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Returns
Kinds of Returns Terms modified by Returns Selected AbstractsDETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENT IN INDIA: THE ROLE OF RETURN, RISK, AND INFLATIONTHE DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, Issue 4 2004Kulwant RAI The present study examines the determinants of foreign institutional investments (FII) in India, which by January 2003 almost exceeded U.S. $12 billion. Given the huge volume of these flows and their impact on the other domestic financial markets, understanding the behavior of the flows becomes very important, especially at a time of liberalizing the capital account. By using monthly data, we found that FII inflow depends on stock market returns, inflation rates (both domestic and foreign), and ex-ante risk. In terms of magnitude, the impact of stock market returns and the ex-ante risk turned out to be the major determinants of FII inflow. Unlike some of the other investigations of this topic, our study has not found any causative link running from FII inflow to stock returns. Stabilizing stock market volatility and minimizing the ex-ante risk would help to attract more FII, an inflow of which has a positive impact on the real economy. [source] THE RETURN OF THE NATURALISTIC FALLACY: A DIALOGUE ON HUMAN FLOURISHINGTHE HEYTHROP JOURNAL, Issue 3 2008FRANCIS MICHAEL WALSH In response to the proposal justifying the morality of homosexual acts offered by Todd A. Salzman and Michael G. Lawler, this paper seeks to make intelligible the reasoning used by the New Natural Law Theory and others that arrives at the opposite conclusion. This article proposes to explore the weaknesses in the arguments offered in justification. By proposing an expanded notion of human nature so as to include sexual orientation as one of the factors from which to draw moral norms, the authors have adopted the central proposition of the Old Natural Law Theory defended by Francisco Suarez and others, viz., that human nature as such was a fit source from which to draw moral norms. Thus the New Natural Law Theory, formulated by Germain Grisez to answer the charge of the naturalistic fallacy, has curiously found itself being refuted by a reformulation of the Old Natural Law Theory. This article seeks to show how the proportionalistic reasoning used by Salzman and Lawler leads inevitably to a revival of the naturalistic fallacy. [source] STOCK RETURNS, ASYMMETRIC VOLATILITY, RISK AVERSION, AND BUSINESS CYCLE: SOME NEW EVIDENCEECONOMIC INQUIRY, Issue 2 2008SEI-WAN KIM We study how three interrelated phenomena,excess stock returns and risk relation, risk aversion, and asymmetric volatility movement,change over business cycles. Using an asymmetric generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity in mean model and a Markov switching model, we find that excess stock return increases and asymmetric volatility movement is weakened during boom periods. This suggests that investors become more risk-averse during boom periods (i.e., procyclical risk aversion), which we confirm using a calibration of a simple equilibrium model. (JEL C32, E32, G12) [source] RETURNS TO EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIAECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 3 2008ANDREW LEIGH Using data from the 2001,2005 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, and taking account of existing estimates of ability bias and social returns to schooling, I estimate the economic return to various levels of education. Raising high school attainment appears to yield the highest annual benefits, with per-year gains as high as 30% (depending on the adjustment for ability bias). Some forms of vocational training also appear to boost earnings, with significant gains from Certificate Level III/IV qualifications (for high school dropouts only), and from Diploma and Advanced Diploma qualifications. At the university level, bachelor degrees and postgraduate qualifications are associated with significantly higher earnings, with each year of a bachelor degree raising annual earnings by about 15%. For high schools, slightly less than half the gains are due to increased productivity, with the rest being due to higher levels of participation. For vocational training, about one-third of the gains are from productivity, and two-thirds from greater participation. For universities, most of the gains are from productivity. I find some evidence that the productivity benefits of education are higher towards the top of the distribution, but the effects on hours worked are higher towards the bottom of the conditional earnings distribution. [source] DO STOCK RETURNS VARY WITH CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS?ECONOMICS & POLITICS, Issue 3 2010BUSH VS. I examine the relation between campaign contributions and stock returns during the Florida recount period of the 2000 presidential elections. Using the full population of publicly traded firms, I find an economically significant positive (negative) relation between pre-election campaign contributions to Bush (Gore) and stock returns during the 37-day election recount period. This relation exists for both the level and partisanship of contributions, and exists incrementally at both the firm and industry levels. These relations are robust to several different specifications, including alternative event windows that exclude the potentially confounding House/Senate races. The firm-level analysis is consistent with contributions being influence-motivated. [source] TERRORISM AND THE RETURNS TO OILECONOMICS & POLITICS, Issue 3 2009BROCK BLOMBERG The effect of terrorism on global oil prices has been largely explained through demand-side effects. We estimate an empirical model to re-examine the effect of terrorism on the price of global oil stocks across oil market regimes that reflect different supply constraints. We believe that terrorism will have larger impacts when global capacity is tight (i.e. when global demand is close to global supply). This means that any shock to capacity (say by conflict) should have the largest impact on profits before the first OPEC shock in the early 1970s. Since then, conflict shocks would not allow firms to exploit production in the same way, thus reducing the available profits that could be garnered by such production manipulation. If capacity constraints are binding when a conflict occurs, then we predict that a positive stock price reaction can be expected for oil firms from such a shock. We exploit a new panel dataset to investigate the relationship between oil profitability and conflict, using conflict data from the top 20 oil producing and exporting countries in the world. We show that in the later part of our sample, 1974,2005, as cartel behavior of OPEC member countries has diminished and as conflict has become more regular and thus the information surrounding it noisier, oil stock prices do not increase in response to conflict. However, in earlier capacity constrained eras, we find that oil stocks can in fact increase in response to conflict. In some cases, the impact of conflict may cause the return of oil stocks to increase by as much as 10 percentage points. [source] RETURNS TO SCALE AND REGIONAL GROWTH: THE STATIC-DYNAMIC VERDOORN LAW PARADOX REVISITED,JOURNAL OF REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2007John S. L. McCombie ABSTRACT It has long been an article of faith amongst regional economists that increasing returns to scale are necessary to explain the punctiform location of economic activity and population. However, there is no consensus in the empirical literature over whether returns to scale are constant or increasing. A notable example of this lack of agreement is provided by the static-dynamic Verdoorn law paradox. While the dynamic Verdoorn law (specified using growth rates) yields estimates of substantial increasing returns to scale, the static Verdoorn law (specified using log-levels) indicates only the presence of constant returns to scale. In this paper, we explain the static-dynamic Verdoorn law paradox by showing that estimates of returns to scale obtained using the static law are subject to a spatial aggregation bias, which biases the estimates towards constant returns to scale. We illustrate our arguments by means of simulation exercises. The results obtained hold general lessons for applied economic analysis using spatial data. [source] OPTIMAL CONTINUOUS-TIME HEDGING WITH LEPTOKURTIC RETURNSMATHEMATICAL FINANCE, Issue 2 2007We examine the behavior of optimal mean,variance hedging strategies at high rebalancing frequencies in a model where stock prices follow a discretely sampled exponential Lévy process and one hedges a European call option to maturity. Using elementary methods we show that all the attributes of a discretely rebalanced optimal hedge, i.e., the mean value, the hedge ratio, and the expected squared hedging error, converge pointwise in the state space as the rebalancing interval goes to zero. The limiting formulae represent 1-D and 2-D generalized Fourier transforms, which can be evaluated much faster than backward recursion schemes, with the same degree of accuracy. In the special case of a compound Poisson process we demonstrate that the convergence results hold true if instead of using an infinitely divisible distribution from the outset one models log returns by multinomial approximations thereof. This result represents an important extension of Cox, Ross, and Rubinstein to markets with leptokurtic returns. [source] A NON-SUBSTITUTION THEOREM WITH NON-CONSTANT RETURNS TO SCALE AND EXTERNALITIESMETROECONOMICA, Issue 1 2005Takao Fujimoto ABSTRACT An input,output model with non-constant returns to scale and externalities is presented, and it is shown that in this model the non-substitution theorem is still valid. More precisely, the quantity side of the theorem, i.e. the proposition on efficiency, remains valid, while there can be no equilibrium prices independent of final demand. [source] THE RETURNS TO EDUCATION AND TRAINING: EVIDENCE FROM THE MALAYSIAN FAMILY LIFE SURVEYSPACIFIC ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2004Tsung-Ping Chung I estimate a Mincer type earnings function, augmented by information on the women's training experience. The results indicate that there are positive and economically significant returns to education and training. I also investigate the determinants of training and find that training participation is positively related to educational attainment, while if women are credit-constrained they are significantly less likely to undertake training. [source] DUALITY WITH SECTOR-SPECIFIC EXTERNALITIES UNDER SOCIAL CONSTANT RETURNS,THE JAPANESE ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 4 2006KAZUO NISHIMURA We develop dual approaches to quantity and price relationships of production in a general multisectoral model with sector-specific externalities. The production of each good exhibits socially constant returns to scale but privately decreasing returns. We find that the Stolper-Samuelson theorem holds for factor intensity ranking from the social perspective and that the Rybczynski theorem holds for factor intensity ranking from the private perspective. The price-output dual fails to hold in general. Moreover, we re-establish the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem in the two-sector case, as well as the factor endowment,factor price and price-output comparative statics in the high-dimension case under proper conditions. [source] TRADING-VOLUME SHOCKS AND STOCK RETURNS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSISTHE JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2010Zhaodan Huang Abstract We examine high-volume premiums based on weekly risk-adjusted returns. Significant average weekly abnormal high-volume premiums up to 0.50% per week are documented for 1962,2005. Most premiums are generated in the first two weeks and monotonically decline as holding periods are extended. Evidence of reversal is found as the holding periods are extended. Premiums depend on realized turnover in the holding period. The last finding supports the theories of Miller and Merton. Finally, we test whether premiums are compensation for taking additional risk. Negative skewness, idiosyncratic risk, and liquidity risk do not explain the high-volume premiums. [source] INDUSTRY PROSPECTS AND ACQUIRER RETURNS IN DIVERSIFYING TAKEOVERSTHE JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009Husayn Shahrur Abstract We use a sample of 816 diversifying takeovers from 1978 to 2003 to examine whether takeover announcements release negative information about the future prospects of the acquirer's main industry. We find that rivals that are most similar to the acquirer (homogeneous rivals) experience significant negative cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) around takeover announcements. Takeovers that result in negative wealth effects to acquirers are associated with negative abnormal revisions in analysts' forecasts of homogeneous rivals' earnings per share. We also find a decline in the posttakeover operating performance of rival firms. The decline is especially pronounced for homogeneous rivals and for takeovers with negative wealth effects to acquirers. Our findings imply that CAR-based estimates of acquirer wealth gains from takeovers that do not account for industrywide information releases are significantly biased downward. [source] MONETARY POLICY INDICATORS AS PREDICTORS OF STOCK RETURNSTHE JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2008David A. Becher Abstract We explore the linkage between stock return predictability and the monetary sector by examining alternative proxies for monetary policy. Using two complementary methods, we document that failure to condition on the Fed's broad policy stance causes a substantial understatement in the ability of monetary policy measures to predict returns. Industry analyses suggest that cross-industry return differences are also linked to changes in monetary conditions, as monetary policy has the strongest (weakest) relation with returns for cyclical (defensive) industries. Overall, we find that monetary conditions have a prominent and systematic relation with future stock returns, even in the presence of business conditions. [source] INTANGIBLE ASSETS, BOOK-TO-MARKET, AND COMMON STOCK RETURNSTHE JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2006James M. Nelson Abstract I examine two anomalies where the Fama and French three-factor model fails to adequately explain monthly industry and index returns. Both anomalies are consistent with a bad model problem where the book-to-market factor introduces a negative bias in the intercepts. I propose the intangibles model as an alternative where the three-factor model is known to have difficulty. This alternative model, which replaces the book-to-market factor with zero investment portfolio returns based on prior investments in intangible assets, is well specified in random samples, has comparable power, and fully explains both anomalies. [source] TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER UNDER RETURNS TO SCALE*THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 3 2009DEBAPRIYA SEN In this paper we consider the licensing of a cost-reducing innovation by an outside innovator that uses optimal combinations of upfront fees and royalties in a Cournot duopoly characterized by non-constant returns to scale. The main conclusion of our theoretical analysis is that incidence of positive royalties and diffusion of innovations are both inversely related to economies of scale. Our analysis provides a plausible explanation of the variation of licensing policies across industries. [source] RETURNS TO EQUITY, INVESTMENT AND Q: EVIDENCE FROM THE UKTHE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 2005SIMON PRICE Conventional wisdom has it that Tobin's Q cannot help explain aggregate investment. However, the standard linearized present-value asset price decomposition suggests that it should be able to predict other variables, such as stock returns. Using a new data set for the UK, we find that Q has strong predictive power for debt accumulation, stock returns and UK business investment. The correctly signed results on both returns and investment appear to be robust, and are supported by the commonly used and bootstrapped standard error corrections, as well as recently developed asymptotic corrections. [source] Point of No ReturnCONSERVATION, Issue 3 2005Evidence is mounting that fish populations won't necessarily recover even if overfishing stops. First page of article [source] Unobserved Ability and the Return to SchoolingECONOMETRICA, Issue 5 2002Christian Belzil First page of article [source] Return to work following unilateral enucleation in 34 horses (2000,2008)EQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010M. E. UTTER Summary Reasons for study: The effect of unilateral enucleation on vision and potential loss of performance in horses has received little study. Objective: To evaluate the likelihood of return to prior discipline following unilateral enucleation in horses, assessing the role of age at enucleation, equine discipline, reason for enucleation, time to vision loss and eye enucleated. Hypothesis: Unilateral enucleation has no significant effect on likelihood of return to work in horses, for both right and left eyes, across age and discipline. Method: A retrospective review of medical records identified 92 horses that underwent unilateral enucleation at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center from April 2000,April 2008. Case variables determined from the medical record included breed and sex of horse, age at enucleation, which eye was enucleated, reason for enucleation and onset of vision loss. Pre- and post operative occupations were determined by telephone interview with the owner or trainer of each horse. Results: Based on hospital surgery logs, 92 enucleations were performed over the 8 year period and 77 records were available for review, with follow-up information available for 34 horses. Of these, 29/34 (85%) horses returned to work in pleasure or trail riding (11/13), flat racing (7/10), hunter/jumpers (4/4), dressage (3/3), group lessons (1/1), eventing (1/1), steeplechase (1/1) and as a broodmare (1/1). Four of 5 horses (4/34, or 12% sample) that did not return to work (2 pleasure and 2 racing) were retired due to anticipated or perceived decrease in performance or behaviour change following unilateral enucleation, with the remaining horse retired from racing for lameness issues unrelated to enucleation. Twenty-two of 25 horses (88%) with acute vision loss and 7/9 horses (78%) with gradual vision loss returned to their previous discipline. Conclusions: Horses are able to return to a variety of occupations after unilateral enucleation. [source] Design and Implementation of Return on Capital Employed Performance Indicators Within a Trading Regime: The Case of Executive AgenciesFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY & MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2002Brian A. Rutherford The financial regime under which trading executive agencies operate implies that return on capital employed (ROCE) is used to indicate that revenues meet but do not exceed costs, including the cost of capital; that is, that there is neither cross-subsidisation nor hidden taxation. This paper develops a model for measuring ROCE derived from this objective. It argues that users of ROCE indicators are likely to lack financial sophistication and to want to compare performance between entities, so that indicators should be clear, readily understandable and comparable. The range of measurement and presentation methods used in practice undermines clarity and comparability and some methods are inconsistent with the model. Performance is sometimes characterised as meeting the target when this is problematic. The paper also examines outturn performance and finds some very substantial excess returns, implying hidden taxation. [source] Does Germany Collect Revenue from Taxing the Normal Return to Capital?,FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2005Johannes Becker Abstract A widespread objection to the introduction of consumption tax systems claims that this would lead to high tax revenue losses. This paper investigates the revenue effects of a consumption tax reform in Germany. Our results suggest that the revenue losses would be surprisingly low. We find a maximum revenue loss of 1.6 per cent of annual GDP. In some years, we even find tax revenue gains. This implies that the current tax system collects little revenue from taxing the normal return to capital. Based on these results, we calculate a macroeconomic measure of the effective tax rate on capital income. [source] Pension Reform, Capital Markets and the Rate of ReturnGERMAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2003Axel Börsch-Supan Aging; pension reform; rates of return Abstract. This paper discusses the consequences of population aging and a fundamental pension reform , that is, a shift towards more pre-funding , for capital markets in Germany. We use a stylized closed-economy, overlapping-generations model to compare the effects of the recent German pension reform with those of a more decisive reform that would freeze the current pay-as-you-go contribution rate and thus result in a larger funded component of the pension system. We predict rates of return to capital under both reform scenarios over a long horizon, taking demographic projections as given. Our main finding is that the future decrease in the rate of return is much smaller than often claimed in the public debate. Our simulations show that the capital stock will decrease once the baby-boom generations enter retirement, even if there were no fundamental pension reform. The corresponding decrease in the rate of return, the direct effect of population aging, is around 0.7 percentage points. While the capital market effects of the recent German pension reform are marginal, the rate of return to capital would decrease by an additional 0.5 percentage points under the more decisive reform proposal. [source] Creating Democracy's Good Losers: The Rise, Fall and Return of Parliamentary Disorder in Post-war Japan*GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 1 2004Eugene L. Wolfe ABSTRACT ,Good losers', legislators willing to play by parliamentary rules, even at the cost of defeat, are a microfoundation of democracy. Yet how they are created has not been adequately explained. Theories focusing on institutions, evolving norms, electoral incentives and ideology do not account for the case of post-war Japan, where deliberate disorder was common in the 1950s and 1960s, absent in the 1970s and 1980s, and returned in the 1990s. This paper highlights the importance of the legislative majority's behaviour in encouraging procedural compliance through the provision of informal mechanisms of consultation and compromise. The lack of such mechanisms also explains periods of parliamentary disorder in other countries. [source] HR's new ROI: Return on intangiblesHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2005Dave Ulrich A new human resource ROI has been identified: return on intangibles. Intangibles represent the hidden value of a firm and are becoming an increasingly important portion of a firm's total market capitalization. Six actions that HR professionals can take to create sustainable intangible value are presented in great detail. The emerging focus on intangibles opens the way for HR professionals to more readily link their work to shareholder value. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] The Return on Investment of the Guggenheim Museum BilbaoINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006BEATRIZ PLAZA The city of Bilbao has made use of a museum as one of the multiple means to restructure its former industrial base. However, the effectiveness of this costly formula is not always clear. Three major issues have arisen: the effects of Guggenheim Museum Bilbao on Bilbao's image, the effects on overnight stays, and the effects on the local economy. There is little debate about the first issue, and room for more evidence on the second and third issues. The aim is to quantify the museum's impact on tourism and employment and to calculate its yield (Return on Investment and Net Present Value). The approach adopted is the quantitative analysis of statistical data to try to isolate the economic contribution of the Guggenheim. [source] Hand-assisted laparoscopic and open living donor nephrectomy in KoreaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF UROLOGY, Issue 5 2005JA HYEON KU Abstract Background: We compared the results of hand-assisted laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy (LLDN) and conventional open living donor nephrectomy (OLDN). Methods: The clinical data on 49 hand-assisted LLDN and 21 OLDN on the left side performed at two institutions in Korea from January 2001 to February 2003 were reviewed. Demographic data of donors and recipients were similar in the two groups. Results: There was one conversion to an open procedure due to bleeding in the LLDN group. The median operation times (180 min in LLDN versus 170 min in OLDN) and warm ischemic times (2.5 min in LLDN versus 2.0 min in OLDN) in the two groups were similar. The estimated mean blood loss, duration of hospital stay and complication rate was also similar in the two groups. The LLDN group reported less pain (visual analog scale) postoperatively (4.1 versus 5.3), but this was not significant (P = 0.058). The time to oral intake in the LLDN group was significantly longer by an average of 1 day (P = 0.001). Return to work was sooner in the LLDN group (4.0 weeks versus 6.0 weeks; P = 0.026). The recipient graft function was equivalent between the two groups. Hand-assisted LLDN appears to be a safe and effective alternative to OLDN. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that this technique may give the ability provide grafts of similar quality to OLDN, while extending to the donors the advantages of a traditional LLDN procedure. [source] International Labour Migrants' Return to Meiji-era Yamaguchi and Hiroshima: Economic and Social EffectsINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2008Jonathan Dresner International labour migration from Meiji era (1868,1912) Japan was intensely concentrated: over 60 per cent of the 29,000 participants in the government-managed Hawai'i emigration programme (kan'yaku imin, 1885,1894) came from seven coastal counties around the Hiroshima-Yamaguchi prefectural border in southwest Japan. Almost half of the emigrants became long-term settlers instead of returning to their hometowns, but this paper examines what happened to returning emigrants and to their home communities. Since the migration was primarily economic in nature, the effect of migrant earnings was carefully monitored and is frequently cited by scholars. Surveys showed high rates of debt repayment and savings, and improved living conditions, but investment and entrepreneurship were limited. High-emigration regions rarely became economic centers of any importance. Less carefully studied are non-economic effects, partially because the labour programme was structured to minimize contact with Hawaiian or Caucasian culture, and thus returnees had little cultural experience to transfer to their hometowns. Local officials in Yamaguchi seemed proud of the lack of social change. Even long-term sojourners, who returned due to family needs after a decade or more overseas, exhibited no readjustment difficulties. Returnees, particularly in Yamaguchi, sometimes moved on to Japanese colonial territories, creating multilateral and complex relationships with overseas communities. This sojourning migration, like contemporary analogs, was a powerful form of poverty relief in the midst of dislocating globalization, but did not produce a rise in entrepreneurship or a Westernization of local culture. Because this sojourning migration was structurally similar to our modern-day patterns, it provides evidence of the longevity of those patterns and the possible long-term effects, and raises questions about our expectations for migration policy. Retour des travailleurs migrants internationaux de l'ère Meiji à Yamaguchi et Hiroshima: effets économiques et sociaux Au Japon, la migration internationale de main-d',uvre de l'ère Meiji (1868,1912) a été très concentrée: plus de soixante pour cent des 29 000 participants au programme gouvernemental d'émigration à destination d'Hawaï (kan'yaku imin, 1885-1894) venaient de sept régions côtières proches de la limite entre les préfectures d'Hiroshima et de Yamaguchi dans le Sud-Ouest du Japon. Sachant que la moitié des émigrants sont devenus des résidents de longue durée et ne sont pas rentrés dans leur communauté d'origine, le présent document s'intéresse à ceux qui ont fait le choix inverse. Etant donné que cette migration était principalement de nature économique, les effets des gains des migrants ont étéétudiés avec attention et sont souvent cités par les chercheurs. Si des enquêtes ont révélé des taux importants de remboursement de dettes et d'épargne, ainsi qu'un niveau de vie en hausse, les investissements et la création d'entreprises, en revanche, sont restés limités. On a rarement vu des régions à fort taux d'émigration devenir des centres économiques d'importance. Les effets non économiques ont été moins étudiés, en partie parce que ce programme de main-d',uvre était structuré de façon à réduire le plus possible les contacts avec la culture hawaïenne ou caucasienne, ce qui fait que les rapatriés n'avaient guère d'acquis culturels exogènes à transmettre. Les responsables locaux de Yamaguchi semblaient d'ailleurs se réjouir de l'absence de changements sociaux. Même les résidents de longue durée, qui étaient rentrés pour raisons familiales au bout d'au moins une décennie à l'étranger, ne montraient aucune difficultéà se réadapter. Les rapatriés, en particulier à Yamaguchi, ont parfois déménagé vers les territoires coloniaux japonais, créant des relations multilatérales complexes avec les communautés de l'outre-mer. Cette migration temporaire, comme les mouvements analogues à la même époque, était une formidable façon de réduire la pauvreté dans un contexte de bouleversement mondial, mais elle n'a pas renforcé l'esprit d'entreprise ni conduit à une occidentalisation de la culture locale. Comme cette migration temporaire était structurellement semblable à nos modèles contemporains, elle témoigne de la longue durée de vie de ces modèles et de leurs effets possibles à long terme, et soulève des questions quant à nos attentes en matière de politique migratoire. Retorno a los trabajadores migrantes internacionales a la era Meiji en Yamaguchi e Hiroshima: Efectos socioeconómicos La migración laboral internacional en la era Meiji del Japón (1868,1912) era sumamente concentrada: más del 60 por ciento de los 29.000 participantes en el programa de emigración Hawai'i (kan'yaku imin, 1885-1894) administrado por el Gobierno, provenía de varios condados costeros en torno a la frontera prefectural entre Hiroshima-Yamaguchi en el sudeste del Japón. Casi la mitad de los emigrantes residía en albergues semipermanentes y no retornaban a sus lugares de origen. Ahora bien, en este artículo se examina lo ocurrido con los migrantes que retornaron y con las comunidades de retorno. Habida cuenta que la migración era mayormente de carácter económico, el efecto de los ingresos de los migrantes se siguió de cerca y, frecuentemente, ha sido citado por los estudiosos en la materia. Las encuestas demuestran elevadas tasas de reembolso de deudas y de ahorro, así como un mejoramiento de las condiciones de vida, pero también apuntan a limitadas inversiones o empresas. Las regiones de alta emigración rara vez se convirtieron en centros de importancia económica. No se ha estudiado en detalle los efectos extra económicos, en parte porque el programa de migración laboral estaba estructurado para minimizar el contacto con la cultura hawaiana o caucasiana, por lo cual las personas que retornaban tenían poca experiencia cultural que aportar a sus lugares de origen. Los funcionarios locales en Yamaguchi se enorgullecían de la falta de intercambio social. Incluso aquéllos residentes de larga duración que retornaron debido a cuestiones familiares tras una década o más en ultramar, no presentaron ninguna dificultad en readaptarse. Las personas que retornaron, particularmente a Yamaguchi, se desplazaron a veces a territorios coloniales japoneses, estableciendo complejas relaciones multilaterales con comunidades en ultramar. La migración de carácter permanente, al igual que sus análogos contemporáneos, era un sólido medio de aliviar la pobreza en medio de una globalización perturbadora, pero no dio lugar a un incremento empresarial o a una occidentalización de la cultura local. La similitud estructural de la migración de larga duración con nuestros patrones de hoy en día, aporta pruebas de la longevidad de los mismos, de los posibles efectos a largo plazo de dichos patrones y plantea una serie de preguntas sobre las expectativas en cuanto a las políticas migratorias. [source] Sustainable Return in Post-conflict ContextsINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2006Richard Black ABSTRACT Post-conflict return is a highly politically charged process in a number of contexts, both for returnees and those who did not migrate or flee, leading many observers to question the notion of an unproblematic return "home". Specifically, doubts remain both about the conditions and voluntariness of return, the ability of individual returnees to reintegrate in their home countries and regions, and the wider sustainability of the return process. This paper seeks to provide an overview of recent policy interest in returns, before setting out a tentative definition of what might be considered a "sustainable" return. It is argued that it is possible to draw a distinction between narrow indicators of the "sustainability" of return, such as whether returnees subsequently reemigrate, and wider definitions, which see "sustainability" as involving both the reintegration of individual returnees in their home societies, and the wider impact of return on macroeconomic and political indicators. Based on either definition, the development of robust indicators of the sustainability of return could assist in monitoring the impact of return programmes, providing valuable insight on return policies. The broader definition suggested also draws attention to the idea that continued mobility after an initial return - including circulation and the development of a "transnational" lifestyle - may be more "sustainable" than a single and definitive return to the refugee's place of origin. Les retours dans une situation d'après-conflit sont un processus politiquement signifiant dans certains contextes, à la fois pour les rapatriés et pour ceux qui n'ont ni émigré ni fui, ce qui conduit de nombreux observateurs à s'interroger sur le concept d'un retour sans problème "dans les foyers". Plus précisément, des doutes subsistent à la fois quant aux conditions et au caractère volontaire du retour, à la capacité des rapatriés à se réinsérer dans leur pays et leur région d'origine, et à la durabilité, au sens plus large, du processus de retour. L'auteur s'efforce de donner un aperçu de l'intérêt politique récent pour les retours avant de tenter une définition de ce qui pourrait être considéré comme retour "durable". Selon lui, il est possible de faire une distinction entre les indicateurs au sens étroit de la "durabilité" du retour, à savoir par exemple si les rapatriés émigrent à nouveau, et des définitions plus larges, considérant la "durabilité" comme intégrant à la fois la réintégration des rapatriés dans leur société d'origine et l'impact plus large des retours sur les indicateurs macroéconomiques et politiques. Selon l'une ou l'autre définition, l'élaboration d'indicateurs solides de la durabilité des retours pourrait faciliter l'observation de l'impact des programmes de retour, en apportant un éclairage précieux sur les politiques de retour. La définition plus large appelle également l'attention sur l'idée selon laquelle la mobilité continue après un retour initial - y compris la circulation et l'adoption d'un style de vie "transnational" - pourrait être plus "durable" qu'un retour unique et définitif vers le lieu d'origine du réfugié. El retorno consecutivo a conflictos es un proceso con una alta connotación política en varios contextos, tanto para los retornantes como para quienes no emigraron ni huyeron, lo que da lugar a que muchos observadores cuestionen la noción de un retorno al "hogar" sin problemas. Concretamente, subsisten dudas sobre las condiciones y el carácter voluntario del retorno; la capacidad de los retornantes a título individual de reintegrarse en sus países y regiones de origen; y la sostenibilidad amplia del proceso de retorno. Este estudio trata de ofrecer un panorama del reciente interés político que suscitan los retornos, antes de establecer tentativamente una definición de lo que puede considerarse como un retorno "sostenible". En este artículo se arguye que es posible establecer una distinción entre estrechos indicadores del "sostenimiento" del retorno, a saber, si las personas que retornan vuelven a emigrar ulteriormente, y definiciones más amplias que consideran el "sostenimiento" como la reintegración de quienes retornan a título individual a sus sociedades de origen conjuntamente con las repercusiones más amplias del retorno en los indicadores macroeconómicos y políticos. Sobre la base de cualquiera de estas definiciones, el desarrollo de sólidos indicadores del sostenimiento del retorno podría servir para supervisar el impacto de los programas de retorno, al ofrecer una visión valiosa sobre las políticas de retorno. La definición más amplia propuesta señala a la atención la idea de que la continua movilidad tras el retorno inicial -incluida la circulación y el desarrollo de un estilo de vida transnacional- podría ser más "sostenible" que un retorno único y definitivo al lugar de origen del refugiado. [source] The Significance of Property Restitution to Sustainable Return in Bosnia and HerzegovinaINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2006Rhodri C. Williams ABSTRACT The restitution of property to refugees and displaced persons (RDPs) who fled their homes during the 1992 to 1995 conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been highly successful on its own terms. After getting off to a slow start in the immediate post-war years, this process saw the return of more than 200,000 claimed properties to their pre-war residents by mid-2004. Although property restitution has facilitated durable solutions for RDPs who have benefited from it, these durable solutions have not exclusively taken the form of voluntary and permanent return. In many cases, RDPs have chosen instead to sell, exchange, or lease their restituted homes in order to finance voluntary internal resettlement in parts of the country other than their pre-war places of residence. In all cases, however, property restitution has been crucial to the viability and sustainability of either return or resettlement, facilitating free and informed choices by RDPs regarding their future. Property restitution in Bosnia and Herzegovina has often been held up as a model for other post-conflict settings characterized by mass-displacement. However, the utility of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an example must be assessed in light of favourable domestic and international factors that are unlikely to be repeated in other contexts. This paper argues that these factors should not disqualify Bosnia and Herzegovina as an example, but should instead underscore the importance that lessons learned in Bosnia and Herzegovina be incorporated early in the planning of other peace missions and implemented consistently. One of the foremost of these lessons was the efficacy of shifting the focus from the highly politicized concept of return to a more impartial "rule of law" approach, connoting an emphasis on individuals' rights to their former homes. The unusual level of resources that allowed the international community to correct its own early mistakes would not have been enough to guarantee property restitution in the absence of this successful implementation strategy. La restitution des biens aux réfugiés et aux personnes déplacées (RPD) ayant fui leurs foyers durant le conflit qui a sévi en Bosnie-Herzégovine entre 1992 et 1995 a été un vrai succès. Après un démarrage lent au lendemain immédiat de la guerre, ce processus avait permis la restitution, à la mi-2004, de plus de 200.000 propriétés à leurs occupants d'avant la guerre. Si la restitution des propriétés a apporté une solution durable aux RPD qui en ont bénéficié, cette solution durable n'a pas exclusivement pris la forme d'un retour volontaire et définitif. Dans de nombreux cas, les RPD ont plutôt choisi de rendre, d'échanger ou de mettre en location leurs logements restitués afin de financer une réinstallation volontaire dans d'autres régions du pays. Dans tous les cas, cependant, la restitution des propriétés a été cruciale pour la viabilité et la durabilité soit du retour soit de la réinstallation, facilitant des choix libres et en connaissance de cause de la part des RPD quant à leur avenir. La restitution des propriétés en Bosnie-Herzégovine a souvent été donnée en exemple pour d'autres contextes d'après-guerre caractérisés par des déplacements massifs. Cependant, l'utilité de la Bosnie-Herzégovine comme exemple doit être évaluée à la lumière des facteurs internes et internationaux favorables qui ont peu de chance de se produire dans d'autres contextes. L'auteur considère que ces facteurs ne doivent cependant pas disqualifier la Bosnie-Herzégovine en tant que modèle à suivre, mais qu'il faut plutôt souligner l'importance des enseignements tirés dans cette partie du monde pour les incorporer à un stade avancé dans la planification des autres missions de paix et faire en sorte qu'ils soient appliqués de manière cohérente. L'une des principales leçons à tirer en l'occurrence a été l'efficacité avec laquelle le concept hautement politisé du retour a opéré un glissement vers une approche plus impartiale favorisant la "primauté du droit", en ce sens qu'un accent particulier a été mis sur le droit des personnes à reprendre possession de leurs anciens logements. Le niveau de ressources inhabituel ayant permis à la communauté internationale de corriger ses propres fautes initiales n'aurait pas suffi pour garantir la restitution des biens en l'absence de cette stratégie positive de mise en ,uvre. La restitución de propiedades de refugiados y desplazados que tuvieron que abandonar sus hogares durante el conflicto de Bosnia y Herzegovina entre 1992 y 1995, ha tenido mucho éxito de acuerdo con lo estipulado en su propio mandato. Tras un inicio sumamente lento en los primeros años de posguerra, a mediados de 2004 el proceso dio lugar a la restitución, de más de 200.000 bienes reclamados por sus residentes de antes de la guerra. Si bien la restitución de bienes ha facilitado soluciones duraderas para los refugiados y desplazados que se han beneficiado de la misma, estas soluciones duraderas no se han traducido exclusivamente en un retorno voluntario y permanente. En muchos casos, los refugiados y desplazados han decidido vender, intercambiar o alquilar las propiedades restituidas a fin de financiar su reasentamiento interno voluntario en otras partes del país, distintas de aquéllas donde residían antes de la guerra. En cualquier caso, la restitución de propiedades ha sido fundamental a la viabilidad y sostenimiento del retorno o reasentamiento, facilitando así las opciones libres e informadas de los refugiados y desplazados con relación a su futuro. La restitución de bienes en Bosnia y Herzegovina se considera como un modelo para otros entornos posconflicto caracterizados por desplazamientos masivos. Ahora bien, la utilidad de Bosnia y Herzegovina como ejemplo debe evaluarse a la luz de factores nacionales e internacionales favorables que probablemente no se den en otros contextos. Este estudio arguye que estos factores no descalifican a Bosnia y Herzegovina como ejemplo pero deben poner de relieve la importancia de las enseñanzas extraídas de la experiencia de Bosnia y Herzegovina en la planificación temprana de otras misiones de paz y llevarse a cabo de manera consecuente. Otra de las principales lecciones fue la eficacia de transferir el centro de atención del concepto altamente politizado del retorno a una perspectiva más imparcial de imperio de ley, que hizo hincapié en los derechos individuales de cara a sus ex hogares. El nivel inusual de recursos que permitió que la comunidad internacional corrigiese sus propios errores anteriores, y no habrían sido suficientes para garantizar la restitución de propiedades si no hubiera habido una estrategia acertada de puesta en práctica. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||