Homicide and economic change: Recent analyses of the Joint Economic Committee report of 1984

The relation between recession and homicide is classic in the United States. This has been affirmed in the 1976 and 1984 Reports to the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the United States Congress. Recent analysis confirms the findings reported in both 1976 and 1984 and demonstrates that the influence of recession on homicide is greater than previously estimated. Differences in the 1976 and 1984 findings on homicide are related to differences in the hypotheses tested, as discussed in detail and highlighted in the 1984 report. JEC staff correctly interpreted and reported the 1984 findings. Reproduction of the 1984 homicide equation is straightforward, provided the same data and any of several standard estimation techniques are used. Evidence does not support any of Cook and Zarkin's claims in their critique of the 1984 homicide equation. The JEC report of 1984 used appropriate techniques in the attempt (a) to ensure that influences attributed to economic changes are not actually due to other social factors and (b) to minimize underspecification of models.     

Meeting the Offender Re-integration Challenge

In this article the author – member of the European Offender Employment Forum – gives his view on the problems of re-integrating ex-offenders. He describes the pan-European growth of the prison population, the vocational training offered in prisons and the demands of the labour market. He also discusses promising programmes and initiatives to counter the problems faced by ex-offenders. The 'solution' should be multi-dimensional, provide for continuity between pre-release and after-care and counter problems like employment, housing and finances. Governments must make it their business to ensure that the programmes they support are meeting the range of offenders' needs, are linking properly with the labour market and are providing continuity from sentence to community.     

六方会谈与东北亚安全合作机制

朝核危机的爆发使得构建东北亚安全机制再次成为各国关注的课题。为了解决朝核危机,相关各国先后举行了六轮六方会谈。六方会谈取得了一些进展,也推动了东北亚安全机制的建设,但是作为一个问题机制而存在的六方会谈,不仅受限于朝鲜半岛局势的发展,还深深受限于中美关系的发展和中日之间的结构性矛盾。因此,即使最终能够成功地解决朝核问题,东北亚安全合作机制的建立还将有待于进一步努力。     

从结构化视角看中国“公务员热”

"公务员热"是一个倍受政府、社会和学者关注的现实问题。文章借助结构化理论,从社会结构和个体行动者两方面剖析"公务员热",认为该现象的产生是作为国家公务员制度的结构与作为公务员报考者的主体相互作用的结果,这一过程既受到当前中国社会结构的制约和使然,又形塑为社会发展中新的结构要素,进而得出"公务员热"再结构化的启示。     

Fair treatment,fair play? The relationship between fair treatment perceptions,political trust and compliant and cooperative attitudes cross-nationally

Obtaining citizens’ voluntary compliance with political decisions is a fundamental democratic challenge. Fair treatment by public officials plays a key role in theoretical and empirical studies on citizens’ compliance and cooperation. Yet it is unclear whether citizens within different societies react to (un)fair treatment in the same way. Using multilevel structural equation modelling and multilevel regression analysis on the European Social Survey 2010–2 (N = 52,458), this article shows that perceptions of fair treatment by police officers are associated with higher levels of trust in political institutions and in turn stronger compliant and cooperative attitudes of citizens in 27 countries. Yet the link between perceptions of unfair treatment and institutional trust is stronger in countries in which fair behaviour is more prevalent. While fair treatment is often considered to be a universal norm affecting citizens in a uniform way, this article sheds light on important cross-national variations.     

和谐社会视域下失业保障制度的完善路径研究

完善的失业保障制度是构建和谐社会的题中应有之意。但我国的失业保障供给不足，失业保险参保人群和失业人群错位，预防失业与促进就业功能缺失，执行难度和监管压力逐步增加。面对失业保障面临的挑战，我们要探索适应我国就业方式和就业环境的失业保障体系，建立以促进就业为导向的多层次失业保障体系，规范和完善失业保险的管理体制和监管制度。只有这样，才能应对我国面临的就业压力，消除就业格局中的不和谐因素，构建社会主义和谐社会。     

吉林省战略性新兴产业发展问题研究

从当前国际与国内的发展趋势来看,吉林省发展战略性新兴产业是转变经济发展方式、进行结构调整的必然选择。吉林省战略性新兴产业已初具规模和特色,已经拥有了一批龙头企业,掌握了一批先进技术,研制开发出了一批高新产品。但吉林省发展战略性新兴产业依然存在着很多制约因素,吉林省应从推动产业集聚式发展,推进自主创新,培育重点企业,加强组织管理,营造良好发展环境等方面出发,充分利用国际国内两个市场、两种资源,做大优势、做强特色,力争使吉林省战略性新兴产业在若干领域跻身国内乃至世界的前列。     

关于我国推动区域协调发展中确保粮食安全的思考

在推动区域协调发展和推进农业现代化的条件下确保国家粮食安全，要立足于未来较长时期我国粮食供求偏紧、结构性矛盾突出的总体格局，提高粮食综合生产能力和农民种粮积极性，不断改进和完善粮补政策，合理利用国际市场调节国内粮食需求，有效控制粮食进口规模。     

Hurricane Mitch, Alemán, and Other Disasters for Women in Nicaragua

Hurricane Mitch caused unprecedented destruction when it swept through Nicaragua and Honduras in October 1998. Official reports estimated that 3,332 were reported killed or missing and an estimated $1.5 billion damages were caused in Nicaragua alone. Though Mitch did not cause Nicaragua's impoverishment, the severity of its destruction revealed a deeper crisis that has been troubling Nicaragua's economy for over a decade—an economic crisis aggravated by heavy external debts and structural adjustment policies. Using feminist analysis, the case of Nicaragua is explored to consider the effects of natural disasters from a global perspective and to rethink the long-term merits of structural adjustment and foreign aid.     

马克思利润平均化理论与我国经济结构调整

马克思的利润平均化理论揭示的资本、劳动力等生产要素在不同产业或部门之间流动和重组的规律,对于认识当前我国的经济结构调整和产业重组有重要启示.我国当前正处在经济转轨时期,推动结构调整和产业重组的首要任务是培育和催化资本流动和重组的必要条件,突破制约经济结构调整和产业重组的体制性障碍.