Social security: Indispensable solidarity

Social security must be considered not as an economic burden, but as a collection of mechanisms for collective solidarity based on the principle of income redistribution. The economic and social transformations that the various regions of the world are going through, in particular the globalization of the economy, are making social security increasingly necessary. Instead of yielding to proposals for the privatization of schemes — a formula that is less efficient and more expensive — we should be protecting and improving social security; developing it in those countries where its position is still weak; and stressing that, while its objectives are humane and social, it brings economic benefits too.     

The Beveridge Report: Its origins and outcomes

The Beveridge Committee had an inauspicious start. It was intended by the British government to be a minor tidying-up operation. When the report was completed, the government seriously considered not publishing it. The report advocated family allowances, a free health service and full employment, and that all social insurance benefits should be at flat rate and at subsistence level with the aim of abolishing poverty. But the actual recommendations would not have fully achieved Beveridge's aims. Although the report had a rapturous media reception, the government initially decided not to commit itself to action. But pressure from parliament forced Prime Minister Churchill to produce plans for legislation. When the report finally became law, the benefits were about a third less than Beveridge had recommended. As a result his social assistance safety net, intended to have a very small role, ended up giving ultimate protection to some 7 million persons. The report had a major influence in other countries by setting a much more ambitious agenda for social security than had generally been accepted before.     

利益、博弈与养老金改革:对养老金制度的政治社会学分析

本文运用新多元主义理论探讨养老金改革中的利益博弈和私有化改革的发展趋势。对拉美和中东欧国家的研究表明,养老金的改革得益于其特殊的政治体制、外生行动者的支持和政府的强力推动,而否决点的缺失和社会组织力量的弱小又减少了养老金改革的阻力。但对美国、英国和欧洲的分析表明,由于利益的多元化、否决点的分散,以及强大的工会力量,社会保障私有化的改革困难重重。     

The color of corrections: Racial politics and prison privatization

Privatizing the administration of American prisons represents a popular tool of correctional governance. In turn, policy and public administration researchers are routinely studying the consequences of prison privatization on criminal justice outcomes such as recidivism rates and prisoner complaints. However, much less attention has been paid to the antecedents of privatization decisions occurring across states, in particular how racial determinants might be influencing privatization outcomes. Building upon existing policy research with theories of social construction and negative racial classification, we argue that privatization debates over corrections management become more racialized when Black prisoners comprise a larger share of the state prison population, predicting higher overall levels of privatization usage. We further argue that this Black prisoner presence-privatization relationship is context-specific and conditioned by two additional variables: (1) levels of mass racial stereotyping and (2) partisan composition of state government. The statistical analysis demonstrates that racial determinants do significantly influence state prison privatization decisions and in complex ways as theorized. In states where Blacks make up a larger share of the prison population, privatization usage is found to be higher. Additionally, in line with theoretical expectations, Black prisoner presence is associated with increased privatization levels most strongly in states where citizenries hold heightened levels of racial fear and Republicans have increased legislative presence. This research is of keen interest to scholars of public policy and management, who could pay more heed to the ways in which race influences decisions around administrative structuring and outcomes for taxpayers and clients.     

地方政府公司化的运作逻辑与后果

地方政府公司化是我国地方政府行为的形象解释。地方政府公司化面临经济资源配置不当、政府职能承担越位与缺位并存,从而加剧民众对社会矛盾、官员腐败、环境恶化等社会问题的批评。本文在探讨地方政府公司化运作逻辑的基础上,综合归纳对地方政府公司化的主要批评类型,并对批评的合理性进行再审视。     

政策实施成本与上下级政府讨价还价的发生机制——基于四东县休禁牧案例的分析

讨价还价是中国上下级政府互动关系中很重要的一种形式。本文详细记述了四东县草原休禁牧政策实施过程中上下级政府的多轮讨价还价，县政府制定政策，政策严格落实导致政府与民众的冲突频发，乡镇政府以冲突为策略与县政府讨价还价，最终获得了相对宽松的执行空间。本文使用实施成本分析框架解释了讨价还价行为的发生机制，执行过程成本、上级施加成本、民众施加成本高昂，致使乡镇政府只能选择与上级讨价还价。随着社会冲突的加剧，乡镇政府的讨价还价能力相对提高，使得双方的协议点从严格执行端向宽松执行端移动。执行无僵局、协议点左右摆动、短期均衡与讨价还价的交替发生是政策执行中上下级政府讨价还价的基本特征。     

养老社会保险私营化的产权分析

养老社会保险私营化,是近些年来国际上较为盛行的养老模式。这一发展趋势显现了传统中主要体现公平原则的养老社会保险制度对效率原则的追求。从产权的五个基本功能,即外部内在化、激励约束、资源配置、收益分配和减少不确定性,呈现私营化对提高养老社会保险制度效率的作用,是养老社会保险私营化的效率源泉。我国养老社会保险制度更有效率,必须做到养老保险基金产权明晰、被赋予有效的产权主体、能够交易和得到法律保障。     

The effects of urban socioeconomic and political context on support for business in the federal district courts

Despite an expansive literature relating the social and political characteristics of cities and states to the economic outputs of legislators and administrators, there has been no comparable study of the impact of local environmental factors on economic policy outcomes of either state or federal trial courts. Neglect of this topic is especially unfortunate, given that exploratory analysis of federal district court judges' decision making in an urban context has suggested a link between federal district court policies and those of other local government institutions (Dolbeare, 1969).This article begins to fill the research lacuna by examining the impact of local environments on federal district courts' economic policy making. Substantial variance in economic case outcomes among courts in cities serving as district court points is explained by certain characteristics of the courts' social and political environments. Patterns of support for business in the district courts is examined to illustrate possible consequences of environmental influences on trial court outcomes. Conclusions regarding the impact of environmental factors on district court policy outcomes are offered along with a comparison of this research with the larger and more developed body of state and local policy research.     

论汉代田庄形成的基础

私有土地和依附人口是汉代田庄形成、存在和发展的物质基础。田庄主通过国家的授田、赐田、继承、买卖或强取豪夺获得了大量土地，并依靠其控制的宗族、奴婢、宾客、徒附等依附人口建立起了自己的田庄。土地和人口的流动性使得以土地和人口为基础的田庄不能在某一个家族中长久地延续下去。     

级差地域视野中的人地关系变迁初论——以清代中晚期的西北地区为例

清代中晚期,政府为了社会经济发展的需要,大量进行移民和大规模的开垦土地,这种掠夺性经营西北的方式,使得很多不适宜进行农业生产的土地被开发出来,西北的环境在清中晚期持续恶化,成为当时全国自然生态环境最为恶劣的地区。呈现级差地域特点的自然环境直接制约着该地区社会经济的发展,植被破坏、土地贫瘠化的加剧,影响到该地区的农业生产,破坏了的自然环境给清时期西北地区社会经济的发展提供了一个残破的环境背景。     

新形势下我国农村乡镇政权权威提升路径研究

在我国,乡镇政权担负着指导村民自治和协调纠纷的重要功能。农村经济社会形势的变化使乡镇政权失去了以往支配农村社会的行政权力和财政能力,乡镇政权权威弱化。重塑乡镇政权权威需要理顺县乡政府、乡镇政权与村委会、村支部的关系,加强乡镇干部行政能力建设和政府间合作,做好村民自治的指导监督实施,完善农民政治参与渠道,积极协调化解农村社会纠纷。     

"扩权强县"与地区公共产品供给研究

提供更多的以公共产品为主的公共服务是转型期政府的主要责任和职能,政府为减少行政成本提高行政效率的层级改革同样应考虑公共产品的供给。"扩权强县"是近年来在我国部分省区为促进县域经济发展采取的一种分权措施,这种以扩大县(市)地方政府权力为手段,以提高行政效率,推动地区经济发展为目标的改革,对我国当前地区公共产品的供给产生了一定影响。     

浅议地方社会科学研究机构的对策研究

近年来,地方社会科学研究机构在对策研究方面取得了显著的成绩,对各级政府和决策部门的决策参考作用日益加强,为当地的经济社会发展做出了贡献。但是,与社会发展的客观需要和决策科学化、民主化、制度化的要求相比,地方社会科学研究机构的决策参考作用尚未充分发挥出来。本文试图从决策研究和决策咨询中存在问题和不足入手,分析其原因,提出涉及七个方面的建议。     

Lighting up communities: the worship streetlamp project in Luodong Township

To improve the performance of local streetlamp maintenance and management under the effects of the regional economic recession following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Luodong (Yilan County, Taiwan) Township Office implemented a streetlamp sponsorship project in 2010 which combining streetlamp sponsorship and the installation of worship lamps at local religious organizations. With successful promotion and marketing strategies, many local residents and merchandisers participated in the project. This study analysed the project to investigate how a Taiwanese local government office employs innovative public policies to strengthen its governance. In-depth interviews with critical policy stakeholders and geographic information system-based spatial analysis was employed as the main methods. Several suggestions are offered in the conclusion of this study.     

Market-based Governance and the Challenge for Rural Governments: US Trends

Privatization and decentralization represent market‐based approaches to government. Designed to increase efficiency and responsiveness of government, these approaches also limit the potential for redistribution. A key question is: how will rural governments compete in such a market‐based system? Will they be favoured, as their reliance on market provision for public goods is higher due to the smaller number of services provided by government? Or will they be less able to compete due to the costs of sparsity, which may make them less attractive to market suppliers? Data from the United States covering the period 1992–2002, show that rural areas are not favoured by either of these trends – privatization or decentralization. Managerial weakness does not explain the shortfall. Rural areas are not as attractive to market suppliers and thus are disadvantaged under market‐based service delivery approaches. Although national policy continues to advance a privatization agenda, policy‐makers should be concerned about the uneven impacts of such market‐based approaches.     

The provision of complementary pensions: Objectives, forms and constraints

In all former centrally planned economies, the question of how to restructure old-age income provisions and open the way to non-governmental, complementary pension schemes is being posed. This paper deals with four main areas of that problem. First, the various objectives of public and complementary schemes are discussed. The paper argues that without a broad consensus among the major interested parties there is a considerable danger that envisaged objectives will not be achieved. The second section reviews the main forms of complementary pension scheme and discusses the central characteristics of occupational and personal schemes. The third section addresses two critical policy areas: the kind of regulations that may be required in order to enforce the social and economic objectives; and the likely social and economic implications. On the basis of experience in OECD countries and the specific situation in countries in transition, the final section offers some tentative conclusions for Czechoslovakia, the main one being that during the initial phase of economic transition preference should be given to a simple defined contribution plan. Such a complementary scheme would be consistent with the lack of developed financial markets and the privatization plan of the government and require neither a great number of highly trained accountants and actuaries nor the comprehensive set of regulations a defined benefit plan is likely to dictate.     

Welfare service privatization and opinions about service quality: The role of political ideology among local politicians and the public

In this article, we join the discussion about the potential consequences of welfare service privatization by examining the relationship between the privatization of welfare service delivery and public opinion about service quality in Sweden. Due to the politically polarized debate about welfare service privatization in Sweden, we also examine the extent to which individualsapos; ideological orientations influence this relationship in both local politicians and ordinary citizens. For local politicians, the results show that a higher municipal degree of privatization is generally associated with slightly lower levels of satisfaction overall with welfare services, although no such relationship exists for the public. Most importantly, however, the results indicate that political ideology constitutes an important moderator in the relationship between privatization and opinions about service quality. Local politicians and, to some extent, ordinary citizens who place themselves to the left on the ideological left–right scale tend to be less satisfied with services as the municipal degree of welfare service privatization increases. For local politicians who position themselves far to the right on the scale, the relationship between welfare service privatization and satisfaction is positive. These findings suggest that there is no clear-cut relationship between privatization and individualsapos; opinions about services; rather, this relationship depends on the ideological predispositions of local politicians and ordinary citizens.     

Privatization and some economic and social consequences: Higher incomes,greater inequalities

The past 14 years have witnessed profound political, social, and economic changes in the various countries that previously comprised the “Soviet bloc.” The antecedents to and the process of Hungarian privatization are examined in the present study, followed by an evaluation of some of the economic and social consequences of the systemic change. The change from one-party rule to a pluralistic democracy and from “goulash communism” to a market economy has been successful overall, but the necessary rationalization of production also resulted in growing inequalities in income and wealth and the appearance of social conflict.     

对美欧学者关于邻里效应研究的述评

文章回顾、评论了美欧学者对于邻里效应作用机制和研究方法的归纳、邻里效应研究方法面临的挑战以及具体的经验研究和实践。文章指出,邻里效应有助于减少社会差别、促进社会平等,这在理论和实践上都能得到说明。如果要采取某种混合居住的政策以帮助社会下层并降低住房不平等以及总的社会不平等程度,那么现行住房政策将不得不做出改进。具体说来,可以考虑采取渐进式的改革：配合户籍制度改革,逐步把少数常年在城市打工、表现良好的农民工纳入经济适用房和廉租房等制度的照顾范围以内。同时本文希望抛砖引玉,激发社会学界乃至于社会科学界住房和城市问题研究者更多关注于邻里效应和社会不平等研究。     

Community care for adults with severe mental disorders in rural China: A case study

In China, family care is the dominant form of care for people with mental disorders. Since 2004, the government has been developing a community‐care model that places more responsibility on community organisations and the local governments at the provincial, municipal and county levels for the provision of formal care. As a large number of people with severe mental disorders live in rural China, this case study was conducted in a rural county in order to examine the development of community care. It was found that, although family care remains dominant, families’ need for formal care is increasing. Community services have improved, but their development is constrained by several contextual and micro factors. In this study, it is argued that the community‐care model introduces a process of reconfiguration of the relative responsibility for care among the family, social organisations and the government, but progress depends on further administrative and fiscal reforms.