The social logic of political choice: Picking a political party in the context of immediate social circles

The Social Logic of Politics places social learning at the center of political choice. People develop their political preferences, knowledge, values, perceptions of ability, and decisions about political behavior in interactions with others, usually members of their social circles. Political attitudes and goals are not derivatives of exogenous economic preferences. They are not the results of careful calculations, in which optimization of personal needs guides the mode of reasoning. This theoretical stance draws sustenance from recent work across the social science, even as it harkens back to established, if neglected principles of political analysis. My thanks to Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck for his encouragement and for the critical comments of several anonymous referees and to Josip Dasović and Jennifer Fitzgerald, my co-authors of Partisan Families: the Social Logic of Bounded Partisanship in Germany and Britain (Zuckerman et al. 2007). Material from that book appears in this essay.     

Plea bargaining and the decision to go to trial: The application of a rational choice model

What factors determine the plea bargain which prosecutors will offer defendants? What factors determine whether or not a defendant will demand a trial? The former question is relevant to our assessment of the fairness of plea bargaining; the latter question is relevant to prosecution management. Landes provides an economic model of the criminal courts which suggests answers to these questions. While several researchers have provided empirical analysis at least consistent with the Landes model, there has been no test of the model's power for predicting individual case decisions. After providing a derivation of a rational choice model similar to that of Landes but incorporating organizational considerations, the empirical validity of the model is tested using individual case data. Major predictions, including the structural form of the plea bargain offer equation, are validated. Other findings, which do not validate the model's predictions, are discussed in terms of the organizational incentive structure facing assistant prosecutors. A discussion of the application of the model to aid in prosecution management is presented, including an indication of the importance of looking at the distribution of prediction errors as well as the overall rate of prediction error. Finally, comments are made concerning the use of econometrics in an organizational context.     

科学发展观视阈下低碳价值观建构路径的思考

低碳经济是以低能耗、低污染、低排放为基础的经济模式,是人类社会继农业文明、工业文明之后的又一次重大进步。发展低碳经济就是学习实践科学发展观。低碳价值观是一种崭新的价值理念,其建构离不开一定的社会环境,需要培植深厚的低碳文化底蕴。     

公共精神：公共行政现代化的价值维度——一种基于和谐社会视角的分析

近代以来直至当前的和谐社会之诉求,现代化始终是萦绕在中国人心目中的一个实质性问题.然而,现代化又是一个全方位、多层次的系统工程,公共行政现代化是其应然维度之一.现代化从"器物"到"政制"直至社会精神文化和伦理价值观念这一结构性的深化历程,更昭示了公共精神正是公共行政现代化须臾不可"缺场"的价值向度.实际上,从公共行政自身发展的认识论与方法论双重维度去探究和反思公共行政的现代化现象,我们也发现公共精神不断地从边缘向中心位移,从"遮蔽"状态走向"解蔽".其中,公共行政现代化所涵摄的民主理念、公正理念、契约精神、公共服务精神以及和谐、科学的发展理念等公共精神既是公共行政现代化本身,也是构建和谐社会的精神骨核与价值引擎.一种多元宽容、诚信友爱、公平正义、和谐有序的社会公共生活能够得以形成和延续必须以发育良好的公共精神为其基本精神质料和社会价值支撑.我们需要从不断健全和完善市场经济体制,开新传统公共精神资源,大力培育公民社会、拓展公共治理的实践参与,加强公共意识教育、提升公共理性水平等几个方面努力来促进公共精神的化育与养成.     

The economy,corruption, and the vote: Evidence from experiments in Sweden and Moldova

How does corruption affect voting behavior when economic conditions are poor? Using a novel experimental design and two original survey experiments, we offer four important conclusions. First, in a low corruption country (Sweden), voters react negatively to corruption regardless of the state of the economy. Second, in a high corruption country (Moldova), voters react negatively to corruption only when the state of the economy is also poor; when economic conditions are good, corruption is less important. Third, respondents in Sweden react more strongly to corruption stimuli than respondents in Moldova. Finally, in the low corruption country, sociotropic corruption voting (or voting based on corruption among political leaders) is relatively more important, whereas in our high corruption country, pocketbook corruption voting (or voting based on one's own personal experience with corruption, i.e., being asked to pay bribes) is equally prevalent. Our findings are consistent with multiple stable corruption equilibria, as well as with a world where voters are more responsive to corruption signals more common in their environment.     

从马克思、恩格斯对未来社会设想到中国模式——试论社会主义发展道路的理论建构与实践探索

由“两个必然”势必引出一个全新的历史课题：印无产阶级革命胜利以后，未来的社会主义道路究竟该往何处去？也就是必须要首先搞清楚“什么是社会主义，怎样建设社会主义”。本文综合考察马、恩对未来社会设想以及国际共运史相关史实。运用吏论结合的方法．对东方落后国家无产阶级夺取政权后。如何建设、如何巩固和发展社会主义这一艰难探索历程作一现象描述和理论探讨。     

The transfer of governance from the nation state to a corporate global economy

The purpose of this document is to analyze the emerging phenomenon of the transfer from state governance to global economic corporate governance. After determining the economic globalization processes driven by a corporate global economy, which affects the formation of globalized business-intergovernmental networks, we discuss their outcome and impact. Finally we outline the main challenges facing governance driven by a corporate global economy.     

Performing the economy,performing science: from neoclassical to supply chain models in the agrifood sector

Abstract

Callon and Hilgartner, respectively, have argued that the economy and technoscience are performed and that neoclassical economics (NE) and scientific reports should be interpreted as performances. Building on that theme, it is argued here that the ongoing transformations collectively known as globalization signal a new way of thinking about and performing both economics and technoscience: supply chain management (SCM). A comparison of SCM with NE models reveals shifts in both the theoretical focus of its proponents and the reactions of critics. Recent developments in the agrifood sector are used to illustrate the argument.     

走向服务政府:洛克有限政府理论及其启示

随着国家治理现代化建设的推进,我国政府治理模式经历了管理型政府向服务型政府的转变。洛克有限政府理论在保护公民权利、实现政治国家与市民社会互动等方面具有积极的现实意义,但有限政府不一定等同于服务政府,在面对不同时期、不同国情下的市场失灵问题以及权衡德治与法治、自由与平等、作为与不作为等现实问题时,有限政府理论具有自身的局限性。而服务型政府必然是一个有限政府,洛克所提出的自然权利、社会契约以及权利让渡所构成的有限政府理论,对于新时代构建服务政府仍然有很强的借鉴意义。     

中国共产党破解历史周期率难题的路径选择——从民主、法治到治理的历史演进

历史周期率是我国历史上封建王朝、封建政权摆脱不了的宿命。历代封建王朝盛极而衰、农民起义军先胜后败,一个共同的也是极其重要的原因,就是自己解决不了自己的问题。中国共产党在破解历史周期率难题的艰辛探索中,终于找到了破解这一难题的根本出路:既要靠民主,又要靠法治,还要靠治理,从而形成了“从民主、法治到治理”这样一条切实可行的政治发展路径。可以说从整体上实现了政治合法性与政治有效性两方面的有机统一。并且,这一发展路径既体现了发展的阶段性,即不同历史时期在处理合法性与有效性关系问题上侧重点的不同,同时又体现了历史的延续性,即不同发展阶段之间并非相互替代而是逐步递增的过程。而从实践维度看,则表现在新的时代背景下对执政党的执政理念也有了新的要求,那就是适应新的时代发展需要,在推进民主法治建设的同时大力突出治理的重要性,于是,提高执政党科学执政、民主执政、依法执政水平的要求便势在必行。     

People must change before institutions can: a model addressing the challenge from administering to managing the maltese public service

The Maltese public service is currently undergoing major organisational changes to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness in its service delivery. The great majority of these changes have focussed on re‐organising the macro‐level, namely strategy, processes and structures. This is not an easy feat as local external power forces leave their impact in the process. It is argued, however, that one way to circumvent these resisting forces is to empower the real agents of change: the administrators of the public service. For some reason, the micro‐level has been neglected and has been generally absent from the agenda of the major change programme with a few exceptions. This article throws light on this level by proposing an intrapersonal, psychological and pedagogical model for change that may complement and accompany the larger macro changes. The authors suggest that the model can be developed in a practical way to motivate change from within the person and not just push change around the person. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.