Comment on Kerry D. Vandell's “FHA restructuring proposals: Alternatives and implications”

Abstract

New Orleans, a highly segregated city with low homeownership, experienced a tremendous number of housing foreclosures between 1985 and 1990. This study highlights the process and impact of foreclosure in the urban housing market, which contributes to an understanding of their impact on the spatial structure of the city. Two aspects of foreclosure are examined: the differential impacts of foreclosure on low‐income and African‐American householders and changes in socioeconomic conditions (neighborhood change and the spatial structure of the city) resulting from foreclosure.

Conventional wisdom holds that urban neighborhood transformation is driven largely by white flight. The data presented in this article suggest a counterhypoth‐esis. Middle‐income professional whites employed in businesses impacted by recession who had recently bought housing with high loan‐to‐value ratios were forced to sell or have their houses foreclosed upon. The depressed market, in turn, made such housing affordable to middle‐class blacks interested in homeownership. Thus, black economic opportunity, rather than white flight, dramatically transformed the racial composition of many New Orleans East neighborhoods.     

Assessing the Impact of Microcredit: A Zambian Case Study

Expectations are high, but evidence of the impact of microcredit remains in short supply. This article estimates the impact of an urban credit programme in Zambia on business performance and on a range of indicators of wellbeing. Borrowers who obtained a second loan experienced significantly higher average growth in business profits and household income. Inflexible group enforcement of loan obligations resulted in some borrowers, especially amongst those who had taken only one loan, being made worse off. Our methodological investigations suggest that the supply of rigorous impact studies can be increased by basing them on data collection that serves a wider range of purposes, including market research.     

物权请求权与债权请求权的趋近－以不作为债务的强制履行为考察点

本文通过介绍和分析英美国家、大陆法系的德国以及日本的法律实践中 ,不作为请求权在契约领域的适用 ,得出物权请求权与债权请求权在实现方式上的趋近 ,并进而得出财产法中的物权与债权的二分法的局限性。     

债权让与制度若干问题研究

债权让与是债法上的一项重要制度 ,它还与物权法和不当得利等制度密切相关。我国合同法规定 ,当事人约定债权不得转让的 ,按约定。对约定的效力作这样的肯定是值得质疑的。它与当前国外的趋向不符 ,不适应市场经济发展的需要。有关债权让与制度的概念、构成要件、法律效力等问题 ,均应从理论上作深入探讨     

Reconstructing Insurance Law: The Law Commissions' Consultation Paper

In July 2007 the English and Scottish Law Commissions published the consultation paper Insurance Law – Non-disclosure and Breach of Warranty (hereafter LCCP) which sets out in detail the Commissions' provisional proposals for the reform of insurance contract law with particular reference to the key areas of utmost good faith, warranties and agency. This article analyses, from a critical standpoint, the LCCP's principal conclusions and recommendations. It begins by noting, as a means of demonstrating that the current reform process should be informed by modern industry practices, that the ways in which modern insurance contracts are concluded differ significantly from those when insurance law was last reviewed by the Law Commission in 1980. The article then discusses the dichotomy between consumer and business insurance given that this distinction underpins the LCCP and its approach towards reforming the pre-contractual duty of good faith. By way of backdrop to the analysis, we consider the approach taken towards reforming the law governing intermediaries acting for prospective assureds during the disclosure process. Finally, the proposed rules for warranties and similar terms are examined. It is argued that the proposal to retain continuing warranties in business insurance contracts will, if implemented, represent a missed opportunity to rid insurance contracts of terms long criticised as draconian and disproportionate in their effect.     

建国以来我国职工生活保障状况回顾

职工生活保障问题， 历来是各级工会十分关心和重视的问题。该文通过对５０年来历史的回顾， 以大量的实例、数据， 从就业保障、收入保障、社会保险和生活福利四个方面， 展现了我国职工生活保障走过的路程和取得的显著成绩     

论我国环境侵权责任保险制度的构建

面对日益严重的环境污染 ,我国应建立环境侵权责任保险制度 ,并可以引进巨灾风险证券化等制度 ,以更有效地分散风险。对于突发性环境侵权行为的责任保险应作为商业保险看待 ,对于持续性环境侵权的责任保险应作为政策性保险看待。我国环境侵权责任保险制度的实施应采取分步走的策略 ,即先承保突发性的环境侵权行为 ,待条件成熟时再承保持续性的环境侵权行为。针对环境侵权的危险性、突发性、持续性等因素 ,应采取强制投保和自愿投保相结合的方式。在给予受害人赔偿时 ,应实行责任限额制。     

企业职工养老保险工作若干问题探讨

目前 ,企业职工养老保险工作中有待研究和解决的问题很多 ,突出的有养老保险费征收主体的选择问题 ,养老保险基金统筹层次的设定问题 ,财政支持机制的建立问题 ,等等。本文从总结实践经验出发 ,分析了上述问题 ,并提出相应的政策性建议。     

从四川长虹巨亏看应收账款风险的控制

四川长虹上市10年来,首次出现亏损37亿元。其亏损的主要原因是企业采取赊销,无法收回应收账款。赊销可以使企业扩大销量,降低存货。同时又使企业形成大量应收账款。应收账款的存在使企业面临无法收回货款造成坏账损失的风险。企业应从应收账款的事前控制,应收账款信用政策的制定,应收账款的日常控制。加强对应收账款的管理。使其既能给企业带来效益,同时又能降低风险,使企业利润最大化。     

债权让与通知的效力

关于债权让与通知的效力 ,我国合同法仅设三个条文进行规定 ,与法律实践中的复杂情况相比显得过于简略。应对债权通知方式、债权通知对债务人、债权人以及第三人的效力等问题作具体研究 ,完善我国《合同法》的相关规定。