Politics and the Price of Rice in Thailand: Public Choice,Institutional Change and Rural Subsidies

Despite the Thai state’s long record of rice market interventions, historically politicians failed to leverage rice subsidies in their pursuit of political support, notwithstanding the large number of farmers in the country. Since Thaksin Shinawatra’s election in 2001, though, each government has subsidised rice producers, although at varying degrees. What explains this change? This article traces the four-decade history of rice price support programmes. It is proposed that these policies be interpreted through the dual lens of institutionalism and public choice theory, demonstrating how political institutions have shaped incentives for politicians to cater to different constituencies. During the pre-1980 period, under authoritarian regimes, Thai leaders applied rice price policies to benefit urban consumers and the government. From 1979 through 2000, following implementation of the block-vote system, rice interventions were used to appeal to voting intermediaries like rice millers, as bargaining chips among competing parties and as stopgap measures to diffuse farmer protests. Since 2001, responding to the electoral system created by the 1997 constitution, politicians have appealed directly to the voting public, seeking broad-based support via subsidies. The analysis highlights the impact that shifting institutional incentives have on politicians’ actions and thus the emergent policies.     

Interrupted evolution: the Serbian medieval assembly (Sabor)

This article discusses the origins, evolution, composition and competence of the State Sabor – the assembly of medieval Serbia. Since there are no preserved written documents that prescribe its structure, competence or decision-making procedure, all research regarding the Sabor has to be based on the accounts of individual Sabors held throughout Serbian medieval history. This article also aims to show the power relations between the Sabor and the monarch and to determine the criteria according to which matters were taken before the Sabor. Finally, a short comparison is made of the Sabor to the assemblies of neighbouring countries – Bosnia, Byzantium and Hungary. The article concludes with some final remarks about the nature of the Sabor and its legacy after the conquest of Serbia by the Ottoman Empire.     

注意制度反腐中的一些倾向性问题

制度建设是反腐败的最根本途径,已经成为党内外的普遍共识。现实的悖论却是,在反腐倡廉制度建设领域不断拓宽、成效不断显现的情况下,腐败问题依然十分严重,有些领域反而还出现了加重和蔓延的迹象。＂制度反腐＂进程中的一些倾向性问题是解释这一悖论的关键。制度反腐中的一些倾向性问题既源于一些价值、理念的偏差,又与反腐败制度体系本身的设计及其执行和运作有关。这些所谓倾向性问题主要表现为＂制度虚置＂、＂制度短板＂、＂制度离散＂、＂制度冲突＂、＂制度盲区＂等五个方面。     

现阶段我国协同治理研究的反思

梳理现阶段我国协同治理理论研究成果,正确阐释协同治理理论研究的相关要点,是进一步深入研究协同治理理论的基础。     

京津冀劳动政策的差异与协同

跨部门和地区协同是国家治理现代化的重要实现形式,对于京津冀协同发展亦具有至关重要的影响。将政策文献与治理实践进行有效的“对话”,以1997年京津冀进入一体化实质发展阶段以来三地公布的劳动政策文件为分析文本,结合京津冀协同治理实践,考察京津冀府际间政策文本差异与协同特征。分析发现,在一统体制和中央顶层设计背景下,京津冀劳动市场一体化趋势明显,劳动政策内容和数量协同逐渐增多,但在有效治理与利益驱动下存在央地目标设置错位等现象;京津冀劳动政策协同与差异并存,进而形成对区域协同治理的双刃剑效应。     

Party registration and party self-identification: Exploring the role of electoral institutions in attitudes and behaviors

How do electoral institutions affect self-identified partisanship? I hypothesize that party registration acts to anchor a person's party identification, tying a person to a political party even when their underlying preferences may align them with the other party. Estimating a random effects multinomial logit model, I find individuals registered with a party are more likely to self-identify with that party and away from the other party. Party registration also affects voting in presidential elections but not in House elections, leading to greater defection in the former where voters have more information about the candidates. These insights illuminate varying rates of electoral realignment, particularly among southern states, and the makeup of primary electorates in states with and without party registration.     

“5F”协同管理背景下的思想政治工作探析

"5F"协同管理法是肥矿在质量标准化基础上发展起来的管理和文化创新成果,已经逐渐成为推进矿区改革发展的有力平台。而思想政治工作作为国有企业的特色和传统,在推行科学管理的背景下,仍然具有不可替代的重要作用,仍需高度重视。     

Complementing and correcting representative institutions: When and how to use mini-publics

In democratic theory and practice, it has become a popular view that designed deliberative mini-publics can effectively counteract failures of representative democratic institutions. But when should mini-publics be deployed, and how should they be designed? This article develops a framework for thinking about these questions. It argues that when representative democratic institutions ensure the empowerment of inclusions, enable the formation of collective agendas and wills, and are capable of translating those agendas into binding decisions, mini-publics should be used sparingly and as complementary initiatives; the less representative institutions are able to serve these functions, the more mini-publics should gain independence and standing to correct these problems. The article shows how this can be operationalised in light of two key institutional design issues – coupling and authority – and discusses some empirical examples that foreground the empirical leverage offered by the suggested framework.     

谈改革开放以来我国的六次政府机构改革

改革开放以来，为适应社会主义现代化建设的需要．我国先后进行了六次政府机构改革，经历了由单纯的精简机构到综合配套改革的发展过程。以政府机构改革推动政府职能转变．其实质是改变高度集权的政府管理模式．建立统一高效的服务型政府。政府机构改革已经取得了一定进展，但转变政府职能仍然是一个努力的目标，具有长期性和渐进性。当前．新一轮的政府机构改革已全面展开．标志着我国政府管理体制向职能有机统一的大部门体制迈进。