Can Direct Payments Facilitate Agricultural Commercialisation: Evidence from a Transition Country

We investigate the impact of direct payments on agricultural commercialisation in Kosovo. Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe but, with European assistance, provides substantial funds to support agriculture, made up of many small and often semi‐subsistence farms. Thus, the effect of this support is a central policy issue. Identifying the effect of direct payments on market participation faces endogeneity issues arising from the possible simultaneous determination of participation in support programmes and market participation. In order to achieve proper identification of the endogenous direct payments, we use a strategy of targeted identification search that employs several different methodological approaches. We find that direct payments for fruit and vegetables, and those for cereals and oilseeds have a positive effect on market participation. However, we cannot identify any definite effect of livestock payments.     

农民工市民化进程中的社会保障问题研究——以黑龙江省新生代农民工为例

黑龙江省新生代农民工社会保障存在的问题严重,主要表现为农民工参加社会保险比率较低,农民工劳动保障机制不健全。解决新生代农民工社会保障问题,应建立适合新生代农民工牧点的各项保险制度,积极发挥政府的主导作用,提高新生代农民工的整体素质,构建社会支持网络。     

林权抵押贷款借贷双方的行为分析——以福建省永安市为例

在福建省永安市进行实证调查的基础上,从林权抵押借贷双方的行为出发,分析林权抵押参与金融机构的性质、参与程度、贷款规模和贷款结构;不同性质的借方参与林权抵押的程度及变化;以及普通农户贷款的特征。结果表明:林权抵押贷款供给以政策性金融为主,贷款越来越倾向于向资产较为雄厚的林业企业和林业大户;毛竹林成为普通农户的主要抵押物,而以村为单位牵头组织规模化的抵押贷款可以一定程度解决融资成本大的问题。     

重大水利工程项目决策社会稳定风险评估中的公众参与博弈

为改善重大水利工程项目决策社会稳定风险评估中公众参与现状,从社会稳定风险评估3个主要利益主体——中央政府、地方政府与公众不同的利益诉求出发,运用演化博弈模型,探讨在不同利益诉求的相互作用下影响地方政府与公众在社会稳定风险评估中策略选择的因素。研究发现,当公众受到的损失大于参与付出的成本时,双方稳定均衡状态均表现积极,反之,双方可能均表现为消极或积极这两种截然不同的状态。基于此,分析了中央政府对地方政府和公众在社会稳定风险评估博弈中策略选择的影响。最后,提出应加大对地方政府的支持、规范公众参与相关制度、加大教育培训及宣传力度、创新公众参与方式几项政策建议。     

Evaluating the London 2012 Games’ impact on sport participation in a non-hosting region: a practical application of realist evaluation

In the literature on Olympic legacies and impacts, there is a dearth of materials that specifically address the issue of Olympic impact for non-hosting regions. The literature tends to deal with impacts at a national level, or at a hosting-city region level, neglecting in large part the degree to which benefits can be leveraged by non-hosting regions. A further limitation identified in the literature is a failure to engage in detailed formal evaluation of policy implementation where assertions of potential policy impact are based on untested assumptions. This study is intended to address both of these concerns. It presents an empirical, ‘bottom-up’ application of a Realist Evaluation framework to assess the impact of a policy initiative – Workplace Challenge – aimed at leveraging enhanced sports participation in a non-hosting region – Leicestershire – in the period leading up to the 2012 Games. In doing so, it seeks to identify which causal mechanisms worked within this particular context to produce the observed outcomes. The evaluation results demonstrate that the programme represented a positive approach to fostering regular engagement with sport and physical activities for some groups in some types of organisations, and that awareness and motivational factors associated with the London 2012 Games are, in this case, linked (albeit weakly) to an increase in sport and physical activity participation for specific groups taking part in the programme in particular organisational contexts.     

组织和开展党派监督:新时期内地统战工作的核心

统一战线有广义和狭义之分,新时期内地统一战线的核心工作是组织和开展党派监督,这是统一战线理论假设运用于当代中国而形成的必然逻辑推论。要使这一核心工作得以落实,一些程序化的操作建议可供参考。     

新农村建设影响因素分析

新农村建设对于构建和谐社会意义重大。要减少城乡分治的二元结构,现行的土地制度及农民自身局限性等因素的影响,需进一步发展农村经济和教育事业,培育新型农民。     

安徽省地方立法公众参与现状、问题及对策研究

近年来,公众参与地方立法受到了社会各界的广泛关注。安徽省积极探索地方立法公众参与的有效机制,并取得了一定成果。但同时也存在很多问题,例如公众参与的广度和深度不够、公众参与总体效果不理想等。尽管如此,这些并不能成为阻碍甚至排斥公众参与地方立法的正当理由,相反地,我们应该结合实际探寻解决问题的对策,建立有效的地方立法公众参与制度,以推动地方立法的理性发展。文章立足于当前实际,分析了安徽地方立法公众参与存在的不足及其原因,并提出了解决这些问题的对策,以期对安徽地方立法公众参与制度的建设有所裨益。     

It's not what you know but who you know that's important: the influence of social networks on communities

Since its conception in 1945, the UK National Health Service (NHS) has been the focus of extensive political rhetoric regarding the involvement of patients and the public in the provision of health‐care services both locally and nationally. However, achieving substantial user involvement within local communities has proven to be a complex task. The exploratory research presented in this paper investigates the influence of social networks within local communities and its relevance for user involvement. Four main findings emerged: interviewees have strong informal social networks; there is a strong sense of generalized reciprocity; diversity is limited within the social groupings; and there exists a lack of trust in governmental institutions. With regards to health issues, there is an overriding feeling that ‘things like that should be left to the people who know’. If user involvement is to be achieved at the level envisioned by the UK government, achieving a greater relevance for users is essential.     

Discourse and practice of participatory flood risk management in Belfast,UK

The introduction of the Floods Directive signals a move from flood protection towards flood risk management in the European Union. Public participation is highlighted in the Floods Directive as being instrumental to effective implementation of this new approach. This study utilised document analysis, non-participant observation, a questionnaire survey, and interviews to evaluate the discourse and practice of participation in the implementation of the Floods Directive in Belfast, United Kingdom. Flood risk management processes in Belfast are found to be high on participatory rhetoric but low on meaningful engagement. The participatory process is lacking in transparency, does not encourage the active participation of interested parties and has not been clearly communicated to key publics. Opportunities to increase meaningful public participation in the process remain underutilised, and the establishment of local flood forums has provided little opportunity for meaningful engagement. Some actions of governance agencies could be best characterised as facilitating the responsibilisation of risk and are designed to manage risk to agencies rather than address flooding issues.