EFFECTIVENESS BUDGETING: THE LIMITS OF BUDGET REFORM

This paper is concerned with the potential for improving public sector financial management by means of efforts to budget in terms of effectiveness. A series of statements are derived from the assumptions of Effectiveness Budgeting to consider what the preconditions for its success and failure might be, in an effort to begin to fill what i s argued to be a void in the literature in the field. Comments are offered as to the likelihood of Effectiveness Budgeting realizing i t s own stated ideal and its utility under less than ideal conditions.     

论中国马克思主义大众化的历史进程

马克思主义大众化是在马克思主义中国化过程中实现,所以,不能离开马克思主义中国化来谈马克思主义大众化的历史进程。根据马克思主义中国化的发展过程,马克思主义大众化的历史进程可划分为四个发展阶段：马克思主义的传入与传播、马克思主义的继承与运用、马克思主义的发展与深化和马克思主义的开拓与创新。     

Village Elections in China: Cooperation between the State and the Peasantry

Village elections, as a policy response to developmental problems in rural China in the 1980s, were not designed to promote democracy in China. The process of village elections, however, has served as a new form of cooperation between the state and the peasantry over the last decade. To understand why an authoritarian regime introduced an electoral process to its countryside and why this electoral process of village elections has served as a new form of cooperation between the state and the peasantry over the last decade, we should try to understand where the congruence between the state and the peasantry was in this form of cooperation, what the role of the state was in this process, and what the implications of this electoral process for democracy were in China. The process of village elections might eventually have a benign result that was not originally envisioned by its sponsor, but little progress has been made in that direction over the last decade. Putting village elections in such perspective, this paper examines the economic, political and democratic dimensions of this electoral process of village elections as a new form of cooperation between the state and the peasantry.     

哲学视野中的制度演化规律研究

哲学视野中的制度演化规律是指制度在演化过程中所反映出来的一些规律性的现象。制度演化大体遵循这样三条规律:路径依赖、量变中的质变和渐变中的突变并存、客观必然性和现实可能性的统一。     

认知心理学在大学英语词汇教学中的优化作用

词汇学习是语言习得的重要方面,也是外语教学过程中的重要一环。从认知心理学的角度来认识大学英语词汇教学,阐明学生对英语词汇认知的过程和词汇信息加工过程,旨在提高大学英语词汇教学效果。     

基于转型期我国城市化视阈下的政府改革

社会转型期我国城市化具有特殊性,即政府主导型城市化。我国在取得巨大经济建设成就的同时,城市化也取得了很大成就,但依然存在着诸多需要解决的问题,譬如城市化水平有待提高、城市化进程中出现了某些"城市病"、城市化进程中农民利益需要得到更充分的保障、"土地城市化"大于"人口城市化"等。我国城市化过程当中出现的一些问题对我国政府改革提出了新的要求。政府应该努力做好以下几个方面的工作:政府应该努力加快政府职能的转变;政府必须坚持对城市化的进程、城市人口的增长、城市区域布局、城市规模扩大等方面实施必要的宏观调控;政府要切实充分保障农民权益。     

Budgeting by the Ballot: Initiatives in the State of Montana

Citizen participation in the decision-making process and government's responsiveness to people's needs constitute the core of the democratic ethic. Three institutional arrangements are devised to make democracy more democratic: initiatives, referenda, and recall. This article deals specifically with the initiative process in the State of Montana. While citizen participation could be an end in itself, it is viewed here as a means to achieve specific ends. Three different initiatives are studied using four criteria to determine the efficacy of the process.     

利益多元抑或利益联盟——政策网络研究的核心辩解

政策网络的研究,缘起于"多元主义是否适用于现实中的美国政策过程"的质疑与追问,兴起了一场反多元主义与多元主义之间的争论与辩解,搅动了人们对于政策过程中利益多元还是利益联盟的本质探究,同时催生出诸如亚政府、铁三角、政策共同体、议题网络、倡导联盟等新术语.其中,亚政府、铁三角、政策共同体等术语,表明政府在与利益集团的利益联盟中实现对政策过程的操纵,公共政策只是一部分政府部门与利益集团狭隘利益的体现;而议题网络、倡导联盟等术语则表明公共政策并不只是政府与利益集团的互动结果,包括传媒、公众等在内的广泛主体都可以而且事实上也参与其中.在广泛阅读西方文献的基础上,疏理政策网络各种称谓和概念之间的前后传承关系,使充斥各种概念的政策网络研究清晰化和明朗化,同时运用利益分析的方法,揭示这些概念所隐含的内在意涵,理清政策网络研究的基本研究脉向,说明政策网络研究本质上是对"政策过程是利益多元还是利益联盟"这一问题的求解,表明政策网络研究旨在对政策过程作出最贴近现实的描述和理解.     

Testing the input-process-output model of public participation

The characteristics of participatory institutions can be articulated in three main dimensions: input, process and output. The common assumption is that a dependency relationship exists, with process serving as a mediator between input and output. This paper puts the model to a rare empirical test drawing on a unique dataset of 70 Spanish advisory councils. Through a combination of exploratory factor and path analyses, we analyse the dimensionality of input, process and output and investigate the direct and indirect impact of inputs on process and outputs. Our analysis provides evidence that input factors have a direct impact on the output factor transparency, but their impact on effects on policy and participant satisfaction is mediated by the process factor deliberation. Further, the capacity of the public administration to steer the advisory council (wardship) mediates negatively the impact of input variables on transparency. The analysis provides a nuanced account of how different input and process design characteristics of participatory institutions have profound direct and indirect effects on their outputs.     

In Defence of Politics: Interpreting the Peace Process and the Future of Northern Ireland

The interpretation of the Northern Ireland peace process is highly controversial because it not only has implications for the future of Northern Ireland but ‘lessons’ are also drawn for dealing with terrorism and insurgency globally. This article reviews and critiques key interpretations of the peace process. ‘The Militarists’, Republican Dissidents and Neoconservatives, offer a ‘fundamentalist idealist’ interpretation which leads them to reject political compromise and continue to pursue victory by military means. ‘The Enthusiasts’ are leading figures in the Labour government who champion the outcome of the peace process and recommend ‘talking to terrorists’. ‘The Sceptics’ argue in defence of politics and support the pragmatic realism used to negotiate accommodation. They are critical of ‘The Militarists’ for misinterpreting the peace process and threatening to go back to ‘war’. ‘Sceptics’ welcome powersharing but criticise the ‘Enthusiasts’ for mishandling the peace process and undermining the moderate parties. This has left Northern Ireland with high levels of segregation and economic inequality that prevent the consolidation of peace.