Remembering Bill Niskanen: pursuing economics as a public science in the service of liberty

This short essay is a memorial piece about William A. Niskanen (13 March 1933–26 October 2011). The essay starts with his time at the University of Chicago in the mid-1950s, and gives most attention to his contributions to public choice. Especial attention is paid to his Bureaucracy and Representative Government, which opened vast territory for subsequent analytical exploration. A good deal of attention is also paid to his Autocratic, Democratic, and Optimal Government because this work both conveys his interest in comparative constitutional analysis and is useful for illustrating the strengths and weaknesses of his approach to this material.     

Russian Jews in California

His study of Russian Jewish and Vietnamese refugees, Refugee Communities: A Comparative Field Study,is forthcoming.     

Short Circuit: Federal-State Relations in the California Energy Crisis

This article examines the changing roles of the federal andstate governments in electricity regulatory policy, includingthe history of electricity regulation and the development ofstate and federal regulatory powers. The case of Californiasuggests that deregulation has elevated the role of federalregulators and increased their responsibility to protect theinterests of the states beyond those of the market. The inabilityof the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to protect Californiafrom predatory market manipulation demonstrates the necessityfor states to plan carefully to protect their multiple policyinterests.     

In-migration and the labor market in Tijuana,Baja California

This interpretative essay on the status of migrant workers in the Tijuana labor market sets up a theoretical framework and specifies the data sources used, including a survey of 672 families in Tijuana in 1982. To define the sphere of analysis, the author discusses demographic behavior and the evolution of the labor market in Tijuana. Within this context, an examination of the work status of migrants is conducted by comparing it to that of the native population, taking into account the characteristics of their regions of origin and factors related to that work status. It is shown that 1) migrants come from areas which are relatively more developed; 2) their work experience is directly related to the nature of the relative degree of development of their regions of origin; 3) there is no difference between the migrants and the native population with regard to the sectors and positions in which they are inserted; and 4) the type of migration tends to be similar to migration taking place in industrialized countries, rather than that characterizing developing countries.     

论社区治理视角下的智慧社区的发展

智慧社区是顺应时代的发展而产生的,是一种社区治理的新模式。论文首先分析了智慧社区的发展现状,提出智慧社区是以智能、人文、服务为理念,其未来发展要实现以技术为中心到以技术为人服务为中心的转变;然后基于深圳宝安区智慧社区网格化治理的实践探索,提出了智慧社区发展的路径选择。     

Federalism and Community in the American Context

The rise of modern federalism was shaped significantly by desiresto protect smaller, diverse communities against forces of imperialcentralization. The protection of community liberty was seenas a prerequisite for protecting individual liberty as well.As such, a federal polity was seen to be a limited self-governingcommunity of entrenched self-governing constituent communities.The rise of the idea of national community and the ideologyof the cosmopolitan nationstate, however, eroded the legitimacyand authority of local self-government and, thereby, federalism.Constituent communities also came to be seen as oppressive,especially of individual rights. Yet, desires for local self-governmenthave maintained a strong hold on public opinion, and recentextensions of individual rights, particularly voting rights,coupled with policy weaknesses of the national government andmodernization of state governments appear to be renewing possibilitiesfor revitalizing federalism as a self-governing community ofself-governing communities.     

社区治理视角下的社区工会建设

随着我国经济体制从计划经济向市场经济转轨,中国的社会结构发生了巨大变迁。在城市,由城市现代化带来的城市社会管理重心下移以及“单位体制”的逐步瓦解,引发了城市社区建设的兴起。1991年国家提出“社区建设”的思路,强调政府减少干预,居民通过自助、互助和他助,发展社区服务,增加居民社区归属感和认同感,逐步实现社区多元主体的共治局面。     

城市社区建设与社区自治组织的发展

社会共同体的自治理念与现代宪政理论的发展是社区自治的理论与思想基础。在“自我管理、自我服务、自我教育”指导下的社区选举、社区财务、社区管理服务是社区自治组织自治性的具体体现。社区建设的发展对社区自治组织的自治提出了更高的要求，社区居民委员会自治能力的提高成为社区建设与发展的关键所在。通过完善与改进社区选举制度提高社区居民自主推举社区管理的能力，同时，提高社区居民委员会的财务自主能力和自我管理与服务的能力以及加强居民委员会的自身建设，是推动社区自治组织发展的重要途径。     

北京社区民警驻区制研究

北京市公安局在逐步推行社区民警驻区制过程中,取得了可喜的成绩,也存在不少困难,如经费保障稳定性差、人员管理与考核难度大、驻区民警的警务素养与社区工作要求有一定差距等。依据相关警学理论,从多渠道筹措资金、科学安排勤务、创新考核机制、多角度提升驻区民警的警务素养等几个方面对上述问题提出科学化建议,以期更好地发挥功效。     

Intergovernmental Relations and Clean-Air Policy in Southern California

In 1989, California adopted a bold and comprehensive Air QualityManagement Plan (AQMP) to bring southern California into compliancewith federal air-quality standards by 2007. California's effortto control air pollution, as outlined in the AQMP, significantlyinfluenced the formulation of the 1990 federal Clean Air Act.This article analyzes the nature of this influence as well asthe way the new federal legislation bolsters specific provisionsof the AQMP. Also examined is whether the AQMP and the CleanAir Act are likely to bring southern California into compliancewith federal air-quality standards.