The Politics of Inequality as Organised Spectacle: Why the Swiss Do Not Want to Tax the Rich

In 2015, Swiss voters had the opportunity to impose a tax on the super rich in a popular vote and thereby fund a redistributive policy. However, a large majority voted against its seemingly obvious self-interest and rejected the tax. We propose an explanation for this puzzling outcome, bridging the usually separate behavioralist and institutionalist perspectives on the politics of inequality. We start from the observation that political economy tends to neglect processes of preference formation. Theorising preferences as socially constructed, we show that interest groups played a major role in shaping the outcome of the vote. Business frames were multiplied through allied parties and the media and had a major impact on individual voting behaviour. In addition, we demonstrate that interest groups representing business interests derive the content of their communication from business’s structurally privileged position in the capitalist economy. Specifically, creating uncertainty about possible perverse effects of government policies on jobs and growth is a powerful tool to undermine popular support. Frames based on this structural power ultimately explain why the Swiss refrained from ‘soaking the rich.’     

(In)equality and the South African Constitution

ABSTRACT

Does the South African Constitution constrain or empower government, courts and citizens in addressing systemic social and economic inequalities? This article argues that the Constitution is explicitly ‘transformative’, but is an enabling document, providing ‘scaffolding’ for political and legal activities. It is government, strong institutions and civil society that are ultimately responsible for securing its equality aspirations. Here the Constitution admits of different understandings of equality and different economic and social policy choices. This article identifies these contested meanings of equality and suggests that a liberal egalitarian/social democratic version is dominant in policy choices and the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court. It illustrates this with reference to the Court’s jurisprudence on equality, and suggests that more radical and transformative interpretations remain possible. However, it concludes that we cannot escape politics, the need for good policy choices and effective implementation and enforcement.     

Krazy Kimmy's: A Case in Fraud Examination

This two‐part case allows for maximum student engagement through preparation, in‐class discussion, and through a Part B case that is part of the Teaching Note. Through this case, students work to identify possible fraud schemes, plan an investigation, and perform horizontal analysis calculations. Students will learn about the concept of ethical hacking, red flag identification, internal control weaknesses, and investigation considerations for fraud schemes. Further, in‐class planning for next steps and investigation can occur, providing an opportunity for group work and in‐depth learning. This case offers flexibility for instructors in that it can be covered over one class or multiple classes, or can be assigned as an independent or group assignment. This teaching note provides an overview of the case along with guidance for teaching this case.     

Boom, bust, and the poor: Poverty dynamics in the Middle East and North Africa, 1970–1999

This paper analyzes changes in poverty and inequality in the Middle East and North Africa. It finds that the structural relationship between poverty reduction, income growth and distribution is the same for MENA and other developing economies. Prior to 1985 rapid growth sharply reduced poverty. After 1985, despite very low income growth, a rising share of income accruing to the lowest quintile meant that the average income of the poor rose more rapidly than that of the non-poor. These unusual poverty dynamics were primarily due to international migration. Remittances both increased per capita incomes in labor exporting countries and increased the share of income accruing to the poor.     

政府或有负债的产生及其风险防范

现阶段我国政府或有负债的产生既有客观原因如公共风险的存在,也有主观原因如财政调整过程中的政府机会主义行为。不仅如此,政府或有负债的产生还受制于政府的内部财政能力约束和外部财政压力约束,而预算编制中的收付实现制为政府或有负债的产生大开制度之门,使得政府能够以政府担保为主要载体来进行间接融资,导致政府或有负债的过度积累。     

让发展的成果惠及全体人民--理顺分配关系、完善分配制度的根本指导方针

在社会主义市场经济实践中,“让发展的成果惠及全体人民”,这是特别有利于广大干部群众建立和完善按劳分配为主体的具体分配关系的指导方针.要贯彻落实好这个方针,起决定性作用的是,坚持社会主义公有制的主体地位,完善社会主义基本经济制度,理顺国民收入的初次分配关系,同时,必须充分认识我国社会主义再分配关系的基本特征,创新具有中国特色的再分配关系.     

养老保险制度转轨的经济学分析

养老保险制度从现收现付制到基金制的转轨是当今社会保障制度改革的潮流。从经济学的角度看 ,必须满足条件 :市场实际利率大于消费贴现率 ,消费贴现率大于人口增长率与劳动生产率增长率之和 ,并且都大于零 ,养老保险的转轨才能提高效率。当前 ,我国养老保险制度转轨的时机尚未成熟 ,不宜实行完全基金制。     

Contrasting the attitudes of farmers and the general public regarding the ‘multifunctional’ role of the agricultural sector

Using separate nationally representative surveys, this study compared the views and perspectives of farmers towards agricultural related conservation issues with that of the general public. Results suggest that both the general public and farmers expressed similar levels of concern regarding the environment as a whole. This is an encouraging sign when it comes to environmental protection, as it indicates a certain level of agreement between farmers as the group whose activities largely shape the quality of the rural environment, with the views of the general public who are the major consumers of landscape related environmental public goods. The analysis did, however, reveal important differences in attitudes in relation to certain environmental issues such as the relative importance of maintaining wildlife and habitats and having wild flora and fauna in the countryside. These activities could be seen as in conflict with farmers’ productivist attitudes. We found no significant difference in environmental attitudes between farmers who have participated in voluntary agri-environmental schemes and those who did not. Results also suggest that there is significant heterogeneity in public attitudes towards environmental issues. Specifically, age, income, place of residence and presence of children were all significantly associated with environmental preferences. The study concludes that consideration needs to be given to the different views and perspectives of farmers and the general public in formulating policy aimed at providing an optimal mix of agricultural related environmental public goods and services.     

价值工程方法在工程项目设计方案比选中的应用

项目的价值工程方法是一种以实现项目利益相关各方最高满意度的创造性活动,在规划设计阶段,价值工程对项目价值有决定性的影响。因此,在项目前期,应积极应用价值工程的方法进行多方案的比选分析,以达到项目价值的最大化目的。     

Economic growth and income inequality in the Asia-Pacific region: A comparative study of China,Japan, South Korea,and the United States

This paper builds an inequality-growth-redistribution nexus, and applies the Engle–Granger two-step ECM approach to estimate the long-run and short-run relationships between inequality and growth for four economies: China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. Our estimation results support the S-shaped curve hypothesis relating GDP per capita to inequality with different starting points for the four economies. For the reverse relationship, we find a positive causal relationship for China, Japan, and the United States, indicating that increased income inequality spurred economic growth. In addition, we find mixed results on the effect of trade openness on inequality and growth. Trade openness reduced inequality in the United States and Japan, worsened it in China and had no significant effect in South Korea. In the inequality-GDP per capita relationship, exports provided an impetus to economic growth for Japan. As for redistribution, although fiscal redistributive measures reduced inequality in Japan, they played no major role in the other three countries. With regard to the inequality-GDP per capita relationship, all countries except for China show a negative effect of fiscal redistribution on GDP per capita.