International Institutions and Compliance with Agreements

The ultimate litmus test of compliance theories occurs in situations where states' interests are directly opposed, such as competing interstate claims over territory, maritime areas, and cross-border rivers. This article considers the extent to which the involvement of international institutions in the settlement of contentious issues between states bolsters compliance with agreements that are struck. Institutions may influence the prospects for compliance actively and passively . Active institutional involvement in the conflict management process increases the chances for compliance with agreements, particularly for binding institutional activities, relative to the active involvement of noninstitutional third parties. More passively, joint membership in peace-promoting institutions enhances the likelihood that states will comply with peaceful agreements to resolve contentious issues. Empirical analyses demonstrate the relevance of international institutions for resolving contentious interstate issues both actively and passively, although the results suggest that institutions are more effective conflict managers when they choose binding settlement techniques .     

The IMF's Rethink of Global Banks: Critical in Theory,Orthodox in Practice

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) new financial interconnectedness agenda, developed in response to postcrisis calls from G20 to better understand systemic financial institutions, deploys a critical approach that stresses the spatial, political, and institutional dimensions of cross‐border financial networks. It portrays global banks as key nodes in those networks, “super‐spreaders” of systemic risk through complex business models that involve yield search, regulatory and tax arbitrage. Yet this critical view does not translate into its policy advice at country level. In regular surveillance of developing countries, the IMF remains committed to a benign view of transnational banking, even when confronted with growing cross‐border fragilities. During crises of cross‐border banking, the IMF tailors its conditionality to minimize domestic regulatory challenges to cross‐border banking models and to propose crisis measures that create new profit opportunities for transnational banks.     

Understanding America's Hesitant Steps Toward Financial Capitalism: Politics, the Depression, and the Separation of Commercial and Investment Banking

Few would disagree that the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 is thecontinental divide in American financial and banking history. Bydisallowing banks from getting involved in the investment bankingindustry, this Act imposed an institutional change that shaped howfinancial institutions conduct their business, even today in itsdecline. Conventional wisdom has it that the Act was enacted tocorrect the ``deficient'' financial system that existed during theperiod. In this paper we investigate whether this assertion can beempirically verified by analyzing the Senate vote on a predecessorof this Act (which included the clause separating commercialbanking from investment banking activities). Using multinomiallogits, we examine what may have motivated senators to vote for itspassage. The econometric evidence indicates that the Senate votewas significantly influenced by important interest groups(including national banks as well as manufacturing sectorinterests), despite the large populist outcry for financial marketreforms at the onset of the Depression.     

Interstate Spillovers,Fiscal Decentralization,and Public Spending on Medicaid Home‐ and Community‐Based Services

This article examines the interstate spillover effect of Medicaid expenditures for home‐ and community‐based services (HCBS) and tests the relationship between fiscal decentralization and public spending. Based on the theory of interstate strategic interaction, an empirical model is specified that explicitly accounts for interdependence in states’ spending decisions. The model is estimated by applying spatial econometric methods to panel data for the 50 U.S. states for 2000–2010. Findings show a positive interdependence in state HCBS expenditures that is contingent on similarity in citizen ideology between states. Fiscal decentralization, measured by transfer dependence and revenue autonomy, is positively related to Medicaid HCBS spending.     

Intergovernmental councils in the United States

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on intergovernmental councils (IGCs) in the United States in which prominent state-level executive politicians, that is, governors, play a leadership role. In the US case, these IGCs developed out of a desire to facilitate interstate information exchanges and a need for state governments to join forces to protect their autonomy vis-à-vis the federal government. In this latter role, the councils function as lobbyists for state government interests. The research question driving the analysis has to do with impact: what difference do executive-led IGCs make, either vertically or horizontally, in the US federal system? The question of impact is particularly relevant because growing partisan polarization in contemporary federal and state political institutions complicates collective action by states.     

农村信用社银行卡业务发展:以农村包围城市——河南农信金燕卡业务发展传播学解读

随着时代的发展,大众传播媒介目前正向小众化传播媒介转变,而银行业金融机构的客户群体也呈现出小众化的趋势。从传播学角度对河南省农村信用社银行卡业务小众化发展策略进行分析,旨在以此引发广大农信人的思考,探索一条适合河南农信的发展之路。     

Through a Glass Darkly: Afrocentrism,War, and World Politics

While the two dominant Eurocentric paradigms of world politics, realism and idealism, place greater emphasis on power and regime type, respectively, in their analyses of war, a recently promulgated Afrocentric paradigm of world politics suggests that cultural characteristics of states are significantly associated with the likelihood of interstate war. Drawing on these competing perspectives, I conduct a data analysis of the relationship between cultural homogeneity and interstate conflict in order to determine the extent to which Afrocentric theses on international conflict are borne out empirically. I find that cultural factors are significant correlates of interstate war as Afrocentrists suggest, although realist and idealist factors are more strongly associated with the likelihood of interstate war. In addition, the findings suggest that multiculturalism—especially ethnic diversity—is a more auspicious path for interstate peace.     

Introduction: Dimensions of Interstate Relations

By dividing political power between the national governmentand multiple constituent governments, a federal system automaticallyproduces relations among the constituent governments. This articledescribes six provisions of the U.S. Constitution for handlingrelations between the states: (1) federal judicial settlementof interstate disputes, (2) cooperative action by states, (3)privileges and immunities within each state for out-of-statecitizens of the United States, (4) full faith and credit forthe public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of each state,(5) interstate rendition, and (6) free interchange of commerceamong the states.     

Tax enforcement: A public choice perspective

Federal income tax inforcement varies greatly across individual states. While it is not known if this interstate variation enhances efficiency, anecdotal evidence suggests it does not. In this paper we apply the Weingast/Moran model to the treasury and explore the relationship between the legislature and the IRS. Specifically, we model IRS audit rates by state as a function of both political and efficiency considerations. We find that the interstate differences in enforcement is influenced by efficiency considerations but also the IRS shifts enforcement away from states represented by legislators who sit on committees with oversight responsibility for the IRS.     

Normalizing Sino‐Indian relations

Realism and neoliberalism, two schools of international relations theory, provide contending explanations for state behaviour in the international system. The latter believes that interstate cooperation will create institutions and regimes for the peaceful settlement of conflicts. The former argues that only ‘self help’ — the building of individual state military capabilities — can assure that state interests will be protected. A review of Southeast Asian security policies demonstrates that both paradigms coexist as the region's members enhance their individual military capabilities because of territorial disputes with neighbours, while simultaneously entering into new collaborative arrangements such as the ASEAN Regional Forum. The ARF has begun as a venue for discussions and reassurance among Southeast Asian states and external powers in hopes that the zero‐sum character of pure realism may ultimately be transcended.     

State Participation in Interstate Compacts

When problems straddle state boundaries, interstate cooperationis often needed in order to resolve those problems. Participationin interstate compacts, a form of cooperative activity, variesconsiderably from state to state. Compact participation generallytends to be higher among states likely to experience interdependence,as indicated by the geographical proximity of their state capitalsto each other. Patterns of adoption vary, however, dependingon the subject matter of the compact.     

State Taxation of Interstate Sales: Enforcement Problems and Prospects

In their search for additional revenues, state governments in recent years have turned greater attention to collection of use taxes. Growth in interstate mail order sales has vastly increased the potential yield from use taxes, but Supreme Court decisions have limited the ability of states to effectively collect the tax. States have attempted to overcome enforcement barriers by joining in interstate use tax compliance compacts, and promoting congressional legislation to overcome constitutional prohibitions.     

"Welfare Magnets" and Benefit Decline: Symbolic Problems and Substantive Consequences

In response to concern about "welfare migration," some stateshave been freezing benefit levels and trying to institute lowerbenefits for newly arrived out-of-state applicants. There isalso evidence that rising welfare rolls lead states not to raisebenefits. Yet, interstate variation in welfare benefits hasnarrowed over the last two decades. There is also evidence thatwhile interstate competition, or comparison of benefit levels,discourages high-benefit states from raising benefits, stateslook more at themselves then they look at each other. The mostsignificant factor affecting AFDC benefit-levels appears tolie in the intergovernmental arrangements for financing publicassistance (i.e., states often allow Food Stamps and Medicaidto substitute for AFDC). In addition, the migration of poorfemale headed families is patterned after the migration of thepopulation in general; they move to where there is job growth.A major political consequence of stressing welfare migrationmay be its symbolic value in reinforcing prejudices againstwelfare recipients.     

Politics and the rescue of insolvent savings and loans before 1989

The results presented in this paper are consistent with those predicted by public choice economists who believe that regulatory agencies represent the interests of their controlling congressional committees. Membership on committees is not random; congressmen seek committee assignments where they can represent the interests of their constituency. Congressmen from states where financial institutions are significant will seek membership on their respective banking committees. Once on those committees, congressmen will seek to protect and promote their own constituency. In the case of the savings and loan industry, insolvent savings and loans received benefits from staying in operation. These savings and loans gained another chance to gamble for resurrection. Being shut-down or placed in a management consignment program did not give this option. The results presented in our paper indicate that participation in one of the rescue programs is not random. Savings and loans in states with political power (representation on the Senate banking committee) are less likely to be resolved.A previous version of this paper was presented at the Southern Economic Association Meetings, November 18–21 1990, New Orleans, Louisiana. The authors thank James R. Barth, Henry N. Butler, Gordon Tullock, Lawrence J. White, and an anonymous referee, for helpful comments. Financial support from the Summer Research Program of the College of Business, Boise State University, is gratefully acknowledged. We accept responsibility for any remaining errors.     

The Political Economy of State Environmental Regulation: The Distribution of Regulatory Burdens

This article examines interstate variance in the distribution of costs for hazardous waste regulation in the American states. The analysis identifies the distribution of regulatory costs for technical externalities and answers specific questions about the regulatory strategies of competing states in a federal system.     

Road to Ruin? A Spatial Analysis of State Highway Spending

Do states engage in infrastructure expenditure competition to attract new economic activity? Economic theory is inconclusive on the matter. States might respond to increased infrastructure spending in competitor states by increasing their own infrastructure spending. Conversely, states may decrease spending in the presence of positive spillovers from competitor states' infrastructure investment. Using spatial econometric techniques and focusing specifically on highway spending, we demonstrate that states expend less on highways when spending in neighboring states increases. We explore this possibility further by modeling state personal income growth as a function of own‐state and neighbor‐state highway spending. Our findings suggest positive spillovers influence interstate relationships for highway spending rather than race‐to‐the‐top competition for economic activity.     

Pressure-group influence and institutional change: Branch-banking legislation during the Great Depression

Between 1931 and 1935 the change in the state laws governing the organizational structure of banking was significant. Twenty-two states relaxed restrictions over branch banking, even though many had previously prohibited it. We apply a model of pressure-group and rent-seeking behavior to investigate the reasons underlying this remarkable shift in the institutional arrangements for regulating the structure of the banking industry. The findings indicate that the extraordinarily high rate of bank failures tipped the political balance toward the pro-branching forces in many states. However, in a number of states growth in the influence of branch and group bankers and increases in urbanization were largely responsible for the relaxation of restrictions over branch banking.     

Towards an International Antitrust Authority? Key Factors in the Internationalization of Competition Policy

Negotiated access to markets through the internationalization of business framework rules is of increasing importance. The article examines the political-economic factors that are contributing to, but also setting limits on, the greater internationalization of one such aspect of policy—competition policy. It analyzes whether internationalizing forces are likely to transform existing international arrangements in competition policy matters from those of a loose regime to that of a fully fledged international institutional system. The latter could be represented by recent proposals for an International Antitrust Authority. The four factors examined are: conflicting ideas about competition policy; the exercise of political power by nation states and business; the roles and stances of international agencies; and democratic concerns about the accountability, representativeness, and transparency of competition policy institutions.
The analysis concludes that future forms of institution-building at the international level of competition policy are important. This is so because, if lejt totally as a set of international regimes, competition policy may be arranged to an excessive degree in the interests of business power or in the interests of one or more dominant countries.     

How Does Regulation Affect the Risk Taking of Banks? A U.S. and Canadian Perspective

This historical study utilizes annual insured bank data from 1936 through 1989 to empirically evaluate the impact of bank regulation on bank risk taking in a cross-country comparison of the United States and Canada. Risk is hypothesized to be determined, in part, by the regulatory environment in which a bank operates. The findings of this analysis contributes to the contemporary deregulation policy debate, since both branch banking restrictions and deposit insurance variables are found to be detrimental to bank stability. More specifically, these results support the 1994 Riegle–Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act, which removed legislative barriers to interstate branching. These results also confirm expectations that deposit insurance increases risk taking and supports the 1991 mandate by regulators that risk-based deposit insurance be created. Further, these findings support the 1988 Basel Accord to standardize bank capital requirements internationally and to link these standards to bank risk taking.     

Interstate Tax Disharmony in India: A Comparative Perspective

Interstate tax disharmony arising from the states' attempt to"free-ride" on other states can cause distortions and inequityin a federal system. In this article, an attempt is made toanalyze interstate disharmony in the Indian tax system, providea quantitative measure of disharmony, examine its trend overtime, and compare the degree of disharmony in India with threeother important federations. The major conclusions are that(1) India has a higher degree of interstate tax disharmony thanAustralia, Canada, and the United States; (2) tax disharmonyin India has increased over lime unlike in the other three federations;and (3) tax disharmony in respect of individual state taxesis higher than the taxes taken in aggregate.