THE IMPACT of FINANCIAL SERVICES GLOBALIZATION UPON the CARIBBEAN COMMON MARKET

This article tests three hypotheses concerning the policy effects of foreign exchange market liberalization and exchange controls in the three Caribbean Common Market countries of Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Barbados during the 1990s. It concludes that these cases do not show either monetary or fiscal policy to be particularly effective, when foreign exchange markets are liberalized before a functional bank regulatory system is put in place. These cases also imply that given the challenges posed by financial services globalization, the need for informed judgment by governments regarding the pace and scope of financial sector liberalization will remain critical, particularly within small developing countries.     

THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE GROWING CITY

When the stranger says: “What is the meaning of this city? Do you huddle close together because you love each other?” What will you answer?“We all dwell together to make money from each other” or “This is a community”?     

THE NEW POLICY CHALLENGES OF FINANCIAL SERVICES GLOBALIZATION

Can nation states cope with numerous public policy challenges–ranging from regional financial crises to the failures of large financial services firms–posed by today's globalized financial and monetary landscape? As Benjamin Cohen has argued “governments must consciously adapt to a dramatic transformation of their status, from monopolists to oligopolists, if they are to adequately represent the interests of all their citizens in monetary affairs.” This article briefly examines the nature of the policy challenges facing states and reviews the findings of symposium contributors who explored the national, regional and international responses of states to the fast moving global financial and monetary developments.     

THE EVALUATION OF GOVERNMENT POLICIES FOR INNOVATION

This article is based on two premises: current innovation polices are based on very limited understanding of how Innovation occurs and the contribution to understanding that available policy research might make is severely limited by its fragmentation. The author cites Nelson's three models of the policy process as an example of the different paradigms that have guided innovation research. But, he argues, new developments suggest that the rigid boundaries are breaking down. Three examples are offered in support, each nominally based in one of the three paradigms but representing a loosening of its strictures.     

POLITICIANS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC POLICIES

Policy scientists can make important contributions to the study of policy distribution, a question that is likely to be among the most crucial national issues to be discussed throughout this decade. One aspect of this question that has been neglected is the theoretical assumption associated with public choice theory that politicians, once elected, will reward their supporters through the distribution of policy benefits. However, empirical research indicates that policy benefits seldom are distributed in this way. Instead, politicians follow the principle of universalism. In league with bureaucracies and policy communities, politicians define need and then ask bureaucracies to allocate benefits. This makes politicians roles as distributors of policy very different than simplistic models suggest.     

OPINION CONGRUENCE AND THE FORMULATION OF SEISMIC SAFETY POLICIES

This article examines key actors'and citizens'perceptions on several issues involving various actions designed to lessen the effects of a damaging earthquake as well as the degree of concern these groups have over the occurrence of such an event. The relationship discovered between key actors'and the public's attitudes on these issues indicates that several other studies of earthquake policy adoption which suggest that a lack of citizen awareness and support for earthquake policy are the major barriers to adoption may be in error. In fact, it is discovered that in the Central states, it is the public which is concerned and supportive of such policy and the key actors who are more reluctant to endorse such policies.     

SOME ASPECTS OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CITY OF GOLD COAST

The Administration appointed to take over the Gold Coast City Council was constituted as follows. An Administrator was appointed by the Governor in Council on 4 March 1978. He became Administrator and Chairman of the Executive Committee. The Administrator thus became the Council of the City of Gold Coast. Two Members of the Executive Committee were appointed on the same date by the Minister for Local Government and Main Roads to assist the Administrator. The initial term of appointment was to 30 June 1978, later extended to 30 September 1978, and finally extended to 31 March 1979 to coincide with the Triennial Local Government elections in the State of Queensland. In each case it was the Governor in Council who extended the term of the Administrator and the Minister who extended the terms of the Committee Members.     

THE POLICY IMPACT OF NO-FAULT AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE

This study examines the impact of four different types of no-fault automobile insurance laws on the risk adjusted price of insurance. No-fault insurance plans are in operation in 23 states. Using data from 1976 to 1984 for 49 states, the study found that no-fault plans limiting litigation result in lower prices for automobile insurance. This relationship holds even under controls for several variables that also affect the price of automobile insurance.     

TRANSLATING THE PROBLEMS OF THE ELDERLY INTO EFFECTIVE POLICIES: AN ANALYSIS OF FILIAL ATTITUDES

This paper examines the political implications of current decision making efforts that underpin recent cost-cutting measures of federally supported programs serving the elderly. Current policy changes that favor the private sector (e.g., shifts of the cost of care to other levels of government and to elderly individuals and their families) have also generated a renewed interest in the policy of mandating family responsibility. The paper also examines attitudes concerning filial responsibility, such as multigenerational living. The inadequacy of current policy analysis that has encouraged the disestablishment of the current long-term care system and the shifting of care costs to the private sector, especially to the individual and the family are also examined.