Fiscal Federalism: a refined theory and its application in the Chinese context

China's central–local relations have been marked by perpetual changes amidst economic restructuring. Fiscal decentralization on the expenditure side has been paralleled by centralization on the revenue side, accompanied by political centralization. Hence, our understanding of China's fiscal relations is not without controversy. This paper aims to make a theoretical contribution to the ongoing debate on ‘fiscal federalism’ by addressing crucial questions regarding China's central–local fiscal relations: first, to what extent do Chinese central–local fiscal relations conform to fiscal federalism in the Western literature? Second, are there any problems with existing principles of fiscal federalism and, if so, how to refine them? Third, how are refined principles relevant to the Chinese case and what policies should the Chinese government pursue in the future? Based on an in-depth and critical review of the theories on fiscal federalism, we develop a refined prototype of fiscal federalism. The model shows that quasi-traditional fiscal federalism is a much closer reality in China, while we argue that the refined fiscal federalism should be the direction of future reform in China.     

金融分业架构中的银证银保合作

中国加入WTO,意味着中国金融业对外开放的程度将不断加强,所面临的国外金融业的竞争将更加激烈,这就要求我国金融业的发展也必须紧跟国际金融业的步伐,将混业经营作为未来发展的方向．但目前分业经营是我国的制度选择。因此,现阶段我国应在现有分业经营制度下最大程度的开展银行、证券、保险之间的合作,加强研究学习,实施产品创新、完善信息交流,并探索新的服务模式。     

SOLVING A POPULATION PUZZLE

正Coordinated development of talents, industries and innovation will be a decisive weapon How should we regard China’s demographic changes and related issues at a time of heated discussions about new births hitting a record low, the population about to see negative growth and the aging process accelerating? How should China address the population issue from the long-term perspective?     

NGOs in Hong Kong: The present and the future

This study analyzes NGOs’ influence in Hong Kong's political, social, and economic life. It addresses three questions. Firstly, what are their major roles and how effectively can they play them in society? Secondly, how active are these organizations? Finally, how confident are the NGO leaders about their organizations’ future? Based on a telephone survey conducted in August 1996, it finds that NGOs in Hong Kong are characterized not only by common functions but also some unique ones created by the territory's special status. In general, Hong Kong's NGOs are fairly active, which has little to do with the specialization, financial resources, and geographical foci of the organizations. Despite Beijing's explicit guarantee of the freedom of NGO activities, this study reveals that a clear majority of the NGO leaders expressed doubts about their organizations’ future.     

中共历史上两次飞跃的历史启示

中共历史上的两次飞跃昭示人们,中国的现代化建设要立足于客观实际与具体国情,解放思想,实事求是,坚决反对"左"、右两种倾向;要着眼于解放与发展生产力;要致力于社会主义法治国家建设;同时还要有一个成熟的中央领导集体与领导核心.     

禁止华为将使英国在新一轮技术革命中落后--在英《星期日电讯报》发表的署名文章

一个时期以来,5G问题一-直广受关注。个别国家极力兜售所谓“华为威胁论”,散布“科技冷战”阴云,试图给全球电信行业筑起“隔岛墙兽”。这些言行违背开放包容的时代潮流,影响各国电信业的正常发展,是十分危险的。那么,华为究竟是否安全可靠?华为给中英关系带来什么?“禁止华为”将有什么后果?     

Bond Boom

The Ministry of Finance recently kick-started a pilot program allowing local governments of Shanghai and Shenzhen, and Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces to issue bonds for the first time. How will the new policy affect fiscal capacities of local governments and the broader economy? What else should the country do to build a healthy bond market? Economists and experts discussed these issues in an interview with the ShanghaiSecuritiesJournal. Edited excerpts follow:     

Good and Bad Options For Washington

Will Washington lose the future? Yes and no. If the U.S. stays with its reckless and counterproductive policy of hegemony, then yes. If it drops its policy of hegemony and pursues a restrained and prudent course, then the answer might be no.     

主动“加码”:基层政策执行新视角--基于H省J县的村干部选举案例研究

基层政府如何执行存在"张力"的政策?既有研究关注到基层政府在"压力型体制"下通过"变通"、"共谋"等非正式运作执行被上级"加码"的政策。由于"加码"导致既有政策"张力"的增加,作为权力末梢的基层对于"加码"避之不及。吊诡的是,基层时常主动"加码"存在"张力"的政策。如何解释基层主动"制造困难"?本研究以H省J县的村干部选举为案例,揭示基层政府主动"加码"存在"张力"政策的逻辑:主动"加码"被认为是下级向上级"讨价还价"的重要方式,这基于主动"加码"符合上级对完成任务以及晋升的渴求,当基层官员执行存在"张力"的政策时,主动"加码"能够规避政策执行中的潜在风险。简言之,主动"加码"有利于基层官员"卸责"。这对既有研究提供了新的补充:对于存在"张力"的政策,基层政府通过主动"加码"可能更好地完成任务。     

转型时期政府扩大就业的路径选择

就业问题不仅是重大的经济问题 ,也是重大的政治问题 ;不仅是现实的紧迫问题 ,也是长远的战略问题 ,必须给予高度重视。为解决转型中的就业问题 ,政府要根据发达国家解决就业问题的成功经验并结合我国的特殊国情来选择扩大就业的路径     

国有控股公司:监狱集团企业体制改革的方向性模式

监狱集团企业在承担和不断强化相关法律和社会职能的前提下,如何有效摆脱若干体制障碍和功能束缚,以完全企业的组织形式和运行方式来适应社会主义市场经济体制,促进监狱可持续经济发展,是监狱管理体制改革的一个重点也是难点问题。从国有资产管理体制创新的角度分析,国有控股公司理应成为未来监狱集团企业管理体制的一种主流模式,同时,未来监狱集团企业将由国有独资模式逐步向投资主体多元化方向发展。对此,本文提出了监狱集团企业改制的现实路径和实施方案。     

关于公安院校发展的思考

普通高等院校为了生存和发展正在深化改革，但公安院校并没有认识到危机的存在。要尽快制定公安院校战略发展的远景规划和近期工作目标，使公安院校驶上快这发展的轨道。     

A Return to Multilateralism

Many countries today advocate a return to multilateralism. So what kind of multilateralism does the world need? It should never be selfish,nor should it ever put the national interests of one country above shared global ones. It should never be about containing other countries or forging alliances with small groups.     

市场主导:法制宣传教育的路径选择

法制宣传教育即将完成第六个五年规划的实施,其未来发展的路径选择应该摆上国家决策的议事日程。从政治、经济、技术和人文等四个方面的因素,客观地追溯法制宣传教育产生的历史背景,并从国家发展的宏观视野切入分析法制宣传教育的现实状况,可以看出,"市场主导"是法制宣传教育未来发展之最佳路径选择。     

A Slice of the Future

正Sci-fi industry expected to blast off in China Early this year, one Beijing drama troupe had plans to adapt a story from an ancient Chinese novel into a modern play. While racking their brains trying to figure out how to embed modern elements into an ancient story, a consultant suggested they take the concept one step further: Why not set the play in the future?     

The impact of reform on the party and ideology in China

In the People's Republic of China (PRC), the monolithic organization of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its unchallenged official ideology, Mao Zedong Thought, used to be the two mighty pillars sustaining Communist rule during Mao's era. Since the late 1970s, however, these two pillars have been shattered by a series of post‐Mao economic and political reforms under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping. As the result of a drastic decline in the standing of the party leadership and its official ideology, the ruling methods and foundation of the current regime have also changed. How did the reforms significantly affect the party and the official ideology? How did the changes in the roles of the party and ideology, in turn, redefine the nature and ruling methods of the current Communist regime? What do these changes imply for the future of this regime and the course of ongoing political and economic modernization? These questions, which are crucial for our understanding of the nature of sociopolitical transition in China, will be addressed in this article.     

有限责任公司增资扩股中股东资格取得问题研究

公司设立和运作的不规范操作,导致大量股东资格确认案件的发生,加之公司法缺少明确的相关规范,司法实践中处理方法较为混乱。本文在有限责任公司的范围内探讨了增资扩股情形下股东资格确认的几种情形,并联系公司资本制度的有关理论,着重论述了增加资本在股东确认过程中应当成为重要的考虑因素。     

香港高官问责制:成效、问题与对策

高官问责制自从 2 0 0 2年 7月 1日在香港特别行政区实施以来 ,引起了各方面的关注 ,它取得了一定的成效 ,也存在不少的问题。本文对香港高官问责制的背景、成效、问题及其成因进行了较为深入的分析 ,并对其完善进行了初步的探讨     

CRISIS FOCUS:Clouds on the Horizon

As reports supportive of a rebounding world economy continue to grab headlines, crisis-stricken countries cannot wait to announce that a substantial recovery may be soon approaching. But is the so-called turnaround an established trend with a firm foundation and what are the potential risks that threaten to darken future prospect? Zili, Vice Chairman of the Graduate School of the People's Bank of China, discussed these issues on his blog.     

完善高校保险制度的思考

目前我国的高校保险保障制度存在着结构单一、管理混乱等诸多问题,已经不能适应高校校园安全管理的需要。鉴于此,应从健全法规制度、完善险种设计与管理、提高售后服务以及补充其他的风险分散与赔偿机制等角度着手,建立一套由学生系列保险、校方责任险、灾害管理基金等组成的完备的校园保险保障体系,从而提高学校和学生抗御各种意外灾害的能力,保证学校教学和科研工作的正常运转。