Government Transfers and the Samaritan's Dilemma in the Family

This paper examines the effectiveness of government transfersin overcoming the Samaritan's dilemma in a family in which thechild saves an insufficient amount in order to induce largerbequests from the parent. The results are as follows. First,exogenous government transfers do not affect intergenerationalconsumption allocation if bequests are operative. Second,assuming that government transfers are chosen strategically,the government precommits to such a level of transfers fromthe parent to the child that bequests become inoperative, andthus rids the child of the incentive for undersaving. Thisengenders an efficient intertemporal allocation ofconsumption.     

How Does Contract Design Affect the Uptake of Microcredit among the Ultra-poor? Experimental Evidence from the River Islands of Northern Bangladesh

This study examines the demand of microcredit among ultra-poor households in northern Bangladesh. We implemented a field experiment to identify what type of credit is best suited to their demand. We found that the uptake rate by the ultra-poor is the lowest for regular small cash credit, followed by in-kind credit. We also found that the ultra-poor are significantly more likely to join a microcredit programme than the moderately poor if a grace period with longer maturity is attached to a large amount of credit, irrespective of whether the credit is provided in cash or in kind.     

Sovereignties: Westphalian, liberal and anti-utopian

Sovereignty remains the key concept and principle accordingto which the world is ordered. But sovereignty is also a disputedconcept and a contested social practice; it has come under fierceassault from a number of diverse sources. Sovereignty is paradoxicalin nature and hypocritically practised. States have differentempirical degrees and qualitative types of sovereignty, rangingfrom the merely formal to the substantial to the popular. Statesalso have different dispositions towards sovereignty, and areliable to project their own in different ways in pursuit ofconflicting objectives. Different groups of states attempt toimpose their understandings and beliefs on the internationalsystem. There are three ideal types which help us to understandthe issue of sovereignty and the interactions of sovereign states.These are respectively Westphalian, liberal and anti-utopian.The Westphalian paradigm has the maintenance and protectionof state sovereignty as its key concept. The liberal paradigmis conceived in terms of the concept of popular sovereigntyand controversies over the extent to which this ideal shouldbe promoted and exported. The anti-utopian paradigm is conceivedin terms of the concept of quasi-sovereignty or the loss ofsovereignty, and in terms of resistance to attempts to imposeglobalization and liberal values on recalcitrant states andcultures.     

Morphological and spectroscopic measurements of plastic bags for the purpose of discrimination

The discrimination of noncolored transparent polyethylene bags was studied by several nondestructive and semidestructive analytical methods. X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and optical microscopy (differential interference contrast microscopy and phase contrast microscopy) were applied to polyethylene films. X-ray diffraction was used to distinguish variations in the crystalline phase, infrared spectroscopy was used to distinguish variations in the molecular components, and optical microscopy was used to distinguish the different surface morphologies. The results show that X-ray diffraction classifies the crystalline phase of the film depending on whether it is made from low-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene, or high-density polyethylene; that infrared spectroscopy is useful to distinguish the molecular components and it is the most discriminating technique; and that optical microscopy discriminate films easily by their morphological differences.     

Japan’s Policy Toward China Under Strong Anti-Chinese Sentiment: A Case of Terminating Yen Loans to China

2004 was the year when the Japanese public's affinity with China dropped dramatically, to 37.6?%, due to anti-Japan riots in China. Now more than 70?% of the Japanese public does not feel an affinity with China. How could such a strong anti-Chinese sentiment influence Japan's policy toward China? This paper considers this question by examining Japan's decision-making process on terminating the much-criticized yen loans to China. Yen loans are a type of Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided by the Japanese government to countries lacking sufficient funds for economic development. China is one of the top yen loan borrowers, and the loans have contributed to China's economic growth and increasing openness. However, in March 2005, Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura told Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing that Japan intended to phase out the yen loans before the 2008 Beijing Olympics and reached an agreement on the matter. Two-and-a-half years later, Japan terminated its yen loans to China, as the foreign ministers had agreed. Through mainly firsthand documents and interviews with government officials, this paper will clarify the following two points: (1) While it is true that the Japanese government significantly reduced its yen loan package to China from 2001 onward due to domestic criticism of China, as pointed out by previous studies, it was not planning to terminate the yen loans as of summer 2004. Instead, the Japanese government was contemplating how to keep providing yen loans to China; (2) Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, who was appointed in September 2004, had pushed for the termination of yen loans to China only after anti-Chinese sentiment rose dramatically in summer 2004, because he felt that continuing the much-criticized yen loans would not benefit stable Japan-China relations. This paper sheds light on the background of the termination of yen loans to China, a major milestone in postwar Japan-China relations that had been unclear until now. Having said this, the more important point of this paper may be that it also shows the influence of strong anti-Chinese sentiment on Japan's policies toward China.     

Discrimination of transparent polyethylene films based on identification of inorganic antiblocking agents

Several nondestructive and semidestructive analyses were used to discriminate colorless transparent polyethylene bags. Transparent plastic bags made from low-density and linear low-density polyethylene usually contain antiblocking agents to prevent sticking of the film, which makes it difficult to open the mouths of plastic bags. Inorganic antiblocking agents are uniformly dispersed in polyethylene films, so they are easily observed using optical microscopy. The particle size distributions of the antiblocking agents were compared by statistical tests. Particle composition was examined by elemental analysis using energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry with a scanning electron microscope and by molecular vibration analysis using a sensitive microscopic Raman spectrometer. The compositions could be determined nondestructively on the basis of the results. These data reinforce the morphological discrimination. Morphological discrimination of the dispersed antiblocking agent powders, statistical comparison of particle size distributions, and compositional analysis of the antiblocking agents strengthen the ability to discriminate polyethylene films.     

Safety in Intimate Partnerships: The Role of Appraisals and Threat

For most intimate partners, safety is an important goal and basic need. How a partner perceives safety has an impact on what happens in the relationship, and this will in turn affect the responses from the other partner. Lack of safety can provoke negative emotions and actions which can lead to relationship deterioration and violence. However, little is known about this process from the insider’s perspective. In this study, constructivist grounded theory methods were used to analyze interviews from individuals (n = 37) to better understand individual appraisals of relational safety. The results include a theory that illustrates the process of relational safety and threat. This model articulates how certain relational conditions precede a perception of safety or threat, which then leads to corresponding actions. Implications of the model include a focus on interaction and context when assessing for safety and abuse, as well as the importance of self regulation.     

Indonesia: Recent events and future challenges

The Asian financial crisis of 1997 and ensuing collapse of the 32-year dictatorship of Soeharto led Indonesia into chaos. Professor Takashi Shiraishi of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, outlines the events within Indonesia since the October 1999 presidential elections and examines some of the major issues that confront the government under President Abdurrahman Wahid. Given the enormity of political challenges, economic crisis, ethnic and religious conflicts and separatist movements, Professor Shiraishi argues that the prospects for recovery and development in Indonesia in the near future are not good.