Scale, technique and composition effects in the Mexican agricultural sector: the influence of NAFTA and the institutional environment

More than a decade after NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) entered into force, the environmental effects of agricultural trade liberalization in Mexico are still controversial, emerging, and not fully understood. This paper contributes to the literature that aims to explore trends in input use in the agricultural sector in Mexico during the post-NAFTA period among both commercial/industrial and traditional/rainfed farmers, and examines the influence of the national and multilateral institutional framework on these outcomes. We decompose the post-NAFTA agricultural production data into scale, technique and composition effects to estimate the impact that trade liberalization has had on the use of fertilizer and land use, two key agricultural inputs for which reliable aggregate data is available. We conclude that among commercial farmers patterns of crop type specialization and significant technological improvements have led to some declines in fertilizer use but they have been offset by growth in fertilizer use associated with growing agricultural output. Among traditional farmers increased output and specialization in land-intensive grain crops are contributing to an increase in land under cultivation and technological improvements show the potential, but not yet not the strength, to counteract these effects. We analyse the environmental institutional framework and rural development plans, observing that institutional weaknesses have, in several instances, reduced the environmental benefit of technique and composition effects. We conclude with recommendations about how the Mexican agricultural sector might reap the environmental benefits of international agricultural trade.     

“丁陈反党小集团”冤案始末

中宣部原秘书长兼机关党委书记李之琏在《共和国重大事件决策实录》一书中撰写的《丁、陈反党小集团案的内情》,披露了当年丁玲、陈企霞被打成“反党小集团”的经过和内情。他在文章开头写道:“我作为处理这个案子的参与者,冤案的知情人,有责任将内情公之于众,留给后世。”1955     

The Political Economy of Intellectual Property Protection: The Case of Software

The end of the twentieth century was marked by a sea change in global governance in the realm of intellectual property rights (IPRs). Whereas countries historically retained substantial autonomy with regard to what they defined as intellectual "property" and the rights granted to the owners of intellectual property, the 1990s witnessed the establishment of new global obligations regarding national practices. This paper focuses on the case of software "piracy" to assess the mechanisms by which the new global obligations for the treatment of IPRs are transmitted from the international to the national levels. We first consider a set of national-level factors that many scholars have shown to be important determinants of IPR policy. We then supplement the standard emphasis on domestic factors with an analysis of new transnational factors: countries' multilateral obligations under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and bilateral pressures from the United States to increase the protection of IPRs. Population-averaged panel data models are used to assess the effects of these national and transnational determinants on levels of software piracy in 80 countries from 1994 to 2002. Our results indicate that membership in the WTO and bilateral pressures from the United States—particularly pressures that offer reciprocal concessions—lead to substantial increases in levels of protection in rich and poor countries. There is, in short, a new international political economy of intellectual property.     

论基本权利的防御权功能

从基本权利的功能体系出发,可以对基本权利作出规范而细致的法理分析.防御权功能是基本权利所具备的排除国家公权力侵害的功能.防御权功能是各种基本权利所普遍具备的功能,也是基本权利的功能体系中最为核心的部分.针对基本权利的防御权功能,国家承担消极义务,也就不为任何侵害基本权利的行为.不同的国家机关因其行使权力方式的不同,其所承担的消极义务的具体内容也不相同.     

路径依赖与转型经济中的政府作用——简析中俄改革初期的政府定位

不同经济转型国家的政府在推动本国制度转型中的作用大不相同,学界对各种政府作用模式的研究尚不够深入,而且褒贬不一、解释各异。本文着重从路径依赖的角度分析中俄两国政府在转型经济中的行为方式、背景和效果,强调必须重视经济转型的演进性和复杂性。     

反垄断国际合作中的积极礼让原则分析

经济全球化的发展使得反竞争行为也全球化了。当来自国外的反竞争行为影响到一个国家的经济利益,而域外管辖权的行使又受到较大制约时,积极礼让原则的运用可以有效协调相关国家间的关系,共同遏止反竞争行为。积极礼让的基本特征是它的自愿性。自愿性既是积极礼让存在的现实基础,又在一定程度上限制其作用的发挥。但作为经济合作与发展组织多年倡导并为许多双边协议所确认的避免域外管辖权冲突和实施反垄断法合作的一个基本方式,积极礼让在未来的国际反垄断合作中还会发挥更大的作用。     

徇私枉法罪的立法完善

<正> 刑法第188条规定了徇私枉法罪(又称徇私舞弊罪)。1981年以后,全国人大常委会的有关决定、补充决定以及附属刑法对徇私枉法罪又作了补充和修改,使其概念、构成要件等方面发生了较大的变化,并由此产生了一些理论与实际的问题。本文试图对有关问题进行一些研讨,并在此基础上,借鉴国外徇私枉法罪的立法经验,为完善我国刑事立法中的徇私枉法罪提出一些设想。 根据刑法第188条,司法工作人员徇私舞弊,对明知是无罪的人而使他受追诉、