Suchergebnisse

AbstractWe analyze China's tariff rates at WTO accession using a political economy approach. A model drawing on Branstetter and Feenstra is used to derive an optimal tariff rate for each industry. The model predicts that a government would set a high tariff rate if an industry is of large state‐owned enterprise (SOE) share, multinational share, or small foreign import share. From the model we reveal the Chinese government's preference towards different interest groups under the binding tariff constraint from the WTO commitments. The estimated structural parameters imply that the political weights on both the SOE profits and consumer income diminish with the economic opening. More important, the government still favours SOEs over consumer income. Our findings are consistent with the special features of China's economy.

This study aims to verify whether there is a difference in groups vis-à-vis gender and age in the relationship between the motivation and satisfaction of visiting the former presidential villa, Cheongnam-dae. Using structural equation models, we examined that Relaxation has a positive effect on satisfaction in all groups. However, the relationship between motivation and satisfaction, such as Convenience, Historicity, and Fellowship, reveals gender and age differences, while the relationship among three motivation factors differs by gender and age. Four motivational factors, i.e., Relaxation, Convenience, Historicity, and Satisfaction, significantly affected the youth (n = 171), while the three factors, i.e., Relaxation, Convenience, and Fellowship, significantly affected the elderly (n = 143). Our analysis encourages expanding ecotourism infrastructure to enhance the ecological value of Cheongnam-dae. It is also necessary to replenish related facilities and contents to enhance the effectiveness of ecological experiences and environmental education. Therefore, this work is significant as it contributes to the development of an analytic framework by discussing the difference between motivation and satisfaction.

Abstract
Historical records for the Mu Us Desert margin during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and corresponding high-resolution climate proxy records have prompted studies on societal responses to climatic changes in this region. The Mu Us Desert margin is highly sensitive to changes in desertification and biological productivity controlled in part by Asian monsoon variations. Here the existing historical temperature and precipitation records are examined to understand spatiotemporal climate variations and to identify potential mechanisms that have driven desertification in the region over the past 500 years. The focus here is on three severe desertification events that occurred in 1529–46, the 1570s, and 1601–50. The relationships among temperature, precipitation, and desertification indicate that a cold/drought-prone climate drives the desertification process. During the Ming dynasty, this region was one of nine important military districts, where the frontier wall (the Great Wall) and other fortifications were constructed. To maintain the defense system, military officers made a valiant effort to decrease the influence of desertification. However, the human-waged war against nature was largely futile, and local rebellions in the stricken region were spawned by the inability of the government to cope with the severe environmental stresses associated with rapid desertification.