Organising for mutual advantage: municipal associations in Bulgaria

Networks of local government support organisations (LGSOs) are critical to successful intergovernmental relations and effective local governance in democratic societies. Bulgaria had no such network of municipal associations when it began the transition from communist rule in the early 1990s. Using US and other external technical assistance, Bulgaria over the next decade overcame the impediments to collective action and established what appears to be an effective and sustainable system to back up its cities and towns. Important factors in mobilising support included a long‐term focus on institutional development, non‐partisanship, flexibility in implementation and a pragmatic orientation that focused on learning by doing. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Missing pieces: an overview of the institutional puzzle

Institutional development has become a core component of international development programmes. Yet, institutional reforms have, to date, had a disappointing impact on poverty reduction in the South. The causality of the links between institutions and poverty reduction and how exactly the institutional environment and development outcomes affect each other is still unclear. A lack of analytical consensus has resulted in vague policy recommendations and a dearth of clear operational guidelines for international development practitioners. This article provides an overview of the main current institutional development debates and gaps in existing research, and identifies some key organisations working on institutional issues in the academic and practitioner spheres. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

电子政务现实冲突及其解决

当前我国电子政务在现实中与政府管理创新、政府组织结构、法律滞后、行政成本、信息资源开发利用及安全等产生冲突。对于这些冲突,一方面要从行政机制上寻求解决方案,另一方面要用立法的办法来解决。立法解决是在立法原则的基础上,订立电子政务相关法律的基础性体系、核心性体系和运作性体系。     

Capacity Building as an Instrument of Institutional Reform: Improving the Quality of Higher Education through Academic Audits in the UK, New Zealand, Sweden, and Hong Kong

As countries convert from state to market-centered public policies, there is increasing interest in new forms of public accountability. Capacity building initiatives that reform institutional frameworks are useful policy instruments during this period of transition. What are the impacts and implementation problems characteristic of this approach? This article reviews the experience with "Academic Audit," a capacity building accountability instrument for universities adopted in the UK, Sweden, New Zealand, and Hong Kong. Academic audits altered the incentives for cooperative behavior among faculty members to improve student learning. Identified implementation problems included: training for the new process, the uncertainty of capacity building benefits, and the central role of information.     

大珠三角区域的制度学习:动因、过程及前景

在经济全球化和区域化竞争不断加剧的条件下,区域的制度竞争力已经成为决定区域整体竞争力的核心要素。在"一国两制"下,粤、港、澳三地结成的大珠三角区域,共同建构学习型区域,相互进行制度的模仿、学习,进而走向制度的协调和制度的融合,这是缩小区域制度落差,提升区域整体制度竞争力的重要途径。     

Trade Measures and Climate Compliance: Institutional Interplay Between WTO and the Marrakesh Accords

This article examines the potential of trade measures to induce more climate-friendly policies, focusing on the relationship between global trade rules and the Kyoto climate regime. At the core of this interplay is the normative consistency of trade-related rules in the two regimes and any hierarchical relationship between them. The stronger clout of the WTO and its compulsory dispute settlement system suggest that issues involving competing claims would be referred to WTO bodies. Such bodies have so far been restrictive regarding the exceptions in WTO agreements to the general ban on embargoes and discrimination. The normative compatibility of the two regimes will also depend on their participatory interplay, specifically how they differentiate groups of actors as to rights and obligations. Non-members of WTO receive the least protection, and their vulnerability to climate-related trade measures is largely determined by their interdependence with states that consider employment of such measures. Among WTO members, the findings of a dispute settlement body would presumably differ depending on the status of the target under the Kyoto Protocol. A non-complier with Kyoto commitments would be more shielded than a non-party, because by joining the Kyoto regime a non-complier has exposed itself to regime-internal and less trade intrusive measures that should be exhausted first. A third dimension of interplay is linkage, or efforts to influence the regime interplay. To date there has only been moderate cross-agency coordination, but considerable attention is paid within each regime, including in the Millennium Round of trade negotiations, to the desirability of avoiding conflict between them.     

从现实出发稳步推进党内民主建设

发展党内民主是党建的目标之一,也是中国政治体制改革的突破口。推行党内民主具有理论的现实性,同时也存在着与实际相冲突的地方。要充分估计现实中的不利因素和存在的问题,科学理解和处理好党内民主与"四个服从"、民主集中制的关系,加强党内民主的制度建设,创造良好的社会政治环境,从而使党内民主建设稳步健康发展。     

The New Water Legislation of Zimbabwe and South Africa – Comparison of Legal and Institutional Reform

Recently, several new pieces of water legislation have been promulgated in both Zimbabwe and the Republic of South Africa. The new acts are an attempt to correct injustices of a colonial past and to trigger development towards effective, equitable and efficient integrated water resources management influenced by the policy decisions in Agenda 21 and the need to respect economic and social human rights. This article aims at identifying and describing factors of prime importance in the process of legal and institutional reform. Major factors are earmarked and derived from the proceedings in Zimbabwe and are compared with the situation in South Africa. Thorough analysis by the author of proceedings, preambles, memoranda, legislation and addenda has induced roughly 5 major reform issues: The call for equitable water distribution based on a widely consented water resources management strategy; The need for effective and efficient integrated water resources management conducive to stakeholder participation through decentralisation processes; The redressing of legal shortcomings in former water legislation with the emphasis on the introduction of integrated approaches; The introduction of instruments of cost recovery for water resources management; The need to develop human resources capacity and institutional strength within the implementing agencies.For both Southern African states, these issues appear to be of comparable importance as major triggers for legal and institutional reform, although not always in the same sense.The resulting most important legal and institutional changes are presented, discussed and compared. Finally, prospects for and constraints on implementation of the new water legislation in these countries are compared.     

国家创新体系:穷国追赶富国的加速器

国家创新体系的涵义和作用 ;中国、欧洲、日美国家创新体系的回顾 ;我国的国家创新体系之建构 :一是思想意识形态体系 ,二是经济运行体系 ,三是政治法律制度体系     

试论政府制度创新成效的价值性准则

政府制度创新的成效是考量政府制度设计成功与否的标准。如何衡量政府制度创新的成效及衡量的标准一直是学术界关注的问题。本文认为,价值性标准是衡量政府制度创新的重要标准之一,其中,公正、民主、法治与以人为本成为判断政府制度创新成效最主要的价值标准。