The Role of Latvian Student Clubs and Associations in Citizenship Education

At the beginning of the 21st century, a new situation has developed in Latvia as a result of social and economic transformations. Along with the formation of civil society, issues concerning the social, legal, and spiritual life of student population have come to the foreground. There can be observed new features of behavioural culture and standards of thinking, readiness to live in a democratic environment. The young generation perceives freedom and equality as necessary preconditions for varied activities, as an opportunity for individual＇s self-actualization. The institutions of higher education play an important role in the formation of social consciousness and serve as the environment for the development of citizenship. One of the most important subjects of educational environment is the aggregate of various student interest groups and clubs, the main purpose of which is to promote students＇ readiness to live in civil society by developing students＇ creative potential and public administration skills. The aim of the article is to study, analyse, and evaluate the experience of various student clubs and associations in the institutions of higher education in Latvia aimed at the development of citizenship.     

Effective Unemployment Counteraction as a Determinant of National Security

Management process, which is an attempt to cater for an infinite number of human needs with a finite number of production factors, takes place in a closed flow of money and goods. Labour market, characterized by a high level of entropy, is one of the elements of this flow. In the view of the disorder which presents in the labour market, it is understandable that the state intervenes in this market. Interventionism usually takes place in such areas of the economic policy as employment policy and labour market policy. When state intervention in this market is characterised by economisation, which means making activities more efficient or more economical, the level of the national security is rising. This is due to the fact that the unemployment rate actually decreases and the amount of funds earmarked for interventionism, which come from non-repayable obligatory public levies is optimized.     

Cluster Policy and Smart Specialisation The Case of Bulgaria

Smart specialisation is an innovative policy concept which emphasizes the principle of prioritisation in a vertical logic and has attracted a wide interest in recent years, being implemented in many national technology and innovation strategies. Clusters are considered to be a major driver of innovation and competitiveness and for years, have been assigned a key role in various economic development strategies around the world. The paper looks at the interrelationship between clusters and smart specialisation. While clusters are an important building block of Smart Specialisation Strategies （$3）, cluster policies are also influenced by the concept of smart specialisation as they have increasingly started to target specific industries. The principal objective of the paper is to provide an overview and evaluation of the cluster policy pursued in Bulgaria during the last decade. The extent to which the country has used the principle of smart specialisation in its cluster initiatives is assessed. It has been argued that namely due to the lack of clear focus and prioritisation, Bulgaria＇s cluster policy proved to be highly inefficient. Finally, some policy recommendations for its improvement are put forward.     

Ghana-Togo Relations in the Era of Constitutional Democratic Rule （1993-2000）： An Analysis of the Elites Views

This paper delineates the dynamics of Ghana-Togo relations under the era of democratic constitutional rule （1993-2000）. The main task is to investigate the extent to which political leadership dictated the trends of relation that existed between Ghana and Togo within the period of the study. The paper notes that Ghana-Togo relations within the era of constitutional democratic rule （1993-2000） were punctuated with hostility, cordiality, and personal animosities of the two political leaders, namely, Ft. Lt. Rawlings of Ghana and General Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo. The paper emphasizes the thaw relations that existed between the two political figures during their rule, and shows that there were other factors, other than personality clash. In conclusions, the paper recommends that respect for the tenets of democracy and international law by political leaders of Ghana and Togo would greatly help forge closer ties and thereby improve democratic consolidation and cross-border trade between the two countries.     

The Assessment of the Impact of an Aging Population of China on the Country＇s Economy

In the article, the author on the basis of the analysis of the structure of the population of the People＇s Republic of China （PRC） is making an attempt to identify the influence of increasing number of people over 65 years on the economic situation in the state. The introduction of reform of pension system of China is related to the additional expenses of the state. Basing on the method of pair correlation, the author shows that with increase of percentage of the aging population of PRC, the foreign exchange reserves of the state are increased; it is evident that the state forms the financial reserves for the pension fund of the country.     

The Prewar School Civic Education Policy in Hong Kong： A Historical Comparative Analysis

The civic education policy at the school level in Hong Kong had emerged before the Second World War, but the Hong Kong Education Department did not really implement this civic education policy. From the statist and colonial perspectives, this phenomenon was due to several factors, such as： （1） how the Hong Kong Government coped with the whole historical period and scenarios; （2） how it implemented the related policy; （3） whether civic education policy really became part of the government agendas; and （4） whether education did clarify some crucial historical questions. This paper wants to make certain about these questions. In fact, the Republic of China adopted modern schooling system which civic education was one of school subject. But it was not the education policy of the colonial Hong Kong Government. Historical reasons about this issue require reconstructive explanation. Under this study, the understanding of misinterpreted history can be amended correctly.     

Flexible Industrial Land Policies on Exit Strategies in the Rapid Transition Period： A Case Study of Hongkou District,Shanghai

Currently, the maximum tenure of industrial land use in China is 50 years, which far exceeds the manufacturing life cycle. In the absence of an effective exit mechanism, a large number of manufactories are waiting for land value-added income or illegal sublease for commercial use rather than returning the land-use rights for urban redevelopment. As one of the urban central areas in Shanghai, Hongkou District is facing a serious challenge on land scarcity and impending speculative inflows during the critical period of rapid transition. The objective of this research is to explore flexible industrial land policies on exit strategies in Hongkou District, where local government plays a major role in the urban land transfer, eventually to strengthen the initiative of land-use cycling of the governments for a better adaption to the changing demand in the future. So the research mainly consists of two parts： （1） finding bottlenecks： after deep investigation and analysis on the causes which restrict land users＇ access to land transfer, the findings reveal that profit mechanism, no alternative policy for land-use change, low compensation, low costs of illegal behavior and high rate of planned non-profitable land on these industrial land blocks are the main bottlenecks; and （2） breaking bottlenecks： regarding the importance of comprehensive arrangement and government intervention, this research is about to discuss flexible industrial land policies on exit strategies in Hongkou District during the transition period, such as profit distribution mechanism, flexible exit mode, priority compensation, trans-regional land supply and combination of regular review and public supervision, as well as their application value and feasibilities.     

Bureaucratic Stagnation Versus the New Hope of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo

The process of bureaucratic services that is slow and complicated, is an administration malpractice even up to bureaucratic stagnation. An interesting phenomenon is done by the populist government leader Joko Widodo, the President of the Republic oflndonesia, when serving as the Governor of Jakarta to carry out supervision by way of ＂blusukan＂. This method attracted the attention of one of the richest men from the United States, the founder of ＂Facebook＂--Mark Zuckerberg. When he came to Indonesia to meet Joko Widodo in October 2014, he was invited by Joko Widodo to perform ＂blusukan＂ to Tanah Abang market. ＂Blusukan＂ is a surveillance method to the field on the right target and directly provide solutions to any problems that are found. The blusukan inspired him with the making of various policies such as health cards, smart cards, and others. The method of direct supervision on the fields is a quite powerful way to cut off the stagnation of bureaucracy. Joko Widodo who has started his steps as the President of the Republic of Indonesia, gives new hope to the people through the mental revolution and Trisakti doctrine policies in order to improve the welfare of the people toward the great Indonesia.     

Social Policy and Social Control： Case of San Joso del Rincon in the State of Mexico

This study sets out to analyze and evaluate the implementation of a system for the regulation and control of social policies （＂Social Comptrollership＂） involving civil society so as to reinforce the mechanisms for ensuring transparency and responsibility in the government＇s operation of social programs and the execution of public works Here is presented the analysis of the Federal Rural Housing Program （in Spanish： ＂Programa de Vivienda RuraF＇） that is aimed at providing accommodation to families in situations of severe poverty living in communities described as suffering from ＂high or very high levels of marginalization＂. The main conclusion of this research, which is based on a series of interviews with aid recipients, the officials and the social organizations involved, is that the regulatory aspects of this system for controlling social policies are not effective, since they lack mechanisms for enforcing the sanctions set down for participants who do not respect the agreements they have entered into.     

Maastricht Treaty in the Shaping and Development of the Common Foreign and Security Policy （CFSP）

For the European Union （EU）, it discusses how to deliver （great project） European unification. Motivated by the idea that the association of European countries is a far better alternative to the previous mutually confronted Europe, a project in the following decades led to the emergence of a new and unprecedented work on European soil--EU. Its present form is the product of more than 50 years of evolution of European integration, which today despite initial six Western European countries including the former main rivals Germany and France include 27 member countries of the union, as well as many other countries with candidate status for membership in the EU. Seen in the development context, the union is not a preconceived model of the association of European countries, but is the product of a complex multiple decade-long process of integration in which different actors are involved. Within this process, depending on the achieved level of integration, the union received a different shape. In its present form and name as the EU, it occurs even in the early 90s of the last century, long before it passed through small-scale forms of integration.     

The European Union Faced With the Challenges of Food Safety： Solutions Proposed in the Framework of the Common Agricultural Policy （CAP） and Strategies of the Actors Concerned

Within the framework of Common Agricultural Policy （CAP）, how has the European Union （EU） responded to new challenges emerging at the end of the last century？ The overall picture shows that the process of improving health conditions includes various players. The overall objectives of the CAP are specified in Article 39 of the Treaty of Rome： to increase agricultural productivity and ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community. The word ＂security＂ here refers to the stability of supply. The first major reform came in 1992, linked to the Uruguay Round Cycle of initial responses to consumes expectations regarding food safety and the prevention of health risks. The centrepiece of EU food policy, European Food Safety Authority （EFSA） is consumed with all maters effecting food safety, nutrition, animal health and welfare, and plant health. The controversy around the need for reforms and their implementation has featured prominently in the public debate. The paper analyzes these debates by drawing on scientific studies carried out by multidisciplinary laboratories.     

Defamilialization of Childcare,Commodification of Mothers,and Poverty： Recognition of New Social Risks in Korea

This study analyzed the relationship between new social risks and poverty in Korea, with specific foci on the changes in the family and in the labor market. Through the analysis, this study maintains that the expanding welfare state in Korea requires policies responding both to NSRs （new social risks） and to traditional social risks. The findings of this study are as follows： First, care responsibilities within the household were strongly associated with the poverty status of household. Second, dual-breadwinner households were less likely to fall into poverty than households with a single male breadwinner. Third, the flexible labor market that leads to poverty not only influences irregular or part-time workers but regular workers as well. These findings show that households of self-employed workers were even worse off than those of irregular workers, who were previously identified as the group who suffered most due to the flexible labor market.     

SME law and policy analysis

Since the reform and opening-up, especially in the new century, China＇s SMEs are rapidly springing up; they have become an important force of pushing China＇s national economic and social development. The rapid development of SMEs is playing an increasingly important role in stimulating the economy, increasing the state tax revenue, promoting the employment, pushing technological innovation and improving the people＇s lives. It is full of meaning for Chinese Government to provide a sound law and policy environment for SMEs, including mediating and regulating the behavior of domestic SMEs, promoting and protecting the prosperity of SMEs, if we want to pursue the economic prosperity. This article will analyze the status of the development of China＇s SMEs, and research on the related policies and laws.     

U.S. Government 2013 Budget Sequestration： Congress＇ Fix for the Federal Aviation Administration＇s Work Furlough

The United States 2013 budget sequestration dramatically reduced the operating budgets of most federal agencies, including that of the Federal Aviation Administration （FAA）. Facing a staggering budget reduction in the amount of S627 million from itsS16 billion annual budget, the FAA was forced to furlough most of its 47,000 employees, including its air traffic controllers. This case study utilizes Kingdon＇s Multiple Streams perspective to examine the implementation of the 2013 budget sequestration on the FAA and the resulting impact on the operations of the federal agency charged with ensuring the safe and efficient use of U.S. airspace. With work furloughs threatening its employees and the potential for significant air traffic delays, the United States Congress approved a bill which eliminated the threat of further work furloughs for FAA employees and the resulting flight delays. Analyzing these events within the context of the Multiple Streams perspective provides a unique opportunity for insights into democratic governance within the federal government.     

Adaptive Governance Policy for Societal Resilience and Community Empowerment

This paper reviews current thinking on flexible policy-making and participatory methods to empower communities to handle the challenges of climate change and other global shocks. Adaptive Governance for Resilience--designed to effectively increase societal resilience to external shocks while facilitating wellbeing and reducing both poverty and environmental degradation--is an innovative approach which teams cutting-edge policy-making with community empowerment. Using a 9-step methodology of the Adaptive Governance Cycle, resilience in communities can be strengthened as the communities are themselves empowered to increase wellbeing, address poverty alleviation, and strengthen environment protection. The approach facilitates governments to partner with local communities to calibrate the coordinated mix of flexible, adaptive policies to facilitate community resilience through participatory action. The author sees expanded use of Adaptive Governance as an approach for maintaining good governance and building social capital in the face of external and internal pressures and uncertainties which may become more widespread in the future.     

Why are Inheritance Taxes Unpopular?

There is a puzzle over why inheritance taxes are unpopular relative to other taxes since they are progressive and, assuming they are spent wisely on welfare goods, more people should gain than lose through inheritance tax. I examine four reasons why inheritance tax might be unpopular (a) propaganda, (b) fiscal illusion, (c) framing and developing the latter (d) an evolutionary basis in human reasoning. The latter suggests that the relative popularity of a tax is related to how far the money taxed is already 'in the possession' of the person taxed. Given these reasons I make a suggestion and examine some proposal for making inheritance tax less unpopular.     

The tax-welfare mix: explaining Japan's weak extractive capacity

Abstract

Despite having the highest level of public debt in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), higher than Greece or Italy, Japan has one of the lowest aggregate tax burdens of the advanced industrial democracies. This paper asks why Japan, once described as a strong developmental state, has had such a weak extractive capacity, an inability to raise revenues to confront deficits and public debt? In contrast to the existing explanations that focus on political institutions, partisan preferences, or economic globalization, this article argues that Japan's ‘tax–welfare mix’ – the combination of taxes and redistributive welfare polices – undermined the state's long-term capacity to secure adequate tax revenue. More than just a source of revenue, taxes can be used directly to achieve redistributive goals, such as targeting low taxes and exemptions to specific groups. This study shows how Japan's tax–welfare mix diminished its extractive capacity through three mechanisms: the political lock-in of a redistributive social bargain struck around low taxes, the timing and sequencing of its tax policy and welfare development, and the erosion of public trust, which undermined tax consent. Beyond offering a new theory of extractive capacity, the tax–welfare mix explains aspects of Japan's tax structure that defy existing explanations and contributes to our understanding of the capitalist development state by highlighting the redistributive political function of tax policy and its long-term impact on state capacity.     

The Future of the European “Social Model” in the Global Economy

This article examines the prospects for European welfare states in the context of globalization. It begins with a critical review of the globalization arguments. While there is some evidence that external constraints make life harder for policymakers seeking positive-sum outcomes, it is the combination of national debt and spending limits, plus domestic tax resistance, that really count in making expenditure-based social and employment policies more difficult in certain countries. In understanding the constraints and opportunities that will shape Europe's welfare future, globalization—crudely understood—is therefore much less influential than many suppose. While EMU has radically diminished national autonomy in exchange rate, monetary policy, and fiscal policy, there are also beneficial consequences for social policy and broader economic management. On the employment and social policy side, initiatives required to match greater flexibility with sustained security are now at the top of the EU agenda, and mechanisms for diffusing best practice across Europe are being put in place. Within this framework, European welfare states must place more emphasis on dynamic equality, being primarily attentive to the worst off, more hospitable to incentive-generating differentiation, and actively vigilant with regard to the openness of opportunity structures.     

The Use of Hypothetical Household Data for Policy Learning: Comparative Tax‒Benefit Indicators Using EUROMOD HHoT

Abstract

Tax?benefit microsimulation models are typically used to quantify the effect of specific policy changes on the income distribution based on representative microdata. Such analysis evaluates policies by considering how different tax?benefit elements interact given personal, household and labour market characteristics. Using hypothetical household data instead helps address broader questions of policy design and systemic (cross-national) differences. This article introduces the Hypothetical Household Tool (HHoT) in combination with the microsimulation model EUROMOD to analyse European tax?benefit policies from a comparative perspective. It presents a series of applications from social welfare analysis illustrating how hypothetical data can benefit comparative academic and policy research.     

Tax Competition and Income Redistribution: An Empirical Analysis for Switzerland

Tax competition is supposed to lead to thecollapse of the welfare state because, first, it willbecome difficult for a single jurisdiction to levy aredistribution tax upon the rich and mobile, andsecond, such a policy, if undertaken in onejurisdiction, will attract poor individuals from otherjurisdictions and erode internal redistributionpolicies. In this paper, the impact of personal incometaxes and transfers on residence decisions oftaxpayers is analyzed with Swiss subfederal data. Therelationship of tax competition and the erosion of theSwiss welfare state is tested with aggregate data onincome redistribution.