Cut Loose in the Caribbean: Neoliberalism and the Demise of the Commonwealth Sugar Trade

This article focuses on the way the Anglophone Caribbean succumbed to the overhaul of the European Union sugar trade and how these countries have attempted to restructure their economies in its wake. We show how the protagonists of reform gave a sense of inevitability to the demise of the Commonwealth trade system and conveyed (unrealistic) strategies for how this should be managed for the benefit of the Caribbean. In this way we detail the hegemony of neoliberalism in contemporary trade politics and the need for alternative strategies for rural development in the Caribbean region.     

台湾与东盟经济关系发展新趋势、成因与前景分析

近几年来台湾与东盟经济关系呈现出一些新的发展趋势，主要表现为台湾对东盟投资额和双方贸易额快速增长，东盟在台湾对外经贸格局中的地位不断攀升以及双方经贸交流合作日益密切，其中台湾与新加坡率先签订“经济伙伴协议”，标志着台湾与东盟国家的经济关系迈入新的发展阶段。双方经济关系的快速发展是东盟经济的“引力”、大陆经济转型升级的“推力”、两岸关系和平发展和台湾当局政策“助力”这三股力量共同作用的结果。未来台湾与东盟经贸往来有望继续保持平稳发展态势，东盟对台湾经济重要性将持续上升，台湾也将东盟及主要国家列为对外商签VrA的重点对象，但可预见的是，双方经济关系将继续在“一个中国”框架内运行，且不会从根本上影响两岸经济关系发展大局。     

Institutions and Economic Performance: The Use and Abuse of Culture in New Institutional Economics

Important research programs within New Institutional Economics advance culturalist arguments to explain failures of economic development. Focusing on the work of Douglass C. North and Avner Greif, this article argues that such arguments rely on an essentialist conception of culture that is both historically inaccurate and analytically misleading. Greif’s work in particular rests on a selective use of empirical data that ultimately distorts the deductive models that are at the core of his work. As a result, both scholars use culture to account for outcomes that are more adequately explained as the product of social conflict and political struggles—struggles in which culture plays a far more contingent and destabilizing role than the one they attribute to it. What is needed, I argue, is to link arguments about the persistence of inefficient institutions with a sociologically informed conception of culture as an ensemble of resources that enhance rather than constrain the scope of individual agency. To come to terms with the effects of culture on institutional formation and change it is necessary to replace the essentialism articulated by North and Greif with a strategic-instrumentalist view in which culture is compatible with a wide spectrum of economic behaviors, individual actions, and thus institutional trajectories.

Institutions and Caribbean Economic Performance: Insights from Jamaica

We explore the impact of social institutions on economic performance in Jamaica through a reinterpretation of the plantation economic model. In its original form, the plantation model fails to develop a causal link between the plantation legacy and persistent underdevelopment. Despite its marginalization, the model remains useful for discussions on growth and development. Consequently, we offer a reappraisal using the causal insights from Kenneth Sokoloff and Stanley Engerman. We use two examples to demonstrate how inequality encourages the formation of institutions that are inconsistent with growth, and an empirical analysis to confirm the hypothesized relationship between inequality, institutions, and economic development. Since inequality is expected to influence growth indirectly, we use a structural specification, which follows William Easterly’s recent test of Sokoloff and Engerman’s argument. Our reliance on a time-series specification is unique. We demonstrate that the expectation that, on average, inequality and growth is negatively related and that institutions may compromise growth are accurate for Jamaica, the most cited Caribbean nation in the current discourse. Our results carry several policy implications, including support for the recent calls in Jamaica for political restructuring. However, both the paucity of similar studies and the importance of the implications for sustainable growth and development demand further analyses.

少数民族地区经济开发应走循环经济之路

我国少数民族地区的生态环境非常脆弱,且已遭到严重破坏,尽管少数民族地区走循环经济之路存在着许多困难,但是国内外的压力、少数民族地区的现实状况和缩小地区差距等要求,使得少数民族地区开发只有走循环经济之路,才能实现少数民族地区的可持续发展。     

贵州经济起飞的条件与路径研究

西部欠发达地区如何实现经济起飞是我国经济发展的一大战略难题。本文从个案分析入手,阐述了西部欠发达的贵州省未来20年将进入经济起飞阶段,并探讨了贵州省经济起飞的条件与路径。     

2020年香港经济形势分析及未来展望

报告从宏观层面对2020年香港经济形势进行了分析,对2021年香港经济发展前景做了展望,对香港经济中期发展面临的风险和机遇进行了研判,并提出了一些对策和建议。分析表明,香港经济在2020年陷入深度衰退,在2021年将迎来复苏,复苏程度取决于疫情防控状况。香港经济未来几年的发展风险与机遇并存:一方面,中美竞争加剧、社会贫富差距加大、政府财政赤字持续等是不利因素;另一方面,我国"十四五"规划的出台和粤港澳大湾区建设的深入推进将帮助香港进一步融入国家发展大局,获得更广阔的发展空间。     

中新建交30年的回顾与展望

2020年是中新建交30周年,30年来,中新关系在政治、经济、人文、安全等领域发展迅猛;频繁的高层互访、密切的经贸合作、丰富多彩的文化交流以及务实的军事合作,都彰显出双方关系的先进性与引领性。相互尊重、平等相待,与时俱进、效益优先,文明互鉴成为中新交往的宝贵经验和财富。中新在交往过程中讲究循序渐进、求同存异,充分尊重对方的发展模式,充分照顾对方的舒适度,成功地达成了一个又一个的政府间合作项目。毋庸讳言,30年来,中新关系也偶有嫌隙,但整体向好是一个大的发展趋势。2020年暴发的新冠肺炎疫情成为继第二次世界大战以来全球最具影响力的事件。突如其来的疫情既是严峻的考验,也为中新双方的合作带来了新的机遇。在后疫情时代,双方在医疗卫生、社会治理、数字经济、金融法律、第三方市场等领域的合作将大有作为。中新两国应当充分发挥"快捷通道"的作用,继续深化跨境电子商务、数字城市建设方面的合作,致力于将新加坡打造成"一带一路"的超级中转站。     

拜登政府的美日印澳四方安全合作构想述评

2017年美日印澳四方安全对话重启以来,马拉巴尔2020军演是美日印澳四国首次举行的联合军演。马拉巴尔2020军演折射出美日印澳四国针对中国的意愿及合作新进展。美日印澳四方安全合作是美国印太战略的基础和牵制中国崛起的重要机制,在近几年持续获得进展。美日印澳四国在安全领域加强合作,对四国与中国双边关系产生深远影响。马拉巴尔2020军演后,原本紧张的中印及中澳关系继续恶化。美国进一步推动与中国的竞争。美日印澳四国不但在安全领域针对中国,还营造不利于中国的国际舆论。拜登上台后,美日印澳四方安全合作继续强化。拜登比特朗普更重视与盟友合作,借由与日印澳三国磋商推动美日印澳四方安全合作机制化和常态化并走向准军事联盟。美日印澳四国明确表示不会在政治与安全领域停止针对中国,但是在经贸领域基于自身利益考量将改善对华关系。美日印澳四方安全合作升级对中国安全环境及国家利益构成严重威胁。拜登政府正在强化针对中国的印太地区多边安全架构。美国试图在外交层面让中国陷入孤立态势,在安全层面对中国形成战略包围。拜登政府的美日印澳四方安全合作构想将让中国面临更加复杂的外交局面,更加险恶的安全态势。     

中缅公共卫生安全合作:现状、挑战及前景

随着中缅两国友好关系的稳步发展,两国公共卫生安全合作不断深化.新冠肺炎危机爆发以来,中缅积极开展抗疫合作,深化了两国政府和人民对中缅命运共同体的认同,也为两国推进公共卫生安全合作带来新机遇.除了双边合作外,中缅还在中国-东盟、大湄公河次区域经济合作和澜湄合作等区域性合作机制下积极寻求联合抗疫等公共卫生领域的交流与合作,并利用世界卫生组织等国际平台参与全球卫生治理,取得了良好成效.但是,缅甸脆弱的公共卫生体系,中缅边境地区严峻的非传统安全问题,以及缅甸不稳定的社会基础等因素对中缅深化公共卫生安全合作构成了巨大挑战.为此,中国应利用后疫情时代公共卫生安全领域的合作机遇,深入了解缅甸公共卫生体系建设和民众卫生健康的实际需求,进一步拓展双方的合作空间,为中缅公共卫生安全合作创造有利环境.概而言之,中缅应围绕加强信息共享,推进中缅应对传染病联防联控体系常态化建设;注重能力建设,利用多边平台增强缅甸的公共卫生治理能力;加强健康教育,联合开展公共卫生人才培养计划;利用传统优势,充分激发中缅传统医药合作潜能;鼓励多方参与,有效发挥非政府组织在卫生合作中的作用等方面共同努力,从而进一步推动中缅命运共同体建设.