The impact of civil war on foreign direct investment flows to developing countries

We investigate the impact of civil war on foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to developing countries. We employ a new data-set that disaggregates FDI inflows to primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. Second, we control for a richer set of economic and institutional variables that could determine FDI inflows including population, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the degree of trade openness, exchange rate variability, inflation, the governance structure of the host country using International Country Risk Guide data and its regime type using the POLITY autocracy–democracy data. We also address the reverse causality between FDI and conflict and the potential endogeneity of explanatory variables by employing dynamic system generalised method of moments (GMM) techniques in estimation. Our results indicate that primary sector FDI flows to developing countries are not significantly affected by civil war, whereas secondary and tertiary sectors FDI are more sensitive to such outbreak, potentially leading to reversals of existing FDI. Among institutional variables, government stability and control of corruption are more significant compared to regime type, law and order, and bureaucratic quality.     

论民主发展的经济基础

经济发展通过不同的方式和途径促进民主化水平的提高。首先,经济发展带来了人口流动,促使社会结构发生变迁,社会资源总量的增加促使了教育水平的提升,在社会中形成了规模庞大的中产阶级,而中产阶级是民主发育的前提;其次,经济发展使人们交往范围扩大,并产生了新的社会规范,这构成了民主政治的社会心理基础和社会规范基础;再次,经济的发展更推动了公民社会的发育,而公民社会是民主成熟和巩固的必要基础。中国的民主发展必须以经济建设为中心,在经济发展的基础上,积极推进社会主义民主建设。     

“话语民主”语境下的草根民主——从毛泽东的底层民主到网络的民主实践

毛泽东在20世纪20年代就明确提出了农民的话事权理论,不仅包括话语权,还包括办事权。建国以后,毛泽东又借助大字报的形式将其话事权理论付诸实践。毛泽东底层民主的实践旨趣与哈贝马斯话语民主的理论旨趣隐隐呼应。哈贝马斯提出了现代多元化社会中的人们在公共领域进行交流、沟通的商议民主理论,以唤起越来越多的底层民众投入到公共议题的商议中来。网络民主实践与大字报有类似之处,在实践中,根据哈贝马斯的理论,网络既是草根民主的新载体,也是滋生网络暴力的温床。     

Independent Collective Representation: Providing Effectiveness, Fairness, and Democracy in the Employment Relationship

Protection against arbitrary management action has always been a concern of employees. Enlightened managerialism has been one approach to addressing these concerns. This approach is compromised by the conflicts of interest that characterize the employment relationship in a market system. We argue in this paper that independent collective representation functions to protect employees while leaving the employer with sufficient freedom to manage. Trade unions, as a counter weight to the exercise of absolute managerial power, complement a pluralist democratic system. The exercise of absolute power, the absence of accountability and countervailing checks and balances, are foreign to any democratic polity. At enterprise level, trade unions manage the ongoing tensions and conflicts between democratic humanistic values and market values.     

经济民主与社会主义市场经济的政治经济学含义:基于生产方式视角的分析

长期以来,作为社会主义市场经济的政治经济学含义的主要载体,经济民主的作用并不明显。出现这一现象的原因有二:在理论上,学界关于经济民主的论述强调生产关系视角而忽视生产方式视角。这样的把握方式导致经济民主体系处于悬置的状态;在现实中,将美国型市场经济视为唯一的参照系导致具有后福特主义色彩的经济民主无法进入政策议程。本文认为,以生产方式视角下的经济民主为中心,有选择、有秩序地推进经济民主是当下的现实选择。     

Redistributive Taxation in the Era of Globalization

This paper analyzes the impact globalization has on voting for redistributive policies in an increasingly integrated world. It explains why tax competition has so far not led to a significant decline in redistributive taxation. The voting process is considered for the two alternatives of direct democracy and representative democracy. In both regimes, globalization pushes down the scope for redistribution, but this effect is mitigated with political representation, since the electorate votes strategically for a slightly more left-wing politician with stronger preferences for redistribution. Moreover, voting polarizes twice, with respect to governments' preferences for redistribution and to equilibrium tax rates.     

当代西方公共服务社会化的民主政治理据探析

公共服务社会化是当代西方国家公共管理改革的重要目标模式。推动公共服务社会化发展的民主政治理据既包括多元民主理论,又包括参与民主理论。与两种民主政治理据分别对应的公共服务社会化其实具有不同的内涵。与多元民主相对应的是公共服务的市民社会化,这种模式中的人是利己的原子化个体,对公共服务的参与被视为保持自私自利的工具;与参与民主对应的是公共服务的公民社会化,这种模式中的人是具有合群天性的＂政治人＂,对公共服务的参与则被视为提升公民美德的教育训练。     

浅谈对政府审计本质的认识

政府审计的本质决定着政府审计的目标、方法、职能及其发展的内在规律。正确把握政府审计的本质,合理认清政府审计本质的实现,对于政府审计理论研究工作和政府审计实践活动都具有十分重要的意义。