Target Setting in Hierarchies: The Role of Middle Managers

We explore how a supervisor's hierarchical rank affects the extent to which employees’ targets reflect their past performance. Literature documents that supervisors do not fully ratchet targets for past performance, arguably because the commitment not to penalize successful employees with more difficult targets alleviates the severity of the ratchet effect. We argue that commitment is less credible in organizational hierarchies where a middle manager sets employees’ targets. Using data from an organization comprised of three hierarchical layers, we consistently find that a middle manager's exposure to performance pressure is positively associated with the ratcheting of the employees’ targets. Moreover, we show that management at headquarters reduces a middle manager's performance pressure when most of her employees missed their targets in the previous period. Overall, the results imply that the hierarchical rank is an important determinant of the credibility of a supervisor's commitment to deemphasize past performance in target setting.     

Transforming Local Government: Innovation and Modernization

This article is based on research investigating why local authorities innovate and what happens when they do. The authors show how local authorities have responded to the current normative climate for innovation, and explore the interaction between central policy and local action. The article demonstrates the importance of the policy climate set by central government in fostering—or constraining—innovation at a local level.     

地方政府债务对资源空间配置优化的影响研究

在双循环经济发展导向下,提升资源配置效率是防范和化解地方政府债务风险的有效路径.本文利用2010-2018年中国省级层面经验数据,实证检验了地方政府债务对资本错配和劳动力错配的影响.研究结果表明,总体而言,地方政府债务显著加剧了资本错配,但是对劳动力错配的影响不显著.分地区的回归结果显示出东部地区地方政府债务水平的提升抑制了劳动力资源的空间错配,而西部地区地方政府债务水平的提升则加剧了资本要素的空间错配.进一步的研究发现,在资本配置过度地区,地方政府债务加剧了资本错配程度,在资本配置不足地区,地方政府债务抑制了资本错配程度.本文的研究结论对于提升政府治理效能,促进要素合理空间分布和防范地方政府债务风险具有重要意义.     

地方政府融资平台——以北京市某区政府融资平台为例

引言所谓地方政府融资平台,就是指地方政府通过划拨土地,注入优质资产、国企股权等方式,组建一个资产规模和财务状况达到融资标准的公司。该公司以地方财政对公司的注资受益权、补贴,甚至偿债基金等作为保证,通过向银行贷款或发行企业债券等方式融入资金,并将其重点投向市政基础设施建设、公用事业、公益性项目等。此类公司名称各异,通常有城建     

地方财政应负担户籍改革成本

户籍制度属于政治法律制度范畴,属于一个国家的上层建筑。有关户籍制度方面的法律制订、颁布和实施是政府行为,涉及社会全体公民的利益,具有效用不可分割性。同时,户籍制度具有非排他性,任何公民都有权要求户籍,也必然拥有户籍。     

Political Management and Local Government: The Views of Local Authority Chief Executives

The Labour Government has introduced radical measures to change local authorities' constitutions. These include a requirement to abandon the traditional committee system and to replace it with political executives. Local authority chief executives will play a critical role in these changes and they are also uniquely placed to offer observations on the likelihood of the measures being successful. Because of this, a questionnaire survey was undertaken of the chief executives of all local authorities in England and Wales to discover how councils are responding to the Government's measures and to obtain their views on the proposed political management arrangements.     

试析地方政府融资平台的规范与创新

地方政府融资平台在应对全球金融危机和加快地方经济发展过程中起到了积极的作用.但是,由于地方政府融资平台无序迅猛增长,其自身运行中存在的问题和风险也逐步显现.规范和创新运行模式已经成为地方政府融资平台发展的当务之急.本文通过对地方政府融资平台规范和创新的分析,就其今后的发展途径提出了相关建议.     

Fiscal Reconstruction and Local Government Financing

This paper investigates the dynamic properties of intergovernmental financing during a fiscal reconstruction process by analyzing the dynamic game among local governments, which operates with soft budget constraints because of concessionary region-specific transfers from a central government. The existence of intergovernmental transfers induces the free-riding behavior of local governments, thereby bringing considerable deficits to the central government. Raising local and/or national taxes is desirable for fiscal reconstruction, but is unable to attain the Pareto-efficient fiscal reconstruction. Taxes on lobbying activities, combined with uniform transfers, induce earlier concession and can attain the Pareto-efficient outcome in the long run.     

中国地方政府融资平台分析

从2008年,政府四万亿救市计划推出以来,关于地方政府融资平台的争议一直不绝于耳。尽管称其功者有之,但多为批评之音。而其运作模式到底如何?地方政府又因何如此热衷?又有哪些隐患?对此种种,本文提供一解读分析。     

李雷:买人心比买资产难得多

中国企业在海外投资数据上的成绩固然喜人,但整合失败的案例也屡见不鲜。事实上,能够持续经营和维持被收购企业的业务模式、技术、产品、市场,以及与客户的关系,一方面是并购方已经得到被收购企业员工的人心、管理层的人心,以及客户、供应商的人心的最好印证,另一方面也反映出并购企业对收购目标企业的整合效果,而这些因素通常也决定了企业整个并购活动的成与败。     

Budget Reporting in Local Government: Problem or Solution?

Budgeting practice in Victorian local government has been criticised by the ICAA, which has developed a standardised budgeting model. The Victorian government has prescribed standardised financial and budget reporting following a decade of reform in the public sector. This paper examines whether the criticism of local government budgeting is valid, and whether standardised models are appropriate, particularly in the context of ambiguous outcomes and lack of input-output relationships, criticism of the adoption of accrual accounting in the public sector, and a focus on the implementation of a flexible best-value regime designed to suit local conditions.     

Learning to Improve: Approaches to Improving Local Government Services

Both Conservative and Labour government reforms of the past 25 years have implied an understanding of organizational change and learning. The contexts, changes and sharing of good practice in local government during this period are discussed in general and through an analysis of the Beacon Council Scheme. The scheme has many achievements to celebrate. Its progress, however, depends on the generic need in public service change to develop an holistic framework which embraces all forms of learning, improvement, innovation and change so that sustainable long-term value can be gained for all stakeholders.     

地方政府财政风险:表现形式、成因与防范

财政是政府实现其职能的重要手段和经济基础.目前我国财政状况相当严峻,财政风险已逐渐凸现.与中央政府相比,我国地方政府运行困难更大,而与之相伴的财政风险的危害也更大,并且具有向上级传导风险的特性,从而有可能给国家公共财政体系带来各类风险.本文试图从我国地方财政风险的表现形式入手,探索其形成的深层原因,并提出了防范地方财政风险的制度、政策建议.