GOVERNMENT SIZE AND GROWTH: A SURVEY AND INTERPRETATION OF THE EVIDENCE

Abstract The literature on the relationship between the size of government and economic growth is full of seemingly contradictory findings. This conflict is largely explained by variations in definitions and the countries studied. An alternative approach – of limiting the focus to studies of the relationship in rich countries, measuring government size as total taxes or total expenditure relative to GDP and relying on panel data estimations with variation over time – reveals a more consistent picture. The most recent studies find a significant negative correlation: an increase in government size by 10 percentage points is associated with a 0.5% to 1% lower annual growth rate. We discuss efforts to make sense of this correlation, and note several pitfalls involved in giving it a causal interpretation. Against this background, we discuss two explanations of why several countries with high taxes seem able to enjoy above average growth. One hypothesis is that countries with higher social trust levels are able to develop larger government sectors without harming the economy. Another explanation is that countries with large governments compensate for high taxes and spending by implementing market‐friendly policies in other areas. Both explanations are supported by ongoing research.     

GOVERNMENT SIZE AND GROWTH: A REJOINDER

In our 2011 survey of the literature in the Journal of Economic Surveys on the effect of government size on economic growth in wealthy countries we find a relatively consistent pattern: An increase in government size by 10 percentage points is associated with a 0.5–1 percentage point lower annual growth rate. This conclusion is questioned by Colombier. In this rejoinder we present a rebuttal of Colombier's argument based on a detailed scrutiny of his own statistical evidence and regression results. Furthermore, we note that several new papers that have appeared since our original paper was published give support to our main conclusion.     

浅谈大学学术自由的教学理念

本文结合自身在学术和教学过程中的经历从狭义方面谈了一下自己对学术自由的看法,结合实践提出三个观点:学术自由是推动学术发展的动力;学术自由是产生创新的源泉;学术自由是提高教学质量、促进知识吸收的有效途径。     

契约自由与限制

契约自由原则是合同法的一项重要的基本原则,基于公平正义的考量,在特殊情况下,通过立法和司法审判活动对其进行限制。诚实信用原则主要是对履行合同的要求,不对契约自由构成限制。对契约自由的限制可划分为绝对限制和相对限制。对不同类型的限制,各有对应的司法干预方式。对契约自由的限制,应当合法、合理和必要,应以实现契约自由和公平正义的平衡为目的。     

论教授终身制及其在中国高校的应用问题

自20世纪初美国大学建立终身教授制度以来,该制度在维护学术自由、平衡行政权力与学术权力等方面发挥了重要作用,促进了美国高等教育的繁荣发展。中国高校有与之相似的终身制度———职称终身制,但是在实际应用过程中出现了概念不清、大学教师为职称而研究等问题,为此,国内一直在进行教师聘任制度的改革。     

刍议网络社会中的言论自由——以“政府治理”为切入点

言论自由在很多国家被作为公民的基本权利写入宪法,通过这样的方式赋予其一国最高的法律保护。20世纪末以来,网络开始成为人们信息交流的新平台并开始逐渐改变我们的生活学习方式,这给政府对社会的管理带来了新的压力和挑战,网络社会中的言论自由以及政府的监管治理成为当今社会的重要研究课题。从言论自由的概念入手,分析我国网络社会中的言论自由以及对现阶段政府治理手段进行分析和研究从而提出对于政府治理网络社会中言论自由的完善措施。     

The Primacy of Space in Politics: Bargaining Rights,Freedom and Power in an İstanbul Neighborhood

This article explores and theorizes the ways in which urban space and political contestations are mapped onto each other. The ethnography illustrates the multifaceted transformations in a notoriously secularist neighborhood of ?stanbul, Te?vikiye, as it first turns into a high‐consumption locality in the post‐1980s, then into a high‐conflict urban space in the new millennium on the arrival of Muslim high‐spenders, particularly headscarved women. Aiming to fill the gap left by the absence of spatial analysis from political science and political sociology, I argue that the urban neighborhood becomes central for political contestation when both government and opposition fail to protect and secure liberties and rights. Now that devout Muslims are integrated into highly contested urban sites and share bourgeois lifestyles, ordinary people act in defense of their ‘sphere’ of freedom and privacy. This new territoriality is largely symptomatic of increasing fears of losing freedom, privacy and social status. This spatial defensiveness is reinforced by people's decreasing trust in, and increasing demands from, the state for the protection and security of their rights and liberties. My overarching argument is that exclusive attention to the bipolar clash between devout Muslims and secularists under the rubric of ‘neighborhood wars’ obscures multipolar conflicts around the discontents stemming from authoritarianism and democratization.     

Financial liberalization and remittances: Recent panel evidence

We investigate the impact of financial liberalization on remittances to 84 countries over the period 1986–2005. Explicitly accounting for the multidimensionality of financial reform, we find that the various dimensions impact remittances differently: Increased economic freedom in the financial sector, as captured by absence of direct government control over the allocation of credit, has a positive and immediate impact. However, the improved robustness of financial markets, as captured by the development of security markets, improvement in the quality of banking supervision, and removal of stringent restrictions on interest rates and international capital, has a negative and lagged effect. The net combined effect reveals that financial liberalization may have a modest negative impact on remittances in the long run.     

论和谐与人的全面发展

文章认为，和谐，是贯穿于人类古今中外、古往今来不同时代、不同制度、不同意识形态社会的一条轴线。和谐，是形成“每个人的自由发展是一切人的自由发展的条件”的联合体的基础，是实践、积累的过程，是发展的过程，是人类孜孜以求的美好融合的社会形态和理想境界。在当代中国，构建社会主义和谐社会是一个新的重大课题，需要在实践中进一步探索。文章提出，要爱护和谐这一贯穿古今中外的促进发展进步的永恒的生命线；要加深认识，和谐是个科学的实践过程；走向和谐，最重要的首先是提倡和实行公平正义；走向和谐，要着力推进科学发展；走向和谐，走向大同，一定要从自身做起。     

Media,Education and Corruption: Investigating the Associations

We study the interactive association of press freedom, access to media and education with a nation's corruption levels. A free press generates unbiased information that greater access to the media helps propagate; and a greater degree of education, in the same context, helps individuals apply that information. This entire process generates a vigilant and corruption‐free economy. It is therefore important to consider these factors in conjunction.