Economic Transformation through Industrial Restructuring

ON the morning of November 24,2013,the Hebei provincial government took action to demolish 10 shaft furnaces and 16 converters at eight steel and iron plants in Tangshan,Handan and Chengde,reducing the overcapacity of iron production by 4.56 million tons and steel production by 6.8 million tons.Prior to this,by the end of October 2013,the province had cut down on steel and iron overcapacity by 2.38 million tons.Steel and iron has long been a pillar industry for the Chinese economy;however,it has become common practice to cut down overcapacity of the industry.The government work report released at the First Session of the 12th National People’s Congress explicitly stated that efforts should be made to promote the transformation of the nation’s economic growth mode and accelerate industrial restructuring.Structural adjustment to the steel and iron industry now epitomizes China’s wider economic transformation.     

Neo-extractivism and the new Latin American developmentalism: the missing piece of rural transformation

What, if anything, is actually new about political and economic transformation in twenty-first century Latin America? Here we explore how ostensibly ‘new’ policies are being built on two ‘old’ foundations that may be mutually exclusive. These are ‘extractivism’ and ‘developmentalism’, concepts that have been used rather loosely to describe current economic policies. The new developmentalism, however, may not only be contradicted by extractivism; it may be more constrained than its predecessor by fortified capitalist class interests and new global conditions. Moreover, it pays little attention to the employment-generating potential of rural areas or to the agricultural sector.     

The Adaptive Capacity of Markets and Convergence in Law: UK High Yield Issuers,US Investors and Insolvency Law

This article examines the increasing access by UK issuers of high yield bonds to US investors notwithstanding substantive differences in the approach to valuation of the issuer in financial distress in US and UK restructuring law and, therefore, in anticipated return on default. It examines the development of the market in the context of existing theories on the relationship between law and finance and suggests that previous accounts have overlooked the adaptive capacity of the finance market to legal environment and the implications of such structural adaptation for the prospects of convergence in law. Three states are identified: where the market is poorly adapted to the legal environment and reinforces other pressure for change, where the market is adapted to the legal environment and is a neutral influence on, or even dampens, other pressure for change and where both legacy and adapted structures exist, potentially pulling in different directions at the same time.     

Monotowns and the political economy of industrial restructuring in Russia

During the 2008–2009 economic crisis, Russia's monotowns – one-industry towns left from the Soviet era – gained widespread attention as potential sources of social protest and unrest. Will such worries resurface under current economic conditions? While fears about monotowns were exaggerated during the last economic crisis, Russia's leadership has reason to remain concerned. Despite the dramatic transformations of the last two decades, Russia's post-Soviet industrial landscape has largely survived intact, leaving a significant number of monotowns with unprofitable enterprises in a precarious position. Yet given its emphasis on social stability, we can expect the government to continue subsidies, both explicit and hidden, that seek to maintain employment and avoid social conflict, but that preserve the country's inefficient industrial geography.     

A Balanced Budget with Side Effects—A Case Study of Implementation of a Hospital Cost Savings Program in Sweden

This study examines the implementation of a hospital cost savings program in a Swedish county hospital to understand how and why a downsizing intervention works and what outcomes it produces. Data were gathered from interviews and documents. Substantial differences were found among the healthcare professionals’ perceptions of the downsizing process. These diverse perceptions likely limited the scope of staffs’ participation and innovations of new savings strategies. Our findings stress the need for impact analyses addressing both intended aims and unintended side effects. Full attention should be paid to communication processes required to establish a trustful and committed change climate.     

Violence Prevention

Abstract

Violence prevention requires a broad focus. Several multimedia-enhanced, psychological education courses that are capable of Internet delivery have been developed at Arizona State University and at KnowConfhct, LLC. These interactive interventions have evolved from earlier work on simulations and computer-based learning; however, they incorporate recent technological advances and current psychological research in areas such as differential diagnosis, observational learning, and cognitive restructuring. They specifically address changing the irrational beliefs that mediate low self-esteem and occupational stereotyping, educating parents on practices affecting the career outcomes of their children, and altering attributions relevant to academic motivation and performance. Although all of these psychological education curricula are relevant to violence prevention, and all have been subjected to continuing conceptual and empirical scrutiny, the most recent project deals directly with enhancing the conflict management skills of our nation's youth.     

关于国有商业银行困境与改革路径的思考

国有商业银行面临治理结构不完善 ,组织结构行政化严重 ,市场竞争机制不健全 ,资本金严重不足 ,不良资产较高等问题。应在清产核资的基础上 ,通过多元化和市场化渠道注资 ,在吸收外国和非国有战略投资者入股基础上进行股份制改造以改善其治理结构 ,推进内部改革 ,提高国际竞争力。     

村民自治：深化政治体制改革的模式选择与现实思考

我国政治体制改革通常有由上而下和自下而上两种不同的模式 ,两种模式各有优势与不足。因而 ,在农村基层民主建设中 ,应考虑自下而上与由上而下两种模式的结合 ,取其优势 ,避其不足。     

东南亚华商海外企业的重组及其前景

东南亚金融危机爆发后,东南亚华商的海外企业受到严重波及。为此,东南亚华商的海外企业进行了一系列战略重组与结构调整。伴随着区域经济的复苏,东南亚华商海外企业也逐渐摆脱经营困境,资产重组与结构调整已初见成效。     

企业公司化改组的法律性质及其表述

企业公司化改组的法律性质取决于原企业的营业重组方式，可能是分立、合并、减资、分立与合并相结合或整体变更，也可能是营业转让或者未经法律承认的营业出资。以“净资产折股”等术语表述公司化改组，规避了出资类型限制和分立企业债务承担规则，使发起人向新公司转移原企业债务的行为合理化。在原企业债务纠纷中，企业改组的法律性质成为争议焦点。司法解释试图平衡新设公司与原企业债权人的利益，但其表述上的紊乱阻碍了司法政策的贯彻。公司化改组之表述及相关司法困境的法律根源在于：公司法对出资方式过度限制，民法通则等法律的分立企业债务承担规则过于严苛。