Fiscal Federalism and International Capital: The Effects of Fiscal Federalism on Foreign Direct Investment and Sovereign Dept Ratings

Although the study of federalism has become one of the most intensely studied areas in economics and political science, no consensus has emerged on the impact of fiscal federalism on macroeconomic performance. I focus on one specific element of the debate‐ the role of fiscally federal institutions in allowing a country access to international capital markets. In an empirical analysis of 60 countries from 1975‐1995 I find fiscal federalism has no clear impact on inflows of foreign direct investment. In an examination of the impact of federalism on sovereign debt ratings for 40 countries from 1980‐1998, I find that fiscal federalism is associated with lower levels of sovereign debt risk.     

强制性企业年金制度及其对金融发展的影响——澳大利亚、冰岛和瑞士三国案例分析

分析了澳大利亚、冰岛和瑞士三国建立强制性企业年金制度的历史原因,以及该制度的基本特征,考察了三国企业年金基金的投资管理,在分析现有数据的基础上,通过比较分析表明:企业年金资产要独立于雇主企业和政府,这是建立良好治理结构的前提;增加企业年金计划的竞争性、提高信息披露程度、增强决策透明度是提高企业年金投资回报率的有效手段;审慎和恰当的政府监管是企业年金发展的重要条件;在适当控制风险的前提下,追求投资回报率仍是企业年金最重要的目标。从养老金制度的充足性、可负担性、可持续性和稳健性四个方面评估了强制性企业年金制度的作用,从而得出:强制性企业年金制度不仅实现了全面覆盖,而且在保障养老金制度可负担、可持续和稳健性的同时较好地实现了充足性的目标。利用格兰杰因果检验,实证分析了澳大利亚和冰岛两国企业年金发展和金融发展之间存在的协整关系:澳大利亚的企业年金发展和金融发展互为格兰杰因果关系,而冰岛企业年金发展是该国金融发展的格兰杰原因。     

‘The Assembly Line and Cars Come First’: Labor Relations and the Demise of Nissan Car Manufacturing in Australia

This article examines the fate of Nissan's plant in Melbourne, Australia, which the company closed in 1992. Studies of Japanese car plants that were set up in overseas markets have generally been positive, outlining how these firms were able to thrive by setting up flexible or lean production methods. In Australia, however, the company was unable to establish lean production and executives complained bitterly about union resistance to non-traditional production methods. The plant was also dogged by poor worker morale and high turnover. This is the first study of Nissan's Australian plant and it shows that not all Japanese transplants were successful.     

论影响广西壮族自治区外商直接投资的因素及对策建议

随着广西壮族自治区对外开放程度的不断提高,利用外商直接投资规模迅速增长,外商直接投资在推动广西经济发展方面起到了重大作用。本文在回顾国内外影响外商直接投资相关文献的基础上,选取三大因素七个变量八大指标分析影响广西外商直接投资的因素,通过实证分析得出人均GDP、基本设施投资完成额、累计外商直接投资和第三产业占GDP的比重四个因素显著。最后,从上述四个方面提出广西壮族自治区进一步加强引进外商直接投资的对策建议。     

越南的投资环境与中国企业在越投资情况分析

越南是近几年来国际直接投资的热点地区,也是我国实施"走出去"战略的重要目的地,越南安全的投资环境,良好的自然条件,低廉的劳动力价格,加上政府对投资所持的欢迎态度,使越南成为越来越多跨国公司的理想投资地,近年来越南的对外投资呈现一个高速增长的状态.作为越南的重要邻国,中国与越南在经济、文化、风俗习惯、生活方式、消费心理、建设社会主义市场经济等方面有许多共同点,这为中越之间开展经贸活动提供了更为便利的条件.目前中国在越南的投资还处在投资金额少、项目整体水平低的起步阶段,越南加入WTO后,中国企业面临着更多的投资机遇.     

Employee ownership and union labor: the case of United Steel Workers of America

Union–management relations in the U.S. are best described as adversarial. However, under certain circumstances, they can become cooperative. One example of the latter was the role of trade unions in the conversion of firms to employee ownership. Firm ownership (entrepreneurship, capitalism) by employees has increased in recent years. Specifically, we focus on the use of ‘investment bargaining’ (i.e. buyouts using ESOPs) by the United Steelworkers of America during the decades of the 1980s and 1990s as the steel industry faced serious declines. This study applies some basic union–management bargaining frameworks for examining both primary (e.g. case studies) and secondary data to demonstrate that the USW’s adoption of investment bargaining is consistent with their pragmatic approach in preserving the employment of their members. The impact and the implications of the union’s efforts in this area as well as the future role of unions in employee buyouts are also discussed.     

中国企业在柬埔寨的投资及其影响

近年来,中国企业在柬埔寨不断增长的投资引发了许多关注和有意义的讨论,但是大多数讨论缺乏足够的事实材料,因为研究者很难接触到中国企业来收集足够和可靠的信息。本文根据三个月对大约20家在柬埔寨中国公司的深入访谈,试图提供中国企业在柬埔寨投资及其影响的更全面的图景。本文考察了中国企业在柬埔寨投资的规模和对当地经济和社会的影响。本文认为,不论是中国企业在柬埔寨投资的规模还是对当地的影响都被夸大了。     

美国上市公司私募的法律监管

美国上市公司私募是私募发行与公开市场相结合的一种融资制度,其基础制度来源是美国证券注册制度以及在注册制度基础之上形成的私募发行制度。正是这两种制度的＂融合＂构架了美国上市公司私募的整个规则框架,使得上市公司私募的法律监管呈现出既不同于公募发行,也有别于普通私募发行监管的特点。在近几年的美国市场中,对冲基金的广泛参与推动了上市公司私募的发展,同时也带来了一些新的监管性问题;美国监管机构针对这种变化适时调整了相关监管策略,加强了对这类交易的监管力度。     

东盟投资区的法律评析

东盟各国于1998年成立的东盟投资区旨在建立一个较为统一的、自由的、透明的"单一投资区",增加东盟对外国资本的吸引力。《东盟投资区框架协议》是东盟进行投资合作的法律基础,是东盟自由贸易区在投资领域最具决定性的法律文件。在分析《东盟投资区框架协议》的基础上,对东盟投资区进行了法律方面的评价。     

民营资本参与社会主义新农村建设现状及对策研究

改革开放以来,民营经济的长足发展表明,民营资本是新农村建设的一支重要力量.本文分析民营资本参与新农村建设现状,剖析其主要问题及原因,探讨提高民营资本参与新农村建设投资效率的对策.