Is cooperation cost reducing? An analysis of public–public partnerships and inter-municipal cooperation in Brazilian local government

ABSTRACT

In local government systems worldwide, financial pressures have obliged local authorities to focus on cost-efficient methods for providing local services, including inter-municipal agreements and public–public partnerships. However, in comparison with municipal mergers, privatisation and other approaches to the problem, the cost impact of the cooperative provision has not yet been thoroughly examined empirically. Moreover, available empirical research has largely concentrated on waste disposal in developed countries. The present paper seeks to contribute to the empirical literature on inter-municipal agreements and public–public partnerships by comparing their impact on costs with ‘stand-alone’ provision in a range of non-waste local services. In contrast to the bulk of existing studies, our analysis takes place in a developing country context by examining Brazilian local government over the period 2013/15. We found that – on the whole – cooperative provision is less expensive than the ‘stand-alone’ provision for the services studied. Our results can be explained by the size and composition of the population, together with the politics for cooperation.     

列宁帝国主义理论的内在逻辑与时代价值——纪念列宁诞辰150周年

为了揭示第一次世界大战的性质和根源,分析研判世界资本主义发展的最新态势,批判第二国际机会主义错误,为无产阶级革命斗争提供理论指导,列宁创作了《帝国主义是资本主义的最高阶段》《战争和俄国社会民主党》《社会主义与战争》等著作,揭露了帝国主义垄断、腐朽的本质特征,剖析了帝国主义疯狂瓜分世界所带来的严重后果,预测了帝国主义垂死的历史结局,阐明了马克思主义的战争观和无产阶级对待战争的立场,形成了列宁的帝国主义理论。当前,“我们依然处在马克思主义所指明的历史时代”,帝国主义侵略与扩张的本性没有改变,以垄断为特征的金融帝国主义对世界实行全面统治。列宁的帝国主义理论依然是正确认识当代国际关系变化趋势的重要分析工具,对于开展中国特色新型外交与国际合作和推动构建人类命运共同体具有重要指导意义。     

Pulp volume quantification methods in cone-beam computed tomography for age estimation: A critical review and meta-analysis

The secondary dentin deposition that occurs after the tooth formation process results in a decrease in pulp cavity volume in adolescents and adults. The purpose of this critical review was to correlate pulpal and/or dental volume on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) with chronological age approximation. A subobjective was to investigate which methodology and CBCT technical parameters would be most appropriate to evaluate this correlation. This critical review followed the PRISMA guidelines, and it was conducted by a search through PubMed, Embase, SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library databases, as well as gray literature. Primary studies that used pulp volume, or pulp chamber to tooth volume ratio measured using CBCT were included. Seven hundred and eight indexed and 31 non-indexed records were identified. A qualitative analysis was performed including 25 selected studies with a total of 5100 individuals, age ranging from 8 to 87 years without sex predilection. The most used method was pulp volume/tooth volume. CBCT voxel size ranged between 0.09 and 0.5. Manual segmentation associated with threshold algorithms was used in most of the studies. Correlation between the pulp volume/tooth volume ratio was moderate: −0.66 for the upper central incisors, −0.59 for upper canines and −0.56 for lower canines. High heterogeneity was observed among the studies. It is concluded that pulp volume should be used with caution in age estimation. Evidence supports the preferable use of upper incisors with pulp volume/tooth volume ratio for age estimation. There is not enough evidence that voxel size interferes in age estimation by pulp volume.     

The EU against the New Normal: Avoiding the Banalization of the Israeli‒Palestinian Dispute

This article assesses the European Union (EU)’s engagement with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and highlights the unintended consequences of the policies pursued by Brussels on this matter. While stressing that Palestinians and Israelis interested in peace face the danger of the banalization of the conflict, the article argues that the current status quo is unacceptable and unstainable in the long run, and this demands new policies from the actors involved with the conflict or its resolution. The EU policies’ overall rationale must be to treat the Israeli?Palestinian dispute as a normal, non-exceptional conflict, in which economic and legal tools can be employed to create new legal facts on the ground. An alternative EU approach to the conflict must recognize the insufficiency of recent initiatives and should be built upon two pillars: the legalization of the main contending issues and the empowerment of the civil society actors and initiatives that foster dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis.     

Interpreting EU–Israel relations: a contextual analysis of the EU’s Special Privileged Partnership proposal

This article analyses the background, content and implications of the EU proposal for ‘Special Privileged Partnership’ status to be granted to Israel and the future state of Palestine in the event of a successful conclusion to the peace process. It employs a sociological institutionalist perspective to assess the diplomatic manoeuvring in the broader context of EU–Israel relations. The analysis offers an identification and categorization of the constitutive components of the EU–Israel relationship into formal and social elements. It argues that differences in threat perception, Israel’s highly securitized ethos and different interpretations of the security versus legality equation are social, constitutive elements of the relationship that cannot be efficiently changed by a mere upgrade of the formal institutional setting, even if the economic incentives to do so were attractive. In other words, the sources of tension between the EU and Israel observed in recent decades are not likely to be overcome by a discursive or institutional upgrade around the concept of partnership.     

论邓小平的法治思想

依法治国,建设社会主义法治国家,是邓小平法治思想的重大发展。研究邓小平法治思想,对于认清我国现时期法治发展规律,明确法治建设方向,有着重要的理论和现实意义。     

科技法律法规的清理评价机制

在人类迈向知识经济时代的今天,科技法律法规对社会的巨大作用日益凸显。近十几年来,我国的科技立法取得了巨大的成就。然而,以明确性、规范性、协调性、完备性和稳定性五个方面的要求来审视我国的科技法律法规,可以发现其存在着法律规定过于原则、规范之间相互矛盾冲突、立法层次过低、立法滞后、缺乏灵活性等立法质量问题,严重影响了对科技领域的社会关系的法律调控。因此,建立符合中国国情的、科学的科技法律法规的清理评价机制,遵循合理的清理评价标准,采用定期清理与专项清理相结合的法方法,以促进我国科技法律体系的完善已经是当务之急。本文从分析我国科技法律法规中存在的问题入手,对我国科技法律法规清理评价机制的建立及其应当注意的问题提出了自己的建议,以期对我国科技法律法规的完善有所助益。     

从纺织品贸易争端看中美经贸关系的政治化倾向

纺织品贸易历来是中美贸易摩擦的焦点。中美纺织品贸易争端表面上是经贸问题,实际上是美国选举政治、利益集团、贸易保护主义、对华贸易歧视政策等多重因素作用的结果。中美经贸争端对中美两国经济利益的影响具有明显的不对称性,因此,解决包括纺织品贸易在内的中美贸易争端,通过政治解决或借助国际贸易的争端解决机制来保护中国的利益,可能会取得更好的效果。     

遵循社会基本矛盾规律促进社会科学发展

社会基本矛盾规律是马克思主义历史观中重要的原理,它是我们制定各项方针、路线和政策的基本依据。准确把握社会基本矛盾规律,对于我们理解和把握科学发展观和社会主义建设具有十分重要的意义。