From Patrimonialism to Profit: The Changing Flow of Funds from the Chinese in Malaysia to China

ABSTRACT

Unlike the period before World War II, the Malaysian Chinese no longer look towards China as a home they will ultimately return to. This is seen in the flow of funds to China from the Malaysian Chinese. Before the war the motivation was patrimonial. The funds were in the form of patriotic bonds and collections and remittances that went to the home provinces of the Malaysian Chinese mostly in Fujian and Guangdong. Since the 1990s the funds flow has mainly been in the form of investment meant for gaining profit. This motivation was not different from that of business investors from other nations investing in China. It is important to demonstrate this motivation in order to allay suspicions by indigenous Southeast Asians that the Chinese who live in Southeast Asia are diverting funds meant for Southeast Asia to China.     

The EU–South Africa Strategic Partnership: Waning affection,persisting economic interests

ABSTRACT

Ten years after the coming into force of the EU–South Africa Strategic Partnership, this article takes stock of this partnership. Our aim, within this special issue, is to assess the EU’s perspective on its strategic partnership with South Africa, and in particular to look at economic and development cooperation within the partnership and to what extent European expectations of closer engagement have been met. Our analysis shows that economic interests have remained central to bilateral relations and the strategic partnership, even if some potential for economic engagement has remained unexploited. At the same time, the relationship has been quite tense in recent years, as bilateral ‘affection’ at the political level has waned. The implications for the partnership are weighed.     

老龄化是新世纪我国面临的严峻挑战

本首先展望了21世纪我国人口老龄化的发展前景,指出在未来50年中,我国将处于高速度、高水平的老龄化发展进程之中,65岁及以上老年人口将从8000多万增至3亿以上,这对尚处于社会主义初级阶段的国家来说,无疑是个巨大冲击和严峻挑战;分析了老龄化的特殊性及其对社会经济发展所带来的深刻影响和至关重要的制久作用;提出了迎接老龄化挑战是个关系全局性、战略性的重大问题,必须采取有中国特色的正确战略选择。     

新一轮改革后的日本经济评析

日本经济在经历了20世纪90年代的衰退后,为实现经济复苏,开始了一轮新的改革.通过一系列改革措施,日本经济在2002年走出低谷,实现了复苏,改革成果显现.可以说,日本经济的复苏是在世界经济发展的背景下实现的,日本经济对世界经济尤其是美国经济具有很大的依赖性.随着全球经济形势的严峻,日本经济也难以独善其身,势必会随世界经济的起落而起落.但由于政府对经济的调控手段的不断成熟和完善,经济转型的延续,日本经济不会出现像20世纪90年代那样大的滑坡,应从发展的眼光把握日本经济今后走势.     

Empirical study of investment activity＇s drivers in capital-intensive Russian firms

In this paper we present the research results of key factors that determine the investment behavior of Russian companies during 2004-2008. The emphasis is made on the policy of capital expenditures. In the analysis, it included maeroeconomic, some industry factors （growth rate, spread of efficiency （ROIC-WACC）, market and industry risks） as well as some internal factors related to the equity structure and the quality of corporate governance.     

Public opinion towards welfare state reform: The role of political trust and government satisfaction

The traditional welfare state, which emerged as a response to industrialization, is not well equipped to address the challenges of today's post-industrial knowledge economies. Experts and policymakers have therefore called for welfare state readjustment towards a ‘social investment’ model (focusing on human skills and capabilities). Under what conditions are citizens willing to accept such future-oriented reforms? We point at the crucial but hitherto neglected role of citizens’ trust in and satisfaction with government. Trust and satisfaction matter because future-oriented reforms generate uncertainties, risks and costs, which trust and government satisfaction can attenuate. We offer micro-level causal evidence using experiments in a representative survey covering eight European countries and confirm these findings with European Social Survey data for 22 countries. We find that trust and government satisfaction increase reform support and moderate the effects of self-interest and ideological standpoints. These findings have crucial implications not least because they help explain why some countries manage – but others fail – to enact important reforms.     

Still a poster child for social investment? Changing regulatory dynamics of early childhood education and care in Denmark and Sweden

This paper investigates the regulation of publicly organized early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Denmark and Sweden, through the regulatory welfare state (RWS) framework. The analysis focuses on how alterations in funding and quality of care are shaped by governmental and nongovernmental actors at national and local levels of government. Through focused structured analysis, we examine how various actors have shaped the funding and quality of childcare in Denmark and Sweden, from the early 2000s to 2020, with special attention to the period during and after the 2008 financial crisis. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, concerns about quality in care were raised on the political agenda by various actors in both countries, leading to decisions to improve the quality of care. Yet, the regulatory dynamics differ: In Denmark, the debate led to a decision in 2019, to implement a minimum statutory requirement of regulatory quality standards. From an RWS perspective, this outcome can be qualified as “double expansion,” because regulatory quality standards, and public funding for childcare increased. In Sweden, the debates about quality of ECEC led, in 2016, to political guidelines about quality standard, but with no additional national funds, and no mandatory regulatory quality requirements. Analytically, this can be qualified as “regulatory-led expansion,” that is requirements for quality standards, although the lack of additional national funds suggests that it will be difficult to improve ECEC quality substantially. The RWS perspective, which focuses on national and municipal levels of governance, also gives insights into hidden inequalities between municipalities regarding funding and quality of ECEC, which are more pronounced in Sweden than in Denmark.     

转变经济发展方式的发展经济学考察

当前,世界经济处于脆弱的复苏期,这对于经济处于工业化中期阶段的中国来说既是挑战,也是进行结构调整,加速转变经济发展方式的战略机遇。要实现经济发展方式的良性转变,实现经济平稳增长,需要重新检视有关经济增长与发展的观念、政策,科学有效地推动经济发展方式的转变。     

我国高投资率、低消费率现象研究

从20世纪90年代以来,高投资率、低消费率现象一直伴随着我国的经济增长。该现象和我国转轨经济的特殊性有密切的关系。公共品较低的供给效率、劳动要素的弱势地位、企业投资的预算软约束等是形成该现象的重要原因。因此,该现象具有长期性。我们应该致力于改变这些制约因素。     

论国际投资争议的“强制性仲裁”

传统理论与实践都认为，自愿性是仲裁的基础和核心。但随着国际社会与国际交往的发展。在国际投资领域已经开始出现了强制性仲裁。国际投资领域中的强制性仲裁的出现，对于国际商事仲裁的发展具有一定的影响，是国际商事仲裁发展的新动向，而且随着发达国家通过投资条约及其他国际条约日益加强对投资者的保护。以及发展中国家日益加强对外国投资的吸引力度，强制性仲裁可能会有更大的发展。其所涉及范围也可能从投资领域扩及到其他领域。