The Independence of the Italian Constitutional Court

It is often asserted that the Italian Constitutional Court is not independent of the Executive and Legislative branches of the government in Rome. We offer a view of independence that is congruent with bodies such as constitutional courts. We argue that the evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, however poor it may be, indicates that the Italian Constitutional Court is as independent as any other corresponding constitutional or supreme court of democratic countries. The evidence is not directly conclusive because the question, in the end, is not whether the judges, one by one, are independent, but whether the Court is independent. The evidence we offer pertains mostly to judges. If judges are independent, as that evidence seems to indicate, the Court is a fortiori even more independent.     

Constitutional coordination in unstable party systems: the Brazilian constitution of 1988

Constitutional assemblies are a common feature of many democratic transitions. However, the goal of coordinating constitutional choice would seem nearly impossible when assemblies are comprised of highly fragmented and volatile political parties. Building on Knight’s bargaining model, this article argues that the main challenge to coordination in unstable party systems is the procedural disequilibrium that results from incomplete information over breakdown payoffs. The likelihood of compromise in such circumstances is a function of the ideologies that frame constitutional choice and inform coalition-building. Thus, unstable party systems are not chaotic, although they may be deeply conflict-laden. These issues are illustrated empirically via the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, which demonstrates the possibilities for a stable constitutional order emerging from a fragmented and volatile party system.

Constitutional choice and European immigration policy

The EU’s immigration policy is evaluated from the standpoint of constitutional economics. The main conclusion is that European immigration policy is trapped in a system of constitutional regulations that is too rigid as it is exclusively oriented towards the protection and securitisation of European borders. As such, it is not capable of allowing the development of a problem-solving capacity based on successive trials, and this produces negative outcomes for the whole of the EU.

德国言论自由的重要性及其限度——从“联合抵制电影案”等判例说起

在德国,法律十分重视平衡和保护言论自由,法律对人们言论的规制要受到来自个人名誉、尊严和道德方面的限制。但德国法律对言论自由的保护也有诸多不足：一是德国对言论自由的限制有过于宽松之嫌;二是在言词与行为之间没有作出区分;三是德国的基本法对言论自由的保护着重在民法方面,而没有刑法方面的保护。     

宪政经济学与中国经济改革的宪政问题

宪政经济学是现代西方经济学研究的重要分支，是经济学回归为“政治的经济学”的重要研究成果。它是对约束经济行为者和政治行为者的选择与活动的不同法津——制度——宪法规则的运转性质做出相关解释的经济学。而按照马克思主义经济学的理论。经济决定政治，经济发展从来也不能脱离制度的约束。从这个意义上讲，中国的经济改革本身并不是一个单纯的经济问题，更是一个以经济为核心、以宪法制度为框架约束的公共选择过程，理应以宪政的思维去理解和推进这项改革。     

Constitutional Interpretation: Burke and Buchanan and their 18th Century Intellectual Roots

There is a respectable tradition of Burkean constitutional interpretation in legal scholarship whereas Edmund Burke is a relatively neglected figure in constitutional political economy. A comparison of the constitutional interpretations of constitutional political economy and Burkean legal scholarship provides a potentially fruitful outcome for both. This is particularly so given the 18th century intellectual roots of each. An examination of the Burkean tradition demonstrates why it is methodologically inductive, evolutionary and pessimistic, compared to the deductive, individualistic and optimistic approach of the Smithian tradition of constitutional political economy. Interestingly, these sharp distinctions in method produce similar results.

论人民法院对行政立法的审查

人民法院是中国的审判机关,同时也行使国家司法监督权。人民法院对行政权的监督主要是通过司法审查的形式来实现的。但目前在中国行政立法享有司法豁免权,这就使行政法治成为一句空话。从美国的司法实践来看,将中国的行政立法纳入司法审查的范围是十分必要的。要想真正实现行政法治,首先应在立法上明确规定人民法院对行政立法的司法审查权;其次要明确司法审查中人民的审查要件、审查对象及审查标准;最后要提高法院的在司法审查中的地位和司法上的独立性。     

Constitutional moments in Eastern Europe and subjectivist political economy

This article provides epistemic foundations for traditional rational-choice political science, to explain when and how ideas matter. Operational codes, epistemic communities and the structural patterns of ideas demonstrates the constitutional moments that occur during crises, and how ideas can underpin and direct the formation of interest groups. The implications for policy reform are discussed, along with an application to the Constitutional Moments during the transition of Central and Eastern Europe.

政治参与视角下立法听证会的困境与机遇

自从听证会被引入立法领域以来,这项在国外良好运转的制度,在我国却出现了水土不服的情况,结果并不理想。有关组织者对立法听证会的效果和功能表示失望,许多人反映,立法听证会"成本大、过程长、效果差"。为什么会有这种结果?是否立法听证与我国的政治制度具有本质冲突?文章主要从公民政治参与的角度,以各省市区有关立法听证的制度文本和实践统计为基础,在对各省的文本差异和实践结果进行分析的基础上,探讨了立法听证会的困境、机遇和出路。     

Measuring patterns of specialization using trade in value added: the case of manufacturing in Italy

This article aims to contribute to the long-standing debate on the ‘anomaly’ of Italy’s specialization in manufacturing by providing fresh analysis based on new data. It offers: 1) a comprehensive survey of Italian comparative advantages measured in value-added terms and their evolution over time; 2) an international comparison of these advantages with Italy’s main competitors. Results show that the country’s traditional comparative advantages are substantially confirmed, a genuine capacity of the Italian domestic production factors to maintain added value in production with comparative advantage can be observed and new trends in terms of specialization and competitors are also highlighted, showing the influence of the international fragmentation of production on trade and specialization.     

Transition and the output fall

We present a model to explain why in the transition economies of Central andEastern Europe an important output fall has been associated with price liberalization. Its key ingredients are search frictions and Williamsonian relation-specific investment, implying that new investments are made only after having found a new long-term partner. When all firms search for new partners, output may fall because of three effects: a) disruption of previous production links, b) a fall in investment, and c) capital depreciation due to the absence of replacement investment. We show that forms of gradual liberalization like the Chinese 'dual-track' price liberalization may avoid the transitory output fall.
JEL classification: D21, D50, E30, E61, P41, P51.     

意大利能源概况及可再生能源的开发和利用

意大利能源非常短缺,石油和天然气储量严重不足,煤矿已经关闭,核能禁止使用,电力仍需依靠进口。据意大利新技术能源与环境委员会（ENEA）最新统计,2007年意能源对外依存度为85．6％,远远超出欧盟的平均水平。本文详细介绍了意大利传统能源的生产、进口及消费情况,同时对意大利可再生能源的开发利用也做了详尽的分析。     

Management of vaccinations in Italy: a national survey after healthcare regionalization

Abstract

Objectives:

The main aim of this study was to describe the effects of regional organization and performance in managing vaccinations, in the light of the institutional devolution recently introduced in Italy.

Methods:

We analysed (1) the general organization of regions for vaccination programmes, (2) the management of four vaccination programmes (combined measles-rubella-parotitis, varicella for children, influenza, and pneumococcal 23-valent for adults).

First, we conducted preliminary face-to-face interviews with 16 regional managers of the infective disease prevention departments. Subsequently, we sent them a standardized questionnaire to obtain comparable information on general organization and on the four specific vaccination programmes considered. In all, 14 regions were eventually included.

Results:

The survey showed a widespread lack of regional staff involved in the management of vaccinations and a geographical variation in the availability of computerized data collection. We recorded poor coverage for varicella and pneumococcal 23-valent vaccinations compared to MRP and influenza. Prices of the four vaccines varied widely among regions, with only a weak correlation between prices and volumes.

Limitations and conclusions:

The major limitation of the survey was the lack of information available at regional level. The piecemeal diffusion of computerized systems and the widespread lack of sufficient staff should mainly explain this.

Economic incentives could be offered to regions that achieve national targets. Such incentives should encourage collaboration between central and regional authorities consistent with institutional trends in regional devolution.     

Between European integration and regional autonomy: the case of Italy from an economic perspective

Italy has experienced a double political phenomenon over the last few decades: a transfer of powers to a supranational entity (the EU) and a move towards regional autonomy. This paper aims to evaluate how policy competences are attributed to and exercised by the European, national and regional institutions. It develops a set of quantitative indicators analysing the legislative production of the EU, the Italian parliament and the Italian regions in various policy areas. The main findings indicate a certain substitutability between European and national legislation and that different levels of government share competences in a larger number of sectors than suggested by the economic theory.

欧债危机下的意大利研究与创新改革

为了尽快走出欧债危机,意大利政府提出了一系列改革方案,其中,研究和创新是重要的改革内容。具体的改革举措包括:简化公共研发竞争性基金资助程序,改革企业激励机制,为年轻研究人员提供专项资金,引入需求驱动型创新机制,出台一系列研发税收减免机制,推出新的创业文化支持创新型中小企业创业等。通过介绍意大利研究与创新体系的基本特点,并对欧债危机发生后意大利研究与创新体系的变化以及采取的重要创新改革举措进行分析和总结,以期对我国的创新决策提供参考和借鉴。     

意大利国家流感预防和应对计划

本文介绍了意大利《国家流感预防和应对计划》的设立背景、目的和相关应对措施以及在此次甲型H1N1流感疫情出现后,意大利政府所采取的防控措施,希望能给我国在应对此次流感的过程中提供些借鉴和参考。     

An Analysis of Chinese Acquisitions of Made in Italy Firms in the Luxury Sector

Outward Foreign Direct Investment （OFDI） from emerging economies has begun to increase significantly and has been growing at a faster pace than Foreign Direct Investment （FDI） from the developed world. This research seeks to assess the impact of Chinese acquisitions and their implications for the ＂Made in Italy＂ luxury sector and its firms. This paper presents a cross-case analysis of two Chinese acquisitions in order to provide some in-depth insights into the influences and the motives driving Chinese firms to invest in the luxury Made in Italy sector, the patterns and modes of the Chinese acquisitions as well as the competitive strategies and the distinctive challenges that both investors and acquired firms have to face. From the findings, it emerges that both the investor and the acquired firm need to overcome several key challenges to be mutual benefits from the acquisition.     

Interpreting fluctuations in output growth in China

Unlike in OECD countries, fluctuations in output growth in China are not straightforward in their interpretation. On the one hand, they reflect the business cycle, which results from shocks to aggregate demand. On the other hand, they also reflect the structural transformations that have accompanied China’s transition to a market economy. Demand shocks can be identified by virtue of the persistence of their impact. This paper decomposes the variance in provincial, regional, and national output growth according to its persistence characteristics. The results suggest that during the reform period, only a minority of output growth variance can be attributed to demand shocks and business cycle fluctuations. It is also found that there is substantial heterogeneity in the persistence characteristics of output growth across provinces. Implications of the findings for macroeconomic policy are discussed.     

湖南省文化产业投入产出分析

近年来“文化湘军”成功突围,文化产业迅速发展,使其成为湖南省的一个重要的支柱产业。基于湖南省2007年投入产出表,对湖南省文化产业的相关分析系数进行计算,对文化产业的产业关联和产业波及进行定量的分析。研究结果表明：湖南省的文化产业发展虽然在全国范围内取得领先的地位,但是总体水平仍然比较低,尚处于起步阶段,对于全省经济的支撑作用和拉动作用都很弱。     

An investment-function-based measure of capacity utilisation.: Potential output and utilised capacity in the Bank of Italy's quarterly model

Measures of potential output and the output gap are increasingly being developed and used to concisely quantify and monitor the risk of price accelerations stemming from rises in aggregate demand that are not met by a corresponding increase in supply. They often play a prominent role in the price determination mechanisms of macroeconometric models. In this paper we build a measure of potential private-sector value added for the Italian economy that is consistent with the capital accumulation process in the Banca d'Italia's Quarterly Model — and more generally with the rest of the supply-side block of that model. More specifically, we exploit the fact that the investment function can be thought of as a relationship transforming desired gross additions to capacity output into capital accumulation by means of a conversion factor (the optimal capital/output ratio). Thus, if one removes the component of investment decisions that stems from changes in the relative price of the production factors, (i.e. in the optimal capital/output ratio), then a measure of the desired gross addition to capacity may be constructed. The results draw a cyclical picture of the degree of capacity utilisation for the period 1970–1997 that is roughly in line with those produced by the Wharton and Hodrick–Prescott filter approaches, as well as with the pictures resulting from the ISAE, IMF, European Commission and OECD measures of the output gap. Our investment-function-based measure appears to be a promising indicator of the pressure exerted on prices by demand accelerations. Its empirical properties are, on the whole, acceptable and plausible.