Institutional Change in Market-liberal State Capitalism: An Integrative Perspective on the Development of the Private Business Sector in China

This paper shows that a more accurate depiction of the development of China’s private sector is gained by considering the complex interaction between bottom-up and topdown processes. First, the paper analyzes the general characteristics of Chinese capitalism to help understand and classify the gradual institutional change in the enterprise sector. Second, it draws on insights from comparative political economy and new approaches in political science to introduce the strategy of “wearing a red hat,” an empirical phenomenon that provides a framework for the emergence from the 1980s of China’s private sector. This section also examines the closely interwoven relationships between private companies and the party-state that have taken place since the 1990s. Third, the paper indicates that focusing on state/capital relationships at different administrational levels contributes to a better understanding of China’s private sector. It concludes that the development and success of the new private enterprises, which remained closely linked to the state, enabled the ruling elite to form and consolidate a hegemonic project that provided relative societal coherence on the often bumpy road to reform.Dieser Artikel zeigt auf, dass ein Blick auf die komplexen Interaktionen zwischen „Bottom-up“- und „Top-down“-Prozessen ein präziseres Bild der Entwicklung des Privatsektors in China liefert. Dabei hilft erstens eine Analyse von grundlegenden Merkmalen des chinesischen Kapitalismus, um den graduellen institutionellen Wandel im Unternehmenssektor verstehen beziehungsweise einordnen zu können. Unter Bezugnahme auf die Vergleichende Politische Ökonomie und neuere politikwissenschaftliche Ansätze werden, zweitens, die empirischen Phänomene des „wearing a red hat“ in der Entstehungsphase des Privatsektors ab den 1980ern sowie der seitdem eng verknüpften Beziehungen zwischen Privatunternehmen und dem Parteistaat eingeführt. Drittens wird erörtert, dass ein Fokus auf die engen Beziehungen zwischen Staat und Kapital auf verschiedenen administrativen Ebenen zu einem besseren Verständnis des chinesischen Privatsektors beiträgt. Wie abschließend festgehalten wird, ermöglichte die Entwicklung und der Erfolg der neuen privaten, jedoch weiterhin eng mit dem Staat verbundenen Unternehmen es der Machtelite, ein hegemoniales Projekt zu formieren und aufrechtzuerhalten, das dem holprigen Reformweg eine relative gesellschaftliche Stabilität verlieh.1 Introduction 2 Competition-driven state capitalism 3 Theorizing institutional change 4 The strategy of “wearing a red hat” and the phenomenon of thickly embedded capitalists The first phase of reform The second phase of reform 5 The embedding of the enterprise in China Intra-regional competition, state entrepreneurialism and private-public networks The central state and its capacity to steer and reform from above 6 A note on favorable external opportunity structures for gradual changes in the trade regime 7 Conclusion: Institutional transformation and hegemony Reference

China’s rise in a liberal world order in transition – introduction to the FORUM

In a time of great uncertainty about the future and resilience of the liberal world order this Forum focuses on China’s rise and interplay with the foundations of that liberal order. The key question is the extent to and variegated ways in which China - with its (re)ascendance to power and potential global leadership – is adapting to and perhaps even strengthening liberal institutions and rules of the game, confronting them, or developing alternative paths. In this introduction to the Forum we advance three key points based on the contributions. First, contrasting the orthodox binary scenarios of either inevitable conflict or co-optation offered in the mainstream IR debate, the Forum highlights the possibility of a third scenario of China’s interplay with the liberal world and its key actors, institutions, and rules. A hybrid and variegated scenario that entails both conflict and adaptation, differently entangled in different issue areas. Second, it stresses the need to conceptualize and empirically comprise the essentially interlinked nature of domestic state-society models and the global political economy. Third, we argue for a perspective that incorporates underlying economic and social structures and the power relations embedded therein

Orthogonal or superimposed pilots? A rate-efficient channel estimation strategy for stationary MIMO fading channels

©IEEE, 2017This paper considers channel estimation for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels and revisits two competing concepts of including training data into the transmit signal, namely orthogonal pilot (OP) that periodically transmits alternating pilot-data symbols, and superimposed pilot (SP) that overlays pilot-data symbols over time. We investigate rates achievable by both schemes when the channel undergoes time-selective bandlimited fading and analyze their behaviors with respect to the MIMO dimension and fading speed. By incorporating the multiple-antenna factors, we demonstrate that the widely-known trend, in which the OP is superior to the SP in the regimes of high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and slow-fading, and vice-versa, does not hold in general. As the number of transmit antennas (nt) increases, the range of operable fading speeds for the OP is significantly narrowed due to limited time resources for channel estimation and insufficient fading samples, which results in the SP being competitive in wider speed and SNR ranges. For a sufficiently small nt, we demonstrate thatas the fading variation becomes slower, the estimation quality for the SP can be superior to that for the OP. In this case, the SP outperforms the OP in the slow-fading regime due to full utilization of time for data transmission

Kooperation oder Konfrontation? Der Aufstieg Chinas in der globalen politischen Ökonomie

Welche Folgen zeitigt der rasante Aufstieg Chinas? Im Anschluss an Erkenntnisse der Chinaforschung und politökonomischer Ansätze wird die Volksrepublik China als eine Variante der nachholenden (staats-)kapitalistischen Entwicklung analysiert, die an einer wirtschaftlichen und geopolitischen Aufwertung interessiert ist. Dabei verkörpert die inter- und transnationale Einbettung des neuen chinesischen Kapitalismus in ein instabiles Weltsystem trotz des Bemühens der Staatsführung um eine „verantwortungsvolle“ Großmachtpolitik einen spannungsreichen Prozess. Zwar bleibt die chinesische Volkswirtschaft abhängig von den „alten“ Zentren des globalen Kapitalismus. Daraus folgt jedoch nicht umstandslos eine reibungslose Zusammenarbeit. Im Gegenteil weisen aktuelle Währungsdispute mit den USA im Zuge des globalen Wirtschaftseinbruchs auf politisch vermittelte Standortkonflikte hin. Perspektiven einer konfliktarmen Integration Chinas müssen daher relativiert werden – wie zusätzlich die Führungsrolle des Landes im ostasiatischen Regionalisierungsprozess illustriert –, ohne voreilige Schlussfolgerungen hinsichtlich militärischer Zusammenstöße und eines Übergangs zu einer neuen globalen chinesischen Hegemonie zu übernehmen. Abgezielt wird darauf, die Vorteile einer politökonomischen Betrachtungsweise bei der Beantwortung einer Frage herauszustellen, die üblicherweise in einer Perspektive der Internationalen Beziehungen, das heißt fokussiert auf zwischenstaatliche Beziehungen, behandelt wird.What has been the impact of China’s rapid rise? Referring to findings of current research on China as well as theories of political economy, this paper analyzes the People’s Republic of China as a variety of a (state-led) capitalist catch-up development process that is focused on economic and geopolitical upgrading. Despite efforts by China’s political leadership to act as a “responsible” superpower, the international and transnational embedding of the new Chinese capitalism is fraught with tension. The Chinese economy remains dependent on the “old” centers of global capitalism, but this has not paved the way for smooth cooperation. On the contrary, the latest currency disputes between China and the US during the global economic slump are indicative of politically charged conflicts between the world’s relevant economic regions. Thus, the prospect of China being integrated harmoniously seems to be overly optimistic – as is also demonstrated by China’s efforts to play a leading role in the East Asian regionalization process. At the same time, one has to be careful not to draw (the wrong) conclusions about the inevitability of military conflict and a transition towards a new global Chinese hegemony. The paper aims to highlight the advantages of a political economy approach in answering a question that has primarily been addressed from International Relations perspectives, i.e. focused on relations between states.1 Einleitung 2 Nachholende (staats-)kapitalistische Entwicklung Chinas Aufstieg: Außenpolitische Flankierungen 3 Die Einbettung des chinesischen Kapitalismus in ein fragiles Weltsystem Von der „Werkbank der Welt“ zum ernst zu nehmenden Konkurrenten Währungsdispute Die VR China in der ostasiatischen Regionalisierung Strukturelle Instabilität: China, Japan und die USA 4 Fazit Literatu

Current subsidence rates due to compaction of Holocene sediments in southern Louisiana

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 33 (2006): L11403, doi:10.1029/2006GL026300.Relative contributions of geologic and anthropogenic processes to subsidence of southern Louisiana are vigorously debated. Of these, shallow sediment compaction is often considered dominant, although this has never been directly observed or effectively demonstrated. Quantitative understanding of subsidence is important for predicting relative sea level rise, storm surge flooding due to hurricanes, and for successful wetland restoration. Despite many shallow borings, few appropriate stratigraphic and geotechnical data are available for site-specific calculations. We overcome this by determining present compaction rates from Monte Carlo simulations of the incremental sedimentation and compaction of stratigraphies typical of the Holocene of southern Louisiana. This approach generates distributions of present compaction rates that are not expected to exceed 5 mm/yr, but may locally. Locations with present subsidence rates greater than the predicted maximum probable shallow compaction rates are likely influenced by additional processes

Історичне краєзнавство як складова національної освіти: теоретичний аспект

Аналізується процес утвердження історичного краєзнавства в системі національної освіти. Розглядаються теоретичні питання про предмет, об’єкт і завдання історичного краєзнавства. Акцентується увага на виховній і консолідуючій функції історичного краєзнавства в процесі відродження української нації.Анализируется процесс становления исторического краеведения в системе национального образования. Рассматриваются теоретические вопросы о предмете, объекте и задачах исторического краеведения. Внимание акцентируется на воспитательной и консолидирующей функциях исторического краеведения в процессе возрождения украинской нации.The processes of the formation of the local history studies in the system of the national education had been analyzed. The theoretical aspects of the objects and tasks of the local history studies had been shown. The educational and consolidation functions of the local history studies in the Ukrainian national resurrection process had been pointed

Characterization of a novel and spontaneous mouse model of inflammatory arthritis

Abstract Introduction Mouse models of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have proven critical for identifying genetic and cellular mechanisms of the disease. Upon discovering mice in our breeding colony that had spontaneously developed inflamed joints reminiscent of RA, we established the novel IIJ (inherited inflamed joints) strain. The purpose of this study was to characterize the histopathological, clinical, genetic and immunological properties of the disease. Methods To begin the IIJ strain, an arthritic male mouse was crossed with SJL/J females. Inheritance of the phenotype was then tracked by intercrossing, backcrossing and outcrossing to other inbred strains. The histopathology of the joints and extraarticular organ systems was examined. Serum cytokines and immunoglobulins (Igs) were measured by ELISA and cytometric bead array. Transfer experiments tested whether disease could be mediated by serum alone. Finally, the cellular joint infiltrate and the composition of secondary lymphoid organs were examined by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Results After nine generations of intercrossing, the total incidence of arthritis was 33% (304 of 932 mice), with females being affected more than males (38% vs. 28%; P < 0.001). Swelling, most notably in the large distal joints, typically became evident at an early age (mean age of 52 days). In addition to the joint pathology, which included bone and cartilage erosion, synovial hyperproliferation and a robust cellular infiltration of mostly Gr-1+ neutrophils, there was also evidence of systemic inflammation. IL-6 was elevated in the sera of recently arthritic mice, and extraarticular inflammation was observed histologically in multiple organs. Total serum Ig and IgG1 levels were significantly elevated in arthritic mice, and autoantibodies such as rheumatoid factor and Ig reactive to joint components (collagen type II and joint homogenate) were also detected. Nevertheless, serum failed to transfer disease. A high percentage of double-negative (CD4-CD8-) CD3+ TCRα/β+ T cells in the lymphoid organs of arthritic IIJ mice suggested significant disruption in the T-cell compartment. Conclusions Overall, these data identify the IIJ strain as a new murine model of inflammatory, possibly autoimmune, arthritis. The IIJ strain is similar, both histologically and serologically, to RA and other murine models of autoimmune arthritis. It may prove particularly useful for understanding the female bias in autoimmune diseases