The risky business of public–private partnerships

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are now a common strand of third way government policy, with better efficiency promised from the private funding of public infrastructure through the transfer of risks to private parties. This paper aims to investigate, on an empirical basis, the realities of risk transfers in PPPs and compare this experience against both the rhetoric of project proponents and the formal contract conditions. The paper outlines some conceptual frameworks underpinning PPPs and establishes the notions of risk shifting and risk sharing. The range of typical risks encountered in infrastructure projects is specially considered, and differences to traditional project delivery arrangements are articulated. Some empirical experience on the transfer of risks under PPPs is then outlined through a case study. This analysis shows the extent to which risks were shifted to the private parties as planned, or whether risks remained with government. It is argued that while commercial risks were largely well managed, governance risks were not. It is critical to understand better the nature of risk transfers in PPPs in view of the large financial implications of these deals along with long contract terms.     

组织公民行为的道德审视

组织公民行为作为一种积极的角色外行为对组织内部环境有建设性作用的同时也会对组织管理产生一定消极影响,但是把对组织公民行为的失当管理所带来的后果归咎为这种角色外行为的消极影响有失偏颇。管理活动一旦背离组织公民行为内在的道德性,势必会诱发管理困境和成员的消极角色外行为,产生道德摩擦。因之,本文从潜在的道德困境这一角度审视组织公民行为的消极影响,侧重从成员的心理动机和组织反馈进行归因分析,期待通过人力资源管理途径来改善组织公民行为的道德处境。     

“省直管县”改革背景下的地级市:定位、职能及其匹配

"省直管县"是我国"十二五"期间地方行政体制改革的重要内容之一,但学术界对改革后地级市的角色定位和职能转变研究较少,这与其重要的现实意义形成了强烈的反差。本文认为,应将"省直管县"后的地级市定位为"城乡分治、市县并置"格局下的"区域增长极",加快政府职能转变,逐步裁撤涉农职能,强化宏观调控职能,重视文化教育职能,突出公共服务职能,通过行政区划的渐进调整、省级政府的职能转变以及市县关系的重新建构体现其定位与职能的匹配性。     

策略人和策略决策模型:草原管理的智能体模拟分析

传统决策理论忽视了对人的策略性行为和策略决策的考察。本文通过对草原管理的智能体模拟分析,发展了策略人和策略决策新模型,并重点研究了策略人的四种典型策略决策:策略性投票、掩盖性、交易性和学习性策略决策。智能体模拟分析发现,在特定条件下,策略人的策略决策深刻影响个体的具体行动,并进而影响个体的行动结果(例,草原的可持续发展)。进而探讨了通过政策或制度安排来利用策略人的策略决策谋取预期政策或制度收益的可能性和其现实响应,并与策略人的四种典型策略决策相对应,依次讨论了策略约束性、保护性、诱导性以及学习性四种政策或制度安排。     

‘Bridging the differences’: political communication experts in Germany

A process of modernisation and professionalisation has been affecting the political communication culture in Germany. The emergence and rise of the so-called ‘spin doctors’ particularly symbolises this trend. But how do the numerous political communication experts in Germany bridge the differences between the diverging objectives of the political and media realms? By what means do they link political issues and images to anticipated media logics? And how successful are their efforts in agenda- and image-building? To answer these questions, first, a contextual framework is provided identifying political communication experts as dually conditioned linking pins. Second, a hermeneutic content analysis of 63 interviews with high-ranked German ‘spin doctors’ gives some empirical evidence of the practical relevance of widely discussed communicative strategies. The longitudinal perspective provides insights into an enormous and expanding set of communicative strategies. Here, the cultivation of interpersonal networks is most promising, although it is a rather shaky tool of modern political communication in Germany. Overall, the new myth of the ‘powerful spin doctor’ has to be modified since their ‘success’ is contingent on individual variables.     

我国公务员道德建设现状调查

公务员应当是道德的先行者,其德行操守对整个社会的精神文明建设起到至关重要的作用。本调查分析了我国公务员道德建设的现状,并提出了相关建议。建议包括:创新道德知识开发方法,加大政府信息公开力度,将平衡记分卡引入道德评价体系等。