Formal independence of regulatory agencies and Varieties of Capitalism: A case of institutional complementarity?

The Varieties of Capitalism literature posits that national economic institutions reflect the mode of coordination of a country's market actors. Despite the importance of this claim and a rich literature on the emergence of regulatory capitalism, few studies test such prediction for Independent Regulatory Agencies (IRAs). This article connects the two fields of research by analysing the impact of economic coordination on the formal independence of IRAs. The results show that, beyond issues of credible commitment and policy stability, the collective action capacity of market actors matters. In particular, regulators in Coordinated Market Economies enjoy less independence than in Liberal Market Economies, while intermediate regimes grant IRAs the least autonomy. The policy implications are nontrivial. Similar to other macroeconomic institutions, inappropriate combinations of economic coordination and IRA independence may engender Pareto‐suboptimal regulatory solutions. In such cases, policymakers should reconsider the rules governing national regulators.     

Fragmented or cohesive transnational private regulation of sustainability standards? A comparative study

Literature on private regulation recognizes the proliferation of competing regulatory organizations and approaches in various industries. Studies analyzing why fragmentation arises so far focus on single‐case studies, the exploration of single variables, or variation in types of fragmentation. This article analyzes why in certain industries and for certain issues regulatory organizations proliferate, while in others a single regulatory organization emerges which covers the entire industry. Through a comparative case study of private regulation of sustainability standards in the forestry, clothing, IT‐electronics, and chemicals industries, we show how a combination of low industrial concentration, civil society involvement in governance, and stringent standards of a first‐moving regulator offer the strongest explanation for a fragmented private regulatory field, while high industrial concentration, business‐driven governance, and lenient standards of a first‐moving regulator lead to cohesive regulation.     

Explaining regulatory autonomy in EU network sectors: Varieties of utility regulation?

This article explains variation in the autonomy in the range of activities that European regulators perform. By focusing on 102 regulators of four network sectors (electricity, gas, telecom, and railways), we test for functional and institutional explanations. The findings indicate that the inclusion of institutional factors matters for our understanding of recent changes in the governance of European network sectors. Reforms toward the independent agency form of governance and the range of competencies granted to sector regulators seem to be shaped not only by international functional pressures but also by domestic institutional factors. Beyond the credibility hypothesis, we find that national governments grant less regulatory autonomy to utility regulators the more coordinated an economy is and the more veto players are present. On the contrary, common law countries are associated with higher levels of regulatory autonomy.     

Is politics under increasing corporate sway? A longitudinal study on the drivers of corporate access

This article argues that the European Parliament (EP) provides a poor model of representative democracy, as the nature of its representativeness is rooted in a pre‐democratic form. If this is correct, the EP's experience might indicate that liberal representative democracy in western political systems has become an inadequate vehicle for governmental legitimacy. However, the EP could promote devolution of power, which is a prerequisite for a more participatory form of democracy better suited to a politically mature populace.     

Is the marriage market unbalanced? The case of Mexico in 1980

"The objective of this article is to present the results obtained when estimating how balanced, in numerical terms, the Mexican population of marriageable age [12 to 50 years old] was in 1980, in relation to its structure by age and sex, as well as the timing of its nuptiality. This estimate was made for both the state and national levels, using as a source of information the 1980 Census...." (SUMMARY IN ENG)     

Groundwater irrigation management in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia： A case study of Al-Wajid aquifer

Groundwater is the primary source for water irrigation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As a result of lack of basic knowledge on irrigation practices, massive abstractions of groundwater occurred in 1980s. A decision support linear programming （LP） model was developed to help in allocation of optimal groundwater irrigation use, to assess policies implication for water management efficiency, and to estimate welfare impact on producer surplus is developed. Due to massive abstractions occurring in 1980s, Al-Wajid aquifer water levels have dropped in agricultural areas by more than 200 m. The total groundwater of Al-Wajid aquifer that can be saved is equal to 158.7 MCM for the first scenario, 211.9 MCM for the second scenario, and 15,087 MCM for the third scenario. Regarding welfare analysis impact, it is clear that the second scenario alternative is the best alternative, since the value of the producer surplus is the highest for the two study regions and also the two type schemes of modern and traditional irrigation, except the traditional irrigation of Najran region.     

Support for aged care workers and quality care in Australia: A case of contract failure?

This paper is guided by Conservation of Resources theory and aims to investigate the impact of personal and organisational support on the quality of clinical care given to aged care residents in for‐profit (FP) and not‐for‐profit (NFP) facilities. Broadly, the paper addresses challenges faced by governments in designing contract specifications that ensure quality outcomes from aged care providers. The argument is that the present accreditation standards that are used to assess the status of aged care providers are too narrow to capture the complexity in delivering social services. Data were collected from 442 aged care workers from aged care facilities in NSW, QLD and WA. The results show that carer support (personal and organisational support) explained half of the variance in quality of clinical care in NFP facilities, and a third of the variance in FP facilities. In particular, the findings suggest support for carers is important for carer retention, and ultimately the clinical care of residents. The findings provide supporting evidence to widen the required contract specifications for aged care provider accreditation to include organisational and personal support for carers.     

‘Opening up’ policy to reflexive appraisal: a role for Q Methodology? A case study of fire management in Cape York,Australia

Recent decades have witnessed increasing attention in theory and practice to participatory approaches to policy appraisal, in part due to the potential of such approaches to facilitate reflexive policy appraisal. It has been observed, however, that in practice these approaches are often as prone as traditional, non-participatory appraisal techniques to being limited in the extent to which that can achieve reflexivity e.g. due to the influence of interests and power and problems of representation. This article explores the extent to which Q Methodology, or ‘Q’, can play a role in ‘opening up’ (Stirling Science, Technology & Human Values, 33, 262–294, 2008) policy to reflexive appraisal. A Q study of fire management discourses in Cape York, northern Australia is presented which exposes the existence of four key discourses in the region: discourse A—rational fire management; discourse B—fire-free conservation; discourse C—pragmatic, locally controlled burning; and discourse D—indigenous controlled land management. At present only discourses A and C are reflected in policy. Appraising existing policy on the basis of the different constructions articulated by discourses B and D of the purpose of and practices involved in fire management, is successful in opening up existing policy to reflexive appraisal. In the face of considerable scientific uncertainty as to the ecological impacts of different burning regimes in northern Australia, this process of opening up has important potential for appraising the social desirability of existing policy and practice in the region. This analysis provides a practical demonstration of the wider potential of Q Methodology in opening up other important contemporary policy issues to reflexive appraisal. It also provides the basis for recommending the expansion of participatory processes for facilitating stakeholder engagement in fire management policy and practice in Cape York.

A new role for ‘the public’? Exploring cyber security controversies in the case of WannaCry

ABSTRACT

As cyber-security incidents become increasingly prevalent, we are facing a major political and democratic challenge: who comprises “the public” in relation to such incidents? Based on a study of the controversies surrounding the WannaCry ransomware attack, this article unpacks issues facing the creation of publics in contemporary ICT-mediated security practices. It shows how cyber-security incidents, such as WannaCry, do not neatly align with traditional national security politics and democracy, and it demonstrates the need to attend to how security publics are created. This may paradoxically entail both political and democratic challenges and possibilities for security politics in the digital age.     

Post-nationalism re-considered: a case study of the ‘No One Is Illegal’ movement in Canada

Studies of post-nationalism have declined considerably among citizenship scholars in recent decades, and have been largely ignored by social movement scholars in favour of more trans-national approaches. Using a case analysis of a migrant rights movement in Canada as evidence of a ‘post-national ethics in practice’, in this article I argue for a re-consideration of the usefulness of post-nationalism within current scholarship on precarious immigration status. Taking into account both the limitations and opportunities afforded by a post-national ethical framework, I examine how the movement uses a human rights framing in distinct ways to mobilize constituents, garner mainstream media attention, and effect changes to policy at the national and local level. My findings suggest that the use of human rights frames for these movements offers both risks and rewards; however, the benefits may outweigh the risks in cases in which the quality of exposure within mainstream narratives is enough to disrupt, even if momentarily, the pervasiveness of normative nationalism, opening up new spaces for reconfiguring citizenship at the local level.     

Irish civil society: rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic? A case study of fighting Irish social security retrenchment

Examining the politics of Irish responses to crisis-related social security cuts gives insight into Irish agency and how crisis has shaped the contours of Irish civil society. Despite assertions of lack of protest, Irish retrenchment was resisted and sometimes partially defeated. Using political sociology frameworks to explore interactions between institutional, ideological and interest variables in three case studies of defending cuts enables analysis of resistance strategies. There are tensions when short-term defensive resistance strategies undermine or limit offensive political coalition-building that might offer greater long-term solidarity and more sustainable resistance to intensification of the neoliberal Irish welfare state.     

Nurturing regulatory compliance: Is procedural justice effective when people question the legitimacy of the law?

Procedural justice generally enhances an authority's legitimacy and encourages people to comply with an authority's decisions and rules. We argue, however, that previous research on procedural justice and legitimacy has examined legitimacy in a limited way by focusing solely on the perceived legitimacy of authorities and ignoring how people may perceive the legitimacy of the laws and rules they enforce. In addition, no research to date has examined how such perceptions of legitimacy may moderate the effect of procedural justice on compliance behavior. Using survey data collected across three different regulatory contexts – taxation (Study 1), social security (Study 2), and law enforcement (Study 3) – the findings suggest that one's perceptions of the legitimacy of the law moderates the effect of procedural justice on compliance behaviors; procedural justice is more important for shaping compliance behaviors when people question the legitimacy of the laws than when they accept them as legitimate. An explanation of these findings using a social distancing framework is offered, along with a discussion of the implications the findings have on enforcement.     

Is there an export‐ or import‐led growth in emerging countries? A case of BRICS countries

The BRICS economies could be considered a world number one trading group in one respect and emerging economies in another. The study applied both Johansen cointegration methodology for the long‐run relationship and Granger causality test for the direction of causality for the period of 1979–2018. The study findings confirmed that the growth‐led exports (GLE) hypothesis model is relevant for India, South Africa, and China, while exports‐led growth (ELG) hypothesis model is relevant for both Brazil and Russia. The growth‐led imports (GLI) hypothesis model is relevant for Brazil, India, China, and South Africa, while import‐led growth (ILG) hypothesis model is relevant for Russia. Hence, based on the findings, we confirmed that trade‐led growth hypothesis is valid. Finally, the results show that domestic and global demand contributes to a larger trade; countries that are labor‐abundant generate employment and foster economic growth.     

Are profits from subdivision development higher in areas with more regulations? A case study of South Kingstown,Rhode Island and some implications for land use planning

Little is known about the relationship between land use regulations and profits from subdivision development. Using data from a heavily regulated market, this article presents analyses that for the first time determine actual profits from subdivision development.

This study found an average profit, measured by internal rates of return, of 29%, which is statistically greater than what scholars consider normal. Profits decreased as time to complete the subdivision increased. Profits also decreased because of delays due to regulations and voluntary decisions by developers. The findings suggest that higher profits could be attainable in more-regulated areas because regulations may create amenities whose value exceeds the costs of providing them, while the same regulations may make it difficult for outside developers to enter the market thus limiting competition among developers. The findings suggest that policy makers should be cautious about regulations that create amenities when these regulations may inhibit competition among developers.     

Federal policy and postwar urban decline: A case of government complicity?

Abstract

Many urban commentators have implicated the federal government in the decline of central cities in the decades just after World War II. They claim that federal policies disproportionately favored suburban development over much needed urban redevelopment and exacerbated the deconcentration and decentralization of people and capital.

Close scrutiny reveals flaws in this argument and four of them are examined in this article: the core premise that suburban growth and population loss in the central cities are inversely related, the lack of attention to the actual chronology of events, the failure to address the geographic incidence of population loss from the central cities, and the deemphasizing of the role of the private sector, often acting with government support. The article concludes with a brief reflection on the tenacity of the complicity claim.     

How do international human rights influence national healthcare provisions for irregular migrants?: A case study in France and the United Kingdom

Debates about human rights have often questioned their potential for generating rights at national levels. In this article, we use the case of irregular migrants' access to health care in the United Kingdom and France to explore the extent to which international human rights influence national health care provisions for irregular migrants. We explore the extent to which health care access and provision for irregular migrants in these two countries is in agreement with international human rights. In so doing, we examine what constitutes an infringement of the international human right to health care. Finally, we sketch out some hypotheses about the role played by different state structures in the implementation of human rights norms, comparing the United Kingdom with France. We argue that, although international human rights often have a largely symbolic role in nation-state jurisdiction, they may sometimes represent a force for change.     

Crowdsourcing and regulatory reviews: A new way of challenging red tape in British government?

Much has been said about the appeal of digital government devices to enhance consultation on rulemaking. This paper explores the most ambitious attempt by the UK central government so far to draw on “crowdsourcing” to consult and act on regulatory reform, the “Red Tape Challenge.” We find that the results of this exercise do not represent any major change to traditional challenges to consultation processes. Instead, we suggest that the extensive institutional arrangements for crowdsourcing were hardly significant in informing actual policy responses: neither the tone of the crowdsourced comments, the direction of the majority views, nor specific comments were seen to matter. Instead, it was processes within the executive that shaped the overall governmental responses to this initiative. The findings, therefore, provoke wider debates about the use of social media in rulemaking and consultation exercises.     

“What is reconciliation and are we there yet?” Different types and levels of reconciliation: A case study of Bosnia and Herzegovina

This article uses the northwestern Bosnian village of Prijedor as a case study to empirically engage with theoretical debates about how to understand and research reconciliation and its causes in postconflict societies. It starts with a review of almost 60 different academic definitions of reconciliation with a goal to map out a comprehensive overview of various types and levels of the phenomenon. It then tests the theoretical analytical 18-box matrix devised with data gathered in Prijedor (BiH) during two consecutive periods of fieldwork in order to further improve it and to introduce a temporal dimension into the research of reconciliation.