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Background: In response to COVID-19, government-mandated health directives including widespread lockdowns were implemented. Changes in alcohol purchasing were reported, with growing concern that alcohol may be consumed as a way to cope with pandemic-associated stressors. Hitherto, there have been limited studies examining alcohol-related harms, including acute harms requiring an ambulance, and their relationship to government announcements or policies related to COVID-19. Methods: Analyses were conducted between January and September 2020, with matched months in 2019, using Victorian data from the National Ambulance Surveillance System in Australia. Interrupted time series (ITS) models with odds ratios (OR) were used to map alcohol-related harms as a function of government policies for both metropolitan and regional areas. Findings: A total of 43,003 alcohol intoxication-related ambulance attendances occurred between January 2019 and September 2020. Attendances in the home increased in 2020 by 9% compared to matched 2019 months. The most socioeconomically advantaged cases showed the highest percentage change. ITS models showed decreased odds of alcohol-related attendances at the beginning of each COVID-19 wave in metropolitan (OR:0•77; 95%CI: 0•71-0•83; p

The powerful typhoon Haiyan that swept across the Philippines is one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall, cut a path of destruction through several central islands, causing scores of people dead. The disaster's full impact is still revealing as the entire country has been caught in a state of shock and desperation. The devastation is really horrific with human tragedy. Responding to the disaster of such magnitude calls for both national and international hands to come forward for the affected people.

The incentives of politicians to provide broad public goods and reduce poverty vary across countries. Even in democracies, politicians often have incentives to divert resources to political rents and private transfers that benefit a few citizens at the expense of many. These distortions can be traced to imperfections in political markets that are greater in some countries than in others. This article reviews the theory and evidence on the impact on political incentives of incomplete information for voters, the lack of credibility of political promises, and social polarization. The analysis has implications for policy and for reforms to improve public goods provision and reduce poverty.

In this paper we will analyze the failure of the National Bank of Moldavia, a bank that was chartered by the Principality of Moldavia in 1856, to act primarily as a privileged source of liquidity for its economy. Although the project of a state chartered, privileged bank was planned many years in advance by the princes of the Romanian Principalities, the National Bank of Moldavia suspended payments shortly after its establishment, in early 1858, and had its charter revoked. We will discuss, from the point of view of modern monetary thought, the ideas that were advanced in the justification of its creation, and in the rationalization of is failure. We will analyze the structure of the credits and other problems in its balance sheet. Also, we will study the role that the Crisis of 1857, and the already emerging European economic integration, had in its demise.

This paper explores the emergence of and policies and practices underpinning ‘social enterprise’ in Britain: that is, the concept that businesses could provide social services and benefits while returning profits to those who have invested in them. This paper argues that, in Britain, the concept was massaged into existence and adopted as a business and policy model at a particular historical juncture, in the later 1990s and early 2000s. The process involved a careful interweaving of linguistic maneuvers with financial calculations both at the level of specific businesses and at that of political regimes. This process is traced here with reference to a specific organization, the Big Issue, and a particular policy regime, introduced by the New Labour government between 1997 and 2005. For the former, the transition from business activity focused on the Big Issue magazine to brokering activities for the “social enterprise” sector generally is tracked. The New Labour government’s concurrent focus on “social exclusion” and rearticulation of terms denoting sectors providing public services are traced. Thus, light is thrown on the relationship between the strategic terminology deployed at the ground-level of business operations and the top-down level of governmental policy and welfare restructuring in this period.

This paper investigates the changes in stock market returns before and after the announcement of a sample of three instalments, or ‘volumes’, (I, X, and XVI) of the Indonesian government’s Eco-nomic Policy Package (EPP), between 2015 and 2017. It tracks Abnormal Return (AR) and Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR) on the Composite Stock Price Index (JCI) and ten sectorial indices of the Indonesia Stock Exchange. By testing for the direction and significance of differences in AR and CAR, the paper aims to clarify whether those announcements provided sufficient informational content to sway prices. The study finds that the impact of the policy announcements was recorded primarily by individual sectors, but did not elicit a significant market-wide response. Moreover, the majority of economic sectors consistently reacted negatively. This shows that, overall, capital markets did not feel those government policies contain sufficient measures to remove obstacles to busi-ness activity.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the commonly used policy approach to subsidize the private provision of public goods by granting agents deductions with respect to their income or corporate tax burden. Design/methodology/approach: In the framework of a microeconomic representative agent model the commonly used policy approach to subsidize donations by granting agents deductions with respect to their income tax burden is examined. The paper especially considers that most income tax schemes are progressive and deductibility is limited. After pointing to the problems arising from these specific properties of tax-refund schemes the paper turns towards the effects that such a tax-refund scheme has with respect to donations on the one hand and welfare on the other hand. Findings: Findings shows that the effects of the commonly practiced methods of supporting donations depend crucially on the specific properties of the tax scheme and preferences of agents. While Pareto-improvements and even Pareto-efficiency can result from the implementation of such a scheme, it is also conceivable that some agents perceive a utility reduction. Research limitations/implications: The analysis builds on a static approach although taxation also exerts important dynamic effects. These effects have been neglected in the current paper as the interaction of taxation and preferences is already quite complex. However, they should be considered in future research. Practical implications: Owing to the dependency of welfare effects on the tariff structure, income tax reforms as they are planned in many countries might not only induce a reduction in donations, but might as a result also alter the induced welfare effects. Originality/value: The paper shows that the generally applied tax-refund schemes constitute no effective means to induce optimal donation levels. Implications depend crucially on, e.g. deductibility ceilings and progressiveness of tax rates.

This paper introduces a new global database and a policy classification framework that records the financial sector policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic across 155 jurisdictions and over time. It documents that authorities around the world have taken a diverse array of measures to mitigate financial distress in the markets and for borrowers, and to support the provision of critical financial services to the real economy. Using Cox proportional hazards and Poisson regressions, the paper takes initial steps to analyze the determinants of policy makers’ responsiveness and activity in emerging markets and developing economies, respectively. The results indicate that policy makers in richer and more populous countries have been significantly more responsive and have taken more policy measures. Belonging to a monetary union is also significantly associated with a faster and more frequent intervention. Countries with higher private debt levels tend to respond earlier with banking sector and liquidity and funding measures. The spread of COVID-19, macro-financial fundamentals, pressure on foreign exchange markets, political settings, and fiscal and containment policies appear to play a limited role in determining policy response. In a substantially smaller sample, the paper explores the role of banking sector characteristics and finds that emerging markets and developing economies with higher private bank credit to GDP and that have adopted Basel III reforms have taken fewer policy measures.

"The paper introduces the possibility of coalition government into the theoretical study of political accountability and analyzes the accountability of coalitions as a problem of team production. It is shown that coalition governments can be held accountable in the presence of an electoral alternative. Accountability becomes problematic if it is certain that at least one of the coalition parties stays in power after the elections. Such a coalition (sometimes called a 'unity government') cannot be given appropriate collective incentives. To incentivize government performance, voters make one coalition party responsible for the outcome. This, however, makes the other coalition party interested in sabotage. The paper analyzes the resulting conflict and characterizes optimal voter strategy." (author's abstract), "In dieser Arbeit wird die theoretische Analyse der politischen Verantwortlichkeit auf die Situation einer Koalitionsregierung angewandt. Reduziert auf den vertragstheoretischen Kern des Problems stellen Koalitionsregierungen ein 'Teamprodukt' für den Wähler als Prinzipal her, wobei der 'Vertrag' zwischen Wählern und Koalitionsregierung sehr spezifisch und jedenfalls unvollständig ist. Es wird gezeigt, dass die Disziplinierbarkeit einer Koalition unproblematisch ist, wenn eine wahre Wahlalternative vorhanden ist. Die Disziplinierbarkeit (also die politische Verantwortlichkeit) wird problematisch in einer Situation, in der sich eine Koalition verschiedener Parteien ergibt, zu der es keine echte mehrheitsfähige Alternative gibt, und die als 'Große Koalition' bezeichnet werden soll. Die Besonderheit der Großen Koalition ist, dass mindestens eine der beteiligten Parteien mit Sicherheit nach den nächsten Wahlen weiterregiert. Nur Teile der Regierung können abgewählt werden; die große Koalition als Einheit kann in dieser Situation von den Wählern nicht in toto 'belohnt' oder 'bestraft' werden. Die Arbeit beschreibt die beste Strategie des repräsentativen Wählers in einem stilisierten politischen System, in dem die 'Große Koalition' regiert. Es wird gezeigt, dass der Wähler den Regierungspolitikern nur dann Anreize setzen kann, wenn er eine der Regierungsparteien für die Regierungspolitik verantwortlich macht. Dies führt jedoch zu einem Konflikt zwischen den Regierungsparteien, weil es die jeweils andere Regierungspartei zu Sabotage animiert." (Autorenreferat)

[eng]What are the relations between public policy analysis and the Law? How can linking these research fields contribute to the development of institutional capacities in the policymaking process? How can a teaching experience emphasize this issue? How can multiple public policy methodologies approach the Law? This paper tries to answer those questions. In Brazil, the formalistic legal logic separates both research fields (Law and Public Policy Analysis), creating obstacles that obstruct better governance in all three government branches. From the methodological point of view, this paper explores the experience of graduate students at the University of Brasilia Law School (FD/UnB), incorporating their professional experience related to the public policy cycle. The case study we explore here is the Law and Public Policy Analysis course ministered in the second half of 2015 and 2016. We present how the discipline was developed and how the students perceived the topic in their research. We connected the literature to the students’ perceptions. It seems that linking legal models to the public policy cycle tend to improve the integration and performance of policy stakeholders and the Lawyers., [spa]¿Cuáles son las relaciones entre el análisis de políticas públicas y el derecho? ¿Cómo puede la vinculación de estos campos de investigación contribuir al desarrollo de las capacidades institucionales en el proceso de formulación de políticas? ¿Cómo puede una experiencia de enseñanza enfatizar este tema? ¿Cómo pueden múltiples metodologías de políticas públicas abordar la ley? Este artículo intenta responder a estas preguntas. En Brasil, la lógica legal formalista separa ambos campos de investigación (Derecho y Análisis de Políticas Públicas), creando obstáculos que obstruyen una mejor gobernabilidad en las tres ramas del gobierno. Desde el punto de vista metodológico, este trabajo explora la experiencia de los estudiantes de postgrado de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Brasilia (FD/UnB), incorporando su experiencia profesional relacionada con el ciclo de políticas públicas. El estudio que aquí exploramos es el curso de Análisis de Leyes y Políticas Públicas impartido en la segunda mitad de 2015 y 2016. Se presenta cómo se desarrolló la disciplina y cómo los estudiantes percibieron el tema en su investigación. Conectamos la literatura con las percepciones de los estudiantes. Al parecer, la vinculación de los modelos jurídicos con el ciclo de las políticas públicas tiende a mejorar la integración y el desempeño de las partes interesadas en las políticas y de los abogados., [cat]Quines són les relacions entre l'anàlisi de polítiques públiques i el dret? Com pot la vinculació d'aquests camps de recerca contribuir al desenvolupament de les capacitats institucionals en el procés de formulació de polítiques? Com pot una experiència d'ensenyament emfatitzar aquest tema? Com poden múltiples metodologies de polítiques públiques abordar la llei? Aquest article intenta respondre a aquestes preguntes. Al Brasil, la lògica legal formalista separa tots dos camps de recerca (Dret i Anàlisi de Polítiques Públiques), creant obstacles que obstrueixen una millor governabilitat en les tres branques del govern. Des del punt de vista metodològic, aquest treball explora l'experiència dels estudiants de postgrau de la Facultat de Dret de la Universitat de Brasília (FD/UnB), incorporant la seva experiència professional relacionada amb el cicle de polítiques públiques. L'estudi que aquí explorem és el curs d'Anàlisi de Lleis i Polítiques Públiques im partit a la segona meitat de 2015 i 2016. Es presenta com es va desenvolupar la disciplina i com els estudiants van percebre el tema en la seva recerca. Connectem la literatura amb les percepcions dels estudiants. Pel que sembla, la vinculació dels models jurídics amb el cicle de les polítiques públiques tendeix a millorar la integració i l'acompliment de les parts interessades en les polítiques i dels advocats.

Armed rebellion has remained a constant decimal in the relation between the states and rebel groups in contemporary strategic discourse. The resolve by the Niger people of Nigeria to resort to arms and their agitations appear to have found deeper understanding within the context of history. This paper takes a historical look at the foundations of the agitations of the people of the Niger Delta and the ultimate decision to address their displeasure through the use terror or armed rebellion. It addresses the philosophy underpinning self-determination programmes of the Niger Delta militants and the responses of Nigerian state to the agitations of the Niger Delta militants. The paper therefore concludes that the use of arms as the ultimate ratio may remain the future of relationship in the Niger Delta because of the fundamental defects in the policies of the Nigerian state.

Ethiopia is an agrarian country where agriculture dominates the economy, and thus agriculture is considered as an engine of growth by the government. Seed as one of the agricultural technologies, in fact, a carrier of many technologies, is critical to increasing production, but the use of quality seed from formal sources in Ethiopia is very limited. The current Ethiopian government has focused on agricultural development and has developed different policies both for agriculture in general and for the seed sector in particular. Following the developmental state approach, the government intensified its involvement in the seed sector to enhance agricultural development. Despite the policies and efforts of the government, a shortage of seed, a mismatch between demand and supply, the carryover of seed despite not satisfying the demand of farmers, and poor seed quality have been persistent challenges to the Ethiopian seed sector. Many studies have identified technical gaps that limit the development of the seed sector, and some of the studies have also discussed the extent to which policy responds to existing problems, and the extent to which what is in the policy documents is implemented. However, the causes of these ‘gaps’ are seldom discussed. The lack of such knowledge limits the understanding of the challenges, making it difficult to properly support the seed sector. For these reasons, this research has gone beyond the mere identification of ‘gaps’, aiming to analyse how actors and institutions influence seed policy making and implementation in Ethiopia. The goal of this research is twofold: to narrow the knowledge gap about policy making and implementation in the Ethiopian seed sector, and to contribute to the debate concerning how to make the seed sector function better. The central research question is: how did actors and institutions influence the formulation and implementation of seed policies in Ethiopia from 2008 to 2016? The empirical research to answer this overall research question addresses two processes: policy making and policy implementation. These include the process of revising the 2000 Ethiopian seed law and the process of implementing direct seed marketing. By analysing these two processes, the thesis unravels how actors and associated institutions have influenced seed policy making and implementation in Ethiopia. The major sources of data were interviews of actors in the seed sector, and desk research of different reports. Guided by theoretical concepts, the research used qualitative methods to generate and analyse data. Given the complexity of societal phenomenon, several analytical lenses have been used to examine the data in this research. In order to explain how actors negotiate the content of a policy document, including defining the problem and solution, the concept of discourse analysis is used, focusing on frame, the rounds model, and the policy arena. Similarly, to explain the process of implementing the existing policy and the outcome, the concepts of multi-level perspective on transition, transition management, non-decision making, and institutional lock-in are used. While using these analytical lenses to explain seed policy making and implementation, the concept of institutions has remained a central concept. Chapter 2 analyses the negotiation process, looking into the topics of seed sector governance and variety registration. The analysis reveals that different policy arenas provide opportunities for different actors to place their preferred policy options on the table, and to get them incorporated into the draft working document. While this is a positive step towards a deliberative policy making, the final decision is made by the executive branch of the government. Such a process can be explained by two informal institutions. These are the loose connection between the drafting arenas and the decision-making arenas, and the blurred separation of power between the executive and the legislature. At the Council of Ministers (CoM), where the critical decisions are made, the ministry presents its perspective, particularly on issues where disagreement exists between the ministry and other actors. The council uses the content of the draft and the justification of the ministry for endorsing the draft policy document. Moreover, the parliament can change the content of the draft policy document only if the ministry agrees with the change, regardless of the arguments and justifications provided by other stakeholders. Thus, the inputs of stakeholders are considered as long as the ministry agrees with the suggestions, and the policy decision remains in the hands of the ministry. Chapter 3 presents the different frames used by different actors to describe the problem of seed quality. While government officials attribute the problem of seed quality to the lack of alignment between the seed sector governance and the regional government structure, experts and bureaucrats attribute the problem to the lack of coordination at national level. As a result, they respectively suggest the decentralization and centralization of seed sector governance. These frames are embedded in the overall interest and strategy of the actors promoting the frames. The centralization frame reflects the interest of experts and bureaucrats to have a say with regards to the seed sector. They have lost this power because of the federal structure that was established formally in 1995. On the contrary, the decentralization frame is embedded in the government’s aim to implement the constitution that established the federal structure in 1995. Despite the fact that the process of revising the seed law took about four years, these actors could not agree on either of the options or find an alternative. This shows a lack of deliberation and reflexivity during the process of revising the seed law, reflecting the fact that seed policy discussion has been part of a larger debate about (de)centralization in Ethiopia since 1991. Thus, in addition to the issue of seed quality, the frames of centralization and decentralization are shaped by the old (unitary) and the new (federal) institutions of the Ethiopian government system. Chapter 4 focuses on the process of introducing and expanding direct seed marketing (DSM) in Ethiopia. Despite the fact that seed marketing is included in the policies on paper, the seed of major food crops is distributed through government channels resulting in inefficiency of seed distribution. The regional seed core groups introduced DSM in 2011, and by 2016 about one-third of the hybrid maize seed, the main seed marketed in Ethiopia, in Amhara, Oromia and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ region (SNNPR), was sold through DSM. The presence of actors outside the seed distribution system was instrumental for introducing the concept of DSM. To start the piloting of this existing policy, the core group needed to get approval from the heads of the bureaus of agriculture (BoAs). However, such approval was not required for other new ideas, like establishing an independent regulatory body, showing how the informal institutions guide what has to be approved by bureau heads, regardless of the formal policy. In addition to the demonstrated potential of DSM to overcome the problem of seed distribution inefficiency, strategic management of the stakeholders' process was critical in expanding the area under the pilot. Many actors, including the executives, supported the expansion of DSM to many areas. Despite the expansion of DSM, its demonstrated potential to overcome the problem of seed supply inefficiency, the support it received from the government officials, and the general policy of market-based approach, the government has not endorsed the use of DSM beyond the pilot. Chapter 5 points out that the government excluded the issue of seed marketing from the seed regulation enacted in 2016, showing that the government has no intention to make seed marketing one of the seed delivery channels in the near future. The major reasons for this are: bureaucrats do not want to contribute to the decision making of DSM because they assume that the government has a strong political interest to remain in seed distribution; bureaucrats need the seed distribution system to achieve the targets set by the government; there is a symbiotic relationship between actors, the extension service as well as seed producers, and the seed distribution system, and so actors want to maintain the distribution system Such institutionalized thinking and practices have created an institutional lock-in that prevents bureaucrats from presenting the recommendation to government officials, thereby leading to non-decision about the future of DSM. Chapter 6 summarizes the action of actors in affecting policy making and implementation as influenced by two conflicting sets of institutions. The first set relates to market-based thinking versus centralized planning as leading principles for economic development. Both are used as a discourse for promoting economic development and its operationalization, which are shaping how actors view and overcome the problems of the seed sector. This also explains why policies on paper are not implemented and why new initiatives are not formally endorsed. The tension between these divergent institutions has increased because of the dual use of seed by the government: the government has used the seed to both promote economic development and maintain strong political ties with farmers. The second set of conflicting institutions relates to authoritarian versus participatory decision making. On the one hand, is the government practice of authoritative decision-making, where only the input of stakeholders is considered when it fits in with the existing policy direction of the executives. On the other hand, it is common practice to organize stakeholders to contribute to policy making and implementation. The practice of considering the policy input of others only when it fits in with the policy direction of the decision-makers, creates a sense of being forced to accept, increasing the tension between how the government decides and the role of stakeholders. Given the tension between the conflicting institutions, and circumstances in Ethiopia, this research suggested that choosing one approach over the other will not guarantee the development of the seed sector. There is no guarantee that the outcome of a deliberative policy making process will be a different policy option than the one opted for by one of the actors. However, the co-development of a solution for the shared seed sector problem will guarantee better ownership and thus better implementation than an imposed policy. It is also important to note that deliberative policy making and implementation is not an easy task given the current stakeholders’ landscape and the culture of authoritative decision making. Thus, the change towards deliberative policy making and implementation is not something that emerges overnight: it is a process that matures over time. This calls for the strategic management of a process of change that leads to the transformation of the seed sector into a self-reliant and resilient sector. By identifying the underlying institutions behind the challenges of the seed sector and suggesting options for improvement, this thesis contributes to the debate on how to make the seed sector function better. At a higher level, it also contributes to the debate on policy making and implementation processes in Ethiopia.

This paper endeavors to review the inter-state relation in Southeast Asia countries. Especially in government policy. The most significant problem in regional relationship is about the absence of political awareness. As a consequence, ASEAN only provides limited positive achievement in political performance regionally. This article provides an alternative explanation for the limited achievement in political performance of ASEAN by assessing the implication of using non-interference principe to the incidence of ignorance and disconnection between ASEAN countries that leads to lack of political awareness. In this paper, we try to propose a combination between formal diplomacy actions done by state institution and informal diplomacy actions done by non-government actors. We also points out an alternative strategy to promote political awareness on the future of SEA community. First, open policy to connecting diplomatic based community. Second, optimalize the regional cooperation with more concern with democracy and human rights issue. Third, building and institutionalizing political awareness through people participation.

The drive behind this paper is to explore the quality of the partnership working between the Youth Justice Service and the Multi – Agency Safeguarding Hub & First Response Team in one of the London Boroughs on the basis of 6 selected cases which were known to both services. The study begins with an explanation of the rationale for the research and an introduction to both services and their roles. Subsequently, I review the literature, publications and relevant government policies linked to this topic. Successively, I concentrate on methodology employed in the study and any ethical issues arising as well as the theory underpinning the research. Next part presents the findings and offers an analysis. Finally, the paper outlines the conclusions of this piece of work with a brief summary of recommendations for both services in order to enhance the understanding of their roles as well as how to work better together in order to achieve improved outcomes for young people.

Tycoons and politicians are the main players of tourism in most parts of the world, and they often use tourism as a tool for gaining economic and political power, and creating a positive, albeit propagandized, image of their country. The paper is based on a positive example of an approved project by the Government of Vojvodina Secretariat for Science and Technological Development. The main goal of this paper is to show whether the local residents are familiar with the project and how much they know about project, and what is their opinion about the impact which this project or other similar projects have on the observed area (Fruška Gora Mountain - Serbia). The conclusion is that there is a direct positive relationship between residents' perceptions of the benefits of tourism and their political support. The method survey was conducted on a random sample of the residents of seven local settlements (the sample of 249 participants). The data were processed with the SPSS program (version 17.0). Chi-square test is used to determine the frequency of specific deviations.

Policy-makers are seeking to build vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) to promote innovative entrepreneurship. However, the role of government policy in EEs, especially in the emerging economy context, is poorly understood, lacking a systematic concept of policy and theoretical framework, clear policy classification, and empirical research considering distinctive characteristics of policy mixes in EEs. This paper introduces the concept of EE policy mixes and classifies them into seven policy instruments. Using data from 21 national high-tech zones (NHZs) in China, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is applied to identify effective configurations of EE policy mixes that support early-stage and late-stage technology start-ups to produce high entrepreneurial performance. The configurational analysis shows that EE policy mixes present causal complexity and stage differences. Based on interpreting multiple policy interactions, we reveal the differentiated support mechanisms of EE policy mixes in NHZs and draw out their implications for research, policy, and practice. This study contributes to the EE literature by adopting a policy-mix perspective to examine the role of policy, exploring the specific emerging economy context of China, suggesting further extensions of the research to other contexts, and applying a methodology that reveals causal mechanisms. It also supports better-informed EE policy and governance.

Governments provide policy incentives to increase adoption rates of electric vehicles and achieve sustainability goals. This paper investigates the impact of UK financial purchase incentives on new registrations of electric fleets whilst moderating for change in gross domestic product (GDP). We use a unique dataset of new registrations of electric fleets in the UK for a 20-year period (1999–2019). Our results show that financial purchase incentives positively impact new registrations of electric fleets, and this effect is positively moderated by GDP change. Marginal analysis reveals three categories of adopters that purchase electric fleets at different levels of policy and GDP change: insensitive adopters, standard adopters, and sensitive adopters. Overall, financial incentives may be more effective in fostering the adoption of electric fleets when set to levels that are conditioned on the level of GDP change. In particular, financial purchase incentives are most effective when GDP change and incentives are above their average level.

A recent paper 1 has highlighted the use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) as a basis for creating and implementing policies by the United Kingdom government. However, RCTs are potentially difficult, costly, and complex. Therefore, this paper explores what public policy-makers can learn from medicine’s extensive experience with RCTs so that public policy may be both cost-effective and efficacious.

Autonomy of public health insurance scheme comprises political, financial, organizational, normative and contractual aspects. The paper analyses the role and position of a health insurance scheme (HIS) within the overall healthcare system in Albania, the relationship to all other institutions, stakeholders and actors. By analyesing published literature and collected data through secondary sources, the paper focuses on financial autonomy, which refers first of all to a certain level of budgetary independence regarding source generation and spending on health services. For assuring effective and efficient performance of the single payer for health care services in Albania, need effective changes in the legislation do take into account the various levels of autonomy mentioned above.

Aquest article exposa l'activitat parlamentària -mocions, interpel·lacions, preguntes, resolucions, declaracions institucionals i lleis- sobre polítiques públiques de memòria democràtica entre la primera i la desena legislatura del Parlament de Catalunya. En particular d'ençà de la sisena, que marca un tomb qualitatiu quant al nombre i la varietat d'iniciatives sobre memòria. Així, el text assenyala els temes més recurrents en aquest terreny (les commemoracions, la revisió jurídica dels consells de guerra del franquisme, la retirada de símbols feixistes de l'espai públic, la recuperació de fons documentals i l'accés a arxius històrics, els ajuts econòmics a expressos polítics, la recerca de dades de persones desaparegudes, i l'excavació i senyalització de fosses, juntament amb la recuperació i la identificació de restes humanes de persones desaparegudes en la Guerra Civil i el franquisme). Mitjançant l'anàlisi de disposicions com la llei 13/2007, de 31 d'octubre, del Memorial Democràtic, i la llei 10/2009, de 30 de juny, sobre la localització i la identificació de les persones desaparegudes durant la Guerra Civil i la dictadura franquista, i la dignificació de les fosses comunes, juntament amb el comentari de les mocions més destacades en la matèria (217/VI, 47/X, 69/X, etc.), el text identifica mancances implícites en aquests debats parlamentaris i formula observacions sobre l'eventual revisió del marc jurídic vigent a Catalunya sobre polítiques de memòria., This paper sets forth the democratic activity of the Catalan Parliament on public memorial policies between the first and the tenth legal terms ( motions, questions and formal questions, resolutions, institutional declarations, bills, etc.) In particular, from the sixth onwards, as it marks a qualitative no-turning point, both in the number and in the variety of memorial initiatives. Thus, the text points out fields most debated in the area (commemorations, homages, the juridical revisions of court-martials during Francoism, withdrawal of fascist symbols from the public space, recovery of documental funds and access to historical archives, economic funding to political ex-convicts, research of missing persons' data and exhumation and signaling of common pits. Also, compilation and identification of human remains of persons gone missing during the Civil War and Francoism). The paper also goes through Law 13/2007, of 31 October, of the Democratic Memorial, and Law 10/2009, of 30 June, about the location and identification of persons gone missing during the Civil War and Franco's dictatorship. It claims for the dignification of common pits, and reviews the most outstanding relevant motions (217/VI, 47/X, 69/X, etc). It is thus that it pinpoints troublesome issues as emerged during parliamentary debates and formulates observations about the convenience of going through the current legal frame in Catalonia as regards memorial policies.

PurposeInvestment in human development is considered a means of improving the quality of life and sustaining economic growth in the Caribbean. The purpose of this paper is to assess the efficacy of public spending on health care and education by evaluating the life expectancy and school enrolment rates of these countries.Design/methodology/approachUsing a data set containing 19 Caribbean countries over the period 1995 to 2007 for health care and 1980 to 2009 for education, a Panel Ordinary Least Squares model was employed.FindingsThe results revealed that health expenditure has a significant positive effect on health status, while spending on education has no appreciable influence on either primary or secondary school enrolment.Originality/valueUnlike previous Caribbean research, the paper explores a variable for quality in the education system, that is, the pupil‐teacher ratio. It also seeks to update the existing Caribbean literature by employing data from 1980 to 2009.

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse Chinese policy instruments for climate change mitigation.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the paper reviews Chinese energy consumption per unit of GDP (EC/GDP) in order to determine the overall effects of the combined policy instruments. Second, the different policy instruments are compared in terms of their effects. Third, the actual trends of EC/GDP in two provinces and the instruments adopted by them are analysed on the provincial level.FindingsThe decline in EC/GDP can indirectly reflect the Chinese contribution to mitigation of CO2 emissions since fossil fuels dominate Chinese energy consumption. The national EC/GDP values have shown a declining trend from 2005 to date, indicating that the policy instruments are very important to mitigate climate change as regards reducing EC/GDP. The technological improvement regulations have made the greatest contribution to date to reduce EC/GDP values. The experiences from the Beijing and Shandong province indicate that their final targets in 2010 will be most likely achieved because the different provinces are not only following the national policy instruments but have also developed quite a few new instruments to assist in reaching the these reductions.Research limitations/implicationsThere are three limitations regarding Chinese policy instruments analysis. First, the paper does not go far to determine the other factors which can affect EC/GDP apart from policy instruments. Second, some data were lacking and there may be inaccuracies in the existing data that could affect the analysis results. Third, EC/GDP cannot reflect the Chinese contribution to mitigation of CO2 emissions if the composition of Chinese energy consumption changes significantly.Originality/valueThe paper addresses the importance of various policy instruments in reducing EC/GDP. The results can be referenced by Chinese policy makers on both the national and provincial level.

PurposeThe paper aims to argue that there has been a privileging of the private (social mobility) and economic (social efficiency) purposes of schooling at the expense of the public (democratic equality) purposes of schooling.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a literature review, policy and document analysis.FindingsSince the late 1980s, the schooling agenda in Australia has been narrowed to one that gives primacy to purposes of schooling that highlight economic orientations (social efficiency) and private purposes (social mobility).Practical implicationsThe findings have wider relevance beyond Australia, as similar policy agendas are evident in many other countries raising the question as to how the shift in purposes of education in those countries might mirror those in Australia.Originality/valueWhile earlier writers have examined schooling policies in Australia and noted the implications of managerialism in relation to these policies, no study has analysed these policies from the perspective of the purposes of schooling. Conceptualising schooling, and its purposes in particular, in this way refocuses attention on how societies use their educational systems to promote (or otherwise) the public good.

Regarding Southeast Asia as a multi-ethnics region, this paper attempts to examine about why Buddhist Community turns into religious violence against Rohingyas in the State of Rakhine (formerly known as Arakan). Through understanding the triggers of conflicts, this paper applies historical perspective to analyze why ethnic-religious conflict occur nowadays between Buddhist and Rohingya in Myanmar. This paper also discusses how the influence of history has constructed the government’s policy under military regime to exclude Rohingya. However, the ethno-religious conflict is either an indication of a weak state or failure state in managing diversity.Key words: Ethnic

This paper examines peat power production in Ireland under the three pillars of energy policy—security, competitiveness and environment. Peat contributes to energy security—as an indigenous fuel, it reduces dependency on imports. During a period of low capacity margins, the operation of the peat plants is useful from a system security perspective. Peat generation is being financially supported by consumers through an electricity levy. The fuel also has high carbon intensity. It is not politically viable to consider peat on equal economic criteria to other plant types because of history and location. This paper reviews electricity generation through combustion of peat in Ireland, and quantifies the costs of supporting peat utilising economic dispatch tools, finding the subsidy is not insignificant from a cost or carbon perspective. It shows that while peat is beneficial for one pillar of energy policy (security), the current usage of peat is not optimal from a competitiveness or environmental perspective. By switching from the current ‘must-run’ mode of operation for peat to the ‘dispatched’ mode used for the other generation, significant societal savings (in the range €21m per annum) can be achieved, as well as reducing system emissions by approximately 5% per year. Not applicable Electricity Research Centre (ERC) Industry Members ti.kpw23/7/10

The aim of the paper. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the impact of factors determining the transition to organic farming and provide some recommendations for government’s policy relating to organic farming. Material and research method. An analysis was based on questionnaire survey on the willingness of organic farming by small farmers in the province of Jiangsu. Binary logistic regression model was used in the research. Concluding remarks. Five factors affecting organic agricultural production were discovered: farmers’ age, risk preferences, labour costs, expected benefi ts and the environment. On this ground, the authors suggest, that Chinese government should adopt policies assisting farmers in the transition to organic farming for the sustainable development of China’s organic agriculture. Cooperation of farmers’ cooperatives and research institutions to improve organic farming techniques should also be promoted.

This paper focuses on the relations between state initiatives in conflict resolution as a tool of bringing development in northeast India. The main task of this paper is to find out the historical importance of the role of state as an actor behind developmental activities in developing countries like India. I will discuss ethnic conflicts of the Northeast India and will also show what steps have been taken by Indian central Government to resolve the issue. I will also describe how and for what extent ethno-political conflicts started in this region with the historical background of ethnopolitical conflicts in institutional context. This paper will show how ethnic movements have been continuing and what measures have been taken by the government to solve the ethnic conflicts in different states of India, particularly in the Northeast area as well as focus on different cleavages and ethnic conflicts within the state. The impact of colonialism on the Northeast India is focused here emphasizing on the precondition and historical legacy of colonialism. There is a brief discussion on some provisions of law in this paper and constitutional provisions which were created in colonial India, but still exist in the Indian states. Internal conflicts is the main focus point of the paper paying attention to national and state-building strategies, in which I will further show how they act as external factors of development.

Through a framework that combines literature's observations on traffickers’ policy-based representations with International Relations (IR) theories, this paper explores the representations of traffickers and anti-trafficking government goals in policies of the United Kingdom’s (UK), Scottish and Northern Irish governments. Policies were found to mostly subscribe to a Realist’s viewing of human trafficking, emphasising criminal choices. Still, and despite their growing tendency to focus on a wider range of traffickers, their dominant narrative tends to revolve around trafficking stereotypes, often ignoring the full spectrum of traffickers' identities to promote total human trafficking elimination. This discourse may overstate Britain's trafficking problem, sustaining state legitimacy and intervention and narrowing down the scope of anti-trafficking efforts. Conclusively, to ensure a more effective anti-trafficking response, the UK needs to set more feasible goals and based on an in-depth knowledge of traffickers strive to further enrich the policy-promoted human trafficking narrative.

In recent years, medical and health care consumption has risen, making health risk an important determinant of household spending and welfare. We aimed to examine the determinants of medical and health care expenditure to help policy-makers in the improvement of China's health care system, benefiting the country, society and every household. This paper employs panel data from China's provinces from 2001 to 2011 with all possible economic variations and studies the determinants of medical and healthcare expenditure for urban residents. CPI (consumer price index) of medical services and the resident consumption level of urban residents have positive influence on medical and health care expenditures for urban residents, while the local medical budget, the number of health institutions, the incidence of infectious diseases, the year-end population and the savings of urban residents will not have effect on medical and health care expenditure for urban residents. This paper proposed three relevant policy suggestions for Chinese governments based on the findings of the research.

Treballs Finals de Grau de Ciència Política i de l'Administració, Facultat de Dret, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2013-2014 , Tutor: Joan-Josep Vallbé, Why talk about technocracy in a time when democracies are consolidating all over the world? The term rings of something out-dated and archaic, more suited to the Cold War era, or a George Orwell novel. Out of all possible subjects, why dedicate hours of research to this phenomenon which in no way constitutes a threat to the hegemony of liberal democracies today? This paper will argue that technocracy is indeed a relevant concept in modern societies. Not only has the current financial crisis provoked the formation of temporary technocratic governments in certain European countries, but the technocratic framing of policy-questions and the use of expert knowledge to define political goals are characteristics of present-day policy making which have perhaps not received the full scholarly attention they deserve. This paper will insist that technocracy is not only a system of governance where experts rule by virtue of their knowledge; it is a decision-making paradigm functioning within contemporary democracies. The motivations for carrying out this study are both personal and academic. At a personal level, the chance to observe the Spanish government’s policy responses to combat the financial crisis during these past five years has served as a source of motivation for examining technocratic decision-making. Top-down policies have been implemented and justified in terms of efficiency and e↵ectiveness and what has been deemed good for the financial sector and the economic system has been presented as representing the ‘public interest’ without further debate. However, most policies have made “the burden of the mistakes of the rich fall on the poor”(Palat, 2012:1) by cutting public spending where it hurts the most and invariably favouring capital over labour. Unable to counter-argue what prestigious financial institutions claim to be true, citizens have become truly disenfranchised when it comes to influencing the choice of policies to combat the current financial situation. In spite of this, the support for technocratic decision-making is considerably high in Spain and in the countries of the OECD. Questions such as who supports technocratic decisionmaking and what might explain this support inspire further inquiry...

This paper analyses the current burden of obesity in the female population of Jordan on a national scale and examines the factors associated with it. Demographics and Health Surveys DHS were used for the years 2002, 2007 and 2009 covering a total of 23,197 women, 15-49 years of age, and variables including body mass index, age, governorate, educational level, marital status and wealth index, among others were investigated. The overall prevalence of obesity body mass index, BMI 30 in Jordanian women was found to be 26.3 percent in 2002, 19.7 percent in 2007 and 28.2 percent in 2009. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that being obese was significantly associated with increasing age, being married and having only primary education. Apart from age, the strength of these associations decreased from 2002 to 2009 which could point to a generalisation obesity epidemic, for all population groups. This paper contributes to the increasing research on obesity in Jordan, and confirms many findings of smaller studies, by including a larger sample size and greater geographic coverage, on a national scale. The contextual policy analysis reveals that the public health efforts of the Jordanian government are relatively limited in this area, and concludes by trying to make a case for a more comprehensive approach in order to moderate the health impact of obesity in Jordan.

This paper presents a gender analysis of the South African government’s proposed new policy on international migration identifying a number of areas of implicit gender discrimination. Such “discrimination by default” is of more than academic relevance having important implications for national and regional development. Research undertaken by the Southern African Migration Project indicates a growing “feminization” of migration to South Africa from the Southern African region as well as gender-specific motives and patterns of migration. If migration is to be effectively managed such realities must be taken into account. The paper concludes by advocating a development-centered “household strategies” approach both in understanding international migration to South Africa and in the further development and implementation of legislation. (authors)

The memo consists of six papers on a common theme: applying economic analysis to subjects at the time, 1972, considered non-economic. The first paper considers changes in preferences. The second considers strategies of a regime and its opposition. The third discusses collective decision making in the light of Arrow's possibility theorem and the voting paradox. The fourth discusses some problems of inefficiency in modern industrialised societies, and the onsequences on the welfare of the population. The fifth discusses some aspects of redistributive policies, and the sixth various instances of the conflict between individual and collective rationality, particularly in the case of environmental and population policies.

Increasingly, natural resource policy makers and program administrators are requiring that analysis of proposed changes include estimates of both environmental and economic implications. That requirement poses a difficulty for researchers since the spatial scale of models used for environmental analysis and for economic analysis are structured differently. In this paper we show how the differing spatial scales can be reconciled in a national analysis involving an agricultural model with state- and county-level-based geographical boundaries and a watershed model involving watershed boundaries. This type of modeling system integration has been done in analysis of single or multiple watershed-level issues, but our paper is the first to show a method for a national-level analysis involving state- and substate-level economic results and small watershed environmental results. The procedures and results are shown for a national cropland erosion control policy and for the release by one state experiment station of improved crop varieties.

Resumen (analítico) Se presentan los resultados de una investigación cualitativa realizada desde una perspectiva interpretativa-histórica, para comprender la construcción de relaciones intersectoriales en el programa de atención a la primera infancia de Medellín entre el 2004 y el 2014. Se recurrió al análisis documental y a la observación participante en espacios de gestión de políticas públicas y se implementaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a funcionarios gubernamentales y no gubernamentales. La información se analizó desde tres dimensiones interdependientes: ideológica, política y administrativa. Según los resultados, las acciones intersectoriales se ven favorecidas por la adopción del enfoque de derechos, la implementación de instrumentos de política pública y la búsqueda del posicionamiento de los servicios en la comunidad; sin embargo, estos aspectos están atravesados por tensiones derivadas del intento de articular diferentes miradas, relaciones de poder y acciones administrativas. Abstract (analytical) His paper presents the results of qualitative research carried out from an interpretative-historical perspective, to understand the construction of intersectoral relationships in the program of early childhood care in Medellin between 2004 and 2014. Documentary analysis and participant observation were used in public policy management spaces, and semi-structured interviews with government and non-government officials were implemented. The data was analyzed from three interdependent dimensions: ideological, political, and administrative. According to the results, intersectoral actions are favored by the adoption of the rights approach, the implementation of public policy instruments, and the search for the positioning of services in the community. However, these aspects are traversed by tensions derived from the attempt to articulate different views, power relations, and administrative actions. Resumo (analítico) Este artigo apresenta os resultados da pesquisa qualitativa realizada desde uma perspectiva interpretativa-histórica, para entender a construção de relações intersetoriais no programa da atenção à primeira infância de Medellín entre o 2004 e o 2014. Recorreu-se à análise documental e à observação participante em espaços de gestão de políticas públicas e implementaram-se entrevistas semiestruturadas a funcionários governamentais e não governamentais. A informação foi analisada desde três dimensões interdependentes: ideológica, política e administrativa. Segundo os resultados, as ações intersetoriais se veem favorecidas pelo uso do enfoque de direitos, a implementação de instrumentos de política pública e a procura do posicionamento dos serviços na comunidade; mesmo assim, estes aspectos estão atravessados por tensões derivadas da tentativa de articular diferentes olhares, relações de poder e ações administrativas.

espanolLa investigacion descrita en este articulo pretende determinar las acciones que el profesorado declara efectuar, en coherencia con la cultura y politicas educativas inclusivas, considerando que estos dos aspectos deberian permear el quehacer pedagogico en los centros escolares con el fin de garantizar una educacion en equidad para el estudiantado. La metodologia es cuantitativa y considero profesorado chileno desde educacion infantil a educacion secundaria. Para la recogida de datos se utilizo la Guia de Evaluacion de Practicas Inclusivas en el Aula. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en algunas dimensiones de la guia mencionada, segun el centro educativo en que se desempenaban los docentes y el ciclo educativo en el que impartian clases. A partir de los hallazgos es posible profundizar la comprension sobre el modo en que los profesores efectuan acciones pedagogicas congruentes con la cultura y politicas inclusivas vigentes, y como esto permite futuras mejoras educativas respecto de la inclusion. EnglishThe purpose of this research discussed in this paper is to determine the actions that the professors declare to carry out, in coherence with the culture and inclusive educational policies, and considering that these two aspects mentioned should permeate towards the pedagogical work in schools for guaranteeing an education in equity for the students. The methodology is quantitative and considered Chilean teachers from early childhood education to secondary education. For collecting data, the Guia de Evaluacion de Practicas Inclusivas en el Aula was used. Regarding the results, significant differences were found in some dimensions, considering the educational center in which the teachers worked and the educational cycle in which they taught. Based on the findings, it is possible to deepen the understanding of how teachers carry out pedagogical actions consistent with current inclusive culture and policies, and how this allows for future educational improvements regarding inclusion.

Purpose – This paper assesses the incidence of political institutions on stock market performance dynamics in Africa. Design/methodology/approach – The estimation technique used is a Two-Stage-Least Squares Instrumental Variable methodology. Channels of democracy, polity and autocracy are instrumented with legal-origins, religious-legacies, income-levels and press-freedom qualities to account for stock market performance dynamics of capitalization, value traded, turnover and number of listed companies. To ensure robustness of the analysis, the following checks are carried out: (1) usage of alternative indicators of political institutions; (2) employment of two distinct interchangeable sets of moment conditions that engender every category of the instruments; (3) usage of alternative indicators of stock market performance; (4) account for the concern of endogeneity; (5) usage of Principal Component Analysis(PCA) to reduce the dimensions of stock market dynamics and political indicators and then check for further robustness of findings in the regressions from resulting indexes. Findings – Findings broadly demonstrate that democracy improves investigated stock market performance dynamics. Practical implications – As a policy recommendation, the role of sound political institutions is crucial for financial development in Africa. Democracies have important effects on both the degree of competition for public office and the quality of public offices that favor stock market development in the African continent. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge this is the first paper to assess the incidence of democracy on stock market performance in an exclusive African context. Political strife has plagued many African countries and continue to pose a significant threat to financial market development.

Purpose – This paper assesses the incidence of political institutions on stock market performance dynamics in Africa. Design/methodology/approach – The estimation technique used is a Two-Stage-Least Squares Instrumental Variable methodology. Channels of democracy, polity and autocracy are instrumented with legal-origins, religious-legacies, income-levels and press-freedom qualities to account for stock market performance dynamics of capitalization, value traded, turnover and number of listed companies. To ensure robustness of the analysis, the following checks are carried out: (1) usage of alternative indicators of political institutions; (2) employment of two distinct interchangeable sets of moment conditions that engender every category of the instruments; (3) usage of alternative indicators of stock market performance; (4) account for the concern of endogeneity; (5) usage of Principal Component Analysis(PCA) to reduce the dimensions of stock market dynamics and political indicators and then check for further robustness of findings in the regressions from resulting indexes. Findings – Findings broadly demonstrate that democracy improves investigated stock market performance dynamics. Practical implications – As a policy recommendation, the role of sound political institutions is crucial for financial development in Africa. Democracies have important effects on both the degree of competition for public office and the quality of public offices that favor stock market development in the African continent. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge this is the first paper to assess the incidence of democracy on stock market performance in an exclusive African context. Political strife has plagued many African countries and continue to pose a significant threat to financial market development.

As Dirk van Damme suggested (van Damme, 2009), the effects of the global financial crisis (GFC) have been manifold and complex and affected countries differently. Australia and Ireland have fared very differently in the GFC so choices will inevitably have been influenced by their relative capacity to spend on higher education. Since 1988 Australia has had a unitary, government-regulated but independent higher education system with block funding from a combination of government allocations and student contributions. In contrast, Ireland retains a government-regulated binary system dependent upon public investment and direct government control of staffing budgets. In recent years, both countries have reviewed their higher education system (Australia 2008, Ireland 2009-2010). The Australian review forms the basis of the government’s intention to further deregulate the system by removing enrolment caps, while Ireland’s higher education is caught up in a drive for efficiency and rationalisation. While the GFC increased awareness of the need to invest in the knowledge economy, governments are adopting different approaches in line with their different fundamentals. It can be argued that Ireland was left with little leeway whereas Australia’s far better economic position might have provided an opportunity to invest in higher education through its stimulus packages. This paper examines the policy choices that Australian and Irish governments made both before and in response to the GFC to assess how these decisions have prepared higher education for the future. We examine the situation in three main sections: section 1) sets out some of the main issues and a basis for comparison; section 2) describes the higher education and policy environment in each country; and section 3) compares and contrasts the policy choices, implications and possible impacts.

Regulatory forbearance and government financial support for the largest U.S. financial companies during the crisis of 2007–09 highlighted a "too big to fail" problem that has existed for decades. As in the past, effects on competition and moral hazard were seen as outweighed by the threat of failures that would undermine the financial system and the economy. As in the past, current legislative reforms promise to prevent a reoccurrence. This paper proceeds on the view that a better understanding of why too-big-to-fail policies have persisted will provide a stronger basis for developing effective reforms. After a review of experience in the United States over the last 40 years, it considers a number of possible motives. The explicit rationale of regulatory authorities has been to stem a systemic threat to the financial system and the economy resulting from interconnections and contagion, and/or to assure the continuation of financial services in particular localities or regions. It has been contended, however, that such threats have been exaggerated, and that forbearance and bailouts have been motivated by the "career interests" of regulators. Finally, it has been suggested that existing large financial firms are preserved because they serve a public interest independent of the systemic threat of failure they pose—they constitute a "national resource." Each of these motives indicates a different type of reform necessary to contain too-big-to-fail policies. They are not, however, mutually exclusive, and may all be operative simultaneously. Concerns about the stability of the financial system dominate current legislative proposals; these would strengthen supervision and regulation. Other kinds of reform, including limits on regulatory discretion, would be needed to contain "career interest" motivations. If, however, existing financial companies are viewed as serving a unique public purpose, then improved supervision and regulation would not effectively preclude bailouts should a large financial company be on the brink of failure. Nor would limits on discretion be binding. To address this motivation, a structural solution is necessary. Breakups through divestiture, perhaps encompassing specific lines of activity, would distribute the "public interest" among a larger group of companies than the handful that currently hold a disproportionate and growing concentration of financial resources. The result would be that no one company, or even a few, would appear to be irreplaceable. Neither economies of scale nor scope appear to offset the advantages of size reduction for the largest financial companies. At a minimum, bank merger policy that has, over the last several decades, facilitated their growth should be reformed so as to contain their continued absolute and relative growth. An appendix to the paper provides a review of bank merger policy and proposals for revision."

In many developing countries less than half the population has access to formal financial services, and in most of Africa less than one in five households has access. Lack of access to finance is often the critical mechanism for generating persistent income inequality, as well as slower economic growth. Hence expanding access remains an important challenge across the world, leaving much for governments to do. However, not all government actions are equally effective and some policies can even be counterproductive. This paper sets out principles for effective government policy on broadening access, drawing on the available evidence and illustrating with examples. The paper concludes with directions for future research.

Turkey adopted from its very beginning an original project of modernity seen as an alternative both to Westernization and Islam. It seems that this "third way" does not help enough in order to achieve the democratic standards of a European country. This paper analyses not all Turkey modernity aspects, but only secularism, mainly because this was considered for a long time the most successful one. Turkish secularism is based not on a separation between State and Church, but on putting all religious practices and institutions under the control of the State. In order to see what the meaning of secularism in Turkey is right now, this paper addresses the historical background of political parties in Turkey, starting with Refah Party and ending with the latest developments of AK Party of the current Prime Minister Erdoğan. This party tries a unique experiment in Turkey, willing to adapt traditional Islam values to modernization and giving a new meaning to secularism. This paper discuss many issues related to the role of religion in society, either Islam ("the Muslim veil" interpreted by ECHR in Leyla Şahin v. Turkey - 2005, the Alevi community, Imam Hatip schools), or Christian (the new 2008 legal framework on associations acknowledging the right of property of the religious associations, mainly Christian, the ECHR decision on Ecumenical Patriarchate v. Turkey - 2008, the status of the Theological School of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from the island of Halki). At this moment, the question if a Muslim majority country could Member State of the European Union is not at stake, but in what extent the European Union may be involved in changing the current Turkey approach on religious freedom, taking into account that there is no European model on Church-State relations. This is the reason why, even in his last 2008 Report, European Commission relies not on the acquis communautaire, but mainly on enforcing ECHR decisions. The question of Turkey belonging to the European Union is addressed in this paper also from the perspective of different types of Europe borders - geographical, institutional, cultural and transactional (formal). No matter the type of border considered, Turkey is still a problematic case. Its European aspirations accelerated the debate on what is and what should be the European Union: a construction based on Western civilization and Christianity or a polity based on democratic values without reference to history or even geography. The paper conclusion is that it is in the very interest of the European Union to accept Turkey and it has to act in such a way that at a certain moment Turkey will transform itself into a country with a similar approach to religious freedom as all other existing Member States.

"Bisherige Untersuchungen zeigen, dass höhere steuerliche Belastungen die Beliebtheit und Wiederwahlchancen von Amtsträgern mindern. Das vorliegende Papier überprüft diese Beziehung erneut anhand von Daten für Deutschland. Übereinstimmend mit internationalen Forschungsergebnissen zeigen unsere Resultate, dass Besteuerung die Zustimmung zur Arbeit der Bundesregierung tatsächlich negativ beeinflusst. Der Popularitätsverlust der Regierung setzt sich jedoch nicht notwendigerweise in vergleichbare Gewinne der Opposition um. Vielmehr ist im Falle von 'Divided Government' (d.h. die Opposition trägt ebenfalls Regierungsverantwortung) ein Verlust an Unterstützung der Opposition möglich. Schließlich finden wir Beweise (wenn auch schwache), dass die Kosten der Besteuerung durch die von der Bundesregierung auferlegte steuerliche Belastung begrenzt sind und nicht von Steuern beeinflusst werden, die von nachrangigen Regierungsebenen erhoben werden." (Autorenreferat), "Previous studies indicate that higher tax burdens reduce incumbents' popularity and re-election odds. The present paper offers a new test of this relation for German data. Our findings indicate that taxation indeed negatively affects German federal government approval ratings, in line with previous international research. Nonetheless, the government's popularity losses do not necessarily translate into comparable gains in the opposition's popularity. In fact, the opposition may even lose support when there is 'divided government' (i.e. when it has some power over policies). Finally, we find some (albeit weak) evidence that the costs of taxation are limited to the tax burden imposed by the federal government and do not extend to taxes levied at lower levels of government." (author's abstract)

"2008 soll in den Staaten der Europäischen Union der Lissabonner Vertrag ratifiziert werden. Dabei kommt dem EU-Mitgliedstaat Großbritannien vermutlich erneut eine Schlüsselposition zu. Entscheidend wichtig dabei ist, ob die britische Regierung den lauter werdenden Forderungen im eigenen Land nach einer Volksabstimmung über den Vertrag nachgeben wird oder die Ratifizierung - wie bisher geplant - im Parlament erfolgen kann. Auf der Basis der bisherigen britischen Europa-Politik, der aktuellen innenpolitischen Lage, der Programmpapiere und der politischen Philosophie Gordon Browns untersucht die vorliegende Analyse die inhaltliche Ausrichtung der künftigen Europa-Politik der Labour-Regierung unter ihrem neuen Premierminister." (Autorenreferat), "European Politics in the year 2008 will be dominated by the ratification process of the EU's new Lisbon Treaty. As before, Great Britain will most probably be a decisive player in this process. Whether the long-overdue treaty can enter into force will be largely dependent upon whether the British government will, against significant domestic pressure, succeed in avoiding a referendum by simply putting the treaty to vote in parliament. This paper analyzes the possible future direction of British EU politics under the new Labour government. Its findings are based on the historic role of Britain in Europe, the current domestic political situation, previously published programmatic documents, and Gordon Brown's political philosophy. This paper comes to the following conclusions: 1. The portrayal of Britain as a 'difficult partner' or 'laggard leader' in European affairs is only partly justified. Based on its very specific understanding of national sovereignty, Britain has developed a much more instrumental approach towards European integration than most of its partners on the continent. Nevertheless, the country was a strong driving force in favor of integration in many crucial policy fields: the single market, trade policy, economic and social modernization, EU expansion, and, to a somewhat lesser extent, in Common Foreign and Security Policy. 2. Gordon Brown's political philosophy is one dominated by an economic understanding of the world. He is instinctively skeptical about the idea of an ever closer European Union. But in order to achieve his political goals which entail a rather ambitious foreign policy agenda, he is forced to rely on a strong British engagement within Europe. 3. Brown's governments promotes a Europe which, by means of its economic strength, will actively shape and determine the nature of globalization. Its European policies put strong emphasis on the strengthening of the EU economic clout by means of liberal reforms. Among these are: the reform of the EU's budget, the completion of the single market, the liberalization of world trade, better regulation, the continuation of EU expansion policy, the creation of a common EU position on climate change and energy. 4. The new Labour government will be severely curtailed by the domestic political situation in Britain. Having already spent most of its European political capital by persistently rejecting a referendum on the new treaty, the government's capacity to play a constructive and active role in the European agenda will probably be limited until the next general elections. This could force Brown, against his inclinations, to be an unusually difficult European partner in the forthcoming months." (author's abstract)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess risks and prospects for older workers and to provide a number of recommendations designed to marshal the interests of employees, business and government.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines the terrain of competing interests and dynamic complexities of workforce ageing, by elaborating on the topic of economic globalisation, the policy approaches adopted by government, the actions taken by industry and the working and life preferences of older workers.FindingsIn the absence of a deep understanding of the current relationship between demographic ageing, the labour market and economic globalisation, the policy aspirations of government face the prospect of limited success. The currently popular premise, that ageing populations go hand‐in‐hand with ageing workforces, appears to be contradicted by much of the available evidence, which points to rather more complex scenarios, in which outcomes are uncertain, but clearly where late career workers may not necessarily fare well.Originality/valueThe paper brings analysis to the area of ageing populations and the labour market in the context of globalization – a complex and important topic that is usually dealt with far too simply.

Universities are increasingly being encouraged to take a leading role in entrepreneurial creation, whilst the entrepreneurship literature recognises the importance of economic development policy. Recent research has focused on evaluating roles and interactions of government policy, Higher Education Institutions' (HEIs), entrepreneurship, and the creation of innovation. This is an important area for research because HEIs have an important ties in both knowledge creation and its dissemination in the economy. This contributes to the public knowledge stock and knowledge spillover's: important economic drivers of regional development and growth (Guellec & Potterie, 2004, Acs et al 2004).The optimum mechanisms of these stakeholders are currently not well understood, necessitating an exploratory approach to research. The paper's aims are to enhance the understanding of the role government policy plays in influencing HEIs' entrepreneurial behaviours and direct innovation creation and dissemination in the Australian biotechnology industry. This involves (i) evaluation of the role of HEIs in high potential nascent firm development in the biotechnology industry and government influence on this role (ii) identifying behaviours within HEI-created nascent firms and iii) examination of potential commercialisation mechanisms and conceptual changes required to clearly articulate value creation and spillovers. The study uses a framework developed by Pickernell et al (2006), with a particular focus on role and impacts of government policy interactions with university policy concerning the allocation and use of government resources. This framework builds on the 'Triple Helix' model of Etzkowitz & Leydesdorff (1998), which incorporates the role of key stakeholders (industry, government and HEIs in particular) in innovation generation, diffusion and commercialisation. This, however, emphasises the need for multi-disciplinary and interactive knowledge production between the stakeholdders. This paper utilises this broad framework to identify and evaluate the specific roles of HEIs and government in high potential nascent firm creation, behaviour, and spillovers. It also allows highlighting areas for further research, particularly direct HEI start up and commercialisation processes and company behaviour. Methodology/Key Propositions A range of HEI's commercialisation decisions , including the process of creating entrepreneurial small firms (clusters, spinoffs, licensing), the actors/individuals and teams, the decision to commit resources (finance, assistance) and the complex nature of relationships between Govt and HEI's, lead to entrepreneurial formations, behaviours, and outcomes. The biotechnology industry has received greater focus and funding in Government policy within the last decade. Increased access to this funding influences entrepreneurial behaviours and further policy development in HEI's which warrants further examination, particularly given the limited research conducted in Australia. Orsenigo, Pammolli, & Riccaboni (2001) argue that the majority of research in biotechnology development and industry occurred in the United States, leaving a gap in the literature for the Australian context. This may not provide an accurate reflection of current Australian conditions, owing to differences in government policy e.g. Doyle Bayle Act, environment and practice (Orsenigo et al., 2001). Further, size, structure and access to resources, including finance and tax incentives on research and development differ between the US and Australia (Marsh 2002). In the context of university technology transfer and commercialisation, there has also been little research on possible contingency effects of particular institutional structures or processes (Powers & McDougall, 2005). There is also a paucity of literature in the research and development cycle in new firm creation, where no sales have been conducted, but value has been recognised and is seeking to be developed (Lockett, Siegel, Wright, & Ensley, 2005). Moreover, limited research has occurred in the commercialisation of R & D in universities and the risks posed by HEI technology transfer policies and practices in Australia (Griffith, Redding, & Simpson, 2004). Lowe (2006) also suggests further empirical evidence is needed on HEI commercialisation and firm developments.. Despite the recent phenomenon of the entrepreneurial university, and the increased focus on commercialisation (Griffith et al., 2004; Siegel et al., 2001), there is therefore more research needed in the management aspects of university commercialisation both in the US and elsewhere (Prabhu, 1999). In order to utilises the broad framework identified in Pickernell et al (2006) to the research areas highlighted in the Principal Topic section, a two-stage qualitative approach was utilised, to allow the complexity of the issues to be explored.: In stage one scoping interviews were conducted with various industry stakeholders including members of Federal and State Government, university members and industry partners. The second stage used the comparative case study approach (in-depth interview techniques) of 3 Queensland biotech firms who were selected for their different stages in commercialisation processes. These firms were linked to university and government funding in different ways and dealt with policy and opportunities differently. This occurred within a greater project evaluating asymmetric behaviours and entrepreneurial orientation of Queensland Biotechnology firms. The research focused on the role and importance of HEIs and government policy in this innovation-focused sector. Results and Implications The key contribution of the paper is providing insight of the roles and behaviours of key stakeholders in area of innovation and economic development, in particular HEI's. Preliminary analysis of the result indicate opportunistic behaviours in the development of HEI shell companies to access Government funding, reducing funding effectiveness in industry development and innovation. This creates opportunities for further research into the interactions between policymakers, HEI and practitioners in policy development and research, highlighting key areas where changes to policy may be required, and the need for further research to better inform such policy changes.

O trabalho propõe uma reflexão sobre a evolução de experiências de gestão social das políticas públicas em pequenas cidades[1], considerando a nova realidade institucional criada a partir da promulgação da Constituição Brasileira de 1988. Com essa Constituição, despontaram novos parâmetros na relação entre o Estado e a Sociedade, na medida em que emergiram novos instrumentos de gestão social das políticas públicas, merecendo destaque a institucionalização dos Conselhos Municipais, que se constituem em novos espaços para formulação, gestão, controle e avaliação das políticas públicas, enquanto espaços privilegiados do exercício da cidadania. Mesmo reconhecendo que a institucionalização dos Conselhos Municipais é de fundamental importância na consolidação do processo democrático no Brasil, entendemos ser oportuno uma discussão que considere, de um lado, a realidade socioespacial das pequenas cidades e, de outro, a atuação dos Conselhos Municipais enquanto espaços de luta, num contexto de reorganização institucional. Nesse sentido, é imprescindível compreendermos que a pesquisa parte do entendimento de gestão social como uma ação complexa, que está relacionada ao processo de articulação e formação de Conselhos Municipais, às condições de participação social (por meio de seus representantes), às relações de poder, à legitimidade e à diversidade de atores, à atuação do poder público, aos limites e à contribuição para a gestão, além do controle e da avaliação das políticas públicas. Tem como objeto empírico, as pequenas cidades do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte/Brasil, sendo os dados do perfil municipal do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE, 2001) a fonte secundária de referência. Os resultados apontam para a fragilidade na legitimação dos Conselhos Municipais, sendo esta fragilidade explicada pela predominância, ainda, de formas arcaicas de dominação: o clientelismo, o assistencialismo e o patrimonialismo nos parecem estar bastante solidificados. Portanto, discutir a gestão social no atual contexto político brasileiro significa procurar caminhos que possam levar à construção de uma realidade socialmente mais justa e com uma melhor qualidade de vida; ou seja, uma sociedade verdadeiramente cidadã., This paper seeks to analyse the development of experiences of social management of government policy in small cities, in the light of a new institutional context which came about with the Brazilian Constitution of 1988. This introduced new possibilities for arrangements of social management of government policy, in particular the institutionalization of popular municipal councils. This constitution also enlarged the political and administrative autonomy of municipalities and thus fostered the emergence of a space for policy making, management, control and evaluation, a crucial aspect of the enhancement of democratic procedures in the country. Notwithstanding, considering socio-spatial aspects in small cities, it is here emphasized in the discussion the ways in which the new popular municipal councils constitute spaces of struggle in the arena of institutional restructuring. In this way, it is important to further the understanding of the balance of power and representation in these local councils. This paper understands social management as a complex set of actions which includes the articulation and formation of councils, the setting of conditions under which participation in the councils takes place, relations of power and legitimacy, the diversity of actors involved in the process as well as the ways that local authorities relate to the councils. As empirical evidence, we have chosen the small cities in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. We used IBGE data bases. Conclusions point to the fragile situation of councils in respect to its formation, functioning and legitimacy. This is explained in the light of the predominance of old forms of political domination still prevalent in the region.

Using high-frequency job advertisement data, this paper evaluates dynamics among COVID-19, labor market, and government policies. We find that COVID-19 has caused a significant decline in labor demand, by as much as 30%, measured by the number of job advertisements. But the pandemic did not result in noticeable changes in advertised wages. Regarding the roles of government policies, the study finds that the “stay-at-home” measures implemented by states appeared to suppress labor demand. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) program helps to stabilize the advertised wages, but also suppresses labor demand. Finally, the pandemic may increase labor demand for certain healthcare-related occupations.

"In broad terms 'accountability refers to a chain of relationships in which actors are accountable upwards (to donors and other actors...), downwards (to target groups and beneficiaries...) and inwards (to organizational missions, visions and values)' (Cornwall/ Lucas/ Pasteur 2000). Accountability manages the power relations between actors, which interact or affect each other directly or indirectly. It can be understood as 'giving an account' to another party who has a stake in what has been done. The core dimensions of accountability are: transparency; participation; evaluation, ; and complaints and redress (ODI 2005). This paper distinguishes between two types of accountability, namely, external and internal (domestic) accountability. External accountability in this context refers to accountability of aid-receiving governments to international donor community, including international financial institutions, creditors and foundations." (text abstract) Die 1990er Jahre bescheren dem afrikanischen Kontinent eine Welle der Demokratisierung. Neue Regierungen gelangen nicht durch Gewalt, sondern durch relativ gerechte und freie Wahlen an die Macht, ausgestattet mit Mandaten zur Umsetzung der Good Governance und der Armutsreduzierung. Ferner hat sich das historische Verhältnis zwischen den afrikanischen Regierungen und den Geberländern und ihren Institutionen verändert. So sind die politischen Administrationen bei der Verwendung der Spenden gegenüber den entsprechenden Fonds verantwortlich, umgekehrt leisten die Geberländer Hilfestellung bei der Umsetzung des staatlichen Finanzmanagements. Vor diesem Hintergrund erörtert der Beitrag die These, dass diese Modalitäten für eine allgemeine Verbesserung der politischen Situation in Afrika, insbesondere hinsichtlich der Verantwortlichkeit der Regierungen gegenüber den Geberländern, gesorgt haben. Allerdings erwachsen aus diesen Rahmenbedingungen auch neue Probleme, indem sich die Geber an programmbasierten Entwicklungsansätzen beteiligen sowie finanzielle Unterstützung leisten und auf diese Weise den Aspekt der internen demokratischen Verantwortlichkeit möglicherweise unterminieren. So werden zunächst die Grenzen der internen Verantwortlichkeitsmechanismen bei der Verwendung der staatlichen Finanzmittel dargestellt, da die Parlamente und Zivilgesellschaft hier nur eingeschränkte Einblicksmöglichkeiten besitzen. Im Anschluss werden die Rollen der Gebergemeinschaft bei der Unterstützung der internen Verantwortlichkeit beschrieben, indem politisch befähigte Parlamente und zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen zur Gewährleistung der politischen Stabilität geschaffen werden. Abschließend werden die wichtigsten Dilemmata skizziert, denen die Geberländer bei der Förderung der Regierungsverantwortlichkeit gegenüberstehen. Dazu gehören unter anderem (1) die Kritik an der politischen Unterstützung der Parteien durch die internationale Gemeinschaft, (2) der begrenzte Zeitraum für politische Parteientwicklungsprojekte, (3) die Auswahl der zu unterstützenden Parteien, (4) die Ausbalancierung der Hilfeleistungen zwischen politischen Parteien und der Zivilgesellschaft sowie (5) die Frage nach der effektivsten Entwicklungshilfe durch die Unterstützung der Regierungen oder zivilgesellschaftlicher Organisationen bzw. beider Seiten. (ICG)

This paper divides government policy according to policy quantity, policy effectiveness and policy executive force so that the government policy can be quantified in more detail. Green patent data is used to represent green technological innovation, and the fixed effect model and panel data analysis from 2010 to 2019 are employed. The empirical results show that government policy has a significant direct promoting effect on green technology innovation. And the positive impact of policy quantity and policy effectiveness on green technology innovation is greater than that of policy executive force. In addition, the government policy will weaken the positive effect of enterprise innovation vitality on green technology innovation. Research conclusions also show that the direct and indirect effects of government policies on green technology innovation are heterogeneous. The government still needs appropriately policies adapted to the local situation, coordinated in policy quantity, policy effectiveness, and executive force, and accelerate the establishment of market-oriented green technology innovation environment. Different regions also should find the right green technology innovation policy scheme for their own regions.