Democracy,Participation, and Life Satisfaction*

Objectives. We examine whether democracy, political participation, and differing systems of democracy influence individual levels of subjective well‐being. Methods. We use individual data on life satisfaction and characteristics related to satisfaction for approximately 46 countries. We estimate ordered probit models with country and time dummy variables and cluster‐adjusted robust standard errors. Results. Democracy is positively correlated with individual levels of well‐being. The opportunity to participate in the political process and whether the democracy is parliamentary or presidential are related to individual well‐being. Conclusions. Democratic institutions influence subjective well‐being. The well‐being of individuals with minority political views decreases in parliamentary systems.     

Parties,Institutional Control,and Trust in Government*

Objectives. Partisanship should affect evaluations of Congress just as it affects evaluations of the president, and these institutional evaluations should affect political trust. We argue that the relationship between partisanship and trust is dependent on partisan control of Congress and that much of party identification's influence on trust occurs indirectly through approval of governmental institutions. Methods. Using data collected before and after the 2002 congressional elections by the Center for Survey Research and Analysis at the University of Connecticut, we examine changes in frequency distributions and mean values for trust and institutional approval. We use multivariate regression models and a path model to estimate the causes of political trust and self‐perceived change in trust. Results. We find evidence that party control of government and party identification are important in explaining trust and institutional approval. The Republican takeover of the Senate led Republicans to evaluate the Senate more favorably and to become more trusting of the government, while having the opposite effect on Democrats. Conclusions. The changes in approval and trust resulting from the 2002 elections suggest that at least some segment of the population is cognizant of changes in the political environment and updates its views of government when the political environment changes.     

行为激励、制度保障与经济增长

由于人类对物质财富的不断追求 ,探索经济增长成为一个永远不能穷尽的课题。文章选择了从经济增长的原动力的角度来分析经济增长的一般机理 ,以及我国改革开放以来的经济增长受这种原动力影响的实际情形。在此基础上 ,文章还把这种原动力与保护它的制度联系起来进行研究 ,得出中国最近一个时期和今后的相当长时期里经济增长与保障人们追求财富的愿望和相应的私有财产制度以及市场制度高度相关的结论     

经济发展在韩国民主转型中的作用

在韩国民主转型中,经济发展因素起到了重要的促进作用。本文通过财富、工业化、城市化、教育和对外贸易五个指标,说明韩国经济在民主转型前取得的高速发展,并从理论和经验上论证了韩国的经济发展与其政治民主转型之间存在着因果关系。     

Economic Segregation,Race, and Homicide*

Objective. Prior research assessing the association between structured inequality and homicides has produced inconsistent findings, particularly in regard to establishing an association between economic disadvantage and black homicide rates. In this study, we employ a measure of the spatial distribution of income, Jargowksy's (1996) economic segregation measure, to assess overall and race‐specific homicide rates. Methods. Using cross‐sectional Census data and Supplemental Homicide Report data across 166 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, the present analysis uses negative binomial regression models to examine the association between economic segregation and homicide rates. Results. We find that both economic segregation and absolute deprivation (i.e., the overall extent of economic disadvantage) are robust predictors of black, white, and overall homicide rates. However, an alternative measure of economic segregation, a measure capturing poverty concentration, was not found to be a significant predictor of black homicide rates. Conclusion. We suggest that further studies should consider the extent of isolation across the income continuum, instead of focusing solely on poverty concentration.     

东亚政府如何提供经济发展所需的制度基础

本文运用诺斯的制度变迁理论 ,分析了东亚政府在经济发展中如何建立制度基础 ,从而推动了经济的高速增长。随着东南亚金融危机的爆发 ,这种制度基础受到挑战 ,但危机的产生并不足以全盘否定制度基础建设方面的积极作用。并且 ,要真正从危机中走出来 ,依然要靠政府原有的良好的制度基础以及对其进行适当调整。     

Economic Inequality,Relative Power,and Religiosity*

Objective. What effect does the extent of economic inequality within a country have on the religiosity of the people who live there? As inequality increases, does religion serve primarily as a source of comfort for the deprived and impoverished or as a tool of social control for the rich and powerful? Methods. This article examines these questions with two complementary analyses of inequality and religiosity: a multilevel analysis of countries around the world over two decades and a time‐series analysis of the United States over a half‐century. Results. Economic inequality has a strong positive effect on the religiosity of all members of a society regardless of income. Conclusions. These results support relative power theory, which maintains that greater inequality yields more religiosity by increasing the degree to which wealthy people are attracted to religion and have the power to shape the attitudes and beliefs of those with fewer means.     

民营经济发展地区差距的制度经济学分析--山东与浙江的对比

民营经济的发展已经在不同地区间呈现出巨大差距,在国退民进的大背景下,研究这种差距的形成,并进而指出相互间值得借鉴的经验以缩小差距,对于共同推进民营经济的发展具有重要意义.本文以山东、浙江民营经济的差异为基础,以制度经济学为基本工具,分析指出:制度主体的有效分工和合作、制度文化的顺利转换和制度技术的发现和更新是决定制度变迁绩效三个重要因素.     

Ideas and Institutional Change in Social Security: Conversion,Layering, and Policy Drift*

Objectives. In recent years, social scientists such as Kathleen Thelen and Jacob Hacker have introduced new concepts to assist in the understanding of institutional change. Fostering some of these concepts, this article proceeds to augment the theoretical debate on institutional change in social science and policy research. A discussion of Social Security development in the United States advances the article's main objective: to uncover the relationship between ideational processes and policy development. Methods. Qualitative and historical analysis is offered to examine three major policy episodes: the enactment of the 1939 amendments, the first mandate of the Nixon Administration (1969–1972), and the push for Social Security privatization that emerged in the 1990s. Results. First, the analysis suggests that, through the process of institutional conversion, the 1939 amendments and the Nixon‐era reforms altered the nature of Social Security. Second, the discussion on Social Security privatization stresses the impact of layering and policy drift on public and private pensions. Conclusions. The concepts of conversion, layering, and policy drift receive further empirical support through the presented analysis. Moreover, this article suggests that, for a full understanding of institutional change, a systematic analysis of ideational processes is necessary.     

经济全球化与当代资本主义民主危机——西方学者的若干论述

“全球化”特别是“经济全球化”一词 ,自 2 0世纪 80年代见诸西方报刊以来 ,很快成为新闻媒体和国际学术论坛的热门话题。但在欧美学术界 ,对于全球化的含义、全球化与当代资本主义的关系、全球化对世界特别是发展中国家和不发达国家的影响、全球化发展的前景等一系列问题 ,历来众说纷纭 ,争论不断。针对鼓吹经济全球化必然要求“非民族国家化”、“非领土化”、“非政府治理”、“非主权化”和“跨国民主化”等论调 ,不少西方学者据理驳斥 ,对当代资本主义的现状及其所主导的全球化实质作了批判性的论述     

Determining Democracy in the Organization of the Islamic Conference*

Objectives. We determine the conditions that account for change in the realized level of political rights and civil liberties within the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Methods. We use ordered logit to assess the impact of religious pluralism and fragmentation and related controls on changes in Freedom House Political Rights and Civil Liberties scores at five‐year intervals between 1976 and 2004. Results. Findings suggest that the presence of non‐Islamic religious groups within OIC states leads to an increase in political rights, while the presence of Islamic groups practicing a version of the faith not officially recognized by the state reduced political rights and civil liberties. Conclusions. Islam's influence on democratization does not fall neatly into either the “pro” or “con” categories that have so strongly defined the relevant literature. Islam's influence is, instead, variable and contingent on the wider degree of religious characteristics within each state.     

Democracy Out of Anarchy: The Prospects for Post‐Civil‐War Democracy*

Objective. This study explores the effects of civil war outcome on post‐civil‐war democratization. We employ an expected utility model to argue that the attributes of the civil war that lead to balanced power relations between the warring parties lead to higher levels of postconflict democracy. Methods. We estimate a series of OLS regression models with change in the level of democracy (from the prewar level to five and ten years after the conflict ended) as the dependent variable. Results. Civil wars that end in negotiated settlements are more likely to experience higher levels of democratization than civil wars that end in military victory by either side. Identity‐based conflicts lead to lower levels of democratization while previous democratic experience seems to decrease post‐civil‐war democratization. We find no support for the argument that high war costs and U.N. peace‐keeping forces produce higher levels of democracy. Conclusions. Civil war may lead to more inclusive polities if it serves to even the balance of power between contending groups in the nation. Power balance is more likely to bring about more democratic polities, especially where power sharing is formalized in a negotiated settlement.     

Voting by Mail: Turnout and Institutional Reform in Oregon*

Objectives. I test the impact of Oregon's vote‐by‐mail system on voter turnout. Methods. To determine the impact, I create a cross‐sectional time‐series regression model of state turnout in presidential elections from 1980 to 2004 and mid‐term elections from 1982 to 2006. Results. I find that Oregon's turnout increases by around 10 percentage points of registered voters in both presidential and mid‐term elections due to the voting‐by‐mail reform. Conclusions. These results suggest that one of the reasons that the United States has comparatively lower turnout is due to its more onerous voting procedures.     

经济全球化与国家经济发展问题

经济全球化与国家经济发展之间有着内在联系 ,经济全球化是在经济生活国际化的基础上发展起来的。面对经济全球化进程对国家经济发展的挑战 ,各国政府应正确认识经济全球化与国家经济发展之间的关系 ,以便制定灵活务实的对外经济战略与政策