GRAIN PRICE STABILITY AND FARMER DECISION MAKING IN CHINA

In this paper we find that real grain prices in China have displayed increased volatility in the past decade. This is true for rice, wheat, corn, and for most of provinces. Farmers in China are found to be risk averse because when they make acreage allocation decisions. Given the widespread access to land in China, farmers mostly respond negatively in their sown area decisions towards price risk. The large price variations from 1984-1995 may have contributed to the slowdown in agricultural output growth from 1984-1995.Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis,

Local Government Behavior and Property Right Formation in Rural China

Secure land tenure is important to the development process, but China’s rural reforms have so far failed to provide farm households with this security. We examine the political economy of land tenure and find that local governments sacrifice tenure security in the interests of efficiency and equity. Local rent seeking also plays an important role, and is a likely source of the under-development of land rental markets. Our results further suggest that decreases in distortionary taxes and increases in the integrity of elections will lead to more secure tenure and an increased reliance on market land exchange.

The Independent Counsel Statute: A Legal History

Priester et al provide a comprehensive legal history of the independent counsel statute from its inception in 1978 until its apparent last hurrah in 1999. They also explore the role of the independent counsel in the history and practice of the government\u27s evidentiary privileges

Fuel cell research - An investigation of non- steady-state operation Final report, 1 Jun. 1963 - 1 Jun. 1965

Application of galanostatic studies to fuel cell electrodes - effects of pulsed loading on fuel cell operatio

Management Recommendations for Working with Journalism and New Media Unions

Unions organization is increasingly of interest in the media today, particularly in the case of union organization efforts in New York state. In light of this trend, the ways informal organizations such as union membership impact formal organizations and businesses overall are explored through the lens of micro, macro, and macro levels of organizational behavior. In particular, the role of journalists as employees is considered in the context of large, established media organizations and in start-up new media organizations. A comparison of these two sectors provides context in developing managerial recommendations for leaders to consider when working with unionized labor or when confronted with a union organization effort at their workplace. The main thesis of this paper is that unions members in white collar businesses act as informal groups within organizations and union membership leads to: 1) more effective, efficient employees, 2) greater workplace satisfaction, and 3) consequently, potentially more effective organizations in terms of efficiencies

Reaching Far into the Woods: Impact of Roads on Forest Structure in China

Land Economics/Use,

What Does an Exemplary Middle School Mathematics Teacher Look Like? The Use of a Professional Development Rubric

A School University Research Network (SURN) committee composed of current mathematics teachers, central office math supervisors, building administrators, mathematicians, and mathematics educators researched numerous sources regarding best practices in mathematics instruction. The resulting professional development rubric synthesizes their findings and can serve a professional development role by providing teachers and administrators with a tool to develop clarity and consensus on best mathematics instructional practices, and how these practices are implemented in the classroom. It is also being used as a tool for cooperating teachers in their supervision of student teachers and as a reflective method for self-evaluation

Parental Migration and Early Childhood Development in Rural China

Nearly one-quarter of all children under age 2 in China are left behind in the countryside as parents migrate to urban areas for work. We use a four-wave longitudinal survey following young children from 6 to 30 months of age to provide first evidence on the effects of parental migration on development, health, and nutritional outcomes in the critical first stages of life. We find that maternal migration has a negative effect on cognitive development: migration before children reach 12 months of age reduces cognitive development by 0.3 standard deviations at age 2. Possible mechanisms include reduced dietary diversity and engagement in stimulating activities, both known to be causally associated with skill development in early life. We find no effects on other dimensions of physical and social-emotional health

Reforming state-market relations in rural China 1

Because of the political importance of stable and affordable food prices, governments in transitional economies in Europe and Asia fkequently struggle to balance the desire to maintain state controls in the rural sector with the goal of promoting market development and privatizing or commercializing state agencies involved in rural trade or finance. This paper examines institutional change in China's rural state agencies during the reform period, focusing on the conflict between managerial incentives to maximize profits, on the one hand, and implement policy, on the other. We explain the reasons for changing contractual incentives and authority arrangements over time, assess the effects of new institutional forms on economic performance and policy implementation, and consider reform options.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71599/1/j.1468-0351.1998.tb00059.x.pd