Caribbean electricity restructuring: an assessment

This article assesses the privatisation of the electricity sector in two Caribbean countries, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, to determine if they have been successful and whether they have contributed benefits to the respective societies. Two general methods are applied in assessing the success of the divestments; attainment of governments' stated objectives and commonly used utility performance metrics together with social and customer focus indicators. The results indicate that the stated objectives were broadly achieved, and the privatisation and its attempts brought benefits to the consumers and the society in general. The short to medium term benefits were accrued through lower labour costs per unit of electricity, higher performance of plant and operations and business led decision‐making. Long‐term benefits are accrued through the reduction or elimination of electricity supply deficits. However, although the basic privatisations were successful, the absence of an adequate regulatory framework in one case may have reduced the quantum of benefits through failure to enforce continuous improvement in the privatised generation company, and reductions in worker rents in the public distribution company. Further, benefits were reduced by long divestment processes, accompanying strategic drift, opportunity costs from delayed sale proceeds and efficiency enhancement, and the costs to sustain interim operations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

党务公开：发展党内民主的理论和制度创新

党的十六届四中全会《决定》首次明确提出逐步推进党务公开,这是党的执政理念的新突破和提高党的执政能力的新举措。党务公开是发展党内民主的内在要求,贯穿于党内民主建设的各个方面和环节。推进党务公开,进一步扩大了党员和群众对党内事务的知情权、参与权、选择权和监督权,成为新时期发展党内民主的理论和制度创新。     

首都社会治安整体防控理论述评

首都社会治安整体防控理论的主要内容包括:整体防控的战略部署,四张网络的立体架构,防范控制的精确指导,专业力量的精确打击,队伍建设的全面推进.首都社会治安整体防控理论的科学价值在于:它建立了一套特定的概念体系,提出了一系列科学的判断,解答了新时期社会治安工作面临的系列难题.该理论对治安情况复杂地区的社会治安防控体系建设工作具有普遍的指导意义.     

试析中国政治体制改革的任务、经验及目标模式

中国现行政体是作为现代民主政体两种基本类型之一的人民民主政体.中国政治体制改革的基本任务是发展、完善现行人民民主政体,而非将其彻底否定,以自由民主政体取而代之.中国政治体制改革的一个成功经验,就是社会主义国家政治体制改革必须遵循坚持、发展、完善人民民主政体的原则.中国政治体制的目标模式应当是一种新型的人民民主政体,即以"坚持党的领导、人民当家作主和依法治国有机统一"为基本特征的新型人民民主政体.     

社会治理转型中的公共行政价值的回应与平衡

公共行政范式转换与社会治理范式变迁相生相伴,每一种社会治理范式实际上都在寻求回应与平衡效率、责任、公平等核心价值,只是在社会治理不同的发展阶段对某一种公共行政价值有所侧重而已.从公共行政价值多元交叉并存的视角来研究和把握社会治理的根本价值和目的,倡导效率、责任与公平等核心价值并重、统一、均衡的科学公共行政价值观,不仅有助于科学把握公共行政理论的发展规律和走向,破解工具性价值与目的性价值的悖论,也有助于社会治理持续均衡发展,从而更好地强化公共行政精神,实现公共利益.     

经济全球化与"体面劳动"

在经济全球化的背景下,世界各国劳资关系力量对比处于一种极端不平衡的状态之中.国际上关于"社会条款"和"体面劳动"的提议,或者是出于贸易保护的目的,或者是出于保障现实中被忽视和侵害的劳动者权益的目的,或者两者兼而有之.为适应加入WTO后的新形势,为尽早在中国实现"体面劳动",中国应该以国际劳工标准和"体面劳动"的内容要求为参照,完善劳动法律体系,建立起一套保障劳动者权益的法律机制.     

网络公民社会的成长及其对社会政治稳定的影响

作为公民社会在互联网时代发展的产物,网络公民社会的产生与成长是多方面因素共同作用的结果。目前我国的网络公民社会已由自在阶段过渡到自觉构建的自为阶段,社会影响力愈来愈大,对当前我国的政治安全与社会稳定带来了积极和消极两方面的影响。研究网络公民社会的成长历程,把握其发展趋势,深入分析其影响以便引导其与社会主义相适应,对于维护转型期的社会政治稳定具有深远的理论与现实意义。     

论农村社会保障法律制度构建中的政府责任——基于社会法视阈

农村社会保障法律关系错综复杂,政府、社会及农民在农村社会保障中既有相应的权力(利),也要履行一定的义务。行政法、经济法和社会法各自具有独特的法律价值和调整对象,本文分别基于这三个法域检视农村社会保障法律制度构建中的政府责任,考察农村社会保障法律制度构建中政府责任的越位和缺位,反思政府在构建农村社会保障法律制度中所发挥的主导和基础作用,提出在社会法视阈下政府应定位在承担法律制度构建、财政支撑和监督管理之责任。     

基于无缝隙政府的社会管理创新——以东莞为例

无缝隙政府所倡导的顾客导向、竞争导向和结果导向的治理理念为社会管理创新提供了新的视角。基于无缝隙政府理念,东莞在社会管理创新方面进行了有益的探索,以信息共享促进部门无缝隙衔接,优化业务流程促进无缝隙审批,以扁平化改革推动社区服务无缝隙对接。本文认为,未来的政府管理创新,应倡导无缝隙政府理念,以公众需求为导向提升公共服务的价值,以市场竞争为导向探索公共服务市场化供给,以结果为导向完善绩效评价体系。     

Distributional impact assessments and the record of the Coalition Government: the tyranny of numbers without interpretation

This paper reflects upon the gross discrepancies between the reassurances given in 2010 by the 2010-2015 UK Coalition Government that their budget and welfare cuts would fall ‘fairly’ across the income spectrum, and the reality of what had happened by the end of that government. It asks how the ‘distributional impact assessment’ provided with the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review could have been so wrong. In seeking to answer this question, types of systematic bias are considered along with a discussion of ‘marginality’ in assessments of impact. Drawing upon the role of ‘power’ in impact assessment, it traces the ways in which methodological assumptions can eclipse the real life effects of policies behind ‘the average’ as well as by the unfair selection of the ‘unit-of-analysis’.