Structural convergence in Russia’s economic transition, 1990–2002

This paper examines structural change in Russia’s transition in 1990–2002 as measured by the changing composition of output, employment, and end use of GDP. Using an international panel data sets as a frame of reference, it calculates a series of indexes to determine the extent to which the Russian economy is converging towards market economies in the course of market transformation. Our methodology lets us analyze the changes in the structural profile of the economy using the entirety of the available data rather than individual performance indicators. We find that Russia has become structurally similar to the benchmark market economies in the upper-middle income group and the lower tier of high-income countries. At the same time, the extent of labor reallocation remains inadequate and Russia’s pattern of consumption remains distorted due to the incomplete price liberalization.

Institutionalising a National Approach to Performance Reporting: Lessons from Two Decades of Experience with the Report on Government Services

The Report on Government Services (RoGS) to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) is considered an exemplar of benchmarking in a federal system. Published annually since 1997, RoGS provides performance reporting in the form of cross jurisdictional benchmarking on an unprecedented scale and scope. This paper argues ROGS has institutionalised a national approach to performance measurement and reporting that is now at the centre of the COAG reform agenda. The paper examines the processes and institutional structures that explain how RoGS has transformed performance reporting for social infrastructure services. The final section provides a preliminary assessment of the impact of RoGS.     

持续提升政府生产力的积极探索——香港特区“政府资源增值计划”述论

随着行政环境的变迁 ,香港特别行政区政府面临的一个基本矛盾是 ,市民对公共服务需要的不断增长但政府财力资源却相对有限甚至出现赤字。“资源增值计划”就是政府旨在解决这一矛盾的重要战略。计划分为两个阶段 ,第一阶段是为了短期内提高政府生产力 ,第二阶段的各种措施则具有“根本性改革”的特征 ,目的是为了持续地提高政府生产力。这一计划的推行是九七回归以来香港行政改革的重要内容 ,它也对内地的行政改革具有重要的启发与借鉴价值     

党建理论的创新和发展--学习"党要始终代表中国先进生产力的发展要求"

"党要始终代表中国先进生产力的发展要求"的思想是对党建理论的创新和发展.政治和经济关系的原理、生产力和生产关系的原理是这一创新和发展的理论基础,吸取历史教训和总结现实经验是这一创新和发展的实践依据,"科学技术是第一生产力"是这一创新和发展的必然.这一创新和发展指明了中国社会主义现代化建设胜利前进的方向.     

Investigating the Institutional Norms and Values of the Productivity Commission: The 2011 and 2015 Childcare Inquiries

The Productivity Commission (PC) has a mandate to provide independent advice to government that promotes community wellbeing. Whilst it plays a significant role in social and economic reform, the underlying institutional values and norms of the PC that shape its advice have not been examined. This paper examines policy problematisations (Bacchi 2009, 2012) across two PC ‘inquiries’ into childcare (2011, 2015) between Labor and Coalition governments, and the advice provided by the PC. In doing so, this research demonstrates that PC recommendations are imbued with economic values that are highly institutionalised. These values give preference to targeted social welfare and traditional gender norms, despite current evidence suggesting alternative approaches would have better social and long‐term economic outcomes. Our findings raise questions over the conflict between the traditional economic values of the PC and providing social policy advice that reflects best practice, indicating that further investigation into the PC is urgently needed.     

新时代中国农业生产力布局调整思路研究

农业生产力布局是降低农业生产成本、提高农业生产效率和满足人民日益增长的关于农产品美好生活需要的重要因素。基于第一产业和农业的地理分布格局演变历程,本文提出目前我国农业生产力布局存在粮食总量保持稳定,但是未来存在安全隐患;农产品生产聚集程度总体较高,但是仍有进一步提高空间;农产品尤其是粮食生产成本较高,需要进一步降低生产成本;农产品市场价格较高且有上涨趋势,需要稳定其价格等四个特征。指出未来农业生产力布局调整应该遵循总量安全原则、比较优势原则、规模经济原则、产业链一体化发展原则,并提出相应的政策建议。     

习近平生态文明思想的哲学探析

大力推进生态文明建设,是习近平系列讲话的重要内容,也是美丽中国的重要组成部分。其建设生态文明思想彰显了生态思维的原则精神,对推进生态文明建设,确立生态思维方式至为关键:"生命共同体"思想丰富了马克思主义自然观,是民生福祉的科学论断;"生态环境生产力"的观点,赋予生产力新的内涵;良好的生态环境,是党的宗旨和公平正义的要求;满足人民生态诉求的生态民生观等新思想,具有丰富的哲学内涵。     

Measuring U.S. innovative activity: business data at the U.S. Census Bureau

Innovation is seen as a source of strength and vitality in the U.S. economy. Better measures of innovative activity—including but not limited to innovation alone—could improve what we know about the sources of productivity and economic growth. The U.S. Census Bureau collects data on some measures of innovative activity that research shows affect economic performance. But understanding how the effects work requires more than just measures of innovative activity. It also requires solid statistical information about core measures of the economy so we can rule out the possibility that a measure of innovative activity merely proxies for something omitted from or measured poorly in the core data. Gaps in core measures can be filled by better integrating existing data and by more structured collections of new data. Versions of this paper were presented at the NSF/SRS Workshop, Advancing Measures of Innovation: Knowledge Flows, Business Metrics, and Measurement Strategies, Arlington VA, June 6–7, 2006, and circulated to the Advisory Committee on Measuring Innovation in the 21st Century Economy, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. This paper is unofficial and thus has not undergone the review accorded to official Census Bureau publications. Lucia Foster, Ron Jarmin, Jeffrey Mayer, Thomas Mesenbourg, and Daniel Weinberg, and the editors made valuable comments. However, the views expressed in the paper are those of the author and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau.     

Exports and productivity of Russian firms: in search of causality

This paper uses a census of Russian manufacturing firms to study the relationship between exports and productivity at the firm level. The period studied, 1996–2002, implies that the results are affected by the Russian financial crisis of 1998. Exporters are shown to be more productive and larger than non-exporters, seemingly an effect of more productive firms self-selecting into the export market, rather than learning effects. But learning effects are significant among new entrants. Additionally, in examining the effect of the direction of exports on productivity, the finding is that the difference in the productivity level of firms exporting to the OECD and the CIS is insignificant.

Technology transfer by foreign firms and the utilization of competencies within Indian industry

This article evaluates whether the changing presence of foreign firms in India has had an impact on the performance of India’s industrial sector by impacting on the utilization of intangible capabilities within firms. Foreign firms bring in technological skills and capabilities and these are transferred by a spillover process to all of Indian industry. The results show a strong relationship between the growing presence of foreign firms in India and measures capturing the utilization of varieties of competencies in Indian industry. Thus, the notion that foreign firms’ capabilities can spillover to other sectors of industry finds support in the data.