LETTER GRADING GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY

We mailed letters to non‐existent business addresses in 159 countries (10 per country), and measured whether they come back to the return address in the United States and how long it takes. About 60% of the letters were returned, taking over six months, on average. The results provide new objective indicators of government efficiency across countries, based on a simple and universal service, and allow us to shed light on its determinants. The evidence suggests that both technology and management quality influence government efficiency, just as they do that of the private sector.     

Signed orders in linear and nonlinear utility theory

Self-reflecting signed orders on a set A and its anti-set A ^* were introduced previously as a way to account for negative as well as positive feelings about the inclusion of items in A in potential subsets of choice. The present paper extends the notion of signed orders to lotteries on A A ^*, describes reflection axioms for the lottery context, and shows how these axioms simplify utility representations for preference between lotteries. The simplified representations are then used to guide procedures for extending preferences from A A ^* and its lotteries to preferences between subsets of items.     

Modeling the ECU Against the U.S. Dollar: A Structural Monetary Interpretation

The proposal that a reformed international monetary system be designed around currency blocs has gained some popularity of late. In Europe, the formation of the Euro formalizes the existence of a DM-based currency block. Little academic research has been conducted, however, on the properties of composite currencies such as the Euro. In this article, we examine the properties of the precursor to the Euro—namely, the ECU—against the U.S. dollar using a monetary framework. The article has several novel features: Our modeling strategy involves starting with underlying equilibrium conditions rather than a final reduced form; uses divisia money rather than the more conventional simple-sum money; interprets, in an economic sense, the long-run relationships; and produces an appealing forecasting performance.     

兰新铁路第二双线防风技术及工程设计

防风技术是兰新铁路第二双线建设和运营的控制性因素,通过研究,明确了沿线风环境特征,制定了大风环境下的高速列车运行安全及速度标准。结合路基、桥梁、防风明洞、接触网、大风预警系统等抗风专题研究,确定了该线防风工程的主要设计原则及结构型式。大风区施工防风技术研究为风区铁路工程的设计和建设提供了保障与支持。     

基于建设主体视角的羌寨重建路径研究

汶川地震后,各种力量介入羌寨重建工作,地方政府、援建方和当地民众是最主要的重建主体。根据不同重建主体在具体的村寨重建中发挥的作用不同,羌寨重建大体可分为统规自建、统规统建、统分结合三种重建路径,不同重建路径对当地羌族文化造成的影响也不尽相同。本文对这三种路径及其文化影响进行了调研分析,希望能为我国其他民族村寨建设提供参考。     

政治文明:中国现代化建设的重要目标

党的十六大政治报告将社会主义政治文明与社会主义物质文明和社会主义精神文明一起，确定为我国社会主义现代化建设的三大基本目标，这是对社会主义现代化建设理论的重大创新，是中国共产党对中国现代化规律长期、艰辛探索的结果。我国社会主义政治文明建设有两大优势，即有优越的社会主义制度作为制度保证，有现代化事业领导核心——中国共产党提供根本保证。如果三个文明建设相互促进，协调发展，就一定会如期实现现代化进而实现中华民族的伟大复兴。     

在我国有步骤地实施物业税的构想

何谓物业税？“物业”一词,起源于我国香港,意指房地产。物业税,一般又称“财产税”或“地产税”,主要针对土地、房屋等不动产,要求其所有者或承租人每年缴付一定税款,税额随房产的升值而提高。在向地产或房产的占用者征收税款时,是按照市值比例“从价计征”。     

论英语文学研究的拓展

研究外国文学从很大程度上说是一种跨文化的文学阅读活动,20世纪的文学理论告诉我们,跨文化的文学阅读不可避免地会涉及到一个阅读者在阅读过程中择取什么样的阅读视角的问题.后殖民主义理论特别指出,当一个弱势文化在阅读一个强势文化的文学时,阅读视角的问题经常会表现得更加突出.我国对英语文学研究的历史和现状明确地反映出我国外国文学界的研究立场问题,由于长期以来存在一种自动认同西方大国的倾向,我国的英语文学研究常常将英语文学与英美两国文学等同起来.而要拓展我国的英语文学研究,必须首先调整我们的阅读视角和研究立场,在摆脱殖民心态的前提下坦然面对英美以外的一切后殖民英语文学.     

略论藏族神山崇拜的文化特征及功能

神山崇拜作为远古藏族祖先的信仰方式,经历了从原生型苯教到雍仲苯教再到藏传佛教的发展阶段。其间,佛教和苯教都采纳了神山崇拜这一信仰方式。由此,神山崇拜从“自然宗教”过渡到了“伦理宗教”的形态。在这漫长的演变过程中,相应地衍生出了一套独特的祭祀方式,这种祭祀方式逐渐地向民间扩展并不断规范化,又使它超出了宗教信仰的范围,具有了民俗文化的性质、特色和功能。