‘Obligations of good faith’: on the difficulties of building US-style EU federalism

The sovereign debt crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the regulative and institutional arrangements of the European Monetary Union. A number of American scholars have highlighted that there are lessons on federalism for Europe to learn from the USA. But to what extent can the US model of fiscal federalism be transferred to the European context? Our general assumption is that besides the differences of the historically developed institutions, structures and economic concepts, it is the different logic that has and is driving the two integration processes that would impede such a transfer. Basing the argument on Oates’ theory of two generations of fiscal federalism, we see that the USA – building on a firm constitutional framework – provided for a crucial role of central government in macro-economic stabilization, whereas the European Union (EU) style of fiscal federalism remains contractual. Although transfers are inevitable, the EU shuns the logic of financial solidarity as economic divergencies cannot be harmoniously accommodated by a commitment to a common constitutional framework. As crisis management largely relies on an intergovernmental decision-making process, it enhances the power of creditor states vis-à-vis the debtor states and follows the logic of ‘surveillance and punishment’. The European emphasis is on controlling the moral hazard and the most likely outcome of the crisis will be differentiated integration.     

Assessing the European Union's engagement with transnational policy networks on conflict-prone natural resources

Transnational policy networks (TPNs) are attracting greater scholarly interest given their impact on the contemporary conduct of international affairs. While this has been a welcome development for International Relations scholars and provided some preliminary insights, there is a need for more scholarly studies of TPNs that delve into specific issue-areas on a comparative basis. The paper addresses the above need by providing analyses of the role of European Union (EU)-based actors – the European Commission, member states, civil society organizations, and firms – in regulatory frameworks on conflict-prone natural resources such as oil, diamonds, coltan, tin, tungsten, and gold. To that end, the paper draws upon participant observations, interviews with state and non-state actors, and access to primary documents in order to provide a comparative examination of EU-based state and non-state actors within the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and draft EU legislation that seeks to prevent the trade of conflict-prone minerals.     

NUMBERS

正$1.9 billion The net direct investment received by China’s financial institutions from overseas investors in the third quarter$100 million The number of loans that will be received by southwest China’s Guizhou Province from the World Bank over the next five years for rural development     

关于利用财政政策促进贵州地方金融发展的思考

在经济欠发达的贵州这类省份,有效运用财政政策能够对当地金融发展起到导向和促进作用,最终实现财政政策与金融的良性互动,为地方经济发展增添活力。     

桂林市服务业对财税的贡献研究

服务业已经成为桂林市的主要财源,在三次产业中对桂林市的财税贡献最大,桂林市应大力发展以旅游业为龙头的服务业。但桂林服务业在发展结构、政策支持等方面还存在许多问题,需要采取必要的发展措施和政策支持。     

供给侧改革背景下财政社会保障支出对就业影响的非对称效应 —— 基于面板门限回归模型的实证分析

国内经济增长速度下降以及人口红利逐步消减,调动生产要素的积极性是供给侧改革的核心[1],劳动是生产要素的一部分,因此合理发挥社会保障对就业的促进作用至关重要。以中国31个省1998-2014年的面板数据为样本,对东、中、西部地区进行分组回归,并以人均GDP为门槛变量,运用双重门槛模型,实证研究了财政社会保障支出对就业的非对称效应:经济发展水平越高,正向促进作用越明显。     

发达国家文化产业财政政策及对我国的启示

在文化发达国家,文化领域的繁荣无一不得益于政府的扶持,特别是政府财政政策的支持。经过长期的实践和发展,西方发达国家已经形成了一套完善、成熟的文化财政政策支持运作模式,其成功经验有助于我们进一步探索适合我国文化发展的财政政策,在后现代社会中占据有利位置,实现后现代经济的转型,即实现生产目标由无限制的开掘自然资源转向文化资源。     

财政权之法理探究

财政权在主体上与宪法主体相耦合,其行使是一种宪法权力行为,在实现程度上是对宪法财政调整机制有效性的一种测量,因此,财政权的形式表征是宪政法律秩序。财政权的内容实质既表现为宪法层面的契约性经济权力,也表现为行政法层面的行政性经济权力,还表现为经济法层面的调控性经济权力。财政权具有经济人权根源,国家对财政权的行使,在某种程度上也是在履行保障经济人权的宪法义务。财政权的真正主体应是全体人民,所以,经济人权是财政权的权源。     

英美议会账目监督与信息辅助系统比较分析

对政府财政收支账目的监督权是英美议会掌握的最重要的财政权力之一。本文通过对英美两国议会账目监督和信息辅助系统的比较研究,详细阐明英美两国议会通过向议会负责的独立的监督审计机构的运作,以公开化和制度化的方式代表纳税人行使对政府财政收支账目的监控过程。本文力图证明,议会建立完善的账目监督和信息辅助机制,是实现财政民主化的重要保证。     

场外衍生品市场监管制度改革:英国的经验与启示

2008年金融危机暴露出全球场外衍生品市场监管制度的缺陷;金融危机后,全球各个国家和经济体都加强了场外衍生品市场监管制度改革。英国是全球最大的场外衍生品交易中心,英国场外衍生品市场监管制度改革措施一定程度上代表或影响着全球场外衍生品市场监管制度改革的趋势。通过分析金融危机前英国场外衍生品市场监管制度的缺陷以及金融危机后英国场外衍生品市场监管制度改革的主要措施,在此基础上提出完善我国场外衍生品市场立法和监管制度的建议。