Urban Planning and Inadequacies of Implementation:The Case of the City of Larissa,Greece

Urban planning in Greece is identified by two characteristics:the domination of the legislative/legal level on the policy-making one,and the“implementation gap”between laws and plans,and related implementations.In fact,the most frequent reason for the implementation gap is the inability of local administration to compensate landowners.An additional reason for the non-implementation of Urban Plans is that if the expropriation/compensation is delayed for more than a legally specified period,the landowner can ask the lifting of the expropriation.Larissa faces such difficulties.Due to lack of money for expropriations,its¾years-old Urban Plan has been implemented only by 77%.In the city,there are nearly 120 of cases to be expropriated/compensated,and the total amount needed is estimated to 150 million Euros.Obviously,the municipality is impossible to afford this amount,and the Urban Plan is in serious risk of not being implemented.In that context,the paper suggests a re-examination and a re-classification of the prescribed spaces based on three critical factors:the“urban importance”of each“prescribed space”,the economic affordability of financing its expropriation,and the legal characteristics of property rights.

Effect of family control on corporate dividend policy of firms in Pakistan

This study examines the impact of family control on the dividend policy of firms in Pakistan,covering the period from 2009 to 2016.It also investigates whether family control moderates the impact of firm-specific factors on the dividend policy.The GMM model for panel data estimation is used.The mean difference univariate analysis shows that family firms differ from nonfamily firms based on financial characteristics.The multivariate analysis shows that family firms pay lower dividends than nonfamily firms.Besides,firm size inversely affects the dividend policy,whereas tangibility positively affects it.Moreover,family control does not moderate the impact of all firm-specific factors on the dividend policy.Overall,family control,size,and tangibility are found to be the main determinants of the dividend policy in Pakistan.

Impact of land expropriation on farmers’ livelihoods in the mountainous and hilly regions of Sichuan, China

Research on the sustainable livelihoods of rural households is of great significance to mitigating rural poverty and reasonable land expropriation policy helps to realize better livelihoods and sustainable development.Scholars have conducted considerable research on the relationships between land expropriation and farmers'livelihoods.However,few quantitative studies have used the characteristics of villages as control variables to systematically analyze the impact of land expropriation on farmers'livelihood capital and strategy in the mountainous and hilly regions of China.This study uses the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Model(PLS-SEM)to systematically explain the impact of land expropriation on farmers'livelihoods in mountainous and hilly regions of Sichuan in 2013,with the characteristics of the village including income,accessibility and terrain as control variables.The analysis uses both representative sample data of 240 rural households and spatial data calculated using a 30 m Digital Elevation Model(DEM)by Geographic Information System(GIS).Results are as follows:(1)The land expropriation characteristicsare negatively affected by village accessibility.Villages with worse accessibility tend to have fewer land parcels and less land area expropriated.Additionally,land that is expropriated from inaccessible villages tends to receive less compensation.(2)Natural capital is negatively affected by number and area of land expropriation.Natural capital is not only directly affected by village accessibility,but also indirectly affected by village accessibility through the mediating effect of the number and area of land parcels expropriated.(3)Physical capital is positively affected by compensation for land expropriation,and negatively affected by village accessibility through compensation for land expropriation.The worse a village's accessibility/location is,the less compensation it will receive for land expropriation,resulting in lower physical capital.(4)Financial capital is negatively affected by village accessibility indirectly through compensation for land expropriation.The better the village'saccessibility is,the greateris its compensation for land expropriation and,hence,the greater is its financial capital.(5)Social capital is directly and negatively affected by the number and area of land parcels expropriated,and is indirectly and positively affected by village accessibility through the number and area of land parcels expropriated.This study enhances our understanding of the characteristics of land expropriation and rural households'livelihood as well as the impact of land expropriation on rural households'livelihood.These findings provide reference for the formulation of proper policies related to land expropriation and the improvement of rural households'livelihoods in the mountainous and hilly regions of China.

Empirical Analysis on Farmers' Willingness to Accept Compensation Whose Land is Expropriated——Based on Survey Analysis on Rural Households in 17 Provinces

According to the data of survey on farmers' land right from Rural Development Institute (the USA),Renmin University of China and Michigan S ate University,this paper conducts empirical analysis on farmers' willingness to accept compensation ho e land is expropriated and the related influencing factors by adopting Logistic model.The study indicates that the proportion of farmers' non-agricultural income,the level of economic development in the region,participation right and right to vote,exert conspicuous impact on farmers' satisfaction degr whose land is expropriated.In the provinces that are surveyed,most of the expropriated land is used for the public welfare project building,and in the current context of rapid urbanization,the conditions for defining public interests have not yet been put in place;the farmers in developed regions with more non-agricultural job opportunities express higher degree of satisfaction to the compensation for expropriated land;it is required to establish sound land expropriation compensation mechanism and bolster farmers' participation right,so as to offer fair and reasonable compensation for the farmers whose land is expropriated.

Analysis on Causes of Rural Land Expropriation Disputes Based on Smith's Model

Frequent occurrence of land expropriation disputes in rural areas of China has attracted attention of scholars to study causes. Most existing studies discuss causes from " structure- institution" level. In other words,land expropriation disputes are caused by existing imperfect institutions,regulations,and policies. Such analysis model points institutional causes,but pays little attention to policy implementation process,especially the subjective initiative of parties concerned. This paper described a decade-long land expropriation dispute case in detail.Through description of event and process and survey of reasons of actors,it revealed factors resulting in occurrence and upgrade of dispute,and analyzed factors and their interactions with the aid of Smith Process Model.

The Plights and Solutions of the Farmers' Land Rights Protection

The current plights of farmers' land rights in China are analyzed.They cover the vain installation of the security of farmers' land rights,vain position of the dominant role played by rural collective land,incomplete functions of rural collective land and the inadequate material assistance of farmers.The solutions for ensuring the security of farmers' land rights are put forward,in the first place,perfecting the legislation of guaranteeing farmers' land rights.In the second place,scientifically installing the rural land rights,which covers the following aspects,such as,clearly defining that the collective ownership of rural land belongs to farmers in law;clearly defining the main body of rural land property and eliminating the shortage of property rights;demarcating the range of public interests and clearly stipulating the reasonable compensation of main body of land expropriation.In the third place,villagers' autonomy should be perfected.In the forth place,standardizing the system of land expropriation,which includes the two aspects of normalizing the land transference procedure and the control of collecting land tax,and establishing fair compensation standard and normalizing land compensation procedure.In the fifth place,strengthening land transference and judiciary,and enforcing supervision;in the sixth place,accelerating the development of peasants' cooperative economic organizations and cultivating peasants' rights keeping organization.Through the discussion on the plights and solutions of farmers' land rights protection,the coordination of rural and urban development will be realized and a harmonious society will be built.

The Group Differentiation of Farmers Whose Land is Expropriated and Community Integration

This paper introduces the status of group differentiation of farmers whose land is expropriated and analyses the forcing of urban community factor and social workers' intervention on community integration of farmers whose land is expropriated.Since individual characteristics factors,external factors,social support and internal factors are different,the understandings of current farmer group whose land is expropriated on social work have great disparity.The obstacles existing in urbanization of farmers whose land is expropriated are concluded as follows.In terms of group constitution,there is a shortage of development-oriented of farmer groups whose land is expropriated,but impoverished groups overabound;in terms of cities,it lacks direct platforms and institutions that provide services for farmers whose land is expropriated.In terms of social work,the degree of social workers intervening in community integration of farmers whose land is expropriated is insufficient.From three aspects:the intervention of social work in integration of different types of communities of farmers whose land is expropriated,social work intervention at level of social policy,and social worker team carrying out the plan of helping others,this paper proposes path selection of intervention of social work in community integration of farmers whose land is expropriated.

Land Expropriation and Constitutional Protection of Farmers' Rights

One of the reasons for many social tragedies resulted from land expropriation in China is failure of the constitution to bring into play its due functions in standardizing land expropriation power of the government and protecting farmers' rights.In the existing land expropriation system,government is not only a policy maker of land expropriation,but also a "referee" of dispute over land expropriation.Government' land expropriation power and land-expropriated farmers' rights become out of balance.As a result,some local governments do not attach importance to farmers' rights,making land-expropriated farmers dissatisfied and consequently leading to some social tragedies unfavorable for harmony and stability.To fundamentally settle disputes over land expropriation and realize win-win of farmers' right and state interest,it should bring into full play functions of the constitution through protecting farmers' right to participate in land expropriation and establishing constitution evaluation mechanism.

Theoretical Study on the Regional Comprehensive Price of Expropriated Agricultural Land Based on the Benchmark Land Price

So far,the work of calculating the regional comprehensive price of expropriated agricultural land has been carried out for more than ten years,but in the specific calculation process,the concept and calculation method of the regional comprehensive price of expropriated land are still lack of unified standards.In this paper,from the point of view of the benchmark land price,the regional comprehensive price of expropriated agricultural land is calculated by using the relatively mature benchmark land price.

Externalities as Compensatory Criteria of Compulsory Expropriation Actions

Ownership/private property and property inheritance are concepts well-established and constitutionally protected in our modern societies.Nevertheless,numerous provisions in the national legal framework enable the states to expropriate individual private goods under certain severe circumstances through compensation prerequisites.The present manuscript presents a short comparative study of the constitutional articles of many countries,regarding expropriation actions,examines the compensation techniques employed,and interrelates expropriation implementation with economic analysis methods and experimental economics.Furthermore,this paper states that the current Greek expropriate methods consist of an economic disturbance and externality in economic terms.

Analysis of the Focal Issues of the Implementation of the Block System Reform in China--From the Perspective of the Protection of Civil Rights

In February 2016, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of China issued the "Several Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Further Strengthening the Management of Urban Planning and Construction", stating that, in principle, closed residential areas will no longer be constructed and will be replaced by the promotion of the block system. This change in policy has aroused a great deal of controversy in various circles of society in China. In 2017, Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province, made an innovative attempt to implement "small block regulations." In 2018, the first "block system" public rental housing district appeared in Beijing, the capital of China. These innovative practices have promoted the pace of block system reform in China, but in general, the implementation of block system reform is difficult. From the perspective of public opinion, it seems that many citizens misunderstand the block system. This may be due to the complex interactions among community environmental management, public security, privacy, and other factors where individual interests and public interests meet. This article, from the perspective of the protection of civil rights, analyses the advantages and disadvantages of the block system at the value level, distinguishes the differences between the block systems of China, the UK and the US and then puts forward the theory that the block system reforms for newly built and existing residences are different and should be implemented independently. Concerning the key point of the block system reforms, the "greater difficulty in the implementation of the block system reform in the existing residential quarters" is the proposal to expropriate the commonly owned internal roads and appropriately compensate the residents. Finally, to cope with the core issues effectively, this article advocates gradual implementation of the block system reforms in China, including legislation, policy transformation, cultural construction, and pilot trials to promote the success of the implementation.

New Compensation Standard for Land Expropriation in China

This paper explores a new compensation standard for use in agricultural land conversion in China during the land-expropriation process, based on the market value definition. Assuming identical bargainingpower between the buyer and the seller, efficient and equitable compensation is obtained through a market transaction and bargaining negotiation mechanism, under the assumpation of a perfect market. From the state-of-the-art viewpoint of land appraising, a practical approximation of the theoretical optimal compensation will provide an effective solution for China, under the current collective-owned land property rights structure.

A Solution to Two Paradoxes of International Capital Flows

International capital flows from rich to poor countries can be regarded as either too small(the Lucas paradox in a one-sector model)or too large(when compared with the logic of factor price equalization in a two-sector model).To resolve the paradoxes,we introduce a non-neoclassical model which features financial contracts and firm heterogeneity.In our model,free trade in goods does not imply equal returns to capital across countries.In addition,rich patterns of gross capital flows emerge as a function of financial and property rights institutions.A poor country with an inefficient financial system may simultaneously experience an outflow of financial capital but an inflow of FDI,resulting in a small net flow.In comparison,a country with a low capital-to-labor ratio but a high risk of expropriation may experience an outflow of financial capital without a compensating inflow of FDI.

Holdout Problem and Its Governance in Market-Oriented Urban Renewal: Taking Shenzhen as an Example

This paper studies the occurrence, characteristics, and governance mechanism of the holdout problem during market-oriented urban renewal in Shenzhen after a related foreign experience analysis, through methodologies of logical analysis and case study.The results indicate that the holdout problem is almost an inevitable result of market-oriented urban renewal, and its proliferation not only goes against social morality and the principle of justice, but also harms social public interests, and even causes market failure.The paper proposes two approaches to dealing with holdout problem: first, to introduce the contracting commitment to restrict the owners’ freedom of contract, and to guarantee the public benefit of all owners;second, to introduce land expropriation right to regulate holdout behavior via authority of state.

Does strengthening large shareholders'cash flow rights reduce their expropriation motivation?Evidence from China's dividend tax reforms

According to classic corporate governance theory,strengthening large shareholders’cash flow rights without changing their control rights should reduce expropriation incentives by better aligning their interests with those of minority shareholders.However,due to the weaker investor protections and low dividend payouts of listed firms in China,large shareholders typically extract private benefits instead of seeking shared benefits through dividends.They therefore care more about control rights than cash flow rights.An empirical study using the exogenous changes of two rounds of dividend tax reductions reveals that strengthening the largest shareholders’cash flow rights leaves their expropriation activities unchanged and firm value does not increase.However,when other shareholders supervise the largest shareholder,expropriation activities ease significantly.