Investors,turbulence, and transition: Democratic transition and foreign direct investment in nineteen developing countries

Do profit‐seeking foreign direct investors value a country's transition to democracy? If they do, they should vote with their pocketbooks, resulting in a post‐transition increase in foreign direct investment flows. This study attempts to uncover links between transition to democracy and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, In doing so, it addresses existing arguments about connections between democracy and investor behavior. The regions examined have not only experienced democratic transitions, they also account for the majority of the increasing flow of FDI to the developing world. This research employs time‐series cross‐sectional (TSCS) economic and political data, using ordinary least squares with panel corrected standard errors. The central finding is that transition to democracy has a negative effect on FDI. Secondarily, political instability and higher levels of democracy also deter foreign direct investors.     

波兰转轨时期中小企业发展影响因素分析:外部环境视角

经济转轨以来,中小企业在波兰经济发展中发挥着重要的作用。本文从波兰中小企业发展的外部环境,即政府政策和程序、社会经济因素、创业和企业技能环境、对中小企业的金融支持和非金融支持等方面入手,分析了转轨时期波兰中小企业发展的外部环境影响因素。研究发现,外部环境对波兰中小企业的良好发展影响巨大,但有待进一步改善。     

Enhancing competitiveness and securing equitable development: Can small,micro, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) do the trick?

Many governments and aid agencies believe that small businesses can contribute to promoting more equitable development, as well as enhancing the competitiveness of local industries within a global economy. While small, micro, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may have a role to play in creating jobs, and generating and redistributing wealth, they need to overcome many obstacles. This article stresses the importance of understanding the specific context, establishing priorities among competing policy goals, and distinguishing between the actual and potential roles of different kinds of enterprises (by sector, size, and geographical location). Only on such a basis is it possible to identify the resources and policies most appropriate for each goal and each type of enterprise. These arguments are illustrated with reference to South Africa, whose government has sought simultaneously to promote SME development, Black Economic Empowerment, and global competitiveness.     

Small,Smart and Salient? Rethinking Identity in the Small States Literature

The article adopts a critical perspective on the generally negative view in mainstream and cognitivist understandings of the power of small states and introduces a discursive approach. This focuses on how ‘smallness’ can also be told in more positive ways in the construction of state identities. Looking at the case of Finland, it is shown how smallness has been told differently at different times with specific implications flowing from these different readings as to the possibilities for action in foreign policy. More particularly, it is argued that smallness is being replaced by the marker of being smart and innovative, with some Finnish politicians arguing that in the current post-Cold-War world the framework of big–small is increasingly less relevant.     

The effects of international migration on the receiving countries,the countries of origin,and immigrants

"This article points out that the societies who lack labour force and those who have a surplus, share common interests which may lead to organised or spontaneous migratory flows. Today, emigration is incapable of correcting the weaknesses of the socioeconomic structures of the host societies or of being a means of developing the societies of origin. The latter have in reality only benefited from 'passive' gains. In the future, countries providing labour force must endeavour to improve their understanding of the advantages of emigration for their development and take initiatives in order to improve the integration of population transfers in their economic and social development." (SUMMARY IN ENG)     

中国-东盟经贸中政府与企业的互动研究

一、中国—东盟经贸现状中国和东盟是友好近邻,近年来,中国—东盟关系日益密切。到了2005年,双方关系更是有新的进展,高层相互访问频繁,经济以及各个领域的交流合作进一步深化,双边经贸合作健康、持续地发展。目前,中国—东盟经贸合作已经进入全面深入发展的新阶段,随着中国—东盟自由贸易区全面降税正式启动,形成了良好的发展格局。现在,中国与东盟的双边贸易在我国对外贸易总额的比重不断上升。据商务部统计显示,中国与东盟贸易额在对外贸易总额中比重已经由1975年的3.55%上升到2005年1～11月的9.14%。中国与东盟全面启动降税计划一年来,…     

Remittances and varieties of democratization in developing countries

ABSTRACT

How do remittances affect democratization in developing countries? In this paper we reconcile divergent findings in the literature by examining the effect of remittances on procedural and liberal democracy in developing countries at various stages of their democratic development. Remittances are primarily sent to middle-class individuals and bypass government control. Yet, governments in countries receiving remittances want to tax this remittance income. Government officials therefore need to incentivize participation of the middle class in the formal economy by reducing the threat of expropriation. Improving procedural democracy, which assures citizens of improved property and rule of law protections, is one way to accomplish this. We argue that this relationship should only be present in mixed regime types, with the democratizing effect of remittances waning as the country’s level of democracy or autocracy strengthens. Further, we expect elements of liberal democracy, such as civil rights and equality under the law, to remain unchanged in all remittance-receiving countries. The middle class and governing elite are less incentivized to improve liberal democracy to limit the power and mobilization capacity of the poor and prevent increased redistribution. We test our theory on a dataset of developing countries from 1975 through 2011.     

Semi-presidentialism in lusophone countries: diffusion and operation

This article analyses the degree to which diffusion of Portugal's semi-presidential constitution occurred within lusophone countries following their move to multipartism in the 1990s. To do so, we first identify the main characteristics of the 1976 Portuguese constitution. Next, the constitutional choices made in Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, and East Timor are mapped. Using existing typologies, we classify these regimes and contrast them with their European and francophone African counterparts. Finally, we investigate the effective dynamics of lusophone semi-presidential systems by focusing on how heads of state deal with heads of government and parliamentary majorities. We claim there is a “family resemblance” among lusophone semi-presidential regimes. This finding is important because it accounts for constitutional choices in a group of recent democratizing countries, and shows how external influences interact with local factors to produce major political outcomes.     

印尼国有企业发展与改革问题研究

印尼的国营经济比重在东南亚国家中是最高的,这对于其维护经济独立、推动工业化起了重要作用。但印尼的国有企业经营效率低、服务质量差、长期亏损,这不仅加重了政府的财政负担,也不利于行业发展和参与国际竞争。为此,政府不得不对国有企业进行改革与调整。印尼国企改革整顿已取得一定成效,但仍存在许多问题。印尼国企改革最终效果如何值得重视和研究。     

Decentralising urban health activities in developing countries

While there is considerable documented experience of decentralising health services in rural areas of developing countries, the decentralisation of health services in the urban context is rarely analysed. Urban development literature usually fails to address health issues, while the literature on the decentralisation of health services tends to ignore the urban sector. This article addresses the relationship between a Ministry of Health and a City Council, and identifies key issues to consider in the decentralisation of urban health activities: roles and responsibilities; legislation; coordination and communication; and resource constraints. The case-study from Maseru, Lesotho, highlights aspects of planning which need to be considered by national and local governments which are trying to strengthen urban health activities by decentralisation.     

Developing countries and international organizations: Introduction to the special issue

We describe four megatrends since the end of the Cold War that relate to developing countries: a greater share of the global economy; more accessible technologies, particularly in communication; breakthroughs in global cooperation in tackling basic human needs; and the evolution of a complex set of problems in spite of the progress. We then examine potential political economy channels that might hinder the ability of international organizations to adapt to the new realities. Introducing the articles to the special issue, we argue for four distinct variables that affect the behavior and character of international organizations: power, norms, preferences, and problems.     

Gender and the burden of disease in ten Asian countries: An exploratory analysis

This article explores critically the assumption that the burden of disease remains heavier for women than for men. The impact of gender on health is better understood when the burden of disease is analysed in terms of its two dimensions, the domestic and the public. This dual approach reveals that, concerning the public burden of disease, morbidity and mortality trends are becoming similar for men and women while, with the domestic burden of disease, gender shows that differences seem to persist in men and women’s roles within the family, particularly involving illness prevention and management at home. This argument is explored in this paper through two types of evidence: to investigate the domestic burden of disease, reference is made to findings from studies on gender roles in the family; and the public burden of disease is explored using the World Health Organization’s latest figures on mortality and morbidity. The domestic and public dimensions of the burden of disease are discussed in the context of ten Asian countries at different stages of socio-economic development (Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia).     

参与GMS合作的中小企业优势整合分析

一、引言进入20世纪90年代以来,世界经济全球化和区域经济一体化得到了迅速发展。我国政府为适应这一发展潮流,积极调整对外经济战略,参与各种形式的区域经济合作组织。而在这众