The Europeanization of financial regulation and supervision on the Baltic–Nordic axis: the perspective of national bureaucracies

ABSTRACT

This article presents a comparative case study about the impact of Europeanization on two types of small North European states after 2008. For our case study countries, this is mainly a process of Europeanization. Our analysis focuses on interpreting the Europeanization process from the perspective of bureaucracies: we attempt to understand financial bureaucracies’ perceptions of, attitudes toward, and reactions to the post-2008 developments in financial regulation and supervision in Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and Latvia. This enables us to reflect on the implementation performance and embeddedness of post-2008 regulatory and supervisory principles in these countries.     

Mediated and unmediated access to the past: Assessing the memoir as literary genre

A survey was conducted of a number of younger generation members of Estonian and Latvian émigré communities (11 and 16 subjects, respectively) who had ‘returned’ to the ancestral homeland, to determine the reasons for their decision. A detailed questionnaire was provided for the respondents. Attempts were made to ascertain the subjects’ level of ‘Latvianness’ or ‘Estonianness’ and their emotional commitment to their new-found homeland. While the small sample may not provide definitive answers, the study gives richly suggestive insights into the thought processes and motivations of these young Baltic people.     

The Institutional Roots of Anti-Corruption Policies: Comparing the Three Baltic States

The idea to establish Independent Anti-Corruption Agencies (IACAs) first appeared on the international agenda in the late 1990s, and has since become a powerful subject for discourse. Responses to this idea have varied among the Baltic states. We ask why and compare the development of Baltic strategies and institutions. Our discussion focuses on how national political systems, perceptions of and discourse surrounding corruption, and external pressures on domestic structures have influenced the initial institutional choice. The resulting policies look very much alike, despite their differing points of departure.     

The titularization of Latvian secondary schools: The historical legacy of Soviet policy implementation

Abstract

Few would deny that the Soviet occupation has had an effect on post-restoration policy making and implementation in Latvia. Indeed, many commentators of post-Soviet politics insist that we must come to terms with the Soviet to understand the post-Soviet. In our view, the effects of the Soviet legacy on the policy process are clearly apparent in post-restoration Latvia, specifically in the area of language education policy. This article argues that both Soviet and post-Soviet policy making and implementation can be characterized in three ways: duplicity, a Soviet ethos, and “professionalization”. In what follows, we first engage with the Soviet policy process in general and the 1958–59 education reforms specifically. Based on interviews with education professionals, teachers and parents, we then analyze Latvian education laws and their implementation in 2004, highlighting the legacy of Soviet governance.     

The economic output growth of Baltic countries in 1913–1938: a quantitative cross-country comparison

ABSTRACT

This article surveys and appends the available quantitative research on the interwar economic growth of Baltic countries to compare gross domestic product (GDP) (in 1990 Geary–Khamis dollars) growth in Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania between 1913 and 1938 in a broad international context. Finland’s GDP per capita recovered to the 1913 level in 1923, in Estonia recovery was complete by 1922, in Lithuania by 1924, and in Latvia by 1924–1925. By high-end estimates, the growth performance of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania was not weaker than Finland’s. By 1938, the GDP per capita of all Baltic countries exceeded the level of the Soviet Union with the possible exception for Lithuania.     

印度金融自由化对中国金融体制改革的参照意义

本文通过对当代印度经济政策演变历程的分析,对印度的金融自由化进程中存在的问题以及金融危机的生成机理进行了梳理,并在相关的理论指导下对中国的金融改革提出了一些应对的思路.本文对于了解印度金融自由化并吸取其经验教训,促进我国金融体制改革,均具一定的现实意义.     

日本金融机构破产处理

泡沫经济崩溃后日本爆发金融危机,金融机构破产风潮由中小规模向大型金融机构波及。在金融机构破产制度建设方面,日本“护送船队”式行政保护凸显制度缺陷,政府实施了从时限性措施到永久性长效处理框架的制度改革,建立健全了常规处理和应对危机事态的特别处理机制,形成了以中央银行特别融资、存款保险制度和金融机构破产处理框架为中心的金融安全网,为维持信用秩序稳定、防止金融系统性风险扩散建立了较为完善的制度保障。     

东盟面临的危机与挑战

本文探讨了东南亚国家联盟作为一个组织机构在这次亚洲金融危机中所起的作用。从各个国家来看 ,成员国们采取各种措施加强对银行的管理 ,加大金融交易的透明度 ,鼓励竞争 ;从双边关系来看 ,东南亚国家联盟成员国们对受影响最严重的国家 ,尤其是对印度尼西亚进行了援助 ;从国际方面来看 ,东南亚国家联盟成员国们共同呼吁发达国家继续开放市场 ,在重新谈判债务问题时更灵活些 ,在实施改革计划时要注意保护贫穷阶层的人士。本文追踪了在一系列会议上东南亚联盟的初衷 ,但是最后得出结论认为现有的经济合作项目有待进一步扩大合作领域 ,进一步加强责任感。     

金融危机以来的印尼社会问题

印尼的社会问题由来已久。随着金融危机的加深 ,印尼的社会问题不断恶化。它既阻碍了经济的发展 ,又影响了政局的稳定。如何解决社会问题 ,是印尼所面临的重大课题。本文就金融危机以来的印尼主要社会问题的表现、成因、对策作了分析 ,并从中得出几点启示。     

台湾地区《金融控股公司法》评析

台湾地区《金融控股公司法》是适应金融机构跨业经营的世界潮流及应对加入WTO的形势而颁布的 ,它赋予台湾金融机构跨业经营的法源基础 ,同时对金融控股公司的定义、设立、业务范围、活动准则和监督作出规范。《金融控股公司法》对中国大陆金融机构混业经营形态的选择及监管措施的设置具有参考价值。     

危机的理论与理论的危机

本文介绍正统派与其他各种不同经济学派关于1997年东亚金融危机的生成根源的观点,展示各种经济学派对IMF休克拯救方案以及东亚经济复苏政策的不同看法,探索东亚金融危机对经济发展理论的影响。     

Co-creating life histories

This paper argues that the 2008 economic crisis was particularly deep in Estonia and Iceland because non-corporatist neo-liberal political features were essential endogenous factors deepening it. A lack of corporatist features also formed the basis for responses to the crisis and the political aftermath in both cases. Furthermore, the paper argues that adding new institutionalist aspects to the corporatist model – in particular the juxtaposition of compound and simple polities – helps deepen our understanding of political dynamics in societies that lack clear-cut corporatist features. It makes a big difference whether or not a country enters the neo-liberal era with an already corporatist set of structures.     

“马克思仍然活着，而且活得很健康”——日本共产党前主席不破哲三访谈录

不破哲三的新著《马克思仍然活着,而且活得很健康》于2009年5月中旬由东京平凡社出版,在日本学术界产生了较大反响。《赤旗报》周日版主编松宫俊树于2009年6月就读者关心的几个重要问题与作者进行了探讨。     

金融危机与东南亚地区国际关系的新变化

金融危机使东南亚各国面对一系列严峻挑战 ,也使该地区的国际关系发生重大而深远的变化。东盟主导东南亚地区事务的能力受到了削弱。中美日等大国的影响力增强了。尤其是美国 ,利用这次金融危机 ,得到了许多它平时得不到的东西。金融危机之后 ,东南亚地区形成了由美、日、中和东盟四足鼎立的政治经济格局。