Local government, local economic development and quality of life in Poland

The establishment of local self-government was a key part of the post-1989 transformation in East and Central Europe. Local government in both Western and East and Central Europe has increasingly been expected to play a role in local economic development (LED). Local government is one important agent in the complex processes of building 'institutional thickness' to ensure the development of local economies and the quality of life of inhabitants. This paper presents the results of a national postal questionnaire survey of the LED role of the lowest level of local self-government in Poland, the gmina or commune. The paper establishes a baseline of knowledge regarding: the local economic problems faced by communes; their attitudinal, strategic and organisational responses; and the main factors which are hindering the communes' LED role. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

国内外页岩气研究进展及山东省页岩气资源潜力

当前国际能源供需矛盾突出,能源问题日益成为各国关注的焦点,页岩气资源勘查开发备受世界瞩目;全球页岩气资源非常丰富,主要分布在北美、中亚和中国、拉美、中东和北非、前苏联地区;近年来随着开采和利用技术的不断进步,美洲、欧洲、亚洲国家对页岩气的勘查开发正在形成热潮。中国页岩气资源丰富,对页岩气的区域勘查研究越来越多,取得了不错的成果,但总体上中国页岩气的研究和勘查尚处于起步阶段,同时中国的开发技术与国外相比还存在较大的差距。结合山东省不同类型富含有机质泥页岩的具体特点和国内外页岩气勘查经验,初步认为山东省具有一定的页岩气形成条件,山东省页岩气远景区地层主要为新生代古近纪济阳群和五图群及官庄群,中生代早白垩世莱阳群,古生代石炭—二叠纪月门沟群和石盒子群;在综合考虑页岩的赋存层位、页岩成气潜力和页岩气开发可行性的基础上,提出了山东省页岩气潜力区为:济阳坳陷区、临清坳陷区、胶莱坳陷区和黄县(龙口)凹陷以及鲁西南潜隆起区,其中济阳-临清坳陷地区页岩气潜力较好。     

南沙他国侵占岛礁战略价值及空间格局评价

从建岛潜力、岛礁辐射能力和岛礁承载能力3个方面选取26个指标,采用主客观综合赋权法确定各因子权重,利用线性加权法获得被越南、菲律宾、马来西亚、文莱等国所侵占的南沙44个岛礁的战略价值,并对结果进行空间插值,分析其空间格局特征。结果表明：1）被马来西亚侵占的弹丸礁、越南侵占的南威岛、以及菲律宾侵占的中业岛,其战略价值位列前3,评价得分分别为100、98.42和97.09。2）岛礁辐射能力空间分布格局呈现“NW—SE条带式”,“最高”和“高”等级的区域由研究区西北延伸至东南,然后向东北、西南两侧递减,辐射能力格局中有2个核心区域和2个次级核心区域。承载能力空间分布格局呈现“横向条带式”,由北向南越来越低,有1个核心区域和2个次级核心区域。建岛潜力空间分布格局有3个核心区域及2个次级核心区域。3）岛礁战略价值空间分布格局有3个核心区域,分布于研究区中部、北部及南部,与越南、菲律宾、马来西亚密切相关的核心区域各有1个。越南侵占岛礁最多且空间分布较广,有2个次级核心区域也与越南密切相关,越占岛礁若进一步建设,将形成多核心协同的战略格局,需密切关注。     

A Debt to the West: Recent Developments in the International Financial Situation of East-Central Europe

East-Central Europe is undergoing a rapid political and economic transformation. The unprecedented depth and speed of the economic reforms have produced serious questions about the stability of the region, and its future relations with western Europe and the world economy. This paper surveys and evaluates the size and character of existing debt stocks owed to the West by Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. The future political and economic stability of East-Central Europe and the European Community depends, to a large extent, on the ability of the Western financial system to respond to the long-term needs of the region.     

天津市服务业利用外商投资的实证分析

服务业的发展是促进全球经济增长的重要力量,发达国家普遍呈现出产业结构高级化特征。利用外商投资可以促进中国服务业的发展,是加快经济发展的有效手段。通过对天津市服务业发展以及服务业利用外商直接投资现状的分析,对服务业外商直接投资与经济增长的关系进行了实证研究。研究结果表明:服务业外商直接投资不仅促进了天津经济的增长,同时,还对资本积累、产业结构、技术水平、就业程度及人力资本产生了不同程度的促进作用;技术水平进步、就业水平的提高、人力资本的提升又将带动天津经济增长。天津市应发挥现代服务业发展的优势,发挥天津自贸区的区位优势和政策优势,积极承揽国际服务外包。     

中国与“一带一路”沿线国家贸易及其影响因素

利用拓展贸易引力模型,借助Eviews等工具分析了影响中国与“一带一路”沿线国家贸易规模的因素,以及中国对外直接投资的滞后性对双边贸易的影响。结果表明：1）中国与“一带一路”沿线国家贸易规模受到经济发展水平、市场规模、政治制度、贸易畅通性、便利性、中国对外直接投资、民间文化交流紧密度的影响;2）中国对外直接投资对于带动中国与“一带一路”沿线国家间的贸易规模具有正向作用,但其效应具有一定滞后性;3）中国对外直接投资对于带动中国与不同“一带一路”沿线国家贸易规模的引力大小不同,可分为投资带动力巨大型、投资带动型、投资一般型、投资带动力不足型4种类型,中国与东南亚、西亚和撒哈拉以南的非洲国家贸易规模受中国对外直接投资带动作用较强。     

US EMPLOYMENT IN FOREIGN-OWNED HIGH TECHNOLOGY FIRMS*

The spatial distribution of foreign-owned high technology firms in the United States is poorly understood, as is the degree to which emplyment in foreign-owned firms and US-owned firms coincides or differs in their distribution. Data from 1988 indicate that while total employment in foreign-owned high technology firms was not statistically different from that of US-owned firms, marked differences were evident in particular sectors, including software, advanced materials, and pharmaceuticals. By nation of ownership, only Swiss firms departed significantly from the US distribution.     

A Study on the Spatial Distribution of China’s Potential Foreign Cooperation on Grain from Geographical View

Further utilization of global agricultural resources and the expansion of potential international cooperation space are necessary measures to promote a new level of China’s national food security and optimize the structure of domestic food consumption. This study measured the global potential cultivated land area and national grain self-sufficiency. Based on the two-above measures, the authors made a classification of China’s foreign agricultural cooperation countries and depicted the spatial pattern of cooperation based on the grain trades of those countries with China. The grain exporters include Australia, North America, South America, Eastern Europe and Central Asia; and the target countries for “going abroad” of Chinese grain enterprises are mainly located in Sub-Saharan Africa and northern Latin America. This study proposes that China’s policy of cooperation on grain should be shifted to non-traditional partners alongside the “Belt and Road Initiative” region. Specifically, China could expand grain imports from Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other East European and Central Asian countries, and the direction for China’s agricultural enterprises “going abroad” should shift to Sub-Sahara Africa.     

Foreign Direct Investment,Ecological Withdrawals,and Natural-Resource-Dependent Economies

This article examines the relationships between foreign direct investment (FDI) and natural resource depletion and natural resource rents for a longitudinal (2005–2013: N?=?125 nations) sample of less developed countries (LDCs). Theoretically, we argue that FDI contributes to increased ecological withdrawals and dependence on the natural resource sector for economic growth within countries. We hypothesized that LDCs with higher levels of FDI would also have higher levels of natural resource depletion and income (i.e., rents). We assess whether this hypothesized relationship holds across nations in our sample for four different natural resource depletion and rents measures (energy, forest, mineral, and total natural resources). We find strong support for our hypotheses regarding natural resource depletion and resource rents, with the exception of energy rents. The outcome lends support to the ecological withdrawal and ecostructural theory of foreign investment dependence perspectives.     

城市生态空间研究进展与展望

城市生态空间是城市空间的重要组成部分,是跨人文地理学、城市规划、生态学等的交叉研究领域。本文基于国内外相关文献的全面分析,界定了城市生态空间的概念,总结了国内城市生态空间研究进展和局限,指出国外研究在城市生态空间对居民福祉作用与机理,生态空间感知、使用行为及其影响因素,生态空间的经济与社会文化影响及其机理,生态空间治理方法与原理,公平理念指引下生态空间格局及其优化等5个方面取得重要进展。在研究方法上,注重空间分析、心理感知与社会调查等多方法的应用。基于国内研究局限,借鉴国外研究进展,提出中国城市生态空间应以居民福祉为核心,重视加强社会—生态空间的交互关系与机理研究,推进生态空间格局公平性及其规划模式研究,加强城市生态空间的空间治理与优化调控研究;在研究方法上,应注重融入人文—经济地理研究思想及其综合方法。