Does Socio-Economic Development Go Hand-in-Hand With Coutry＇s Institutional Quality？ The Case of Poland

The reviewed theories and worldwide empirical studies suggest that institutions affect economic growth and development, and vice versa. There is, however, little research examining the association of institutions with nations＇ socio-economic well-being in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. This research fulfills this gap by exploring empirically institutional determinants of Poland＇s development over the period 1990-2011. The study relies on the concept of institutional matrix proposed by the New Institutional Economics. The purpose is to check the relationship between several indicators of economic and sustainable development （per capita Gross Domestic Product, Gini coefficients, Genuine Savings, the Happy Planet Index, and the Global Competitiveness Index） and institutional measures （the Worldwide Governance Indicators, the Economic Freedom of the World Index, Contract-intensive Money ratio）. To quantify those interrelations, correlation and regression analysis are used. The data are from Eurostat, the World Bank, National Bank of Poland, the Fraser Institute, the World Economic Forum, and the New Economic Foundation. The hypothesis is that the better institutions in Poland are associated with higher levels of economic growth and development. The findings provide less, than expected, evidence of strong linear relationship between the quality of institutional matrix and national development indicators in Poland.     

The Assessment of the Impact of an Aging Population of China on the Country＇s Economy

In the article, the author on the basis of the analysis of the structure of the population of the People＇s Republic of China （PRC） is making an attempt to identify the influence of increasing number of people over 65 years on the economic situation in the state. The introduction of reform of pension system of China is related to the additional expenses of the state. Basing on the method of pair correlation, the author shows that with increase of percentage of the aging population of PRC, the foreign exchange reserves of the state are increased; it is evident that the state forms the financial reserves for the pension fund of the country.     

The Ambivalent Character of Reconstruction： Winners and Losers of the Lobito Transport Development Corridor

In Angola where poor and scattered communities extend over great distances, an efficient transport system is very important. Nevertheless, in the post-war context its reconstruction has an ambivalent character. On the one hand, it is an indispensable part of the process of economic reconstruction and development where it is possible to identify complementary linkages influencing the dynamics of road and railway reconstruction that can reduce poverty. On the other hand, the post-war transport economy, like the war transport economy, is a site of private accumulation and change where social stratification goes in parallel with increased socio-economic inequality and unfavourable conditions in the labour transport market. The infrastructural reconstruction process is not fulfilling its potential for generating domestic linkages or multiplier effects through wage employment of Angolans. The creation of employment and other income earning opportunities have been limited, meaning that communities might lack the financial capacity to make use of the transport network. The ambivalent character of the modernisation of the transport system was already a feature in the first half of the 20th century as the transport network＇s creation of regional and national spaces with new centres and peripheries established a new hierarchy of social groups and gave rise to significant cultural changes. The effects of roads, railways, and other new means of transport were experienced in very different ways by different actors （means of wealth as well as poverty; inroads of repression as well as paths to personal liberation; and as tools of fragmentation as well as of unification）.     

Governance and Tools for the Post-Industrial Re-Conversion of the North-West European Mining Area： From a Contemporary Vulnerability to a Territorial Resilience

Many European countries （including Germany, Belgium, France, and England） were faced with industrial decline, creating a new issue in the territories： Brownfields sites inside or on the periphery of industrial cities. The post-industrial contemporary vulnerability involves prospective and strategic planning choices in terms of rehabilitation, requalification, or in terms of destruction of the existing heritage. The research targets North-West European mining area brownfields requalification via the paradigm of territorial resilience with a view to a socio-economic revitalisation. What can be the vectors of a sustainable territorial recovery and what are the resilience indicators of those traditional industrial regions of Europe？ By such research, the imperative commitment of political players and citizens to carry out a long-term proactive resilience of a space system to a major industrial heritage is demonstrated. Even if governance is not the only factor of territorial resilience, it remains a major sign in its vulnerable territories.     

The Impact of Corporate Governance in the Financial Performance of Islamic Banks： Evidence From the GCC Region

Through this paper, the author seeks to determine the and financial performance of Islamic banks, where we relationship between the variables of corporate governance dealt the corporate governance in the banking sector, where increasing the importance of corporate governance, due to their special nature, as the bankruptcy of banks not only affects the relevant parties from customers, depositors, and lenders, but also affects financial stability and then the economy as a whole. We dealt with the specificity of governance in Islamic banks, which face double governance： Anglo-Saxon Governance System and Islamic Governance System. The author measures the impact of corporate governance variables on financial performance through an empirical study on a sample of Islamic banks during the period of 2005-2012 in the GCC （Gulf Cooperation Council） region. The study has found that there is a very strong relationship between the variables of governance and financial performance of Islamic banks, where there is a positive relationship between return on assets （ROA） and the composition of the board of directors, the size of the board of directors, the number of committees in the council, as well as the number of members of the Shariah Supervisory Board （SSB）, while it is clear that there is a negative relationship between ROA and concentration ownership variable.     

Community＇s Benefits From the Tourism Growth and Tourism Site Development in Vang Vieng District of Vientiane Province,Lao PDR

This study attempts to measure benefits of the local residents of Vang Vieng from tourism growth and tourism site development. Here, community benefits involve not only economic benefits but include also social, cultural, and environmental benefits. The data used in this analysis are primary data provided through a questionnaire by the residents of Vang Vieng district, a famous tourist spot in Lao PDR. The results are mixed results. On the negative side, the community faces some risks as a result of tourism development. On the positive side, tourism growth and tourism site development bring about improvements in living conditions and conservations of residents＇ attitudes toward tourism improvement development.