Municipal Mergers in New Zealand: An Empirical Analysis of the Proposed Amalgamation of Hawke’s Bay Councils

Local government policymakers across the developed world have frequently employed municipal amalgamation to improve the operation of local councils, and New Zealand is no exception. This paper empirically examines claims made in Potential Costs and Savings of Local Government Reform in Hawke’s Bay that the merger of the five local authorities in the Hawke’s Bay Region of New Zealand would generate significant cost-savings. We empirically test for the existence of scale economies in a single merged Hawke’s Bay council and find that no cost-savings can be expected. This removes a key argument for a forced Hawke’s Bay amalgamation.     

Does Size Still Matter? An Empirical Analysis of the Effectiveness of Victorian Local Authorities

Efficiency approaches to the question of whether population size matters to optimal local government have proved largely inconclusive. However, recent exploratory empirical work employing an effectiveness approach – as proxied by citizen satisfaction survey data – offers a promising way forward. The present paper seeks to build upon an earlier cross-sectional analysis of Victorian local government by employing longitudinal data over a three-year period – 2008 to 2010 – for Victorian local authorities. The greater depth of data confirmed the positive associations with population density but suggests that negative linear relationships dominate over parabolic associations for population size. This result underlines the need for the collection of more local government citizen satisfaction data by Australian local government systems, given its potentially fruitful application in tackling contentious questions in contemporary local government policy debates.     

司法解释场域的“央地矛盾”及其纾解——以“地方释法”为中心的分析

在以统一法制为目标的法律解释体制下,最高司法机关供给的司法解释资源无法满足地方司法机关的释法需求,构成了司法解释场域的“央地矛盾”.为了缓解供需矛盾,地方司法机关开始自发转向“地方释法”,试图以发布地方释法文件的方式实现司法治理效果.中央虽对“地方释法”持禁止态度,但制定的相关规制规范却过于宽松,未能起到应有的限制作用...     

地方政府债务风险的宪法学释析

地方政府债务风险的处理应当遵循宪法逻辑,即政府与公民是一种信托关系,只要公民权利的需求仍在,政府就没有破产的理由。因此,地方政府破产只是财政破产但行政不破产。在地方政府破产重整程序中,地方政府提供的保障民生的基本公共服务优先于地方债的债权,因为前者保护的是大多数人的基本生存权。诉诸民主体制才能从源头上控制政府的发债权进...     

亚洲债券基金的推出背景、影响及发展方向

以银行信贷为主的金融体系使东亚地区面临两大问题,即巨大的金融风险和盈余资金利用效率低下,这也是亚洲金融危机中有关各方脆弱表现的直接原因。为了解决这两个问题或缓解其造成的危害,东亚各国(地区)纷纷提出方案,亚洲债券基金(ABF)作为一个阶段性成果,目前已经推出两期,分别为ABF1和ABF2。虽然亚洲债券基金在推动亚洲债券市场发展方面有一定的积极影响,但是其局限性也很明显,未来的发展方向主要是投资对象和投资主体的多元化。     

Parental Alienation in U.S. Courts, 1985 to 2018

Courts have been dealing with alienating behaviors in high conflict family litigation for hundreds of years. Experts in the behavioral sciences have been writing about mothers and fathers manipulating their children to disparage the other parent for more than seventy years. But in the last two decades some social scientists and legal professionals have questioned the legitimacy of parental alienation as a concept and its admissibility in child abuse and child custody litigation. This study was designed to examine the extent to which courts in the United States have found the concept of parental alienation material, probative, relevant and admissible. Thirty‐four years of cases were found with a WESTLAW query and analyzed. Cases were selected for study only if the record reflected that a judge or an independent expert found the concept of parental alienation to be of value in the litigation. Results illustrate increasing awareness of the concept and document its admissibility in every one of the United States. The numbers, sex of the alienating parent and prevalence of significant custody changes are discussed. Limitations inherent in this form of quantitative analysis are also discussed with recommendations for future research.     

孝女与虎患--以明清长三角地区方志记载为中心的讨论

明清时期长三角地区方志中的遇虎孝女给人以女德化身的印象。然而细细考量,可以发现虽然国家话语体系认同此孝,但因为统治阶层(男性)对典范女性的塑成寄予更多期待,女孝的边界亦随之延展。本文通过对相关文献的钩沉与梳理,着重分析女性遇虎行孝的数量、类型及对象,进而对这一特殊女孝文本所隐涵的教化目的与性别含义进行探讨。文章指出,兼具凶猛和灵性的"山兽之君"不过是检验女德的一剂良方,以身代亲的行为不仅被着上了道德和功利的双重色彩,而且被用来移孝作忠、移孝守节甚至是移孝替孝,女性只能也必须依赖自己在家庭中所扮演的角色获得更多的道德肯定。     

Exploring the Effects of North–South and South–South Research Collaboration in Emerging Economies,the Colombian Case

International research collaboration (IRC) is associated with both positive and negative effects on the performance of research in emerging economies. While some authors claim that North–South collaborations improve scientific quality and visibility for Southern countries, others claim that it may entail the reorientation of research to comply with Northern agendas. South–South collaborations are thought to increase the focus on local affairs, therefore leading to a relatively small number of scientific international publications appearing in “high quality” journals. Research on the impact of IRC beyond publications in international journals has been neglected despite the importance of other products in knowledge creation. This research uses a broad range of scientific outputs to empirically assess such assumptions and explore the outcomes of IRC in Colombia. Results from multivariate regressions and nonparametric analyses show that, contrary to common assumptions, Colombian research teams collaborating with partners from the global South report higher scientific production, while those collaborating with Northern countries seem to contribute to local knowledge the most.     

Brexit and the British Constitution: Reflections on the Last Three years and the Next Fifty

The decision to leave the EU provoked the biggest constitutional crisis of recent British history. The referendum—a device for circumventing the parliamentary process—was followed by conflict between a minority government and a majority of MPs unwilling to leave the EU without satisfactory alternative arrangements. The courts, drawn into this conflict, upheld conventions that sustain the authority of Parliament and restrain the despotic power of ministers. The reaction of members of the current government was to take disreputable and anti-democratic positions against both the Speaker of the House of Commons and the courts. They now have a sufficient majority in Parliament to resume adherence to constitutional conventions and restore a political culture of debate and tolerance, but they show little sign of doing so, and there is a risk that they will do irreparable damage to the political culture that underpins democracy.     

当前我国地方政府发行公债的必要性分析——基于政府职能、现实财政收支和代际公平的视角

开放并加强地方政府发债管理是学界多年所关注的改革大计,随着财政部起草的有关加强地方政府债务管理的方案已提交国务院待批,我国允许地方政府发行公债将是大势所趋.从政府职能、现实财政收支和代际公平三个视角对我国地方政府发行公债的必要性进行分析不难发现,地方政府职能重要性的进一步凸显、现行的财政体制改革对于匹配财力与事权效应的不显著、以及基础设施建设中存在的"代际不公平"的问题,都对我国地方政府发行公债提出了紧急而迫切的要求.