加快县级党校发展之我见

2011年全国县级党校工作座谈会结束后,县级党校的发展迎来了新的历史机遇,如何做到与时俱进,把握时代脉搏,具有前瞻性和开放性,加快发展成了当前面临的首要任务。文章结合实际,对县级党校的发展提出了建议与对策。     

An Exploratory Analysis of Fertility Differentials in India

The association between improving economic conditions and declining growth of population has led economists and demographers to hypothesise a direct relationship between indicators of economic development and fertility rates. Using recent National Family Health Survey data and the 1991 Census to explore factors contributing to fertility rates in India, we found that economic variables explain 70 per cent of the interstate variations in India's fertility rates. However, several non-economic variables explain an even greater proportion, for example, indicators of female autonomy explain 84 per cent of the variations. Our analysis demonstrates that to successfully explain Indian fertility rates, models must rely heavily on non-economic variables.     

Peak Oil as a stimulus for a green economy transition in South Africa: Alternative liquid fuel and transport options

Abstract

While the arguments in favour of a green economy often rest on the need to reduce environmental damage, mitigate climate change and create environmentally friendly jobs, this article argues that the inevitable and possibly imminent peak and decline in world oil production provides another strong rationale for green economy policies and investments in South Africa. The South African economy has a high degree of reliance on imported petroleum fuels and evidence suggests that oil price and supply shocks – resulting from diminishing world oil exports and a decline in the energy return on investment for oil globally – are likely to have a debilitating socioeconomic impact under business-as-usual policies and behaviour patterns. Two broad strategies for mitigating the impact of increasing world oil scarcity and oil price shocks are considered. The first evaluates the prospects for developing indigenous sources of liquid fuels, including coal-to-liquids, gas-to-liquids and biofuels, and finds that there are significant resource and environmental risks associated with these options. The second strategy involves short-term measures to reduce demand for liquid transport fuels together with a long-term shift toward electrified mass transport, supported by accelerated investments in renewable energy. The latter strategy is argued to be compatible with and necessary for a societal transition towards a green economy.     

经济犯罪的现代化变迁动力——兼析经济犯罪的防治实践

随着我国社会主义市场经济的进步和发展,社会现代化建设的水平不断提高,受经济形态和社会生产方式的影响,经济犯罪不断的出现,且形式多样,给我国经济的发展带来了极大的影响,导致经济犯罪呈现出不断变迁的趋势.引起这种变化的因素有很多,其中最主要的当属经济转型、社会结构调整以及社会控制.鉴于经济犯罪带来的巨大影响,我国政府必须要高度重视对经济犯罪的查处与防治,确保我国经济的安全,保证国民经济的正常发展.     

The Politics of Universalisation: Establishing National Health Services in Southern Europe

Italy, Portugal, Greece and Spain have enacted reform laws during the last 20 years with the intention of turning their health insurance systems into national health services. Universalisation of access to public health care was at the centre of the political debates which led to the passing of the reform laws. This article analyses the policy-making processes that allowed for such institutional change, as well as achievements and shortcomings of the implementation processes that followed. The analysis draws on the insights of the actor-centred neo-institutionalist approach in the policy sciences.     

Migration and the reconfiguration of Malaysia

This article examines the social impact of the 1997 financial crisis in South Korea. Although the crisis was short-lived, it has created major ripples all across the country, profoundly affecting the Koreans' lifestyle and family life as well as their values and worldview. In spite of the magnitude of the financial crisis and its social impact, scant scholarly attention has been paid to the issue, although the causes and economic impact of the crisis have been amply discussed. In view of this, the article examines major social changes brought upon by the financial crisis. The article probes, for example, how employment patterns have been deeply affected, whereby a majority of workers are now irregular workers or are underemployed. The article also demonstrates how the people's perception of work has changed and how the income gap between the rich and the poor has widened. Also discussed are, among others, the continuing discrimination against women in the workplace, rising divorce rate, increase in immigration and value conflicts over the relevance of Confucianism in contemporary Korea. In addition, the article examines the agency of the Korean people in reacting to or coping with the changing circumstances.     

Challenges in conflict management in multi-ethnic states – the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and Serbia and Montenegro

This article examines the break-ups of post-communist Czechoslovakia and the Union of Serbia and Montenegro under consociationalism. According to Arend Lijphart, social divisions may be neutralized at the elite level with power-sharing mechanisms. Lijphart's theory has been abundantly criticized, particularly because, while its intention is to induce cooperation, consociationalism does not give leaders actual incentives to cooperate. Czechoslovakia and the Union qualified as consociations; however most favorable factors were absent. The states failed to overcome their divisions and broke apart. Both states were going through a democratization period, experienced differently in each republic. The article argues that the application of consociationalism at this time magnified the divisions. Stirring up the ethnic sensitivity of the population was the most reliable strategy for politicians to secure popular support. In this context, and with the EU enlargement prospect, the consociational structure, instead of bringing elites together, weakened the federal power and provided elites the opportunity to defend republican interests at the expense of the federations. Hence, while a consociation requires certain conditions and favorable factors, the context in which consociationalism is implemented, and particularly democratization periods, may have a decisive influence on the leaders’ ability to cooperate, on their decisions, and thereby on the state.     

The legacies of transition governments: post-transition dynamics in Benin and Togo

This article analyses the transition governments of Benin and Togo and shows how they had a profound impact on post-transition governance, regardless of the success or failure of the transition. It argues that the essential elements of polyarchy – competition and inclusion – were present in the transition government in Benin, and patterns along these two dimensions have been mirrored in post-transition events. In Togo, by contrast, only the principle of competition, not inclusion, was established in the transition period and present-day Togolese politics continues this pattern. This analysis sheds new light on politics in both countries and offers greater scope for understanding post-transition politics by viewing transition outcomes in terms of political development.     

Enforcing consensus? The hidden bias in EU democracy promotion in Central and Eastern Europe

Democracy is a primary export norm of the European Union (EU). It has also played a key role in the conditionalities that have governed the accession processes of new member states in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The EU has often been accused of offering little guidance regarding the specifics of desirable democracy models and the means of their consolidation. But are these accusations justified? In the first part of this article a detailed examination of European Commission opinions and reports reveals that it has consistently promoted a specific model of democracy in future member states. It shows a strong bias in favour of Lijphart's model of consensus democracy, which is indiscriminately advocated for prospective member states. The second part of the article draws attention to the serious obstacles which exist in the region to the realization of this model. We question the wisdom of the Commission's one-size-fits-all democratic model given these obstacles and the real-life diversity of political contexts in the region.     

从公司信用转变看中国政府职能转变

政府职能本就因不同的时代形势与战略任务而变动调整。改革开放的新时期下,社会主义市场经济体制的各项机能日臻完善,市场也将在资源配置中发挥决定性作用,因此,全能型的抑或主导型的、审批型的抑或直接管理型的政府职能模式显然与之背道而驰。上海自贸区公司注册资本登记制度的深刻变革,将促使公司从资本信用向资产信用的转变,而曾受制于"政府之手"的公司信用之转变又恰恰烙印了新时期下中国政府职能转变的时代内涵与市场取向趋势,即把该放的权力放到位,把该管的事务管好,简政放权,有所为有所不为,充分尊重市场的决定性作用,并发挥政府的积极效用。