Does intellectual property lead to economic growth? Insights from a novel IP dataset

While policymakers often make bold claims as to the positive impact of intellectual property (IP) rights on both developed and developing country economies, the empirical literature is more ambiguous. IP rights have both incentive and inhibitory effects that are difficult to isolate in the abstract and are dependent on economic context. To unravel these contradictory effects, this article introduces an index that evaluates the strength of IP protection in 124 developing countries for the years 1995 to 2011. We illustrate the value of this index to economics study and show evidence that is consistent with IP leading to increased growth. Our results are further consistent with two causal pathways highlighted in the literature: that IP leads to greater levels of technology transfer and increased domestic inventive activity. Yet other aspects of our study fit uneasily with this simple story. For example, we find evidence suggesting that increased levels of growth lead to greater levels of IP protection, contradictory evidence in the literature linking IP with growth, a lack of evidence that increased levels of IP protection lead to actual use of the IP system, and problems with what IP indexes measure. Because of this, we suggest another – and so far undertheorized – explanation of the links between IP and growth: that IP may have few direct effects on growth and that any causality is a result of belief rather than actual deployment of IP.     

Between regulatory field structuring and organizational roles: Intermediation in the field of sustainable urban development

Recent contributions in the domains of governance and regulation elucidate the importance of rule‐intermediation (RI), the role that organizations adopt to bridge actors with regulatory or “rulemaking” roles and those with target or “rule‐taking” roles. Intermediation not only enables the diffusion and translation of regulatory norms, but also allows for the representation of different actors in policymaking arenas. While prior studies have explored the roles that such RIs adopt to facilitate their intermediation functions, we have yet to consider how field‐level structuring processes influence (and are influenced by) the various and changing roles adopted by RI. In this study we focus on the mutually constitutive relations between field‐level change processes and the evolving roles of RIs by studying the rise of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)/Local Governments for Sustainability, an RI serving as a bridge for sustainable urban development policies between the United Nations and local authorities. Using ICLEI as an illustrative case, we theorize four different processes of regulatory field structuration: problematization, role specialization, marketization, and orchestrated decentralization. We discuss their implications for RI roles in the field and further theorize the changing dynamics of trickle‐up intermediation processes as an RI gains power and influence.     

陕甘边革命根据地文化建设的特点及作用

陕甘边革命根据地在创建和发展中积极开展文化建设,密切配合和促进了根据地的政权建设、军事斗争、土地改革、经济建设和社会改造等,为根据地的创建和发展做出了重要贡献,也彰显出文化建设的显著特点及历史作用。     

马克思恩格斯的文化观及其当代价值

马克思恩格斯的文化观蕴含于他们探索人类社会发展一般规律的学说体系之中。他们在多重意义上使用文化概念,并在唯物史观的框架里考察文化现象,阐明了文化与经济基础的辩证关系、艺术生产与物质生产的不平衡关系以及文化所具有的现实性、开放性和跨越性特征。马克思恩格斯的文化思想为中国特色社会主义文化建设提供了有价值的思想资源。     

人类社会发展机制研究

社会发展是社会有机体各构成要素、各组成部分之间所发生的不以人的主观意志为转移的相互联系、相互制约、相互作用的矛盾运动。推动社会发展的主体和享有社会发展成果的主体是人民群众。人类社会发展的最佳状态是和谐发展,人人共享社会发展成果与人的全面发展是社会和谐的前提。     

科学权威的哲学解读

科学权威是科学共同体中拥有最高承认程度的阶层,是整个共同体评价系统的中坚和核心。科学权威作为一种历史现象,一方面对科学发展有积极的促进作用,另一方面由于时代的局限及个人修养等原因,也存在一些消极影响。因此,客观公正地分析科学权威的积极作用及其消极影响并寻求应对之策,无疑对科学的研究和发展具有重要的理论意义与实践意义。     

以根祖文化为特色构建民族凝聚力工程——以运城市为例

＂根祖文化＂是民族的灵魂,是民族精神的重要构成部分,在增强民族凝聚力中具有重要作用。运城市是中华民族的发祥地,具有大量中华民族先祖活动的遗迹和民族文化的渊源,这就在客观上决定了运城市在构建民族凝聚力工程中必然具有＂根祖文化＂的特色。因此,组建以＂根祖文化＂为特色的组织协调系统,大力发展以＂根祖文化＂为标志的旅游企业等,必然成为运城市实施增强中华民族凝聚力工程的特色内容。     

权利社会理论与社会“弱势化”心态矫正

社会＂弱势化＂心态是当前社会转型期值得警惕的社会问题,其本质问题是社会权利贫困问题。权利贫困决定了社会利益分配的不平衡,加剧社会分化和社会结构失衡,从而引发不同社会群体之间的对立和冲突,妨碍经济发展和社会稳定。为此,必须适时着手赋权社会的改革,使社会弱势群体获得更多的生存、发展、医疗、教育和文化等社会权利,获得和分享更多的改革开放的成果,以权利同质和机会均等实现包容发展。     

论近代历史变迁中的中国文化转型

文化是历史的重要组成部分,历史的演变必然引起文化相应的改变。在近代这个中国几千年历史的重要转型期,中国文化呈现出了前所未有的波澜起伏,是任其在西方文化冲击下衰弱,还是在痛苦中完成蜕变,寻找新的突破口？从中国文化的艰难转型中,今天的人们获得了很多重要启示。昨天的历史引领着今天的道路。     

加快城镇化建设,着力推动少数民族发展

城镇化是指人类生产和生活方式由乡村型向城市型转化的历史进程,表现为乡村人口向城市人口转化以及城市不断发展和完善的过程。城镇化是人类由农业经济类型向工业经济类型转变的必然产物。在城镇化过程中,少数民族的发展遇到了生产方式和生活方式的转变,以及职业技能培训的缺失。加快城镇化建设可以推动少数民族生产方式、生活方式的转变,可以有效地提升少数民族的人力资本,可以有效地保护资源和环境。城镇化的重点是创造农村人口进得来、留得住的环境,把农民变市民。必须加大中学后职业技能教育培训,注重民族文化的保护、传承与创新,消除城镇化建设的体制和政策障碍。