Federal Dynamics of Changing Governance Arrangements in Education: A Comparative Perspective on Australia,Canada and Germany

Abstract

Education policy is a highly interesting field from the point of view of governance, given the substantial changes that have been made throughout the world to the governance of such policy over the last 30 years or so. Western governments in particular have made significant changes in the governance arrangements of their education policy in order to achieve two fundamental goals: increased efficiency and greater accountability. In this process, the role of governments has changed but not diminished. This paper explores such developments by comparing the trajectories of governance reforms in three federal countries (Australia, Canada and Germany). What emerges is that the role of governments is key to all governance mixes modelled by the reform processes in the three analysed countries, and that there is greater “national” coordination than before, but also significant differences in the strategies adopted and in the content of reform, due to the differing nature of such countries’ federal dynamics.     

Conceptualizing and theorizing EU regulatory networks

European regulatory networks (ERNs) play a central role in the formulation, deliberation, and implementation of EU policies and have, thus, become objects of investigation in a fast‐growing scholarly literature. We identify two shortcomings – one conceptual, one theoretical – in the literature on ERNs: First, we argue that the principal–agent approach, which is conventionally used to conceptualize ERNs, overlooks and even misrepresents central features of ERNs. By introducing and applying the “orchestration” framework to ERNs we demonstrate that it better captures the specific characteristics of ERNs. Secondly, explanations for the choice and design of ERNs have treated functional and power‐based accounts as mutually exclusive. We argue instead that explanatory leverage can be gained by combining these two accounts by specifying their respective domains of application. While functional accounts enable us to illuminate why and under what circumstances ERNs are created in the first place (rather than EU agencies or delegation to the Commission), political accounts help us to shed light on variation in the design of ERNs (i.e. why actors opt for rather close or loose network structures). We illustrate the explanatory value‐added of such an approach through two brief case studies on EU telecommunications and competition policies.     

行业协会腐败治理及其刑事责任追究

行业协会有一定的行政管理和服务职能,也有经费来源,故有腐败的条件。行业协会腐败形式多样,对行业协会腐败的治理措施主要是政社分开、加强监管以及对腐败活动追究行政和刑事责任。其中,《刑法》对以个人名义进行的腐败活动有相应的罪名惩处,而很多腐败活动以协会名义进行,《刑法》缺乏对这类腐败的罪名规定。要提高对行业协会腐败治理的效果,应在《刑法》中增设相应的行业协会单位犯罪的罪名。     

公共治理视角下的预防腐败体系建构

从权力的角度看,腐败是权力的异化。公共治理具有多元化、网络化、互动性的特征,为建构预防腐败体系提供了新的理论视角。权力、制度、法律和伦理是权力运行过程中对腐败的产生与治理都有着重要影响的四个维度。其中权力与法律侧重于内外互动,制度与伦理侧重于内部整合。四者融汇交织,形成网络式互动,产生对权力运行过程的修正作用。以此建构一套预防腐败体系,是克服传统反腐模式重惩治轻预防、重政治动员轻制度建设等弊端的有力举措。     

关于完善企业法人治理结构的法律思考

企业法人的治理结构是一个世界性的研究和实践课题。在中国国有企业改革过程中,构筑良好的企业法人治理结构和机制已成为建立现代企业法律制度的核心。我国现行的《公司法》作为企业法人发展的保障,已不能满足企业发展的要求,亟待加以修改和完善。     

民营企业治理结构创新与公司法完善

民营企业治理结构创新是民营企业健康持续发展的关键,其目标是建立规范的公司治理结构。由于我国公司法制定的特定历史背景,公司法在一定程度上成为民营企业治理结构创新的法律障碍。我国公司法应适应民营企业的蓬勃发展,立足于公司是市场经济主体对公司治理结构制度予以完善。     

公司治理结构与财务管理目标

公司治理结构不同,财务管理目标也会有较大的差异。我国在借鉴国际经验的同时应结合本国国情,充分考虑转轨过程中的特定情况,建立适合我国经济发展现状和资本市场特点的公司治理模式,建立“以业务关联的企业法人交叉持股为核心,鼓励物质资本和人力资本的投资者共同持股,国家、其他企业法人、社会公众等参与持股,银行相机控制和机构投资者外部监督”的治理结构,与此相适应的财务管理目标应为相关利益最大化或公司价值最大化。     

经济全球化与中国政府治理变革

随着经济全球化的迅猛发展,治理和善治问题已经成为摆在中国政府面前的重大现实课题。当代中国政府治理变革的基本目标在于:推进有限政府、法治政府、分权政府和民主政府的制度建设,这四个要素乃是构成政府善治的最重要的制度平台。推动政府治理变革的主要动力来自于:开明政治家的改革取向、市场经济的内在要求、知识分子的理论力量、国际制度的制约力量以及全球竞争的外在压力。     

Reporting on financial derivatives –A Law and Economics perspective

Fearing Enron-like financial fiascos concerning derivatives, accounting standards boards have issued new standards aimed at promoting higher transparency and reducing information asymmetries. After persistent reluctance, and despite significant criticism, the pertinent International standard, with some exceptions, was finally adopted by the E.U., for the sake of intra-European and cross-Atlantic accounting harmonization, for which the standard constituted sine-qua-non. These reluctance and criticism are not unfounded, as the standards might paradoxically result in increased information asymmetries, not easily mitigated by additional disclosure, and ultimately resulting in distortion of capital allocation and corporate governance mechanisms. Suggestions for more efficient solutions are outlined herein. JEL Classification G34 · M40     

公司内部制衡机制的立法原则

一个良好的公司治理结构必须建立起公司内部权力制衡机制。其前提和基础是权责明确。本文通过法学和经济学的交叉分析 ,对公司治理结构中权力制衡机制的立法原则进行了讨论 ,提出了四个制衡的原则 :有效性、合理性、适度性和协调统一性。