First‐Hand Experience and Second‐Hand Information: Changing Trust across Three Levels of Government

Little is known about how different sources of information drive citizen trust in government. To address that gap this article compares disaster evacuees to observers, noting how trust differs as attention to media coverage increases. First‐hand experience supplies information to update trust through biological and personal processes and performance assessments, while secondary sources provide information about other people's experiences, filtered through lenses that take an active role in crafting information. These two types of information have varying effects depending on the level of government being trusted. Using surveys administered a year after Hurricane Katrina, I find that Katrina evacuees have the highest trust in federal government, until they start paying attention to media coverage, and that attention to coverage has the most dramatic effect on these evacuees compared to all other groups. I also find that increasing attention to second‐hand information corresponds with higher trust in local officials, and that this effect decreases as the level of government increases. It appears media coverage creates a comparison in the mind of hurricane evacuees, causing them to update their performance assessments based on comparing their own experience to that which they observe, thereby updating their political trust.     

Covenant of Mayors: Reasons for Being an Environmentally and Energy Friendly Municipality

The Covenant of Mayors (CM) is the mainstream European movement involving local authorities who voluntarily commit to increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources within their territories with the aim of reducing CO₂ emissions and meet the European Union objectives by 2020. One country that has a greater number of signatories of this agreement is Spain. This article analyzes which factors influence the decision of Spanish local authorities to join the ever‐growing movement. An empirical model is formulated to describe the behavior of Spanish local governments, this being a binary choice model which is a function of various political, economic, and technical factors. Among the prominent factors that influence this decision are population, availability of renewable energy, fiscal and environmental stress, citizens’ political preference, the contagion effect of neighboring municipalities, the existence of covenant coordinators, and finally, economic motivations.     

网络舆情视域下政府公信力建构

现阶段的网络舆情在公共管理领域尤其是在政府形象塑造方面发挥着巨大的影响力,从而影响着政府公信力。政府应转变行政思维和理念,规范信息公开制度,实行行政问责制,建设责任政府,正确对待网络监督,完善监督体系,使网络舆情能为提高政府公信力服务。     

乡镇政府回应：意义、存在的问题及对策

乡镇政府及其工作人员能否对乡村社会和广大农民的需求做出积极、负责任的回应，直接关系到新农村建设的成效。因此，提升乡镇政府回应能力就要改革压力型行政体制，合理划分各级政府的事权；把握好回应指向；转变乡镇政府职能；建立健全乡镇政府回应机制和注重对乡镇政府回应进行科学的绩效评估等。     

从移民社会的特征谈东莞的社会转型问题

移民社会是以移民为主体生活人群的社会,相对于原住民社会而言,移民社会是文明程度更高、更加进步的社会。从移民社会的特征分析,东莞不是移民社会,倒彰显游民社会特征。东莞社会转型的任务,应是致力于实现从游民社会向移民社会的转变。     

对公安院校女生教育管理工作的思考

女生教育管理是公安院校学生管理的重要组成部分,也是实现培养目标、贯彻落实警务化管理、创建和谐校园的关键工作。文章以公安院校女生教育管理现状为切入点,较全面地阐述了政治理论教育、德育和思想教育、环境建设、警务化管理、学习、心理健康等教育管理内容,提出了打造女生综合素质,强化女生教育管理工作的创新思路。     

建设法治政府的体制性思考

改革行政体制是加强依法行政、建设法治政府的必经之路。我国政府职能的转变应将着力点放在减少行政许可和强化经济调节、市场监管、公共管理、社会服务等四项职能上。机构改革必须以政府职能转变为基础,与政府职能转变同步进行。必须从行政执法、司法两个方面对行政行为体制进行全方位的改革。加强司法监督是建设法治政府的关键问题。     

中国外汇管理法律制度的缺失与调整

中国现行外汇管理法律制度所存在着缺失:外汇法在金融法律体系中缺位;外汇监管机构在金融监管体系中缺位;外汇管理法规体系的系统性与一致性缺失。外汇管理法律制度缺失可能产生监管漏洞,出现监管难度增加的后果。必须调整中国外汇法律制度,制定《外汇法》,明确外汇监管的基本手段,整合管理法规与规章,规范法规创制程序,整合法规体系。     

民间投资是积极财政政策的重要基石

我国实行积极财政政策4年以来,效果并不理想,主要原因是投资主体仅仅依靠国有投资,民间资本实力已成为不可忽视的力量,只有充分重视民间投资,完善投资体系,才能使积极财政政策达到拉动经济增长的目的。     

行政法学视野中的治安承包

治安承包是公共行政民营化浪潮在当下中国特定行政领域中的制度表征，预示着公私部门在公共治理中的密切合作。我国当下治安形势的严峻与现实资源的短缺为治安事务的承包提供了可能，而新公共行政理论及现代警务改革理论也为治安承包的存在提供了理论支撑。面对治安承包现实中存在的大量问题，应当着重通过承包范围的确定、承包人的遴选、承包合同的签订以及绩效评估机制的引入促使治安承包的健康发展。作为秩序行政领域公私合作的典型样式，治安承包的出现显示了我国公共行政民营化的广阔前景。