Presidential mandates and ministerial institutions: Summitry of the Americas, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

The periodic Summits of the Americas are the highest form of regional multilateralism in the Western Hemisphere, but summits lack their own means to implement their mandates. Hence, Summit Plans of Action assign many initiatives to existing regional institutions, especially the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). But a notable difference exists in the character and degree to which these two institutions have responded to their unfunded mandates, in that the OAS has become “nested” under the hierarchy of summitry, while the IDB has eschewed subordination in favor of a “parallel” relationship pursuing largely convergent activities. Relying on extensive interviews and reviews of open source and internal documents, six variables are found to explain this differential response: ministerial authorities, competing mandates, institutional missions, internal structures, membership and leadership. Yet for both regional institutions there remains a wide gap between the directives emanating from the Summits and what the two regional institutions have been—and could be—accomplishing. The study concludes with recommendations to improve institutional design. JEL codes L31 · F42 · F02 · D73 · F1     

全球银行大并购背景下我国银行业的重组问题

自 2 0 0 0年以来 ,第五次并购浪潮的并购热点行业发生了转移 ,金融行业逐步成为全球并购市场的热点行业。国际间银行大规模并购的原因是多方面的。随着我国政策的改变 ,参股、控股中资银行已成为外资银行占领中国市场的重要手段。而以外资并购带动国内金融业改革发展 ,是亚洲金融危机后周边国家经济复苏的痛苦历程得来的宝贵经验。国际银行间的并购 (包括对我国银行的并购 )对我国商业银行的影响是十分大的 ,我国银行业需要采取措施以迎接这种挑战。     

The charismatic leadership of the ECB presidency: A language-based analysis

There is little doubt that the European Central Bank (ECB), and in particular its presidency, has taken the lead in tackling the euro crisis. But can this leadership be also characterised as charismatic? This article answers the question by focusing on language – a key component as well as a reliable indicator of charisma. By means of a software-assisted content analysis of the entire corpus of ECB presidential speeches, it is found that the crisis has indeed led to the emergence of the Bank's presidency as a charismatic euro leader. This in turn confirms the recent politicisation of the ECB, but at the same time might be seen as mitigating the problems related to the Bank's democratic deficit, to the extent that charisma can be seen, from a Weberian standpoint, as an alternative source of political legitimacy.     

Offensive for defensive: the belt and road initiative and China's new grand strategy

China's Belt and Road initiative came from the combined pressure of slowing down of Chinese economy, US pivot to Asia and deterioration of the relations with neighboring countries after weathering the storm of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. It also symbolizes a more proactive approach of Chinese new leader Xi Jinping in meeting the expectation on China's international obligation and leadership. Aimed to link Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania, the initiative provides tremendous opportunities of international economic cooperation. The paper argues that as China's contribution to international public goods, it is in the line of economic liberalism; as China's grand strategy, it is more of defensive than offensive by nature. Despite risks and uncertainties exist, the enforcement will boost China's influence and position in regional and international institutions. US should consider making more strategic space to the rising China, and a better coordinated China–US relations will make Asia Pacific a safer and more promising region.     

城市商业银行公司治理

完善城市商业银行公司治理,应在分析缺陷的基础上,优化股权结构,强化董事会建设,加强公司治理监管,强化激励约束机制,完善信息披露。     

东南亚华商上市公司发展分析——以银行业为主要研究对象

一直以来,东南亚华商,尤其是东南亚5国(新加坡、马来西亚、菲律宾、泰国、印度尼西亚)的华商对世界经济的发展起到了积极的促进作用。随着经济全球化浪潮的蔓延,东南亚华商企业几经波折,自20世纪末起频繁发生的各种危机,为东南亚华商的生存和发展带来了巨大的挑战。本文在进行资料收集和整理的基础上,以银行业为主要研究对象,对东南亚华商的经营状况进行实证分析,总结了影响华人银行发展的宏观因素,并对华商企业的未来发展进行简要探讨。     

美国的商业银行管制给我们的启示

商业银行的改革方向该往何处去,对商业银行如何监管,这是摆在金融改革面前最严峻的问题,未来的商业银行可能成为城市的银行、利益集团的银行、富人的银行。如果真的这样会在中国金融业推出许多新东西,这更需要国家进行更严格的适度的监管,美国的银行监管体制一直在不断地改革和调整,他们的经验对我们仍然是很好的启示。     

伪满洲国的中央银行制度

本文从伪满中央银行的产生、性质、职能角度研究伪满洲国的中央银行制度。伪满中央银行是在日本操纵下继承四行号业务基础上设立的,所谓"圆活金融、稳定币值、统治金融"不过是日本扩大对伪满洲国侵略与掠夺的手段与工具,其本质是实现日本的利益最大化。基于上述原因,伪满中央银行作为发币行和政府的银行之职能畸形膨胀,却无法承担集中存款准备、充当最后贷款人以及组织商业银行清算等"银行的银行"职能。     

Developing Bureaucracies for Environmental Governance: State Authority and World Bank Conditionality in Laos

This paper considers the on-going production of bureaucracies for environmental governance in developing countries and the ways in which donor engagement is reshaped through localised bureaucratic dynamics. In Laos, World Bank conditions associated with the Nam Theun 2 hydropower project saw the establishment of the Watershed Management and Protection Authority (WMPA). I examine internal dynamics at the WMPA headquarters in Nakai District, including formal institutions for forest management, informal institutions for recognising local authority and wealth redistribution and the personal aspirations of WMPA officials. In doing so, this piece contributes to current discussions about donor-driven institutional change, practices of state-making and the local “technocrats” who are personally confronted by the complex intersections of donor conditionality and state authority.     

The world bank,health policy reforms and the poor

Over the years, since the mid-1990s, World Bank-prescribed health policy reforms have successfully introduced market-based private-managed healthcare model in the developing world. This article presents a portrait of the private healthcare model, explores the factors that facilitated the introduction of this model in developing countries and examines the impact of the model on the health rights and health conditions of the poor. It argues that health reforms designed to promote private-managed care in developing countries affect the poor severely and violate their basic health rights, the rights to stay disease-free and lead a healthy life. A host of factors produced by the private-managed care model, most notably reduced social spending on public health, dismantling of public health systems and the ever expansionary grip of private sector health services have effectively diminished the health rights of the poor.