Accountability and legitimacy in earth system governance: A research framework

Along with concerns over the effectiveness of earth system governance, ways of enhancing its accountability and legitimacy are increasingly coming to the fore in both scholarly debate and political practice. Concerns over accountability and legitimacy pertain to all levels of governance, from the local to the global, and cover the spectrum of public and private governance arrangements. This conceptual article elaborates on the sources, mechanisms and reform options relating to more accountable, legitimate and democratic earth system governance. We proceed in four steps. First, we conceptualize accountability and legitimacy in earth system governance. Second, we place questions of accountability and legitimacy within the larger context of earth system transformation, which, we argue, poses special challenges to the pursuit of accountability and legitimacy. Third, drawing on the contributions to this special section, we analyze different sources and mechanisms of accountability and legitimacy and their effects on the democratic potential and effectiveness of governance. Fourth, in concluding, we outline reform options that may help alleviate persisting deficits in the democratic potential of earth system governance.     

Diversity and pluralism in earth system governance: Contemplating the role for global administrative law

This article aims to explore whether procedural rights and administrative law mechanisms - such as, for example, the right to a hearing, the duties to provide a reasoned decision and to disclose relevant information - can enhance the accountability and democratic legitimacy of earth system governance.The democracy-enhancing potential of such mechanisms and rights - which in the national context have proved to be beneficial in strengthening citizens' participation and the acceptance of decisions - can be limited in the global arena, by a number of factors. One of these factors is “legal imperialism”, understood as the grafting onto the global level rules and institutions that impose the hegemony of western values.In fact, administrative law mechanisms, being a construct of a certain type of western, liberal model of the state (and its capitalist model of development), could be perceived, in developing countries as an instrument to reproduce the dominant position of advanced industrialized countries and their economic actors.The analysis suggests that in order to realize their democracy-enhancing potential, these mechanisms should draw, as far as possible, on cross-cultural principles, and be supported by financial and technical instruments enabling “developing countries” and marginalized groups to engage in dialog with the most powerful actors.     

中国遭遇国际贸易摩擦的必然性与合理性研究

2008年全球性金融危机之后,贸易保护主义重新抬头,中国遭遇的国际贸易摩擦愈演愈烈。但是通过贸易理论分析和世界经济、中国经济的发展实践来看,中国遭遇国际贸易摩擦有其必然性和合理性,它是中国经济和对外贸易所处历史阶段下的必然产物,国际贸易摩擦有其存在的合理性。     

Cultural legitimacy and framing struggles in innovation journeys: A cultural-performative perspective and a case study of Dutch nuclear energy (1945-1986)

This article contributes to the field of innovation studies by addressing the role of cultural legitimacy in technical innovation journeys. The article develops a new perspective that connects insights from discourse theory, interpretive approaches to culture, cultural sociology and social movement theory. In contrast to functionalist and structuralist approaches (which tend to conceptualize culture in a top-down deterministic manner), our cultural-performative perspective emphasizes agency, collective sensemaking and framing struggles. Cultural change is a contested process, in which various groups perform on public stages to influence the attitudes and opinions of relevant audiences who provide financial resources, protection or support relevant for innovation journeys. We demonstrate the usefulness of this perspective with a longitudinal case study of nuclear energy in the Netherlands (1945-1986), which encompasses both the creation of legitimacy in the 1950s and 1960s, and its contestation by an anti-nuclear movement in the 1970s, which halted the innovation journey.     

中国私募基金运作机制研究

私募基金是相对于公募的共同基金而言的一种基金类型，这种基金属于一种合伙人制的小型私人投资公司，主要投资于公开交易的证券和衍生金融产品，是一种高风线的投机基金。随着证券市场改革的深入，私募基金面临的环境发生了重大变换，本文从研究美国私募基金运作机制入手，探讨适合中国私募基金运作的机制，以规范和发展我国的私募基金。     

民营企业发展趋向分析——以财务管理为中心

本文重点分析了民营企业在管理模式、资金运营、投资决策、财务风险、资金筹集等方面存在的问题，提出民营企业必须以财务管理为中心，并对以上各方面问题提出了具体的改进措施和对策。     

The implications of private tutoring on the school education in LDCs

In many LDCs, we observe that the public school teachers receive low wages, expend less than their full effort at school, and provide private tutoring to the students for a fee. To capture this institutional arrangement, we develop a theoretical model which shows that in comparison with ‘no-tutoring’, ‘tutoring’ is welfare reducing for all students in the economy. However, if the government considers only the students in the public system, then ‘tutoring’ can be welfare improving. In that case, the government would set a lower tax rate to pay wages to the teachers and let them provide tutoring to the students for a fee.     

The effect of Medicaid expansions for low-income children on Medicaid participation and private insurance coverage: evidence from the SIPP

We examine Medicaid enrollment and private coverage loss following expansions of Medicaid eligibility. We attempt to replicate Cutler and Gruber's [Q. J. Econ. 111 (1996) 391.] results using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), and find smaller rates of take-up and little evidence of crowding out. We find that some of the difference in results can be attributed to different samples and recall periods in the data sets used. Extending the previous literature, we find that take-up is slightly increased if a child's siblings are eligible and with time spent eligible. Focusing on children whose eligibility status changes during the sample, we estimate smaller take-up effects. We find little evidence of crowding out in any of our extensions.     

Legitimate governance of risk at the EU level? The case of genetically modified organisms

In the past few years, the EU has been establishing a new regulatory framework for GMOs, a central issue in the governance of risk that came under fierce attack in the mid-1990s. The primary question addressed in this article is whether this new framework will be able to solve the legitimacy problem of GMO governance at the EU level. Focusing on theories concerning input–output legitimacy and democracy and the role of expertise, this article examines the level of involvement of stakeholders in the process leading to the new rules; the predominant mechanisms of representation that have been used in that process; and the forms of participation in the day-to-day governance of risk as envisaged in the new rules. Based on document analysis and a series of interviews with central stakeholders, the conclusions bring up two further theoretical matters regarding EU governance, namely the transformative nature of citizenship and the conceptual distinction between input- and output-legitimacy.     

The Oil Spill Process: The Effect of Coast Guard Monitoring on Oil Spills

In this paper we evaluate the effectiveness of Coast Guard enforcement efforts in reducing oil spills. We consider how vessel owners behavior changes with increases in the probability of being monitored. We also study the effectiveness of the performance standards adopted by the Coast Guard in 1984. We conclude that: (i) Coast Guard enforcement effort works to decrease both the frequency of oil spills and the spill size, even though in this latter case the effect is smaller; (ii) the expected fine has no effect on either the frequency or size of oil spills; (iii) few spills from non-monitored transfers are detected; and (iv) the implementation of the new performance standards increases the effectiveness of the Coast Guard monitoring efforts.     

Towards governance of human tissue engineered technologies in Europe: Framing the case for a new regulatory regime

The development of human tissue engineered technologies, located in the context of wider debates around the governance of biotechnology, raises important issues. This paper explores these issues by examining theoretical approaches to the regulation of risk, the limits of technical risk assessment and implications of scientific uncertainty in this area. We consider broader social concerns and how these shape contemporary debates relating to the sourcing and use of human tissue-engineered technologies. We examine the emergence of a new regulatory ‘regime’ in Europe and the social shaping of a regulatory space between medicinal products, medical devices and biologics where these innovative products may be situated. Reporting on recent policy initiatives and a survey of regulatory authorities in Europe, we analyse the ways in which public trust in these technologies may be engendered, providing insight into public participation in policy debate and relations between industry and the regulatory state at national and European levels.     

公共项目交易中的治理模式研究

本文在对公共品供给模式分析的基础上探讨了公共项目契约的形成和交易治理模式.非经营性项目由传统的公共部门垄断经营供给模式转化为对其实行代建制,准经营性项目实行公私合作的供给模式,并针对不同的供给模式给出了两种不同的治理模式以解决公共项目契约组织中的代理人问题.     

澳门的社团组织治理评析

澳门社团组织的形成有其深刻的政治、历史、经济、文化原因。在澳门400多年的发展历史中,社团充当了葡人政府与华人交流的桥梁,澳门回归后,社团进一步繁荣,充当特区政府与市民交流的桥梁。目前发展仍然存在一些问题,解决这些问题有必要立足未来筹划澳门的社团政治发展,加强社团立法。     

Oil prices and economic downturns: the case of Spain

We address the macroeconomic effects of an oil price shock in Spain. We apply a vector autoregression model (VAR) analysis to quarterly data for the Spanish economy since 1986, to elucidate the effects of variations in the oil price on the economy, considering the three main causes of disruptions in the oil markets: oil supply shocks, oil demand shocks and oil-specific (precautionary) demand shocks. We conclude that the effects in Spain strongly depend on the type of shock: the consumer price index (CPI) has mainly been influenced by oil demand shocks; output has only reacted to oil supply shocks; and monetary policy has mainly reacted after precautionary shocks. Second-round effects caused by the behaviour of nominal wages have not been found. Additionally, we discuss two facts: the ability of firms to increase markups in a context of rising demand and the procyclical role of monetary policy when faced with oil demand shocks.     

The effects of corporate governance compliance on market valuation in Malaysia

This study investigates the effects of corporate governance compliance on market valuation in Malaysia using a sample of 164 companies listed on the Main Board in Bursa Malaysia from 5 different industries （consumer, trading ＆ services, industrial, constructions and properties） within 2001 to 2005. Throughout, this study will use correlation and regression analysis in the SPSS software to determine the effects of corporate governance practices on Market Valuation. In analyzing firms＇ market valuation, we will use the Tobin＇s Q formula and for the corporate governance compliance, we will look at 4 criteria to compare with market valuation, which are （1） Board of Director＇s composition, （2） Board of Director＇s remuneration （salaries）, （3） Board of Director＇s training and development, （4） Board of Director＇s meeting. In order to determine the effects between the corporate governance compliance and market valuation, we will use regression analysis. Based on the correlation analysis, the first null hypothesis must be rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted, in which dependent variable and independent variables are significantly correlated with BOD remuneration and BOD training availability. Overall, there is a significant relationship between Tobin＇s Q and independent variables （BOD remuneration and BOD training）. This study also recommends that for the company who did not comply with the code, they should follow the best practice because it will be a pivotal weapon in facing with the fierce competition in era globalization.     

中国上市公司治理的主要问题探讨

本文首先界定了公司治理的概念和研究范畴,然后阐述了上市公司治理问题的理论分析框架及各国不同的治理模式。在此基础上,结合我国实际分析了上市公司治理存在的主要问题,得出了结论：我国上市公司治理所面临的主要问题与西方国家有很大的区别,西方国家成熟的公司治理理论不能完全照搬到我国,必须结合我国实际,从上市公司治理问题产生的根源入手,才能真正改善我国上市公司治理。     

“欧洲学期”:欧盟改善经济治理的重要一步

主权债务危机充分暴露出欧盟内部经济治理方面的体制性缺陷,也让成员国看到深化欧盟内部融合、增进财政预算和宏观经济政策协调的必要性。"欧洲学期"就是欧盟在债务危机恶化之际推出的一项重大改革举措,是完善欧盟经济治理的重要内容。因此,对这一机制的研究显得尤为必要。本文从"欧洲学期"机制的框架内容、创新之处、存在的问题、实施现状和预期政策效应等方面着手,试图对其做出较为客观全面的剖析,并给出初步的评价。     

经济转轨进程中的政府治理:几个理论视角

制度之间具有互补性,市场化改革要求政府治理进行相应的改革.本文总结了几个决定政府治理性质的理论视角:政治经济纵向一体化的视角、公共选择理论的视角和市场结构理论的视角,更根本地,我们可以从人力资源配置的视角来看待一个社会政府治理的性质及其变革.对人力资本的重视是关于政府治理变迁理论的最新进展.     

Participative multi-criteria analysis for the evaluation of water governance alternatives. A case in the Costa del Sol (Málaga)

This paper presents the results of a participatory multi-criteria evaluation of urban water supply alternatives in Costa del Sol Occidental in Málaga (Spain). Multi-criteria and social research techniques were combined, relying on social actors' involvement throughout the research work. The paper documents that participatory processes allowed to unveil framings, perspectives, values and interests, as well as understanding of the social and institutional context in which the waters are governed. The deployment of this methodological approach has in this case provided an extended diagnosis which was the starting point to explore non a priori foreseen management alternatives by the researchers. The methodological approach proved useful for problem structuring in a collective, flexible and iterative way, unveiling existing water management conflicts and their motivations, and improving the quality and effectiveness of the information exchange and the reflection process, among social actors, even if the whole process developed in a research setting rather than in a policy for real one. Participatory multi-criteria evaluation could in this case, contribute to identify policy options that could be better defended before all the social actors, including the general public, thus attempting to achieve shared ground. The paper suggests some methodological considerations for applying participatory multi-criteria evaluation based on the outcomes of the case study application.     

Price dispersion in the private health insurance industry: The case of Catalonia

This paper presents a vertical and horizontal product differentiation model that explains price dispersion among different kinds of health care insurance firms. Our model shows large insurance firms engaging in price competition with small mutual organizations that serve only a local area and charge lower premiums. We found that, although the market allows the entry of an excessive number of firms, the presence of local insurance companies increases social welfare by increasing the range of products available to consumers. Our conclusions are applicable to OECD countries in general although we rely on Catalonia's data.