当代西方政府信任危机透析

民众对于政府的支持与信任是任何政权合法性的重要基础,也是任何政体正常运转的重要保障。20世纪末以来,西方民主国家中政府的公信力下降已经演化为一股国际性的趋势,成为各国政府面临的严峻问题。西方人民对政府的不信任是众多因素长期混合和交互作用的结果,包括政治选举、政府本身、利益集团、社会文化以及大众传媒等方面的原因。为了提高公民对政府的信心和满意度,巩固政权的正当性和合法性,西方国家采取了多样的手段,开始了塑造“公民性政府”的历程。我国在社会经济改革加速前进的过程中也伴生了一些严重影响政府信任的现象,在这方面,西方国家政府信任危机的内在症结及其解救的经验措施,对于我们提高政府公信力无疑具有重要的启示和借鉴意义。     

Social media taxation and its impact on Africa's economic growth

Technology affordances enable citizens to digitally connect and collectively act towards realization of established economic goals of a given country. This paper contributes to scholarly discussions on the effects of social media tax on Africa's economic growth. For African economies to grow, there is need to abolish social media tax and device means through which social media discussions that generate billions of data are captured and analyzed to guide policymaking processes aimed at economic growth. We connote that social media tax disengages the government from its citizens that access information through social media platforms. The tax is a hindrance to realization of the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA‐2024) and the African Union (AU) Agenda 2063.     

Government intervention in the economy: a comparative analysis of Singapore and Hong Kong

Singapore and Hong Kong are very different and yet very similar in many respects. A study of their current profiles and historical development indicates that the two have achieved comparable economic successes through different development strategies. After World War II, Singapore gained political independence while Hong Kong achieved economic restructuring. The Singapore government adopted an interventionist approach to develop its economy, while the Hong Kong government followed the laissez‐faire principle. However, as the two were maturing socially and economically in the last few decades, both governments found the necessity to adopt a hybrid strategy of mixing economic interventions with the free‐market approach. An examination of public finance and economic policies since the onset of the Asian economic turmoil shows that the two have become increasingly similar in their economic approaches, with heavy emphasis on stabilizing the economy and stimulating business activities through government initiatives. Based on their projected economic, social and political development, the Hong Kong government is expected to become more interventionist while its Singapore counterpart is expected to go in the opposite direction. The economic development strategies of the two governments, coming from two extremes, will become more alike in the foreseeable future, for reasons of political feasibility in the former. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Political unrest in Chile

A protest movement that began in October 2019 has spurred millions of Chileans to demonstrate against cost-of-living increases imposed by the centre-right government, but also against social and economic inequality more broadly. The government has come under fire for its heavy-handed repression of the protests, and now faces a referendum in which the public will have the choice to preserve the country’s dictatorship-era constitution, or replace it and potentially upend the status quo.     

Social Democrats and Neo-Liberalism: A Case Study of the Australian Labor Party

Social democratic parties have been agents in the neo-liberal transformation of public policy in recent decades. There has been debate about the reasons why social democrats have embraced market policies, with particular emphasis given to ideological trends, globalisation and electoral factors. This paper aims to shed further light on this debate by examining the case of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), which was a prominent social democratic exponent of neo-liberalism during its time in office in the 1980s and 1990s. In Labor's case, the primary cause of the shift from pledging social reform and interventionist government to neo-liberalism was the lower levels of economic growth that followed the end of the post-war boom in the 1970s. Social democrats rely on strong economic growth to fund redistributive policies. Thus when recession occurred in the 1970s it eroded the economic base to Labor's programme. While this paper focuses on the story of the ALP, it may provide some answers as to why social democrats elsewhere have adopted neo-liberalism.     

Investigating the Institutional Norms and Values of the Productivity Commission: The 2011 and 2015 Childcare Inquiries

The Productivity Commission (PC) has a mandate to provide independent advice to government that promotes community wellbeing. Whilst it plays a significant role in social and economic reform, the underlying institutional values and norms of the PC that shape its advice have not been examined. This paper examines policy problematisations (Bacchi 2009, 2012) across two PC ‘inquiries’ into childcare (2011, 2015) between Labor and Coalition governments, and the advice provided by the PC. In doing so, this research demonstrates that PC recommendations are imbued with economic values that are highly institutionalised. These values give preference to targeted social welfare and traditional gender norms, despite current evidence suggesting alternative approaches would have better social and long‐term economic outcomes. Our findings raise questions over the conflict between the traditional economic values of the PC and providing social policy advice that reflects best practice, indicating that further investigation into the PC is urgently needed.     

Socioeconomic analysis: A case of Tharparkar

Tharparkar is one of the arid zones of Sindh province which is highly affected due to its drought nature and the changes in climate. These changes are posing the serious threats to the life and livelihood of the surrounding community. This study aims to explore the social and economic conditions of the Tharparkar and the role of government and social enterprises and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to make the livelihood and socioeconomic conditions of the Tharparkar better and comfortable. The data was collected from the current literature, visits to the studied population, and interviews from the common people and some officials of government as well as social enterprises and NGOs.     

从GDP锦标赛到二元竞争:中国地方政府行为变迁的逻辑——基于1998—2006年中国省级面板数据的实证研究

在中国经济持续30多年高速发展中,地方政府是发展的主要动力,但从上世纪90年代末以来,地方政府在发展经济中所产生的负面效果越来越明显,中央出台了一系列政策去调整和引导地方政府行为,促使地方政府增加社会保障开支以促进社会公平。采用1998—2006年中国省级面板数据进行定量分析以考察地方政府行为的影响因素和变化。研究显示,地方政府在社会保障的财政开支上主要受当地经济发展状况和中央政府的重视程度影响;地方政府在回应中央政府政策调整的过程中,其行为并不同于"晋升锦标赛"所归纳的以GDP增长为主要目标的一元竞争模式,而是演变为在社会公平和经济发展的双重目标下,地方政府分别参与不同目标竞争的二元竞争模式。在既往对中国地方政府行为考察的政治激励和财政激励基础上提出了影响地方政府行为的激励结构、中央与地方的互动关系和地方所处的社会经济情况的分析框架,通过对地方政府行为变化的分析提出二元竞争模式以弥补"GDP晋升锦标赛模式"对地方政府行为解释力的不足。     

Local Government Finance in Hungary: Okun Revisited

Fundamental change in the economic systems of the nations-of central Europe is now taking place. The economic transition has broad social and cultural consequences, among these the alteration of local government service provision and financial management. In this article, the authors describe some of the fiscal characteristics of local governments in Hungary with an analysis of the dilemmas of transition. Efforts to create and enhance local government financial management capability are detailed. This article portrays the difficulty of developing a fully operational market economy within a democratic context in the post-Communist era while, at the same time, maintaining social protection for citizens through the continued provision of a wide array of social benefit programs. The essential dilemma for local government social program managers and budget officials is that service demand far surpasses the financial resources available to continue services at the levels to which people grew accustomed under the Communist regime.     

中国边疆民族政策的实证调查

边疆多民族地区的经济建设和社会发展,是政府主导型的一个社会进程,中国政府在这个过程中承担着重大的政治责任和社会责任。本文通过对中国政府在边疆多民族地区经济、社会领域若干政策的回顾,以及对边疆多民族地区社会现状的调查,指出长期以来“效率优先”的改革思想,地方政府“效率单边独追”的畸形发展方式与中央政府“民族主义”的政策导向,是造成边疆地区对中央政府政策认同度低的重要原因。     

对省级地方政府规模影响因素的定量研究

政府规模是我国推进政府改革进程中值得关注的一个重大课题,对其影响因素的探索对行政体制改革具有重要意义,而目前国内学界对政府规模影响因素的定量研究尚不多见,基本是政府规模问题研究的空白点.从政府规模的概念和影响因素入手,以2003年全国30个省级行政单位(台湾、香港、澳门、西藏除外)为样本,运用SPSS软件对政府规模的影响因素进行定量回归分析,对学界普遍认同的经济发展水平、经济体制、人口因素、地域面积以及民族因素进行考量,发现经济发展水平与中国省级政府规模呈负相关,说明瓦格纳法则并不适用于现阶段的中国;市场化指数与中国省级政府规模呈高度负相关;人口因素与政府规模呈高度负相关.这个结论与我国许多学者的经验观察与主观感受是相反的.地域面积与政府规模呈正相关关系,但在省级行政单位这一层面上影响非常微弱,不像有的学者强调得那样大;少数民族比重与政府规模呈高度正相关,这是一个新的定量研究发现.由此提出:在建立合理、优化的政府规模时,应更多地运用科学的研究方法,探讨其深层次的结构性原因,充分关注不同区域的特殊情况,对症下药地提出相应的改革方案.在推进政治、行政改革时更应慎之又慎,以构建与市场经济大背景相适应的公共服务型政府为基本的价值取向,坚持温和稳健,防止过度激进,坚持理性考察,避免煽情之作,以促进经济发展和社会进步.     

论规制失灵及政府规制能力的提升

政府规制是行政机关依据有关的法规,对微观经济主体的市场行为所进行的直接控制、约束或规范,其基本诉求是修正市场机制的先天性缺陷。规制失灵是政府规制未能达成预期目的,引致经济绩效与社会福利的净损失,包括规制制定失灵和规制执行失灵。原因主要有社会性规制匮乏与经济性规制过度并存;规制执行机构缺乏独立性,规制执行存在运动式的惯性,被规制者俘获规制者;规制规制者制度的粗陋性等。探讨规制失灵的对策,提升政府规制水平,有利于增强政府驾驭市场经济的能力和构建和谐社会的能力。     

Using the State for Change: Towards an Effective Labour Government

The capacity of the state to deliver transformative social and economic change appears more limited today than since Labour was last in government. A future Labour government will therefore need to reckon with the challenges this presents when it comes to harnessing the power of the state to distribute power, wealth, and opportunity, effectively. This article considers two aspects of state power. The first is the ability of the state to enforce laws, and in doing so shape social and economic norms. With reference to past successes and failures, there is discussion of how laws and regulations could be made more effective. The second aspect is state intervention in the economy, and the circumstances in which it is possible and desirable to nationalise key industries. The case is made for a thorough assessment of the efficiency and efficacy of such interventions in the economy, especially when weighed against other policy priorities.     

Labour's approach to planning: Economics v politics

Since 1964 the Labour Party has been closely associated with the development in government of a conception of planning which gives pride of place to economic rather than representative opinion. Although ofneo‐liberal inspiration, its adoption by Labour is by no means circumstantial but is historically embedded in social democratic ideology concerning economic organisation. This convergence with neo‐liberalism is especially notable for its tendency towards the denial and ultimate impoverishment of politics. Yet the theoretical basis exists for an approach to planning—ultimately more realistic politically—incorporating and developing rather than devaluing representative democracy.     

The Interface management frontier: Modernizing local government. Part three

At the beginning of the 21st Century, local government faces the major challenge of restructuring and managing a new interface with its social, economic, and political environment. The devolution of public tasks to society requires a redefinition of the role of local government. The shift from producing to guaranteeing the remaining services requires at least the adoption of best practices from private-sector strategic marketing, production, and purchasing management. The restructuring of local government for customer satisfaction and decentralized decision-making requires careful attention to the demands of democratic political control, as well as to legitimate public interests that may not be included in the customer-satisfaction model. Thus, public management of local government cannot be content with internal modernization, but must redefine its relationships with its environment.     

The practice and effect of development planning in Bangladesh

Development planning in Bangladesh has not been conspicuously successful. Neverthless it is essential for the nation to continue to plan its economy. Bangladesh's plans must be explored within the context of the economic and sociopolitical constraints that are placed upon the plan and its implementation. The First Five Year Plan (FFYP) was prepared within the framework of a socialist economy but not implemented accordingly. The attitude of the government was a major factor in the eventual distortion of this plan. The mobilization of national resources and their allocation, land reforms, subsidy measures, and industrial policies pursued by the government appeared to protect group interests rather than following recommendations of the plan. A bitter triangular relationship emerged among the politicians, the bureaucrats and the planners. This can explain why the implementation of the plan fell short of what was minimally expected. Subsequent plans, unlike the FFYP which placed high priority on social sectors, have been formulated in favour of the more productive sectors of agriculture and manufacturing. The outcome has been a modest increase in economic growth, but inequality and poverty have tended to perpetuate themselves. To achieve growth with social equality, planning in Bangladesh appears to need strong public commitment and bureaucratic support, the absence of which may prove to make national development planning ineffective, if not counterproductive.     

论政府行为模式从控制向引导的转变

自政府产生以来,都是以社会控制为基本职能,统治阶级的利益实现,社会秩序的获得等,都是通过政府的社会控制去实现的。农业社会的统治型政府是运用暴力和在暴力的支持下去进行社会控制,工业社会的管理型政府则是通过法治的方式进行社会控制,同时,也有着不断刷新控制技术的追求。但是,任何一种形式的社会控制,都会出现"控制悖论",有的时候,也会出现"控制失灵"的问题。20世纪后期以来,尽管学者们围绕政府的社会控制做出了各种各样的探索,尽管政府的控制技术得到不断的提升,但是,社会的复杂性和不确定性也迅速地增长,从而使政府一直处于控制能力不足的局面。其实,在人类社会进入高度复杂性和高度不确定性的时代,政府的社会控制追求如果不改变的话,将会使政府陷入与社会全面对立的境地。在这种条件下,政府必须从根本上放弃控制导向的行为模式,代之以引导取向的行为模式。其中,建构引导型政府职能模式是保证政府发挥引导作用而不是控制功能的正确路径。     

Beyond the Social Market: Rethinking Capitalism and Public Policy

Despite its worthy motives, social market philosophy provides neither a useful analytical framework for understanding modern capitalism, nor the policy tools to address our present economic and social predicament. The concept of ‘market failure’, with its underlying assumption of market equilibrium, does not capture the systemically adverse outcomes of collective market forces. A more sophisticated understanding of capitalist economies, and the societies in which they exist, would recognise that the market economy is a dynamic but not self‐regulating system. It is embedded in, and impacts on, four other economies – of the natural environment, of family and care, of voluntary association, and of the public sector – which operate under different motivations and allocative principles. The role of government is central, to balance the values created by different kinds of institutions and to constrain the dynamic impacts of market forces. A number of policy conclusions are offered arising from this framework.     

Fiscal Rules and the Composition of Government Expenditures in OECD Countries

Since the 1990s many OECD countries have adopted fiscal rules. After the adoption of these rules, the ratio of social transfers to government consumption substantially declined, and it recovered following the global economic crisis. Using a sample of 22 OECD countries, we found a negative effect of fiscal rules on the ratio of social transfers to government consumption. This finding implies that fiscal rules are effective, but not necessarily binding. Our examination reveals that the negative effect of fiscal rules on the social transfers to government consumption ratio is particularly evident in countries with relatively weak legal protection to social rights.     

India's regional disparity and its policy responses

Regional disparities are an alarming issue in India, and it has been widening in spite of various policy initiatives by the government to develop backward areas. The fruit of high growth have not been distributed fairly across India's different regions and have given rise to the threat of regional inequality. Disparities in social and economic development, employment, and infrastructure amenities across the regions and within regions have been a major challenge to policy makers and economists. This paper is an attempt to understand the recent picture of regional imbalance in India across its states. The paper tries to analyze the existing regional disparity in India in terms of macroeconomic aggregates, social and economic infrastructure, and human development. The paper also examines the various policy initiatives taken by the government of India to achieve the regional balance in development.