Political accountability,fiscal conditions and local government performance—cross‐sectional evidence from Indonesia

Why are some local governments more successful than others in managing resources and delivering services? And even more vitally, how can malfunctioning governments be reformed so that they perform their responsibilities more effectively? This article contributes to our understanding of theses overarching questions by exploring the interactions between political institutions and public sector performance in the context of decentralisation and local governance. It shows–both theoretically and empirically–that performance outcomes are determined by the extent to which people can hold their governments accountable through political institutions. The basic hypothesis underlying this research is that political accountability, either by encouraging sanctions upon non‐compliant public agents or simply by reducing the informational gap regarding government activities, will create forceful incentives for elected officials and civil servants to reduce opportunistic behaviour and improve performance. Using a cross‐sectional regression the hypothesis is empirically tested against evidence from newly empowered local governments in Indonesia. The empirical findings broadly support our hypotheses. Improved public services on the ground, both in terms of quantity and quality, require informed and well functioning decision‐making processes that allocate resources to priority areas that meet the demand of the broader community. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Owning the issue agenda: Party strategies and vote choices in British elections

Explanations of party competition and vote choice are commonly based on the Downsian view of politics: parties maximise votes by adopting positions on policy dimensions. However, recent research suggests that British voters choose parties based on evaluations of competence rather than on ideological position. This paper proposes a theoretical account which combines elements of the spatial model with the ‘issue ownership’ approach. Whereas the issue ownership theory has focused mainly on party competition, this paper examines the validity of the model from the perspective of both parties and voters, by testing its application to recent British general elections. Our findings suggest that as parties have converged ideologically, competence considerations have become more important than ideological position in British elections.     

论新闻工作者的现代意识

为适应知识经济时代的要求 ,增强现代意识 ,提高现代素质 ,是新闻队伍建设的当务之急。新闻工作者应解放思想 ,更新观念 ,更新知识 ,努力创新     

西安非公有制经济参与西部大发展的思路

西部大开发、西安大发展应有新的思路。大力发展非公有制经济是推动西部大开发、西安大发展的一支非常重要的力量,它对国有经济的战略性调整有着十分重要的作用。放手并支持非公有制经济参与国有企业的改革,为其创造宽松的发展环境,无疑会极大地促进西安经济的良性发展。     

加强中俄科技合作 促进我国西部开发——推荐30项中俄产业科技合作项目

加强对俄高科技产业合作已成为发展对俄经贸的一项重要战略内容、在可预见的未来．它将在中俄经贸关系中居先导地位。在我国实施西部大开发战略中．开展中俄产业科技大合作．必将有力地促进两国经济及经贸关系的大发展。为此．本文介绍了中国西部地区与俄罗斯的产业技术合作的历史与现实基础．提出了西部地区拟重点规划的３０项中俄产业科技合作项目以及西部大开发战略中的中俄产业科技合作方式。     

略论知识经济与学报编辑工作

２１世纪是知识经济的世纪,知识经济强调产品和服务的数字化、网络化、智能化,它更是人性化的经济。知识经济给学报编辑工作带来诸多挑战,使之须在知识经济理念的指导下,在人才培养、学报内容、编辑手段和体制等方面进行思想和行动上的创新,以推动学报编辑工作的发展。     

大力推进经济结构的战略性调整

经济结构调整是经济发展的重要基础.社会主义市场经济体系的不断完善和经济全球化的趋势,要求我们加快经济结构调整步伐.我们要调整农业的种植品种结构,推进农业产业化进程.加快工业的改组改造,发展高新技术产业.加快城市化建设步伐,努力实施西部大开发战略,继续调整和完善所有制结构.     

中国民营经济的崛起与发展

我党对民营经济的发展经历了一个逐步深化的认识过程;民营经济的兴起是由于我国生产力状况和市场经济的内在要求决定的;党的十五大精神为今后民营经济发展提供了新的政策机遇.     

网络经济与网络政治

随着网络在全球的发展,网络经济和网络政治成为当前的一个热点.如何把握网络政治的脉搏、发展和利用网络政治成为当前需要迫切解决的问题.     

加强贵州民族法制建设促进民族地区经济发展

本文对贵州民族法制建设的发展情况作了简要的分析和总结,并指出其存在的不足,为健全和完善贵州民族法制,促进贵州民族地区经济的发展,提供参考性的建议.