ECONOMY

正Fiscal Reform China will endeavor to build a comprehensive,transparent and efficient fiscal and tax system by strengthening reforms in the coming years,the central leadership of the Communist Party of China(CPC)said on June 30.     

Centralizing treasury management in China: The rationale of the central reformers

The Chinese central government, spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance, launched a bold reform of the treasury management system in 2001, centralizing the disbursement of budgetary funds. This article analyzes the rationale of institutional reform from the perspective of the central reformers. Traditionally, governmental bank accounts in China were fragmented between and within levels of government, hindering budget implementation and intergovernmental transfers, as well as fomenting corruption. The centerpiece of China's treasury reform is the establishment of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), which serves to both strengthen expenditure controls and improve cash management. However, while the treasury reform promises to make significant strides in improving fiscal control and countering the misuse of public funds, its implementation remains imperfect and incomplete. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

overhauling The Budget system

正A revised budget law aims to address the most worrying loopholesin China’s public fund managemenChina’s top legislature has adopted a long-awaited amendment to the Budget Lawwhich will put more stringent legal con-straints on government income and spendingThe move,according to fiscal scholars,is set to     

NUMBERS

正1.5% The year-on-year contraction of China’s power consumption in August,which is in stark contrast to the3-percent rise recorded in July and the 5.9-percent increase in June 6.1% The year-on-year growth rate of China’s fiscal revenue in August,which slowed from the6.9-percent rise seen in July     

Heretical Conversations with Continental Philosophy: Jan Patočka, Central Europe and Global Politics

This article argues that the contributions of the Czech philosopher, Jan Patočka, have been overlooked in the study of International Relations (IR), and more generally international political theory. Attention here is drawn to the many distinctive ideas particular to Patočkian philosophy, such as the solidarity of the shaken and the care of the soul, which combine accounts of a Central European philosophy and dissident political reactions to totalitarian rule. The legacy of Patočka's work frames the latter part of the article, which examines Central European identity and 'samizdat' as often neglected reference points in IR. The article concludes by drawing these themes together in an account of rupture, inspired by the solidarity of the shaken and care for the soul.     

努力建设一支高素质的统战干部队伍

在新世纪新阶段,要按照"学习型、思考型、民主型、创新型、实干型"干部的标准,努力建设一支高素质的统战干部队伍,把"五型"标准作为对统战干部的基本要求落实到工作中去.     

在我国实施财政政策和货币政策应注意的几个问题

西方国家宏观经济调控的主要手段是财政政策和货币政策 ,借鉴其实施这两种政策的实践经验 ,结合我国国情 ,我国在制定和实施政策时须注意以下几个方面 :一、从长期和战略的角度看 ,应坚持“中性”的货币政策和财政政策。二、从短期来看 ,应采取相机抉择的财政和货币政策。三、货币政策和财政政策是一把双刃剑 ,既可能优化资源配置 ,又可能强化所有制结构和产业结构的扭曲 ,降低资源配置效率。四、把需求管理政策与人力政策相配合方能有效治理我国的失业问题。     

公共财政支出结构失衡对区域经济协调增长的影响研究

关于公共财政支出结构失衡对区域经济协调增长影响的研究表明,只有当各区域生产性支出与非生产支出相等时,各区域之间的经济增长速度才能达到最大化。在构建衡量公共财政支出结构失衡指标的基础上,通过指数计算,可以发现中部地区的财政支出结构失衡程度最严重,其次是东部,最后是西部。再运用该指数并结合运用1994年—2007年的面板数据,采用系统广义矩两步法对公共财政支出结构失衡与区域经济协调增长之间的关系进行实证分析,结果表明,东部的财政支出结构失衡反而能够促进经济的增长,中部和西部地区的财政支出结构失衡对经济增长并没有明显的作用。因此,我国地方政府财政支出结构需要得到进一步改善,才能促进区域之间经济的均衡增长。     

现代财政制度的法学审思

十八届三中全会提出建立“现代财政制度”,这是建立健全现代国家治理机制、实现长治久安的制度保障.传统财政制度重国家本位轻人民本位、重管理轻治理、重结果导向轻过程导向.而现代财政制度具有法治性、回应性、均衡性和公共性的品格,彰显对公共财产权的规范,进而实现对公共财产、私人财产的双重保障;其法律构造内含宪法规范、公共财产规范、分配规范和宏观调控规范四个维度.构建现代财政制度,应以点带面、循序渐进,现阶段应将改进预算制度、完善税收立法和建立事权与支出责任相适应的财政分权模式作为三大抓手.     

THE SAUDI ARABIAN BUDGETING SYSTEM: AN INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT

This article describes and evaluates the budgetary institutions in Saudi Arabia. The primary sources of information for this study are publications from the Saudi Ministry of Finance and a survey implemented to investigate the different aspects of budget formulation and execution. We find that the Saudi budget experiences difficulties associated with incremental annual line‐item budgeting systems. Although capital expenditures in the education and health sectors are guided by five‐year plans developed by the Ministry of Planning, the rest of the budget preparation procedure is mainly driven by requests from government agencies to increase spending (i.e. a bottom‐up approach), instead of being based on an early determination of the macroeconomic constraints and the acceptable level of deficit (i.e. a top‐down approach). The result is an exacerbation of tragedy of the commons problems associated with information asymmetry and conflict‐avoidance strategies. We discuss possible reasons for this finding and offer budgetary reform proposals. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.