宪政下的公共财政与预算

公共财政已成为我国构建和谐社会进程中的财政转型的目标定位。宪政下公共财政问题的实质,是公民财产权与政府财政权的互动。公共财政应当体现以保障人权为宗旨,以充分实现财政民主为核心,以财政法治为保障。公共财政是建立在现代政府预算基础之上的财政制度,预算制度是关于民众赞同和监督国家财政活动的法律规范。在推进公共财政体制建设中,我国应坚持财政法定原则,尊重和保护纳税人权利,完善预算法,加强预算监督。     

Taking ‘Big Government Conservatism’ Seriously? The Bush Presidency Reconsidered

This article reflects on the ongoing debate about the ideological direction of the Bush presidency and what it means for the future of US conservatism in domestic policy. The paper considers the dual nature of US conservatism and then goes on to explore the 'conservative promise' of the 2000 presidential election and the debate over what critiques of the Bush administration have come to call 'big government conservatism'. Finally, the article studies two examples of how this alleged 'big government conservatism' has been manifested. First, the article contemplates the administration's fiscal policy. Second it looks at the 2003 reform of the Medicare system. We argue that, although these two cases provide some ground to the idea of 'big government conservatism', in the end this phenomenon does not add up to a coherent policy vision. Overall, beyond tax cuts, the Bush administration has failed to implement a bold conservative agenda.     

论和谐社会建构中司法的克制主义立场

我国和谐社会的建构是以法治为基础的,而法治就是法律主治.当前我国法治社会建构初级阶段的特定时代背景要求倡导严格法治主义的法治理念,法律解释的权威根源于法律文本自身,严格法治主义的法治理念表现在司法领域中,就是强调司法对法律文本含义的严格贯彻,这需要我们重视文义解释的法律解释方法,遵循文义解释方法优先性的元规则.严格法治主义的这一法律解释立场需要捍卫司法克制主义,文义解释方法的优先性元规则是需要我们倡导司法的克制主义立场,这也是实现司法方法科学化和维护法律权威的要求.     

法治反对过度解释：论法律解释的限度

司法权的本质是一种解释法律的权力,司法过程中的法律解释是一种服从法律的解释,这一服从主要体现在法律解释过程中必须充分尊重法律文本含义的确定性和客观性,法律解释中的法律意义必须以法律文本的含义为前提,法治要求法律解释必须有一定的限度,反对过度解释.法治反对过度解释,表现在法律解释的姿态上就是要捍卫司法克制主义的立场.     

Benevolent Governance and Fiscal Federalism in Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Teutscher Fürsten Stat</Emphasis> (1656): Comment on Erik S. Reinert

The author comments on Erik S. Reinert’s presentation held at the 17{th} Heilbronn Symposion in Economics and the Social Sciences in June 2004.     

Economic resilience after the Great Recession: an examination of unreserved fund balance in Michigan counties

ABSTRACT

This paper examines fiscal slack, in the form of unreserved fund balance, as a tool used by local governments to enhance economic resilience. It adapts ecological, engineering, and organisational definitions of economic resilience and investigate their relevance to local financial management in the United States after the Great Recession in 2008. Using group-based trajectory modelling, we identify different strategies of fund balances used by Michigan counties. The change of fund balance does not delineate any pattern theorised by the resilience concepts. We also find different factors that motivate local officials to manage their fund balances differently. The study suggests a nuanced understanding of fiscal slack used by local governments for economic resilience that goes beyond unreserved fund balance.     

Poor versus rich countries: a gap in public attitudes towards fiscal solidarity in the EU

Abstract

Existing research has primarily focused on the role of utility and identity in shaping individuals’ European Union (EU) preferences. This article argues that macroeconomic context is a crucial predictor of attitudes towards transnational financial assistance, which has been omitted from previous analyses. Using data from the 2014 European Election Studies (EES) Voter Study for 28 EU member states, this article demonstrates that citizens living in poorer EU countries are less willing to support fiscal solidarity than their counterparts in more affluent countries. Country affluence serves as a heuristic, moderating the relationship between individual-level utility and identity considerations and willingness to show solidarity to member states with economic difficulties. When a country does not fare well economically, citizens’ views on providing help to others remain negative, irrespective of individual-level utilitarian and identity considerations. Our findings have implications for understanding the decision-making calculus underlying preference formation.     

财政政策与财政法

近年来,在我国财政领域,财政政策增长很快,但财政法律却没有相应地增长。财政政策的增长可以从权利增长、风险社会等角度得到解释,但财政立法的停滞只能从法律工具主义、法律虚无主义、经典计划经济体制的家长制等方面进行解释。财政领域＂政策繁多而法律稀缺＂的弊端是很多的,它不但导致了政策的效力递减甚至失效,解决不了复杂的社会经济问题,而且还导致了人们法律意识和价值观的扭曲。因此,加强、加快财政立法,哪怕是先出台不完善、不成熟的财政立法,也胜于财政立法的缺位。在立法机关与行政机关之间进行财政权的分权和制衡,是我国财政法治建设的根本出路。     

20世纪90年代以来日本财政政策失效成因

二战后,日本通过实施凯恩斯的积极财政政策,实现了经济的高速增长。然而,伴随着20世纪90年代经济的长期萧条,传统的财政政策失效。本文通过巴罗模型检验了日本各项财政支出对经济增长的影响。实证分析结果表明：公共投资效果不佳成为日本财政政策失效的主要原因,而优化公共投资结构、提高公共投资乘数、调整财政支出结构,防范财政风险可以提高日本财政政策效应。     

Fiscal Decentralization in Comparative Perspective: Analysis of the Intergovernmental Grant Systems in Indonesia and Thailand

Decentralization can inadvertently lead to local fiscal disparity. One type of intergovernmental fiscal transfers, the general-purpose grant, can help equalize local fiscal imbalances. This article examines the extent to which the general-purpose grant systems in Indonesia and Thailand help mitigate local fiscal disparity. The findings show that the general-purpose grant system in Thailand does not effectively address disparities in local fiscal conditions. Localities with more own-source revenues and higher per capita income receive more general-purpose grants than those with weak fiscal capacity. In contrast, Indonesia’s general-purpose grant allocation system provides more resources for economically disadvantaged and conflict-ridden provinces.