Natural resource dependence, public education investment,and human capital accumulation

This paper examines the relationships between natural resource dependence, public education investment, and human capital accumulation. It addresses why the “blessing” of abundant natural resources often turns into a “curse” in many countries and regions, focusing on the crowding-out effect of natural resources on human capital. According to our empirical analysis of provincial panel data from China, natural resource dependence is significantly and negatively correlated with human capital accumulation. The crowding-out effect of natural resources on human capital exists only in the central and western regions of China. Our introduction of an interaction term for natural resource dependence and public education investment underscores the possibility of investing in public education to reduce the crowding-out effect of natural resource dependence on human capital. The government should utilize the income of the natural resource sector to increase investment in education to enhance local human capital.

Plan C: China’s Development under the Scarcity of Natural Capital

The critical issue of China’s modernization is whether it can free itself from the traditional modernization plan based on the relatively abundant natural capital, and innovatively create a developmental model of a large country under the scarcity of natural capital. This is why China is so keen on circular economy and economical use of resources. Focused on this issue, this paper summarizes the theoretical elements of the development under the scarcity of natural capital, points out that Plan C is the strategic choice for China’s future development, emphasizes that China needs to enhance the new industrialization, new urbanization and new modernization based on the restriction of natural capital, and discusses the technological and mechanistic support required to realize the development under the scarcity of natural capital.

Enhancing the Social and Natural Capital of Canadian Agro-Ecosystems through Incentive-Based “Alternative Land Use Services” (ALUS) Programs: Recurring Themes and Emerging Lessons

Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) is an incentive-based program established in Canada to pay farmers for their voluntary delivery of ecosystem services (ES). All seven ALUS programs across the country were examined using a standardized case-study approach based on site visits, reading internal documents, attending program meetings, and engaging in semi-structured interviews with program administrators, participating farmers, and advisory board members. Direct content analysis was used to highlight recurrent themes and emerging lessons in relation to the salient particulars of program physical location, administration framework, delivery of ES, and development and receipt by communities. Our three major findings are: 1) Overall, ALUS has been judged by participants to be a very successful program, whose strength is that it is completely voluntary, non-permanent, and readily adaptable to each location’s environmental conditions, economic funding base, and cultural milieu. 2) One serious shortcoming of all ALUS programs is a general lack of quantifiable data on their ability to increase ES. Instead, environmental benefits are either assumed or based on the idea that the areal extent of enrolled land is the sole measure of its environmental worth. 3) It may be that the social impact of ALUS is its greatest success. In this regard, for farmers, it is the process of engaging in land-use decision making and the recognition of their role as environmental stewards that is a bigger motivation for participating in an ALUS program than the modest financial incentives which they receive.

Reporting on Land as Natural Capital by Gold Mining Houses in South Africa

Motivated by the increasing popularity and advocating for integrated reporting by companies on their operations,the aim of this paper is to determine the disclosure levels on land by mining houses in South Africa in their integrated reports.Developing countries,such as South Africa should ensure sustainability of their natural resources in their endeavour of growing their economies.The mining sector in South Africa is a huge contributor to the economy,but also has a significant impact on land conservation.The complexity of mining activities and impacts thereof make it challenging for organisations to disclose information on land.This paper is descriptive by design;it contains a literature review,followed by a content analysis of the mining houses integrated reports by using a checklist.The checklist was based on recommendations by the Global Reporting Initiative(GRI)guidelines as to what the content of the integrated report on land should be.Fourteen mining houses operating in South Africa and registered on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange(JSE)were identified and analysed for this study.The findings of the paper display low levels of overall disclosure on land by the South African mining companies.However,there were high levels of disclosure for EN11,EN12,and MM1 sector-specific supplement in the integrated reports.Low levels of disclosure by the mining companies were evident in MM2 the sector-specific recommendations as well as the physical and monetary information related to MM2.

Capital Structure and Natural Rate of Unemployment： An Empirical analysis

The model based on Marxism economics such as capital structure ,capital deposit and capital cycles measure directly natural rate of the unemployment. The natural rate of unemployment is decided by the capital per worker, capital structure and average wage. According to the model the natural rate of the unemployment is empirical from 1991 to 2009.the result shows that the ascendant trend is very obvious. At last, according to the model, adjusting economic structure and regulating income distribution can reduce natural rate of unemployment.

Industry Development and Genetic Resources Protection of Animal Husbandry in the World Selenium Capital Enshi Prefecture

Agricultural genetic resource is an important component of agricultural intellectual property. The protection of livestock genetic resources is related to sustainable development of animal husbandry and biodiversity. Enshi Prefecture enjoys a reputation of ＂world selenium capital＂, and has the important animal genetic resources of Enshi yellow cattle, Enshi black pig, Enshi horse-head goat, Jingyang chicken, Enshi bee, silkworm, etc. The prefecture is the best place for natural selenium-euriched livestock products. This paper introduces genetic resources and industry of animal husbandry in the prefecture, analyses the countermeasures of genetic resources protection and industry development, and further puts forward some constructive suggestions.

Household Energy Demand and Its Impact on the Ecological Capital of Nech Sar National Park, Ethiopia

Household energy demand is among the prime problems that cause deforestation. The use of fuel wood in the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America is be-lieved to play a key role for the razing of forests and the degradation of associated biodiversity and other land resources. High population growth, increased energy demand, urbanization, infrastructure development, etc. are among the factors that exacerbate the current rate of deforestation in Ethiopia. This growing demand is also posing a threat to the remaining natural capital and associated wildlife of the country’s national parks. NechSar national park, a jewel in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia is not in different to this threat. The issue is calling for an urgent interference in the provision of environment friendly energy sources, afforestation programmes, raising the level of awareness on climate change, etc. This study is therefore, aimed at exploring the level of household energy demand interference on the woody vegetation of NechSar Park and promoting the use of environment friendly and energy saving technologies in the vicinity of the park area and beyond.

Integrated management of natural resources in the Ecuador Highlands

The Andean region of Ecuador is characterized by extreme poverty caused by low agricultural productivity, limited off-farm opportunities, and lack of access to markets. Poverty is related to degradation of natural resources as lagging agricultural productivity leads to incursions into fragile areas and use of erosive farming techniques on steeply sloped hillsides. Food production in fragile areas degrades soil and water resources, contributes to deforestation and loss of biodiversity, and reduces productive potential over time. This article discusses an agricultural development project designed to reduce the long-term downward development spiral in a watershed in Bolivar, Ecuador. The applied research program began with analysis of the state of soil resources, water, and biodiversity in the Chimbo sub-watershed. This information was used to design a plan with the input of local stakeholders to introduce environmentally friendly farming practices, soil and water conservation techniques, and various institutional innovations to promote resource conservation. This adaptive management program has been a solid success. This article describes the project, the challenges it faced, and how the process of adaptive management led to consensus among stakeholders about the appropriateness of sustainable management practices. We show how implementation of enhanced management practices contribute to reduced environmental vulnerability and improved welfare.

Human Capital or Humane Talent?Rethinking the Nature of Education in China from a Comparative Historical Perspective

In order to analyze the impact of human capital theory on contemporary Chinese education,this paper first draws a conceptual outline of how this theory was introduced and interpreted to suit the Chinese quest for modernization.The study then adopts a comparative historical approach to the points of similarity between Neo-Confucian educational ideas and those of British humanism in an earlier transitional period that has some parallels.The aim of this comparison is to connect the ideas of Neo-Confucians and humanist educators to Ronald Dore’s concept of the role of education and his insights on the diploma disease.Within this core framework,this paper exposes the problems that have come from a melding of the examination tradition and the notion of human capital.It suggests that a revival of another aspect of Chinese tradition-education for fostering one’s humanity-may help balance contemporary Chinese education and restore it to health.

Malaysia and the Factors that Influence Its Seed Industry: Natural Resources, Policies, Market and Fundings

Malaysia, situated in Southeast Asia, is a relatively small country of 33 million hectares of land, and with a total cultivable area estimated in 14.2 million ha. However, in 2013, only 53% of it was cultivated. Remarkably enough, in 2012, 67% of the whole land used under agriculture was destined for oil palm plantations. Likewise, Malaysia has been recognized as one of the twelve mega-diversity countries of the world, thanks to its rich variety of species and diverse number of ecosystems. Furthermore, as Malaysia lies in the equatorial zone, the average temperature throughout the entire year is 26 °C; which is controlled by the northeast and southwest monsoons, and consequently, receiving around 2,000 mm to 2,500 mm of rainfall annually. In addition, Malaysia has an annual average of 990 billion m3 of water resources inside the entire territory. Moreover, as Malaysia realized the importance of shifting into a knowledge-based economy, it's now really focused on the development of human and intellectual capital in order to produce adequate supply. In that way, under the Malaysia Education Blueprint from 2013 to 2015, a sum of RM 41.3 billion is expected to be allocated in 2016, to improve the quality of education. Conjointly, the agriculture in Malaysia is a fundamental piece in the country's economy, contributing to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as in 2013 this sector employed more than 1.6 million people. On the other hand, in Malaysia two distinct Agricultural Policies have been established to give strategic direction to the agricultural sector: The Policy before Independence (1948-1957) and The Policy after the independence (1957-2020) (which is as well, formed by several policies). In conjunction, as Malaysia aspires to become a developed country, it nourishes its research culture; being the public sector an important contributor for the agricultural research funding. Notwithstanding, a substantial factor that has contributed in the development of the seed industry in Malaysia, is the fact of having the “Legislation” in place; with the establishment of the Protection of New Plant Varieties (PNPV) Act, which came into force in October of 2008. To finalize, Malaysia is now certainly facing limitations towards the development of the seed industry, which are: lack of new local varieties, lack of mandatory seed quality control system, unorganized information of the seed industry, inadequate number of trained personnel in the seed industry, lack of private sector involvement.

Land Use/Cover and Naturalness Changes for Watershed Environmental Management(Southeastern Brazil)

Driving forces on the landscape require regional management and/or local actions, together with other external factors. To operationalize this approach, this paper carried out a comparative analysis of the naturalness dynamics of the Jacaré-Gua&#231u and Jacaré-Pepira watershed, based on land use/cover changes and a structural indicator of the landscape, over the 10-year (2004-2014), as support opportunities for improving its environmental planning and management. Land use/cover dynamics were obtained based on screen digitizing of LandSat imagery, using polygon manual digitalization. Naturalness scenarios of the watersheds, over the 10-year (2004-2014), were obtained based on Urbanity Indicator, which evaluates how much the natural landscapes are dominated by altered systems. The total area of watersheds showed a predominantly scenario, induced by anthropogenic agricultural and non-agricultural expansion areas, mainly by conversion of other land use/cover types in sugarcane cultivation. Despite the increase in natural vegetation areas, over the 10-year (2004-2014), Jacaré-Gua&#231u and Jacaré-Pepira watersheds are far from a sustainable condition. However Jacaré-Gua&#231u watershed presents a scenario of more committed naturalness due to the increase in Urbanity Index values ≥ 0.7. The historical process of land use occupation for agricultural production remains the main driving force of naturalness changes, occupying more than 70% of the total area of watersheds. These results have significant implications for fast urbanizing municipalities in providing key information about long term land use impact on the watershed structure and function, making it possible for policy makers, scientists and stakeholders to identify land uses which are hindered or enhanced under various scenarios of land use change over the time, and making it possible to explore the trade-offs between them to improve watershed management.

基于生计资本的农户可持续生计研究——以滇琼天然橡胶主产区为例

运用海南和云南橡胶主产区615个种植户的调查数据,测算了农户生计资本水平,设计了生计活动多样性指数和家庭收入多元化指数,通过多元线性回归模型和中介效应模型,探讨了生计资本配置对农户可持续生计的影响机制。研究发现:1)农户生计资本积累有助于丰富农户家庭生计活动和收入来源结构,尤其是金融资本积累有助于提升农户生计活动多样性水平;不同生计资本结构对农户生计结果的影响存在地域性差异;自然资本禀赋对海南产区的收入多元化水平有显著推动作用,但在云南产区却可能存在“诅咒”效应。2)地域差异、生产决策和农户特性对可持续生计有重要影响。村庄所处的海拔高、距县城距离远对农户开展多样化生计构成挑战;割胶生产规律固化虽然可能会削弱农户其他生产经营活动,但由于其劳动力调整灵活性强,可更好地稳定家庭收入;土地细碎化具有多元化生计的效果,但不一定有收入效应;虽然贫困户身份可帮助农户获得相关政策的支持,但增强生计能力才是实现可持续生计的关键所在。3)生计资本对生计活动和家庭收入的影响存在中介效应。生计资本对生计多样性的促进作用,有52.70%是通过提高生计资本统筹能力实现的,家庭就业策略优化有助于增强生计资本对收入多元化的促进作用,中介效应达30.52%。最后,建议通过提高农户家庭生计资本统筹能力、加强生计能力建设、扩展就业信息渠道等来增强农户生计综合能力。

医学伦理学发展新阶段的历史使命

每个时代都有每个时代伦理学的主轴。当今医学伦理学面临崭新的境遇,资本、技术、权力和全民健康等问题,已经构成医学伦理学应对和挑战的主要课题。新形势向医学伦理学提出了种种新任务,探索完成这些新任务的政策建议和伦理举措;适应新形势医学伦理学如何加强自身理念的充实、创新和提高;在新情境下如何促进医学伦理学在医学领域内的全面覆盖,让医学伦理学在医学中深深扎根,促进医学技术更好地服务于人民大众的健康,都是开启医学伦理学新征程面临的担当。

资本扩张的内涵、边界与常态化监管

资本具有自然形态和社会形态双重属性,自然属性主要体现资本要素作用,社会属性更多体现特定的社会生产关系。资本扩张是资本自然形态和社会形态辩证统一、相互交织的过程,具有市场型扩张、资源型扩张、牌照型扩张等三个基本模式。由于趋利性,资本存在多样化无序扩张现象,在微观和宏观层面可能存在侵害中小投资者权益、弱化监管系统有效性等多重威胁。资本监管要充分认识资本的双重属性,将“两个毫不动摇”作为资本监管的基本原则,充分尊重资本正向价值,覆盖资本扩张所有环节,重点防范资本无序扩张的潜在风险,特别是系统性金融风险和数字经济潜在的新型金融风险。资本监管要健全资本监管长效机制,深化资本监管法治建设,着重加强机构公司治理,有效统筹资本双重属性,着力提升生产力,注重优化生产关系,不断强化为中国式现代化服务的功能。

碳信息披露的绿色创新效应研究

文章基于信号传递理论和合法性理论,利用2013—2022年A股制造业上市公司的相关数据,实证检验碳信息披露的绿色创新效应。研究发现:碳信息披露具有显著的绿色创新效应,主要表现为绿色专利数量和质量同步显著提升,且专利结构实现了优化;缓解融资约束和资本更新是碳信息披露绿色创新效应的传导机制;碳信息披露的绿色创新效应在民营企业、重污染企业、低碳排放地区和低环境规制强度地区更显著;唯有实质性绿色创新才能提升制造业企业经济绩效和环境绩效,且碳信息披露可以强化这一激励效应。研究结论为评估碳信息披露制度的运行效果提供了新视角,也为驱动制造业企业绿色发展提供了新思路。

经济绿色发展对资本主义“自然悖论”的超越

在世界历史的进程中,资本主义大工业将科学和自然力运用到生产过程中,促进了生产力的进步与技术的提升。然而,由于资本主义的生产以价值增殖为根本目的,其最终成为生产力发展的桎梏和生态环境受到污染和破坏的根源,因此造成了不可避免的“自然悖论”。资本本性的剥削性和无限扩张特征,促使其对生态环境无止境地滥用与掠夺,资本主义再生产在充分利用生态环境的过程中造成了人与自然、人与人的“物质变换断裂”,产生了各种“城市病”和“文明病”。不同于资本主义“竭泽而渔”式的发展,以习近平同志为核心的党中央在经济发展方面始终坚持走绿色发展道路,推进人与自然和谐共生的现代化建设,强调经济社会发展与生态环境保护的具体的历史的统一。面对资本主义的“自然悖论”及其造成的“文明病”,中国特色社会主义的绿色发展理念坚持和发展了马克思主义理论,坚定不移走中国特色社会主义道路,奠定了高质量发展和高水平保护的制度性基础,促进了环境正义与社会正义的相互融合,在未来社会的绿色变革中发挥着重要作用。

异质资本持股、内外部治理与国有企业股价崩盘风险

防范系统性金融风险是经济健康发展的重要保障。鉴于股价崩盘风险与系统性金融风险的关联性,以2014~2020年国有企业为样本,实证检验不同性质的非国有资本参股对国有企业股价崩盘风险的影响,并进一步考察企业内外部治理对非国有资本参股与国有企业股价崩盘风险之间关系的调节效应。研究结果表明,民营资本参股降低了股价崩盘风险,机构投资者参股增加了股价崩盘风险,而外资参股不存在显著影响。在进行一系列稳健性检验之后,结果仍然成立。就内外部治理而言,内部治理水平仅对民营资本持股比例与股价崩盘风险之间的关系有显著的正向调节作用,外部治理环境仅对机构投资者持股比例与股价崩盘风险之间的关系有显著的负向调节作用。

人与自然和谐共生:中国式现代化的生态维度——基于主客体双向化运动的视角

中国式现代化开创了一条殊于西方的现代化路径,其中一个重要维度便是实现人与自然和谐共生的现代化的生态维度。中国式现代化的绿色发展模式是中国共产党在各个时期处理生态环境和经济发展的实践过程中逐步形成的一条人民主体与优美生态和谐共处的模式,具有清晰的历史脉络;与此同时,在经济发展和生态环境问题上,中国以一种全新的模式实现了对“资本宰制自然”式人类中心主义和生态中心主义的超越,既扬弃了“资本宰制自然”式人类中心主义下人与自然之间的双重异化问题,也克服了生态中心主义下主体缺位的环境保护模式之局限。中国式现代化走出了一条生产发展和生态永续并举的中国式现代化之路,实现了主客体之间的良性互动,这充分展现了中国式现代化的生态维度的独特优越性。

黄河上游地区三维生态足迹自然资本可持续评价及驱动力

本文基于改进的三维生态足迹模型,测算了黄河上游4个省区2012-2021年的人均三维生态足迹,并利用偏最小二乘法进行了驱动力分析。结果表明:黄河上游的人均生态足迹从2012年的2.089 9 hm^(2)·人^(-1)上升至2021年的2.536 5 hm^(2)·人^(-1),10年间仍处于生态可持续状态;研究期间黄河上游各省区的人均生态足迹深度均超过1 hm^(2)·人^(-1),人均生态足迹广度在总体上呈先升后降的趋势;人均三维生态足迹整体处于波动上升趋势,其中内蒙古的人均三维生态足迹值偏高,2021年达到3.87 hm^(2)·人^(-1);5个时期的可持续发展水平变化特征呈现“西南高东北低”的分布格局,可持续发展水平较高的省份为青海省和甘肃省;驱动力分析模型表明,黄河上游地区自然资本驱动力整体受人口、社会消费、生态建设、科技和环境污染多重因素综合影响。未来需因地制宜制定和实施可持续发展策略,推动黄河上游地区生态保护与高质量发展。

农旅融合、要素流动与县域经济增长

农旅融合是践行“绿水青山就是金山银山”理念的良好载体和生动实践。在理论分析和模型推演的基础上,利用休闲农业与乡村旅游示范县政策设计准自然实验,并基于2008-2019年中国1778个县域的面板数据,采用多时点双重差分模型,考察农旅融合发展对县域经济增长的影响。结果表明,农旅融合发展对县域经济增长具有显著的推动作用。该结论在经过平行趋势检验、反事实检验等多重稳健性检验后依旧成立。机制分析表明,农旅融合发展主要是通过吸引资本流入、加快非农转移和推动技术进步来提高县域经济发展水平,进一步凸显出要素流动在县域经济增长过程中的传导作用。此外,从资源禀赋看,农旅融合经济增长效应的发挥,不仅依赖于县域内部旅游生态资源,对外部交通条件等基础设施也有较高要求。同时,东部地区县域的农旅融合发展能发挥出更明显的经济增长效应。可见,基于本地资源优势推进农旅融合发展,并进一步补齐县域交通等基础设施建设短板,是推动县域经济增长的重要选项。