Bennu: Africa innovating itself out of underdevelopment

ABSTRACT

This article is a direct challenge to the established view reflected in the World Bank's Berg report, that structural adjustment programmes and the markets alone will resolve Africa's underdevelopment challenges. This article completely accepts that science and technology lead to products and services that create efficiency, productivity and wealth. It accepts different dynasties of industrialisation from land use (agriculture and mining), labour-intensive activities, heavy machinery, assembly lines, branding, information technology and intellectual property, but shows how – in the current global paradigm – this has led to an anomaly: while development aid flows from more industrialised to less industrialised countries, larger sums of global investment capital leave poorer countries for richer countries in search of higher returns. Having accepted the ‘returns-seeking’ nature of capital, a strategy is proposed for Africa to engage with this reality. In contrast with the Berg view, it is argued that the public sector is a key stakeholder in the developmental process. As has been put forward by Thabo Mbeki, several African countries exhibit ‘two nations’ characteristics. If this is true, all seven dynasties of industrialisation can be simultaneously developed through interventionist government, which could not happen though markets alone. A direct policy and strategy positioning in technology-related sectors that support increasing returns should be developed. Economic development bodies should have scientific and technological people to ensure technological focus in development strategies.The article demonstrates that a different value paradigm is needed. Large numbers of poor people can provide markets for goods that can yield returns for capital that are similar to markets of small numbers of rich people. A shift in the development model from Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to Public Entrepreneur Private Partnerships (PEPP) is suggested to maximise employment through sustainable entrepreneurship. Through spearheaded emerging technologies such as information convergence technologies, cellular technologies such as mobile banking, resource management and alternate energy, Africans can create output that attracts global investment capital – and not only aid. This article explores how, through investment in activities that generate increasing rather than decreasing returns, Africa will innovate its way out of what appears to be a stubborn history of underdevelopment.     

Structural convergence in Russia’s economic transition, 1990–2002

This paper examines structural change in Russia’s transition in 1990–2002 as measured by the changing composition of output, employment, and end use of GDP. Using an international panel data sets as a frame of reference, it calculates a series of indexes to determine the extent to which the Russian economy is converging towards market economies in the course of market transformation. Our methodology lets us analyze the changes in the structural profile of the economy using the entirety of the available data rather than individual performance indicators. We find that Russia has become structurally similar to the benchmark market economies in the upper-middle income group and the lower tier of high-income countries. At the same time, the extent of labor reallocation remains inadequate and Russia’s pattern of consumption remains distorted due to the incomplete price liberalization.

九华黄精炮制前后多糖类成分结构变化研究

目的 研究九华黄精酒制和九蒸九晒炮制前后多糖类成分的结构差异.方法 采用水提醇沉、透析纯化得到九华黄精生药材及其炮制品多糖,苯酚硫酸法测定总多糖含量,高效凝胶渗透色谱法、气相色谱法和红外光谱法解析炮制前后多糖分子量、单糖组成及结构差异.结果 与生黄精相比,酒制和九蒸九晒黄精多糖含量分别降低20.94％、26.51％.生...     

An exploration of multi‐country political conflict/cooperation interdependence

Previous investigations of dynamic conflict actions and reactions among major countries have generally assumed the unit of analysis to be either a dyad or a triad. Our objective of the papa‐is to explore this assumption. The empirical analysis employs quarterly political conflict/cooperation among the United States, the (former) Soviet Union, China, Japan, and (West) Germany from 1950 to 1991. The model consists of a system of dynamic multiple regression equations. Various groups formed among mese countries are tested to find out whether they can be considered an autonomous unit of analysis. The analysis reveals several groups of countries whose political relations can be considered to be autonomous. In particular, either the United States‐the Soviet Union dyad or the United States‐the Soviet Union‐China triad is not an appropriate, autonomous unit of analysis in dynamic conflict action‐reaction models, because these countries are significantly influenced by the presence of other countries. New directions for future research are also suggested.     

基本权利第三人效力的范畴与本质

基本权利第三人效力,也被称为水平效力、私人效力、基本权利在私法或私人法律关系中的效力等。第三人效力是指,基本权利能否以及在何种程度上可以对诉讼当事人之间的民事实体法律关系产生影响。实践中,公私二元划分是第三人效力探讨的基础;基本权利客观法属性是第三人效力的规范范畴;基本权利人类图像与自由权的多重面向是第三人效力的价值范畴;基本权利保护义务是第三人效力的义务范畴;基本权利取向解释是第三人效力的方法范畴。第三人效力具有体系正义、规范正义和个案正义的诉求,本质上是涵盖不同范畴的结构性效力。提出第三人效力的目的在于国家通过干预社会和消解社会不公正,为私人主体创造秩序和自由。     

Testing for the Equality of Maximum-Likelihood Regression Coefficients Between Two Independent Equations

Consider the case where one obtains maximum-likelihood estimates of regression coefficients for the respective populations from which each of two large independent samples is drawn. A question sometimes asked about the results of such an analysis is whether there is a difference between a coefficient in one population, _a, and the same coefficient in another population, _b. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of two test statistics that have been used to address this problem. Our results suggest that one statistic produces valid conclusions, while the other fails.     

走向社区治理

当代中国发生的最深刻的变动,是由原先行政一体化的结构向着政府(公域)、市场(私域)和社会(第三域)并存的结构体系转变。在这个过程中,城市基层社区的重要性不断突显出来。上海社区建设的实践模式已经展现出同时并存的四个工作系统:党的群众工作系统、城市基层行政管理系统、社会生活服务系统和社区居民自治系统。在这个模式的形成过程中,既有政府“行政化主导”和“行政性推动”的作用,也有“社会化发育”和“社区化参与”的作用。自上而下的行政建设和自下而上的自治建设始终同时在推进,是上海社区建设整体进程中的两大结构性力量。但二者并非构成相互不可调和的对立面。只有当其中的一个结构性力量试图排挤甚至取消另一个结构性力量的时候,二者才会表现为一对矛盾。因此,应该引入“社会治理”理念,在城市基层社区构建一个以具体的公共事务为治理内容、政府行政组织和各种群众自治组织之间有效合作、和现代化城市管理相适应的社区治理格局。     

政治体制改革要与时俱进

随着社会主义市场经济的深入发展、人们政治需求的不断觉醒和社会深层次矛盾的凸显,使加速政治体制改革变得日益紧迫和重要。发展社会主义民主政治的核心内容,是要实现权力体制民主化。     

从执政效能和执政价值认同看当代大学生的政党认同——基于重庆大学与西南大学的经验材料

本文以重庆大学和西南大学为例,对当代大学生政党认同现状进行调研,研究发现:其一,当代大学生对中国共产党执政效能低度认同,对执政价值中度认同。其二,中国共产党对当代大学生仍然保持较强吸引力,但大学生对执政价值的认同潜藏着不稳定的危机。其三,执政效能认同、执政价值认同都对大学生入党愿望产生正向影响,但执政效能认同的影响力更强。