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The creation of an efficient Common Market has been, & for many aspects still is, the main goal of European regulation. Until the Single European Act, European regulation was mainly implemented through judicial policies, but during the 1990s the development of regulatory reforms called the EU for moving to a new form of regulation: administrative regulation. Today, in fields of policy like monetary policy, competition policy, telecommunication policy, & energy policy, the EU is called to implement European rules in a permanent, focused, sustained, & homogeneous way. Transnational networks made of national independent regulatory agencies have been created in order to achieve an efficient & effective regulation. Agency theory gives theoretical support to the creation of transnational regulatory networks. Nevertheless, an empirical analysis of successes & failures proves that institutional design of the network (independence, communication, & coordination) is only one out of four factors that can determine efficiency & effectiveness of European administrative regulation. The other factors are: the level of political support of the policy, the quality of European rules, & the structure of the policy field (fragmentation rather than the presence of one dominant powerful actor). Thus, in order to evaluate the probability of success or failure of transnational regulatory networks agency theory must be integrated in substantial ways. 3 Tables, 38 References. Adapted from the source document.

Examines strategies embodied in Jacques Delors' 1993 white paper on growth, competitiveness, and employment; European Union. Summary in English.

Since its inception in the late 1950s & for about three decades the process of European integration (EI) did not significantly interfere with the logic of functioning of the nation-based welfare states. EI had essentially to do with "market making" at a continental level. Solidarity, redistribution & social justice only concerned national communities & remained essentially a business of national governments. The 1990s have however witnessed the emergence of increasing strains in the relationship between "Europe" & "solidarity." With its emphasis on sound budgets, competition, market promotion, free circulation, etc, EI has increasingly transformed itself as a source of "threat" for the national social models. Competition rules & the four freedoms have started to interfere with various domestic practices of social sharing. This logic of "opening" tends to clash with the logic of "closure" which historically inspired the formation of welfare states & which still largely underpins their programs today. The tension between the two logics is clearly revealed by opinion surveys. So far, the "tightening" of the link between EI & the nation-based welfare state has been promoted by the former ("Brussels"), privileging "market making" & insisting on the need for reform & "modernization" of traditional social protection schemes at the domestic level. But some adaptation is needed also on the side of EI, i.e., of its overall mission, institutional logic & constitutional framework. This is admittedly a difficult task, but it is not beyond reach. The paper suggests a number of strategies for reconciling within the EU institutional framework the reasons & "logics" of the two prime drivers of progress on the European tradition, i.e. the marketplace & the welfare state. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

The People's Republic of China(PRC) & the United States(US) are the strategic rivals & economic partners at the same time. The continued rise of Chinese economic & military power could pose a significant challenge to the strategic status quo in East Asia & to US security interests in the international system. However a new global paradigm is at present working: the Chinese & US economies are increasingly intertwined, with a precarious interdependence between super-debtor( US ) & super-creditor(RPC). The relationship between the US & PRC will be marked by convergence towards deepening cooperation & stability or by deterioration, leading to increasingly open competition. The conclusion is that the US should continue to encourage China's active participation in the global economy & multilateral international institutions. Adapted from the source document.

The Chinese reforms of state bureaucracy carried out during the period of economic modernization have tried to comply with prevailing approach in the international debate on this issue, even if the whole administrative framework of Chinese state keeps founding itself on principles as those of non neutrality of civil service & of subordination to social & political guidelines worked out by ruling Communist party. Some significant steps aimed at increasing the efficiency of bureaucracy were run in eighties & mainly in nineties. Having approved a separate career of state officials(gongwuyuan) & a set of measures which had the effect to streamline & rationalize the functioning of state administration undoubtedly helped China to conform to more advanced standards. Although the management of state cadres' career is still prerogative of party, nevertheless their recruitment based on competitions & intensive training programs have positively affected their quality & "neutrality." Another hard commitment consists actually in standardizing the procedures(guifanhua) in order to reduce the arbitrary interventions of state officials & party representatives. Adapted from the source document.

This article looks at the political economy of structural reforms & growth in the European Union. As the EU's; economy approaches the world technology frontier, structural reforms that increase competition in intermediate goods sectors are necessary to boost innovation & productivity growth -- the main objective of the Lisbon Agenda. Such reforms, however, raise the opposition of incumbents and, therefore, are politically difficult to implement. When there are important policy spillover effects, national governments are more easily captured by vested interests, as they fail to internalize the benefits of reforms on the rest of the Union. This suggests that the weak political governance of the Lisbon Agenda, which is centered on the peer pressure of national governments, & the ensuing inability to complete the single market in non-manufacturing sectors, explains the Lisbon failure. Adapted from the source document.

In the introduction, the trade union & political career of Jacques Delors is analyzed up to his presidency in the European Commission (6 Jan 1985-19 Jan 1995), from which an original professional path emerges; from militancy in the Confederation Francaise des Travailleurs Chretiens in the 1950s, to the appointment in the Dept of Treasury of Pierre Mauroy (1981-1984), to the experience of the cultural clubs in the 1960s. Then the leading principles that distinguish the political-ideological itinerary of the French statesman are examined: (1) the concepts of solidarity, competition, & cooperation (the three pillars on which the "European model of society" is founded); (2) the principles of work, time management, & training; & (3) the principles of state, nation, "Federation of Nation-State," subsidiarity & "approche federale." The solidarity gains importance in North-South relations & between rich & poor regions of the European Community. Competition, seen as the fundamental goal in the globalization of the economy & the markets, does not constitute a goal, but, rather, a mean toward the social welfare; it is linked to cooperation between firms, universities, & research centers, as well between nation-states in the economic-monetary policy field. The work depends on technological progress. Continuous training decreases the inequality of opportunities & favors a good balance between savoir (theory) & savoir-faire (practice). According to Delors, the relaunching of the United Europe does not imply the overcoming of the nations, the symbol of European Union's differences. Therefore, the idea of the "federation of nation-states" is not contradictory; Europe supports the nations, but the Community interventions are based on the subsidiarity principle, which is complementary to the "approche federale.". Adapted from the source document.

Downs is unusual in having been active in economic & political research during the 1950s & 1960s, & then turning to real estate & urban planning for the rest of his career. Focus here is on his first book, An Economic Theory of Democracy (1957), which presents not one, but many theories of democracy even if they are all generally couched in economic terms. This paper expounds the argument of the Economic Theory systematically & sequentially covering (a) the general non-spatial model of party competition; (b) the effects of information shortage; (c) party reliability & responsibility; (d) the two-party spatial model; (e) the multiparty spatial model; (f) further consequences of information shortage; & (g) problems of voting turnout. Evidence from quantified election programs is used to show that the models leading to limited party policy movement & non-convergence are the more realistic ones. Despite its defects, the book laid down the agenda for mathematical political theory & empirical research over the last 50 years & has a fair claim to being the most influential single book written on politics in that period. 1 Table, 6 Figures, 1 Appendix, 38 References. Adapted from the source document.