Abstract
Studies on the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the Chinese economy have essentially focused on the relationship between FDI, productivity and economic growth, revealing a tendency toward sectoral, regional and macroeconomic empirical studies. This work aims to complement these approaches and contribute to the rather limited literature on the relationship between FDI, Human Capital and Innovation at a corporate level. Based on a set of large and innovative firms (national and foreign capital) located in China, we have concluded that (1) the direct impact of foreign capital on the level of human capital in firms is negative, that is no evidence was found suggesting that FDI has a positive influence on their human capital and (ii) in indirect terms, by means of investment in R&D (research and development) activities, FDI has a positive impact on general human capital (i.e. formal education). These results suggest that for China to benefit from FDI, it is necessary to implement a selective policy to attract FDI, taking into account more technologically advanced, R&D-based projects.

Abstract
The impact of human capital on foreign direct investment has been assessed in an essentially descriptive manner. Most quantitative studies focus on the macroeconomic level. Microeconomic studies are scarce internationally and even more so in the case of China. Based on a survey of innovative firms located in China, this study assesses the importance of human capital in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to China. Using a sample of 77 innovative firms, and logistic estimation techniques, we concluded that even though human capital does not constitute a direct factor in attracting FDI to China, it is a positive indirect factor through firms' R&D efforts. Moreover, we found that connections with universities have a positive impact on the attraction of FDI, although the impact of human capital on the attraction of FDI is not sustained on the basis of additional contacts with universities. Evidence gathered suggests that it is important that public authorities recognize the interconnections between education and innovation policies and the implementation of FDI policies - human capital is only capable of attracting innovative foreign capital when associated with high levels of R&D.

Abstract
Research on indicators related to the state of child well-being is a growing field that has experienced several changes over time. The growing supply of data on children, as well as the need to facilitate conclusions and to track trends, has led researchers to develop a number of child well-being indexes. This paper critically reviews the most recent and relevant child well-being indexes, i.e., the Index of Child and Youth Well-Being in the United States, the Child Well-being Index for the European Union, the Microdata Child Well-being Index, and the Deprivation Index. The study focuses primarily on the contributions and innovations the indexes have brought to the field, making a critical assessment of the methods used in the construction of the indexes and identifying their main limitations.

Abstract
By combining features from distinct theoretical approaches, namely the evolutionary and the job search, matching and bargaining literatures, we propose a model that captures the main dynamics of a world where heterogeneous firms and workers interact and co-evolve. Within a micro-meso framework, the model focuses on the influence of firms' labour choices ("institutional settings") on industry dynamics, taking into account the existence of employment adjustment costs. The consideration of endogenous matching and bargaining processes in the labour market results in significant frictions, such as the simultaneous coexistence of unfilled job vacancies and unemployment. In a setting where technological progress is not biased a stylized fact of industrialized world economies in the last few decades emerges, the increasing wage inequality. Additionally, turbulence in the industry increases after a negative demand shock. As expected, the negative demand shock causes a decrease in the number of vacancies and, consequently, unemployment rates increase considerably. Interestingly, and mimicking the recent experiences of countries such as US, Spain, Greece and Portugal, the rise in unemployment is matched by a rise in contractual wages. This outcome is explained by the lower ability of the firms to fill their posted vacancies, which results from friction in the interactions among agents.

Abstract
It is well established that S-shaped curves describe the diffusion processes of many innovations quite well, but little insight on the mechanics of diffusion is achieved by simple curve fitting. We propose an evolutionary model of the diffusion process, focusing on the characteristics of economic agents and on the interactions among them, and relate those determinants with the observed shape of the diffusion curve. Using simulation techniques, we show that the proposed model is able to explain why an innovation may not diffuse globally across an economy/region, even when it faces no rival innovations. Moreover, we show how network size, informational spillovers, and the behavior of innovation prices shape the diffusion process. The results regarding network size and informational spillovers rationalize the importance of informational lock-outs, proving they can influence both the aggregate adoption rate and the speed of the diffusion process. With respect to innovation prices, simulation results show that faster price decline leads to higher aggregate adoption rates, and that the diffusion process is more sensitive to the pricing dynamics than to the network size or the behavior of spillovers.

Abstract
Very few studies on the assessment and evolution of Chinese economics research draw on quantitative methods, namely bibliometrics. Bibliometrics is a powerful tool that helps to explore, organize and analyze large amounts of information in a quantitative manner. Selecting the most important economic journal focusing on the Chinese economy - the China Economic Review (CER) - we classified and assessed all the (512) articles that have been published in CER from its founding (1989) to December 2010. Based on these articles, and undertaking an exploratory statistical analysis on three databases - a 'bibliographic' database (512 articles), a 'roots' database (over 10 thousand citations), and an 'influence' database (over 3 thousand citations), we concluded that: 1) 'Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth': 'Economic Systems', and 'International economics' are the most important topics for Chinese economics literature; 2) there is a trend in Chinese economics research for growing 'rigor', associated to a noticeable rise in the weight of formal/mathematical-based articles; 3) the 'International economics' topic does not influence nor is it influenced by Chinese economics literature; and 4) Chinese economics literature is characterized by a certain level of endogamy, given that its range of influence is rather concentrated (geographically) in China and the USA.