Renting a flat in Hangzhou

Abstract

Shortly after my arrival at Zhejiang Agricultural University as a visiting scholar, I faced the question of where to live. There were of course the guesthouses on campus, but these ranged in price from 3,000 to 4,800 yuan per month (about US$400 to $600). By contrast, apartment rentals in nearby Hangzhou ran from about 500 yuan per month for a two-room unfurnished flat to a monthly rent of about 1,500 yuan for a furnished, three-room flat equipped with air conditioner, telephone, and assorted fixtures. Even though the latter rates are somewhat expensive by local standards, they still represent a considerable savings over guest-house accommodations on campus, as well as affording a degree of privacy that I deemed important to the conduct of life during my research project.     

Civil Society Relationships with the G20: An Extension of the G8 Template or Distinctive Pattern of Engagement?

The central question that this work asks is whether the relationship between the G20 summit process and civil society is path dependent on the template built up with respect to the G8. Or, alternatively, does the G20–civil society relationship move towards a distinct autonomous pattern? Through the perspective of the G8 template it is the differences as much as the basic similarities that stand out with respect to the G20. Civil society recognised the significance of the G20 as a site both of delivery and resistance far quicker than they did with the G8—although the process of engagement did not take place as quickly as might have been expected given the scale of the impact of the global financial crisis. In terms of scope, there has not developed the sense of connection with the G20 agenda as occurred previously with the G8. In terms of form, there remains a more nuanced approach to the relationship between civil society and G20 than the two ends of the “Genoa” and “Gleneagles” spectrum established with the G8.     

Military Cuts and Conversion in the Defense Industry

The partial reorientation of the Soviet defense industry toward civilian production is examined by a prominent Western specialist in the context of the overall reduction in military spending. Provisions of the current program for conversion in the defense complex are analyzed with due consideration of anticipated effects on the economy at large. The author discusses the expected mix between civilian and military production within the defense industry, and notes the range and number of enterprises affected. Also outlined are the implications of the conversion program for military R&D and for the size and compensation of the workforce in the defense complex, journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: P20, H56.     

Testing Alternative Legal Paradigms: An Experiment in Designing Tax Legislation

This article reports on empirical research undertaken to test the claim made in a law reform project that citizens could be made more certain of their legal obligations by changing the legal paradigm used to express their rights and obligations. Our research tested a number of hypotheses involving different formulations of the claim being made. We find that the alternative paradigm being presented was inferior to current practice and offer some reasons that would explain our results and the significance of this work for other areas of legal research.