Public Opinion On Taxes And Government Spending

This article analyses egalitarian attitudes as well as opinions concerning taxation and government spending. Australians would prefer to have their taxes reduced than to increase government spending on social services, if faced with such an alternative. Typical welfare programs have a low priority, but the public would like to see increased spending on education and science, health services, roads improvements, military defence, and fighting against drug addiction. An individual's opinions about government spending are influenced by his or her socio-economic characteristics, with unemployed people and urban dwellers being more supportive of government spending on social programs.     

Strategic Government Spending in South Korea and Taiwan: Lessons for Emergent Democracies*

Objectives. How is government spending used strategically in South Korea and Taiwan? As nations generally considered to have weathered democratization, government allocations in South Korea and Taiwan are instructive on how spending may be used strategically without undermining democratization. Methods. The similar sociocultural, historical, political, and economic experiences of the two nations underlie a most‐similar‐systems approach to study how their differences influence diversity in strategic spending and, correspondingly, political outcomes such as size of the government party in the legislature. This article evaluates defense and civilian expenditures for South Korea and Taiwan from 1975 to 2006. Results. Three results are interesting. First, different elections—legislative elections in South Korea, presidential elections in Taiwan—lead to increases in spending. Second, in both nations, defense spending increases in election years but not social spending; however, defense spending benefits the government‐party in the legislature in South Korea but not in Taiwan. Third, when the strategic uses of spending are accounted for, democratization does not directly affect allocations. Conclusions. These results explicate that government spending is a viable resource for party building in new democracies; however, the results also underscore that governing parties in new democracies benefit from spending only insofar as it is used to build the nation's or party's strengths—not undermine the opposition—under competitive elections.     

Revisiting the guns vs butter dilemma. Was Spain different in the implementation of public policies? Defence,growth and education

Over the past few decades, numerous studies have been conducted on the trade-off between guns and butter, namely defence spending versus social sector expenditure. It is striking that none has examined the situation in Spain. Previous research on other countries has not provided strong and unambiguous evidence of either positive or negative effects for military expenditure on social spending. We test whether government expenditure on defence contributed positively or negatively to education spending in twentieth-century Spain, attempting to identify policy-making processes within a historical framework. The results show both direct and indirect effects and bring to light the negative consequences of military spending on education expenditure, in particular between the second and fifth year after the military expenditure increases.     

美苏“新冷战时期”日本的安全政策论争及启示CSSCI

美苏“新冷战时期”,日本学者围绕本国的安全政策展开了论争。以高坂正尧为首的“日本型现实主义者”秉持以“基础防卫力”与“综合安全保障”为核心概念的“综合安全保障论”,主张坚持《防卫计划大纲》与“综合安全保障战略”。冈崎久彦、佐藤诚三郎、清水几太郎等学者则立足于“传统安全保障论”,向“综合安全保障论”发起了挑战,认为只有大幅强化军事力量才能应对苏联的威胁,呼吁修改《防卫计划大纲》、废除防卫费不超过GNP 1%的限制。思考这一时期日本的安全政策论争,不仅可以反思先行研究与西方国际关系理论存在的问题,还有助于深入理解当前日本安全政策的内在逻辑。     

Federal Defense Spending and Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Disparities in Economic Growth in the Southeast*

Objective. This study examines how defense spending in the 1980s and early 1990s affected economic growth in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties in the southeast. Methods. Using county‐level Census and other government data, the study employs a spatial lag regression model to predict how defense spending interacts with manufacturing growth to affect county economic growth during the business cycles of the 1980s and early 1990s, while controlling for other measures of regional processes. I supplement the regression analysis with brief case studies of five counties in this region. Results. The analysis shows that there is a positive interaction effect between federal defense spending and manufacturing growth on measures of income and employment growth. However, the interaction effects are much stronger and more consistent in metropolitan counties. Conclusion. As predicted, defense spending created regional variations in economic growth across the metropolitan‐nonmetropolitan divide in the southeast during the business cycles of the 1980s and early 1990s. Moreover, documented economic growth in nonmetropolitan counties is partly a function of spatial integration with metropolitan counties. The results have implications for current trends in defense spending.     

In search of a decolonised military: Māori cultural learning experiences in the New Zealand Defence Force

Māori people contribute significantly to the New Zealand Defence Force. Māori indigenous knowledge, however, did not feature in military curricula until recently. It was a common expectation that Māori personnel would conform to the dominant Western worldview, which often meant sacrificing indigenous identity. The introduction of the Service bicultural policies has paved the way for significant change in military education practices in the twenty-first century. This paper showcases the Māori cultural learning experiences of 34 members from the New Zealand Defence Force as they reflect on their experiences within the contemporary context of a military education and training environment, and the broader context of a decolonising society. This study argues that the inclusion of indigenous knowledge systems in military curricula improves the learning experiences of all members. Themes relating to individual development and improved organisational morale emerged that were found to be directly or indirectly attributed to the inclusion of Māori cultural training. The study is grounded in a multicultural military organisation, operating within a nation seeking to establish a bicultural co-equal partnership between Māori, the tangata whenua, original inhabitants, and non-Māori, the kaiwhakanoho whenua, or settler population, of New Zealand.     

POPULATION AGEING AND THE PUBLIC PURSE: AUSTRALIA IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

A comparative analysis of three decades of OECD public spending change is used to test propositions concerning the likely consequences of population ageing for public expenditure development in coming years. The World Bank and the OECD Secretariat suggest that population ageing has a direct impact on public expenditure through increased spending on pensions, health care and services for the elderly; and an indirect impact through increasing levels of public indebtedness. The analysis here suggests that only the pensions effect is supported by available comparative evidence and that, even here, the relationship is weaker than often implied in the population ageing literature. The vulnerability of different nations to problems arising from population ageing varies widely, with Australia among the least vulnerable.     

日本军事力量发展的特点与动向分析 ——2020年版《防卫白皮书》解读

2020年版《防卫白皮书》总结了过去一年来日本的安全环境、防卫政策、军力建设与防务合作交流等问题。新版白皮书虽然在外表上刻意用粉色为底、附以梅花和富士山图案的封面营造出柔和印象,但在内容中一面渲染周边安全环境恶化,继续炒作“中国威胁论”,在对华认识上充斥着偏见与敌视,罔顾事实、故意给中日关系的正常发展制造矛盾,另一面突出“跨领域作战能力”的建设重点,大幅增加太空、网络、电磁波这些新领域中军事力量建设的“紧迫性”与进展情况的相关内容。从2020年版《防卫白皮书》所展现的内容来看,日本的军事力量发展早已突破了“专守防卫”限制,明显体现出进攻性特点,必将给东北亚地区的和平与稳定产生重大影响。     

Hitting home: The nuclear freeze and the defense-dependent economy of Connecticut

This article examines the impact of a nuclear weapons freeze on the economy of Connecticut, which is per capita the most defense-dependent state in the nation. The study first lists the weapons contracts that would be lost to the state in the event of a freeze. The impact of these losses is then examined through the use of an input-output model of the state's economy. The results indicate a disruptive effect not only on military manufacturing but also on the civilian manufacturing and service sectors of Connecticut's economy. The importance of preplanning for a freeze or arms control is examined in the last part of the study, which discusses the process of economic conversion of defense production to civilian manufacturing.     

RESPONSES TO DEATH IN COMPLEX INDUSTRIAL WORK SITES: THE NEXUS BETWEEN WORKPLACE SAFETY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

This article is concerned with the effect of the current economic, political and regulatory climate on the future of health and safety at work. This climate includes a push for increased efficiency and flexibility through industrial restructuring leading to the growth of the secondary labour market of subcontractors, casual labour in increased self employment. Measured against this is the increased regulatory expectations in the area of health and safety including legislation which places major contractors as primarily responsible for all employees on site, whether their own or not. The sets up a potential conflict between the economic and regulatory imperatives. It is this potential conflict which is the focus of concern. The data used to explore the issue are the responses organisations made to a fatality they experienced on a complex industrial worksite. The nature of their response was related to their ideology concerning business success, which was in turn related to the influence they held at the worksite. While these findings tentatively support legislation to increase the responsibility of major contractors, this should not be seen as a panacea. The growth of the secondary labour market as well as the culture of success which motivates large contractors to comply with such legislation is dependent upon the broader economic climate making the a viable success strategy.     

宏观税负、公共支出结构与个人主观幸福感 ——兼论“政府转型”

本文利用CGSS2006数据库,对政府转型下的宏观税负、民生财政支出和地区收入差距等与个人主观幸福感的关系进行实证检验后发现：（1）宏观税负对居民主观幸福感有显著负影响;（2）总体而言,政府公共支出增进了居民的主观幸福感;（3）从公共支出结构看,地方政府基建投资对于城镇居民的主观幸福感有显著负效应,政府用于科教文卫和社会保障的支出对居民的主观幸福感有显著正效应;（4）科教文卫支出与社会保障支出对市民与外来人员幸福感的影响存在显著差异。     

魏晋南朝时期的堰埭建设

堰埭建设在水利建设史上被长期忽视。其肇始于先秦,发展于魏晋南朝,在农业水利和军事防御两个方面均体现出独特的功能。一般而言,堰多用于农田灌溉、排洪抗涝、军事斗争等方面;埭则兼用于内河水道航运方面,形成此期重要的人工水道,并因此成为政府埭税的重要依托。堰埭建设对古代政治、经济及社会发展产生了深刻的、综合性的影响。     

Arms races in the developing world: some policy implications

An arms race exists when a country’s propensity to acquire arms is influenced by a potential adversary’s military spending. When evaluating the impact of economic policies towards the developing world, e.g., foreign assistance programs, it is important to identify if an arms race exist between dyads of recipient nations. The reason is that if the impact of the policy is favorable to the country deemed to be “causing” an arms race, then the policy will not only increase the amount of weapons of the recipient country, but of the other as well. This will increase the probability of war if it is positively related to the stock of weapons of these adversaries.Consequently, this paper investigates the direction of prima facie casual relationship between the military expenditures of potential adversaries in the developing world by using parametric causality tests. We conclude that some of these country’s expenditures seem to reflect an arms race while other proposed dyads seem not to be adversaries, i.e., their expenditures are independent and therefore seem to be governed by other than an external threat.     

Social Welfare Reform Since the 1997 Economic Crisis in Korea: Achievement, Limits, and Future Prospects

Social welfare reform has been implemented in Korea since the 1997 financial crisis. A dominant concern of the reform was on equality and social solidarity. A major means to this end was establishing universalistic social insurance programs like those in developed welfare states. The reform efforts produced some positive results but were not greatly successful. Income polarization and the deteriorating economic status of low-income families have become big social issues. Many low-income families have not gained many benefits from the reformed social security system. The rapid aging of the population is creating an exploding demand for social spending, risking the fiscal sustainability of major social insurance programs. The reform experience suggests that a social welfare system based on western-style universal social insurance may be too expensive to sustain and not very effective in protecting disadvantaged families in Korea. More attention is being paid to expenditure control and efficiency. Social insurance programs may need to be leaner than those in traditional welfare states. Targeted programs, such as the "making work pay" policy, are likely to be expanded more broadly to low-income families. The future of the Korean welfare state may hinge on successful employment support for working families and extensive investment in their human capital.     

Advertising on traditional media sites: Can the traditional business model be translated to the Web?

A content analysis of advertising present on 228 traditional newspaper and television Web sites revealed that 88.6% contained advertising, with an average of 5.03 ads found on the typical news homepage. Newspaper sites had more ads present that were costly to place than did television sites. Still, most major online advertisers were not present on the news sites, suggesting that traditional media outlets may be losing out on major advertiser spending that could help to bring them elusive online profits.     

The Medical Profession and the State: GPs and the GP Contract in the 1960s and the 1990s

This paper examines the two major conflicts between general practitioners and the state in the mid-1960s and again at the end of the 1980s. In the mid-1960s morale in general practice was low, but GPs emerged with a strong endorsement from government for their professional autonomy. In 1990 morale was high, but government succeeded in imposing a new contract on GPs that sought to increase their accountability. GPs have always defended their status as "independent contractors". However, the paper argues that GPs saw this status as a means of protecting their professional freedom and autonomy. When the government treated them more as independent contractors in 1990 and demanded more specific terms, GPs did not like it. Furthermore, the new GPs' contract was introduced alongside the new internal market of the NHS, which has had further implications for GPs' status as independent contractors.     

我国公共气象服务理念的历史嬗变

我国公共气象服务理念在建国初期由以国防军事服务为中心向为国防、经济服务并重转变。文革期间重新强调气象服务以军事决策为中心。1978年至1999年气象服务领域从军事与经济并重向经济、国防、农业三位一体转变,公共气象服务成为气象服务的重要组成部分。2000年至今,人本气象理念逐渐在气象服务中得到体现。气象部门应坚持人本气象理念,发展人民满意的公共气象服务,为广大人民群众提供更加专业化、精确化的气象服务产品。     

Fighting terrorism in Africa: Complementarity between inclusive development,military expenditure and political stability

This study examines complementarities between inclusive development, military expenditure and political stability in the fight against terrorism in 53 African countries for the period 1998–2012. Hence the policy variables employed in the study are inclusive development, military expenditure and political stability. The empirical evidence is based on Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) with forward orthogonal deviations. The paper reports three main findings. Firstly, military expenditure and inclusive development are substitutes and not complements. Secondly, it is more relevant to use political stability as a complement of inclusive development than to use inclusive development as a complement of political stability. Thirdly, it can be broadly established that military expenditure and political stability are complementary. In the light of the sequencing, complementarity and substitutability, when the three policy variables are viewed within the same framework, it is more feasible to first pursue political stability and then complement it with military expenditure and inclusive development.     

Understanding the economic fallacies of the intergenerational debate

This paper demonstrates that Federal spending is not inherently financially constrained and does not have to be facilitated via prior taxation or debt‐issuance. It also refutes the claim that budget deficits result in higher interest rates in the future, with lower levels of capital formation and economic growth as a consequence. These misconceptions together lead to the nonsensical claim that by running surpluses now the Government will be better able (because it has ‘more funds stored away‘) to cope with future spending demands. The paper thus challenges the conventional view, such as that espoused in the 2002 Australian Treasury Intergenerational Report, that the ageing population will place unsustainable demands on the Federal budget.     

Nigeria's population growth and the Third National Development Plan, 1975-1980

This article counters the Nigerian Federal Government's position that a policy to curb population growth in unnecessary because economic progress is not seriously impeded by demographic factors and unfeasible because adequate statistical information is unavailable. Existing literature on the relationship between economic growth and rapid population growth and on Nigeria's population growth is examined, and the implications of rapid population growth on development planning objectives concerning education, health, housing, and employment are assessed. Since 1963, estimates of Nigeria's population growth rate have ranged between 2.8 and 3%. If the crude birth rate is 50 to 55 and the crude death rate is 20 to 25, the population is probably growing at about 3% per year. The goal of doubling per capita income in less than 12 years can only be realized if the GNP grows by 10% per year or if a slower rate of population growth is attained. Achievement of a 100% enrollment in primary school and 70% in secondary school, amelioration of the unemployment and underemployment problems, and provision of basic health care and housing for the population would also be facilitated by a reduction in the rate of population growth. The argument that land and natural resources in Nigeria are abundant enough to support a large population ignores the fact that resources are exhaustible and that farmers desire to improve their living standards. The increased parental attention to each child that would be possible if couples had fewer children would result in an improvement in the quality of the population. The failure of Nigerian planners to consider realistically the problems of rapid population growth appears to be characteristic of African development planners.