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Faced with the failure of traditional immigration controls, policymakers in the United States and Western Europe increasingly look to foreign aid to reduce migrant inflows. Some analysts expect assistance to improve living standards in source countries, thereby deterring residents from moving abroad. While this idea makes intuitive sense, research on aid and migration shows mixed results: some scholarly work supports aid-based migration policies, but other analyses suggest that aid actually enables migration by providing individuals with resources that facilitate movement across borders. We suggest that this tension in the literature reflects a failure to distinguish between different types of foreign aid. Drawing on recent work demonstrating the heterogeneous effects of various aid projects, we posit that governance aid should deter emigration by enhancing government capacity and alleviating political push factors; in contrast, economic and social aid should enable migration by increasing individuals' means and capabilities to move. We test our hypotheses on a panel of 101 developing countries spanning twenty-five years (1985–2010). We find that governance aid does reduce emigration rates from developing countries, while other types of aid appear not to affect migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Written 40 years ago, Harvey Molotch’s paper ‘City as a Growth Machine’, is a milestone in urban studies. By its focus on land owners and land related interests and their collective promotion of urban growth he radically shifted the centre of gravity of studies of urban politics. This article celebrates his achievement. It then shows, first, how his insights might be deepened by a critique whose point of departure is a recognition of the capitalist nature of that politics and the role played by the accumulation strategies of property developers; and second, how our understanding of urban growth politics in the USA might be deepened by comparison with that in the countries of Western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented concerning the establishment of Christian Democratic Parties (CDPs) in European democracies, how Catholic and Protestant CDPs varied in their interpretation of state sovereignty, and their relationship to strong or weak European Affairs (EACs) in European Union (EU) countries. It also discusses how EACs that formed under governments with CDPs conformed to religious norms.

How does party politics influence trade outcomes? Previous studies offer a limited understanding of the role of political parties in trade policymaking due to their restrictive assumptions that downplay the distinct organizational identity of political parties and the competitive logic of their interactions. This paper develops a theoretical argument that emphasizes the competitive forces of party politics as a key determinant of party preference for trade and hence of trade outcomes. This theoretical argument is illustrated and tested in analysis of the trade implications of strategic interactions between mainstream parties and niche parties. The empirical analyses confirm that party strategic factors need to be assigned a substantial analytical weight in explaining trade outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does party politics influence trade outcomes? Previous studies offer a limited understanding of the role of political parties in trade policymaking due to their restrictive assumptions that downplay the distinct organizational identity of political parties and the competitive logic of their interactions. This paper develops a theoretical argument that emphasizes the competitive forces of party politics as a key determinant of party preference for trade and hence of trade outcomes. This theoretical argument is illustrated and tested in analysis of the trade implications of strategic interactions between mainstream parties and niche parties. The empirical analyses confirm that party strategic factors need to be assigned a substantial analytical weight in explaining trade outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the discourse on political corruption in early modern Amsterdam, Netherlands and Hamburg, Germany. An overview of what is known as the Wygand Affair, including Hamburg's Senat's (City Council's) accusations of embezzlement against the lawyer August Wygand for putatively purchasing the office of bailiff (Gerichtsvogt), is provided. The role that nepotism played in political corruption in Hamburg and Amsterdam, including the expectation to benefit from a family member's holding of public office, is discussed.

Responds to the comments made by Stephen A. Schuker and Charles P. Kindleberger on the article 'The Two Postwar Eras Eras and the Conditions for Stability in Twentieth-Century Western Europe.' Effect of inflation on Germany's middle class; Factors responsible for the post-1945 economic growth; Influence of elites on political and economic decisions.

Discusses the impact of political instability in Western Europe during the 17th century on the Castile monarchy in Spain. Reasons behind the insensitivity of the Castiles to the political disorders; Fiscal issue concerning the Castilian Cortes or the parliament; Victory of the Cortes in 1632 as a constitutional turning point in the history of the Habsburg Castile.