Mitigation of diffuse water pollution from agriculture in England and China,and the scope for policy transfer

This paper evaluates the existing policy frameworks for mitigation of diffuse water pollution from agriculture (DWPA) in England and China. With reference to a conceptual model of the process of policy transfer or international lesson drawing, and possible constraints to this, it assesses whether and how China can draw lessons to improve current policy from the supra-national and national provisions of the EU and a member state that by 2016 had comprehensively implemented EU agricultural and environmental policy. DWPA is first analysed as a public policy challenge to inform specification of a generic framework for its mitigation. The current policy frameworks for mitigation of DWPA in England and China are evaluated, and their potential for improvement is assessed. A number of barriers to lesson drawing for regulation, incentive payments schemes and advice provision are diagnosed. These barriers are potentially least in relation to advice provision and its use to promote voluntary action by farmers. Given its structure and capabilities the public agricultural extension system in China is also recognised as a key resource. A focus on three policy approaches to mitigate DWPA in China is recommended: i) targeted regulation to a ‘reference level’ of large intensive livestock, and ultimately other large commercial farms; ii) strategic use of incentive payment schemes to protect water resources from DWPA; and iii) re-orientation of the ethos and modalities of operation of the extension system, informed by international lesson drawing, with the aim of rebalancing farm productivity and environmental protection.     

Anticipatory policymaking in global venues: Policy change,adaptation, and the UNFCCC

The subfield of public policy depicts policymaking as reactive process wherein public officials respond to existing social problems. While this depiction holds true in many cases, it fails to account for instances where policy change occurs in anticipation of emerging threats or hazards. “Anticipatory problems” are projected to occur in the future, and it is the prospect of their occurring that generates policy debate. This paper examines the policymaking pattern engendered by anticipatory policy problems, highlighting the ways in which they challenge and support existing assumptions about the process of policy change. To illustrate this distinctive dynamic, this paper will present a case study examining the evolving debate over climate change adaptation policy within United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).     

要素禀赋、政策支持与金融资源配置:产业转移的承接模式研究

本文以商务部认定的湖南、江西省四个加工贸易梯度转移重点承接地为样本,对比分析要素禀赋、政策支持和金融资源配置的异同及其影响,在总结归纳各自承接模式的特点的基础上,提出了"精品园区+核心企业+直接融资+金融助推"的较优模式,认为政策支持是影响承接产业转移的直接因素;要素禀赋的影响力有弱化趋势;金融资源配置是影响承接力和产业结构优化升级的重要因素;对待处于不同生命周期的产业转移企业,承接的工作重点应各有侧重.因此,承接产业转移要与"转方式、调结构"的战略方向一致.注重与本地的产业互补相结合,并需要金融部门的主动参与和服务创新.     

Lack of divine coincidence in New Keynesian models

The literature has long agreed that the divine coincidence holds in standard New Keynesian models: the monetary authority is able to simultaneously stabilize inflation and output gap in response to preference and technology shocks. I show that the divine coincidence holds only when inflation is stabilized at exactly zero. Even small deviations from zero generate policy trade-offs. I demonstrate this result using the model׳s non-linear equilibrium conditions to avoid biases from log-linearization. When the model is log-linearized, a non-zero steady state level of inflation gives rise to what I call the endogenous trend inflation cost-push shock in the New -Keynesian Phillips curve.     

Creating opportunities. Policies aimed at increasing openings for immigrant entrepreneurs in the Netherlands

Since the 1980s, subsequent Dutch governments have promoted self-employment of immigrants to reduce their unemployment rates. These policies have been focused on the (potential) actors themselves, i.e. the immigrants who have started or who may want to start a business. Taking mixed embeddedness as a point of departure, entrepreneurship and self-employment cannot be solely understood by focusing on the micro-level but has to include the larger macro and meso structures that impact on these actors' choices. In this paper, therefore, the focus is on the opportunity structure and on the policies that affect this set of options for starting a (small) business. A typology of policies that may alter this opportunity structure is offered.     

The impact of agricultural policy on farm income concentration: the case of regional implementation of the CAP direct payments in Italy

One of the objectives of agricultural policy worldwide concerns the support of farm income. Common Agricultural Policy direct payments (DPs) are the main instruments to support farm income in the European Union. This article addresses their role in the concentration of farm income. This is done by calculating the Gini coefficient and its disaggregation in a large sample of Italian farms in the period between 2006 and 2007. Although this approach has been used to develop ex‐post analysis in previous studies, this article is innovative given that it is used here in an ex ante analysis aimed at evaluating the likely impact of a recent reform proposal. This latter requests changing the current model to a regional model of DPs application to make payment rates (i.e., payment per hectare) homogeneous among farms in the same region. The analysis shows that DPs and farm incomes are both very concentrated but that DPs allow for an income concentration reduction in Italian farms. The shift to a regional implementation reduces DPs concentration and, to a limited extent, farm income concentration. Of the considered regionalization scenarios, those that redistribute DPs among regions are the most effective in reducing concentration. The extension of the Gini considered approach to an ex ante setting seems effective because it provides insights that could feed the policy debate regarding the forthcoming reform.     

多委托代理关系、政策的选择性执行与农村税费改革

农村税费改革在全国全面推行后,在目前的条件下这一政策出现的一些问题能否得到全面深入的贯彻执行的问题引起了学术界的关注.本文运用多委托代理理论来分析中国多层级垂直行政管理体系中的政策执行问题,认为地方基层政府利用政策存在无法执行的可能性以及信息传递中的噪音,从事违背税费改革精神的行为,地方政府出于自身的利益以及要求地方基层政府完成各种政策任务的考虑默许、袒护这一行为,并提出了全面贯彻执行农村税费改革政策所要采取的对策.     

我国财政改革中几个全局性问题的思考

按照党的"十六大"提出的战略构想,未来20年里我们将完成经济体制转轨的任务,实现全面小康.这样的构想意味着,中国经济体制改革目标的实现已从政策设计的角度锁定在1978-2020年的时段内,我们正处在承前启后的转折点上.在政府主导的渐进路径上,政府既推进着市场机制的建立,也同时推动着计划手段的创新,在市场机制发挥作用的同时,又始终承担着计划体制下的诸多任务与责任.财政作为政府政策实施的财力保障,以自身的变动见证了这一过程,与体制转轨进程和经济运行状况有着深刻的互动关系.因此,在这样一个特殊时刻,对财政改革中的一些关系全局的问题进行思考、解释,不仅关系到财政自身的运行,无疑也将直接影响到整个经济发展的绩效.本文主要围绕三个方面的重大问题提出了分析的路径与依据,并做出了基本的评价.     

生育政策、子女数量与中国的性别教育平等

近年来,中国性别教育差距快速缩小并呈现出女性高等教育在校生比重超越男性的现象,文章从生育政策视角对这一现象进行了解释,认为计划生育政策通过改善女性教育获得显著促进了性别教育平等。队列分析显示,生育政策之后的出生队列中女性相对教育水平明显提高,性别教育差距明显缩小。基于生育政策地区差异和出生队列差异构建的双差分模型分析发现,以农村二孩政策地区为参照组,严格的独生子女政策在提高女性相对受教育机会方面更为明显。但相对于二孩政策,一孩半政策在促进性别教育平等方面不存在显著差异,这可能由于在一孩半政策下独女户和双女户数量较少,家庭受性别偏好影响会将资源向男性倾斜,导致政策没有通过控制家庭规模提高女性相对教育获得机会。研究认为,随着中国放松生育政策,农村地区由一孩半政策过渡到二孩政策并不会对女性教育获得产生明显影响,应该关注生育政策调整对严格独生子女政策地区女性教育获得的影响。同时,随着性别教育差距逐步缩小,可以利用劳动力市场政策降低市场性别歧视,进一步提高女性地位并促进性别平等。