This article assesses, on a province-by-province basis, whether state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are constraining the development of private firms in Vietnam. The analysis suggests the greater the density of SOEs present in a province, the more they enjoy favouritism, the lower is the proportion of bank loans that go to private companies, and the longer it takes for private firms to get access to land. There is also a negative correlation between SOE growth and private sector growth. But most importantly, the greater the density of SOEs in a particular province, the lower the GDP (and GDP per capita) growth recorded by that province. This evidence suggests that SOEs are indeed ‘crowding out’ private companies in Vietnam.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) has played an important role in the development of Laos since the country embarked on an economic transition and business liberalisation programme in the late 1980s. However, in recent years Laos has witnessed a marked contraction in its cumulative FDI inflows. This article provides a profile of FDI activity in Laos over the past decade and identifies the various factors behind the rise, and subsequent decline, in foreign investment inflows during the 1990s. The article concludes by suggesting some of the ways in which Lao policy makers might seek to revive the country's flagging FDI sector.
Focusing largely on short stories of the 1890s and 1900s, this essay examines Richard Marsh's many similarities and connections with late-Victorian newspapers, particularly the tabloid press typified by George Purkess's Illustrated Police News. It argues that Marsh used the direct and accessible language of popular journalism to clothe his outlandish sensation fiction in the trappings of believability, while at the same time exploiting the literary possibilities of the news itself, notably in his responses to the infamous Jack the Ripper murders in Whitechapel in 1888 in stories such as 'The adventure of the phonograph' (Curios, 1898) and 'A member of the Anti-Tobacco League' (Under One Flag, 1906).
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