Striking a pose: Transparency and position taking in the Council of the European Union

In recent years, transparency (or the lack thereof) has become a central concern of the European Union and its attempts to increase the democratic legitimacy of the legislative decision‐making process. The claim regularly made is that increasing transparency increases the potential for holding decision makers to account. This study investigates the manner in which transparency in the decision‐making process affects the policy positions taken by negotiators at the outset of negotiations. The findings presented suggest that increasing transparency tends to lead to polarisation of negotiations, with negotiators taking more extreme positions when they know that their positions can be observed by outside parties. The implication of this result is that advocates of transparency should be aware that there is an inherent trade‐off between increasing transparency, on the one hand, and increasing the incentives to grandstand during negotiations, on the other.     

The debate on a regional arms register in Southeast Asia

Abstract

ASEAN member states are no longer opposed in principle to military information sharing and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) is now actively considering ideas for new confidence‐building measures in this area. The first specific transparency measure supported by ARF was the UN Register of Conventional Arms, whose success in the region has been a result, at least in part, of its flexibility. Because of the limited scope of the UN Register, debate has continued on the possibility of a regional Register. As this debate has proceeded, however, it has become apparent that the creation of such a Register will require a number of complex and difficult issues to be resolved. What additional data should such a Register include? Who should be responsible for operating such a Register? Which countries should be included? Because of these difficulties, the prospects of a regional Register being established in the near future are rather slender. But, as they become more comfortable with the concept of transparency, there is still considerable scope for ARF members to do more to adopt regional ‘best practice’ in their replies to the main UN Register. The Register formula of framework plus flexibility could also be used as a model for the development of parallel transparency arrangements in areas other than arms transfers. The experience of the Register debate suggest that the development of concrete confidence‐building measures in the ARF region is likely to be a gradual process. Progress is possible, but is unlikely to transform levels of national openness on military affairs overnight. The main obstacles to increased transparency may prove to be domestic and political rather than international and military: demonstrating once again the way in which the confidence‐building agenda is linked to broader debates about the necessary political foundations of a secure regional order.     

Model for Management of Public Funds Transfers in SICONV

This article consolidates the efforts of the Information Systems Research Group for the construction of a reference model for the management of agreements celebrated based on the Brazilian federal government＇s voluntary funds transfers. It presents the Reference Model for covenants＇ processes, which is the product of the third phase of this research project. This model will be used as reference in the fourth phase of this project, when it will be applied to a sample of covenants. Experience gained in this step will allow the consolidation of the Reference Model. An important contribution of this work is to facilitate the understanding of proposals, so processes analyzed can be improved and redesigned. Processes information, from organization to details of each activity, can then be disseminated to all interested parties. Results here presented are not final. They will serve as input to the next stage of the project, which is the Assessment of the Reference Model by selected Stadual and municipal governments. Each entity will contribute with its own perspective to improving the idealized model.     

Aspectos políticos de la dependencia financiera en los municipios mexicanos1

Specialized literature has analyzed the impact of changes to fiscal institutions such as The National System of Fiscal Coordination (1980) and the constitutional reforms of article 115 (1983 and 1999) on the degree of financial dependence of local (municipal) governments and the governmental functioning. Political environment as well, affects to an important extent such functioning. Indeed, previous studies in the field of political economy point to the effects of political environment and fiscal institutions -such as public spending and debt- on national and sub-national governments. Based on four variables -political affiliation of the mayor, political affiliation of the governor, composition of local congresses and celebration of local elections-, the authors build indicators of “political confluence” at the municipal level. They study the effect that the degree of political unification at the municipal level has on the financial dependence with respect to the State government, and also to the local Congress. In their analysis, the authors also consider the political affiliation of the mayor and the local electoral cycle. Through its analytical focus and main empirical findings, this article contributes to broadening the scope of empirical studies of municipal financial dependence. Simultaneously, it adds to existing literature in the field of political economy that accounts for public finances at the sub-national level     

经营者集中反垄断执法的透明度——基础、功能与限制

经营者集中反垄断执法的透明度是全球反垄断领域的重要关切,也是政府治理能力的重要体现,更是当事人和社会公众知情权与监督权的可靠保障。良好适中的透明度是各国和地区经营者集中反垄断执法的不懈追求。本文界定了经营者集中反垄断执法透明度的基本内涵,探讨了其理论基础,分析了其正向功能和负向功能。并指出应对其进行必要的限制。     

我国财税法治建设的破局之路——困境与路径之审思

环顾经济、政治现代化的时代背景,财税法治建设是新时期改革进路中的重要环节,也是开创新局面的有效关口。面对着此群体利益与彼群体利益、稳定性与变革性、代议制民主与行政高效率等多重矛盾,难免使我们对前路进行再度审思。要突破僵局,亟需从摆正财税法的性质定位、调整立法主体的结构、加快立法或修法的进度、理顺立法与改革的关系等角度切入,通过整体、全面的路径构建,强化全国人大的税收同意权和预算审批权,进而达致财税法律体系完善、法治观念融贯、法权配置协调的良法善治目标。     

Adjustments in municipal fiscal crises. Are they different according to the gender of the mayor?

The literature on gender has attempted to explain the differences between the public outcome depending on whether the ruler is male or female, on the basis that men and women have different preferences. This scientific research has not yet examined issues related to fiscal crises, and our research aims to fill this gap. In a context of generalised economic crisis, our research examines if the gender of the mayor affected the fiscal adjustment policies carried out by municipalities with fiscal deficits in the Spanish region of Galicia. Our paper suggests that although gender of the mayor does not seem to have affected the level of adjustment in total current expenditure, it does seem to have influenced the way in which social and non-social spending were adjusted. Our study also highlights that female mayors are associated with lower levels of tax revenues and this could slow the adjustment processes of fiscal imbalances.     

Understanding the Accumulation of Local Government Savings: A Dynamic Analysis

Government savings can be a conundrum that perplexes taxpayers. Excessive savings indicate that taxpayers either pay unnecessarily high taxes, or they do not receive adequate returns on services. Insufficient savings leave government officials little financial flexibility. The Great Recession and its aftermath have renewed interest in understanding government savings. This article uses dynamic panel modeling to analyze the determinants of municipal discretionary savings. Results show that risk factors are the primary drivers of municipal savings, and high-risk factors have greater impact on the amount of savings. This finding confirms organization theory’s view of savings as a crucial buffer against risk.     

Reversing Course: Fiscal Policy and Economic Interdependence

In response to the 2008 financial crisis, countries throughout the developed world widely embraced fiscal stimulus policies. But about one year later, with their economies still weak, a majority of these countries reversed course and adopted austerity measures, despite having the ability to maintain fiscal expansions. With little variation in domestic interests, institutions, or political ideologies over this short time period, theories of budgetary politics struggle to explain this policy shift. This shortcoming may be the result of the literature generally ignoring the international effects of fiscal policy. I argue that policymakers strategically consider their trade partners’ likely fiscal policies before setting domestic fiscal policy. If incumbents expect their major trade partners to enact fiscal expansions, they are more likely to pass expansionary policies of their own. But when incumbents expect their counterparts to enact contractionary policies, they are less likely to fund expansionary policies, as these policies may boost foreign economies with suppressed effects at home. I test this argument using spatial econometrics and a data set of OECD countries from 1998 to 2015. The evidence suggests that shifting expectations of fiscal policies abroad explains much of the move from stimulus to austerity over the short time span.