The Negotiated Economy: Is There a Theory?

The original concept of the negotiated economy from the late 1970s provided some heuristic insights into significant developments of political, economic, and administrative processes. The later development of the concept has not brought the theory of the negotiated economy any further. This is a reply to an article published in SPS (Andersen et al. 1996) which responded to criticisms brought by me in an earlier article (1W.4). The defence of the theory of the negotiated economy is not consistent. The theory is both non-positive and positive, and normally accepted criteria for empirical confrontation are not adhered to.     

On the Critique of Negotiated Economy

A critical debate on the concept of negotiated economy has to start from a mutual recognition of fundamental methodological and epistemological differences between the various research positions in the field. In reply to a recent critical comment by P. M. Christiansen on our use of the concept of negotiated economy, we argue that Christiansen not only mispresents our theoretical, empirical, and critical ambitions; most importantly, he also fails to grasp the basic methodological differences between our constructivist strategy of institutional analysis, and the more conventional non-constructivist approach that he propagates.     

The Negotiated Political Economy of a Heavy Industrial Sector: The Norwegian Hydropower Complex in the 1970s and 1980s

What effect does a sector-based negotiated economy have on industrial transformation, and what are the institutional mechanisms involved in negotiated sector-regulation? These questions are tentatively answered through an analysis of the political economy of one of Norway's most important industrial sectors: the hydropower and energy-intensive industry. The study focuses on factors that have allowed the sector to continue to expand throughout the 1970s and 1980s in spite of failing economic return and extensive political opposition. The over-expansion is explained through the partial closure and self-refercnciality found in the sector's regulatory system, which provides it with relative autonomy in relation to us economic and political environment. It is suggested that the pattern found in the hydropower and energy-intensive sector may be typical of heavy industrial sectors in modern economies.     

A Negotiated Economy? Public Regulation of the Manufacturing Sector in Denmark

The concept of the negotiated economy intuitively catches important developments in state-market relations. The fruitfulness of the recent development of the negotiated economy as a macro concept is questioned. Two theses deduced from the concept are tested against public regulation of the Danish manufacturing sector. Although regulatory demands on manufacturing firms have increased the complexity of the political environment of firms. the negotiated economy is not an adequate theoretical concept for describing and explaining the increased interdependence of state and market. The negotiated economy might be useful at the sector or sub-sector level, but for empirical analysis the concept should be more precisely defined.     

Negotiated settlements and peace referendums

Institutional innovations in conflict management have received considerable academic attention in the past decades. Yet few studies have considered the design of referendums in peace processes and the role of popular mandates in catalysing negotiated settlements. Drawing evidence from divided societies, particularly the contrasting cases of South Africa and Cyprus, the article points to the importance of ratification sequence and early mandate referendums. Specifically, it demonstrates how mandate referendums focusing initially on domestic constituencies enable leaders to pre‐empt ethnic outbidding challenges while concluding a peace agreement. An early ratification process could safeguard the peace process from unavoidable reversals in public opinion, increase flexibility as to the timing of critical decisions and maximise the credibility of leaders aiming for a negotiated settlement. The study of mandate referendums has important implications for broader research on international mediations since it suggests mechanisms by which political actors could ensure the ratification of significant treaties in global or regional politics.     

试论经济系统的理想结构

建立系统科学模型——系统三维图像模型。解决WTO背景下中国经济体制如何达到理想的经济结构。     

The Impact of the Economy on Presidential Elections Throughout US History

Political Behavior - As numerous studies in the US and elsewhere document, voters often hold incumbents accountable for recent economic circumstances. However, our knowledge of the conditions that...     

Intergovernmental Conflict and Indian Water Rights: An Assessment of Negotiated Settlements

The states and Indian tribes have fought bitterly over waterrights for nearly a century. Most of this conflict took placein courtrooms, but in recent years, states and tribes have beenattempting to resolve their differences through negotiated watersettlements. This article utilizes the literature and theoryon alternative dispute resolution to identify six advantagesthat are expected to accrue from negotiations. It then assessesthe extent to which Indian water settlements have produced theseresults.     

The Political Frame for Negotiated Capitalism: Electoral Reform and the Politics of Crisis in Japan and Sweden

This article examines the impact of political institutions on the strength of executive governments as well as the consequences of that strength for policymaking. It argues that both political changes and electoral reforms in Japan and Sweden have weakened the political frame for “negotiated” or “coordinated” decision making in these nations. In Sweden, however, the complete demolition of the old political frame has opened up opportunities and incentives for new modes of governance. In Japan, by contrast, reforms have buttressed rather than dismantled the old frame, impeding the transition to a new approach.     

和谐社会的理想与现实——一个政治学的视角

后革命时代,发展是社会的主旋律,革命的逻辑是在无秩序中求新秩序,发展的逻辑是在现有秩序中求进步。多元复合转型的中国社会是一场自我革命,充满矛盾和冲突,机遇与挑战,必须在秩序中实现转型。和谐社会的理想是我们实现这个转型的最佳选择,和谐社会的构建必须重构执政的“合法性”基础,以民主监督防止权力异化,建设科学合理的分享机制,建立化解冲突的空间。     

Regulatory Commitment to Negotiated Agreements: Evidence from the United States, Germany, The Netherlands, and France

Negotiated Agreements (NAs) are arrangements between firms and regulators in which firms voluntarily agree to reduce their pollution. This article analyzes the institutional features that facilitate or hamper the implementation of NAs. We illustrate the analysis with case studies on the implementation of NAs in the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and France. We find that NAs are implemented when regulators are able to commit credibly to the objectives of NAs. Institutional environments marked by fragmentation of power and open access in policymaking reduce regulatory credibility and thus hamper the implementation of NAs.     

The Four Nations: Interrelations*

Historically and contemporaneously the interrelations of the nations of the British Isles are as important as their differentiation. Modern revisionist historians, Irish and British, understand this better that many politicians and publicists. Nationalism as separatism and strong national consciousness are commonly confused when the English media consider Scotland. Gordon Brown stresses ‘Britishness’ to preserve the union but this is counterproductive. All his examples of British events are English, none Scots or Welsh, and his British values are mainly universal. A true construction of Britishness is to see it as a strong but narrow practical legal and political framework within which different cultures, old and new, can both flourish and intermingle. So strong are both social and economic interrelations that Scottish independence could be less consequential than commonly supposed.     

The Capital Budget: History and Future Directions

While there is a substantial body of literature concerning capital programming and budgeting in the private sector, there is only a modest literature on this subject in the public sector. Government researchers and public administration scholars have, for about seventy-five years, recognized the value of budgeting for operating expenses and have tried to develop theoretical frameworks for the public budgeting process. However, very little of this attention has been devoted to capital budgeting. As Alan Steiss has stated," The theory of capital budgeting has not been set forth; rather the emphasis... has been on devising and improving the techniques of capital budgeting." Michael White has called capital budgeting an "elusive subject" that "lacks clear definitions, organized traditions of inquiry, conceptual boundaries, standard questions, and reliable data sets."