Searching for the best structure for American local government

Citizens, practitioners and academicians involved in local government have for decades debated the best structure for local public organizations; at the polar ends of this debate are those advocating rational administration and those advocating political responsiveness. The conventional wisdom equates rational administration with reformed structures like the council-manager plan and political responsiveness with structures which have an elected chief executive officer. The debate is unresolvable within this value-driven framework, and these ideological positions do not seem to be helping in the design of governmental structures which “work” in a practical and meaningful way. The paper argues for a “functional” model of local government structure based on how much citizens and administrators can know and oversee with competence. The analysis leads to a significant rethinking of the role of governing bodies, administrators, and the general management position in American local government.     

谋求合作共创未来

第三届亚洲政党国际会议于9月3—5日在北京召开,这是我们党根据亚洲各国政党的要求和亚洲政党国际会议常委会的建议而举办的。这次会议是亚洲各国政党汇聚一堂,共商合作与发展大计的一次盛会;是亚洲各国政党顺应和平发展的时代潮流、适应亚洲区域合作迅猛发展的势头、寻求扩大政党国际交流与合作的重要创举;是亚洲各国政党交流政治理念、寻求政治共识、增进理解与信任的重要论坛。从第一次马尼拉会议到第二次曼谷会议,直到今天的北京会议,亚洲政党国际会议逐渐形成为新形势下亚洲政党谋求发挥自身独特作用,促进区域合作与共同发展的新渠道与新机制。 在为期三天的会议中,与会各国政党代表围绕”交流、合作、发展”的主题,就”地区安全与多边合作、经济增长与社会进步、政党建设与国家发展”三个议题进行了热烈的讨论,达成了许多共识。这次会     

Eulogy for the Dollar?

Globalization has indeed flattened the earth, paving the way for new beginnings and the resurgence of old cultures alike by levelling the playing field for all comers. While this new era of post‐globalization certainly heralds de‐Westernization by century's end, is it more likely to mean a revival of the old ways of the East or the new hybrid ways of the first global civilization? Some of Asia's most provocative voices, as well as the world's most renowned cellist and cross‐pollinating musician, offer their views.     

新年寄语

随着我国经济持续快速发展和国际地位不断提高,越来越需要包括良好的国际舆论环境在内的"软实力"的支持,对外宣传工作在我国总体外交中的地位与作用越来越重要.争取客观、友善的舆论环境是当前和今后一个时期我国外交工作的根本任务和基本目标之一.     

Making the Financial Sector Work for the Poor

This case study exploits matched firm–employee Tunisian data in order to underline the role played by within-firm human capital in worker remuneration. The estimated returns to human capital in wage equations remain unchanged when the dummies representing firm heterogeneity are replaced in the list of regressors with three firm variables: a textile industry dummy, within-firm mean education, and firm age. We find that part of what is usually considered as return to education may be due to within-firm externalities.     

也谈苏联解体的一个原因--兼评美国学者科兹的几个论点

苏共及其社会主义失败的一个重要原因,是在苏共内部产生了一个特权阶层.美国学者科兹看到是这个特权阶层搞跨了苏共和苏联,却不懂得它产生的真正原因,而是把它归之于改革,进而得出了反对市场化改革的错误结论.历史已经证明,并将继续证明,社会主义不改革、不正确地进行改革,只能是死路一条.