The Rule of Law Approach to Government Governance in China*

Chinese government governance involves the two dimensions of autonomy and co-governance. The process of moving from government management to government governance is a synchronous process of moving from government by a legal system to a “rule of law” government. Such governance coincides with the rule of law in terms of fundamental guarantees, governance frameworks, intrinsic values, external forms, goal pursuits and construction paths and lays the foundation for the realization of government governance. The multi-subject structure, multiplicity of rules and regulations, interaction of processes, diversity of modes and complexity of disputes in this form of governance place new demands on the construction of the rule of law. In response to these needs, we should improve the government’s functional orientation and the disposition of its powers by means of statute law; expand the types of administrative bodies and improve the laws on administrative organizations; enrich the sources of law; use consensus rules to improve controlling rules; be guided by interactivity in improving the administrative procedure system; normalize diversified administrative behavior; and establish multiple dispute resolution mechanisms and strengthen right relief. This will highlight the rule of law path taken by government governance. In the course of the integration and interaction of such governance with the rule of law, we will need to coordinate our responses to its latent risks, such as governance pitfalls and the limitations of the rule of law.     

On the (Sample) Condorcet Efficiency of Majority Rule: An alternative view of majority cycles and social homogeneity

The Condorcet efficiency of a social choice procedure is usually defined as the probability that this procedure coincides with the majority winner (or majority ordering) in random samples, given a majority winner exists (or given the majority ordering is transitive). Consequently, it is in effect a conditional probability that two sample statistics coincide, given certain side conditions. We raise a different issue of Condorcet efficiencies: What is the probability that a social choice procedure applied to a sample matches with the majority preferences of the population from which the sample was drawn? We investigate the canonical case where the sample statistic is itself also majority rule and the samples are drawn from real world distributions gathered from national election surveys in Germany, France, and the United States. We relate the results to the existing literature on majority cycles and social homogeneity. We find that these samples rarely display majority cycles, whereas the probability that a sample misrepresents the majority preferences of the underlying population varies dramatically and always exceeds the probability that the sample displays cyclic majority preferences. Social homogeneity plays a fundamental role in the type of Condorcet efficiency investigated here.

     

Strengthening the Professional Selves of Social Workers Through the Lens of Self Psychology

New social workers have been shown to experience higher rates of burnout, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and vocational turnover. It is critical to find ways to support the growth and development of competent and resilient social workers. Yet, due to current contextual issues in the workplace, social workers are often not in environments that are conducive to fostering the growth of strong professional selves. A self psychology lens is used to assess and form the basis for recommendations for agencies/organizations and individuals to strengthen the professional selves of individual social workers and, in turn, the profession itself.     

Examining Organizational Functioning Through the Lens of Complexity Theory Using System Dynamics Modeling

ABSTRACT

The methodologies associated with complexity theory might serve as an adjunct to some of our more traditional behavioral social science research methods. While the latter has a well-established history in social work, the approaches related to complexity theory are just now gaining a foothold. One such approach is system dynamics modeling. This article will describe the application of system dynamics modeling to a well-known early intervention program. The manner in which it complements traditional research approaches will be discussed, and its unique contribution to understanding the organizational aspects of complexity theory will be highlighted.     

地方政府竞争对代际公共品供给的作用机制分析

公共品供给是地方政府竞争理论中普遍关注的问题和对象,然而,代际公共品这一涉及到两代或多代人投资与收益关系的公共品,作为公共品的重要组成,却没有得到学术界的充分的关注.由于存在贬值效应、后代代理人缺位以及明显的代际外部性等特征,无论市场机制还是公共选择过程,都难以避免代际公共品供给的低效率,但代际公共品供给在现实中仍然是广泛存在的,对于这一问题的解释,多代交叠的一般均衡模型通过研究地方政府竞争对代际公共品供给的作用机制,地方政府竞争可以将代际公共品的代际外部性内部化,损益双方各有补偿和付出,提高代际公共品的供给效率,为代际公共品供给提供重要的现实条件.     

功利主义：资本主义文化矛盾的根源

功利主义的意义并不在于它是一种关于市场和国家的理论,也不在于它是一种道德理论,而在于它是一种显而易见的文化理论。然而,功利主义无法作为资本主义文化问题的解决办法,而只能是资本主义文化问题的重要构成因素,或者说是其他文化理论借以界定自身的社会文化背景。     

Bolstering an Illusory Majority: The Effects of the Media's Portrayal of Death Penalty Support

Objective . Researchers have found a distinct difference between expressed support for the death penalty (which garners a majority of Americans) and expressed preference for the death penalty over other sentences (which attracts only a minority). Despite the strength of this finding in academic circles, the media tend to cover the death penalty as if it were indisputably favored by a majority of Americans. This article tests the effect of this disparity in coverage. Methods . Using an experimental design, respondents were placed in three groups: Condition 1 read a typical media portrayal depicting widespread support for the death penalty, Condition 2 read a realistic portrayal of the mix of preferences for the death penalty and an alternative sentence, and Condition 3 (the control group) read an article unrelated to the death penalty. Results . Compared to the control group and Condition 1, those who read a more realistic account of public opinion on the death penalty (Condition 2) were less supportive of capital punishment, more likely to think death penalty opponents would talk comfortably about their position, and believed the death penalty would become less prevalent in the future. Conclusions . These findings suggest that the unrealistic media portrayal of public opinion on the death penalty is bolstering a sense of inevitability about the issue.     

日本电力工业发展中政府的作用——电力统制体制前史研究

电力事业在近代日本社会的推进及其所带来的电力使用普及,被视为日本近代史上的第一次能源革命。与同时期展开的产业革命一样,电力事业是在中央政府指导和监督下推进的,同时受到国家战略政策的影响和限制。国家对电力事业的参与乃至介入,不仅出现在"战时统制经济"时期,而是贯穿于整个电力事业发展的始终。通过对电力开发和电力市场形成过程的考察,可以看出在20世纪30年代以前日本电力事业发展的"自由竞争时代",中央政府虽未对民营电力和电力消费展开全面管制,但由于"强兵政策"与对外扩张政策的实施,仍然对电力事业的展开方式、电力消费市场的形成和走向起到了决定性作用。与此同时,在"电力统制"的构想下,政府不断强化电力行政,这也为此后战时"总体战体制"下的电力统制奠定了基础。     

对电子政务与政务信息公开制度交叉研究的框架分析

从电子政务与制度学的双重视角探讨构建电子政务与政务信息公开制度交叉研究框架的基本问题,对各级政府为民执政、阳光施政,具有重要的理论意义与实践意义。电子政务与政务信息公开制度都是政治文明发展的产物,二者的本质属性决定了参与权、知情权及监督权理论成为这一研究基础的合理内核;研究的价值体系决定了应该运用电子政务方法论,最大限度地公开与共享信息,合理地设计、安排相关的保密权限与行政救济制度,促进其研究成果更加规范,更富有成效。鉴于此,政务信息公开主体、客体、环境及其整合构成了这一研究的基本范畴。     

Political confrontation over fiscal processes: The impact of the U.S. Congressional Budget Act

In July 1974 the U.S. Congressional Budget Act was signed into law. This legislation was the result of a heavily fought political confrontation between President Nixon and Congress over who controlled the Federal budget. In addition to the issue of control, the Act was prompted by dissatisfaction with the procedures used by Congress to determine Federal receipts and expenditures. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact this legislation had on the U.S. economy in its early years.The first section of the paper sets up a simple modeling framework. The model is specified so as to illustrate how a change in the budget process resulting from the Congressional Budget Act could potentially produce changes in the level of total output. This section also explains the derivation of a tax and expenditure series used in the model's empirical testing. The second section addresses some of the theoretical issues, and presents the results of simulations based on the Chase, Wharton, and Data Resources econometric models. Broad conclusions are gathered in the final section.     

The Optimality of the Expert and Majority Rules Under Exponentially Distributed Competence

We study the uncertain dichotomous choice model. In this model a set of decision makers is required to select one of two alternatives, say support or reject a certain proposal. Applications of this model are relevant to many areas, such as political science, economics, business and management. The purpose of this paper is to estimate and compare the probabilities that different decision rules may be optimal. We consider the expert rule, the majority rule and a few in-between rules. The information on the decisional skills is incomplete, and these skills arise from an exponential distribution. It turns out that the probability that the expert rule is optimal far exceeds the probability that the majority rule is optimal, especially as the number of the decision makers becomes large.     

The Partisan Impact of Congressional Redistricting: The Case of Texas, 2001–2003*

Objective. In this article we assess the partisan effects of five plans proposed by Republican state legislators during Texas' 2003 congressional redistricting. Methods. Using the JudgeIt statistical program developed by Gelman and King (2001) , and data provided by the Texas Legislative Council, we assess the bias, responsiveness, and the probability that the Democratic Party wins each district for each plan. Results. All five Republican plans, including the one enacted, are strongly biased in favor of the Republican Party. Conclusions. Texas' Democratic legislators were wise to use every parliamentary maneuver available to block the enactment of a new congressional map. Beyond affecting the partisan makeup of the Texas delegation, Texas' redistricting has national implications because it adds to the GOP's narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.     

政府绩效审计：促成服务型政府建设的工具

政府绩效审计是政府审计发展的必然趋势,已在世界范围得到广泛开展。实践证明,政府绩效审计不仅在促进政府改善管理、提高公共资源使用效益方面发挥着巨大作用,更为重要的是,政府绩效审计为实现我国构建服务型政府这一目标起到极大的助推作用,大大加快了我国服务型政府构建的进程与速度。     

The Chinese Expression of the International Rule of Law

The Chinese expression of the direction and progress of the international rule of law is an important part of showcasing China’s stand and ideas in international relations, and serves as a major interactive link between the Chinese rule of law and the international rule of law. The progress of the international rule of law rests on the active, full and effective expression of various countries including China, so that it can become more just and rational. In order to express itself explicitly and effectively, China needs to participate actively in the practices of international rule of law, in a bid to expand its horizon, enlist public support, and obtain opportunities.