‘Strangers in their own land’: Powellism’s policy impact

ABSTRACT

In this paper, Solomos provides an account of the impact of Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech on policy agendas about race relations and immigration. He argues that Powell’s intervention helped to shape policy frames around race and immigration in its immediate aftermath and beyond. By exploring the impact of the speech on the policy climate, his paper argues that perhaps the most important aspect of the speech is the way it helped to shape the policy agendas of both the Conservative and Labour parties, even as Powell himself was marginalized from mainstream politics. He concludes by suggesting that Powell’s intervention links up with contemporary debates and preoccupations about race and immigration.     

Policy convergence and policy feedback: Agricultural finance policies in a globalizing era

In a comparative study of five countries: Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the UK, and the USA, this article examines the degree of convergence of agricultural credit policy content, policy instruments, and policy outcomes on a market liberal model. It shows that all five countries have moved toward market liberal policy arrangements over the past quarter century of globalizing and domestic fiscal pressures, but important differences in policy remain. The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom move further toward a market liberal model than do Australia, Canada, and the USA. The distinct national paths taken to market liberalism give rise to policy feedback that hastens or retards the adoption of a fully market liberal system. Historical choices of policy instruments and path dependence help account for continuing policy divergence.     

Policy convergence and policy feedback: Agricultural finance policies in a globalizing era

Abstract In a comparative study of five countries: Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the UK, and the USA, this article examines the degree of convergence of agricultural credit policy content, policy instruments, and policy outcomes on a market liberal model. It shows that all five countries have moved toward market liberal policy arrangements over the past quarter century of globalizing and domestic fiscal pressures, but important differences in policy remain. The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom move further toward a market liberal model than do Australia, Canada, and the USA. The distinct national paths taken to market liberalism give rise to policy feedback that hastens or retards the adoption of a fully market liberal system. Historical choices of policy instruments and path dependence help account for continuing policy divergence.     

Market imperfections,government imperfections,and policy mixes: policy innovations in Singapore

Proper roles for government and market in addressing policy problems may be assessed by considering the duality between market imperfections and government imperfections. The potential of government interventions or market mechanisms as core policy instruments can be eroded by fundamental deficiencies deeply rooted in either government or market as social institutions. The impacts of such deficiencies are much more extensive than postulated by the existing theories. Analysis here, based on policy innovations in land transport and health care in Singapore, suggests how policy mixes might become the norm of response for addressing policy problems found in a range of sectors. The analytical framework presented may help to distinguish among different policy mixes according to their effectiveness, but also provides some useful guiding principles for policy design.     

The policy response to COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the equity market sentiment: The Indian experience

We examine the dynamics of the impact of the evolving policy response during the COVID-19 pandemic on the equity market sentiment in India. We operationalise our study by examining the India VIX, the fear gauge of the Indian equity market as an indicator for the market sentiment, and the country level Government Response Index of the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University as an indicator for the policy response. The relation is examined through the Markov-switching model using high-frequency daily data from January 30, 2020, to May 31, 2021. The evidence suggests that the policy response has a positive impact on the market sentiment when the market is fearful. Further, the evidence suggests that both the high-fear state and the low-fear state of the market sentiment given by the model are short-lived indicating heightened volatility and possible speculation during the ongoing pandemic in the Indian equity market.     

Public policy for business and the economy Ideological dissensus,change and consensus

A substantial literature shows that ideology, often describable on a conservative-liberal spectrum, is a significant independent variable influencing the formulation of public policy. The 1960s–1990s are frequently depicted as decades of ideological tumult. However, analysis of the editorials of major publications shows that substantial agreement existed on public policy directions for business and the economy throughout most of these years. Furthermore, in some policy areas initial dissensus was followed by significant movement toward consensus. A theory presented here based on the concepts of successful market operation, market misbehavior, and market breakdown explains in large part the reasons for this long term policy consensus as well as movement from dissensus to consensus.     

Electoral accountability,clarity of responsibility and labor market policy

Does the exercise of accountability in elections have palpable policy effects? Building on recent advances in the economic voting literature, we show that electoral accountability leaves an imprint on labor market policy when left-wing governments are in office. When responsibility for the economy is clear and elections offer an opportunity to claim credit for economic expansion, labor protections and benefits become more generous. However, when clarity of responsibility is low and incumbents can expect to veer electoral responsibility, left-wing governments are more likely to retrench labor market policy. These results hold for policies benefiting both labor market insiders and outsiders. Consistent with evidence that the labor market is the purview of the left, electoral accountability does not condition labor market policy under right-wing governments. We discuss the implications of these results in the context of growing party system fragmentation and weaker accountability across advanced industrial democracies.     

Ideology and the University

Ideology underpins recent transformations of British universities; it forms an unquestioned backdrop to policy‐making. The ideology at issue is a market‐based neo‐liberalism—accompanied by a doctrinaire private‐sector managerialism. Universities employing this ideology envision it as common sense. The ideology is thus not proselytised, but rather structures the vernacular of university speech. In reality it is a highly politicised ideology masquerading as a managerial reality. Its effect on universities has been profoundly destructive. The dignified public good of higher education has now become a huckstering marketised mechanism. What is so perplexing is the quiescence of universities. The ideology is so hegemonic that it appears exempt from criticism. University administrators are now quite unapologetic ideological functionaries and we need to relearn how to criticise those who manage us. Ultimately no ideology lasts, this present one will be supplanted, the question is what level of damage to civil and intellectual life will it inflict?     

China’s Development of ETS as a GHG Mitigating Policy Tool: A Case of Policy Diffusion or Domestic Drivers?

China launched its national emissions trading scheme (ETS) in late 2017. This article examines the key drivers behind China’s 2011 decision to opt for ETS as a GHG mitigating policy tool and what lay behind the choice of the system’s design features. Given the existence of the frontrunner EU ETS and that market mechanisms have spread across the world in recent years, we analyze the role played by policy diffusion in the decision to launch an ETS and in the subsequent design process, seen in relation to domestic drivers. The article investigates policy developments culminating in the 2011 carbon market announcement, and the reasons these design elements were chosen for the pilot schemes and the national market in the period 2011–2017. The article contributes to our understanding of policy diffusion at different stages of policy development in China, by revealing which diffusion mechanism is more prevalent at different stages. We find first that overall domestic conditions and drivers had the most consistent impact on policy decisions to establish a carbon market and on the selected sectors. However, a second key finding is that the role of policy diffusion varied over time, with such diffusion, in the form of ideational impact, playing the most important role early on, providing a powerful inducement for China to go for a carbon market. Third, sophisticated learning from international projects took place in the pilots, allowing China to adapt policies and design features to match local conditions.     

From the Cycle of Deprivation to Social Exclusion: Five Continues

One important aspect of Tony Blair's speech on social exclusion, given to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in York on 5 September 2006, has been ignored-that its content was prefigured by Sir Keith Joseph, in his famous 'cycle of deprivation' speech, on 29 June 1972. This article seeks to explore these continuities over the past thirty-four years, tracing similarities and differences between the two speeches. Moreover, it also reflects on the earlier Joseph speech and subsequent Research Programme, to see where government policies on social exclusion might lead. The article argues that while earlier writers have acknowledged the intellectual debt that New Labour owes to Joseph, and noted similarities between current policy approaches to child poverty and earlier debates about transmitted deprivation, recent moves on social exclusion mean that these continuities are now more striking than ever before.     

USING PRODUCER INCENTIVES TO ACHIEVE SOCIAL OBJECTIVES: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE MARKETPLACE AND PUBLIC POLICIES

The purpose of this paper is to recast the light in which we have come to evaluate public policy initiatives and open the door for a more careful examination o f the effects markets have on the course of public policies employing producer incentives to achieve policy goals. Specifically, the paper will review the past experience of urban renewal to show the relationship between policy objectives and outcomes when policy is designed to work through the marketplace. By arguing that market incentives cons train policy outcomes, it is maintained that policies which are judged to have failed in its goals may in reality have succeeded when viewed in terms of normal market operations.     

Political Choice, Public Policy, and Distributional Outcomes

I address the functioning of the U.S. governing system by analyzing distributional outcomes from 1947 to 2000. The key question is whether public policy influences distributional outcomes. The macropolitics model and power resource theory suggest that left policies should equalize the distribution of income. I utilize single equation error correction models to assess the impact of policy on income inequality through two mechanisms—market conditioning and redistribution. Since nearly every government action influences markets in some way, I examine policy in the aggregate rather than focusing only on policies explicitly designed to redistribute income. The analysis indicates that policy influences inequality through both mechanisms, with left policy producing more equality. The results are consistent with power resource theory and strongly support the macropolitics model. Furthermore, I find that market conditioning is as important as, and works in tandem with, explicit redistribution.     

Political Competition and Policy Adoption: Market Reforms in Latin American Public Utilities

This article shows that political competition generates incentives that affect the pace of adoption of market reforms in the context of policy convergence. Previous work shows the effect of financial and technological pressures in promoting policy convergence and the impact of institutional constraints on shaping the pace of policymaking. Controlling for these effects, this article demonstrates the policy effects of political competition and ideological polarization even at a time when ideological policy differences seem to be fading due to policy convergence. This article studies policy adoption using duration analysis for the 18 countries of Latin America during the 1985–2000 period when most of the market reforms in public utilities were adopted.     

What can we Learn from the First Major Statement of Labour’s Economic Policy under Keir Starmer?

Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, Anneliese Dodds, recently set out the first major exposition of economic policy under leader Keir Starmer. Covering a lot of ground, she gave insights into current Labour thinking on macro and micro policy. Much of the speech was aimed at emphasising the fact that Labour would be ‘responsible’, an attempt to reassure voters as well as markets. But there is plenty of room for radical approaches within this framework, so exactly what this all means for practical policy is still to be determined.     

Dimensions of Family Policy and Female Labor Market Participation: Analyzing Group‐Specific Policy Effects

This article investigates whether and how family policy influences the probability and intensity of mothers' labor market participation. Unlike previous studies, this contribution focuses on group‐specific policy effects, thereby accounting for the fact that, theoretically, women with different resources and preferences should respond differently to given policy measures. The analyses show that varying individual characteristics indeed influence the impact family policy measures have on women's individual behavior. First and foremost, family policies most strongly influence mothers with medium levels of education, for whom labor market participation tends to be “optional.” Moreover, high direct and indirect cash benefits to families, which primarily stem from traditional conservative family policy, reduce the probability of employment for women with low to medium levels of education.     

THE TROUBLE WITH HEDGE FUNDS

This article examines the impact of hedge funds on the workings of international financial markets and their implications for public policy. In contrast to the neoclassical view of hedge funds, which views them as being‘too‐small‐to‐matter, this article argues that the activities of hedge funds are significant for policymakers because of their ability to become extensively overleveraged and to act as market leaders. I consider the role played by hedge funds in financial crises, market volatility, market manipulation and systemic risk. The article concludes with a critical review of recent proposals for dealing with the public policy issues raised by hedge funds.     

Agricultural Policy Reform and Policy Convergence: An Actor-Centered Institutionalist Approach

This article examines the entry into the agricultural policy arena of a new market liberal vision. Battles over market liberalism are some of the defining struggles of the present age. The article develops a stylized framework designed to help understand some of these political struggles and some of the underlying dynamics of the complex policy debates that have occurred. It begins with a brief review of the changed economic context for farming that gradually took place in the 1990s and then provides an overview of how market liberal values and norms might be applied to agriculture. Constructing a stylized set of negotiations in a game-theoretic form that might take place in a debate over the merits of a market liberal approach, it shows two different paths for agricultural policy reform. The analysis suggests that policy change is likely to move more in a market-liberal direction under a center-left government than under a conservative one. This model isthen tested by looking at policy change in two sectors (cereal grains, dairy) in three countries (Australia, Canada, and the United States of America). The analysis suggests that the models are more helpful and policy convergence is more pronounced when sectors are open to international competition. In contrast, the models work less well and convergence is lower in highly protected sectors.     

Polanyi in Brussels or Luxembourg? Social rights and market regulation in European insurance

The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union to ban sex discrimination in insurance has shown the potential reach of the principle of non‐discrimination. This paper discusses the different positions taken by participants in the policy process leading up to the decision, in order to reveal the potential and limitations of non‐discrimination as the basis for market‐regulatory social policy. It is shown that the European Commission's initial support for prohibiting insurance discrimination faltered with the realization that the measure would have little efficacy as a distributive social policy. It was left to the Court to assert that non‐discrimination rights are constitutive for European markets, regardless of their functional and instrumental limitations. The Court's focus was on the market‐integrative potential of rights as sources of norms for the conduct of insurance relationships. It is argued that this form of constitutive regulation is distinct from distributive social policy as it does not require that outcomes are egalitarian, but, rather, that the processes governing market relations should respect fundamental rights.     

Beyond the Social Market: Rethinking Capitalism and Public Policy

Despite its worthy motives, social market philosophy provides neither a useful analytical framework for understanding modern capitalism, nor the policy tools to address our present economic and social predicament. The concept of ‘market failure’, with its underlying assumption of market equilibrium, does not capture the systemically adverse outcomes of collective market forces. A more sophisticated understanding of capitalist economies, and the societies in which they exist, would recognise that the market economy is a dynamic but not self‐regulating system. It is embedded in, and impacts on, four other economies – of the natural environment, of family and care, of voluntary association, and of the public sector – which operate under different motivations and allocative principles. The role of government is central, to balance the values created by different kinds of institutions and to constrain the dynamic impacts of market forces. A number of policy conclusions are offered arising from this framework.