It's Only Made Things Worse: A Critique of Electoral Reform in Britain

Since it came to power, New Labour has introduced a range of new electoral system into the British political system, implicitly accepting the argument that Britain's traditional electoral system - first-past-the-post (FPTP) - has been a cause of voter disenchantment with Britain's representative democracy. In this article, it is asserted that Labour's reforms have merely compounded this problem, while demonstrating that all electoral systems have significant flaws. Indeed, it is argued that the flaws of the new systems are more serious than those of FPTP and threaten an even greater disconnection between UK politicians and the people they represent."     

Old and New Labour Narratives of Whitehall: Radicals,Reactionaries and Defenders of the Westminster Model

This article argues that throughout its history, the leadership of the Labour Party has chosen to embrace a benign view of the Civil Service, as part of a wider acceptance of the constitutional status quo reflected in the Westminster model. There has nevertheless been a long tradition in the wider Labour movement that has questioned whether Whitehall is capable of working for a government with radical aspirations. This article examines Labour's historical approach towards Whitehall, before reflecting on the extent to which the present Administration, while appealing to radical and reforming rhetoric has, like its predecessors, continued to embrace the status quo. It concludes by arguing that a contemporary and credible narrative capable of challenging the Westminster model has yet to emerge from the broader movement.     

对中国证券业加入WTO面临问题的思考

中国加入 WT O后 ,证券业的开放是一种必然的趋势。面对这种状况 ,我国证券业应当采取的措施是 :加快金融改革 ,提高金融运行的市场化程度 ;逐步推进金融业的混业经营 ,提高经济证券化程度 ;大力培育较大规模证券经营机构 ;改革和完善证券市场的创新机制 ;建立有效的市场监管体系     

新世纪的公安教育向何处去——谈公安教育模式及改革方向

世界上实行市场经济的国家警察教育都是职业教育而非学历教育,新世纪我国公安教育的模式必须改革:１．公安教育应是一种行业性的职业教育,而应淡化学历教育;２．选拔符合入警条件的大学毕业生到公安院校接受培训,尔后充实公安队伍;３．采用部队培养高学历人才的方法;４．将一些公安院校合并挂靠到普通高校;５．专业教师应到公安机关实习、挂职,解决教师的公安业务及技术技能问题。     

论邓小平对当代中国行政改革道路的设计

行政改革是一项艰巨而复杂的系统工程。对于当代中国的行政改革 ,邓小平主张从实际出发 ,选择“渐进式改革”的途径和方式。“渐进式改革”有其自身的鲜明特点和特定内容 ,坚持渐进式行政改革的道路 ,是保证当代中国行政改革走向成功的正确选择     

改革开放以来我国行政管理体制改革的巨大成就

: 2 0年来 ,我国行政管理体制改革成就巨大 ,已经基本摆脱了旧计划经济管理体制的束缚 ,适应社会主义市场经济需要的新行政管理体制正在形成。主要成就表现在四个方面 :行政管理的民主化迈出重大步伐 ,行政管理的科学化取得很大进步 ,行政管理的法制化法律体系已经初步形成 ,行政管理的现代化正在逐步推行。     

解放思想是怎样成为改革开放先导的

本文围绕真理标准大讨论成为解放思想的突破口、思想路线的恢复和重新确立使解放思想和以人为本成为题中之义、解放思想推动我国经济社会的三次转型及其在新时期所具有的复杂性和层次性等三个方面,揭示和阐明解放思想是怎样成为改革开放先导的。     

我国台湾地区的刑事搜查制度与借鉴

我国大陆与台湾地区刑事搜查制度各不相同,然而搜查一般都应遵循司法审查、特定性、合理根据、人格权保障等原则。为加强两岸间交流和保护人权,我们可以借鉴台湾地区刑事搜查制度的经验,逐步完善我国的刑事搜查制度。     

An overview: A new era of tax enforcement – from “big stick” to responsive regulation

Recent developments in regulation and tax administration in Australia inspired this article on tax compliance and responsive regulation. This article analyzes the economics of crime and compliance as the dominant approach to tax enforcement of the past three and a half decades. It evaluates the key advantages and disadvantages of the economic approach as well as its application to tax. The article then explores responsive regulation as an alternative method that draws on the economic paradigm but also supplements this approach with other theories, particularly those involving identity, conflict escalation, and procedural justice. Building on this analysis and a case study of Australian investors in mass marketed tax schemes, the article suggests that the broader, more balanced, and closely tailored method of regulating responsively may enable regulators to draw on the advantages of the economic model while alleviating some of its drawbacks. Responsive regulation may therefore constitute a superior method for regulating compliance.     

New Thinking in Financial Market Regulation: Dismantling the “Split Share Structure” of Chinese Listed Companies

China’s distinctive set of stock market institutions was introduced in 1990. Among the characteristics of China’s stock markets was a strict separation between different categories of investors. Listed companies issued different categories of shares to state shareholders, domestic corporate investors, domestic individual investors, and foreign investors. By 2005, the barriers segmenting China’s stock market had been significantly relaxed. Domestic investors were allowed to purchase shares previously reserved for foreign investors, and approved foreign investors were allowed to purchase shares previously earmarked for domestic individuals. Nevertheless, a crucial barrier remained. An ongoing debate among Chinese academics, investors, and policy makers focused on how to resolve the “split share structure” (guquan fen zhi) in which a minority of shares were tradable while the majority of shares (namely those reserved for domestic corporate and state shareholders) were excluded from the market. The split share structure was blamed for distorting prices and inhibiting development of the stock market. This paper analyzes the policy adopted to address the split share structure. To what extent does this policy change reflect new thinking on the part of China’s market regulators? This paper argues that analysis of policy making in China’s capital markets can help to distinguish between two competing assessments of China’s political economy. One account sees China pursuing a gradualist strategy, slowly but steadily expanding the role of markets. Another account sees China trapped in a semi-marketized and increasingly corrupt development pattern. The implementation of the split share structure reform program provides evidence to support the gradualist account of incremental, but persistent, reform. Mary Comerford Cooper is an assistant professor in political science at the Ohio State University. Her recent research focuses on the politics of financial markets in China and Taiwan. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Comparative Politics Research Workshop/ Globalization, Institutions and Economic Security Workshop at Ohio State University in May 2007, and at the annual meeting of the Association for Chinese Political Studies in July 2007. I benefited greatly from the constructive and insightful comments of Bj?rn Alpermann, Melanie Barr, Jean-Marc Blanchard, Sarah Brooks, Joseph Fewsmith, Sujian Guo, Dane Imerman, Ryan Kennedy, Marcus Kurtz, Xiaoyu Pu, James Reilly, Alex Thompson, Daniel Verdier, Jianwei Wang, Alan Wiseman, Bin Yu, and an anonymous reviewer. I am also grateful for Lan Hu’s exceptional research assistance. All remaining flaws are purely my own.