Finanzpolitik als Nachahmungswettbewerb: Empirische Ergebnisse zu Budgetinterdependenzen unter den Schweizer Kantonen

This article examines whether spending decisions in Swiss cantons are interdependent, that is, whether the spending decisions of a canton are influenced by those of other cantons. Theoretically, fiscal policy imitation among cantons can be interpreted as a process of policy and innovation diffusion, as a result of tax competition or as a consequence of federalism as a policy laboratory. The panel analysis presented in this article provides evidence of the existence of budget spillovers among neighbouring cantons. Cantonal governments do not take spending decisions in isolation, but by systematically comparing the fiscal policies in neighbouring cantons.     

Whither the Liberal Democratic Model? Immigration Politics in Switzerland and Japan

A comparison of Japan's and Switzerland's immigration policies disclaims both globalist and public choice explanations that would predict a similar increase in immigrant numbers and an expansion of immigrant rights in liberal democracies. Although both countries have traditionally espoused a rather exclusionary approach towards immigration, Japan is unique in having hitherto succeeded in preempting large numbers of immigrants from entering the country and in having avoided the legal and societal integration of those migrants already present in its territory. In seeking to explain the different trajectories followed by immigration politics in Japan and Switzerland, despite their similar internal and external economic constellations, this article highlights the role of domestic institutions and norms in filtering economic pressure for immigration. Whereas these internal determinants explain to a large degree why Switzerland has become a country of immigration while Japan has not, the central factor explaining the recent expansion of foreign residents’ rights in Switzerland lies not so much in internal determinants but in the country‘s progressing approximation to the European Union and its single market. Notwithstanding these differences, the article concludes that Japan‘s greater resistance to change might now have reached a critical juncture, where demographic pressure and economic demand will make an opening up to increased labor migration unavoidable.     

试论政策执行中的政府利益

作为政策执行主体的政府,客观上存在着与公共利益不同的自身利益。政府利益的存在及其冲突是导致政策执行偏差的重要原因。对政府利益进行合理的整合与规范是保证政策有效执行的重要途径。     

Does Federalism Matter for Biopolicies? Switzerland in Comparative Perspective

This article analyses how federalism matters for the policy‐designing process and the resulting policies in the field of Assisted Reproductive Technology through the comparison of four countries, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Canada. It reconstructs from an actor‐centred perspective how federalism interacts with other country and policy‐field specific characteristics and empirically assesses how this interaction influenced the final policies. By focusing on Assisted Reproductive Technology, the article examines the potential influence of federalism on public policies beyond the standard discussion of the comparative political economy of federalism.     

Remortgaging Women's Lives: The World Bank'sLand Agenda in Africa

In recent months, the World Bank has issued a series of draft policy reports on land relations. This is the first time in over two decades that the Bank has sought to review its policy on lending in the land sector. Access to the draft reports and participation in the consultation process has, however, been severely limited. Nonetheless, the World Bank expects to issue the final Report by the end of this year. This paper presents a gender analysis of the two draft documents that have been made available to date. It assesses their implications for gender relations in Africa. It explores the World Bank's promotion of formal rural credit and challenges the assumption of the availability of women's unpaid agricultural labour. The paper argues that, far from being over, the struggle over land relations which has characterised the last decade in Africa, must continue. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

贵州省实施“生态建设与扶贫富民工程”调查报告

贵州是中国生态环境最为脆弱的省区之一。根据贵州的实际区情 ,建议国家应将贵州作为全国生态建设投资的重点省区 ,以确保“生态建设与扶贫富民工程”的顺利实施。为此 ,针对贵州生态建设存在的主要问题 ,我们认为今后应在充分发挥长期形成的生态建设经验模式基础上 ,采取相应的有效措施 ,推动土地利用结构调整 ,完善“四荒”拍卖政策体系 ,尽快建立生态建设评估机制 ,积极开发地方绿色农副产品 ,大力发展民族区域经济和本土化特色经济 ,开发环保替代产业和增加就业 ,以切实推动解决贵州的生态环境可持续发展问题。     

论公安院校查缉战术课的教学

文章从分析公安院校开设查缉战术课的目的、意义 ,当前该门课程现状及如何搞好教学等几方面入手 ,阐述了查缉战术课的重要性及存在问题 ,提出如何改善教学条件和提高教师业务素质的观点。     

关于培养高素质公安专门人才的思考

随着知识经济时代的到来 ,人们的思维与行为方式发生了新的变化 ,时代对公安民警的素质提出了更高的要求。作为公安院校的教育工作者必须认真思考德育与素质、知识与能力、智育与情商、专才与通才的关系 ,全面贯彻江泽民同志在全国第三次教育工作会议上的讲话精神 ,努力造就有理想、有道德、有文化、有纪律的高素质的公安专门人才。     

Public Opinion and the Role of Government Arts Funding in Spain

While several studies have probed the determinants of public support for government funding of arts and culture in the United States, little work to date has addressed the question in Europe. Yet as private cultural funding increases in magnitude in most Western European countries, the answer to this question has policy implications. This article formalizes the theory of the determinants of this public support in a model, employs public opinion data from Spain to estimate this model, and compares the results with those from the U.S. I find that support in Spain increases strongly with age, but is insignificant in most other variables. The article's empirical results yield several lessons for cultural policy design.