Identifying with the Nation: Spain's Left-Wing Citizens in an Age of Crisis

This study analyses the extent, sense, and strategies employed by sympathisers with Spanish state-wide left-wing parties to ‘reconstruct’ their affective ties with the Spanish nation after the ‘monopolisation of patriotism’ by Franco's regime. Such an undertaking is further complicated within the context of economic crisis and intensified peripheral nationalism found in Catalonia and the Basque Country. This article applies qualitative analysis to the discourse of left-wing participants from 11 focus groups held in March 2012 amidst the economic (and political) crisis. As expected, this context of crisis favoured the emergence of explicit discourse on the Spanish nation, providing an opportunity to gain a better understanding of its nature. Findings show that welfare nationalism and social patriotism define the kind of attachment developed by the interviewees towards Spain better than the concept of constitutional patriotism, or any kind of ethnic-cultural feeling of belonging.     

对"财产权利之道德正当性"的论证——从洛克与诺齐克的权利理论谈起

诺齐克从洛克,即古典自由主义的自然状态和自然权利中推导出人们于国家和政府出现前即享有抽象财产权利,并通过个人劳动获得对某物的具体独占和支配的权利.我们可以对这种自然权利中推导而出的财产权利的道德正当性反思,并对劳动获取原则中可能存在的缺陷和接受洛克的限制性条款所致的财产权利和福利权利的矛盾性共存的困境进行梳理和质疑.在此基础上,John Hasnas所提出的"经验式自然权利"的解释更值推崇.     

Is tax competition harmful and is the EU an optimal tax area?

This paper examines the issue of harmfulness of tax competition commenting on issues like welfare, growth, redistribution, harmonization and individual freedom. A simple game theoretical ap proach is formulated, where for the first time the two players start from unequal initial conditions, thus influencing strategy and outcomes. Next we propose the new criterion of Optimal Tax Area under which the possibility and feasibility of tax harmonization is examined. The policy implication of our paper is that we do not expect harmonization for direct taxes like corporate taxes in the EU in the near future and if so, harmonization of corporate tax rates on low levels. We conclude that both more theoretic research and empirical evidence are needed before we can answer with certainty whether tax competition is harmful or not. classification A1 . D6 . H0     

Public Opinion and Collective Obligations

This article attempts to identify the general principles that underlie public reasoning about collective obligations and that help explain when political parties can create new obligations or defend existing ones. I use these principles to President Clinton’s unsuccessful attempt to create government health-care plan and attempts by President Bush to privatize Social Security. The success of a party in selling – or defeating – an obligation depends upon what people believe about the competence and capacity of government and the value of autonomy – choices made by each citizen; whether people perceive the obligation as providing floors or establishing ceilings by limiting choice or otherwise restricting opportunities for the better-off; and whether the program is more like insurance or more like welfare. A party’s ability to maintain credibility with voters also depends upon whether party leaders can suppress issues that threaten intra-party elite pacts. When attempts to suppress “taboo” issues like “stem cells” or “black crime” fail, the party loses credibility with its voters and attempts to defend or sell obligations fail.

城市近郊被征地农民的福利变化及个体差异——以江夏区五里界镇为实证

以武汉市江夏区五里界镇为实例,通过实地调研获取第一手数据资料,应用福利经济学理论和对应分析模型研究被征地农民的福利变化和个体差异。研究表明:经济福利变化方面,失地农民农业收入普遍减少,非农业收入大幅增加,贫富差距进一步扩大,且农民生活成本上升,家庭支出增加。虽然农民愿意对剩余的土地投入更多的资金,但是投入资金仍处于较低的水平。非经济福利方面,社会福利和生活福利均有不同程度改善,环境福利中景观破坏程度感受和土壤板结得到改善,但田块面积变化和破碎程度却有所恶化。个体差异研究方面,非农业收入已经成为失地农民的主要经济来源,农民较低的教育水平限制了经济福利的增长,且老人经济福利的状况令人担忧。     

论经济公益诉讼的建立和法治社会的形成——以市民社会和政治国家的对立为视角

依市民社会和政治国家互动理论,经济法是为了约束市场私权与国家公权的过度膨胀而产生和发展的,是整和两者的矛盾运动,使市场经济良性发展的法律路径。依此理论,我们可以更深入认识经济法的本质,经济法是连接市民社会和政治国家的公私性质兼容的法律,这也决定了经济法的程序法必须和它的这种本性相适应,否则难以实现经济法的本质功效。经济公益诉讼的建立正是顺应这种时代发展要求的有益尝试,这一制度的建立也将极大地促进法治社会向前发展。     

我国政府价值取向面临的三大转变

政府价值取向决定了政府追求的价值目标,进而决定了政府能做什么和不能做什么。目前,随着经济的不断发展和改革的不断深入,政府价值取向也要进行新的转变。具体表现在三个方面：从注重经济向关注民生转变;从与民争利向让利于民转变;从锦上添花向雪中送炭转变。只有完成以上三大转变,“建设服务型政府”的目标才能实现。     

Reducing Domestic Violence and Improving Outcomes for Children: Funding Civil Legal Aid to Maximize Impact

Domestic violence survivors and children in foster care often experience significant unmet civil legal needs. Legal aid services, when adequately funded, can help close the justice gap for these two populations while improving safety, stability, and court efficiencies. However, despite ample literature demonstrating how legal aid can improve outcomes, almost half of those seeking legal aid services are turned away due to lack of resources. This article reviews the research and data about how legal aid can improve outcomes for people in the domestic violence and child welfare contexts. It also discusses how several state‐administered federal funding opportunities—including the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance Formula Grant Program, Title IV‐D child support funds, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) basic block grants—can fund the needed civil legal help.