Financial Crime Today: Greece as a European Case Study

In this article a spectrum of financial crime, ranging from Customs violations, EU-fraud, tax evasion, Stock Market fraud, illegal use of intellectual property, electronic and Internet crime, to environmental pollution, illegal trafficking of personal data, and corruption is illustrated by examples from Greece. Needless to say, that the phenomenon of corruption and financial crime is creating problems not only in Greece, but also in other European countries and at higher financial levels.     

Institutions and Caribbean Economic Performance: Insights from Jamaica

We explore the impact of social institutions on economic performance in Jamaica through a reinterpretation of the plantation economic model. In its original form, the plantation model fails to develop a causal link between the plantation legacy and persistent underdevelopment. Despite its marginalization, the model remains useful for discussions on growth and development. Consequently, we offer a reappraisal using the causal insights from Kenneth Sokoloff and Stanley Engerman. We use two examples to demonstrate how inequality encourages the formation of institutions that are inconsistent with growth, and an empirical analysis to confirm the hypothesized relationship between inequality, institutions, and economic development. Since inequality is expected to influence growth indirectly, we use a structural specification, which follows William Easterly’s recent test of Sokoloff and Engerman’s argument. Our reliance on a time-series specification is unique. We demonstrate that the expectation that, on average, inequality and growth is negatively related and that institutions may compromise growth are accurate for Jamaica, the most cited Caribbean nation in the current discourse. Our results carry several policy implications, including support for the recent calls in Jamaica for political restructuring. However, both the paucity of similar studies and the importance of the implications for sustainable growth and development demand further analyses.

论韩国在现代世界经济体系中地位的变迁

二战结束后,美国出于地缘政治战略考虑,把韩国纳入到现代资本主义经济体系,成为该体系的"边缘区";经过漫长的经济积累,在80年代末、90年代初,韩国终于进入"半边缘区",直至今日。目前,韩国在追赶美国、日本的同时,也在被"北方国家"追赶。在这种"多层追赶"的态势中,韩国必须寻找最佳的对策,确保并提升自己在现代世界经济体系中的地位。     

Does Workplace Experience Enhance Political Participation? A Critical Test of a Venerable Hypothesis

Several schools of thought claim that citizens can develop their democratic skills at the workplace. Here I focus on the hypothesis put forward by Carole Pateman and by Sidney Verba and colleagues that state that by practicing civic skills and democratic decision-making at the workplace, citizens become more active in politics. I test the hypothesis with a nationally representative panel survey of the Swedish population. My findings contradict previous empirical research as no impact on political participation was discovered. I argue that the effects may have been overestimated in prior studies because the tests were based on cross-sectional data: insufficient care was taken with a number of significant methodological problems. The study points to the importance of using panel models when investigating the causes of political participation.

Why Do Experienced Challengers Do Better than Amateurs?

Politically experienced challengers are more successful in seeking political office than amateurs. The relationship is found so regularly that political experience has become the standard ex ante indicator of challenger quality in studies of American elections. Despite this, little work has investigated why experienced challengers are so successful. Many scholars attribute the relationship to inherent differences between experienced challengers and amateurs: experienced challengers have stronger electoral skills and greater access to material resources. I argue that these differences play a role, but an indirect one. Rather, experienced challengers are lead by both their resource advantage and the high amount of risk they are exposed to in seeking office to run in races in which their party has a good chance of winning. Thus, the direct cause of the experienced challengers’ success is self-selection into winnable races. Empirical analysis supports the self-selection model over a model in which resources directly lead to success.

论新经济组织团建工作中的创新意识

在改革开放形势下 ,新经济组织如雨后春笋般的蓬勃发展 ,新经济组织的团建工作也必须跟随形势有创新意识 :在观念上应充分认识其重要性和紧迫性 ;在组织上要适应组织的发展趋势和劳动组合方式 ;在活动内容和方式上要贴近企业 ,突出质量和效益 ;在管理机制上要灵活多样、高效创新     

论经济全球化与中国经济的发展

经济全球化趋势增强是 2 0世纪 90年代出现的世界经济新态。冷战结束是这一趋势增强的大前提 ;市场经济体制、信息技术发展和跨国公司的膨胀是其形成的基本动因 ;地区经济圈和经济竞争中的科技优势则构成了其基本特点。经济全球化既给中国经济提供了发展机遇 ,也带来了严峻挑战 ,中国应积极面对和参与经济全球化进程。     

云南建设我国通向东南亚、南亚国际大通道的主要制约因素分析

云南建设国际大通道的思路一经提出,许多专家、学者从不同角度论述了通道建设的必要性和可行性,从各方面说明了通道建设的意义和作用.实际上,云南建设我国通向东南亚、南亚国际大通道还存在许多制约因素,诸如经济增长对交通运输的需求、产业结构的变化、城市化水平、区域间的经济社会联系以及对外开放程度等.只有在分析清楚这些制约因素,并在具体实施中逐步解决相关的问题,才可能把国际大通道的建设扎扎实实地推向前进.     

对我国经济转轨过程中产权体制改革的研究

产权制度是经济体制的“硬核”,国家经济转轨面临的根本任务在于如何尽快建起市场经济的体制“硬核”——多主体产权制度。市场经济体制的“硬核”——多主体产权制度建设的滞后带来的局部产权制度真空,造成的社会产权普遍残缺是我国产权制度的基本现状。这种产权普遍残缺对社会、经济带来了严重损害。我国应通过加快政治体制改革和健全完善法制来建立社会主义市场经济的多主体产权制度,顺利完成我国经济的转轨过程。     

Universities and State Policy Formation: Rationalizing a Nanotechnology Strategy in Pennsylvania

Technology‐based economic development programs have become a salient feature of the state policy landscape since the 1980s. While much research exists on the topic, little attention has been given to the processes of policy formation. State programs have moved towards high technology areas emphasized at the federal level over the past decades, and nanotechnology became one of the latest targets. This paper examines the eight‐year process through which Pennsylvania adopted a “state‐wide strategy,” culminating in the Pennsylvania Initiative for Nanotechnology. In this process, programs that responded to the interests of multiple agents came first, and a state policy was formulated after the fact. This pattern of “rationalized policy formation,” as opposed to rational policy formation, may be more common than suspected. Its strengths and weaknesses in this Pennsylvania case are discussed.