Rent-seeking in natural resource quota allocations

This paper examines the incentives for rent-seeking in the allocation of natural resource quotas to competing user groups by political bodies. The political body has discretion in making the allocation, and competing user groups rent-seek to influence the allocation. We investigate ways in which the governmental body can affect the behavior of the players by setting the ground rules for the competition. A political body can affect an allocatively (Pareto) efficient outcome by choosing an appropriate default (pre rent-seeking) policy. Surprisingly, an allocatively efficient default policy is unlikely to minimize social costs. However, winner-take-all default policies are likely to maximize, not minimize, rent-seeking. A competitive post-allocation market reduces rent-seeking, but is not, either itself or in combination with an efficient default policy, capable of minimizing social costs. However, forcing winners in political redistributions to fully compensate losers both lowers the rent-seeking levels relative to a potential compensation criterion and, when used together with an efficient default policy, is capable of obtaining the first-best solution of an allocatively efficient allocation with zero rent-seeking.     

Interest representation in Germany

The German public affairs sector has experienced considerable growth and noticeable changes since the millennium including the shift of the government seat from Bonn to Berlin. For a long time, public affairs was characterised by an effectively tripartite system composed of an interplay among state, economy and trade unions. Nowadays, observers recognise the emergence of a multitude of new players in this field and a fundamental change to a highly fragmented and extensive public affairs landscape. This development brought new challenges to the profession of interest representation. ‘Lobbying’ has become a highly discussed topic in the public debate carrying a rather negative connotation. Do we notice an increasing lack of transparency due to a multitude of players? How can we win back trust? First, this paper describes the need for interest representation and the necessity of defining political conditions for the public affairs sector within Germany. Second, the paper focuses on the development of the profession and addresses issues relating to the changes that have taken place in the course of time. Lastly, this article concludes with an evaluation of how public affairs and politics cope with the rising external and internal pressures in order to address current challenges and provide an outlook for future directions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Friendship and environmental politics in childhood

A variety of scholarship across disciplines suggests that an environmental ethic begins in childhood. However, few studies have been conducted with children to learn more about the factors that contribute to an environmental ethic. This paper aims to investigate children's pre-reflexive political engagements with their physical environment in an effort to learn more about the development of an environmental ethic. Through an ethnographic study with children aged 9–11 in rural New Zealand, analysis shows that children's relationship with their environment is substantially influenced by their social relationships with friends and family. Therefore, this paper argues that to reach a better understanding of the development of children's environmental politics, more research is needed to explore the politics of friendship.     

Developing Multilateral Surveillance Tools in the EU

The development of the infrastructure of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) is an unaddressed topic in scholarly debates. On the basis of secondary literature on the European Employment Strategy, it is hypothesised that a conflict between an incentive and reluctance to act on the EU level on the side of member states limits the choice for a policy instrument to the OMC, and is a driving force behind the development of its infrastructure. From empirical findings on the OMC e-Europe it shows that for the development of the infrastructure of an OMC on a policy field, a need for an instrument has to be present that can neutralise the conflict between an incentive and reluctance to act on the EU level.     

A power measure analysis of Amendment 36 in Colorado

Colorado’s Amendment 36 proposed to switch Colorado’s representation in the Electoral College from winner-takes-all to proportionality. We evaluate unilateral and uniform switches to proportionality both from Colorado’s perspective and from an impartial perspective on the basis of a priori and a posteriori voting power measures. The present system is to be preferred to a unilateral switch from any perspective on any measure. A uniform switch is to be preferred to the present system from Colorado’s perspective on an a priori measure, and from an impartial perspective on an a posteriori measure. The present system is to be preferred to a uniform switch from Colorado’s perspective on an a posteriori measure (with some qualifications), and from an impartial perspective on an a priori measure. We conclude with a discussion of the appropriateness of these measures.     

中国社会转型中的和谐建设

社会转型时期和谐问题尤为突出。中国社会转型极其复杂,在纵向上是双重叠加,即在向工业社会的转型中,也开始了向信息社会的转型。在横向上是多重复合,不同地区经历不同的转型。中国转型中产生巨大社会制度冲击和价值冲击,尤其是城市化和市场化的冲击。中国的和谐建设既要重视传统转型中的制度建设,又要重视现代转型中的价值建设。     

Gender Matters in Politics

Although often ignored by practitioners and academics alike, gender matters in both politics as a practice and politics as a subject of study. This article systematically demonstrates how both the practice and study of politics are gendered in ways that lead to an over‐representation of men. It also argues that both are intertwined in significant ways that need to be unravelled, but also that important changes have taken place in both over the last 30 years. The article goes on to highlight some of the challenges that remain and ends by outlining some of the key themes that should be an important part of an on‐going agenda to improve politics as a practice and as a discipline.     

能力建设及其在当代中国的实践

进行能力建设是人类历史发展的启示,是知识经济的兴起和市场经济建设的内在要求,是我国实现全面、协调和可持续发展的迫切需要,也是促进人的思维发展和人的全面发展的必由之路.能力建设,就是为了促进社会和人的全面发展而展开的开发人的潜能,增强人的能力和充分发挥人的能力的教育、培养、配置、使用、管理和激励的活动和过程.围绕培养和提高人的创造能力,充分调动广大人民群众的积极性,加强领导和管理,实现制度创新和体制创新,建立能力运行机制,塑造能力人,营造能力型组织和能力型社会,是当前我国进行能力建设的必然选择.     

Leadership in collaborative policy-making: An analysis of agency roles in regulatory negotiations

Regulatory negotiation is a process by which representatives of affected interests, along with the regulatory agency, attempt to negotiate a consensus agreement on the content of a regulation. This study represents an empirical effort to begin to identify and sort out the roles that an agency plays in a collaborative policy-making process such as regulatory negotiation. Three regulatory negotiation cases were examined to determine the perceived roles of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials and other participants, and the study suggests a number of findings. First, that EPA fulfills a number of different roles (Expert, Analyst, Stakeholder, Facilitator and Leader) in a negotiation process; second, that EPA is expected to be an active participant in the negotiations, not simply an overseer or facilitator of interests; and finally, EPA interprets its primary role much more narrowly – as that of an expert – than do other participants. Non-agency participants view EPA's primary role as a leader, which combines technical and substantive components as well as process components. Where previously and in the theoretical literature, agencies exercise leadership through statutory authority or technical expertise, this study suggests that there are additional dimensions to that leadership role. In a collaborative process such as regulatory negotiation, the agency finds itself in a realm that demands that they effectively merge the roles of expert, analyst, and stakeholder into a more complex leadership role than has been suggested in the past.     

Recent changes in migration patterns in the Mexico City metropolitan zone

"This study analyzes the magnitude, evolution over time, and place of origin of migrants to the ZMCM [Mexico City metropolitan zone] during the 1970s and 80s. More specifically, the study attempts to test the following hypothesis: attraction of migrants to the ZMCM has diminished over time;...thus the ZMCM is emerging as an important origin of migrants toward other cities. The article also provides an analysis of the changes in the characteristics of the migrants...." (SUMMARY IN ENG)     

Strengthening administrative capabilities in India

Reform in public administration has been pursued in India since 1947 and received particular attention since the 1960s. The approach in the 1940s and 1950s was to hold inquiries into different facets of administration, then in the 1960s the strategy was adopted of having an administrative reforms commission with terms of reference which gave it uniquely wide powers and an opportunity to recommend an overhaul in the country's administration. Its recommendations were, indeed, far reaching, but the failure of its report to result in significant reforms being implemented has contributed to a change in emphasis in the 1970s. Attention has come to be directed once more to administrative improvements at the microlevel, and there are a number of significant criticisms to be made of these currently continuing approaches to improvement and reform.     

Amendment Rules in Constitutions

I study a formal model where the founder of a constitutiondetermines the amendment rule that minimizes constitutionalchanges by a future lobbyist. The founder has to consider thattoo flexible an amendment rule will make constitutional changevia amending too easy while too rigid an amendment rule willforce the lobbyist to look for other ways to achieve change. Icharacterize the optimal amendment rule under two alternativeformulations and study the comparative statics with respect tothe relative costs of amending and the other possibilities forchange.     

德国公务员的教育与培训

公务员素质和能力是行政管理中的一个关键性因素,而素质和能力又取决于教育和培训。如何充分发挥教育的效能,如何提高公务员的能力,是公务员教育和培训的重要课题。本集中讨论了德国公务员的教育培训制度,介绍和分析了德国公务员的职前教育和职后培训的基本做法,为我国公务员的教育和管理提供了一定的借鉴。     

Loyalty Oaths in Finland

Loyalty oaths are a certain type of promise. What is their moral force? Do I by taking an oath thereby bind myself with some (new) moral ties to, say, the State of Finland? When can we speak of an oath as morally binding? These questions constitute the core of the paper. First, I shall give an analysis of promises and promising in general. Secondly, I shall try to analyse the question ‘Do we have to keep our promises?’ After this I shall consider some differences between standard case promises and loyalty oaths. After this the connection of loyalty oaths to civil liberty will be brought out. Thereafter I shall give a brief presentation of the politically most relevant loyalty oaths in Finland and ask if they can be considered as having any moral force. The paper ends with a few hints on the practical consequences of this analysis.     

State supported segregation? Examining migrant clustering in schools in Ireland

Recent education policy debates in Ireland have focused on whether the dominance of the Catholic Church in primary school provision is an appropriate model for an increasingly diverse population, rather than concern with migrant clustering and/or segregation per se. Efforts to ensure that students from a range of religious or non-religious backgrounds are catered for in education contexts are to be lauded. However, this research provides clear evidence of migrant segregation as a result of how school choice impacts attendance patterns on the ground. This is not surprising, given the evidence from research on school choice which highlights the fact that it can exacerbate socio-economic and demographic segregation. As such, enshrining parental choice as the corner-stone of school provision in Ireland is flawed since it, intentionally or otherwise, builds an educational infrastructure that encourages school segregation.     

Obtaining Differentiation Premiums in the Presence of Fee Regulation in the Residential Real Estate Appraisal Industry

In the context of the customary and reasonable pricing standard imposed by the Dodd–Frank Act, this article considers whether residential real estate appraisers are able to obtain differentiation premiums for their services. Regression models estimated using data from the Commonwealth of Virginia offer some evidence that professional certifications and the complexity of an appraisal task are positively associated with fee levels in this type of regulatory environment. However, differentiation premiums appear more difficult to obtain across geographies and when an appraisal is procured by an appraisal management company. The findings suggest appraisers can differentiate themselves from competitors, but also that policymakers should be mindful of the potential for commodification on the residential appraisal industry in select market settings. Since appraisals are a critical component of the mortgage underwriting process, and the majority of housing transactions utilize mortgage debt, developing new understanding of how policies influence appraisers and how the appraisal process makes an important contribution to the housing policy literature.     

Citizens in the Making: The Inclusion of Racialized Subjects in Labour Market Projects in Sweden

This article analyzes the formation of citizenship in today's multi‐ethnic Sweden in light of the inclusion of ‘people with foreign background’. Particular focus is put on how ethnicity and migration renders visible existing citizenship ideals, defined in terms of similarity and difference on the basis of ethno‐cultural background. The formation of citizenship is analyzed in the case of labour market projects targeting racialized migrants. The point of departure is an understanding of citizenship as an ongoing process of citizen formation, highlighting the formation of citizens as rights‐bearing subjects, belonging to the societal community – in contrast to those not bearing these rights and not belonging to the societal community. The analysis illustrates how norms of Swedish‐ness condition the membership in the Swedish societal community, forming a particular kind of racialized citizenship, including certain subjects, under certain conditions, while excluding others. One conclusion is that in addition to the formal dimensions of citizenship, the ability and willingness to adapt to norms of Swedish‐ness is essential for accessing and using social rights – that is, for becoming employable and included on the labour market. In the projects analyzed, racialized migrants have the duty of becoming employable by embracing certain values – the good, working citizen, the free, independent individual, able to make choices – all constituted as being part of an ideal Swedish citizenship.     

The presence of moral hazard in budget breaking

It is possible that a budget breaking incentive scheme may not solve the problem of moral hazard in team production, due to an incentive for a principal to cheat on such an agreement. This is a problem common to incentive schemes which result in an unbalanced budget, which include among them processes designed to reveal demand for public goods. This paper shows the conditions under which cheating is possible, and designs a payment scheme for the principal which is free of any cheating incentive.