Imperatives for attracting investment and technology in the Indian mining sector

In India, the mineral resource inventory and the production of a large number of important minerals have registered significant increases during the last few decades. Yet the country continues to be a net importer of many high value and scarce minerals and metals, like gold, diamond, and several base metals. Exploration and development of the resources of these minerals are technology- and capital-intensive. To bring technology and capital through foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Indian mineral sector, it is imperative to lay stress on: accurate resource estimation and categorization, as well as realistic projection of the true values; rationalization of legislative measures based on R&D studies and reorganization of the implementation machinery; conducive tax structure; notification of acts and rules applicable to offshore mineral resources; time-frames for granting licences and leases; encouragement to labor productivity by rationalizing labor laws; reforms in the monetary system to increase market competitiveness of Indian minerals; and judicial reforms. FDI in the Indian mineral sector is important to firm up the knowledge-base of mineral resources and their optimum exploitation.     

入世十年我国对外贸易的宏观环境影响研究

入世十年来,我国对外贸易迅猛发展,贸易价值量取得巨大顺差,但其背后却孕育着巨大的资源环境逆差。本文通过建立贸易的环境核算方法,运用我国"能源-经济-环境"投入-产出及CGE模型分析了2002、2005、2007年的投入产出表,对进出口产品虚拟污染物进行定量核算,衡量入世十年我国对外贸易的宏观环境影响。研究表明,入世十年来,我国净出口产品虚拟SO2排放约占全国排放总量的1/4;净出口产品虚拟CO2排放占全国排放总量超过30%;净出口产品COD排放占全国排放总量的20%以上。在不采取其他措施的情况下,我国在未来20年仍将处于巨大的贸易环境逆差之中。     

Road traffic injuries to foreigners in the People's Republic of China, 2000-2008

Introduction: China's rapid motorization has resulted in significant challenges in road safety. Method: Using official national statistics, this study examines road traffic injuries (RTIs) experienced by foreigners in China. The number of foreigners entering China has increased 2.4 times over the study period, from 10.16 million in 2000 to 24.33 million in 2008. Results: From 2000- 2008, the number of road traffic fatalities among foreigners similarly increased 2.5 fold, including 49 fatalities reported in 2008. Nonfatal RTIs during this same time frame increased by a magnitude of 1.8 (126 nonfatal injuries in 2000 to 223 in 2008). Conclusions: This study suggests that the total number of foreigners working or visiting China each year who suffer fatal and nonfatal road traffic injuries is relatively low. Impact on Industry: This study provided evidence suggesting that foreigners visiting or working in China face a relatively low risk of road traffic injuries.     

More aid, better institutions, or both?

It has been nearly 20 years since a working definition for “sustainable development” was put forward by the World Commission on Environment and Development. The concept endures in the mission statements and frameworks of action of various societal actors, including those of neighborhood associations, metropolitan development authorities, environmental ministries, and United Nations (UN) specialized organizations, to name a few. Yet many observers doubt that sustainable development is occurring in poor countries. This failure, the critics contend, stems from miserly transfers of foreign aid. The extent to which inadequate aid is to blame for poor environmental/developmental outcomes is an open question. But vocal demands for increasing aid to meet sustainable development goals come from many parts of society and are persistent. Exhortations for more aid to help poor countries are noble, perhaps even justifiable, but there are understandable doubts about the wisdom of transferring large capital and technical resources to countries that are slow to adopt needed institutional reforms. Aid without institutional reform is a recipe for wasted resources and donor fatigue. Worse, it may enhance inequities of wealth and power in recipient countries. There are few illustrations to draw on demonstrating how institutionally impoverished societies are affected when they are compelled to absorb massive aid inputs over a short period––a remedy suggested by some prominent aid experts. As a proxy, it is valuable to examine instances where swift macroeconomic changes, spurred by external investment and export-led growth, has occurred without significant institutional development. The case of Equatorial Guinea and its sudden oil riches is examined to discern whether, in the absence of meaningful institutional reform, rapid and profound increases in foreign direct investment and export income enable poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

环保国际规范与我国外贸发展的对策

长期以来，环保被当作一种社会义务或福利。然而，在环保问题日益受到国际关注并且多边国际规范不断加严的情况下，环境问题不仅是社会问题，更是一个经济问题，环保既可以造成致命的经济问题，也可以产生可观的经济效益。该文从环保已成为世界贸易组织等国际规范的重要内容，环保对国际贸易的直接影响等方面，来阐述环境保护与中国外贸事业发展的关系，并就外贸发展对策提出了一些较有见地的看法。     

What drives large South African corporations to invest in sub‐Saharan Africa? CEO's perspectives and implications for FDI policies

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing into Africa is highly diverse in terms of the origin of the investors, size of the firms, and the sectors of activity. The motivations and factors driving firms' decisions to invest in Africa are equally diverse. A direct survey of senior management in South African firms that are operating in sub-Saharan Africa reveals that the drivers of foreign investment as well as the risks and the strategies to overcome them differ markedly between sectors. A further finding is that there is a limited pool of FDI promotion policies and incentives that governments can institute that are effective in impacting South African corporations' investment decisions. As a consequence, broad-based FDI promotion policies aimed at attracting FDI across all investor groups are likely to have limited impact in attracting FDI from any particular investor group, or in attracting any FDI from multinational companies similar to the South African companies studied here. Such broad based policies probably need to be complemented with policies targeting those specific firms or sectors which countries hope to attract.     

以青奥会为契机南京城市环境问题调查与对策

围绕南京城市环境主要问题对国际访客和南京市民进行调查,分别发放186和205份问卷,其中有效问卷为178和200份,回收率分别为95.7%和97.6%,使用拟合优度方法检验。结果表明,国际访客对南京城市环境的满意度明显低于南京市民;国际访客对旅游区环境更看重;两者都认为视觉环境中的户外广告、城市绿化和城市扬尘是南京主要城市环境问题,而政府和普通市民是最应该对南京城市环境问题负责的群体,但南京市民更倾向把环保问题推给政府。围绕调查问卷中所反映的3大主要环境问题,本研究还对北京、新加坡、美国加利福尼亚州等国内外先进地区进行案例分析和经验总结,可为解决南京城市环境问题提供新的思路。     

The capital gains from trade are not enough: evidence from the environmental accounts of Venezuela and Mexico

In principle, a country cannot endure negative genuine savings for long periods of time without experiencing declining consumption. Nevertheless, theoreticians envisage two alternatives to explain how an exporter of non-renewable natural resources could experience permanent negative genuine savings and still ensure sustainability. The first one alleges that the capital gains arising from the expected improvement in the terms of trade would suffice to compensate for the negative savings of the resource exporter. The second alternative points at technological change as a way to avoid economic collapse. This paper uses the data of Venezuela and Mexico to empirically test the first of these two hypotheses. The results presented here prove that the terms of trade do not suffice to compensate the depletion of oil reserves in these two open economies.     

“棕地”现象及其治理对策

“棕地”的概念至今在国内外没有统一的标准,它只是刚刚引入我国,没有被研究者所重视,但在我国,“棕地”问题已开始出现,必须引起我们的重视。本文通过探讨了“棕地”的概念和“棕地”分类,来描述“棕地”现象,通过介绍国外“棕地”治理的先进管理经验,探讨我国“棕地”治理的对策。     

加拿大油田安全管理的经验与建议

加拿大建立了健全的政府能源管理机构,有完善的油气开发安全法规和标准体系。安全监督部门对石油天然气企业的监督检查表现为：确定重点监督检查企业,确保专业监督检查人员执法质量,加大监督检查处罚力度,促进安全管理水平的提高。油气企业安全管理与操作人员培训由专业培训机构承担,特别重视井控和防硫化氢培训,所有一线作业人员接受ENFORM的培训后,其上岗资格才为企业和安全环保监督部门认可。笔者就加拿大油田的开发安全管理经验,结合国内实际提出建议：应建立完善健全的安全生产数据库管理系统,为企业安全生产管理提供依据,健全事故上报制度;提高企业安全文化水平,营造良好的安全工作环境;加强承包商安全生产管理,共建甲乙双方和谐安全环境。