上海自由贸易试验区对我国涉外经济法制转型的影响

上海自贸区正式获准成立,这是中国法治转型中的重大创新。上海自贸区内通过临时性的授权调整,逐步推进行政审批体制改革,实行准入前国民待遇和"负面清单"管理模式,以此推进政府职能转变;在投资领域努力扩大服务业的投资开放、促进外商投资准入制的转轨、构筑对外投资服务促进法律体系;在贸易领域积极推动贸易结构的转型升级、提升国际航运服务能级;在金融领域应加快金融制度创新,增强金融服务能力,实现"在岸金融"与"离岸金融"的互动;并在争议解决机制构建方面也进行了卓有成效的探索。     

我国绿色贸易壁垒法律制度的性能评价体系研究

随着世界进入"环保时代",绿色贸易壁垒法律制度对一国的经济贸易的影响越来越突出和重要,面对我国绿色贸易壁垒法律制度立法、执法、司法绩效不容乐观的情况,以新制度经济学的制度绩效为主要的理论基础,设立我国绿色贸易壁垒法律制度的性能评价体系,能够为我国绿色贸易壁垒法律的制度设计和实践操作开创定量评判的崭新标准。     

亚太经合组织中区域利益和成员利益的冲突与协调——APEC成立十周年回顾与展望

亚太经合组织（ＡＰＥＣ） 是区域利益的代表。作为成员利益的集中体现,ＡＰＥＣ 的区域利益主要由贸易投资自由化和经济技术合作两大部分组成。由于发达成员和发展中成员在以上两个方面有不同的利益追求,ＡＰＥＣ 中区域利益和成员利益一直存在着冲突。在过去的十年中,贸易投资自由化和经济技术合作的不平衡发展使这种冲突逐渐表面化。展望未来,ＡＰＥＣ 的持续发展有赖于成员经济体享有充分灵活性的基础上,通过协商一致,处理好发达成员和发展中成员的利益分歧     

Meeting the challenges of the handicraft industry in Africa: Evidence from Nairobi

This article presents findings on observed productivity constraints of handicraft firms in Nairobi, Kenya. The goal is to help NGOs, intergovernmental organisations, and national governments in their efforts to foster local handicraft industries in Africa and beyond. One-hundred and two respondents were interviewed about their business, cost structure, hiring practices, and other intra-industry relationships. This article points out a number of practical problems hindering productivity and limiting livelihoods, including problematic labour practices, conditions of adverse selection, the context of proprietary information in small scale manufacturing, and the tendency of the industry toward hypercompetition.     

The Demand for Protectionism: Democracy,Import Elasticity,and Trade Barriers

Numerous studies suggest that democracies employ lower trade barriers than nondemocracies. In this article, we examine the conditioning role that the elasticity of import demand at the commodity level plays on the relationship between democracy and import barriers. Beginning with the assumption that democracies are more responsive than nondemocracies to the preferences of mass publics, we demonstrate that the value of free trade as a public good depends on the elasticity of import demand. When import demand for a given commodity is inelastic, trade barriers are more harmful to consumers; as such, democracies will employ lower trade barriers than nondemocracies. However, as import demand becomes more elastic, publics find it easier to adjust to higher prices; as a result, the difference in imposed trade barriers by regime type decreases. We find support for this argument in statistical analyses of crosssectional data covering 4,656 commodities imported by 73 countries Furthermore, we find that democracies raise higher trade barriers than nondemocracies on commodities for which import demand is very elastic.     

The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Inflows on Economic Growth in Barbados: An Engle-Granger Approach

The purpose of this article is to look at the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on economic growth in Barbados in the long and short run from 1979 to 2008 with the use of the Engle-Granger two-step procedure. The study shows that in the long run, a 1 percent increase in FDI inflows will expand economic growth by 0.10 percent while in the short run, the relationship between FDI and economic growth will be positive but almost flat. These results imply that any policy by Government aimed at boosting economic growth using FDI inflows will have to be considered for the long run since Government could not rely on FDI inflows in the short run.     

Pan-Africanism and communism: the Comintern,the ‘Negro Question’ and the First International Conference of Negro Workers,Hamburg 1930

Abstract

This article charts the history of a now largely forgotten Pan-African gathering, the historic First International Conference of Negro Workers, organised by the Communist International (CI) and held in Hamburg in 1930. The CI had taken an interest in organising Africans and those of African descent in the colonies, and in Europe and the US, from its foundation, but the key factor in developing political work concerned with the ‘Negro Question’ was the founding of the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers in 1928 and the activities of black communists. The difficulties experienced in organising the conference in Hamburg suggest that these activists were key to holding this historic event. The Hamburg Conference linked the communist movement with important black trade union and anti-colonial activists in Africa, the Caribbean, the US and Europe and subsequently had a significant influence on the future development of the Pan-African movement.     

中国-东盟自由贸易区：基于东盟经济共同体蓝图的战略构想

随着东盟宪章及经济共同体蓝图的实施以及中国-东盟自由贸易区建成和运行,中国-东盟经贸合作关系踏上新台阶。其进一步发展有赖于中国-东盟经济一体化进程的战略引导。基于区域经济一体化演进趋势,提出了中国一东盟经济一体化战略框架。其基本思路是在合作方向与发展目标指引下,采取多样化的合作方式,多路径展开全面合作,构建一系列战略支撑,最终推动中国与东盟建成关税同盟乃至共同市场。     

RCEP的构建及中国应对策略研究

"区域全面经济伙伴关系"(RCEP)①是近年来东盟力主的东亚地区的区域合作形式,虽然目前还处于"符号"阶段,但业已引起各方的广泛关注。中国加入RCEP应有以下战略考量:一方面,在当今世界经济合作的大背景下,中国应该积极参与RCEP的构建,获得先期的主动权和话语权;另一方面,中国还应放眼全球,与世界主要贸易国继续努力,推动多边贸易自由化的发展。     

The illegal parrot trade: a literature review

Parrots are amongst the most beautiful and intelligent bird species in the world. They have been coveted as pets for centuries, particularly in the neo-tropics where they are heavily populated. Unfortunately, this has led to dramatic increases in parrot poaching over the last few decades, making parrots the most threatened bird species in the world. Despite laws against parrot poaching throughout the neo-tropics, the illegal trade continues while parrot populations further decline. This article reviews the literature on the players in the illegal parrot trade (i.e. poachers, itinerant fences, and market sellers), how poaching is largely committed, and which species are more at risk of becoming poached.