Policy Learning and British Governance in the 1960s

Book reviewed: Hugh Pemberton. Policy Learning and British Governance in the 1960s.
Reviewed by DAVID P. DOLOWITZ     

State Telecommunications Policy in the 1980s

The role of the states in provision of telecommunications services combines aspects of regulation, economic development policy, tax policy, and government procurement. A variety of policy experiments, contrasts sharply with a dearth of state action in telecommunications prior to 1982. The growing realization that the implications of decisions about telecommunications are no longer narrowly confined to regulation has spurred the active involvement of governors and legislators in many states.     

美英国家的公司购并运作及借鉴

目前我国的企业并购运作方兴未艾,尚处在起步和摸索阶段,在诸多方面需要完善和理顺。而英美等市场经济发达国家的企业并购运作已有较长历史,其操作程序、法律规范、配套设施等方面都积累了丰富经验,我们对此加以研究借鉴,无疑对我国的企业并购运作顺利健康发展有积极的启示意义。     

20世纪80年代以来英国福利制度改革述论

英国作为传统“福利国家”模型的代表,对西、北欧资本主义制度的发展产生过重要影响。20世纪80年代以来,英国以责任分担、适度私有化、削减福利支出为目标,在国民保险、公民住房、就业福利等方面对福利制度进行了全方位改革,成效初显。其改革反映出全球社会保障类型的逐步融通趋势,带有极强的时代特征。     

American redistricting in the 1980s: The effect on the mid-term elections

An effort is made to determine the effect of decennial congressional redistricting and reapportionment on the 1982 election. Notional results of the 1982 election fought on the 1980 boundaries were compared with the actual results from 1982 to discover which election victories were decisively affected by boundary changes. New seats awarded through reapportionment were scrutinized to determine which party was intended to benefit; contests which defied boundary drawer's intentions were scored as genuine electoral reverses. Tabulation of the distribution of marginals and safe seats is attempted, with the intention of analysing whether there was any change in the frequency or distribution of marginals that can be attributed to redistricting.     

GCHQ and British External Policy in the 1960s

This study examines the role played by GCHQ during the 1960s. It looks at GCHQ's overseas Sigint collection network, its relationship with the NSA and the problems caused by decolonization, economic crisis and military withdrawal from East of Suez. The paper also discusses GCHQ's intelligence targets in the 1960s, its codebreaking successes and assesses how important Sigint was for British policy towards France, Egypt and Indonesia. It concludes that while Sigint gave Britain tactical benefits in dealing with France and Egypt it was only in the case of Indonesia that Sigint helped Britain to achieve its strategic goals.     

Patterns of Policy Instrument Choice: Policy Styles, Policy Learning and the Privatization Experience

The spread of privatization in almost every country over the last decade reflects a rapid and fundamental change in patterns of policy instrument usage. Yet the literature on policy instruments has almost nothing to say on this perhaps most significant development in public policy in recent times. This paper's objective is to aid in the development of a theory of policy instrument choice which is capable of dealing with instances of long-term, cross-national changes in policy instrument usage. It will be argued that reconceptualization of instrument choices in terms of policy learning can aid in this theoretical project.     

Foreign Policy Analysis: British and American Orientations and Methodologies

This paper is concerned with examining the extent to which there is a geographical divide in the academic study of foreign policy analysis. Accepting that there are diverse approaches to that study in the academic communities of the United States and the United Kingdom, this paper argues that it is possible to distinguish between two ideal-types, each exemplified in one of the two communities. This paper outlines these–an American approach based on a desire to construct general theories of foreign policy behaviour, and a British approach which stresses the need for casestudies and eschews the possibility of general theory. The reasons for the development of these two approaches are then discussed, linking the study of foreign policy to the wider political arena, and the general academic orientation of the two countries. Finally, it assesses the possibility of arriving at a synthesis of the two approaches.     

Carbon Taxation and Policy Labeling: Experience from American States and Canadian Provinces

A vast economics literature embraces taxation of the carbon content of fossil fuels as the superior policy approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, experience around the world suggests that carbon taxes face exceedingly difficult political hurdles. Federal experience in the United States and in Canada confirms this pattern. This article reviews sub‐federal policy development among American states and Canadian provinces, a great many of which have pursued climate policy development. With one major exception, explicit carbon taxation appears to remain a political nonstarter. At the same time, states and provinces have been placing indirect carbon prices on fossil fuel use through a wide range of policies. These tend to strategically alter labeling, avoiding the terms of “tax” and “carbon” in imposing costs. The article offers a framework for considering such strategies and examines common design features, including direct linkage between cost imposition and fund usage to build political support.     

Learning and Change in 20th-Century British Economic Policy

Despite considerable interest in the means by which policy learning occurs, and in how it is that the framework of policy may be subject to radical change, the "black box" of economic policy making remains surprisingly murky. This article utilizes Peter Hall's concept of "social learning" to develop a more sophisticated model of policy learning; one in which paradigm failure does not necessarily lead to wholesale paradigm replacement, and in which an administrative battle of ideas may be just as important a determinant of paradigm change as a political struggle. It then applies this model in a survey of U.K. economic policy making since the 1930s: examining the shift to "Keynesianism" during the 1930s and 1940s; the substantial revision of this framework in the 1960s; the collapse of the "Keynesian-plus" framework in the 1970s; and the major revisions to the new "neoliberal" policy framework in the 1980s and 1990s.     

Ideology in Policy Debates: Congress and the S&Ls in the 1980s

Is a national value such as free enterprise relevant to congressional debates of important economic policy bills? This question was examined using debates of three reform bills that dealt with savings and loan industry problems in the 1980s. To employ free enterprise concepts in justifying policy stands challenged legislators because industry problems contrasted sharply in the early 1980s (overregulation) and later (excesses under deregulation). Research demonstrated, however, that free enterprise concepts dominated the earlier discussions and, intriguingly, were at the center of the 1989 debate about bailing out the industry and reforming it. The conclusion elaborates free enterprise's role and speculates about the influence of another national value on the S & L discussions. Enactment of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery Enforcement Act of 1989¹ capped a decade of congressional struggle with the question of how to treat the problems of federal savings and loan institutions. Popularly known as “thrifts” or “S & Ls,” their status became a matter of increasing concern to Congress as the 1980s unfolded and public indignation over a prospective government bailout of unprecedented proportions mounted. This article focuses on an aspect of this struggle that has a larger significance, namely, the place of national values2 in the genesis of important economic policy statutes. Given the predilections of American society, the value that tends to loom largest in major economic policy debates is popularly know as “free enterprise” or “the market economy.” One may reasonably object that U.S. capitalism operates under a “mixed economy” whose features include enterprises owned or sponsored by the federal government as well as government subsidies and regulation of private businesses. The short answer to this objection is that the term free enterprise is used here in a mythic sense and “myths are an essential starting place for insights into how values shape policy…” (de Neufville and Barton, 1987). In essence, this article examines the following questions: (1) Did congressional debates on proposed statutes relate provisions of the 1980, 1982, and 1989 bills to free enterprise concepts? (2) If so, what adjustments were made in these concepts for the sharply contrasting circumstances encountered by S & Ls in the course of the decade? and (3) How was the peculiar relationship of government deposit insurance of S & L accounts to free enterprise treated in the bills? Two background sections introduce the discussion.     

The British Labour Party in the 1980s: The Battle Over the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict

Labour Party policy developments in the 1980s have been well-documented. However, the focus has tended to be on intra-party organisation and aspects of domestic and defence policy, with Labour's policy on international issues receiving comparatively little attention. Yet, some of the most interesting debates occurred in this area. One such concern was that over the party's policy towards the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, a set of nationalist rivalries that has long been a source of dilemma for the left. This paper examines how the party's previous pro-Israeli consensus broke down during the 1980s and the processes behind the eventual policy outcome, shedding light on the wider issue of policy change.     

Local economic strategies as industrial policy: a critical review of British developments in the 1980s

The proliferation of interventionist local authority strategies for employment and economic development has been widespread in Britain since the early 1980s. But much of the radical promise of these strategies has been slow to materialise, due in part to the abolition of the metropolitan authorities and to the election of a third Thatcher government. Moreover new and traditional forms of policy production have co-existed in an uneasy relationship within local authorities, and this threatens the strategic capacity of intervention. It is argued that the regeneration of strategic perspectives should be a priority for local authorities; at the same time flexible specialisation in manufacturing offers new political and tactical opportunities for strategic intervention in pursuit of both regeneration and accountability in the economic sphere.     

Financing Arlington County, Virginia's Capital Programs: The Experience of the 1980s, The Outlook for the 1990s

County governments in the 1970s had few responsibilities beyond the courts and jail functions. Now, due to large suburban growth in the 1980s, county governments will find themselves immersed in capital financing issues. Arlington County, Virginia, is the setting of this article on the effects of major financings in the 1980s on a county government in the 1990s.     

Government Deficit and Debt: Learning from the Canadian Experience

A Government Reinvented: A Study of Alberta's Deficit Elimination Program C BRUCE, R KNEEBONE and K McKENZIE (eds) The Trojan Horse: Alberta and the Future of Canada G LAXER and T HARRISON (eds) Unnecessary Debts L OSBERG and P FORTIN (eds) Deficit Reduction: What Pain, What Gain? B ROBSON and W SCARTH (eds)     

From Corporatism to Dualism? Thatcherism and the Climacteric of British Trade Unions in the 1980s

This article examines the impact on British trade unions of the break in relations with the government, the economic recession and labour market developments in the 1980s. The shift towards a programme of 'labour exclusion' is related to specific policies designed to weaken trade unions and liberalize labour markets. A close investigation of data on union organization and activity indicates that, despite evident reversals, a full-scale de-institutionalization of industrial relations is not occurring. However, the links between government policies and longer-term socioeconomic trends pose severe challenges for union revival. The article concludes with some considerations on the future prospects of union-government relations.     

Learning from Uncle Sam? Exploring U.S. Influences on British Crime Control Policy

This paper examines the idea of "policy transfer" in the arena of crime control. More specifically, it examines the influence of the United States on recent criminal justice and penal policy developments in Britain. Three policy areas are discussed: privatized corrections, "zero-tolerance" policing, and "three-strikes" sentencing. Changes in these areas are widely perceived as being strongly influenced by developments in the U.S., although there has yet to be a systematic empirical study of how and why these policy developments occurred. Drawing on a review of literature, this paper examines the plausibility of the idea of policy transfer and highlights distinct routes through which policy transfer may occur between jurisdictions. It uses Bennett's (1991) model of "policy convergence" as a framework for exploring how "emulation,""elite-networking,""harmonization," and "penetration" might have been relevant to policy changes in these areas. Finally, the paper considers how the concept of policy transfer in criminal justice and penal policy might be further examined empirically.     

Mobilization and participation: Singapore in the 1980s

Singapore is an island state with no formal lower tier of government. The network of consultation and mobilization created after Independence in 1959 is now raising important issues of consensus and compliance. Twenty-five years of continuous one-party rule offer opportunities to evaluate the working of the mechanisms of integration and participation. In the late 1980s the highly urbanized, multi-ethnic society is placing new demands on the government, and questions of decentralization and feedback are high on the political agenda.     

Policy Failure and Policy Learning: Examining the Conditions of Learning after Disaster

The policy learning literature indicates that governments can and do learn after a policy failure but not always. The purpose of this study is to examine the conditions under which policy failure leads to policy learning. It asks two questions. First, is policy failure associated with policy learning? Second, if policy is associated with policy learning, does the failure initiate different types of learning? Using the policy failure and learning literatures as an organizing framework, this paper analyzes three comparative cases of policy failure revealed by tornados in Greensburg, Kansas (2007); Joplin, Missouri (2011); and Moore, Oklahoma (2013). It finds that failure of the policy process in agenda setting is associated with instrumental policy learning. It also finds that there are two types of failure of decision making: failure to make a timely decision and failure to make any decision. The two types of decision‐making failure are associated with different types of policy learning. In addition, the contextual factors underpinning the link between policy failure and learning are prior experience with the policy problem and capacity to learn.     

Intergovernmental Relations in the 1980s

Intergovernmental relations in West German cooperative federalismhave often been criticized as inefficient and inflexible. Theabolition of joint policymaking and the promotion of decentralizationhave been recommended in order to reduce interdependencies betweengovernments and to avoid overloading central policymaking. Suchproposals have usually been put forward without consideringthe governmental complexity that impedes large-scale reforms.However, a detailed analysis of federalism, focusing on processesrather than structures and on different policies rather thanaggregations, reveals that intergovernmental relations in the1980s are not the same as those in the 1960s or early 1970s.The inherent dynamics of intergovernmental relations have producedmany changes. These changes have contributed to the overallstability of West German federalism because they have reflectedflexible adaptations of relations among federal, Land, and localgovernments to new socioeconomic, sociocultural, and ecologicalchallenges. Hence, events of the 1980s provide an occasion forreassessing cooperative federalism.