Economic voting in a crisis: The Irish election of 2011

The paper explores a question raised by the 2011 Irish election, which saw an almost unprecedented decline in support for a major governing party after an economic collapse that necessitated an ECB/IMF ‘bailout’. This seems a classic case of ‘economic voting’ in which a government is punished for incompetent performance. How did the government lose this support: gradually, as successive economic indicators appeared negative, or dramatically, following major shocks? The evidence points to losses at two critical junctures. This is consistent with an interpretation of the link between economics and politics that allows for qualitative judgements by voters in assigning credit and blame for economic performance.     

The Quest for a United Nations Specialised Agency for the Environment

Abstract

Recent years have seen intense intergovernmental deliberations on issues concerning governance in the field of environment. Their aim has been to address the role of the institutions that provide platforms for international environmental cooperation. There are two main lines of enquiry: the role of regime-specific institutions that cater to sectoral regulatory frameworks (popularly known as multilateral environmental agreements, or MEAs); and the role of institutions that are established to follow up on global environmental conferences or a specific environmental task. Most of these institutions reflect intergovernmental consensual process. However, there are concerns about their proliferation and there is a growing cacophony of calls to ‘bring coherence to the fragmented landscape of MEAs, intergovernmental bodies, UN system entities and other international organizations’ (Sha Zukang (2011) ‘Legal and policy dimensions of sustainable development: expected contribution of Rio + 20’, Environmental Policy and Law, 41(6), pp. 244–246, at p. 245). In fact the need to bring order to environmental governance has assumed great importance and urgency if environmental cooperation is to be achieved. This paper explores, in particular, the role of the United Nations Environment Programme and its potential for conversion to a specialised agency of the UN.     

法治视野下食品安全诚信构建

食品安全问题层出不穷,构建食品安全诚信是遏制食品安全问题、满足人们群众健康需求的迫切需要。首先,食品安全诚信建设必须以法治为保障,发挥法律的规范、引导作用。其次,构建食品安全失信惩戒机制,包括强化对失信行为的刑事处罚及行政处罚、完善行业禁人制度。最后,构建食品安全诚信信息体系,建立起食品安全信用监管体制、征信体制、评价制度、披露制度等,并建立政府、行业、社会三个层面的诚信数据库。     

Untangling Housing Cost and Transportation Interactions: The Location Affordability Index Model—Version 2 (LAIM2)

Abstract

It is now accepted that to have an understanding of housing affordability one must consider not only housing costs, but also the transportation costs associated with that household location. To make this information readily accessible to the public, the United States government created an Internet resource, the Location Affordability Portal – Version 2 (www.locationaffordability.info), to provide housing and transportation costs for every neighborhood in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Although the statistical model at the heart of this resource was designed for predictive accuracy, its design and parameter estimates can provide additional insights into the interaction of housing cost and transportation choices (and thus its cost). This study describes the development and explores the policy implications (and limitations) of this structural equations model, the Location Affordability Index Model – Version 2 (LAIM2).     

Arrested conflict: transnational place-making in Polish-German border towns

This paper studies the role of cross-border interactions and public spaces in the local mediation of national conflicts in three Polish-German border towns. It draws on Luc Boltanski's pragmatic sociology in order to address questions raised in the recent literature on urban conflict and borders. Our analysis traces transformations under Schengen in relation to Boltanski's concepts of uncertainty, justification and tests. We investigate ordinary inhabitants' everyday experiences through different place-making strategies in the context of a shifting border. Recent transformations challenge a longstanding situation of “arrested conflict” rooted in blocked local networks, disconnected from supranational discourses of cooperation.     

我国城市老年人居家养老与社区照顾初探

我国人口老龄化发展速度快,老龄化地区差异大,城市老人家庭空巢化、高龄化现象日渐严重,传统家庭养老模式已无法满足城市老年人的养老需求,社区的发展使社区成为城市为老服务的最佳载体。推行居家养老与社区照顾相结合的养老方式是解决我国城市老年人养老问题的最佳选择。     

试析后发国政府对信贷分配的干预及其变革

政府对信贷分配的干预是后发国家工业化初期重要的产业政策工具。金融市场的不完善和对战略性产业的扶持,是后发国政府干预信贷分配的理论依据。随着经济发展阶段的转换,这一产业政策工具的有效性逐步递减。后发国家在逐步减少对金融业的直接干预的同时,应积极发挥政府的作用以解决金融深化过程中的信息问题与道德风险。     

城市治理数字化转型:动因、内涵与路径

数字时代呼唤与之相适应的城市治理新形态。技术变革的驱动力、治理生态的不确定性、治理问题的复杂性以及治理需求的多样性共同驱动城市治理数字化转型。城市治理数字化转型要及时回应数字时代需求,坚守以人民为中心的核心价值,重视制度变革的基石作用,充分发挥技术创新的驱动力,实现城市治理的科学化、精准化、智慧化与高效能。城市治理数字化转型的实现,需构建全功能集成、全网络融合、全周期管理、全要素连接的数智治理体系,促进城市治理现代化。     

发展吉林省中小企业金融支持政策论

融资困难已经严重影响了吉林省中小企业的发展,成为困扰振兴吉林省经济的一大难题.为此,吉林省出台了一些相关的金融政策,取得了一些成效,但还存在严重不足.参考国内外发达地区支持中小企业的做法,建议加大对担保机构的支持力度、加快组建与中小企业发展相匹配的中小金融机构、从财政与税收上对中小企业的发展予以支持、合理规范和积极引导民间金融等完善金融政策支持体系.     

日本“不登校”研究对我国城市辍学研究的启示

辍学作为世界范围内的教育病理现象之一,已经引起各国的广泛关注。目前我国尤其是城市地区出现由非经济原因引起的辍学现象。日本自20世纪50年代开始就出现此类现象,并已形成较系统的学生"不登校"理论和实践体系。本文对日本的不登校研究和我国的城市辍学研究做了比较和分析,并从概念、理论、实践和理念四个角度,探讨了日本"不登校"研究对我国城市辍学研究的借鉴意义和启示。