The effect of board size and composition on European bank performance

Banks are “special” financial institutions generating distinct corporate governance challenges. The present paper examines the relationship between two of the most pertinent corporate governance factors—that is, the size of the Board of Directors and the proportion of non-executive directors—and firm performance on a sample of 58 large European banks over the period 2002–2004. The empirical analysis embraces a number of bank-specific variables. Our results reveal that bank profitability is negatively related to the size of the Board of Directors, while the impact of Board composition, although positive in all models, is, in most cases, insignificant. The results are robust after controlling for firm-specific variables.      

菲律宾南部穆斯林分离运动的缘由——反抗组织领导层与普通穆斯林的意识形态错位

菲律宾南部摩洛人在几百年的反殖斗争中形成了以信仰伊斯兰教为基础的认同,这种同一性是战后菲律宾南部穆斯林反抗运动的主要精神动力.但是战后兴起的摩洛民族解放阵线、摩洛伊斯兰解放阵线及阿布沙耶夫三个反抗组织在发展过程中均没能从这种宗教同一性出发,反抗运动的领导层和下层穆斯林在意识形态上存在着错位的现象,普通穆斯林积极参加反抗运动另有原因.     

中东伊斯兰力量掌权前景分析

1979年伊朗伊斯兰革命成功后,中东出现了伊斯兰力量夺权的浪潮。总体来看,伊斯兰组织采取了四种策略,即政变、恐怖袭击、内战或者革命以及参加民主选举。由于各国执政者对军队的严密控制,除苏丹这个特例外,政变从未成功。恐怖袭击虽能破坏社会秩序,但无法动摇政权的根基。伊朗革命具有极强的特殊性,别国无法成功复制。而大多数中东国家中央政府相对强大,不具备发生内战的条件。因此,在中东国家实行政治改革后,参加民主选举成为获取权力最为现实可行的方式。在此情况下,越来越多的伊斯兰组织将会放弃暴力夺权的方式,淡化意识形态的色彩,与其他世俗政治派别一起公平竞争国家权力。     

Remortgaging Women's Lives: The World Bank'sLand Agenda in Africa

In recent months, the World Bank has issued a series of draft policy reports on land relations. This is the first time in over two decades that the Bank has sought to review its policy on lending in the land sector. Access to the draft reports and participation in the consultation process has, however, been severely limited. Nonetheless, the World Bank expects to issue the final Report by the end of this year. This paper presents a gender analysis of the two draft documents that have been made available to date. It assesses their implications for gender relations in Africa. It explores the World Bank's promotion of formal rural credit and challenges the assumption of the availability of women's unpaid agricultural labour. The paper argues that, far from being over, the struggle over land relations which has characterised the last decade in Africa, must continue. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

伊斯兰法中国本土化与回族伊斯兰习惯法的形成

伊斯兰法作为一种外来的法律制度,具有充分的文化属性,它在中国境内的发生、成长过程其实就是一种典型的法律本土化过程,而且这种过程是伴随着伊斯兰教的中国本土化实现的。它是回族在信仰伊斯兰教过程中,以《古兰经》和《圣训》为主要内容的伊斯兰教法运用“公议”和“类比”推导出来的法律论断,固化为本民族的生活制度(即习惯)后,通过民间宗教权威予以保障,所形成的一整套内控性的生活秩序规范体系。     

厦泉漳城市联盟发展的意义及取向探析

深化闽台经济合作、充分发挥对台优势是海峡西岸经济区建设的重要依托,其关键是实施城市联盟发展战略,打造海峡西岸“区域经济集群”发展优势。厦泉漳城市联盟有利于提升海峡西岸经济区的综合竞争力,从而增强海峡西岸经济区承接海峡东岸经济辐射、“承‘珠’接‘长’、连接中部”、对抗区域经济边缘化的能力,因而,应大力加以推动。本文仅就厦泉漳城市联盟对于海峡西岸经济区建设的意义和发展取向加以探讨。     

马来西亚伊斯兰教国理念、实践与政党政治

马来西亚是东南亚伊斯兰教国家之一,伊斯兰教国议题成为执政党巫统和反对党伊斯兰党争取马来选民支持、寻求政治合法性和打击对手的重要手段之一.华人政党也加入伊斯兰教国的争论,因为这关系到国家政体、民主、种族平等和多元宗教等大问题.在马来西亚政党架构、政党斗争、多元宗教和多元种族的特定条件下,伊斯兰教国议题成为近年马来西亚伊斯兰教政治化的集中体现.     

MAINTAINING A UNITARY STATE: COUNTER-TERRORISM,SEPARATISM, AND EXTREMISM IN XINJIANG AND CHINA

This essay reviews the history of Uighur related terrorism in Xinjiang as well as elsewhere in China and discusses the political motivations and effectiveness of the Chinese government in suppressing terrorism. The essay assesses both the motivations of the Uighurs engaged in terrorism, as well as the motivations for counter terrorist by the Chinese authorities. A key objective of the essay is to determine what are the political and other reasons that drive the Chinese government’s counter terrorism strategy and tactics and whether these have been effective or counter-productive. The essay assesses the counter terrorism strategy of the Chinese government in Xinjiang Province and across China, the political motivations for the strategy, the impact and success or otherwise. The essay discusses if the government is combatting terrorism, or separatism, or extremism, the confusion of these terms, and whether this has had any impact on the effectiveness of counter terrorism.     

Contesting land grabs,negotiating statehood: the politics of international accountability mechanisms and land disputes in rural Cambodia

Abstract

In Cambodia, rural citizens embroiled in protracted land grabbing cases with the state and private companies are turning increasingly to international accountability mechanisms for resolution. This article applies the interlinked concepts of hybrid governance and legal pluralism to understand the prospects and limitations of ‘forum-shopping’ through appeals to international mechanisms for rural communities affected by land grabs. Drawing on interviews and using process tracing, it examines the outcomes of a mediation case filed with the International Finance Corporation’s Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman (CAO) involving indigenous groups and a Vietnamese rubber company in north-east Cambodia. It argues that while international accountability mechanisms yield platforms for dispossessed groups to assert claims, they also reify choices between entitlements and attainability without circumventing the problems associated with justice delivery under Cambodia’s authoritarian regime. Overall, this study highlights the interaction, competition and collaboration between distinct forms of regulatory authority exercised by national and transnational actors involved in land grabbing cases in Cambodia, demonstrating their role in ‘negotiating statehood’ by governing local claims to land.     

The governance of the World Bank: Lessons from the corporate sector

The World Bank Group (WBG) is a multilateral organization as well as a large financial conglomerate. The debate on its governance, however, has mainly focused on how to ensure more inclusive decision-making by strengthening the voice and representation of its entire membership. The WBG’s governance as a set of arrangements that enable the principal (shareholders) to oversee the agent (management) has so far been overlooked, even though the adequacy of such arrangements is relevant in all institutions wherein shareholders delegate to management the achievement of organizational objectives. In reviewing the institutional, historical, and current underpinnings of the WBG’s decision-making, we elaborate on the extent to which the Group follows best-practice corporate governance standards that have been designed with the aim of improving shareholders’ oversight. Drawing from a methodology developed by the IFC, an entity of the WBG, we analyze the Group’s internal governance, highlighting which aspects are furthest from (or closest to) current financial-sector best practices. In so doing, we provide a framework for prioritizing the most critical areas in which the WBG’s governance falls short of private-sector standards, and we identify the nature of possible remedies.