Abstract
“Economic law is the law that promotes development”—basic consensus in the academic circle of economic law. In order to promote the comprehensive development of economy and society, economic law shall fully absorb all kinds of development ideas, and then form its own development theory.1 Any development theory is influenced by certain development ideas; in all kinds of development ideas, the idea of coordinated development has special significance for the theoretical development and system construction of economic law, as well as for the development theory of economic law.
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Notes
- 1.
Zhang (2016), Issue 4.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
For example, Confucianism advocates the coordinative effect of ethics on interpersonal relations; and the ancient Chinese thought of “harmony between man and nature” endorses the coordination between human behaviors and nature.
- 6.
The basic connotation of “coordination” is “an appropriately coordinated, harmonious or concerted state”. Where a coordinated state is unattainable, it should be adjusted to become “appropriately coordinated”. It is important for a comprehensive understanding of the two dimensions of “coordination”.
- 7.
The term “coordinated” in “coordinated development” indicates an “appropriately coordinated” state according to the Theory of State Coordinating. Yang (2009b), p. 348.
- 8.
Yang (2009c), p. 127.
- 9.
Yang (2009d), pp. 192–193.
- 10.
It is very important to determine the state subjectivity and public law attribute of economic law, which helps to increase the theoretical consensus on economic law. To this end, in the book The Theory of State Coordinating, the author repeats the public law attribute of economic law for several times, and demonstrates the public law attribute of various sectoral laws in the realm of economic law, e.g., fiscal law, financial law, and planning law, which will guide readers to distinguish some vague knowledge in the academic community.
- 11.
The specific regulatory sphere somewhat represents the specific regulated objects. The regulatory sphere and regulated objects are closely correlated. The regulated objects were used to be overlooked or belittled, such practice is ought to be rectified.
- 12.
- 13.
Yang (2009c), p. 127.
- 14.
After the global financial crisis broke out in 2008, all countries adopted various measures to strengthen macro-economic control and market supervision, showing that they are aware of the significant role of the state or government, and highlighting the importance of economic law. Zhang (2009a), Issue 3.
- 15.
Yang (2009f), pp. 342–343.
- 16.
Yang (2009g), pp. 361–362.
- 17.
Yang Zixuan, Liu Ruifu and other economic law scholars have elaborated on the systematic analysis approach in their works; such approach is fairly important for achieving the internal and external coordination of various systems in the realm of economic law, and for building consensus on economic law theory. Yang (2009h), pp. 12–13; Liu (2000), pp. 21, 24–25.
- 18.
Yang (2009h), pp. 12–13.
- 19.
Many years ago, Prof. Yang Zixuan had applied the coordination thought in the Theory of State Coordinating to the realm of international economic law, and came up with the Theory of International Coordinating. This new theory is more important for further developing the theory of international economic law as a whole, and it is also in line with the practice of international economic law. Yang (2000); Yang (2009i), pp. 175–187.
- 20.
Cheng (2007), Issue 4.
- 21.
Yang (2009j), p. 340.
- 22.
This judgment is important for denying the middle-level social stratum or industrial intermediary organizations as the subject of state coordination. On this basis, we need to confirm if it is necessary to identify industrial intermediary organizations as a subject of macro-economic control or market supervision, or a subject holding an important position. Yang (2009k), p. 325.
- 23.
- 24.
The emergence and development of economic law has altered the basic structure of all countries’ legal systems. At the same time, the system changes in the domains of fiscal, taxation, finance and competition have a substantial impact on the protection of property right, and thereby promoting economic development. It is in fact consistent with the “Institution Change Theory” presented by Douglass C. North. He holds that the basic services provided by the state constitute the basic rules of the game, and the purpose of which is to define property right and increase taxes; while the constitution and economic law are important for achieving this purpose. North (1994), p. 24.
- 25.
The economic constitution is an important basis of economic law. The German economic jurist Böhm was one of the pioneer scholars that started studying the “economic constitution”, and advanced this study together with Eucken and other scholars. The study of constitutional economics, which was initiated by Buchanan, also involves a large number of issues about economic law system. Therefore, when studying the economic law development, we need to pay attention to the close relation between the above-mentioned relevant systems and theories.
- 26.
The rank theory highlights the hierarchical relation between the constitution and other laws, and states that economic law shall obey the requirements of the higher-leveled constitution. Grimm and Liu (2010), p. 14.
- 27.
This provision should be focus of the constitutional interpretation, since it fairly important for providing constitutional support for the system construction and theoretical study of economic law.
- 28.
The original provision was “the state implements a planned economy on the basis of socialist public ownership”. This great change in the economic structure involves many important theoretical and system issues of the Constitution and economic law, thus directly affecting the development of economic law.
- 29.
For example, Germany does not provide for the economic structure in its constitution, so it triggers some disputes on application of theories and laws, and gives rise to diverse understandings of the scope of the “economic constitution”. Huang (2009), Issue 4, p. 559–573.
- 30.
The original provision was “the state guarantees the coordinated development of the national economy proportionately through the comprehensive balance of economic plans and the auxiliary role of market regulation”. The “comprehensive balance” and “coordinated development” herein are somewhat consistent with the “macro-economic control and regulation” in the revised Constitution.
- 31.
Zhang (2001), Issue 2, pp. 141–150.
- 32.
Chapter 10 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany has specific provisions for the fiscal system of Germany. Part VI of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (effective as of Dec 30, 1999) specially provides for the social and economic system, and the second chapter in Part VI sets out specific provisions for the systems of budget, taxation, monetary system and macro-economic control and regulation; in which Article 311 contains the principle of budget balance and the principle of fiscal balance, and Article 316 specifies the statutory taxation principle.
- 33.
Article 151 of the Constitution of the Republic of Germany (Weimar Constitution) stipulates that the order of economic life shall conform to the basic principles of justice and serve the purpose of guaranteeing the survival of all people with dignity. Individual economic freedom is protected in this context. Article 217 of the Constitution of the Dominican Republic (adopted on Jan 26, 2010) prescribes that the economic system is established in the framework of free competition, equal opportunity, social responsibility, and participation in solidarity, and based on economic growth, wealth redistribution, social fairness and justice, social and territorial cohesion and environmental sustainability. All of the above provisions reflect the value and spirit of the constitution.
- 34.
In the realm of administrative law, the studies on the regulatory bodies are inspiring for understanding the market regulation in the realm of economic law. Song (2010), Issue 6, pp. 53–71.
- 35.
According to Article 1 (8) of the US Constitution, the Congress has several important powers, including taxation power, loaning power, coinage power, and the power for controlling and regulating international trade and interstate trade. These powers are directly related to the macro-economic control power and market regulation power in economic law.
- 36.
The different cases in different periods have given rise to a rich variety of theories and principles, such as the “production-trade” distinction theory, the “trade flow” theory, the “direct correlation” principle, the Cooley Doctrine. In the process of constitutional changes, the federal regulatory power has kept increasing, and the scope of state intervention has expanded. The above-mentioned constitutional interpretation process is the process of continuously developing the constitution by integrating the practice of economic control and regulation. It can be seen that the constitutional interpretation is fairly important. “It is the core issue of the contemporary constitution and judicial review theory”. Whittington (2006), p. 2.
- 37.
Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States Federal Court, believes that the constitutional provisions can only outline the grandeur and point out important objectives. The good interpretation of the constitution should allow the national legislature to have the discretion of choice, thus fulfilling its highest responsibilities in the most beneficial way for the people. As long as all the appropriate means are consistent with the letter and spirit of the constitution, it is constitutional. Marshall’s ideas help to understand the relationship between economic law and the constitution, as well as the constitutionality of economic law. Zhang (2011), p. 98–100.
- 38.
On October 20, 1984, at the Third Plenary Session of the 12th CPC Central Committee, the Decision of the Central Committee of the CPC on Reform of the Economic System proposed “macro adjustment”, emphasizing “using prices, taxes, and comprehensively on the basis of timely grasp of economic dynamics”. Economic leverage such as credit, in order to regulate the major proportional relationship between total social supply and total demand, accumulation and consumption, adjust the flow of financial, material and human resources, adjust the layout of industrial structure and productivity, regulate market supply and demand, and regulate foreign economic exchanges. "This is roughly equivalent to the later understanding of "macro-control." By September 30, 1988, the concept of “macro-economic control” had begun to be used in the report of the Third Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee.
- 39.
Zhang (2009b), Issue 6, pp. 122–35.
- 40.
Zhang (2009c), pp. 48–59.
- 41.
The regulatory nature and regulatory functions of economic law, which have been frequently discussed in the academic community, are different from the regulatory function of the constitution which might be understood as the function of norm or restriction. van Maarseveen et al. (2007), p. 315.
- 42.
For example, the United States declared the US Federal Income Tax Law unconstitutional in 1895 (the income tax was not resumed until 1913), the declared the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional in in 1935.
- 43.
For example, the United States no longer considers the income tax system unconstitutional. In the German basic law or the constitutions of Brazil and other countries, the income tax system is specified, and there are multiple provisions for the macro-economic control system and market regulation system that involve fiscal, tax, and financial functions.
- 44.
Zhang (2012), Issue 2, pp. 3–9.
- 45.
In the 1970 s, the economists with the Club of Rome raised the issue of “limits to growth”, which did not receive widespread attention at that time, it is the numerous problems occurring nowadays make people aware of the importance of this theoretical foresight. Meadows (2006).
- 46.
Many economists have done in-depth research on the basic issues of economic restructuring. Among them, Fischer, Clark, Leontief, Kuznets, Rostow, Channery, Lewis and Tinbergen have all made great contributions, and their research provides important basis of economics for exploring the legal issues of economic structural adjustment.
- 47.
At present, the monographs on the issue of structural adjustment from the legal perspective of law are hard to come by, the academic circle is more interested in studying certain types of economic structures such as regions and industries; moreover, in the construction of legal system, few attention was paid to the macroscopic issues such as economic structural adjustment.
- 48.
Chinese economist Xie Guozhong proposed that China’s economic structural adjustment has entered a “double adjustment” stage combining cyclical adjustment and structural adjustment, but this still focuses on economic adjustment without considering legal adjustment. This chapter pays more attention to the “double adjustment” at the economic and legal levels, as well as the policy adjustment and legal adjustment of the corresponding means.
- 49.
Zhang (2005), Issue 3.
- 50.
The state intensively introduced the plans for the adjustment and revitalization of ten major industries, including automobiles, steel, textiles, equipment manufacturing, shipping, electronic information, petrochemicals, light industry, non-ferrous metals and logistics, covering all important industrial industries in China. The core of the multiple implementation rules and related policies that support the above-mentioned “Ten Major Plans” is to adjust the structure and change the development pattern.
- 51.
Some policy measures have drawn wide concern, e.g., the “down to the countryside” policy (to enable rural residents to access to home appliances, agricultural machinery, automobiles and motorcycles), the polity for halving the purchase tax of small-displacement passenger cars, and the policy for replacing old appliances with new ones.
- 52.
The Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Collection of Personal Income Tax for High-income Individuals (GuoShuiFa [2010] No. 54) issued by the State Administration of Taxation (SAT); and the Notice on Adjusting the Business Tax Policy for Individual Housing Transfer (CaiShui [2009] No. 157) issued by the Ministry of Finance and SAT.
- 53.
The Opinions of the State Council on Further Implementing the Revitalization Strategy for the Old Industrial Bases in Northeast China (GuoFa [2009] No. 33).
- 54.
Zhang (2009), p. 21.
- 55.
Such as the Interim Provisions for Promotion of Industry Structure Adjustment issued by the State Council in 2005, and the years’ multiple versions of the Catalogue for Guiding Industrial Restructuring ratified by the State Council in several years.
- 56.
Any huge budget expenditure requires adjustment of the original budget arrangement, which is already specified in the Budget Law of the People’s Republic of China. But the State Council did not implement the budget adjustment procedure, and the National People’s Congress did not exercise its budget oversight power, which triggered people to doubt about non-compliance.
- 57.
The Opinions of the State Council on Further Implementing the Revitalization Strategy for the Old Industrial Bases in Northeast China (GuoFa [2009] No. 33); the Guiding Opinions of the State Council on Further Promoting the Reform and Opening-up and Economic and Social Development in the Yangtze River Delta Region (GuoFa [2008] No. 30).
- 58.
According to Douglass C. North, there shall be a certain mechanism that brings social returns and private returns closer to each other. Once ownership is not determined or not implemented, there will be inconsistencies between the two, and then affect a country’s economic growth. This conclusion is inspiring for examining the correlation between economic structural adjustment and legal structural adjustment, and for emphasizing the protection of the rights and interests of relevant subjects in the process of structural adjustment. North (2017), p. 7.
- 59.
To improve residents’ consumption power, we need to adjust the national income distribution structure, increase the income level of low-and middle-income residents, pay attention to the role of employment and labor remuneration in primary distribution, and pay attention to the role of social security and public services in secondary distribution. They are important issues that must be addressed when adjusting the national income distribution structure.
- 60.
Li (2010), Issue 11.
- 61.
Wang and He (2008), Issue 5.
- 62.
Zhang (2008), Issue 5.
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Zhang, S. (2020). Development Ideas and Development Theories. In: The New Horizon of China's Economic Law Theory. Understanding China. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8824-2_3
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