Compulsory voting and ethnic diversity increase invalid voting while corruption does not: an analysis of 417 parliamentary elections in 73 countries

Invalid voting, meaning blank and spoiled ballots, is a regular phenomenon in democracies around the world. When its share is larger than the margin of victory or greater than the vote share of some of the large parties in the country, invalid voting becomes a problem for democratic legitimacy. This article investigates its determinants in 417 democratic parliamentary elections in 73 countries on five continents from 1970 to 2011. The analysis shows that enforced compulsory voting and ethnic fragmentation are strong predictors for invalid voting while corruption has less impact. Our findings suggest that the societal structure is crucial in understanding invalid voting as a problem for democratic legitimacy because greater social diversity seems to lead to either a greater rate of mistakes or lesser attachments of social groups to the democratic process. Thus, rising levels of invalid voting are not only concerning in themselves but also for the divisive factors driving them.     

Families in need of supervision

Abstract

Even judiciaries that do not have histories of serious or pervasive corruption need to be watchful lest what I refer to as judicial corrosion occurs. Drawing on studies of institutional entropy, I identify some of the external and internal sources of such corrosion and comment briefly on challenges that face its prevention or repair within the judicial realm.     

内地和港台地区贪污贿赂举报制度之比较

举报在反贪污贿赂斗争中发挥着重要作用。内地与港台地区都建立了对贪污贿赂案件的举报制度。与港台地区相比,内地的贪污贿赂举报制度尚存在一些缺陷,如相关规定法律层级不高、规定不够具体,对举报人的保护不够充分,奖励制度不够完善等。借鉴港台地区对贪污贿赂举报的立法经验,对完善内地的贪污贿赂举报制度有积极意义。     

新形势下提高反腐倡廉建设科学化水平的途径初探

目前在我国要防治腐败,提高反腐倡廉建设科学化水平,关键是要构建三位一体的腐败防治防线,即加强廉政文化建设,从根本上使人不想腐败;完善反腐倡廉制度建设,从体制上使人不能腐败;强化监督机制,从力度上使人不敢腐败。新形势下提高反腐倡廉建设科学化水平必须"以教育引领,加强廉政文化建设;以制度保障,完善反腐倡廉制度建设;以监督约束,强化反腐倡廉监督机制"。     

村务监督委员会在“村官”腐败治理中的作用与职能优化

"村官"腐败问题的相关研究成果主要包括"村官"腐败问题的成因、特点、危害及治理对策等方面,其中,监督机制是治理"村官"腐败问题的重要对策之一。村务监督委员会在村级组织结构中具有重要地位,具有权力制衡、全面监督、全程监督、全民监督的优势,能够有效制约"村官"腐败行为的产生。发挥及优化村务监督委员会治理"村官"腐败功能的对策:一要保证监督机构的独立性,二要提高监督人员的专业性,三要加强监督工作的互动性,四要转变监督重点,五要加强自身建设。     

我国司法腐败的现状、成因及对策探析

司法腐败侵害司法公正、削弱司法公信力并将导致腐败现象的恶性蔓延。引发司法腐败的原因既有司法工作人员的个人因素,也有司法系统的体制因素。有效遏制司法腐败的对策,一是提高司法工作人员的自身素质,推进司法独立,以实现预防司法腐败;二是加强人大、政协对司法活动的监督,鼓励新闻媒体监督司法活动及保障公众对司法活动的监督;三是强化对司法腐败的惩治力度,警示潜在的腐败分子,从而最终实现对司法腐败的治理,还司法公正于民,促进社会健康和谐发展。     

Corruption and Economic Development in West African Economic and Monetary Union （UEMOA）

The theoretical and empirical debate on the effects of corruption on economic development is unclear. Available cross-country evidence suggests that the impact of corruption on economic development may be either positive or negative. It is widely assumed that the struggle against corruption is essential for economic growth. However, corruption is clearly a multidimensional concept, encompassing a variety of discrete components. The author reviews the theory underlying these different causal mechanisms linking corruption to economic growth, and provides an introduction to some outstanding measurement issues. This paper takes a critical look at the effect of corruption on economic development in West African Economic and Monetary Union （UEMOA）. The major results of the investigation indicate that all UEMOA countries are corrupt according to the variables of the Worldwide Governance Indicators （WGI）. UEMOA countries have a deficiency to control corruption, so they need to improve their system of control. As a result, the fight against corruption is still a necessary job for all of UEMOA people.     

腐败成因诸视角述评及综合治理原则

十八大以来,随着反腐败斗争和廉政建设的不断深化,对腐败现象的治理已经成为推动国家治理体系和治理能力现代化,实现"法治中国"的重要途径。国内学者对腐败成因的观察视角各有不同,大体归纳为经济学、政治学与公共管理学、法学三大方面。然而,任何单一视角对腐败成因的分析都存在其有效性,同时也存在诸多不足。基于腐败问题的复杂性及政治危害性,任何单一视角下的解决策略都难以实现对腐败的有效治理。因此,必须多视角分析腐败产生的原因,坚持综合治理腐败的原则,才能有效地惩治腐败,并对未来的腐败治理实践提供参考借鉴。     

改革没有穷尽 社会主义仍在路上——再论中国改革和发展关键时期的“主义”选择

近年来,中国社会和学界围绕改革开放问题的争论,实质是中国应该搞什么“主义”、走什么道路的问题。党的十七大对争论正面又旗帜鲜明地作了回答。中国社会主义的发展已经站在一个新的历史起点上,我们对中国社会的进步、社会主义事业的发展充满了信心,但我们面临的问题是严重的,中国社会主义的发展处在历史的关键时期。     

完善我国反腐败立法的经济学解说

从经济学角度看,理性经济人的假设和寻租理论的制度揭示,说明了腐败产生的可能性,而当腐败收益大于成本时,腐败便成为现实。因此,要成功治理腐败,必须通过弱化人的自利本性、遏止寻租行为、大幅度提高腐败成本等来完善我国的反腐败立法。