Bureaucratic Discretion and Political Control of the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA)

Drawing on theories of political control and bureaucratic discretion this research examines two states' experiences with RCRA implementation and administration in the United States. This research finds that both bureaucratic actors and political actors shape the implementation of these environmental programs with money source and regional EPA offices playing a bigger role than expected.     

中国城市生活垃圾处理绩效的影响因素：基于VAR模型的实证研究

文章通过主成分分析的方法构建和评价中国2006-2015年9年间各省(区、市)及整体的城市生活垃圾处理绩效综合水平,在此基础上利用VAR模型检验了多种因素对中国城市生活垃圾处理绩效影响做以实证研究。研究发现：直接影响中国城市生活垃圾处理绩效的主要因素是劳动力因素和运营模式因素。同时,运营模式因素是一种外生嵌套因素,没有外生驱动紧靠自身调整是无法实现的;而劳动力因素则除了自身调整外,还受到经费因素以及政府监管因素的间接驱动,即经费因素和政府监管因素通过劳动力因素路径间接影响绩效水平。据此,文章根据研究结论提出较具建设性的建议,以期对提升中国城市生活垃圾处理绩效水平以及指导公共事业的政府监管工作做以绵薄之力。     

A Comparative Study of the Effects of Institutional Arrangements in Municipal Solid Waste Services in Korea

In Korea, local governments are primarily responsible for providing municipal solid waste services to citizens. This paper examines the effects of different institutional arrangements and characteristics on cost savings, efficiency gains and productivity in the delivery of municipal solid waste services to citizens. In order to carry out this research, a hybrid cost function approach was employed, and cross-sectional time-series data from local governments of Korea covering a ten-year period (2000–2009) were used for empirical analysis. Empirical findings indicated that there were no effects of contracting-out on cost savings, efficiency and productivity gains in Korea. Specifically, the solid waste service costs were not significantly lower under contracting-out than under direct public delivery. In addition, contrary to the arguments of the proponents of privatization or contracting-out, efficiency and productivity gains were actually higher under direct public delivery than when contracted out.     

Under the analphabête series

Theatre

Speech (The Predicament of Three Women in the Nuclear Age), written and directed by Avram Patt, Theatre for the New York City, October 1983, New York City

Fen, by Caryl Churchill directed by Les Waters, London Joint Stock Theatre Group's production presented by Joseph Paff at the Public Theatre, New York City

Top Girls, by Caryl Churchill, directed by Max Stafford‐Clark, Royal Theatre Court production presented by Joseph Papp at The Public Theatre, New York City

Sophie, by comedienne Judy Sloan, October 1983, at the Gay Women's Alternative, New York City.

Awake Sleeping Heart, a collage for five women based on the life, journals and paintings of the Mexican artist Fri‐da Kahlo, conceived and directed by Emma Missouri, October 1983, Northampton, Massachusetts

Antigone Too: Rites of Love and Defiance, written and directed by Martha Boesing for At the Foot of the Mountain, August 1983, at the People's Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Orgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo, by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, performed by Estelle Parsons at the Public Theatre, New York City, Fall 1983.

Dance

Celebration of Traditional Cultures, La Mama Annex, November 11–13, 1983.

History, An American Dream, by Anne Bogart, St. Mark's Church, October, 1983.

Vamot A Andar (Let's Get Going), Wallflower Order and Grupo Raiz, October, 1983, Symphony Space, New York City

Testimonies, New York City Political Dancers, Merce Cunningham Dance Studio, August 1983.

Set and Reset, Trisha Brown and Company, Brooklyn Academy of Music, October 1983.

Books

The Amazing Decade: Women and Performance Art in America 1970–1980, edited by Moira Roth. Los Angeles: Astro Ariz, 1983. 149 pp., bibliographies. Cloth: $25.00; paper: $12.50

Woman and Spirituality by Carol Ochs. Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Allanheld, 1983. 144 pp., notes, bibliography, index. Cloth: $16.95

Women In Music: An Anthology of Source Readings from the Middle Ages to the Present, edited by Carol Neuls‐Bates. New York: Harper &; Row, 1982. 332 pp., selected bibliography, index, illustrations. Cloth: $18.50

American Women Composers Before 1870 by Judith Tick. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1983. 233 pp., appendix, notes, bibliography, index. Cloth: $44.95

Louise Farrenc, 1840–1875 by Bea Friedland. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1980. 177 pp., appendices, notes, bibliography, index. Cloth: $49.95

Mourning Dress: A Costume and Social History by Lou Taylor, Boston: Allen &; Unwin, 1983. 287 pp., appendices, chapter notes, select bibliography, index. Cloth: $24.50

Listings     

Why Do Municipalities Cooperate to Provide Local Public Services? An Empirical Analysis

Intermunicipal cooperation is being increasingly adopted in various countries as a part of local service delivery reforms. This article draws on survey data from Spain's municipalities to examine the reasons underpinning the decisions of local governments to engage in intermunicipal cooperation and privatisation. Our empirical analysis indicates that small municipalities prefer to rely on cooperation for reducing costs, while their larger counterparts prefer to privatise the delivery of services. By cooperating, scale economies can be achieved with lower transaction costs and fewer concerns for competition than is the case via private production.     

Environmental policy implications of investor-state arbitration under NAFTA Chapter 11

Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement requires governments to treat foreign investors the same as domestic investors, to afford them international standards of due process of law, and to compensate investors for any actions that expropriate their investments or are “tantamount” to expropriation. It allows foreign investors to submit compensation claims to international arbitration. To the alarm of the environmental community, four of the early Chapter 11 claims involved challenges to government measures that were, or appeared to be, environmental protection measures. The first three of the four claimants ultimately received compensation; the fourth claim was denied as being outside the scope of Chapter 11. This paper takes an in-depth look at the circumstances of these four claims to determine whether the claimants had thwarted or avoided bona fide environmental protection measures and to try to assess whether these claims have “chilled” government imposition of new environmental measures. The facts of the cases and developments subsequently indicate that the government actions in the first three cases were not truly environmental protection measures, but were motivated by local political and economic considerations. The fourth claim, which involved a bona fide environmental protection, was rightly rejected. Meanwhile the number of “environmental” claims under Chapter 11 has dwindled. The paper concludes that environmentalists have little ground for alarm, and much reason to be encouraged, about how Chapter 11 has influenced environmental protection.

浅论危险化学品运输道路交通安全管理

危险化学品具有爆炸、易燃、腐蚀、放射性,需要特别防护;危险化学品运输交通事故具有复杂性,突发性、破坏性,其发生原因具有多样性、不确定性。改善危险化学品运输道路交通安全管理,建立准入机制,落实危险化学品运输道路交通事故预防工作措施,是减少危险化学品运输交通事故,降低人民群众生命财产损失的有效途径。     

日本公害纠纷处理机制与我国之借鉴——以日本丰岛产业废弃物调解案为例

丰岛产业废弃物调解案是日本中央公调委进行公害纠纷行政处理的典型案例。日本中央公调委作为独立的公害纠纷行政处理机构,以其多样化的纠纷处理方式在纠纷处理中具有独特的优势地位。以自愿调解为主、强制调解为辅的行政调解原则又赋予了行政调解较强的约束力,调解机构以纠纷解决为目的的务实态度是值得我国环境行政调解所借鉴的。     

Guilty by Association? The Case of The Karin B Scare

The waste disposal industry is susceptible to bad publicity owing to the nature of the products it is sometimes required to process. At particular risk are companies which treat and dispose of hazardous substances. In this paper we test whether media concerns about public safety arising from the international transfer of hazardous wastes can have a negative impact on the stockmarket valuation of firms and of the waste disposal industry as a whole, even when the affected companies have not themselves broken the law.