Fiscal Decentralization and Provincial-Level Fiscal Disparities in China: A Sino-U.S. Comparative Perspective

Since China's 1994 fiscal reform, increasing concerns have been voiced about fiscal disparities across the country. Can local governments fairly and effectively fulfill basic public services such as primary education, public health, and social welfare? This essay traces the evolution of intergovernmental relations in China since 1978. The fluctuation of provincial level fiscal distribution over time and the underlying factors behind fiscal inequality, as compared to a decentralized American revenue system, are analyzed. The author, Zhirong Jerry Zhao of the University of Minnesota, argues for additional research on alternative measures of local fiscal capacity.     

China’s road from socialism to global capitalism

Abstract

China’s engagement with global capitalism is driven by the emergence of a statist and private transnational capitalist class. Nevertheless, aspects of China’s foreign policy from the Maoist period still echo today. Consequently, elements of third world solidarity and opposition to Western domination continue to exist as China’s past is redefined to further its transnational strategies in Latin America and the US. The main Chinese investments in South America have been in energy and infrastructure among the left lead countries of the Pink Tide. In the US, Chinese capital has grown despite heated political rhetoric. This paper will examine how economic ties in South and North America reflect past and present conditions, and if China has initiated a non-Western globalisation.     

Roles of neighborhood race and status in the middle stages of juror selection

This study investigated impacts of neighborhood race, status, and stability on the likelihood that summoned citizens would appear at the courthouse for jury duty using a full year of geocoded summoning data from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (n = 256,204). A theoretical model based on jury selection models and the sociology of settlement patterns connected potential juror yield or turnout with neighborhood stability, and racial and status composition. Multilevel models using census block groups as neighborhoods and controlling for spatial autocorrelation found, as predicted, that yield varied significantly across neighborhoods, and was lower in lower status neighborhoods, less stable neighborhoods, more predominantly Asian neighborhoods, and more predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods. As predicted by work on neighborhood integration, effects of African-American racial composition depended on the stage of neighborhood integration. Overall, the net effect of increasing African-American neighborhood racial composition was to increase yield. A significant spatial lag effect suggested localized dynamics operating beyond neighborhood boundaries.     

An Assessment of the Validity of Polygraph Examinations for the Psychophysiological Detection of Deception: A Judicicial Opinion and Research Study Review

The polygraph device has been advanced by proponents as a valid (measures what it is supposed to measure, even against counter-measures), accurate (it does what it is supposed to do), and reliable (produces consistent outcomes) diagnostic tool able to measure physiological responses indicative of deception. These physiological responses are said to be a direct result of psychological arousals. (National Research Council [NRC] of the National Academies, The polygraph and lie detection, 2003). A debate concerning the validity of this test instrument has maintained for over 85 years, since the first polygraph device was introduced. This analysis takes into account court cases that address the issue and the available literature and relevant studies that support judicial decision-making. The conclusion arrived at is that this particular testing device has not attained a level of scientific support to warrant unqualified judicial acceptance.