Tradable deficit permits:efficient implementation of the Stability Pact in the European Monetary Union

Borrowing from the experience of environmental markets, this paper proposes a system of tradable deficit permits as an efficient mechanism for implementing fiscal constraints in the European Monetary Union: having chosen an aggregate target for the Union and an initial distribution of permits, EMU countries could be allowed to trade rights to deficit creation. The scheme exploits countries' incentives to minimize their costs, is transparent and flexible in accommodating idiosyncratic shocks and allows for adjustments in case of Europe-wide recessions. In addition, it need not treat all countries identically and can be designed to penalize countries with higher debt to GDP ratios. Finally, the scheme rewards countries for reducing their deficit below the initial allowance, lending credibility to the Stability Pact's goal of a balanced budget in the medium run.     

On the Institutional Design of the European Monetary Union: Conservatism, Stability Pact and Economic Shocks

The aim of this paper is to design the optimal institutional arrangement for a monetary union. Using a two-country rational expectations model, the study analyses how the conservatism of the area-wide central bank and the penalty system for fiscal deviation (Stability and Growth Pact) should be designed with respect to different economic shocks. The optimal institutional arrangement is also dependent on who is the 'leader' of the policy game. When national governments move first, the independent area-wide central bank can exercise greater discipline over national fiscal policies, making the Stability Pact unnecessary.
(J.E.L.: E58, E63, F42).     

The Impact of Fixed Exchange Rates on Fiscal Discipline

In this paper, it is shown that contrary to standard arguments, fiscal discipline is not substantially enhanced by a fixed exchange rate regime. This study is based on data from 116 countries collected from 1975 to 2004, and uses various estimation techniques for dynamic panel data, in particular a generalized method of moments estimation in the tradition of Arellano and Bover [Journal of Econometrics (1995), 68 , 29] and Blundell and Bond [Journal of Econometrics (1998), 87 , 115]. Contrary to previous papers on this topic, the present paper takes into account that the consequences of a new exchange rate regime do not necessarily fully manifest immediately.     

The Social Norm of Tipping: Does it Improve Social Welfare?

Some economists believe that social norms are created to improve welfare where the market fails. I show that tipping is such a norm, using a model in which a waiter chooses service quality and then a customer chooses the tip. The customer’s utility depends on the social norm about tipping and feelings such as embarrassment and fairness. The equilibrium depends on the exact social norm: higher sensitivity of tips to service quality (according to the norm) yields higher service quality and social welfare. Surprisingly, high tips for low quality may also increase service quality and social welfare.     

Transfers and Bailouts: Institutions for Enforcing Local Fiscal Discipline

The growing importance of local and provincial governments as providers of public services and the importance of those services for the overall performance of the national economy has led to a careful re-examination of how public resources are allocated by decentralized governments. While the Tiebout model promises efficient local resource allocations, the conditions necessary for such outcomes—many local governments, fully informed and costlessly mobile households, no spillovers, residential head taxes—are rarely met in practice. Lacking a sufficient number of competitive local governments, however, other institutional safeguards must be found. Four such institutions are identified here. First, a stable central government managed by nationally elected political parties or presidents capable of making (second-best) efficient interpersonal redistributions of income while at the same time denying inefficient intergovernmental transfers and /or access to non-resident taxation. Second, a mature banking system and fully integrated national capital markets to minimize the economic consequences of a single government's failure to repay its local debts. Third, informed and sophisticated municipal bond and local land markets capable of evaluating local services and finances so as to shift back onto local residents the full economic consequences of inefficient local government fiscal choices. Fourth, a politically independent judiciary capable of enforcing constitutional rules for spending and tax assignment, local debt repayment, and balanced local budgets. Efficient central governments and efficient land and capital markets are seen here as necessary institutional pre-conditions for an efficient local public sector.     

农村社会保障离不开财政支持

由于我国农民负担沉重、农村集体经济弱化、家庭保障和土地保障面临挑战，要求政府担当起农村社会保障主体责任。应以国家财政支持为主导，推进农村居民生活保障的社会化。这是“三个代表”重要思想在农村的具体实践，是全面建设小康社会和城乡统筹发展的政策要求，也是公共财政理论的现实运用。主张取消农业税，开征农村社会保障税，形成农村养老保险基金的主渠道；调整农村土地转让收益分配、改革耕地占用税，充实农村社会保障基金；建立农村最低生活保障制度和公共卫生保障制度。     

The Interaction of Legal and Social Norm Enforcement

Although legal sanctions are often nondeterrent, we frequently observe compliance with “mild laws.” A possible explanation is that the incentives to comply are shaped not only by legal, but also by social sanctions. This paper employs a novel experimental approach to study the link between legal and social norm enforcement. We analyze whether the two institutions are complements or substitutes. Our results show that legal sanctions partially crowd out social norm enforcement. Mild laws nevertheless give scope for a potentially large, positive welfare effect, as a higher level of compliance is achieved at lower social enforcement costs.     

The Hidden Structural Features of the Fiscal Rule: A European Saga

This paper addresses the question of the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). More and more authors and policymakers are bringing to light the negative impacts of the European deficit rule on the countries and their ability to respond asymmetric economic shocks, and some are asking for a redefinition of the pact. If the focus of the SGP is only fiscal, and two of the biggest countries in Europe have failed to abide by the pact since its implementation, it seems clear that the SGP needs at least a re-examination. Yet, on the contrary, if we introduce into the analytical framework the SGPs impacts on the European Unions structural policies, the conclusions are far different. Abolishing the SGP could hinder the presently up-to-date convergence prospective. This paper proposes a theoretical analysis of the SGP that emphasizes a new feature of the SGP: a strong incentive to structural reforms.The author would like to thank the participants of the International Atlantic Economic Conference in Quebec City (Oct. 16–19, 2003) for their helpful comments, Kenneth Donahue, and two anonymous referees. The usual caveat applies.     

专题一：反思“民族-国家”——欧洲社会模式的反思与展望

在全球化和福利国家的双重压力下,欧洲社会模式呈现了不同的应对能力。斯堪的纳维亚模式不仅实现了社会福利与经济增长绩效的共同发展,而且还有效应对了全球化所带来的压力。保守或者合作主义类型的社会模式不同程度地出现了困境。《里斯本议程》展现了欧盟社会发展的蓝图,但在由民族国家所组成的欧盟,实现的前景依然任重而道远。最后,结合欧洲运作良好的国家的经验,本文提出了欧盟未来发展的政策框架。     

创业动机与主观幸福感：社会规范的调节作用

基于自我决定理论与目标设置理论,对2013年GEM数据库69个国家的16 976个创业者进行调查,探究创业动机（生存型动机与机会型动机）对创业者主观幸福感的影响机制,分析创业效能感的中介作用和社会规范的调节作用。结果显示：创业动机正向影响创业效能感,进而提升主观幸福感;社会规范负向调节创业动机对主观幸福感的影响。结论可为改善创业者幸福感,打造“双创”战略升级版提供理论参考和实践指导。     

创新利器：法国“中小企业协约”

科技型中小企业在国家创新体系中发挥着重要作用，政府应开发适应其不同发展阶段的高影响力政策，优化科技型中小企业的生存环境。我国目前实施的政策多是着眼于税收减免、融资、政府采购等。法国“中小企业协约”围绕中小型企业的客户这一关键环节，为科技型中小企业与“大型机构”开展合作提供了一个新的政策工具，为我国建设创新型国家、完善创新体系具有借鉴意义。     

德国视角下的欧洲社会模式

欧洲社会模式是欧洲一体化进程中一个十分重要而又颇具争议的问题。本文分析了欧盟社会政策取得的进展,福利国家面临的挑战,以及欧盟及其成员国的应对,在此基础上展望了欧洲社会模式的发展前景。     

The Reconstruction of South East Europe,the Stability Pact and the Role of the EU: An Overview

In the aftermath of the Kosovo crisis, the international community agreed on a Stability Pact to provide a framework that will contribute to the long-term security and stability of the whole region of South-East Europe (SEE). The idea is to bring the region closer to the European integration process through new institutional relations with the European Union (EU), as well as through the provision of assistance for reconstruction and development. As a contribution to the Stability Pact, the EU has announced the upgrading of its regional approach to the countries of the so called Western Balkans: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia (FYROM), and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro). Under the new Stabilization and Association Process all these countries could in principle become eligible to start negotiations for a new type of association agreement with the EU. The new Stabilization and Association Agreements would offer the countries in the region improved prospects for international trade with the EU, which would potentially provide increased export revenues to finance the reconstruction of the region from its own resources. However, in keeping with the previous regional approach, strict conditions have been laid down for countries to open negotiations on the new association agreements, including progress in democratization and economic reform. In addition, the new policy framework also emphasises the need for the development of intra-regional cooperation between the countries concerned. The paper presents a discussion and evaluation of the new policy approach towards regional cooperation and prospects for European integration in the context of the problems of economic reconstruction, democratic transition and consolidation in South East Europe.     

法律还是社会规范:一个关于投资者保护的比较分析

中小投资者的保护是公司治理的核心问题,对一个国家证券市场的发展有着重要的影响.LLSV开创了法和金融方面的理论,并通过一系列实证研究,得出法律渊源影响着投资者的保护程度,进而影响一国金融市场的发展.后来,很多学者在LLV研究的基础上,发展了法和金融理论.但是他们并不都认同LLSV认为的法律的巨大作用,还有其他学者从文化、政治、资源禀赋、地理条件等角度分析对投资者保护的差异.本文对法律和社会规范的保护进行比较,分析它们对投资者保护的差异,然后得出法律和社会规范在保护投资者利益时的关系.     

The Ground without Foundation: Territory as a Social Construct

It has been commonplace to regard territory and boundaries as social constructions. It is, however, often left unclear what the social construction of territory really implies and what it explains. As several meanings can be attached to territory, the key question is not whether territory is socially constructed but how it is constructed. This article tries to systemise and sharpen constructivist claims regarding territory. I will argue that two specific constructions merit special attention and help explain the tendency to defend territory by military means. First, territory is often conceived as a (female) body. Second, it is regarded as private property. Both metaphors are interwoven in normative structures that may explain why people fight over territory although in strategic and economic sense it would not be rational to do so.     

经济人性正义化:趋社会规范必然演化研究

该文主要阐释经济人性正义化"为什么"和"怎么"成为趋社会规范的必然演化问题。人类社会公共选择倾向、有效制度供给、社会发展合宜动力支持和历史经验总结等因素使经济人性正义化成为趋社会规范演化的必然。实现上述职能的动力机制、生产力与生产关系并重机制、矫正机制的内嵌促使经济人性正义化成为现实。     

Inter-Governmental Fiscal Relations: The Facilitator of Fiscal Decentralization

The decentralization of fiscal authority to lower level jurisdictions contributes to the efficient delivery of public services, but conflicts with national objectives. This paper argues that the system of fiscal relations, including both the grant structure and institutions for policy coordination, are necessary for achieving the full benefits of fiscal decentralization while preserving national efficiency and equity objectives. The case for decentralization is recounted, along with the ways it can impinge upon efficiency and equity in the national economy. These adverse effects can be mitigated by appropriate fiscal transfers, both equalizing and conditional, and suitable measures of policy harmonization.