Are VAT reforms an effective tool for promoting culture? A quasi-experiment in Spain

Sponsoring culture is a long-term profit-generating investment that public policy makers can achieve by means of Pigouvian subsidy or tax schemes. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the three VAT reforms implemented between 2012 and 2018 (one tax raise reform and two tax cut reforms) in the cultural sector in Spain. We first provide visual evidence and empirical estimates of the tax shifting and the distribution of the VAT burden between consumers and producers. We then use a regression discontinuity design to assess the causal effects of these VAT reforms on performing acts and cinema consumption (both in the extensive and the intensive margin). Several interesting findings arise from our results. First, we find that producers only passed through 45% of the VAT cut to consumer prices. Second, the effect of the 2017 VAT reduction on performing arts slightly increased the number of households consuming these cultural services, whereas the 2018 tax cut on cinema had no significant effect in the number of moviegoers (extensive margin). Third, the cultural spending per household conditional on participation (intensive margin) increased after the two VAT rate reductions. Finally, we test for asymmetries in pass-through with respect to the 2012 tax raise and we find (i) no evidence of prices responding more strongly to increases than to decreases in VAT, (ii) a symmetric response of the number of households consuming these cultural services, and (iii) an asymmetric response of the average cultural spending conditional on participation.     

Disaster Relief as Social Action: A Weberian Look at Postdisaster Donation Behavior

Disaster relief involves a broad range of participants, which often results in a disjunction between actual disaster needs and the perception of appropriate strategies in relief provision. This research examines data collected through interviews with donation drive operators responding to Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and the May 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes. Using Weber's ideal types of social action to understand motivations for engaging in disaster relief, this article argues that motivations for participating in and organizing such drives influence donation strategies, and these motivations can be used to explain persistent donation of nonuseful materiel items. Findings indicate several different motivations for involvement and that donation type appeared linked to motivation. We suggest that motivation for engaging in social action is a valuable approach to better understanding donation behavior and, consequently, addressing the social problem of materiel convergence in the postdisaster environment.     

挣脱生态牢笼的路径探幽——《共产党宣言》中马克思生态思想解读

《共产党宣言》蕴含着深刻的生态思想,其体系以人、社会、自然整体为背景,其核心观点认为生态问题是由资本主义生产方式引起的.马克思在唯物史观视野下,科学论证了资产阶级的所有制必然灭亡、共产主义必然实现的历史发展逻辑,廓清了人与人、人与自然之间双重和解的演化路径.其中关于科技提升、市场拓展、交通和通信发展等引起世界市场“生态扩张”的思想,对全球化程度日益加深境况下“生态文明”和“人类命运共同体”的构建具有重大的理论和实践指导价值.     

Use of Redundant Industrial Buildings as Injections into the Cultural Sector in Norway

Prime aim is to examine the way the culture sector reuses industrial buildings to instigate cultural activities in the municipalities. The discussion of various actors’ motivation for engagement is based on results from a case study, supplemented with findings from a coarse-meshed telephone survey. At national level overarching political guidelines can be traced back to white papers concerning cultural policy, urban transformation and cultural heritage, and the municipalities’ cultural policies mirror these guidelines. What tends to decide if such initiatives are considered successful are local abilities to cross sectorial divisions and instigate cooperation between municipal planners, private entrepreneurs and NGOs.     

我国亲告罪追诉模式之困境及其重构——以网络诽谤案件的证据收集问题为切入点

网络诽谤犯罪属于《刑法》规定的亲告罪类型，此类案件中被害人的证据收集能力受到较大制约，导致其面临“自诉困境”。对此问题，不论是亲告罪的选择性公诉化，还是公权力适当介入证据收集过程的处理路径均存在不足。《刑法修正案(九)》针对网络侮辱、诽谤犯罪的证据收集问题作出新规定，但是无法扩张适用于所有亲告罪类型。亲告罪的自诉困境凸显出我国对亲告罪确立的单纯自诉制追诉模式存在显著缺陷：不利于对被害人的平等保护，以及混淆告诉权和举证责任。重构亲告罪追诉模式的前提是对刑事法中的“告诉”进行重新解释，使其本质回归为诉讼条件，与证明责任“解绑”。在模式选择上，应确立混合告诉制的追诉模式，被害人提起告诉后，可以自主选择适用自诉程序还是公诉程序。     

劣势耐用品厂商的产品质保期与质保服务投入策略研究

在实际中，消费者购买耐用品时均同时获得厂商提供的质保服务，由于产品质保服务影响着消费者的产品使用效用，因此耐用品定价、质保期和产品质保服务投入是影响厂商利润的主要因素。考虑双寡头市场环境下，建立微分博弈模型讨论单位产品质保服务投入和产品质保期对双寡头厂商均衡价格的影响。结论表明双寡头厂商的单位产品质保服务投入越高、质保期越长，均衡价格越高；但单位产品保服务投入与质保服务对消费者效用影响系数的关系影响着竞争对手在均衡价格的变化趋势；劣势的低质量厂商可以通过增加单位产品质保服务投入策略或延长质保期的策略实现在均衡下与高质量厂商以同等价格销售耐用品，但劣势厂商增加单位产品质保服务投入策略要优于延长质保期策略。最后，利用数值分析进一步验证了所得结论的有效性。     

两岸航空区际法律适用制度比较论纲

航空直航是两岸经济文化交流的重要路径。两岸航空法律冲突的存在导致航空直航中当事人利益保护的不确定性。当事人在发生纠纷时无法确定准据法, 难以确定其权利义务分配的法律效力。两岸航空法律适用制度的冲突加剧了实体法冲突的消极影响。两岸航空直航运输合同法律适用制度、航空器权利法律适用制度、旅客权利能力与行为能力法律适用制度及侵权法律适用制度均存在一定程度的差异, 其准据法的连接点、法律选择方法与价值考量迥异。两岸航空私法冲突属于区际法律冲突, 与国际私法冲突存在一定差别。应当制定区际私法, 以解决两岸航空法律冲突问题。     

What makes hybrid insourcing successful: A new public–private partnership model for social welfare services

Outsourcing has been a key policy tool for delivering a range of social services, and regarded as more effective than insourcing or direct government provision. At the same time, it has also caused many delivery issues such as principal‐agent problems, a lack of policy coordination, and poor‐quality welfare services. While the pendulum continues to swing between insourcing and outsourcing, we aim to propose a new public–private partnership model called the “hybrid insourcing model” and examine which factors influence the performance of the model. In South Korea, around 2010, the local government in Namyangju City was the first to implement the “Hope Care Center model,” a kind of hybrid insourcing model, which has been praised for its innovation and widely emulated by central and local governments. Our analysis utilizes data collected between December 2017 and January 2018 from public sector employees and civilian staff in Namyangju and a comparable city, A. From this, we draw a number of implications, both for theory and for policy. We argue that, for public–private partnerships, active cooperation and equality are the biggest factors in contributing to positive performance. These work alongside leaders with a clear vision and with employees' positive attitude.     

价值链网络结构范型下社区公共物品协同供给创新

社区公共物品供给治理本质上是一个开放演化、利益关联、耦合自洽和情境适应的复杂网络系统。由于供给手段智慧化、供给过程复杂性、个体能力失败和主体关系不确定性，传统由单中心主导的分立、单一和线性供给模式不能对整体网络化供给问题给出有效释义和策应方案，需要引入价值链网络结构治理新范式。从价值链理论出发，社区公共物品供给是适应协同供给的价值链网络结构系统，价值链网络系统理论与社区公共物品协同供给具有内在契合性。价值链网络结构范型下社区公共物品协同供给的内在要求体现在现实问题逻辑、供给价值诉求和主体关系博弈三方面；价值系统表征为克服供给碎片化、提供“三变”供给路径和技术手段嵌入支撑；构建基础体现在良好的社区文化、坚实的网络基础和规范的政治环境。建构多中心价值链网络协同供给模型，需要从管理协同、运作协同以及消费反馈协同三个层面展开施加管控。     

论数字货币的私法性质——以日本Bitcoin.Cafe数字货币交易所破产案为中心

数字货币，是一种具有财产性价值属性的电磁记录型数据。数字货币在其依存的区块链体系中所彰显的与不特定者之间的支付对价性、与法定货币之间的互换性、使用电子信息处理系统进行转移的在线转移性等特点，得以从数据说的角度，将其作为一种数据性财产权在现行法律框架内对其私法性质进行讨论。有鉴于我国民法总则已将数据纳入保护客体的范畴，数字货币作为数据之一种，理应成为一种新型法律客体，在得到法律理论支撑的基础上获得保护。