Social Status Attainment During the Transition to Adulthood

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a critical time for status attainment, with income, education, work experience, and independence from parents accruing at varying speeds and intensities. This study takes an intergenerational life-course perspective that incorporates parents’ and one’s own social status to examine the status attainment process from adolescence into adulthood in the domains of economic capital (e.g., income) and human capital (e.g., education, occupation). Survey data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (analytic n = 8,977) are analyzed using latent class analysis to capture the ebb and flow of social status advantages and disadvantages from adolescence (Wave 1) through young adulthood (Wave 3) into adulthood (Wave 4). The analytic sample is composed of 50.3 % females and 70.2 % Whites, 15.3 % Blacks, 11.0 % Hispanics, and 3.5 % Asians ages 12–18 at Wave 1 and 25–31 at Wave 4. Four latent classes are found for economic capital and five for human capital. The importance of parents’ social status is demonstrated by the presence of large groups with persistently low and persistently high social status over time in both domains. The capacity of individuals to determine their own status, however, is shown by equally large groups with upward and downward mobility in both domains. These findings demonstrate the dynamic nature of social status during this critical developmental period.     

The discursive flexibility of ‘flex crops’: comparing oil palm and jatropha

‘Flex crops’ such as corn, oil palm and soy are understood to have multiple, interchangeable uses; they have material flexibility. We propose that discursive flexibility – the ability to strategically switch between discourses to promote an objective – equally shapes the political economy of flex crops, and thereby patterns of agrarian and environmental change. Comparing oil palm and Jatropha curcas, we find that actors who cast oil palm as a multi-scale solution to food and energy insecurity, climate change and (rural) poverty successfully reinforce its high material flexibility. Jatropha's proponents compensate for low material flexibility by positioning the crop as a ‘sustainable’ energy source that achieves both global and local goals. While this paper focuses on discourses that reinforce the oil palm and jatropha projects, understanding the power of discursive maneuvering can also inform efforts to contest them.     

中、日、韩潜在产出的估计与比较分析

利用生产函数方法对中、日、韩三国的潜在产出进行估计,并以潜在产出为基础对三国的经济进行比较分析,其研究结果表明,从人均实际产出和潜在产出水平看,中国与日本和韩国的差距较大,并且日本整体水平最高,韩国增长最快;三国的产出缺口变动与景气波动基本一致,中国的一致效果相对较差,韩国的一致效果相对较好;从三国各要素对潜在经济增长的贡献来看,三国资本和劳动的贡献率均呈下降趋势,中国和韩国的TFP贡献率呈上升趋势,而日本的TFP贡献率呈下降趋势。     

Philanthrocapitalism: rendering the public domain obsolete?

Engaging the lively debates about the next expression of neoliberalism, this study suggests that it is evolving into philanthrocapitalism. After a brief discussion of the trajectories from neoliberalism, the article addresses the core ideology of philanthrocapitalism. The central thesis explores how philanthrocapitalism is moving beyond the requirement of ‘business practices’ for recipients of donor funds, into enforcing ‘business rule’ on to the public domain. Although philanthrocapitalism is most debated in the fields of health care and education, this article uses empirical analysis of international agricultural policies trying to enlist Southern Africa policies. It explores how philanthrocapitalist rule is reducing transparency, participation and deliberation within the public domain, well beyond requesting efficient business practices for greater food security. It concludes with how smallholder farmers are actively organising to resist business rule over their genetic resources and farming practices.     

美国国会议员访台现象研究(1997～2008)

台湾地区是美国国会议员访问最频繁的地区之一。本文分析了从1997年到2008年的美国国会议员访台记录分布及其决定因素,获得了如下主要发现:第一,美国国会议员访台频次变动受台湾岛内政治变动和美国国会选举周期影响,但以前者更为重要;第二,《与台湾关系法》赋予美国国会及其议员干预台湾问题的权力,是造成美国国会议员、特别是外交事务、军事、情报等委员会成员频繁访台的根本原因;第三,意识形态、选区利益、经贸关系等对美国国会议员访台也产生了一定的影响。     

Does Soft Power Matter? A Comparative Analysis of Student Exchange Programs 1980–2006

Democratic governance depends not only on the building of democratic institutions but also on citizens' knowledge about how these institutions should function in their everyday lives. I argue that US-hosted educational exchange programs are one mechanism whereby citizens of nondemocratic states might experience life firsthand in a democratic country. Their experiences may impact the political institutions and influence political behavior in their home countries. In order for this process to take place, I argue that at least three contextual conditions are important: (i) the depth and extent of social interactions that occur while abroad, (ii) the sharing of a sense of community or common identity between participants and their hosts, and (iii) the attainment of a politically influential position by the exchange participant when they return home. In this article, I test these hypotheses and find support for what advocates of soft power often contend: US-hosted exchange programs can play an important role in the diffusion of liberal values and practices across the borders of authoritarian states.     

中非法律交往五十年的历史回顾与前景展望

中非关系源远流长,但中非法律界人士的交往却很晚。与其他大陆相比,双方交往次数也不多,无法满足中非关系发展的需要。中非法律界交往分为法院人员、检察机关人员、司法行政机关人员和民间往来4个层面。新中国成立以来,我国与非洲国家法律交流与合作总体上经历了从无到有、逐渐扩大的过程。20世纪60年代,中非法律交往逐步开展,但在文革中受阻。2000年,中非合作论坛召开后,中非法律合作大步发展。2009年发表的《沙姆沙伊赫行动计划》提出举办中非合作论坛——法律论坛,开创了中非法律合作的新纪元。     

浅谈大连海洋经济的发展

大连发展海洋经济,对于提高大连城市竞争力具有重要意义.大连作为我国重要港口城市具有许多得天独厚的优势.但大连海洋经济发展过程中还存在许多问题,解决了这些问题,大连发展海洋经济将取得长足进步.     

广西农产品流通体制改革的对策研究

广西农产品流通体制存在的问题主要是 ,农产品市场发育不健全 ,市场主体缺位 ,宏观调控体系不完全 ,实施农产品流通体制改革要搞好市场模式选择、市场立法选择 ,加强政府在农产品流通中的指导作用。