Rural Urban Divide

International tourism is considered an effective means of economic development. However, the effects of tourism are not evenly distributed between rural and urban households in China. In the wake of significant socioeconomic events, the uneven distribution of the economic effects has huge welfare implications for Chinese households. This study is the first attempt to evaluate the distributional effect of two large, recent, sequential events on China's rural and urban households. It adopts an innovative approach that combines an econometric model and a two-household computable general equilibrium model. The results show that in terms of welfare, urban households were more adversely affected by the events than rural households. To mitigate the loss of welfare, measures should be taken to continually promote China as a destination and attract tourists after such events occur. Meanwhile, training and education should be made more accessible to rural households to increase their job opportunities.

To restore trust in companies, business and capitalism many directors and boards need to build relationships with a wider range of stakeholders than shareholders and focus more upon the social impacts of corporate policies and activities and responsible and sustainable business development. Such a shift of emphasis can create new opportunities for collaboration with Governments, regulators and other bodies and interests to ensure that business activities benefit the many rather than just a few, and reduce the pressure for further intervention.

Published as: Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2016), Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Impact, Director Today, Vol II, Issue XII, December, pp 5-10

There have been ongoing discussions about the most recent curriculum reform in China. The new curriculum aims at a more quality-oriented (suzhi) education and producing more well-rounded citizens to meet the challenges of global competition. However, it is questioned how suzhi education
is possible with entrance examination still being the sole sorting mechanism. A semester-long ethnography in a rural middle school in northwest China reveals how rural students face many challenges with the new curriculum. Based on interviews, analyses of textbooks, and observations of classroom
teaching, the study examines how rural students question the relevance of their curriculum and further the meaning of formal schooling. In addition to the dichotomy between an exam-oriented and quality-oriented curriculum, students are also troubled by the dichotomy between general/academic education
and relevant/practical education. The study raises concerns about the urban-centered curriculum and how the rural community’s absence in the picture has led to rural students’ increasing disengagement in schooling and even dropout. It also reveals how the substance of suzhi education and the new curriculum have further reduced rural students’ chance to move upward socially. The article concludes by pushing for discussions on how formal schooling can better serve rural children and youth.

Suggestions have been made that the activities of many boards and companies have benefited some to a greater extent than others. Explores a range of related issues and various options for widening the range of stakeholders whose interests are taken into account, restoring trust and confidence in more sustainable, responsible and inclusive companies, building a more responsible and collaborative form of capitalism and achieving more sustainable and inclusive growth.

Published as:  Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2017), Responsible Companies, Capitalism and Growth, in Institute of Directors, 11th International Conference on CSR, 'Embedding CSR in Corporate Strategy for Responsible Growth', Souvenir, 20-21 January, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Institute of Directors

This research was conducted immediately after the launch of 'Digital India Campaign' by Indian PM Modi.Using Purposive sampling method,200 college going students of Bhopal city were taken as a sample.The key findings are-the young people do not rely on the newspaper or television reporting.They subscribe to new media content like Facebook pages,twitter accounts and the blogs of their friends,independent writers,journalist & social activists,political leaders for latest news updates.More than 1/4th of the youth refer to anonymous What'sApp messages.A majority of them agreed that the campaigns like Digital India,Skilled India,Make in India are necessary to shape India's future.Mainstream media played a major role in popularising Digital India campaign. Digital India Campaign got more coverage over agriculture and farmers' problems by the main stream media because media as a corporate sector caters more to the urban consumers.Though,mobile technology was more popular with rural farmers,the rural – urban divide was underlined by the respondents.

After two and a half years of demonetization, digitalization of the economy in forms of payments, online banking and automation using digital media powered digital economy, promises to make India an empowered society. There have been numerous incentives provided by the Indian Government directed towards achieving a digital economy. The perceptions and attitude of Indians towards this new wave of digital revolution plays a vital role. It is necessary to evaluate how Indians are participating in the digital services available. The present study aims at exploring the levels of participation and the factors which determine the various aspects of perception and knowledge of this digital economy and digitization among middle aged adults in India. The study also aims at exploring the differences in participation and perception between two genders in digitalization. Participants include eighty adults (male=40, female=40) in the age of 25-55 years, residing in the state of West Bengal, India...