Finnish parties’ positions in 2007: A matter of equilibrium or voters’ projection?

According to the Finnish National Election Studies (FNES) the positions of Finnish parties in the years 2003 and 2007 were almost identical. In FNES, party placement is based on the voters’ perceptions and therefore it is assumed that either the voters have correctly guessed the positions of the parties or they have been wrong in their judgments. In the first case, the Finnish parties are likely to have reached a state of equilibrium where no party has an incentive for unilaterally changing its optimal position. On the other hand, if the voters are incorrect, it is likely that they have projected their own positions to the parties. The results reject the equilibrium hypothesis and confirm the projection hypothesis.     

Securing the Future of Higher Education in England

This article reviews the IPPR commissioned report ‘Securing the Future of Higher Education in England’. It is argued that the report identifies key shortcomings in contemporary higher education policy, and develops some important recommendations for shaping the sector in the future. However, several of the proposed recommendations would create new divisions in the sector and reinforce existing ones. Moreover, the report maintains and reproduces the ideological status quo of contemporary higher education policy, which can broadly be described as the organisation and provision of higher education along ‘quasi‐market’ lines. Crucially, although the report advocates reform based on social justice, in the contemporary context of fiscal retrenchment, the majority of recommendations are underpinned by, arguably necessary, economic rationales.     

Reviews

Books reviewed in this article:
Tobias M. C. Asser, Legal Aspects of Regulatory Treatment of Banks in Distress
Philip Alston: Peoples' Rights
Craig Scott (ed.), Torture as Tort: Comparative Perspectives on the Development of Transnational Human Rights Litigation
Stephen Shute and A. P. Simester (eds.), Criminal Law Theory: Doctrines of the General Part
Catharine A. MacKinnon, Sex Equality
Donald Zillman, Alastair Lucas and George (Rock) Pring (eds.), Human Rights in Natural Resource Development: Public Participation in the Sustainable Development of Mining and Energy Resources     

对社会保障税和社会保障缴费的分析

社会保障税与社会保障缴费都是社会保障制度筹集资金的方式.然而,从西方国家的社会保障实践来看,二者并不存在明显差别.社会保障税与社会保障缴费可以看作特殊的税收,同一般性税收相区别.     

Déjà vu in International Law

Book reviewed in this article:
Martti Koskenniemi, The Gentle Civilizer of Nations: The Rise and Fall of International Law 1870–1960     

Do conditional cash transfer programs shift votes? Evidence from the Honduran PRAF

How do national social programs influence local voting? This study utilizes the experimental set up of a conditional cash transfer program to show that small, targeted cash transfers can have large electoral effects. The Honduran PRAF program allocated an average of $18 per capita per year to poor households within municipalities that were randomly assigned to receive the program. Although the program was administered at the national level, the program increased an incumbent mayor's re-election probabilities by 39%, without significantly influencing voting behavior in presidential elections. Moreover, the evidence suggests that transferring cash to poor households were more effective at increasing political support than interventions providing public goods for poor villages.     

附条件法律行为之“或然性”问题研究

在附条件法律行为中,条件的重要特征之一为或然性。我国理论界对条件的或然性存在客观说和主观说的对立。两种观点的分歧在于,既成事实是否可以作为条件。附条件法律行为的制度价值体现在将当事人的行为动机外在化,故应从当事人意思自治角度探讨既成事实条件的可能性和必要性。以意思自治为基础的既成事实条件,只有在当事人双方均不欲从事约定的法律行为时,才丧失其条件的法律意义。     

肝癌并发上消化道出血的危险舌象分析

目的:以望舌为主了解原发性肝癌并发上消化道出血的危险因素,为临床预防提供依据。方法:收集737例原发性肝癌患者的临床资料,并使用标准化舌象采集环境获取其临床舌象,由医学专家给出舌象诊断,使用条件Logistic回归对肝癌并发上消化道出血的危险因素进行筛选。结果:舌色按由淡白、淡红到红进行分类,结果显示上消化道出血的主要危险因素主要与肝癌临床分期(OR=3.607,P=0.000)、舌形异常(OR=3.295,P=0.005)、舌下脉形状(OR=1.558,P=0.008)和血清总胆红素水平(OR=1.008,P=0.015)有关;而舌色按紫与不紫进行分类,结果显示舌色也与肝癌并发上消化道出血密切相关(OR=1.989,P=0.047)。结论:舌体胖大、舌下脉增粗或迂曲、舌色见紫、肝癌临床分期进展和血清胆红素水平过高均为上消化道出血的危险因素,以舌象观察为主可望作为一种预测肝癌并发上消化道出血的简捷方法。     

浅谈税费改革与行政改革的关系

我国的收费制度是在改革开放过程中逐步发展并形成巨大规模的。本文认为,要想根治乱收费现象,取得费改税的成功,必须深化行政改革。行政改革是税费改革取得成功的前提,税费改革是行政改革的组成部分,税费改革的成功能增强国家推进势在必行的行政改革的决心,而行政改革又能推动税费改革的成功实施。     

大学学杂费水平对农村家庭消费的挤占效应——基于中国农村家庭数据的分析

随着高等教育收费制度的建立,大学学杂费收费水平不断提高。对于农村家庭而言,学杂费负担对家庭其他消费的负面影响越来越凸现。利用中国农村家庭高等教育学杂费支出和农户年人均储蓄额等指标,运用协整检验和误差修正模型,可以间接分析高额大学学杂费支出对农村家庭其他消费的影响效应。实证分析表明,无论是从长期还是从短期来看,农村家庭高等教育学杂费支出对家庭其他消费都存在挤占效应,只是长期挤占效应要明显强于短期。