When aid builds states: party dominance and the effects of foreign aid on tax collection after civil war

ABSTRACT

Does foreign aid strengthen or weaken post-conflict states? We examine the effects of aid on tax collection after civil war, an important dimension of state effectiveness. While the literature emphasizes aid’s perverse effects, the relationship between aid dependence and the growth of tax collection is unclear. We argue that the impact of aid reflects its political utility for ruling elites in consolidating their authority after civil war. While dominant parties subvert tax strengthening reforms to solidify their political base, elites in more fractionalized settings rely on external political backing to manage internal challenges to their authority, and are more likely to comply with donor conditions. We test this argument through a Latent Curve Analysis of tax collection rate growth in post-civil war countries from 1978 to 2012. We find that aid is associated with slower growth in tax collection in dominant party settings, and more rapid tax growth in politically fractionalized settings. The findings highlight the need for attention to internal political dynamics to explain aid effectiveness after civil war, and point to opportunities to strengthen institutions in some post-conflict countries.     

拼租房屋的法律问题研究

目前,我国对于拼租房屋的法律规制仍处于空白阶段,这使得拼租房屋在实践当中产生了一系列纠纷并且无法可依、无章可循.拼租房屋与群租房屋概念的混淆也使得法律对于拼租房屋的规制产生了一定障碍.在明确拼租房屋中的法律关系后,对于拼租房屋的人均居住面积进行合理地规定是解决拼租房屋产生的纠纷之理性选择.     

Searching for Sanctuary: Government Power and the Location of Maritime Piracy

Recent systematic work on the incidence of maritime piracy shows the importance of various political, economic, and geographic correlates at the country level. Yet these correlates tell us little about the determinants of piracy location off states’ coasts, despite the fact that piracy is well known to cluster locally. Conceptualizing pirates as strategic actors who consider the risk of detection and capture, this article argues that states’ ability to project power over distance affects pirates’ decisions on where to organize and operate. As state capacity increases, piracy will locate farther away from government power centers, whereas piracy can flourish closer to state capitals in weak states that struggle to extend control over space. Using geocoded data from the International Maritime Bureau for the 1996–2013 period, results show that increases in state capacity are associated with greater median capital--piracy distances. These findings are robust to several changes in model specification. Our results have important implications for the study of piracy and crime.     

法院执行中的暴力抗法:1983-2009

暴力抗法是国家与社会的短兵相接。以司法能力为线索,从国家与社会两个层面,结合自上而下、自下而上两种视角对暴力抗法进行分析,可以发现,暴力抗法的产生主要源于国家能力的不足,体现在司法领域即司法能力的不足。治理暴力抗法的主要思路为加强司法能力建设,应从惩罚与激励两个方向入手,努力提升司法的强制能力、救济能力及合法性能力。     

基层领导干部依法行政能力现状与分析

通过对基层领导干部依法行政能力的调查和分析,概括了基层领导干部在依法行政方面的现状和特点,分析了基层领导干部在依法行政方面存在的问题,并对如何提高基层领导干部依法行政能力提出了若干对策。     

论地方实体的缔约能力问题

地方实体是否具有缔约能力问题,国际法学界存在争论。一种观点认为,地方实体的缔约行为仅是代表其所属国而为,地方实体并不具有独立的国际地位;另一种观点认为,地方实体在得到国内合法授权和其他国际法主体承认的情况下,就具有一定的国际人格,可在授权范围内参与条约缔结并成为缔约方。有关联邦国家的组成部分及中国特别行政区的缔约实践表明,地方实体可以具有缔约能力,但这种能力具有附属性和具体性,中央政府往往对地方实体的缔约行为进行一定程度的控制,地方实体缔约能力的具体程度和范围限于国内法的明确授权和国际社会的承认     

性自我防卫能力评定量表在非精神发育迟滞精神障碍患者中的适用性

目的探讨性自我防卫能力评定量表在非精神发育迟滞精神障碍患者中的适用性。方法收集性自我防卫能力评定案例87例,由经过培训的人员按照精神障碍者性自我防卫能力评定量表（CapacityofSexualSelf—defenseAssessmentScale,CSSAS）进行评分,并与专家鉴定意见进行比较。结果按照专家鉴定意见分组,有性自我防卫能力组、性自我防卫能力削弱组和无性自我防卫能力组的CSSAS评分分别为5．97±5．83、32．22±10．15、61．60±13．02,3组间的差异具有统计学意义（P〈O．01）。量表各条目得分与总分的相关系数为0．59～0．91,全量表的Cronbachd系数为0．96,拆半信度Cronbach理系数分别为0．94和0．91,两部分的相关系数为0．94。按照原始界值分,量表评定结果与专家鉴定意见的Kappa值为0．32（P〈0．01）,重新划定界值分后．两者的Kappa值为0．84（P〈0．01）。因子分析共提取2个因子,方差解释率分别为46．15％和28．93％,判别函数回代94．30％的样本被正确划分。结论CSSAS可应用于非精神发育迟滞精神障碍患者的性自我防卫能力评定,但应重新修订界值分和因子的权重。     

提升地方政府应对网络突发事件能力的思考

互联网的迅速发展导致了网络突发事件频发这一新的社会问题,也对地方政府管理者提出了,必须提升应对网络突发事件能力的要求.为了有效化解网络突发事件,地方政府需要贯彻公开透明、及时处理、法治与疏导为主的基本原则,并从完善立法、建立预警机制、加强业务培训和采用舆情监控技术手段等方面入手,切实提高地方政府应对网络突发事件的能力.     

Aid-Supported Public Service Reform and Capacity Development in Post-Communist Albania

The national politico-administrative context plays a significant role in the transfer of policy from international (aid) organizations to recipient countries. In this regard, this article attempts to identify and explain some of the intervening variables facilitating the relationship between two actors in the policy transfer process, donors and bureaucrats through the case of administrative reform and capacity development in post-communist Albania, focusing on recent years. Broadly and flexibly drawing on some of the theoretical underpinnings of Dolowitz and Marsh (1996 Dolowitz, D. and Marsh, D. 1996. Who learns what from whom: A review of the policy transfer literature. Political Studies, 44: 343–357. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar])policy transfer conceptual framework as well as the Europeanization theory, the article seeks to provide a greater understanding of the respective roles of those actors and the dynamics of their interaction. Thus, through an analysis of the national political and bureaucratic context, reasons for non-transfer, i.e., perceived failure of administrative reform, are presented in light of the politics of EU accession and conditionality mechanisms used to incentivize the process.     

Addressing the Challenges of Adaptation to Climate Change Policy: Integrating Public Administration and Public Policy Studies

With growing attention on formulating the “right” policies and programs to address climate change, the contribution that policy work will make in fostering adaptive capacity needs to be examined. Policy capacity is crucial to policy formulation and should be at the heart of climate mainstreaming. There are six hypotheses about the nature of climate-based policy work based on a survey conducted of Canadian federal and provincial government employees in the forestry, finance, infrastructure, and transportation sectors. To measure the simultaneous effects on perceived policy capacity, an Ordinary Least Squares regression was conducted. Among the key findings was that the increased demand for climate change science within an organization resulted in a decreased perception of policy capacity. Policy work was largely focused on procedure activities rather than on evaluation. The model found that networking was critically important for perceived policy capacity. Effective policy formulation will involve the participation of others normally not associated with traditional policy work. Evidence-based policy work illustrates that policy success can be achieved by improving the amount and type of information processed in public policy formulation.