地方环境规制中的代际公平问题研究

代际公平问题涉及当代人与后代人之间的福利和资源分配问题,是衡量可持续发展的标准之一。在地方层面,由于代际市场的缺失以及代内决策者的有限理性,环境规制很难避免代际外部性和代际利益冲突的产生。结合我国转轨时期的现实背景,对地方环境规制中的代际公平问题进行分析,并提出改革思路和政策建议。     

FDI对代际环境公共物品供给的影响及原因——以污染产业转移为视角

代际环境公共物品是一代以上人共同享用的环境公共物品,其供给机制应当以政府供给为主导,其他供给来源为补充.然而这些年来通过FDI途径的污染产业转移,给我国造成了严重的环境负外部性,影响了代际环境公共物品的供给.究其原因,政府缺陷是主因.为确保代际环境公共物品的充分供给,就要将对FDI的利用纳入到经济与环境的协调发展中,其根本出路在于充分发挥政府的制度供给职能,以制度供给克服政府缺陷,并促进代际环境公共物品的充分供给,而社会力量则可使之成为政府供给的有益补充.     

提高城市公共品供给效率的研究与探讨

随着时代的进步,城市公共品的供给已经成为衡量一个城市甚至是一个国家文明及进步程度的关键因素.本文首先对城市公共品进行了界定,分析了现有城市公共品的主要供给模式.然后针对当前我国城市公共品供给存在的主要问题:政府和公共部门的过度干预控制,而私人部门或是第三部门在城市公共品的供给过程中参与程度却比较低,整体供给效率不高等,进一步剖析其原因.最后指出为了提高我国城市公共品的供给效率,应继续推进并不断地深化城市公共品的供给市场化改革思路,进行配套地改革,建立起多样化的投融资模式;进一步探求多样化的公共品供给模式,以地方政府和民间资本为城市公共品的有效供给者;建立和规范规制机构,建立健全补偿机制和供给机制;转变政府的职能角色,由“划桨”向“掌舵”进行转变,树立起服务理念;同时还要提高市民享有城市公共品的权利意识.     

基于面板数据的代际收入流动研究

基于中国健康和营养调查中的农村数据,在面板数据条件下使用滞后水平变量作为工具变量分别对代际收入流动的单方程和系统方程进行估计,发现特定时期的单方程估计结果受工具变量的选取影响较大,而系统估计所得的代际收入弹性为0.446.这说明父辈收入与子辈收入之间存在较强相关性,代际收入流动性较弱,收入财富呈现出一定的代际继承性.因此,在减少收入分配差距的同时,政府应着重增加公共资源的供给,提供更多的职业培训,从而为农村子女发展创造更多的机会,以增加代际间的流动性.     

中国城市公共品私人供给模式探索

随着社会经济的发展,公共品已经成为人们生活中不可或缺的一部分,而由于中国现行的城市公共品供给模式是从计划经济体制时期沿袭下来的,缺乏应有的动力机制和约束机制,使得公共品的私人供给成为一种改革趋势,成为一种必然。从理论和实践出发,浅析了中国城市公共品私人供给的可能性、必然性及重要意义,证明了它是城市公共品供给模式多元化的重要一元。     

我国地方公共品的需求表达与决策机制研究——一个政治经济学的分析视角

供给公共品是政府财政支出的重要内容,公共品可以通过集权和分权两种方式供给。纳税人往往运用"用手投票"和"用脚投票"两种机制表达自己对地方公共品的需求偏好,即需求表达。我国地方公共品的供给效率偏低。在"自上而下"的供给决策程序中,供给决策通常是由上级政府,甚至中央政府直接做出的,然后逐层向地方政府传达,直至基层政府。在这一过程中,供给决策具有很强的指令性,纳税人很难参与地方公共品的供给决策程序,纳税人的真实需求无法在供给决策中得以体现,纳税人进行需求表达的权利"被代表"了。因此,在完善我国地方公共品需求表达与决策的政策选择上:一是构建和完善"自下而上"的供给决策程序;二是拓广需求表达路径设置需求表达机构;三是完善我国户籍制度,以利于纳税人"用脚投票";四是改进转移支付制度,重视需求表达的信息基础。     

基于农户视角的农村公共品供需均衡研究

基于3省245个农户的调查表明,农民当前最急需的公共品是卫生医疗、农田基础设施;农民的公共品需求有如下特点：硬品优先于软品;物质需求优先于精神需求;现实优于长远;切身利益重于宏观环境。合意的公共品供给有新型农村合作医疗、粮食直补政策和义务教育,农民对公共品供给最不满意的是农村社会养老、农业科技信息服务和农村金融。农民对公共品供给的满意度主要取决于公共品的规模、质量、价格和农户的人口社会学背景。最后,对农村公共品供需均衡矩阵进行了分析,并建议根据公共品供需衔接状况、农民对公共品供给的满意程度,实行不同的公共品供给策略。     

社会管理视野下代际关系的嬗变及其和谐发展

代际关系是一代人或几代人之间的亲情关系、依赖关系、经济交换关系的关系有机体，一代人不能脱离一代人而独立生存，他们是紧密地胶结在一起的关系。在社会转型的新时期，“代环境”发生着内在变迁。在多元文化的影响下，年轻一代的社会化模式从以往的那种“线性社会模式”转变为“网状社会模式”。为此，应当全面、及时、深入地揭示催生代际鸿沟和代际文化反哺的市场、教育、技术、文化、朋辈和社会因素，以发现和解释社会变迁进程中代际关系的新走向和整体图式，并透过以年代命名社会群体的现象，深入分析当前社会新生群体的时代价值，积极探索社会转型期代际良性互动，以及扭转当前代际倾斜、实现代际跨越的有效对策，从而谋求建立正向的代际关系，实现代际和谐。     

公共品供给的政府效率解及其条件分析

传统经济理论认为,在任何一个集体中,因任何一种公共品的成本分摊与收益分享,都普遍存在着"搭便车"者的个人理性行为以及由此导致的集体非理性的结局———人人都无"车"可搭的"公共"悲剧,断言公共品供给是市场失败的领域,必须由政府替代。用斯密的市场秩序概念来处理所有的私人品,用霍布斯的主权国家概念来处理所有的公共品,也是市场经济国家资源配置制度安排的普遍选择。我认为,"搭便车"或经济人理性行为是合乎公理的经济学假设,但"搭便车"问题并不一定非由政府强制来解决不可。从理论上说,公共品的供给存在政府效率解,但政府效率解有严格的约束条件,公共品供给中的政府职能与政府失灵也都是相对于其效率条件以及满足这些条件的程度而言的。     

公共品最优供给的两种分析途径及启示

在现实中,存在着公共品供求的矛盾,与此同时,公共品的最优供给也一直是经济学、公共选择等领域内所关注的理论问题。对这个问题的研究,存在着两种途径:奥尔森的集体行动逻辑的模型以及尼斯坎南的官僚规模最大化途径。他们分别得到了两种不同的结论—公共品供给的不足以及公共品供给的过剩。通过对这两种分析途径的研究,指出了分析公共品最优供给时难以回避的4个问题。     

Dynamic efficiency and intergenerational altruism

Can dynamic inefficiency that may occur in societies populated by non-altruistic agents be removed by introducing intergenerational altruism? Although the answer seems to be negative, this paper shows, by means of a simple example, that the presence of an arbitrarily low proportion of altruists can be sufficient to prevent a society from reaching a non-Pareto optimal equilibrium. Intergenerational transfers from the old to the young can therefore provide an alternative—to public debt, fiat money or money bubbles which transfer goods from the young to the old—solution to the dynamic efficiency problem.     

The role of risk aversion in public goods dilemmas with environmental uncertainty: an experimental analysis

The purpose of this study is to extend earlier research on environmental uncertainty in public goods dilemmas. The present paper reports the results of an experiment designed to examine the effect of risk aversion on public goods provision. A von Neumann–Morgenstern utility function with constant coefficient of relative risk aversion is used to investigate the impact of risk attitudes within a threshold public goods environment. The outcome of the threshold public goods experiment shows that subjects are indifferent to the changes in environmental conditions. Additionally, the analysis indicates that risk aversion is a significant determinant of voluntary public goods contribution level.     

To draft or not to draft? Inefficiency, generational incidence, and political economy of military conscription

We study the military draft as a form of intergenerational redistribution, taking into account endogenous human capital formation. Introducing the military draft initially benefits the older generation while it harms the young and all future generations. As it distorts human capital formation more severely than an equivalent intergenerational transfer using public debt or pay-as-you-go pensions, the draft can be abolished in a Pareto-improving way if age-dependent taxes are available. In the absence of age-specific taxes, the political allure of the draft can be explained by the specific intergenerational incidence of its costs and benefits.     

Towards an operational sustainability criterion

This paper examines the concept of sustainability and its implications for environmental policy analysis. It builds on the premise that present society holds a moral obligation to pass on a world of undiminished life opportunities to members of future generations. Maintaining life opportunities, in turn, can be achieved by maintaining or improving a diverse set of resources and capabilities that support a person's freedom to define and pursue her own conception of the good life. On an operational level, this framework points to the following guideline for environmental policy: Protecting the rights of future generations requires either the conservation of environmental resources or compensatory measures (including the provision of substitute technologies) that ensure the fair and proportionate sharing of net benefits over intergenerational time scales. In this framework, resource depletion is permissible only if (with reasonable certainty) it would generate a Pareto improvement relative to a baseline scenario involving strict resource conservation.     

论温室气体排放管制的政治学根据

温室气体排放管制的政治学根据包括绿色政治和政治合法性两个方面。在绿色政治的大背景下,国际政治和国内政治都将温室气体排放管制问题放到了一个非常重要的位置。政府对温室气体排放行为进行管制是实现和维护其政治合法性的重要途径。温室气体排放管制本身是政府作为公共权力主体应当提供的一种特殊公共产品。温室气体排放管制是政府履行其社会职能的重要方面。温室气体排放管制的目的是为社会提供环境公共产品——安全的气候。作为地球村的一员,每个国家应当积极采取相关法律政策措施促进温室气体减排。     

The impact and economic cost of environmental regulation on energy utilization in China

This article utilizes three data envelopment analysis-based models: a no environmental regulation model, a weak environmental regulation model and a strong environmental regulation model to reveal the impact of environmental regulation on China’s regional total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) during the period of 2003–2010. To take a further step, these three models are adjusted for calculating the correspondingly macro-economic cost of environmental regulation. The estimation results show that at present, the level of China’s environmental regulation is relatively low, and an enhancing of environmental regulation would lead to a sufficient increase of China’s regional TFEE with an enormous economic cost as its price. That means in China, the nationwide environmental stress is high, and the regulation cost is very huge. Strengthening environmental regulation would inevitably have some negative influences on China’s economy in the short run. Based on our findings, some corresponding policies are also proposed in this article.     

Environmental regulation and investment: Evidence from European industry data

This paper contributes to the empirical literature on the effects of environmental regulation on investment. In particular, we ask whether and how strongly an industry's investment responds to stringency in environmental regulation. Environmental regulation is measured as (i) an industry's total current expenditure on environmental protection, and (ii) a country-industry's revenue from environmental taxes. Focusing on European data of manufacturing industries between 1998 and 2007, we estimate the differential impact of environmental stringency on four types of investment: gross investment in tangible goods, in new buildings, in machinery, and in ‘productive’ investment (investment in tangible goods minus investment in abatement technologies). Both environmental variables enter positively, and their quadratic terms exhibit significantly negative parameter estimates. This, in turn, indicates a positive but diminishing impact of environmental regulation on investment.     

Where is the Land of Hope and Glory? The geography of intergenerational mobility in England and Wales*

We present a new analysis of intergenerational mobility across three cohorts in England and Wales using linked decennial census microdata, focusing on occupation, homeownership, and education. Four main results emerge. First, area-level differences in upward occupational mobility are highly persistent over time. Second, measures of absolute and relative mobility tend to be spatially positively correlated. Third, there is a robust relationship between upward educational and upward occupational mobility. Last, there is a small negative relationship between upward homeownership mobility and upward occupational mobility, revealing that social mobility comparisons based on different outcomes can have different trends.     

A comparative study of environmental amenity valuations

The paper reports on a comparative study of direct and indirect approaches to valuing environmental amenities (i.e., public goods), specifically, air quality in terms of its human health effects. The application of three indirect valuation methods (via market goods) is reported here: the health production method, a consumer preferences (for nonmarket goods) model, and the cost of illness method. The first and second methods are (economic) behavior-based approaches where willingness to pay for an environmental good is derived by exploiting relationships in consumption between the public good and market good(s). The third method is based on a physical relationship—a dose-response function—between the environmental good and health. The direct valuation approach encompassed three contingent valuation elicitation formats: open-ended, modified iterative bidding game, and referenda-style binary choice. The application of all four methods was based on data from a survey of a large, stratified sample of households from the Haifa metropolitan area in northern Israel. The estimates of welfare change derived by the various methods are discussed and compared.