'No! I'm Not a Refugee!' The Poetics of Be-Longing among Young Oromos in Toronto

This paper presents some findings from an empirical study carriedout with young Oromos living in Toronto. To capture the complexitiesof negotiating be-longing, the paper offers dispersal–affinity—anew conceptual framework empirically grounded in an innovativemethodological design. Using participants' narratives in theempirical material, the paper contests the dualism created betweenessentialist and constructionist perspectives. It employs dispersal–affinityto explore participants' understandings of ‘the refugee’and the wider processes of refugeeization and refugee be-longing.Findings suggest that be-longing is a project of selfhood thatis both fixed and constantly shifting. It is argued that be-longingis constructed from the same movements of selfhood within andthrough social relationships. Young Oromos employ both essentialistand constructionist discourses to weave multiple layers of fixedand mobile be-longing. Implications for refugee studies arediscussed wherein dispersal–affinity is offered to criticallyengage the recent debate on ‘deceit and trickery’among refugees.     

Somali Community Organizations in London and Toronto: Collaboration and Effectiveness

This article considers the high number of Somali community organizationsin both London and Toronto. Drawing on interviews in both locationswith Somali women refugees and discussions with those involvedin their resettlement, evidence shows that many Somalis continueto feel marginalized in terms of service provision and thatcollective representation is limited, despite the high numberof specifically Somali organizations that exist. Through a comparisonof the Somali community organizations in London and Toronto,this article highlights factors which have inhibited the developmentof a united, collaborative Somali voice. Contributory factorsare shown to derive partly from the persistent clan dynamicsamong Somalis and the solutions Somalis find, and partly fromfailings in service and funding provision. It is argued that,in the Somali case, exclusionary dynamics undermine the roleof community organizations in rebuilding community and belongingand providing a safe and empowering setting in which individualsand communities may regain confidence and begin the processof integration within the receiving society.     

Urban Refugees in Nairobi: Problems of Protection, Mechanisms of Survival, and Possibilities for Integration

This article examines the legal status and economic livelihoodsof refugees in Nairobi, focusing on Somalis, the largest urbanpopulation residing in the city. The results of the study challengethe Government of Kenya's (GOK) official position and the popularlocal perception that refugees are an economic burden, and showinstead that these urban refugees are economically self-sufficient.Despite this economic independence, conditions for most refugeesin Nairobi are extremely difficult. Urban refugees live largelywithout material assistance or legal protection from the GOKor UNHCR, are vulnerable to police arrest at any time and facehigh levels of xenophobia from the local population. By highlightingrefugee self-sufficiency in Nairobi, this article lends supportto the idea of local integration as a viable, durable solutionto their situation of protracted exile.     

Credible Criminal Enforcement

Economic models of crime and punishment implicitly assume that the government can credibly commit to the fines, sentences, and apprehension rates it has chosen. We study the government’s problem when credibility is an issue. We find that several of the standard predictions of the economic model are altered when commitment is taken into account. Specifically, when only fines are used, commitment results in a lower apprehension rate and hence a higher crime rate. However, when jail is used (with or without fines), apprehension rates and jail terms may be higher or lower compared to the optimal static policy.JEL K14, K42     

谈新制度经济学在警力资源合理配制中的运用

由于历史和现实的原因,我国警力资源的配置还存在诸多不合理之处,主要表现为警力资源的稀缺和浪费并存,警力资源分配的机构层级失调以及警力资源流动的机制不畅等问题。新时期公安工作形势迫切需要我们进行合理的警力资源配置,以更好地维护社会治安。新制度经济学不仅为公安机关制度创新提供了一种理论范式,而且为其制度改革实践提供了可借鉴的经验。合理配置警力资源,不仅要通过正式约束诸如精简机构、制定职位说明书和竞聘上岗方面的建设,还要通过非正式约束和实施机制的完善来实现。     

Theory for Accounting or Accounting Theory: An Essay on the Interaction between Economics and Accounting

The disciplines of general economics and business economics have been growing apart. Business economics has a more practice oriented and multidisciplinary focus. The background for this paper is the question whether, and in what manner, general economics can contribute to the development of business economics. This paper delves into the roots of the old-institutional economic school, in particular into the ideas of Schmoller. More specifically, it is a preliminary investigation into the question whether the insights of the old-institutional school can have a bearing on (management) accounting research. Some future directions in this respect are suggested at the end.     

国际私法中规则和标准之争的经济学分析

国际私法规范是应该主要表现为规则还是应该表现为标准引起了很大的争论,传统的理论分析在这个问题上并没有得出令人满意的结论。20世纪60年代经济学的方法被引进到国际私法领域中,并且首先被运用到对规则和标准合理性的论证中,现有的经济分析并没有给人们清晰的思路来解决规则和标准的争论。要想用经济学的方法来解决国际私法关于规则和标准之间的争论,必须深入到规则和标准的经济学本质并结合国际私法的实际,才能得出科学的结论。     

证券法信息公开制度的经济学理论分析

调整经济活动的法律法规 ,应该有其经济学理论作立法依据。本文对证券法信息公开制度的经济学理论及其法学意义的分析 ,是研究信息公开法律制度的新尝试。     

Distributional Conflicts and the Timing of Environmental Policy

This paper examines the timing of adopting a policy for tackling an environmental issue such as climate change from a viewpoint of distributional conflicts. A dynamic game of providing public goods (Alesina and Drazen, American Economic Review 81(5), 1170–1118 (1991)) is applied to the argument, modified by including abatement costs as well as the loss in the environment. In this framework, even if the immediate adoption of environmental policy is socially optimal, a disproportionate burden of pollution reduction leads to a delay in policy adoption. This is because the disproportionate burden increases the gain from waiting for each individual hoping that the other will agree to bear the heavier burden. The impact of income distribution on the timing is also examined. The level of averting behavior is assumed to depend on the level of income. If the distribution of income is more dispersed, the regional disparities in environmental degradation become larger because the poor tend to avert less and get more loss than the rich due to their tighter budget constraints. Under asymmetric information on damages, as the disparities in income become more dispersed, each individual expects that his/her opponent’s damage becomes severe; then, he/she gives in first. Thus, each individual holds out longer so that the timing of policy implementation is delayed further. Finally, the theoretical result is empirically tested by both probit and discriminant analyses to examine whether income distribution has an impact on the timing of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol in practice.