论货币宪法学教学

将货币宪法引入宪法学的教学实践,不仅能够开辟宪法学教学与研究的新领域,丰富财政宪法乃至基础宪法学的教学内容,同时使该学科的教学具有更为重要的理论与实践价值。货币宪法学的教学内容主要包括货币权力的宪法属性、货币权力配置的基本模式、货币权力的宪法规范等。     

Accountability in the EU's para-regulatory state: The case of the Economic and Monetary Union

This article revisits Majone's famous argument about accountability in the regulatory state in reference to the European Union's (EU) Economic and Monetary Union. We show that the EU has entered the stage of a “para-regulatory state” marked by increasing EU regulation in areas linked to core state powers. Despite the redistributive and politicized nature of these policy areas, the EU's “para-regulatory state” has continued to rely on its regulatory model of accountability, focused on decisionmaking processes, and interest mediation. In line with Majone, we describe the model as procedural and contrast it to substantive accountability – which is necessary when regulation has clear redistributive implications. Using two case studies from fiscal policy and monetary affairs, we illustrate the predominance of procedural accountability as exercised by the European Parliament and EU Courts. We complement the empirical analysis with a normative discussion of how substantive accountability could potentially be rendered in both fields.     

Reality and historicity: economy and dialectics in Marxism ∗

On 1 July 1997, the Basil Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will be enacted in accordance with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. Articles 107 and 108 of the Basic Law, the so-called balanced budget and low tax policy articles, are the two most controversial articles of the Chapter on Economy. The manifest purpose of these two articles is to constrain the spending and taxing power of the HKSAR in order to prohibit elected members of the Legislative Council from turning Hong Kong into a welfare state, and they have been justified by some ostensibly using Buchanan's concept of fiscal constitution. This paper examines the justification and effects of incorporating elements of fiscal constitution in the Basic Law, focusing particularly on the income redistribution effect. The paper concludes that policy articles grounded on the philosophy of fiscal constitution should not have been included.     

Globalization and Fiscal Federalism: Does Openness Constrain Subnational Budget Imbalances?

Recent research has shown that more globalized countries—defined as those with stronger international trade and financial linkages—tend to have larger governments. The empirical evidence reported in this paper shows that globalization is also associated with the government's fiscal stance, nationally and subnationally. Greater access to external sources of finance, which can be facilitated through globalization, is associated with increased market scrutiny over policies, resulting in a higher premium on fiscal discipline.     

State and local tax reform for the 1990s: Implications from Arizona

The state of Arizona recently established a temporary, blue-ribbon committee to evaluate the state's fiscal system and to recommend changes that would improve the system. The impetus for the committee was a series of budgetary difficulties in the 1980s that lawmakers hoped might be avoided in the future by implementing major structural changes suggested by a long-run analysis of the state's economy and taxes and expenditures. The findings and recommendations of the committee are relevant for states across the country. It is likely that many states will be faced with tough budgetary challenges in the decade of the 1990s because the states' revenue systems have not adapted to the changes in the level and nature of state spending responsibilities.     

THE IMPACT of FINANCIAL SERVICES GLOBALIZATION UPON the CARIBBEAN COMMON MARKET

This article tests three hypotheses concerning the policy effects of foreign exchange market liberalization and exchange controls in the three Caribbean Common Market countries of Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Barbados during the 1990s. It concludes that these cases do not show either monetary or fiscal policy to be particularly effective, when foreign exchange markets are liberalized before a functional bank regulatory system is put in place. These cases also imply that given the challenges posed by financial services globalization, the need for informed judgment by governments regarding the pace and scope of financial sector liberalization will remain critical, particularly within small developing countries.     

The varieties of banking regulation in the EU: An empirical analysis

The EU strives to harmonize banking regulation, while its member states continue to insist on a degree of differentiation to accommodate national specifics. A new data set of national options and discretions (O&Ds) embedded in EU banking legislation facilitates systematic analysis of member states' policy preferences across multiple policy cycles. Its results suggest that states' O&D choices are related to their respective variety of banking capitalism. Coordinated and liberal market economies choose O&Ds to protect distinct subsets of regulatory parameters delaying full harmonization. Dependent market economies on the Eastern periphery use O&Ds to prevent the outflow of capital from foreign‐owned subsidiaries under their jurisdiction. These deep institutional roots suggest that many O&Ds will be carried over to the upcoming generation of EU banking legislation, despite the increased harmonization pressures in the banking union.     

Lessons from the malfunctioning of the Eurozone's financial system

The persisting Eurozone's crisis is a combination of a sovereign debt crisis and a banking crisis that have been triggered by the Global Financial Crisis. The sovereign debt crisis is the consequence of a policy laxity for applying the principles and fiscal rules of the monetary union, which led to macroeconomic imbalances and enforced the mispricing of risks by the markets that in turn contributed to escalate the banking crisis. To address the consequences of the Eurozone's crisis, the European Union has implemented a new crisis management framework, which, however, is not immune to trials. The present paper follows a tripartite structure and begins by examining the causes of the Eurozone's crisis and draws its lessons. Second, it examines the reforms of the new crisis management framework and highlights their key challenges. Third, in light of these lessons and challenges, a return to three ‘fundamentals’ is advocated and the case of enhancing the position of the European Union within the area of international financial regulation is built to highlight how this is an optimal policy area for addressing the endemic weaknesses of the Eurozone and how this can contribute to securing a sustainable growth. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Introduction to Weber

Abstract

This article discusses the origins of the speculative configuration that has come to characterize English banking. It criticizes Gerschenkron's view that early nineteenth-century English banking developed relatively autonomously from manufacturing. Pointing out that he misunderstood the specific nature of English finance and the reasons that explained the later shift towards speculation, it shows how Gerschenkron and his followers have consistently underestimated the role of the state in shaping the nature of English finance. The main argument of the article is that state intervention was a decisive factor in shaping the nature of English finance. It proved crucial in initiating the divergence between English and continental finance, and contributed to the rise of modern banking in England. Finally, I argue that the speculative configuration of finance often associated with England was a late development of the nineteenth century that again reflected changes in the form of financial and monetary regulation.     

Organization and Reporting of Public Financial Accounts: Insights and Policy Implications from the Singapore Budget

This paper analyses the Singapore government budget's organization and reporting structure, and draws lessons and policy implications for improving public financial management practices. The paper finds that Singapore's fiscal marksmanship record has been poor with consistent underestimates of revenue and overestimates of expenditure. Second, subtle divergences from international reporting standards limit the information available and constrain the budget's analytical usefulness in international comparisons. Third, current reporting conventions of the budget fail to provide an adequate representation of the government's fiscal position. Fourth, revised estimates of budgetary balances in line with international reporting standards show a considerable increase in the fiscal space available. The policy implications of these findings are discussed, as well as some reporting changes which can help improve the fiscal marksmanship record, increase public sector transparency and accountability, and facilitate better quality discourse among all stakeholders on public financial management.     

Partisanship in the setting and coordination of fiscal and monetary policies

Abstract. The principal concerns of this paper are with the roles partisan politics have played in the making of fiscal and monetary policies within OECD countries as well as the extent to which these policies have complemented each other. It is argued that parties of the left pursue fiscal policies that are distinctly different from those pursued by the right. The critical difference is in the way these parties use fiscal policy as a corrective mechanism for dealing with macroeconomic problems: leftist parties adopt counter–cyclical fiscal policies while rightwing parties adhere to pro–cyclical fiscal stances. The paper also examines two arguments regarding monetary policy and how partisan politics affect this policy area. The first and most conventional argument sees the formal independence of the central bank from government as a means of negating partisan influences on monetary policy; the second advances the proposition that, regardless of central bank independence, monetary authorities are not politically neutral but instead share views similar to those of parties on the right–hand side of the political spectrum. Empirical analysis, using a pooled cross–section time–series design with data from 14 countries between 1961 and 1994, produces evidence in favor of the argument concerning the role of partisanship in fiscal policy; it also shows little support for the view that central bank independence inhibits partisan influences while at the same time provides support for the thesis that central banks are politically non–neutral. Thus, coordination between fiscal and monetary policies is far less likely to occur when left–wing parties are in power.     

Partisanship in the setting and coordination of fiscal and monetary policies

The principal concerns of this paper are with the roles partisan politics have played in the making of fiscal and monetary policies within OECD countries as well as the extent to which these policies have complemented each other. It is argued that parties of the left pursue fiscal policies that are distinctly different from those pursued by the right. The critical difference is in the way these parties use fiscal policy as a corrective mechanism for dealing with macroeconomic problems: leftist parties adopt counter–cyclical fiscal policies while rightwing parties adhere to pro–cyclical fiscal stances. The paper also examines two arguments regarding monetary policy and how partisan politics affect this policy area. The first and most conventional argument sees the formal independence of the central bank from government as a means of negating partisan influences on monetary policy; the second advances the proposition that, regardless of central bank independence, monetary authorities are not politically neutral but instead share views similar to those of parties on the right–hand side of the political spectrum. Empirical analysis, using a pooled cross–section time–series design with data from 14 countries between 1961 and 1994, produces evidence in favor of the argument concerning the role of partisanship in fiscal policy; it also shows little support for the view that central bank independence inhibits partisan influences while at the same time provides support for the thesis that central banks are politically non–neutral. Thus, coordination between fiscal and monetary policies is far less likely to occur when left–wing parties are in power.     

The political economy of local government financialization and the role of policy diffusion

By analyzing why English local governments have made extensive use of long-term market loans with embedded derivatives, this paper seeks to contribute to the growing literature on local government financialization. Using an original, large-N panel dataset for the period from 1998 to 2014, we show that the configuration of the local political economy is an important driver of financialization processes: a Labour Party majority as well as fiscal and economic stress make it more likely that councils adopt risky financial instruments. As the use of financial innovations has also diffused geographically, policy diffusion impacts local governments as well. Highlighting the conditional effect of finance sector power, which only increases the use of financial innovations in very large councils, as well as the temporal dimension of fiscal and economic stress, we create ample avenues for further research.     

Covering the private parts: the (re-)nationalisation of housing finance

Abstract

Is state power or control over financial markets really withering? Most narratives/analyses of financialisation see a growing penetration of private capital into everyday life that runs parallel to the increasing power of private financial capital over state policy. Yet housing finance – mortgages – sits at the centre of banking, and banking sits at the centre of the financial system. Large-scale mortgage markets only function where the state wraps around the banking system to remove maturity risks and to limit excessive credit creation. Partial deregulation in the 1990s and 2000s created a crisis that states resolved by re-nationalising much of mortgage finance. This renewed and overwhelming state presence suggests that financialisation is a state-driven story, and that private financial power, stability and instruments require state support above and beyond contract enforcement and prudential regulation.     

Constructing and contesting City of London power: NGOs and the emergence of noisier financial politics

Existing literature on the City of London has tended to focus on its ‘structural power’, while neglecting political and narrative agency. This paper acts as a corrective by presenting evidence to show that since the financial crash of 2008 the political terrain the City operates on has become more contested, crowded and noisier. The contribution develops a middle course between a positive assessment of the role of civil society in relation to global finance, and a more pessimistic reading. We demonstrate how macro-narratives and public story-telling both construct and contest City and financial sector power. In a new pattern since the financial crash, NGOs have moved from campaigns of limited duration and narrow focus, to a more sustained presence on macro-structural issues. Adopting a supply–demand framework for assessing governance and regulatory change, we look at the emergence of TheCityUK as a new advocacy arm and the strategies of three of the more prominent and focused NGOs that have mobilized in the aftermath of the crash: the Tax Justice Network’s (TJN) use of the ‘finance curse’; Positive Money on private endogenous money creation; and Finance Watch counterweight strategies at the level of the European Union. We suggest these mobilizations highlight the need for a more concerted and orchestrated construction of a global institutional civil society infrastructure in finance (a global financial public sphere) to achieve greater access, resources, scrutiny and oversight for a range of specialist expert NGOs.     

财税治腐的路径证成——兼论财税治腐的功能变革

党的十八大以来,腐败治理被提升到前所未有的高度,受到各界的广泛关注。"财税治腐"能够克服长期以来以"治人"为主要反腐手段的弊端,这种模式通过明确财权边界、规范公共财产管理等手段,进一步压缩了权力的寻租空间。财税治腐以财政党规和财税法律为制度土壤,以"理财"和"治腐"为两大主题和形式目标,聚合于"国家治理现代化"的终极目标之下。以领域法学理论、公共财产理论以及政党治理与国家治理理论为基石,财税法跨越不同法域的法学研究路径,以其务实、低调、灵活的特质在面对日益复杂的腐败治理难题时展现出十分独特的价值。财税治腐承载着实现权力规制、优化理财方式和推进国家治理现代化的三重任务,同其他权力监督方式相结合,形成对公权的监督合力,共同构建出"法治财政、廉洁政治、现代国家"的理想图景。     

Predispositions and the Political Behavior of American Economic Elites: Evidence from Technology Entrepreneurs

Economic elites regularly seek to exert political influence. But what policies do they support? Many accounts implicitly assume economic elites are homogeneous and that increases in their political power will increase inequality. We shed new light on heterogeneity in economic elites' political preferences, arguing that economic elites from an industry can share distinctive preferences due in part to sharing distinctive predispositions. Consequently, how increases in economic elites' influence affect inequality depends on which industry's elites are gaining influence and which policy issues are at stake. We demonstrate our argument with four original surveys, including the two largest political surveys of American economic elites to date: one of technology entrepreneurs—whose influence is burgeoning—and another of campaign donors. We show that technology entrepreneurs support liberal redistributive, social, and globalistic policies but conservative regulatory policies—a bundle of preferences rare among other economic elites. These differences appear to arise partly from their distinctive predispositions.     

Financing German Unity: Fiscal Conflict Resolution in a Complex Federation

Unification posed a new challenge to the Federal Republic ofGermany. Two economically different areas were united into onefederal polity. Due to the constitutional command to safeguardequivalency of living conditions throughout the republic, thefederal government as well as the "old" Länder were supposedto support the "new" Länder of East Germany. Until 1994,provisional regulations served to finance East Germany; in 1995,the new Länder were integrated on an equal footing intothe "financial constitution" of the Basic Law. Unification wasnot used for constitutional reform as had been demanded by someLand leaders. Concerning intergovernmental fiscal relations,one can speak of "budgetary adaptation" only. It was not possibleto resolve long-lasting constitutional issues together withthe challenge of unification. German unification has been, andwill be, very costly. Public debt rose from roughly 900 billionGerman marks in 1989 to more than two trillion in 1995. Theargument about burden sharing between the federation and the"old" Länder continues, and the formulas of fiscal equalizationhave been challenges by Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.     

Trouble Keeping Promises? An Analysis of Underfunding in State Retiree Benefits

This article examines the funding of two key components of state government total compensation: pensions and other postemployment benefits (OPEB), the latter consisting primarily of retiree health care. A brief overview of the economic, political, and legal environments of state pensions and OPEB is followed by an analysis of the unfunded liabilities for these respective benefits. Regression results suggest the importance of state management capacity, per capita income, and public employee density in understanding differences in the states' pension and OPEB funding performance. Additionally, employers' level of pension contributions, legislative professionalism, and fiscal constraint are significantly related to pension funding, while political ideology and levels of state pension funding are significantly related to OPEB funding. The article concludes by discussing the tensions that states face in attempting to balance the fiscal imperative of funding retiree benefits liabilities with the human capital challenge of attracting and retaining a professional workforce. Failure on either could be costly to state government.