Why the intrinsic value of public goods matters

Abstract

Existing accounts of public-goods distribution rely on the existence of solidarity for providing non-universal public goods, such as the humanities or national parks. There are three fundamental problems with these accounts: they ignore instances of social fragmentation; they treat preferences for public goods as morally benign, and they assume that these preferences are the only relevant moral consideration. However, not all citizens unanimously require public goods such as the humanities or national parks. Public-goods distribution that is based only on citizens’ preferences, therefore, means that non-universal public good are at a constant risk of under-provision, and has negative implications for human flourishing. The paper, therefore, develops a complementary justification for the distribution of public goods, that decouples the distribution of public goods from ad hoc preferences, and grounds the distributive justification in the intrinsic value of these goods. There are three reasons to include intrinsic-value considerations in public-goods distribution: responding to crowding-out effects; promoting shared heritage and cross-fertilization. Finally, the intrinsic-value justification may indirectly promote solidarity. Thus, the intrinsic-value and the solidarity justifications need not be mutually exclusive, rather they can be mutually reinforcing.     

《刑法修正案(六)》对赃物犯罪规定的完善

为维护刑事司法的正常活动秩序,更有效地打击赃物犯罪,《刑法修正案(六)》对刑法中有关赃物犯罪的规定作了修改。为了贯彻和执行新的规定,有必要对修改的部分进行认真思考,以作出符合立法精神的法理解释,从而更好地指导司法实践。     

What is the opposite of corruption?

Corruption has turned out to be difficult to define and what should be counted as the opposite to corruption remains widely disputed. If the goal for a post-conflict society is not only to become democratic and prevent a return to violence but also to reduce systemic corruption, we need to know what it is that should be fought and how the opposite to systemic corruption should be conceptualised. To define the opposite to corruption, choices have to be made along four conceptual dimensions. These are universalism vs relativism, uni- vs multidimensionality, normative vs empirical and whether the definition should relate to political procedures or policy substance. As a result of this conceptual analysis, it is argued, a universal, one-dimensional, normative and procedural definition should be preferred. The suggested definition is that of impartiality as the basic norm for the implementation of laws and policies. This conceptual analysis ends with a discussion of why such a norm has historically and in the contemporary world been hard to achieve and why it is especially problematic in post-conflict societies.     

试论国际法的“公共物品”属性

国际法是国际关系的产物,它反映了各国的共同利,体现了各国的共同意志,是指导国家对外交往、和平解决国际争端的共同规范.国际法规范的非竞争性、非排他性特点,使之具有"公共物品"的属性,是实现全球治理、维护世界和平与发展的重要保障.     

从the “DG Harmony”案看英美法下海上危险货物托运人归责原则之演进

从the＂DG Harmony＂案中美国联邦第二巡回上诉法院的轰动性判决入手,对英美法有关海上危险货物运输下托运人归责原则和承托双方责任分担的相关立法和司法实践的演进作一梳理,即从《海牙规则》与美国COGSA1936前普通法和一般海事原则下托运人严格责任的确立,到对《海牙规则》及COGSA1936相关条款下托运人严格责任的解析,再到以the＂DG Harmony＂案为代表的英美目前司法实践对突破托运人严格责任的探索。在此梳理的基础上,总结概括出目前英美法下裁判海上危险货物运输纠纷的思路与原则。这种以托运人严格责任原则为基础,以通过＂知识权衡＂与因果分析确定的＂未能提醒＂的过失责任原则为补充的思路,对中国的立法和司法实践具有一定的借鉴意义。     

科学发展观视角下的政府预算绩效管理

科学发展观的提出,是党中央对我国改革开放和现代化建设实践经验的总结和概括,体现了我们党对经济发展规律、社会发展规律和自然规律的认识和把握。从"发展是硬道埋"到"发展是第一要务"再到"全面、协调、可持续的发展",表明我们党对于发展的认识越来越全面、越来越深刻、越来越科学。科学发展观为我国经济社会可持续发展指明了前进方向,正在逐步引导和指导我国各行各业的具体实践。新的发展观呼唤新的正确的政绩观,科学发展观的实践,必须有正确的政绩观的支持。随着新的科学发展观和正确政绩观理念的提出,政府预算绩效管理成为社会关注的焦点。     

粮食安全的经济属性与成本补偿模型分析

一般的粮食具有私人物品属性。粮食安全的经济属性为准公共物品。模型分析表明,为保障国家经济安全所提供的粮食是市场失灵的领域,需要政府“埋单”。然而,在正常情况下,豉府和市场在粮食安全活动中应互为补充,有机耦合。     

基础设施投资与公共财政

市场经济条件下,公共财政是基础设施的投资主体,建立公共财政框架体系对推进基础设施建设具有十分重要意义;经济理论上基础设施应该完全由公共财政投资,然而实践中必须根据客观需要,充分利用社会资本促进基础设施建设.     

Political Risk: The Institutional Dimension

The argument developed in this paper is that the political arrangements and institutions that help leaders stay in office are not necessarily the ones that promote economic growth and prosperity. Indeed political leaders can remain in office more securely by rewarding the groups that keep them in power with privileged access to public resources. The net result is that the leadership remains in office but at the price of poor economic performance. It is not that the consequences of mismanaging the economy are unforeseen; rather the increased chances of an economic crisis are an acceptable price to pay if it means avoiding a political crisis which challenges the leaders' hold on power. Political survival, not peace and prosperity, is what determines the choice of policies. In this way bad economics can be good politics. The principal hypothesis addressed is that the smaller the size of the winning coalition the more the leadership depends on distributing private goods to the coalition members in order to purchase their loyalty, and, therefore the greater is the level of political risk. The ultimate effects of coalition size and the corruption attending the competition for private goods are the reduction of foreign direct investment per capita. These hypotheses were tested in a three stage least squares (3SLS) simultaneous estimation. The results generally supported the theoretical expectations.     

台湾民间治安防范法治模式对大陆的借鉴意义

民间治安防范力量在大陆地区和台湾地区都发挥着重要作用。台湾民间治安防范工作取得了很好的社会效益,犯罪率明显下降,警民关系、邻里关系融洽,他山之石可以攻玉,希望大陆地区保留已有的先进经验的前提下,借鉴台湾地区的优秀工作成果,进一步完善大陆地区的民间治安防范力量。