Brexit and Trade Ties between Europe and Commonwealth States in Sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities for Pro-poor Growth or a Further Entrenchment of North–South Inequalities?

Abstract

Brexit will of course have major implications for trade between Commonwealth African nations and the European continent. In the short term, the European Commission’s Economic Partnership Agreements with regional groups such as the East African Community will be complicated by the UK’s decision to leave the European project. Moreover, there are longer-term consequences to be considered, not least the role which the UK—as an independent trade actor—will adopt in its trade relations with Commonwealth African countries. This article examines the impact of Brexit for Commonwealth African nations’ trade with Europe (including the UK). It particularly points to several potential pitfalls arising from the Brexit referendum vis-à-vis African development.     

The Jewish community in nineteenth century Palestine: evidence from the Montefiore censuses

Initial findings from five recently transcribed censuses of the Jewish community in nineteenth century Palestine, commissioned by Sir Moses Montefiore. This article discusses each census and presents uncorrected population figures. It describes how the Jewish community was rapidly changing: the population increased almost fourfold between 1839 and 1875, primarily due to immigration from Ashkenazi countries. The Jewish community was majority Ashkenazi by 1875. Analysis of the census data gives us detailed information about the community, such as the fact that Ashkenazim were significantly more likely than Sephardim to be engaged in full-time Torah study, whereas individuals who had immigrated to the land of Israel were slightly less likely. It also suggests that immigrations occurred at all ages, although the average age of an immigrant when they came to Palestine was 36.     

Willing Daughters: The Moral Rhetoric of Filial Sacrifice and Financial Autonomy in Tokyo's Sex Industry

Japan has one of the world's largest and most diverse legal sex industries. In a limited female labor market, sex industry work is a stigmatized yet lucrative form of women's short-term employment and advertisements for recruiting new employees are prominently displayed across urban spaces associated with feminized consumption. In this article, I examine the ideological impasses that adult Japanese women working in Tokyo's sex industry express when talking about their motives for pursuing this work. Female sex workers commonly justify their work as the necessary sacrifice of filial daughters. This rhetoric of reluctant acceptance for the sake of others, however, obscures the reality that many sex workers are middle-class and college-educated women who find the financial opportunity and flexibility of this industry appealing in contrast to more dominant forms of feminized labor. These women express the ambivalence of their desires for economic self-sufficiency through narrating the dependence of others on them. Examining these ambivalences, I argue that sex workers’ motivations can only be understood through considering the ethical and moral frameworks that define the gendered economies in which they labor.     

The political economy of the Trans-Pacific Partnership: a US perspective

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), signed in February 2016, is the most ambitious free trade deal of the postwar era. The 12 TPP countries account for nearly 40 percent of the world's economy. Coupled with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership—which is still being negotiated between the United States and the European Union—the TPP represents an attempt by the Obama Administration to lead in promoting regional trade and investment arrangements despite the failure of the Doha Round to reach a comprehensive global trade deal under the auspices of the World Trade Organization. Although the agreement among the 12 TPP countries has been reached, ratification by their legislatures is pending. Ratification by the US Congress remains uncertain due to complex economic and political factors in the United States, including the presidential election of 2016.     

陕西区域产业布局及重点产业协调发展研究

陕西地域禀赋差异明显,从产业分工优势出发,关中可依靠高新技术及其辐射作用率先发展,走产业结构优化升级发展模式;陕南立足绿色产业,走循环经济发展模式;陕北发挥能源优势,走节约能源、高效能源的可持续发展模式,实现三大区域错位与互补发展。     

安徽庐江县域经济可持续发展研究

安徽庐江县资源丰富,但至今仍属于欠发达地区。该县产业结构层次较低,农业还处于传统阶段,工业规模小,技术落后。从可持续发展的眼光看,这是一种畸形的经济。根据庐江县经济发展现状及自身资源条件,庐江县经济应依托资源优势,以旅游业为龙头,以农业特色产业经营、采矿业和流通业为主导,促使农林及其它产业得到可持续协调发展。     

节约型社会视角下的循环经济立法

发展循环经济,加快建设资源节约型、环境友好型、经济循环型社会,促进经济发展与人口、资源、环境相协调成为今后我国经济发展的一项重大任务。而这一任务的完成以相关法律法规的制定为基础。加快我国循环经济法制建设需要联系我国的实际情况,对我国循环经济法制建设的实践及其存在的问题进行系统研究,同时借鉴发达国家的循环经济立法经验,有针对性地提出符合我国实际的循环经济立法的建议和主张。     

加快桂林城区经济发展对策研究

改革开放以来,桂林城区经济为桂林全市经济社会发展做出了重大贡献。但是,在桂林城区经济发展过程中存在着一些阻碍因素和体制机制问题,影响了城区经济的健康快速发展。因此,如何理顺关系、完善相关机制体制等以确保城区经济快速发展成为当务之急。     

打造国际品牌提高企业经济效益--以格力电器为例

任何一家企业其生产经营的核心目标就是追求利润,因为利润是企业的血液,如果没有利润,企业就无法生存,更谈不上长足发展。经历了一场全球性的金融危机后,在全球经济举步维艰、市场需求持续不振的大环境下,海内外家电巨头纷纷陷入困境。然而在激烈的国际竞争市场上,在国内劳动力和原材料价格不断提升、难以取得核心技术突破的情况下,格力电器却做出了非常明智的抉择,即通过专业化生产、实施精品战略、走国际化道路打造国际品牌,进而提升格力产品价格、获取规模经济效益、吸引优秀人才、占领国际市场并实现供需双赢,最终使格力电器成功实现了迄今为止、全球首个依靠单一品类突破千亿元的家电品牌,从而保持了格力电器在全球家电产业中的霸主地位,让"中国制造"再次领跑在全球家电行业的最前列。     

推动金融创新 促进非公有制企业跨越发展——以贵州省为例

近年来,随着经济体制改革的推进和深化,贵州非公有制经济取得了长足发展,在整个国民经济中所占比重不断提高,对促进贵州经济社会发展发挥了重要作用。然而,融资难的问题始终是严重制约非公有制经济发展的瓶颈。破解非公有制经济融资难,是一项复杂的系统工程,需要健全非公有制企业政策法规体系、创新贵州知识产权质押贷款模式、建立规范的现代企业制度、推进贵州中小企业上市、发展完善非公有制企业贷款担保机构、积极发展民间融资等方式,拓宽非公有制企业融资渠道。