Institutional Incentives and Trust: Marginalized Groups and the Creation of Trust in Local Government*

Objectives. There is an important theoretical debate concerning whether institutional trust can be created. Since very few governments actually try to promote trust directly, it has been difficult to test this debate empirically. To investigate this debate, we examine an innovative new program in Japan that is specifically designed to promote trust in institutions—community currencies. Methods. We use propensity score matching to determine if community currency program participation in Japan increases institutional trust. Results. We find that participation increases institutional trust. Additionally, we find that supporters of political parties with little political power receive a greater impact from program participation. Conclusions. These results show that institutional trust can be increased by participation in incentive programs of cooperation, and suggest that members of marginalized groups will benefit more from program participation.     

Historical Role of the International Communist Movement during the World Anti-fascist War

The relationship between the international Communist movement and the world anti- fascist war constitutes a major historical theme of our times. As a positive force for democracy and peace, the international Communist movement became a solid political cornerstone of the anti-fascist war. Its enormous sacrifices and contributions made it one of the final forces terminating the fascist political order, and its humanity provided mankind with a just direction in the struggle against war terrorism and for peace idealism. It thus became a major force in effectively advancing the development of democracy and peace. Based on the logic of condemnation, the critical reflections upon fascism made by the Communist movement have provided a value dimension for the building of today’s international security system. Based on the logic of construction, the international peace ethics followed by the international Communist movement offer an ideological foundation for the building of the new international order. And based on the logic of development, the new paradigm of world civilization pursued by the international Communist movement has become a political exemplar for the current pursuit of international peace. The political force of the Communist Party of China (CPC), as China’s political backbone and advance guard, cannot be overlooked: it influenced the anti-fascist war, the postwar international Communist movement and the democratization of world order. Of course, both the Soviet Union and the Comintern also offered many historical lessons during the anti-fascist war, lessons that merit profound reflection and consideration.     

TRUSTING THE TAX OFFICE: DOES PUTNAM'S THESIS RELATE TO TAX?

Data from the Community Participation and Citizenship Survey are used to explore the factors that influence people to place trust in strangers and impersonal others. We use Putnam's social capital thesis to explore whether civic engagement and associational membership are major factors in the development of generalised or social trust, and whether this kind of trust is generalisable to trust in government institutions, specifically the Tax Office. There is partial support for Putnam's thesis that civic engagement develops social trust. More important is affective trust developed in the family and through familiar others. We find that trust is generalisable, being extended to strangers and to the impersonal others in government institutions. It is trust that builds trust — and government institutions like the Tax Office begin their task with benefits accrued through generalised trust.     

国际制度与和谐世界的构建

和谐世界的理念体现着人们在价值层面上对于建构世界新秩序的一种追求。它的实现不但需要国际关系民主化为其提供程序上的支持,更需要相应的制度保障来使之成为可能。而国际制度由于能够在特定范围内加速制度内的信息流动,促成了不同层次的国际合作的实现;并通过提供必要的公共物品以实现全球事务治理的有效途径,大大降低行为体国际交往的成本,保持了国际关系的连续性,从而能够从制度上为和谐世界的构建提供了保障。     

中国转型期政府信任的生成与变迁机制

中国正处于制度变迁的特殊历史时期,转型期下的民众,一方面根据现代正式制度,采用新的观念模式和行动策略评估政府,一方面又受制于传统人情因素,对政府行为作主观评判。这种状况使得政治信任状态呈现明显的不稳定因素。整合民众、政府及制度等因素,能够解释制度如何通过影响民众对环境的预期及其对政府的判断,最终影响政治信任的基本状态。通过改变分析框架中的制度因素,可以探索当制度发生变迁时,人们对政府的信任状态如何随之变化,由此构建基于制度的政治信任的变迁机制。     

Rule of law and balance of power sustain US dollar preeminence

In the last few decades, and especially since the financial crisis of 2007–2008, uncertainty about the future of the US dollar has been mounting. A broad-based theoretical debate on the decline of the dollar and its consequences has begun. There is a large body of studies that sees the origin of an international money as a market-led process. In this view, because the United States will very soon lose its economic pre-eminence the US dollar will consequently share its international role with other currencies or even be replaced by the renminbi. In this paper we contest this argument, focusing on the conditions that make a fiat money acceptable in international transactions. Trust in a type of money like this needs an institutional framework that guarantees the property rights of currency holders. This framework implies a high level of rule of law domestically and a high level of state capability in the international balance of power. Since at present no other currency fulfils these two requirements at the same time, the dominance of the US dollar as an international money is going to last.     

The government's role in public trust of biomedical science

Public trust in biomedical research depends in large part upon public attitudes toward science, the behavior of institutions involved in conducting and supporting biomedical research, and how mass media report on biomedical research. This paper explores those aspects of public trust, particularly the responsibilities of government as the major source of support for research using public funds.     

金融危机下国际货币体系改革的思考

由美国次贷危机演变而来的金融风暴席卷全球,以美元为主导的国际货币体系遭遇挑战,国际货币体系改革又重新提上日程。对国际货币体系进行简单介绍,分析金融危机凸显的国际货币体系存在的问题,提出国际货币体系改革建议及中国的应对措施。     

Measuring social trust and trusting the measure

Decades of rigorous quantitative scholarship have generated a wealth of knowledge regarding the causes and consequences of crossnational variations in social trust. However, while some social science disciplines have made significant contributions to this conversation, others have largely failed to do so. The field of international relations, for example, has lagged behind in producing aggregate-level scholarship on social trust. This is surprising given that (1) trust influences public opinion and thereby the incentive structure for political leaders and (2) many peacebuilding efforts directly target the levels of trust in post-conflict settings. Country-level trust scholarship in international relations and the social sciences more generally is hampered by data scarcity. The main purpose of this article is to present a new publicly available data set on aggregate levels of social trust. Relying on a set of 19 widely accepted correlates, we construct a new cross-sectional measure of the concept that covers all countries from 1946 to 2010. We then perform a series of empirical tests establishing the validity of our measure. Finally, we offer a number of bivariate analyses to demonstrate the broad utility of our new variable for scholars in the social sciences.     

Trust and Welfare State Reform: The Example of the NHS

This article discusses the impact of New Public Management on public trust in welfare state institutions, using the example of NHS reform. Discussion of trust in public institutions across political science, psychology and sociology indicates that it is based on both rational/objective considerations (competence and capacity to deliver the service) and affectual/subjective factors (shared values, belief that the trustee shares the trustor's interests). The New Public Management foregrounds individual responsibility and incentives for both suppliers and users of services, in the NHS example in quasi‐markets, management by target and patient choice. These accord with an individualized market rational‐actor model rather than with affective considerations. Analysis of attitude survey data on the NHS confirms that rational/objective and affectual/subjective factors contribute to public trust in this field. However, a comparison between perceptions in England, where the internal market has been vigorously pursued, and Scotland, where the purchaser/provider split was discarded after devolution, indicate that the market does not offer a royal road to perceptions of superior quality in the objective factors. Conversely, the more market‐centred system can make progress in relation to the more subjective affectual factors.     

世界政治视角下的国际战略格局(2001-2021)

国际战略格局是国际体系中一些具有全局性、根本性的结构性因素,制约和塑造了国家的对外政策、战略关系和国际秩序。从世界政治的视角出发,国际战略格局包括两个方面:国际力量格局和政治思潮格局。国际力量格局是单个国家间的力量分配状态,而政治思潮格局是世界政治思潮的兴衰状态。在过去的20年中,国际力量格局发生了实质性的变动,一超多强的力量结构开始向着两极化的方向发展,虽然美国仍然维持了总体上的单极地位。世界政治的思潮格局也发生了明显的变化,自由主义作为一种主导性的世界政治思潮在国际层面和国内层面都受到严峻的挑战,民族主义、民粹主义等思潮正在兴起。国际战略格局的这种态势将在一个较长时期内对于中国与其他国家之间的关系发展造成重大影响,但国际战略格局是一种可变的因素,而且其他因素(如核武器、经济相互依赖等)也会制约其作用的发挥。     

Uncertainty, Trust and Pensions: The Case of the Current UK Reforms

Trust is valuable in facilitating social cooperation and is often thought to be helpful in the running of a complex modern welfare state. However, a number of sociologists, psychologists and political scientists have recently argued that trust in social institutions is in decline. One approach argues that the issue is compounded by a shift towards a more active and discriminating trust as part of a social transition towards a more reflexive society, and goes on to suggest that people often choose to place their active trust in non‐state provision. This paper examines recent quantitative and qualitative evidence on trust in state and non‐state pensions in the UK, as a context where current policy developments throw the general issues into sharp relief. It shows that patterns of trust in this setting can be understood in active terms, but that social divisions remain important in determining how active trust operates in practice. More vulnerable groups put their trust in the state, through lack of an alternative, while more confident and better‐off groups tend to pursue investment strategies which they believe will give them more individual control over their money. Social divisions remain important during current social transitions, and often receive less attention than they merit in theoretical writing.     

Differences and similarities in monetary benefits for informal care in old and new EU member states

This article presents an overview of the monetary benefits available in the context of long‐term care provided by family or other informal carers in 11 old and 10 new EU member states. All but one country in our sample offer at least some monetary benefits that can be used to help finance informal care. Old EU member states tend to direct benefits to individuals in need of care, whereas new EU member states place more emphasis on benefits for carers. Among new EU member states, monetary benefits are less often means‐tested and tend to be lower compared with benefits in old EU member states. Because social policies in many countries increasingly rely on monetary benefits rather than on benefits in kind and because the share of informal care in the overall provision of elderly care will scarcely decline, monetary benefit incentives for labour market participation need to be carefully monitored.     

从地缘政治视角看美国的海上崛起及其对当代中国的启示

本文从地缘政治视角分析美国崛起的原因,比照当代中国与19世纪末美国在地缘政治环境上的异同,提出当代中国和平发展应研究借鉴美国的经验,按照统一国家——增强国力——发展海权的步骤,把握中国自身地缘政治环境特点,顺应当代世界发展潮流,统筹好国内国际两个大局,为实现中华民族的伟大复兴奠定坚实基础、创造良好环境。     

对宗教组织之信任的探索性研究——以上海数据为例

本文利用上海市的调查数据,从宗教归属、人口学变量、社会经济地位因素、社会信任、社会参与和其他机构信任等方面对宗教组织信任进行分析,了解人们对宗教组织信任的现状及影响因素,并对相关的研究进行回应。结果显示,与对其它机构的信任相比,民众对宗教组织的信任处于一个较低水平;宗教归属、社会信任、组织参与和对世俗机构的信任对宗教组织信任的影响最大;阶层、社会参与也有一定的影响;性别、年龄、受教育程度和政治面貌等无影响。     

英美日公益信托社会的发展现况与比较分析

公益信托是以慈善、文化、艺术、宗教或其他公益性质为目的的信托模式,因公益信托具有设立手续弹性简便与营运成本低的优点,较容易引导大众支持参与。但现阶段的非营利组织面临着同构型的机构募款竞争以及企业界对非营利组织的商业化包装竞争,导致发展空间处处受限。本文先以老牌信托王国的英国开始探讨公益信托事业的历史演变,再参酌重视资本运营效益的美国模式,最后以信托业融入东方社会价值观的日本进行比较分析,借鉴国际公益信托事业可持续发展的运作手法。相对于中国公益信托事业还处于萌芽阶段,除了不具英国有庞大民间财力可左右城市开发政策之外,加上人民过度依赖政府、信托法令不周全、中央地方政策冲突、领导过于重视经济开发、企业社会责任淡薄、非营利管理人才欠缺等等都让公益信托事业无法深入民心。因此本文以第三部门为视角,探索除政府、企业职能之外,对自然环境与文化资产保护该如何协助政府对公共利益观念的落实并因此创造可观的文化观光财。     

Weaving nets: Housing and leadership in two Italian cities

As part of local welfare in Italy, housing policies underwent reforms that emphasized the role of local governments—and cities in particular—in the definition of the problem and in the elaboration of possible solutions. Housing is quite neglected in the political debate, but it is increasingly important for responding to citizens' demands in times of economic crisis. This paper reconstructs the policy process in two Italian cities, Turin (1997–2011) and Florence (1995–2011). The paper argues that policy change in housing can be fostered by a local political leadership that invests ideational, relational, and positional resources in policy making to spread new ideas, build networks of public and private actors at the local level, and attract fiscal resources while taking advantage of windows of opportunity at different institutional levels. Moreover, collaboration with local bureaucratic leadership proves fundamental to promoting innovative policies.     

论当前国际政治中道德的境遇

长期以来在西方主流国际政治理论中,道德怀疑论、道德相对主义甚至道德虚无主义大行其道。道德在当前国际政治中的存在与价值是不容否认的,它源自于国际道德本身的特殊规定性,国际社会的规则、准则、制度本身就体现着国际道德的基本规范和要求。由于国际社会对国际道德准则及其内涵尚未达成共识,国际道德缺乏强制力,以及"国家利益至上"原则的制约,国际道德的发展步履维艰,但全球化的到来又使国际道德的发展面临新的机遇。     

公共选择视角下的公共财政决策机制

公共选择理论由公共选择学派建立并发展起来,其理论宗旨就是把政治和市场两方面的人类行为纳入单一的模式。弗吉尼亚学派代表人物布坎南始终坚持严格的＂契约—立宪主义＂,也就是公共选择学派的行动纲领。在当代,公共选择理论已经成为公共财政的理论基础,这就要求公共财政决策机制的运行服从于根本性的＂规则＂的约束,即＂立宪约束＂。这一国际观点对我国财政体制改革具有深远的影响。     

国际强行法的基本法理思考

国际强行法的出现改变了国际法体系纯粹由任意法组成的局面,使得国际法获得了“公法”属性,成为名副其实的“国际公法”.国际强行法的约束力并非根源于主权同意,其法律渊源与传统国际法大相径庭.国际强行法与《联合国宪章》第103条共同促使国际法律体系出现了一定规范的等级秩序,前者在于维护所确立的法律关系之排他性,后者在于确保宪章义务之优先性.