Funding Global Public Goods: The Dark Side of Multilateralism

The funding of global public goods, such as climate mitigation, presents a complex strategic problem. Potential recipients demand side payments for implementing projects that furnish global public goods, and donors can cooperate to provide the funding. We offer a game‐theoretic analysis of this problem. In our model, a recipient demands project funding. Donors can form a multilateral program to jointly fund the project. If no program is formed, bilateral funding remains a possibility. We find that donors rely on multilateralism if their preferences are relatively symmetric and domestic political constraints on funding are lax. In this case, the recipient secures large rents from project implementation. Thus, even donors with strong interests in global public good provision have incentives to oppose institutional arrangements that promote multilateral funding. These incentives have played an important role in multilateral negotiations on climate finance, especially in Cancun (2010) and Durban (2011).     

Innovation and growth in traditional agriculture of the lower Volta,Ghana

This article addresses the important question of whether foreign direct investment enhances economic growth and labour productivity in Mexico, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective. After briefly reviewing the Mexican experience with net FDI inflows during the 1990s, the article presents a simple endogenous growth model which explicitly incorporates any positive (negative) externalities generated by additions to the foreign capital stock. Using cointegration analysis, the article estimates a dynamic labour productivity function for the 1960-95 period that includes the impact of the growth rate in the stocks of both private and foreign capital (as opposed to the flows) and the economically active population (EAP) (rather than the rate of population growth). The error correction model (ECM) estimates suggest that increases in both private ad (lagged) foreign investment spending, as well as the rate of growth in exports, have a positive and economically significant effect on the rate of labour productivity growth. In addition, the results show that increases in the EAP have a negative and statistically significant effect on the rate of labour productivity growth, while changes in the government consumption variable have a negative but marginally significant impact. The error correction terms of the estimated models are negative and statistically significant, thus suggesting that deviations of actual labour productivity growth from its long-run value are corrected in subsequent periods. Finally the article generates historical simulations from the estimated ECM's and offers some policy recommendations to enhance the positive externalities associated with FDI inflows.     

Understanding European asylum cooperation under the Schengen/Dublin system: a public goods framework

Abstract

Recent developments in European Union (EU) asylum cooperation raise important questions about the nature of cooperation and the potential problems facing collective action in the realm of EU internal security. The emergence and the subsequent stability of the Schengen/Dublin system is especially puzzling, given the highly inequitable distribution of costs and benefits that this system entails among the participating states and begs the question as to why those states that are likely to face a disproportionate ‘burden’ under the system would have agreed to it. This article seeks to provide an alternative approach to answering this question by drawing on a public goods framework. We argue that a simple focus on free-riding and exploitation dynamics, as emphasized in the traditional collective action literature, falls short as an explanation and instead demonstrates how more recent theoretical contributions to the public goods literature can offer new insights into the origin and evolution in cooperation in this sensitive policy area.     

Water Privatization in Spain

Abstract

Water management in Spain is submitted to a non‐uniform geographical and seasonal distribution of water resources. The non‐uniform distribution of resources is worsened by the non‐uniform allocation of demand (mainly irrigation and urban). Because that, water supply, aquifers, and wetlands are driven to a high risk. Even though, there are examples of good water management, as is shown for the private industrial productivity of used water. Spain has a very long tradition in public water management (first water law in 1879) at different levels from ministry to municipalities, including users communities. A lot of these organisations are anchored in very old ways of doing, given private sector the opportunity to enter and grow up. A survey about it is presented. In the management of urban water, there are different organisations involved: central administration; autonomic, regional and metropolitan authorities; urban water suppliers and the sanitation authority. The recently approved changes in the former Spanish Water Law, limiting water rights and introducing water market, the new and expected Hydrological National Plan and the European Framework Directive, reinforce the opportunities of the private sector to enter, giving financial resources, technological advances and quick answers to new social concepts in water managerial procedures. We can observe how the Spanish administration uses private water suppliers' front desks to collect taxes and to supply capital to invest in infrastructures and water technology. The question that needs to be addressed is the nature and the impact of the privatisation process in Spain. The unrealistic water urban services price in Spain has been studied and it is presented and evaluated by regions, presenting a deficit to be covered in the future and been a significant gross value of the future business, which invite private sector to participate in. To give a general scope over the evolution of the roll played by the private and public sector, the case of Catalonia, the more evolved autonomous region of Spain in water management, is presented as an example of the future for the rest of the country.     

公共物品的多元化供给

传统公共物品理论认为 ,公共物品只能由政府提供 ,但这样的单一模式却导致了不断膨胀的财政支出 ,财政负担的加重又成为经济进一步发展的障碍。因此 ,探讨公共物品供给的多元化模式是必要的。基于此 ,本文分析了公共物品供给的权威型供给、商业型供给和自主型供给模式     

中国政府公共产品供给的国际比较研究

中国政府公共产品供给的国际比较研究具有重要的理论与实践意义。进行中国政府公共产品供给的国际比较研究 ,首先要建立科学全面的政府公共产品供给指标体系。根据政府公共产品供给指标体系 ,我们可以对中国政府公共产品供给的状况进行国际比较 ,由此评估中国政府公共产品的现状与不足之处 ,并提出科学的行政改革措施。中国的行政改革应该重在提高政府公共产品水平 ,使政府能以充足优质的公共服务满足社会公共需求。     

Contracts obtained by means of bribery: should they be void or valid?

This paper argues that contracts obtained by means of bribery should be valid. Nullity and voidability decrease the incentive for voluntary disclosure, assist corrupt actors with enforcing their bribe agreements and provide leeway for abuse. Thus, they run counter to effective anti-corruption. It is argued that other instruments are more suitable for preventing corruption.

承运人责任基础的新构建——评《鹿特丹规则》下承运人责任基础条款

《鹿特丹规则》有关承运人责任基础的规定,从性质上说,应当属于《汉堡规则》的完全过错责任制,从举证责任的分配分析,更接近于《海牙规则》,从结构的特点看,《鹿特丹规则》用举证责任的归属贯穿责任基础始终。其基本构成是:管货义务、除外风险和适航义务实行不同的举证责任分配,达到三个推定的目的,既体现过错责任制度,又平衡了船货双方的利益。     

解读《最高人民法院关于审理无正本提单交付货物案件适用法律若干问题的规定》

在中国海事审判中,无正本提单交付货物纠纷案件呈逐年上升趋势。由于《中华人民共和国海商法》关于提单以及提单项下货物交付的规定比较原则,造成审理无正本提单交付货物纠纷法律适用方面的困难。为解决海事审判中出现的法律适用方面问题,根据《中华人民共和国海商法》《中华人民共和国合同法》《中华人民共和国民法通则》等有关法律规定,总结中国海事审判经验,参照国际海运惯例、国际海事公约,借鉴国际海事司法的通常做法,最高人民法院民事审判第四庭起草了《最高人民法院关于审理无正本提单交付货物案件适用法律若干问题的规定》,并于2009年3月5日起施行。从规定适用的提单范围,承运人无单放货的责任,承运人无单放货是否可以享有责任限制,承运人提单审查的风险责任,承运人承担赔偿责任的范围,可否免除承运人的赔偿责任,可否免除承运人交付货物的责任,对记名提单持有人所享有权利的限制,免除承运人交货义务,无正本提单交付货物的连带责任,实际交付货物的托运人可否有索赔权,正本提单持有人的索赔权以及正本提单持有人索赔的诉讼时效等方面对规定加以阐述和说明。     

论民办高校的法人性质

我国现行法律既未明确概括民办高校的公法地位,对其私法地位的界定也与学说和制度不洽,致使民办高校的法人性质不明,对民办高校的发展多有不利。本法理论,民办高校应当既是一种民事法律主体,享有法人的经营权;同时也行使一定的教育行政管理职权,具有公法地位。倘若将民办高校的公法地位概括为依法律授权实施教学行政管理的教育机构,将其私法地位界定为社团法人、准公益法人,并特别地将其界定为民办学校法人,则上述问题将能得到相应的解决。