The Effect of China’s Two-Child Policy on the Child Sex Ratio: Evidence From Shanghai, China

Objective: The bias towards males at birth has resulted in a major imbalance in the Chinese sex ratio that is often attributed to China’s one-child policy. Relaxation of the one-child policy has the potential to reduce the imbalance in the sex ratio away from males. In this study, we assessed whether the bias towards males in the child sex ratio was reduced as a result of the two-child policy in China. Medical records data from one large municipal-level obstetrics hospital in Shanghai, East China. Design: Matching and difference-in-differences (MDID) techniques were used to investigate the effect of the two-child policy on the imbalance in the sex ratio at birth after matching for pregnancy status and socioeconomic factors. Results: Analyzing 133,358 live births suggest that the relaxation of the one-child policy had a small, but statistically significant effect in reducing the imbalance in the male to female sex ratio at birth. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that relaxation of the one-child policy reduced the imbalance in the male to female sex ratio at birth from 1.10 to 1.05 over the study period at one of the major obstetrics and gynecology hospitals in China.

Participation of People With Disabilities in the Decision-Making Process in Nepal

Despite the significant social and political changes over the last five decades in Nepal, persons with disabilities (PwDs) still face challenges in their everyday lives. Lack of meaningful participation of PwDs in leadership and decision-making processes, social stigma, discrimination, and inaccessible physical facilities have excluded PwDs from freely exercising fundamental rights such as voting. Mass media and civil society occasionally raise issues and problems faced by PwDs. Equally, the dearth of data regarding disability has created further challenges to policymakers and planners to understand the diversity of PwD issues at large. Based on a qualitative study, this chapter aims to explore the participation of PwDs particularly in the different phases of policy formulation (such as consultation and participation) at the municipal level and calls for crucial actions for ensuring meaningful participation of PwDs in democratic processes in Nepal in the current federal context.

The Origins of Common Identity: Evidence from Alsace-Lorraine

We study how more negative historical exposure to the actions of nation-states—like war, occupation, and repression—affects the formation of regional identity. The quasi-exogenous division of the French regions Alsace and Lorraine allows us to implement a geographical regression discontinuity design at the municipal level. Using measures of stated and revealed preferences, we find that more negative experiences with nation-states are associated with a stronger regional identity in the short, medium, and long run. This is linked to preferences for more regional decision-making. Establishing regional organizations seems to be a key mechanism to maintaining and strengthening regional identity. (JEL H77, N43, N44, N93, N94, Z13)

Direct Democracy at the Local Level

Municipalities of Liechtenstein enjoy a considerable degree of autonomy. There are matters which, according to the Municipality Act, must be decided by the entirety of the municipality's citizens who are entitled to vote. Furthermore, a referendum can be held against decisions of the municipal council by collecting signatures, or a popular vote on certain issues can be triggered through a citizens' initiative. In such ballots, citizens who are entitled to vote and reside in the municipality are admitted. In case of votes on the naturalisation of foreign nationals, only those who are resident in and have citizenship of the municipality in question are entitled to vote. Votes on naturalisation are more frequent than votes on matters of substance. Initiatives at municipal level, on the other hand, are rare. Municipal citizens can also exert direct influence at national level. Direct democratic instruments at national level can be taken by a nationwide collection of signatures or three or four identical municipal resolutions.

Ensuring sustainable spatial development from the perspective of land relations regulation

Solving new problems of sustainable development of society and territories requires improving the regulation of land relations to meet the managerial, production and technological needs of society. Improving the efficiency of regulating land relations and the use of lands of all categories in the context of their global degradation is one of the most important socio-economic problems in modern conditions. To solve the problems of land management, their rational use and protection, optimization of agricultural production, taking into account the environmental safety of products, an integrated approach to the regulation of land relations is needed, which is provided by the system of land management and land monitoring. The need to improve land relations management is obvious and indisputable, and the topic of the work seems relevant and timely. The purpose of the work is to develop practical recommendations for improving the mechanism of land relations management at the state and municipal level. Management decision-making should be based on the principles of strategic and tactical planning of innovation activities, taking into account the geopolitical, economic and socio-cultural specifics of the territory.

Los Planes de igualdad de oportunidades como instrumento de una política de cambio social

On many occasions, politics is intended to achieve lofty objectives of social and cultural change related to the achievement of real equality between women and men, but for this, the institutionalization of equality bodies at different levels of government and instruments is unavoidable. Those enable the actions necessary for the implementation of these policies. In this article, a content analysis of the equality plans developed in the municipalities of the Murcia Region is carried out, with the aim of knowing the impact that equality legislation has on the development of equality plans at the municipal level, as well as whether they have served as an instrument of social change policies. En numerosas ocasiones, desde la política se pretende alcanzar excelsos objetivos de cambio social y cultural relacionados con la consecución de la igualdad real entre mujeres y hombres, pero para ello es ineludible la institucionalización de organismos de igualdad en los diferentes niveles de gobierno y de instrumentos que posibiliten las acciones necesarias para la implementación de esas políticas. En el presente artículo se realiza un análisis de contenido de los Planes de igualdad desarrollados en los municipios de la Región de Murcia, con el objetivo de conocer la incidencia que tiene la legislación en igualdad sobre el desarrollo de Planes de igualdad en el ámbito municipal, así como si los mismos han servido como instrumento de políticas de cambio social.

Features of municipal-level election campaigns in the capitals of the Tver, Belgorod and Kostroma regions

The article deals with the peculiarities of the course of election campaigns in the municipal representative bodies of the cities of Tver and Kostroma. The article is part of a larger study on the peculiarities of the course of election campaigns in the capitals or administrative centers of the subjects of the Russian Federation in the Central Federal District, which focuses on the problems of three subjects and compares the research material from these subjects with general district trends and features. Tver, Belgorod and Kostroma represent a wide geographical range and three peculiar examples of the course of election campaigns in large municipalities. The study revealed such common features as low turnout, rather weak competitiveness, the use of black PR and other shadow technologies, the traditional representation of lobbying structures in municipal parliaments, as well as the mobilization of "parliamentary opposition parties" and small parties at the last election campaigns in the elections of the type we study. The article acquires particular importance within the framework of the work of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (and subsequent legislative instances) on Draft Law No. 1256381-7 «On general principles of the organization of public power in the subjects of the Russian Federation», where special attention is supposed to be attributed to the order of election and aspects of regulation of the work of municipal parliaments of the capitals of the subjects of the Russian Federation.