A ‘panoptical’ or ‘synoptical’ approach to monitoring performance? Local public services in England and the widening accountability gap

This article highlights how recent reforms to the auditing and assessment of local public services in England suggest there will be a shift from panoptical to ‘synoptical’ monitoring approaches. This is because the UK Government has abolished its centralised monitoring regime and instead required local authorities to publish a range of financial and performance datasets online, ostensibly so that citizens can hold organisations to account directly. However, the complexity and raw nature of these data, along with the sidelining of professional auditors, will result in most citizens being either unable or unwilling to undertake this task. As such, the proposed ‘synoptical’ approach will not materialise. Indeed, other legislative changes will mean that outsourcing firms effectively become the new, unaccountable observers of local public sector bodies within an enduring panoptical system. In many cases these companies will then assume responsibility for delivering the same services that they have assessed.     

Is current institutional quality linked to legal origins and disease endowments? Evidence from Africa

This paper empirically assesses if and to what extent cross-country differences in institutions inherited from the past affect current institutional quality in Africa. Specifically, the work evaluates if legal origins and disease endowments explain cross-country differences in the quality of contemporary institutions that are widely considered to be important for financial system development and other economic outcomes, such as those related to creditor rights protection and the credit information infrastructure, as well as the judicial, legal property and insolvency systems. Empirical tests are carried out on a sample of 46 African former European colonies with data on current institutional quality from 2004 to 2013. The findings reveal that the legal origins hypothesis receives strong support in the data: historical factors, rooted in legal origins, have long-lasting effects on current institutional quality in the African context. Mixed evidence is instead found for the endowment view.     

公共财政分配规模结构研究

在市场经济条件下市场分配主要解决的是效率问题,公共财政分配主要解决公平问题.但公平与效率之间有个转化和平衡关系,过度的分配公平会损害财富创造的效率,所以,公共财政分配应该有一个适度的规模和合理的结构,既要满足广大社会成员的基本生活保障,又不能削弱社会成员工作和创造财富的积极性.     

公众注意力影响买入行为吗？——基于投资者行为的分析

公众注意力衡量了一只股票受投资者关注的广泛程度。本文分析了公众注意力对不同类型投资者买入行为的影响,发现小投资者更倾向于买入引起他们注意的股票,中大类型投资者没有明显与注意力相关的买入行为,机构投资者则表现出了与公众注意力相关的策略性行为。小投资者的这种特性使得他们更容易成为市场操纵的受害者,对此本文提出了相应的政策建议。     

北京市公共住房区位布局研究

本文针对城市公共住房的区位布局问题,运用Arcview GIS 3．3软件,采集了北京127个已经建设或即将建设的公共住房数据,分析出北京市公共住房区位布局存在的突出特点是北部过于集中、南部带状分布,不断向外扩张,并产生了空间失配等问题。根据以上问题,提出了在城市中心区、边缘区和新城的公共住房建设区位政策,并指出应大力发展混合住区。     

Global Competition for Work

Abstract

This paper argues that a global paradigm shift is underway involving work; that the trend of people migrating to find life-sustaining/enhancing work is evolving to a future state where work will migrate to find a workforce capable of adding value. The transition in Wales after the loss of its steel and coal industries is used to highlight the processes involved in building an infrastructure to attract inward investment and create jobs. The paper concludes with a call for research to help us understand the dynamics involved in successfully competing for work.     

PSC指标在VFM评价中的应用研究

英国是PFI/PPP模式的发起者和主要推广者。采用了PSC指标为基准的评价方法来获得最佳的VFM。本文研究表明:PSC指标的应用随着PPP项目在全球的开展并不具有广泛意义,分别受到来自实践和理论的质疑。这对建立我国的VFM评价体系有一定启示作用。     

学生期待视域下的《思想道德与法律基础》课教学改革探析

为了提高《思想道德与法律基础》课的针对性和实效性,使其成为学生"真心喜爱,终身受益"的课程,笔者就商洛学院学生对这门课的期待进行了实际调查,并根据教学规律及学生在教学内容、教学方法、师生沟通、课程评价等方面的期待,提出了扩充法律内容、采用研究性学习、多元评价等改进措施。