Cross-national policy learning in health system reform: The case of Diagnosis Related Groups

Observations of policy convergence and the cross-national diffusion of ideas, knowledge and policies have raised the question about the ways countries might learn from their peers. This article examines the role of cross-national learning with regard to Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs). We review the spread of this policy instrument and analyse the implementation of DRGs in three late-adopting countries: Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The three cases show that the implementation of this policy instrument required intense studies, cooperation with stakeholders and adjustment to country-specific needs. The countries learned from foreign experience, but it was only with the introduction of a regulatory framework for competition between sickness funds that DRGs came fully onto the political agenda. While Germany and Switzerland drew upon foreign DRG models, the Netherlands developed an alternative system to classify patients according to case-mix.     

Reforming pensions: Principles, analytical errors and policy directions

This article, sets out a series of principles for pension design rooted in economic theory: pension systems have multiple objectives, analysis should consider the pension system as a whole, analysis should be framed in a second-best context, different systems share risks differently, and systems have different effects by generation and by gender. That discussion is reinforced by identification of a series of widespread analytical errors — errors that appear in World Bank work, but by no means only in World Bank work: tunnel vision, improper use of first-best analysis, improper use of steady-state analysis, incomplete analysis of implicit pension debt, incomplete analysis of the impact of funding (including excessive focus on financial flows, failure to consider how funding is generated, and improper focus on the type of asset in trust funds), and ignoring distributional effects. The second part of the article considers implications for policy: there is no single best pension design, earlier retirement does little or nothing to reduce unemployment, unsustainable pension promises need to be addressed directly, a move from pay-as-you-go towards funding in a mandatory system may or may not be welfare improving, and implementation matters — policy design that exceeds a country's capacity to implement it is bad policy design. We illustrate the ranges of designs of pension systems that fit the fiscal and institutional capacity constraints typical at different levels of economic development. The potential gains from simplicity imply that a country capable of implementing an administratively demanding plan does not necessarily gain from doing so. New Zealand has a simple pension system through choice, not constraint.     

和谐社会视角下的农村社会保障制度建设构想

农村社会保障制度作为国家社会保障的重要组成部分,直接影响到农村社会稳定与经济发展,并影响到和谐社会的建设。有效建立起农村社会保障制度既是农民增收的需要,又是落实科学发展观的客观要求。应逐步实现城乡社会保障一体化,建立起农村最低生活保障制度,建立起由农民个人、集体、国家共同负担、共尽责任的多主体、多元化的农村社会保障基金筹集机制,完善农村社会保障管理体制,强化对农村社会保障工作的监督机制,确立农村社会保障制度的法律地位。     

构建我国能源政策体系的思考

能源作为一种重要的战略资源,在国家的经济社会发展过程中起着关键性的作用。我国能源政策目前存在节能政策受阻、宏观能源管理体制不顺等多方面问题,迫切需要制定科学合理的能源政策,加强能源的系统性和战略性管理。从能源供给政策、能源消费政策、能源环境政策、能源安全政策四个方面构建能源政策体系具有很强的理论和实践意义。     

我国城镇居民收入与消费：理论、现状与对策

消费是经济增长的根本动力。收入与消费密切相关,消费调控政策是宏观调控政策的重要组成部分。我国城市居民收入和消费发展的制约因素包括内外需求不均衡发展,收入差距不断扩大,房价上涨过快、社会保障不完善抑制居民消费行为。促进我国城市居民收入和消费发展,应当加大货币政策在消费调控中的作用,发展和完善信贷消费,完善促进消费增长的税收政策,努力增加居民收入,强化收入分配调节,加快建立覆盖城乡居民的最低生活保障制度,着力抑制房地产价格过快上涨。     

基于国家安全看我国宗教结社的立法完善

规范宗教结社是民主法制社会的体现以及国家安全的迫切需要,但立法缺失和管理缺陷却妨碍了宗教结社的真正自由和规范,使之成为我国宗教安全上的隐患,消除这一隐患的途径是完善宗教结社立法。     

农民工劳动权利保护现状与对策

农民工为我国城市经济社会发展做出了重大贡献,但是其基本的劳动权利却没有得到很好的享受,反而经常受到侵害。透过农民工劳动权利保护中存在的主要问题,分析并提出解决这些问题的途径和方法,对于切实完善农民工劳动权利保护法律机制的建构,对于切实推动城乡经济社会协调发展,构建社会主义和谐社会具有重要意义。     

发展中国家粮食安全的脆弱性分析

从历史和现实的角度分析了发展中国家粮食安全的脆弱性特点及其原因.发展中国家粮食安全脆弱性历史和现实的证据分别以饥荒和高粮价大致的粮食危机的形式表现.通过分析并得出结论认为:发展中国家粮食安全的脆弱性在过去和现在普遍存在,而且这种状况还将持续一段时间;自然灾害、战乱冲突、国际局势动荡等原因造成粮食供给量的下降,而经济危机、粮价波动等原因又导致人们的粮食获取能力下降,两者共同作用导致了发展中国家的粮食不安全及其脆弱性.     

会计集中核算的主要弊端及应对措施

会计集中核算在规范会计行为,从源头上治理腐败等方面发挥了积极作用,但由于会计核算人员的“知情权”降低,在一定程度上加大了会计核算的难度,降低了会计核算的真实性,也容易造成国有资产流失。     

全球化背景下的国家意识形态安全

意识形态安全在国家安全中具有独特作用,是社会主义国家安全的深层内涵。随着全球化进程的加深,美国为首的西方国家强化了对我国的意识形态攻势,导致中国主流意识形态认同和社会价值共识的缺失,我国意识形态安全问题凸显。切实加强社会主义核心价值体系的主导地位和价值导向作用,促进中国主流意识形态与价值体系的良性运行,将构筑起一道意识形态安全屏障,有效确保我国意识形态安全。