State budget support to local government

The principle of self-government is essentially a new phenomena in the Czech Republic. Under the previous regime, almost everything was ruled by the central government. At the present time, the major constraint to local budget reform is primarily from the local authorities’ lack of experience. While on one hand, this gives the Czech Republic a challenge to avoid some of the mistakes made in several developed countries, it is, on the other hand, difficult to make estimates of the possible responses to any change. Next to the lack of experience, there is a strong feeling both at the local and the central levels of government that the self-government bodies should have almost no regulation from the central government. The current opinion is that their control should be left only to the respective electorate. There is also the belief that self-government units should become increasing financed by tax revenues derived from within their own area. An additional complication is the lack of common non-governmental institutions (different associations and others) which usually smooth the the relationship between local and central governments. The changes in the Czech Republic are not yet complete. After the changes in the legal framework, the complete reform of the tax and social systems were to follow. While the essentials of tax reform were introduced in January 1993, the changes in the social systems are still under consideration. In spite of the relatively short history of having true local authorities functioning in the Czech Republic, the establishment of an additional level of government is being proposed. This issue is reopening some already closed matters and will bring a change to the whole system. As in many other countries, the division of responsibilities between different levels of government will probably continue to be discussed until the end of time.     

An Analysis of the Right to Social Security for Disabled Persons

Social security for the disabled has made headway in both academic studies and institution building as the survivaand development of disabled persons has gained increasing attention from the government and society.However,a close examination reveals an evident shortcoming in the academic community,in that more emphasis is put on problems and solutions while basic theories are usually neglected.Particularly,institution building ofsocial security for the disabled,e.g.,security system reconstruction,modeloptions,and solutions for     

Political parties and corruption in Portugal

Portugal is often considered an example of successful democratic consolidation. Yet it has not been exempt from corruption scandals. By the mid‐1990s, transparency and the moralisation of political life had come to dominate parliamentary debates and reforms. The illegality surrounding party life must be seen against the background of dominant ethical standards in society. Voters appear tolerant of the unethical behaviour of political leaders, while parties are gradually becoming less responsive to their electorate. Representation and delegation rely more on tacit consent than on voice, thus encouraging complacency over corruption.     

Endogenous Development Dynamics of Multisectoral Network Management

ABSTRACT

Little is known about the effects of regime change on government workers’ job satisfaction. Conventional theories of work satisfaction have identified various individual or organizational antecedents of public employees’ well-being in many different contexts. In this study, we add an additional level of analysis to the study of job satisfaction. The German reunification in 1990 constitutes a natural experiment where public employees’ institutional work environment changed dramatically. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, we show that, after the reunification, East German public employees who stayed in their jobs experienced a “satisfaction shock” by substantially decreasing their levels of job satisfaction. This finding is in line with what has been labelled as “survivor syndrome” in the general management literature. We also find that, after three years’ time, differences in satisfaction levels between East and West Germans reverted to pre-reunion levels. These findings are robust to various model specifications and alternative estimators. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.     

香港、澳门、新加坡行政主导比较

适应社会发展和高效决策的需要,行政主导已成为国际社会普遍的政治现象。由于社会条件的差异,各国各地区行政主导的类型和表现不同,绩效不一。本文对香港与澳门、香港与新加坡的行政主导作比较研究,从政治制度、政府运作、社会条件等不同角度探求了不同形式行政主导的共性与差异。     

俄罗斯大部制改革及其评析

俄罗斯从2003年至2008年进行了一场以联邦权力执行机构大部制和行政三分制改革为核心内容的行政改革运动,这是俄罗斯自上世纪九十年代初转轨以来在政治和行政管理领域最重要的事件之一。本文运用中外最新的资料和数据全面、细致地描述了俄罗斯俄罗斯大部制改革的过程和制度安排,深入分析了改革的效果及其背后的原因,并结合我国的实际情况提出了推进大部制改革需要注意的几个问题。     

The Impact of Homeless Prevention on Residential Instability: Evidence From the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program

ABSTRACT

Millions of individuals and families in the United States do not have access to stable housing. Recent policies in the United States and the rest of the developed world emphasize programs intended to prevent homelessness through temporary financial assistance. This article explores the impact of the largest homelessness prevention program in U.S. history, the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP), on residential instability, using a national sample of families with children enrolled in school. The identification strategy exploits variations on the location of HPRP providers. Using data on the ratio of K–12 students experiencing homelessness in school districts, we find that HPRP is associated with reductions in the percentage of homeless students for districts closer to an HPRP provider. However, the impacts of HPRP fade out when program benefits end, bringing into question whether homeless prevention can help families achieve self-sufficiency in the long run.     

Victims’ Rights and Distributive Justice: In Search of Actors

The aim of this article is to discuss the role that victim groups and organizations may have in framing and supporting an accountability agenda, as well as their potential for endorsing a distributive justice agenda. The article explores two empirical cases where victims' rights have been introduced and applied by victim organizations to promote accountability—Colombia and Peru. It will be argued that if transitional justice in general and victim reparations in particular are to embark in a quest for distributive justice, it cannot do so without considering victims as political actors, and putting forward demands in terms of victims’ rights.     

美韩同盟再定义与韩国的战略选择:进程与争论

本文系统总结了自2002年底以来美韩同盟再定义的磋商过程,以及双方在驻韩美军基地调整、同盟内部军事安全角色分工、同盟的未来战略构想等三大焦点问题上所取得的实质性进展,认为通过区域扩展和内涵扩展的路径选择,美韩同盟再定义已基本实现利益平衡与威胁平衡的双重目标。通过对美韩全球性战略同盟关系的定位与确认,韩国也由此结束了数年来激烈的外交方向辩论,再度确立了中近期亲美的结盟外交路线,然而有关韩国对外战略的争论不会就此终结。