Wealth Taxes: Stories, Metaphors and Public Attitudes

Wealth taxes are currently high on the policy agenda in Britain. These taxes will not be political sustainable without public support. However, evidence exists that indicates substantial public opposition to wealth taxes. For example, inheritance tax appears to provoke hostility among the public. Some observers have suggested that the way that wealth taxes are presented - particularly using stories and narratives - could enhance public support. This paper summarises focus group evidence on this suggestion. I report that using narratives and stories can have an impact, although this should not be overstated and much depends on how the narratives are shaped.     

Ordering Disorder – On the Perplexities of the Partnership Literature

The literature on public‐private partnerships (PPP) has proliferated in recent years. However, confusion about the actual meaning of PPP still abounds. As a consequence, contradicting findings and statements about PPP flourish in the literature. This article reviews the literature, and argues that there are different streams of PPP research which operate with qualitatively different notions of the PPP concept. Accordingly the literature is divided into four different PPP ‘approaches’. By doing so the article offers some clarification concerning an increasingly complex concept. The article concludes that an authoritative definition of PPP – one that can encompass all the different variations of the concept currently in use – is not logically possible.     

Political accountability,fiscal conditions and local government performance—cross‐sectional evidence from Indonesia

Why are some local governments more successful than others in managing resources and delivering services? And even more vitally, how can malfunctioning governments be reformed so that they perform their responsibilities more effectively? This article contributes to our understanding of theses overarching questions by exploring the interactions between political institutions and public sector performance in the context of decentralisation and local governance. It shows–both theoretically and empirically–that performance outcomes are determined by the extent to which people can hold their governments accountable through political institutions. The basic hypothesis underlying this research is that political accountability, either by encouraging sanctions upon non‐compliant public agents or simply by reducing the informational gap regarding government activities, will create forceful incentives for elected officials and civil servants to reduce opportunistic behaviour and improve performance. Using a cross‐sectional regression the hypothesis is empirically tested against evidence from newly empowered local governments in Indonesia. The empirical findings broadly support our hypotheses. Improved public services on the ground, both in terms of quantity and quality, require informed and well functioning decision‐making processes that allocate resources to priority areas that meet the demand of the broader community. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

新世纪的公安教育向何处去——谈公安教育模式及改革方向

世界上实行市场经济的国家警察教育都是职业教育而非学历教育,新世纪我国公安教育的模式必须改革:１．公安教育应是一种行业性的职业教育,而应淡化学历教育;２．选拔符合入警条件的大学毕业生到公安院校接受培训,尔后充实公安队伍;３．采用部队培养高学历人才的方法;４．将一些公安院校合并挂靠到普通高校;５．专业教师应到公安机关实习、挂职,解决教师的公安业务及技术技能问题。     

论法治之法

法治的实现以法制为前提,而良法又是法治的题中之义,也是法治的有力保障.本文试图从立法原理、立法宗旨、立法程序以及法律的价值取向等方面来分析何为良法,以求探讨在法治建设中如何使立法真正走上良性的发展轨道.     

西安非公有制经济参与西部大发展的思路

西部大开发、西安大发展应有新的思路。大力发展非公有制经济是推动西部大开发、西安大发展的一支非常重要的力量,它对国有经济的战略性调整有着十分重要的作用。放手并支持非公有制经济参与国有企业的改革,为其创造宽松的发展环境,无疑会极大地促进西安经济的良性发展。     

Challenging U.S. Policymakers' Image of an Isolationist Public

A persisting question in international studies is whether academic research can have an impact on the making of foreign policy. Much research has shown that policy decisions can be greatly influenced by misperceptions, just as much as by objective factors. The article describes an effort by academic researchers to challenge U.S. policymakers' image of an actor in the U.S. foreign policy process—the American public. The study's focus was a widely held assumption in the U.S. foreign policy community that the American public in the wake of the Cold War was entering a renewed phase of isolationism, similar to the interwar years. The study first interviewed policy practitioners on their perceptions of the public, then performed a comprehensive review of existing polling data, and finally conducted new polls with input from policymakers themselves. The net result of the elite interviews and the analysis of public attitudes revealed a significant gap in all areas, which is presented in synopsis. Interviews with policy practitioners reveal two key dynamics that could well contribute to policymakers' misreading the public: a failure to seek out information about the public and a tendency to assume that the vocal public is representative of the general public. Indications that the study did have some impact on the thinking of policy practitioners are discussed in the conclusion.     

紧紧围绕新世纪公安工作需要培养新型高素质预备警官

适应新世纪警务工作的需要 ,建设高素质公安队伍 ,关键在教育。针对青年的思想实际 ,抓住思想政治工作生命线 ,坚定不移地走政治建校道路 ,培养学生坚定的政治思想素质 ;贴近公安工作实践 ,紧紧瞄准实战需要 ,培养学生过硬的公安业务素质 ;强化警体技能和实战技能训练 ,锻造学生强健的体魄和过硬的自卫擒敌本领 ;加强科学文化素质教育 ,培养具有广博知识面、良好人文精神和博大人文胸怀的新型现代警官     

民事公诉制度质疑

近来不少学者主张在我国应尽快建立民事公诉制度,赋予检察机关在一定范围内的民事起诉权,而从保护社会公益、解决群众性纠纷、保护弱者和加强法律监督四个方面分析,民事公诉制度在理论上存在着误区和在实际运作上可能陷入困境.其不具有存在的合理性、合法性和必要性,解决相关问题应加大行政执法力度,加强检察监督,赋予检察机关民事诉讼参诉权.     

公安思想政治工作需要加强和改进的几个问题

加强和改进公安思想政治工作是新时期的必然要求,是建设强大的公安队伍和强有力的公安工作的客观需要。因此,要正确认识和处理好思想政治工作的长期性和紧迫性的关系;要反对形式主义,转变工作作风,在狠抓落实上下功夫;要增强时代感和针对性,使思想政治工作在加强的过程中改进,在继承的基础上创新;要坚持以人为本,以情感召,力戒以训代教,增强思想政治工作的感召力和凝聚力;要重视领导机关和领导干部的形象和导向作用,不要把群众当成“第一对象”;要重视行政强调和规章制约,不应轻视理论灌输,增强思想政治工作的理论思维;要把思想政治工作与解决实际问题结合起来,既要讲道理又要办实事;要围绕中心选准切入点,把思想政治工作结合、渗透到具体工作之中。