Municipal population size and the benefits of inter-municipal cooperation: panel data evidence from Japan

ABSTRACT

Intermunicipal cooperation (IMC) facilitates efficient public service delivery. This study measures how the benefits municipalities gain through IMC differ according to municipal population size and service provision type. Focusing on public health and fire protection services, this study employs panel data regression for 1,706 Japanese municipalities over a five-year period, 2012–2017. This study has several major findings. First, an increase in the IMC spending ratio reduces public spending in both the studied services. Second, the marginal effect of IMC varies depending on the size of the municipal population. More specifically, the marginal effect of IMC on public health has a narrow confidence interval with a wide ranging population scale, while the marginal effect of IMC on fire protection produces negative values for only 151 municipalities due to extensive standard error. These findings can help municipalities take advantage of IMC to improve public service delivery.     

论警察不作为问题的解决路径——以派出所勤务工作为视角

警察不作为,将使警务改革与发展方略流于形式,使勤务决策和部署无力执行,直接影响到警务工作全局和国家安全、社会稳定的最终维护。应以派出所勤务工作为视角,通过发现派出所民警不作为的表现形态和产生机制,从改革、完善和实施科学合理的监督方式、考核体系、激励要素、勤务研究和教育培训五个方面提出公安机关解决警察不作为的可行性对策。     

Local governments and their arm’s length bodies

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we discuss the state of the art on the creation of arm’s length bodies (ALBs) by local governments. We make three main contributions. First, there are many different types of ALBs and each country has its own categories; an expert survey was held identifying three common types of body, to enable future comparative research. Second, we point out that the creation of ALBs has led to a number of new challenges for local governments, particularly regarding governing bodies at arm’s length to ensure ALBs’ good performance. A lack of capacity and information have to be countered, for example, by increased monitoring – also for democratic accountability purposes. Special attention is needed for the multiple principal problem that arises when local governments jointly create ALBs. Third, research into local ALBs is still in its early stages. We present a research agenda to develop knowledge on the topic.     

From the State to the Streets: The Debate over the Civil Union Bill and Conservative Strategic Change in Peru

The adoption of SOGI policies depends on the strategies activists choose to support or oppose them. Nevertheless, the conditions that explain why some strategies are prioritised over others are not evident. In Peru, the 2013 debate over civil unions prompted a strategic shift in which the conservative wing started to benefit from intensive street mobilisation strategies. Why did this change occur? We argue that a deeply divided electoral competition and the decay of the Catholic Church's moral authority favoured this outcome. This article analyses the trajectory of these strategies over time to identify the conditions that contributed to the shift.     

新《民事证据规定》对法官权责的制度改造--基于司法鉴定的视角

2019年最高人民法院颁布的《民事证据规定》,是在2017年民事诉讼法、2015年最高人民法院关于民事诉讼法司法解释的基础上,结合司法实践经验,对民事司法鉴定制度进行了较大幅度的改进。由于法官依然主导、甚至控制司法鉴定进程,因此修订后的《民事证据规定》对法官涉及司法鉴定的权力与责任进行了制度改造,主要表现在强化了法官对鉴定程序的实质参与性以及对鉴定人的有效管理与监督。总体来看,在民事司法鉴定制度的历史改革脉络中,《民事证据规定》一定程度上矫正了民事司法过去一贯弱化法官权力与责任的制度改革路径。不过,《民事证据规定》对当事人权利与责任的强化,仍有可能变相弱化法官应当承担的职责;同时《民事证据规定》对鉴定人虚假鉴定、鉴定超期、撤销鉴定意见等诸方面简单、刚性且无救济的单向度制裁模式,极可能被鉴定人视为法院或法官基于自身立场的本位主义立法,并进而驱使鉴定人采取"责任规避型"的反制策略。     

监护人责任规范问题研究——由民法典侵权责任编(草案三次审议稿)切入

民法典侵权责任编(草案三次审议稿)第九百六十四条规定的监护人责任存在归责原则不明、被监护人是否承担责任不明确、缺乏侵权之因果关系、忽视监护人职责履行之条件等问题。其原因在于监护人责任承担的理论基础不明、过度保护受害人、未兼顾对被监护人的保护和教育等。监护人责任的应然内涵应是:无民事行为能力人、限制民事行为人不法侵害他人造成损害的,由与其共同生活的监护人承担侵权责任。限制民事行为能力人在辨识能力范围内与监护人承担连带责任。监护人能够证明自己尽了监护义务或者即使尽了监护义务仍无法阻止损害发生的,不承担责任。     

Collective Action,Civil Society,and Public Policy in Turkey

Abstract

Understanding policy change mechanisms has been a key question for scholars of public policy and collective action. However, policy scholarship mostly ignores civil society-based explanations of policy processes. In order to address this gap, this study combines the Advocacy Coalition Framework with networked collective action perspectives and analyzes a successful case of mobilization of women’s rights organizations in Turkey to reverse a bill on child marriage. Study findings suggest that advocacy coalitions are not static entities. When different issues in a policy subsystem are invoked, the structure of inter-coalition networks can change substantially and these variations in inter-coalition interactions may have consequences for influencing policy change. Moreover, this paper argues that extensive street protests and online campaigns by civil society organizations have the capacity to boost the bargaining power of minority coalitions, especially in contexts that lack multiple formal venues for making policy claims.     

日本民用核能法律制度创新对中国的启示

日本于1955年正式公布《原子能基本法》后,经历了两大发展阶段,形成了较为系统的民用核能法律体系,却以福岛核事故为转折点暴露了诸多问题。此后日本根据多重防护理论进行构建,以新建立的原子能规制委员会为核心,依托民用核能损害赔偿为主的民事诉讼与"定期检查许可证交付"为主的行政诉讼的司法实践,辅之以《电气事业会计准则》为基础的民用核能特别会计准则制度,建立起了一套以理论建构、制度架构、司法实践为主,财务会计制度等为辅的日本特色民用核能法律制度体系。鉴于我国推进"一带一路"进程中民用核能合作高速发展以及《核安全法》问世,民用核能法律制度亟需受到高度重视。日本民用核能法律制度发展的新理论、新框架及创新内容,为中国民用核能发展提供了在决策机制、透明度设计等方面多层次、宽领域的启示。     

高级领导干部腐败犯罪的“大数据画像”及廉洁治理对策——基于十八大以来125个腐败案例的实证分析

全面从严治党向纵深发展迫切需要总结腐败的规律性特征,提升当前和下一阶段反腐败工作的精准性、科学性和及时性。党的十八大以来,部分高级领导干部的政治腐败、经济腐败、生活腐败相互交织,具有明显的主体特征、时间特征、空间特征、类型特征,汇聚而成高级领导干部腐败犯罪的“大数据画像”。政治权力异化内因、政治生态恶化诱因和政治监督弱化外因是腐败犯罪生成的重要原因。强化腐败惩治增强“不敢腐”的法治震慑,优化腐败预防增强“不能腐”的机制保障,改进廉政教育增强“不想腐”的政治自觉,一体推进廉洁治理。     

非正规的“正规化”:劳动力市场分割与家政服务企业——基于2019年四个城市的家政工人调查

在非正规就业盛行的家政市场,家政服务企业的重要性日益凸显,亟待考察这些劳动力市场中介机构的就业效果。通过分析2019年四个城市的家政工人调查数据,发现家政服务企业的发展可能会影响家政业内不同工种的收入差距,改变非正规就业市场的原有结构。伴随管理者企业的介入,家务员收入大幅提升,母婴护理员和家庭保洁员的收入则出现下降。家政企业对工人收入的改善和工作正规化的促进作用是有限的。本文不仅呈现了家政就业市场内部的异质性,为家政工作的正规化讨论提供中国经验数据,还指出劳动力市场中介机构在以女性为主的非正规就业市场上的特殊性,具有一定政策意义。