Petra,taxes and trade reconsidered in the light of the Petra Church archive

Much has been written about the Petra Papyri since their discovery in 1993. However, little has been published on their connection with taxes, and our understanding of Petra and trade has changed considerably in the last couple of decades. The papyri provide plenty of information concerning the material culture of Byzantine Petra. The purpose of this paper is to review the economic and historical information in the papyri related to taxes on the land, and to understand the economic reality in Petra and its hinterland during the Byzantine period. The papyri indicate the existence of a stable society and continuity of human settlement in Petra and its neighbouring areas such as Udhruh and Al-Sadaqa, especially after the frequent earthquakes that threatened the region between the fourth- and seventh-centuries AD. It is clear from the papyri that there is an advanced tax system in the Petra region during the sixth-century AD.     

明治旧民法典的编纂及其特点

明治旧民法典是日本近代法制建设的重要一页,虽然其未被实施,但是,从明治旧民法典编纂过程来看,它是近代日本实现民族独立和社会发展的需要,对近代日本法律体制的形成有深远的影响。     

吴简中所见孙权时期户等制度的探讨

所谓户等制度,是指官府按居民家庭财产多少而划分户口等级的制度。关于秦汉时期如何征收家庭财产税、确定户等、评估家财等一系列作法,由于史料不足,还处于若隐若现之间。但是从西晋到南北朝,户分九品之制已经定型化。如果我们能找到从西汉的户分三等到南北朝的户分九品之间的过渡环节,则中国古代户等制度的发展变化过程就将更加明朗化。吴简的出土恰恰证明在孙权时期的长沙郡与临湘侯国境内,已经确立了三等九级的户等划分制度。但由于吴简的残缺,孙权时期户等制度还存在着许多难于通释的问题。     

Poor Relief,Taxes and the First Universal Pension Reform: the origin of the Swedish welfare state reconsidered

In the year 1900, Sweden probably had the oldest population in the contemporary world. It was also the first nation to implement a universal pension system in 1913. The universal character in early social legislation has certainly been decisive for the development of the Swedish welfare state. This alternative has not been self-evident. Why did the reforms turn universal, when the continental model, the Bismarck social security system, was exclusively directed at industrial workers? Research has concentrated on demographic factors and growing demands for social security, or on the fact that Sweden was still a predominantly rural society with about 2,400 local authorities. This article examines the development of social legislation in the light of local government expenditures and incomes, and suggests an overlooked possibility: the formulation of the first universal national social security reform was a redistributional response to uneven distribution of incomes and general expenditures among the rural districts in Sweden.     

The politics of finance in Napoleonic Italy (1802‐1814)

Abstract

The Republic and Kingdom of Italy (1802‐14) served as an important source of revenues for Napoleonic France. Most importantly, the authorities had to pay for a growing Italian army and for the French troops in northern Italy. To satisfy the Emperor's increasing financial pressure, Prina, the Finance Minister, increased the tax burden and reorganized the financial administration and tax collection. Prina kept a moderate property tax to secure the support of the landowners and raised indirect taxes, thereby increasing the burden on the poor. His reforms in the financial administration made it more orderly, uniform and efficient, thus strengthening the central state. While Prina modernized the financial machinery and expanded the state's resources, the fiscal pressure contributed to growing hostility from the population to the Napoleonic state. Following the fall of the Kingdom of Italy, the Austrians left the Napoleonic financial system intact, a demonstration of Prina's effective reforms and long‐term impact.     

明代浙江永嘉盐场的赋役改革与地方变迁

文章从明代两浙盐政变革的制度背景出发,考察永嘉盐场成弘时期的盐课改折、嘉靖前期的盐课转嫁、嘉靖后期的私盐倭乱、隆庆年间的赋役改革等历史事件,探讨该过程中州县官府与盐场地方势力之间的复杂利益博弈。对永嘉盐场的个案研究,或许有助于增进我们对明代盐场赋役制度运作和东南沿海社会变迁的理解。     

The book of joshua - origin and dating

ABSTACT

Responding to an article by Marvin Lloyd Miller, we welcome the recent change in the approach of Nehemiah 5, the corner-stone of social-scientific exegesis. We reassert that the chapter does not reflect the complaints of marginal farmers. We doubt the value of the notion of whimsical taxation by the Achaemenid administration. We warn against adducing the vituperations of eighth century BCE prophets as clues of socio-economic crises. They should rather be read in light of appeals by contempo-rary aid agencies.     

Learning from the RSPT mistakes: is reform still possible?

The political ramifications of the failed Resources Super Profit Tax have been widely documented, yet the causes of this political failure are more contested. Many accounts highlight the discursive power of business and the effectiveness of their campaign against the mining tax. Effective business activism certainly played its part, but this article argues that strategic failings on the part of government also influenced the outcome. This article highlights how the Labor government's failure to consult, to understand the political implications of federalism and above all its impact on the industry in the hope that future policymakers will learn from the mistakes of the mining tax debacle.     

近代日本地税改革中的土地等级制度

土地等级制度是维新政府为加快地税改革的进度,保证地税收入而施行的措施。该制度经过地方府县的试行后,被政府采纳并规范化,形成了完善的土地等级编制规则,最终成为政府向农民摊派地税的手段。本文将主要讨论政府的土地等级制度政策与县厅的执行情况,论述土地等级制度的产生、发展与变形以及编制土地等级对地税改革及当时的社会所带来的影响。     

明清时期太平及池州地区的渔业

本文从明清时期安徽太平及池州地区的渔税征收机构河泊所的设置分布及裁革情况,渔课的数量、比重及变化,渔业从业人口的数量及变化等分析和探讨了该时期这一区域的渔业经济状况及其变迁.由于拥有较为丰富的河湖水域,太平和池州地区的渔业在区域经济结构中占有一定地位.太平地区的渔业主要分布于沿江的当涂、繁昌和芜湖三县,其中又以境内湖泊水域较广的当涂县最为兴盛.池州地区的渔业主要分布在沿江的贵池、东流和铜陵县,其中又以附郭贵池县之渔业最为兴盛.