Home  About us  Contact
 

Planned Economy (planned + economy)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting42%
Humanities and Social Sciences28%

Selected Abstracts

Transition and sustainability: empirical analysis of environmental Kuznets curve for water pollution in 25 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2009
Sandra O. Archibald
Abstract This paper examines the effects of political, structural and economic changes on environmental quality in 25 Central and East European countries (CEECs) and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) using selected water pollution indicators and by testing the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). Despite substantial research on the transition effects from centrally planned economies and totalitarian political systems to democracy and free market economies, the literature is limited with respect to the short- and long-term environmental impacts. Considering the institutional and structural changes in these economies, rising per capita income and increased trade and investment openness, these countries can be characterized as early, late and non-liberalizers with respect to the start and continuation of liberalization processes , a critical element of the systemic transformation in the CEECs. While trends in selected economic and social indicators (based on the OECD pressure,state,response framework) show that early liberalizers enjoyed positive gains relative to late liberalizers, the selected environmental indicators do not indicate consistent trends with regard to surface water quality. Among early and late liberalizers, nitrate, orthophosphate and ammonium concentrations decline and converge over time. Phosphorus concentrations initially dropped but then increased again for both groups of countries. Using the indicator of biological oxygen demand (BOD) as the dependent variable and a set of structural and economic measures as the independent variables, our econometric regression model provides some evidence for the EKC hypothesis and estimates the per capita income turning point for industrial BOD effluents to be approximately 3800,5000 USD. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]

The Success of Currency Reforms to End Great Inflations: An Empirical Analysis of 34 High Inflations

GERMAN ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2009
Peter Bernholz
Great inflations; currency reforms; central bank independence; fixed exchange rate Abstract. The estimation of an ordered probit model for currency reforms attempting to end 31 hyperinflations and three huge inflations of the twentieth century shows that the introduction of an independent central bank and the adoption of a credibly fixed exchange rate are crucial for the success of a currency reform. In addition, currency reforms are demonstrated to be more difficult in centrally planned economies than in market economies. [source]

Revenue-driven in TB control,three cases in China

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, Issue S1 2004
Shaokang Zhan
Abstract One quarter of all TB cases occur in China, which, during the past 20 years has moved from a planned economy to a socialist market economy. In the health sector, an important proportion of the financing originates from user payment. TB control is not an exception and different programmatic models are in place. This study examines, using a case study approach, three different TB programmes, one supposed to provide free service, one subsidized service and one with full cost recovery. The aim was to better understand the driving forces for programme performance in terms of case detection, case management and patient payments. The study found for all models that control and case management approaches were, to some extent, adapted to generate maximum income to the providers. The drive for income led to fewer cases detected, administration of unnecessary procedures and drugs, and a higher than necessary cost to the patients. The latter possibly leading to exclusion of poor people from the services. If user charges are to stay, TB control programmes need to be designed to take advantage of the financial incentives to improve performance. The referral system needs to be restructured, not to provide disincentives for good practices. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

URBAN PAUPERIZATION UNDER CHINA'S SOCIAL EXCLUSION: A CASE STUDY OF NANJING

JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2008
YUTING LIU
ABSTRACT:,This article articulates how two new urban poverty groups, namely the new urban poor and poor rural migrants, are pauperized under China's social exclusion. We argue that the two poverty groups experience different pauperization processes and are subjected to distinctive social exclusions with relevance to their institutional-based status and changes in it. The urban poor experience status change from being beneficiaries of the planned economy to being victims of the market economy, and become a vulnerable group characterized by market exclusion and limited welfare dependency. The status of poor rural migrants changes from being institutionally inferior farmers in the planned economy to being a marginal group of urban society, which is now subjected to institutional exclusion and the resultant social exclusion. This research argues that positive social policies should be considered and a social security system should be established to pay more attention to the development issues of the urban poor. [source]

Economic transition, gender bias, and the distribution of earnings in China*

THE ECONOMICS OF TRANSITION, Issue 2 2005
John A. Bishop
P3; J3; J7 Abstract Market-oriented economic reform, which accelerated after 1992, has brought substantial changes to the Chinese economy. This dramatic economic transition was raised two important questions: ,How are women faring in the transition from a planned economy to a market economy?' and ,Are some women faring relatively better than other women'? We use data from the Chinese Household Income Projects for the years 1988 and 1995, a standard earnings equation, and quantile regressions to estimate and decompose the earnings gap. Our findings suggest that while the earnings gap has increased, the fraction of the gap ,unexplained' by differences in human capital variables such as education and experience has declined over time. This result is particularly pronounced for low earning women. [source]

Remaking the World of Chinese Labour: A 30-Year Retrospective

BRITISH JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2010
Eli Friedman
Over the past 30 years, labour relations, and, indeed, the entirety of working-class politics in China, have been dramatically altered by economic reforms. In this review, we focus on the two key processes of commodification and casualization and their implications for workers. On the one hand, these processes have resulted in the destruction of the old social contract and the emergence of marketized employment relations. This has implied a loss of the job security and generous benefits enjoyed by workers in the planned economy. On the other hand, commodification and casualization have produced significant but localized resistance from the Chinese working class. Up until now, the activities of labour non-governmental organizations and of the official trade unions have contributed to the state's effort of individualizing and institutionalizing labour conflict resolution through labour law and arbitration mechanisms. Finally, we provide a brief discussion of the impact of 2008's Labour Contract Law and the outbreak of the economic crisis on labour relations. We conclude that the continual imbalance of power at the point of production presents a real dilemma for the Chinese state as it attempts to shift away from a model of development dependent on exports. [source]

Diversification of rural livelihood strategies and its effect on local landscape restoration in the semiarid hilly area of the Loess Plateau, China

LAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2010
L. Wang
Abstract This study is about the diversification of livelihood strategies and the interaction of farmers' livelihood with landscape change in Zhongzhuang small watershed, Pengyang County in Ningxia Autonomous region located in the Loess Plateau, western China. Farmers' livelihoods and landscape patterns during 1978,2007 in Zhongzhuang were analysed. In different stages, diverse limiting factors were discovered behind the diversification process of livelihood strategies. Before 1978, ,planned economy', ,production team organization', strict ,household registration system' and the scarcity of livelihood assets were the main factors restricting the diversification of livelihood strategies. From 1978 to 1993, the reform and open policy provided opportunities for local people to diversify their livelihood strategies, but livelihood strategies based on crop production still took an important role in their life. From 2000 to 2007, national policies brought assistance to help local farmers diversify their agricultural activities. However, the insufficient and incomplete credit and insurance market and lack of skill were the main factors constraining non-farm activity diversification. Meanwhile, through analysis of the links between livelihood strategies diversification and landscape pattern change, we found that diversification of farmers' livelihoods contributed to the recovery of the landscape. Finally, using this relationship, steps for future landscape restoration is proposed, which provide a new view of landscape restoration research in the Loess Plateau. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]