Generational Differences in Russian Attitudes towards Democracy and the Economy

The purpose of this article is to explore whether there is evidence of generational differences in Russian attitudes towards democracy. Are the attitudes, values and beliefs of those who came of age politically after the fall of the Soviet Union significantly different from those who did so in the Soviet period? The main finding is that the post-Soviet generation of Russians is generally more supportive of democratic values and institutions and a free market economy than the generations which came of age politically during the Soviet years. Such a result is not surprising. However, while support was found to be the case generally, the differences appear much more strongly for economic reforms than for political ones. In trying to explain why this should be, the authors argue that instrumentalist rather than culturalist considerations are paramount. Put another way, the current generation appears to be less interested in politics than in getting ahead in the world. If these differences are generational and not simply a function of aging, in the future this generation may be less interested in the public good than in their own.     

APPLICATION OF MARKET MECHANISMS TO POLLUTION*

The authors indicate how science and social science can be combined to assess the range and effectiveness of policy alternatives available to environmental decision-makers. They focus on cost-effective regulatory alternatives to the Los Angeles particulate sulfate problem. Both sciences are applied to the relationship of emissions to pollution levels and environmental quality. They reject the notion that a simple reduction in emissions leads to a commensurate reduction in pollution levels. The problem of applying licenses and emissions fees are reviewed, as are the difficulties of political feasibility.     

Choosing among fuels and technologies for cleaning up the air

One of the central elements in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments is the regulation of emissions from motor vehicles. This legislation will have a dramatic impact on the type of cars people drive over the coming decades. Given the high cost of achieving further reductions from automobiles, there has been increasing interest in exploring new technologies and alternative fuels that improve environmental quality. The purpose of this study is to provide an integrated framework for assessing the cost effectiveness of control options that involve a combination of vehicle changes and fuel changes. This study demonstrates the importance of doing an integrated analysis in selecting an appropriate combination of technologies and fuels; it also highlights the need to consider decentralized regulatory approaches, such as effluent taxes and marketable permits, when the data are characterized by large uncertainties. The analysis suggests that a modest improvement in vehicle control technology is probably a cost effective strategy for reducing ozone; however, using a severely reformulated gasoline or an advanced technology, such as the electric vehicle, is unlikely to be cost effective compared with other available options for improving air quality. The cost savings from introducing a market-based approach in place of a vehicle mandate in California and the Northeast are estimated to range from $7 to $29 billion.     

Jobs and environmental quality: some implications for instrument choice

Both politicians and regulatory agencies are frequently forced to make tradeoffs among competing objectives. When these tradeoffs are highly sensitive, as in the case of jobs and environmental quality, they are rarely made explicitly. This paper takes on the task of uncovering the nature tradeoffs among jobs, economic growth and environmental quality. A case study of Wisconsin's innovative attempt for dealing with its air pollution problems provides important insights into why particular policy instruments are selected in balancing economic and environmental objectives. In line with observations of previous authors, the analysis reveals that there is a marked tendency for the political process to resist market mechanisms for rationing scarce environmental resources. In addition to providing a rationale and evaluation of the specific policy being developed by Wisconsin, the paper develops two testable hypotheses regarding the general selection of instruments for making tradeoffs among jobs and environmental quality.     

A Clash of Cultures? The UNESCO Diversity Convention and International Trade Law

The adoption, on 20 October 2005, of the Convention on the Protectionand Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (DiversityConvention) has returned the limelight to the suitability ofWorld Trade Organization (WTO) rules for cultural products.This article shows that the Diversity Convention, while an importantstep towards the recognition of cultural diversity as an internationallyrecognized public choice of states, does not affect the rightsand obligations of WTO Members as such. The original purposeof the Convention was to create a safe haven for cultural policiesand protect them from WTO disciplines. However, the centraloperative provision for bringing about the desired shieldingeffect for domestic policies safeguarding national culturalindustries against foreign competition, its now-article 20,while making a general claim to non-subordination in paragraph1, modifies this broad statement in paragraph 2 so as to onlyapply to treaties concluded at the same time or later. The articleexplores how to avoid or minimize an undesirable incongruencebetween liberal trade rules and the right of states to protectshelf-space for domestically produced cultural products.     

Reviews

Gradualist choice with question marks: an international panel of economists on the Hungarian transition

Istvan P. Szekely & David M. G. Newbery (eds), Hungary: An Economy in Transition. Cambridge, New York, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press 1993.

Joseph Held, ed., Democracy and Right‐Wing Politics in Eastern Europe in the 1990s. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993, vi + 232 pp., $40.50.

Stephen K. Batalden ed., Seeking God: The Recovery of Religious Identity in Orthodox Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. DeKalb, IL, Northern Illinois University Press, 1993, ix + 299 pp., $32.00.

K. Kaariainen, Atheism and Perestroika. Helsinki, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1993, 189 pp., Finmarks 140.00.

Börje Ljunggren ed., The Challenge of Reform in Indochina. Boston, MA: Harvard Studies in International Development, Harvard University Press, 1993.

Valery Boldin, Ten Years that Shook the World. The Gorbachev Era as Witnessed by his Chief of Staff. London: Harper Collins, 1994, viii + 310 pp., £10.99, $25.00.     

THE ECONOMICS OF "WIRELESS NET NEUTRALITY"

Network neutrality issues have been vigorously debated worldwideover the past few years. One major aim of network neutralityproponents is to prevent high-speed Internet service providersfrom charging content providers for priority delivery. Recently,proponents have turned their attention to the regulation ofwireless networks, such as those for cellular phones, whichprovide increasing numbers of consumers with access to Internetservices. Some application providers have relied on a recentacademic paper to support greater regulation of wireless operators.Although the proposals to regulate these networks use the phrase"net neutrality," the regulations they seek to impose on wirelessoperators have little in common with those being sought forother Internet service providers. In this article, we providea framework for determining whether certain kinds of regulationsshould be imposed on the owners of wireless networks. We alsoconsider the benefits and costs of specific proposals for theregulation of these networks. Our principal conclusion is thatthe costs of most of these proposals are likely to exceed thebenefits.     

Caracci and the valuation of exempt organizations

In Caracci v. Commissioner, the Internal Revenue Service faced an important test in its application of Excess Benefit Taxes to disqualified persons of a nonprofit corporation that converted to for-profit status. This Article, written by the taxpayers' valuation expert, details the difficulties in the IRS case and demonstrates the reasons for the Fifth Circuit's reversal of the Tax Court's judgment in favor of the IRS. The author concludes with a number of lessons that taxpayers can take from Caracci.