Service Quality Effects of Incentive Regulation on Access Service in Telecommunications in the United States

Incentive regulation in the form of price caps was adopted for interstate access service in 1991 as a way to provide local exchange carriers with an incentive to improve their productive efficiency. An issue that has arisen with the adoption of price cap regulation is whether deterioration in service quality for interstate access service has been an unintended consequence. The analysis in this paper uses several different measures of service quality, including the average installation interval, the percent of commitments met, total trouble reports, and the average repair interval for both switched access service and special access service, to investigate empirically whether there has been a decline in service quality between 1991 and 2000. The results are conclusive. Overall service quality has fallen. To rectify the situation, a proposal is offered to adjust the price cap index to penalize LECs who fail to provide an acceptable level of aggregate service quality.     

Delay reduction in the federal courts: Rule 50(b) and the Federal Speedy Trial Act of 1974

During the 1970s, 94 federal district courts implemented two major policy initiatives, Rule 50(b) of theFederal Rules of Criminal Procedure and the Federal Speedy Trial Act, that were designed in Washington to combat delay in the processing of federal criminal cases. Both of these initiatives established a national priority of delay reduction in criminal cases, encouraged local district court planning for delay reduction; established reporting procedures for monitoring local compliance, and provided for the determination of quantitative goals for the time to disposition of criminal cases. Neither initiative mandated specific activities for delay reduction; this determination was left to the discretion of local federal district courts. This research examines the effectiveness of Rule 50(b) and the Speedy Trial Act by constructing a 150-month time series of three measures of case processing time. A multiple-intervention time-series model found that both of these initiatives contributed to the dramatic reduction in the time to disposition in federal criminal cases. These effects persisted after controls for changes in case characteristics and judicial resources were introduced.Points of view expressed in this research are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of Justice.     

Protection and Dignity in Johannesburg: Shortcomings of South Africa's Urban Refugee Policy

Since the end of apartheid, South African cities have becomedestinations for refugees and asylum seekers from across Africa.In line with its constitutional commitments to human rightsand dignity, South Africa has enacted a refugee policy intendedto maximize freedom and protection by promoting refugees' temporaryintegration into local communities. In doing so, the law guaranteesfreedom of movement, access to many social services, and rightsto compete in labour and housing markets. This article arguesthat because refugees and asylum seekers are effectively unableto convert these legal entitlements into effective protection,South Africa has failed to meet its domestic and internationalobligations. This argument draws particular attention to institutionalfailures in determining refugee status and issuing recognizableidentity documents; denial of essential social services; andabuse at the hands of law enforcement agents. It concludes bysuggesting a positive obligation for the state to counter thefull range of obstacles that prevent asylum seekers and refugeesfrom securing effective protection.     

地方政府职能与公共财政

地方政府有效地履行政府职能可以纠正市场失灵，促进地方经济的发展。地方财政是地方政府履行政府职能的经济基础。当前，我国地方财政还存在一些与市场经济体制及国际惯例不尽适应的问题，制约了地方政府正常地履行其职能。这需要通过深化财税体制改革，建立公共财政体制来解决。     

欠发达地区农村基层党组织建设的困境与出路

必须以"三个代表"重要思想为指导,以战略眼光和全局性思维审视当前农村党建工作中的薄弱环节,找准病症的引发根源,统筹兼顾,创新农村基层党组织的设置方式和工作方式,不断增强党组织的凝聚力和战斗力.     

论央地法律关系中的宪法主体及其利益博弈

中央与地方之间的法律关系,是宪法学上的一个基本命题,受到多方宪法主体的影响。由于宪法基础的缺失,我国央地关系的协调呈现出了较多的非理性色彩。为此,就必须透过多方宪法主体之间的博弈与互动,理解和把握央地法律关系的实质和全貌,在宪政层面上实现央地间的规范性分权,构建起制度化的公平、公正的利益博弈机制。     

An Assessment of the Impact that Participation in Local Climate Networks Has on Cities’ Implementation of Climate,Energy, and Transportation Policies

Much of the attention surrounding local climate protection in the United States is associated with two networks: ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability's Cities for Climate Protection and the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement (MCPA). However, the impact of these networks on member‐city actions has not been clearly established. This paper examines whether, and to what extent, participation in climate networks leads to the implementation of greenhouse gas (GHG)‐reducing policies, above and beyond what would have been done in their absence. To account for the possibility that cities which join climate networks are systematically different from those that do not and control for self‐selection induced bias, three statistical techniques—propensity score matching, Heckman full information maximum likelihood, and instrumental variables—are employed to estimate the “treatment effect” of participation. Results suggest that impact is network specific: ICLEI membership causes small to moderate increases in cities’ GHG‐relevant activity, whereas the MCPA has no such effect. The characteristics of each network are evaluated in light of these findings.     

社会组织管理体制:地方政府的创新实践

本文从中央与地方这一空间维度审视地方政府创新实践及其对我国社会组织管理体制改革的推动作用。在当前中央社会组织管理体制改革的进展背后,存在一轮如火如荼、方兴未艾的地方政府创新实践,这些地方实践各有特色,并经过相互竞争和学习,在管理目的、理念、主体等方面形成一些共同取向。对创新的动力进行分析发现,各地的创新探索既非社会需求自下而上的压力驱动,亦非源自中央自上而下的指示和动员,而是地方党政领导思想解放、主动创新的结果。本文认为地方创新有力地推动了中央层次的社会组织管理体制改革进程,具体而言有三种机制,即改革预期包围、改革意志传递和改革备选政策供给。     

投融资平台公司信用风险与地方政府信用失序——以法律为视角

法律冲突与制度扭曲环境下的投融资平台公司,从诞生之日起即具有结构性信用风险,而平台公司的信用风险与地方政府的信用具有相关性,其所具有的传导效应构成地方政府信用风险、宏观经济结构调整风险、土地政策调整风险、银行系统风险、财政风险这样一条具有多米诺骨牌效应的信用风险链并或将成为推手。加强地方政府的信用治理,从财政体制上、法律制度上规范地方政府信用秩序是防范平台公司信用风险的根本手段。     

法院网络发言人的定位与价值走向

法院网络发言人作为法院与网民沟通的＂媒介与桥梁＂,不仅要把自己与法院、网民的关系定位为＂一仆二主＂的服务关系,还要主动提高认识和把握社情民意的能力,切实发挥舆论＂航向标＂作用,正确引领涉法舆情的发展方向。