a Cox proportional hazard model of the effect of house–price volatility on the transition into homeownership. Results indicate that house–price uncertainty has a negative and dramatic impact on transitions into homeownership. In addition, we find that the low‐wealth renters are particularly sensitive to house–price risk.     

《管子·轻重篇》粮价考略

<管子·轻重篇>有不少战国秦汉时期粮价的记载,但很少有人重视.本文对<管子·轻重篇>所载的粮价进行了较系统的考证,将之与其它文献和考古资料互相比照,发现<管子·轻重篇>反映的粮价,无论是低价、平价还是高价,都与有关文献和简牍资料的记载基本一致.因此,本文作者认为<管子·轻重篇>所记载的物价是有重要研究价值的.     

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.     

城镇可持续生活供水价格研究--以陕西省关中地区为例

本分析了关中地区城镇生活水价现状和问题,得出了城镇生活水价是不可持续的结论,即水价低于供水生产成本,水价结构不合理。在探讨可持续水价的调整原则的基础上,提出了价格杠杆调节关中生活水价的措施,包括：逐步把水价调整到成本水价以上的水平,并调整水价结构,使之能反映供水成本和水资源价值;实行累进加价制度,对超定额用水征收高水价;实施季节性水价等。     

乾隆初滇省代京铸钱失败原因浅析

文章通过对乾隆初年滇省代京铸钱之具体情况的考察,认为滇省代京铸钱是清政府为扭转铸钱严重亏损而采取的一项铸币政策。但滇省代京铸钱较之京局直接鼓铸反而增加了铸钱成本。实行滇省代京铸钱后,清政府铸钱开始盈利,但这并非滇省代京铸钱所致,而是清政府对云南铜矿实行垄断经营、压低铜价,即钱局使用滇铜鼓铸的结果。实际上,在使用滇铜为原料的前提下,京局直接鼓铸较之滇省代京铸钱更能节省成本,这是清政府停止滇省代京铸钱的基本原因。同时也说明清政府于乾隆初年实行滇省代京铸钱存在着决策性失误。     

Financial crises and the balance of power in international finance, 1890–2010

Has the centre of gravity of international finance irreversibly started to shift from the Atlantic to the Pacific since the financial debacle of 2007-2008? This article discusses this highly topical question in a historical perspective, by considering previous changes in the balance of power in international finance and the role played by global financial in these changes. Particular attention is paid to the Baring Crisis of 1890, the American Panic of 1907, the financial crisis of July -August 1914, the banking crises of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the financial instability of the early 1970s and the ensuing banking failures, the International Debt Crisis of 1982, and the Japanese Banking Crisis of 1997-8. The article concludes that financial crisis, perhaps surprisingly, did not lead to clear changes in the balance of power in international finance; and that the financial debacle of 2007-8 is unlikely, in the medium-term, to fundamentally alter the current order.