Public Procurement at the Local Level in Austria: The Economic Consequences of Compulsory Competitive Tendering for Public Services

This paper looks at possible problems concerning the economic effects of the introduction of an compulsory competitive tendering for general economic interest services at the local level. It examines the framework in Austria and some fundamental problems of competitive tendering. An obligation binding local authorities to put general economic interest services up for competitive tender, as currently intended by the European Commission (i.e. service concessions), would have considerable medium- and long-term effects on both the process of municipal service provision and the economic position of municipal (public) enterprises. The paper concludes that, from an economic point of view, procurement through competitive tendering does not appear to be effective or tenable for all general economic interest services in (all) different areas. The introduction of compulsory competitive tendering for service concessions in all areas of public services is therefore something best forgotten.     

The Protection of the Public Interest in the Context of Competitive Tendering

Public contracts increasingly have to be awarded through a procedure of public competitive tendering. State and other public bodies awarding public service contracts use this mechanism to require bidders to meet specific public interests, for example, certain environment standards, the promotion of women, or the employment of long-term unemployed persons. Such requirements impose upon bidders criteria not explicitly related to the contract, the implementation of which increases the project's cost and thus precludes the selection of the most economic offer, contrary to what is required by European recommendations. However the European Court of Justice has accepted such practice by Member States, considering it their right to organize themselves, within certain conditions, which are reviewed in this paper.     

Long-term Impacts of Competitive Tendering of Public Services on Market Structures

The EU intends to use calls for tenders to serve in the general economic interest, with a view to replacing administration by the market. Service providers and contracting authorities are expected to enter into lasting partnerships, based on incomplete contracts and flexible outputs. These partners in public service contracts are very different economic entities and to what extent calls for tenders will see the intended services delivered depends considerably on the partners' negotiating abilities and behaviour towards one another. Possible outcomes in different market situations are discussed under both static and dynamic circumstances.     

Competition and Costs: Evidence from Competitive Tendering in the Scottish National Health Service

This paper estimates the impact of competitive tendering on cleaning costs in Scottish National Health Service hospitals. Unlike previous studies, which have relied on cross‐sectional data, a five‐year balanced panel of 176 hospitals is used to estimate a series of fixed effects regression models. These panel estimates suggest that previous studies have likely over‐estimated the cost‐savings associated with competitive tendering. The findings also suggest that the lower costs associated with competitive tendering have more to do with auction theory than with any intrinsic efficiency of the private sector.     

关于建设黑龙江省公共服务型政府的对策思考

公共服务型政府建设是贯彻落实科学发展观的必然要求,关系着经济、社会和政治协调发展,是政府行政模式的根本性方向性的调整.及时采取有力措施,深化黑龙江省的服务型政府建设则是确保社会主义市场经济条件下政府充分发挥其在经济社会发展中的作用,更好地为人民、为社会服务的必然选择和正确选择.     

Economic Integration between the European Union and the Transition Economies of Central European Initiative Countries

In this article we examine the main factors influencing trade and FDI flows between the transition countries of the Central European Initiative (CEI) and the EU member states. We distinguish three groups of CEI countries, according to the degree of trade and FDI integration with the EU: the 'fast mover' countries, the 'next tier' countries and the 'slow movers'. By estimating a number of trade and FDI equations we were able to locate the significance of alternative variables which affect the flows of trade between the CEI countries and the EU. According to our results, the low volume of trade and FDI between the 'next tier' and 'slow movers' of the CEI region, on one hand, and the EU, on the other, is a reflection of the fact that these particular countries have not yet achieved adequate institutional and economic reform while, at the same time, privatisation has not progressed as much.     

Competitive Tendering and Optimal Size in the Regional Bus Transportation Industry: An Example from Italy

When defining how to implement tendering procedures for the regional bus transportation industry, one of the main problems local authorities have to face is setting the area size to be assigned as franchised monopoly.
This paper's aim is to analyse the topic by combining some empirical results and evidence from recent developments in the Italian regional bus industry. The empirical results show that the bus transportation sector is characterized by the presence of economies of density and scale. These results imply that the best strategy for introducing competition in the bus industry is a competitive tendering approach for an area of given dimension and not necessarily a route-by-route tendering. However, it seems that the criterion applied by local authorities in Italy is much more related to political issues—such as jurisdictional boundaries of a municipal or provincial area—than a desire to promote the exploitation of economies of scale and density.     

公共政策视角下的专利强制许可制度研究

作为国家公共政策的选择,专利强制许可制度的设置有利于平衡专利权人和社会公共利益,促进技术传播。从经济学、伦理学和法哲学的角度来看,专利强制许可制度的设置是必不可少的。目前,我国的专利强制许可制度还存在一定的问题,我国政府应借鉴其它国家特别是发展中国家的实践经验,结合我国的实际情况,不断完善我国专利强制许可制度体系,实现专利社会及其经济功能。     

新疆私营企业若干问题研究

新疆私营企业在发展中取得了一定的成绩，但也存在一些问题，如私营企业内部管理中家族化与专业化的矛盾；产权关系的矛盾；生产规模与经济效益的矛盾；化素质与管理需求的矛盾；融资渠道与资金需求的矛盾。导致私营经济发展滞后的外部环境因素主要有法律地位得不到相应的保护；发展私营企业的市场环境建设滞后；对私营企业的管理工作不够协调等。针对以上问题，本提出了私营企业发展的出路。     

公共物品的特许经营

公共物品性质使公共物品的提供和管理天然具有垄断性，公平和效率难于兼顾。委托代理制在解决公平和效率问题上仍然有缺陷。竞争性特许经营是解决公共物品提供的优化方式。     

Public service and competition in the European Union

In recent years, the Treaty of the European Union and the European institutions have had a rapidly increasing impact on the reorganization of commercial public services within the Member States. The trend has been dual—toward liberalization and toward harmonization of standards and national legislations. Progress is reported and analyzed in telecommunications, rail services, and electricity. A general concern is to reconcile legitimate public service obligations with the rules of competition that are prominent in the Treaty. New forms of regulation are tested in various countries preparing for the emergence of a European regulation framework.     

撤点并校背景下农村义务教育服务半径分析

撤点并校是我国过去10多年的重大教育事件,对农村中小学空间布局产生了重大影响。基于江苏省仪征市的案例分析,认为国家规定的学校服务半径40min的标准,只有在撤点并校前才能完全达到,当前的各类义务教育阶段的学校,其服务半径已基本达不到国家规定的标准,并且从未来趋势看,中小学的数量将会进一步减少,学校服务半径将会进一步加大。因此,国家应根据不同地区的实际情况分类分区制订不同的学校服务半径标准。与此同时,当前农村中小学的空间布局调整与优化,应与校车的配置同步进行,并在此基础上进一步构建学校布局与校车线路的理想图式,从而更好地满足中小学生的上学需求。     

公共财政与基本公共服务均等化

基本公共服务均等化是公共财政"公共性"的重要体现,也是科学发展观在社会领域的基本体现。文章首先探讨了基本公共服务均等化的理论内涵,接着就我国目前公共财政促进基本公共服务均等化的现状及存在的问题进行分析,最后,提出了促进基本公共服务均等化的对策。     

论我国突发性公共事务的财政投入方面存在的问题与对策

我国突发性公共事务的财政投入中,存在着总量投入不足、预备费流量式管理、事前投入不足和缺乏监督和效益评价机制问题。影响突发性公共事务的财政投入的几个重要因素有:财政支出总规模、公共性财政支出增长结构、财政职能和应急预算的非制度化等。     

The Commission and the Council Presidency in the European Union: Strategic interactions and legislative powers

This paper develops spatial, game-theoretical models of European Union (EU) policy-making that include the rotating Council Presidency as one of the main actors. Previous such models have typically ignored the Presidency's role, even though it is instrumental in shepherding the Commission's proposals through the legislative process. We study whether the Commission takes the Presidency's preferences into account when formulating proposals, and whether the Presidency's role limits or expands the Commission's powers. We find that even though the Commission has lost powers as a result of the introduction and extension of the codecision procedure, as shown in the literature, it maintains a degree of legislative power by strategically using the rotating Presidency. In particular the Commission times its proposals. It formulates a proposal on an issue when the Presidency is close to itself on that issue.     

服务业开放与竞争力的国际比较研究

对中国与主要发达国家以及发展中国家的服务业开放水平进行比较分析,从国内国际两个角度来分析服务业开放与产业竞争力的联系,对提高中国服务业竞争力和市场占有率提出可以借鉴的建议。     

关于我国农村的村民自治制度和土地制度的几个问题

农村的土地制度和农村的民主制度建设有着非常密切的关系。大家知道,人民公社制度是1984年被废除的,真正试行村民自治条例从1987年开始。从那时至今,已近14年了,并且取得了很多有益的成果。1998年经修订的村民自治条例,不仅在人大常委会经过了三审制度,而且在全国各大报上刊登出来,广泛征求人民的意见。这样,这个制度从规章本身的修改来看,是慎重和成熟的,所以限得的成效就比较明显。但从村民自治自身来看,仍存在三个不可回避的问题。     

税费改革与我国义务教育财政体制改革研究

税费改革极大地影响着义务教育经费来源渠道、收入规模及其投资规模和结构，使义务教育投资更依赖于县(市)级财政预算内资金投入，而当前的“分税制”财政体制下县级财政收入非常有限，县级财政无法承担义务教育投资与财政收支、经济同步增长的重大责任。因此，伴随着税费改革和农村经济政策改革措施的实施与落实，保障我国义务教育发展的最重要的措施应该是改革义务教育投资体制，将义务教育发展责任上移，实行建立以中央为主的义务教育财政投入新机制。     

公共服务均等化论略

政府为社会提供均等化的公共产品与服务是现代市场经济的必然要求。长期以来,我们实行的是城市偏向型公共产品供给制度,造成农村公共产品供给短缺、供给成本分担不合理、公共产品收益分享不公平、供给决策机制不规范等问题,影响了农村经济社会的发展,导致城乡经济社会发展进一步失衡。因此,必须根据公共财政的要求,实行城乡统筹的公共产品供给制度,以促进公共服务均等化目标的实现。     

公用事业行业市场竞争机制构建之我见

我国公用事业行业市场竞争机制构建过程中出现了各种问题。本文在探讨公用事业行业构建市场竞争机制的必要性和可能性的基础上,提出构建公用事业市场竞争机制的基本内涵应包含明确政府的职能定位和增加产业内竞争企业数量、潜在竞争者、替代品竞争者等方面。