Strategy-proofness on restricted separable domains

We study a problem in which a group of voters must decide which candidates are elected from a set of alternatives. The voters’ preferences on the combinations of elected candidates are represented by linear orderings. We propose a family of restrictions of the domain of separable preferences. These subdomains are generated from a partition that identifies the friends, enemies and unbiased candidates for each voter. We characterize the family of social choice functions that satisfy strategy-proofness and tops-onlyness properties on each of the subdomains. We find that these domain restrictions are not accompanied by an increase in the family of social choice functions satisfying the two properties.     

Comparing Nonprofit Charter and Traditional Public School Board Member Perceptions of the Public,Conflict, and Financial Responsibility: Is there a difference and does it matter?

In this paper, survey data collected from nonprofit charter school board and elected public school board members in Minnesota is used to test three hypotheses relating to theories of New Public Management, democratic governance, and small group dynamics. We find that nonprofit charter school board members perceive lower levels of conflict, place less priority on the general public, and perceive a higher degree of governance responsibly in the area of financial management, than elected board members. We conclude that the increased use of nonprofit charter schools has potentially substantial implications on accountability and effectiveness in the delivery of public education.     

Are Congressional Black Caucus Members More Reliable? Loyalty Screening and Committee Assignments of Newly Elected Legislators

A bstract .   As previous research has suggested, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) demonstrates the characteristics of a well-functioning vote-producing cartel in both the degree and uniformity to which it supports the leadership of the Democratic Party in the U.S. House of Representatives. As previous work has pointed out, this cartel is, therefore, rewarded by House Democrats through selection for service on "important" committees at the beginning of each Congress. However, Democratic leaders have very little, if any, information to guide them in their choices regarding committee placement for newly elected Democratic representatives. As such, they are likely to use past CBC uniformity and loyalty as a low-cost screening device for predicting future reliability. Examination of the committee placement of newly elected Democrats to the U.S. House from the 103^rd Congress through the 106^th Congress reveals such a pattern by House Democratic leaders. In other words, newly elected CBC Democrats face much higher probabilities of receiving "important" committee assignments than their newly elected non-CBC counterparts, ceteris paribus .     

All change? Prospects for the UK economy under “New” Labour

The opinion polls suggest Labour will win the General Election and form the next government. In this article, Andrew Sentance discusses how the UK economy might fare under "New" Labour. He argues that there is likely to be a considerable degree of continuity in macroeconomic policy, but more change in approach to supply-side issues. He highlights four key policy challenges which Labour would face at an early stage if elected and which will give an indication of how policies developed in opposition will be applied in practice.     

Centralized versus decentralized decision-making in a county government setting

During the November 1988 election cycle, the residents of Mississippi's 82 counties were allowed to choose whether or not to switch to an alternative system for governing the construction and repair of county roads. Under the system then used statewide – the so-called beat system – each of a county's five elected supervisors determined spending priorities and allocated funds within the boundaries of his or her own district. Under the alternative system – the so-called unit system – such choices were to be made by the supervisors collectively and then executed by a hired professional road manager. This paper models the decision of voters to retain the beat system (38 counties) or to switch to the unit system (44 counties). Theory and evidence suggest that the choice between centralized versus decentralized governance depends on the perceived costs and benefits of the alternatives to voters and their elected representatives. Received: February 24, 2000; Accepted: September 20, 2001     

When Mayors Go Global: International Strategies,Urban Governance and Leadership

An enigma lies at the heart of this article. In December 2006, the mayor of Saint‐Étienne, Michel Thiollière, was elected as the fifth best mayor in the world by the internet site City Mayors. Yet no publicity was made locally around this award. Taking this anecdote as a starting point, this article deals with the motivations that can lead a city mayor to become involved in urban international relationships' policy (city twinning, participation in cities networks, study trips, etc.). On the one hand these activities provide resources for building up political legitimacy and for electoral control, and on the other they provide resources for policy solutions to urban problems in the public realm. Nevertheless, in a context of transformation of the process of legitimization of urban elected officials, the second kind of resources seems to be the most sought after in mayoral involvement in international activities.     

长江大学主校区建设选址研究

运用模糊优选理论对长江大学主校区的两套选址建设方案进行比选择优，弥补了定性分析比较方案时难以取舍、公认度差的不足，方法简便实用，评价结果客观。     

Disparities in Prosperity

Regional differences in prosperity and productivity have recently been rising up the government's priority list as matters requiring serious attention. Wide existing disparities partly explain the government's desire to introduce regional assemblies and to propose that most of these should move from a consultative to an elected basis. Of course, the introduction of devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 1998 has increased the desire within English regions to reproduce the perceived advantages of the devolved regions. In this article, Graham Gudgin ¹ looks at the extent and causes of differences in regional prosperity.     

Social welfare,corruption and credibility

Abstract

Economic development requires that investments by entrepreneurs are not subject to expropriation by government. Unfortunately, public agencies often serve as the instruments by which political elites engage in corruption and extracting rents from the economy. The question is how to design institutions that credibly commit to a stable system of guarantees of property rights and contract enforcement.

Principal agent theory and the new public management favor greater accountability of public managers to elected officials or eliminating public agencies through privatization. We argue for institutional designs that provide a degree of public agency autonomy. We show that public agency autonomy is a by-product of the competition between elites in democracies with multiple veto players. We show that transparency, professionalism, and legality help ensure that public managers do not engage in rent-extraction. The institutional design problem is how to induce public managers to serve the public interest without being fully responsive to elected political officials.     

THE 2005 GENERAL ELECTION AND THE ‘NULL MP’: A NEW APPROACH TO EL ECTORAL REFORM1

At the 2005 General Election the Labour Party won an overall majority of Parliamentary seats but won the votes of less than a quarter of the electorate. Such an outcome may raise concerns about the democratic legitimacy of the government. The introduction of the Null MP electoral system would solve this ‘legitimation crisis’: every abstention would be counted as a vote for a Null candidate, who, if elected in the usual first‐past‐the‐post way, would be assumed to vote against all legislation introduced by the government. Very different outcomes would have resulted had this electoral system been in place at the last two General Elections.     

Mitterrand: from Socialism to Realism

The French elected a government of nationalist Bourbons who thought they could plan the economy in a world of international trade. They soon discovered their error but are reluctant to act upon the lessons. Dr Green reveals that the main results have been economic stagnation and a division in the Government between pragmatists and ideologues.     

浅谈香港公共工程承包商索赔和争议解决

本文通过实例研究,分析了在香港政府土木工程标准合同条件下索赔及争议解决的方式,并从承包商角度总结了索赔解决的经验,以及承包商选择用调解程序来解决索赔争议所做的准备和分析工作。     

Political institutions and economic growth

We analyze the impact of micro-founded political institutions on economic growth in an overlapping-generations economy, where individuals differ in preferences over a public good (as well as in age). Labour- and capital taxes finance the public good and a public input. The benchmark institution is a parliament, where all decisions are taken. Party entry, parliamentary composition, coalition formation, and bargaining are endogenous. We compare this constitution to delegation of decisionmaking, where a spending minister (elected in parliament or appointed by the largest party). Delegation of decisionmaking tends to yield lower growth, mainly due to the occurrence of production inefficiency.     

Women and risk-taking behaviour in local public finance

This study examines how female representation in local elected (mayor and legislature) and administrative (mid-level manager) positions influences municipal financial decision-making in 764 Japanese city-level governments. Findings show that female representation in local councils is positively correlated with risk-averse behaviour in financial decisions, as female representation on the legislature is negatively associated with issuing municipal bonds and with local investment in public corporations. Female representation in executive (mayor and vice-mayor) and mid-level administrative managerial positions has no apparent effects on local financial decisions. This study tests existing explanations of relationships between female managerial representation and fiscal behaviour in an Asian developed setting characterized by considerable underrepresentation of women in politics.     

The Invisible Finger: Markets under the Tories

Critics of Mrs Thatcher's Government have complained that it is failing to implement the radical economic policies for which it was elected Michael Fallon, Conservative MP for Darlington, contrasts the Government's achivements with the standards it had set itself. He argues that the more fundamental reform of the economy promised in its electoral manifesto could make the Conservative Party the natural refuge of the under-privileged.     

DO INSTITUTIONS AFFECT CITIZENS' SELECTION INTO POLITICS?

Political economy has primarily paid attention to the principal‐agent relationship between citizens and politicians and the role of competition and institutions in disciplining political agents. However, as the electoral control of politicians and the credibility of policy commitments are limited, this perspective needs to be complemented with an economics of political selection that takes into account the heterogeneity in the quality of those elected to political office. We review the emerging literature, which investigates the institutional determinants of political selection. We discuss pay in politics, parties, their candidate selection procedures and electoral rules, institutions enhancing transparency in politics, and institutions which govern dual office holding in different branches of government. We argue that further comparative analyses are essential in order to gain an improved understanding of the impact that institutions have on political outcomes, not only via the channel of accountability, but also via the channel of selection.     

浅谈宪法学课程之案例教学法

宪法案例教学法是教师通过研究国外法官对宪法案件的判决和国内专家对宪法事例的评析来引导学生掌握宪法基本原理的一种教学方法。它由确定案例范围、选择案例和加工已选案例这三个阶段组成。案例教学法有助于培养学生的宪政理念与综合职业能力,树立学生的宪法信仰。     

On One Forgotten Cause of the Arab Spring: the Lack of Economic Freedom

Had the Arab Spring been widely interpreted as a revolution for ‘laissez faire’, it would certainly have stimulated more reflection on the central place of the entrepreneur in economic development, and the fundamental role of economic freedom to let this prosperity‐generating entrepreneurship flourish. The future of the Arab Spring depends on the capacity of the new democratically elected governments to implement measures to prevent crony capitalism, restore the rule of law and promote economic freedom in order to ensure general prosperity.     

Urban Leadership in German Local Politics: The Rise,Role and Performance of the Directly Elected (Chief Executive) Mayor

In the post‐1945 rebuilding of local democracy and local government in West Germany the local government statutes enacted by each of the regions (Länder) created a conspicuous variety of local governments that ranged from the council/directly elected (chief executive) mayor form (installed in the South German Länder of Baden‐Württemberg and Bayern) to that of the (British local government‐derived) council/council‐elected mayor, and the city director form (introduced in the Land of Nordrhein‐Westfalen). This made almost for a natural experiment with different local government models. Since the early 1990s, in a striking sequence of legislative moves, all Länder have adopted the (‘South German’) directly elected (chief executive) variant. The legislative motives behind this shift were twofold: first, to strengthen the direct democratic rights of citizens (‘local democracy’); and, second, to improve the capacity of local leadership in running and managing the city (‘governability’). The article argues that — as evidenced by the 50 year‐long practice in the South German Länder — the directly elected (chief executive) mayor form seems capable of fulfilling the double goal of strengthening the administrative leadership in local government and of enhancing its political accountability to the citizens. Furthermore, experience indicates that the potentially ‘over‐powerful’ position of the directly elected mayor (as political and administrative leader) has been counterbalanced and held in check by an active local council and by vigorous local political parties. Lors de la reconstruction de la démocratie locale et des gouvernements locaux en Allemagne de l'Ouest après 1945, les régions (Länder) ont chacune mis en place des statuts de gouvernement local aboutissant à une extraordinaire variété allant de la combinaison conseil‐maire (directeur) élu par la population (dans les Länder du Bade‐Wurtemberg et de Bavière, au Sud) et conseil‐maire élu par le conseil (inspirée du gouvernement local britannique), jusqu'à une forme d'administrateur de la cité (introduite dans le Land de Rhénanie‐du‐Nord‐Westphalie). Il en a résulté une quasi‐expérience naturelle de différents modèles de gouvernement local. Depuis le début des années 1990, dans une succession frappante de mesures législatives, tous les Länder ont adopté la variante (‘sud‐germanique’) par élection directe (d'un directeur). Cette mutation obéit à deux sortes de motifs législatifs: d'une part, renforcer les droits des citoyens à la démocratie directe (‘démocratie locale’) et, d'autre part, améliorer la capacité de l'autorité locale à diriger et gérer la ville (‘gouvernabilité’). Comme le prouve la pratique de cinquante années dans les Länder du sud, la formule du maire (directeur) élu directement paraît en mesure de répondre au double objectif de renforcement de la direction administrative dans un gouvernement local et d'accentuation de sa responsabilité politique vis‐à‐vis des citoyens. En outre, l'expérience montre que la position potentiellement ‘toute‐puissante’ des maires élus au suffrage direct (en tant que chef politique et administratif) a été contrebalancée et contenue par un conseil local actif et d'énergiques partis politiques locaux.     

面向企业自主创新的工程硕士知识产权实务教学探索

对工程硕士进行知识产权教育是我国推进创新型国家建设和国家知识产权战略的一个很好的切入点。2008年知识产权课程被列入工程硕士公共必修课程。本文结合国外相关教育经验,深入分析了该课程特点及教学中的重点内容,结合教学实践,探讨了面向企业自主创新的工程硕士知识产权实务课程设计和课堂教学模式。