The Bio-economy and the Competition State: Transcending the Dichotomy between Coordinated and Liberal Market Economies

This article examines the role of the state in the emerging bio-economy. The starting point is that state interventions, including supportive regulatory arrangements and the shaping of public attitudes, constitute core assets in the evolution of bio-industrial complexes. Public policy in the bio-economy, across advanced industrial countries, is well captured by the “competition state” concept. This type of state takes different forms, analogously with the historical variants of the Keynesian welfare state. The article compares patterns of governance of the biotechnology sector in Finland and Sweden, the USA and the UK, and Australia. It is concluded that the bio-industry sector does not fit with the “models of capitalism” paradigm which postulates coherence within, and systemic divergences between, national models of economic governance. The bio-economy displays trends toward convergence, in particular mounting public investments in health care and in research and development. On the other hand, countries differ in their approach to market regulation, industrial support, and ethical restrictions. These differences do not follow the dichotomy between “liberal” and “coordinated” models of capitalism.     

The State as Investment Market: A Framework for Interpreting the Post‐Soviet State in Eurasia

What type of state has emerged in post‐Soviet Eurasia, and what kind of theoretical framework can help us understand its behavior and performance? This article argues that we can usefully understand the logic of political and administrative organization in terms of a kind of “investment market.” Access to the state is frequently determined by actual financial payment. Would‐be officials invest in offices to obtain access to a stream of income associated with an office. This framework represents a novel perspective on the post‐Soviet state, which has hitherto either been premised on modernization theory or emphasized a robustly personalistic logic of political organization.     

The Expected Impact of State Immigration Legislation on Labor Market Outcomes

In response to the dramatic rise in the number of unauthorized immigrants to the United States, every state has passed some form of immigration legislation. These laws appear to be predicated on a belief that unauthorized immigrants impose greater costs than benefits to state and local communities, including the labor market. The purpose of this paper is to examine some evidence on what workers should expect if the immigration legislation is successful in eliminating undocumented workers from states' labor markets. © 2012 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

State Governance and Financial Market Integration: The Politics and Consequences of Interstate Banking Deregulation

This study examines the debates surrounding interstate bankingreform in the 1980sand the effect of geographic deregulationon the availability of credit in the stales. Deregulation doeshave a significant and positive impact on the amount of totalcommercial and industrial loans made by banks. The pro and conarguments about deregulation are then reconsidered in lightof this finding. The study concludes that states can help stimulateeconomic growth through regulatory policy, though the totalimpact is relatively small. This research also suggests thatthe veracity of policy arguments can be judged by the richnessof the institutional context in which they are grounded.     

The Limits of Control: The Market State,Divided Power,and the Response to 9/11

ABSTRACT

The 9/11 attacks demanded a response from the U.S. government, but designing and executing that response was not easily done. The United States is an advanced market society in which power is highly dispersed. Federal policymakers were confronted with challenges that we now regard as typical of the network form of governance. Their ability to act decisively was constrained by public law, by the political influence and superior knowledge of private industry, and by widespread skepticism about the legitimacy of federal authority. While many commentators worried about the excessive concentration of power in the federal executive branch after 9/11, it might be more accurate to say that the post-9/11 period was typified by a prolonged, and often unsuccessful, effort to induce cooperation and coordination by a range of public and private actors.     

Funding the Welfare State: Globalization and the Taxation of Business in Advanced Market Economies

Theorists assert that international capital mobility creates substantial pressure for all democratically elected governments to decrease tax burdens on business. I explicate and critique the general version of this theory and offer an alternative view. Empirically, I explore whether or not the globalization of capital markets has resulted in decreases in business social security, payroll, and profit taxes. I also investigate whether or not capital mobility has intensified government responsiveness to domestic investment and profitability. Evidence suggests that business tax burdens have not been reduced in the face of rises in capital mobility nor is tax responsiveness to profitability and domestic investment intensified by more open capital markets. To the contrary, analyses indicate that business taxation has become subject to new 'market conforming' policy rules that developed in tandem with liberalization of markets. These new policy orientations reduce the economic management roles of business taxation while leaving the revenue-generating roles intact. In conclusion, I discuss the implications of the findings for questions concerning the structural power of internationally mobile capital, redistributive policies, and the autonomy of democratically elected governments in a global economy.     

在完善市场经济体制中国有企业改革面临的重大新课题

最近,全党正在认真学习和贯彻十六届三中全会《关于完善社会主义市场经济体制若干问题的决定》。《决定》是我们党在新世纪作出的具有重大意义的决策,能否正确贯彻落实,是对全党特别是各级领导干部的一个新考验。在这个《决定》中,很突出地论述了深化国有企业改革问题。据我们在中西部和东北老工业基地调查,同志们关注的重大问题主要有三个方面:一是关注国有企业体制改革的大方向、大趋势问题,主要是担忧国企的主导地位能不能保住和如何保住的问题;二是关注在完善国有企业法人治理结构改革中党委的地位作用问题,主要担忧党委的政治领导地位会不会削弱的问题;三是关注深化国有企业改革中如何改进党的领导方式问题,主要是担忧企业党政领导能否领导和管理好企业并保证企业增值的问题。本文就这些问题同大家一起研究探讨。     

国债市场的发展急需恢复国债期货交易

1992— 1995年我国国债期货交易试点的失败是因为当时的市场经济体制不健全。在广大投资者风险意识有了很大提高 ,市场急需套期保值工具 ,国内外投资者苦于我国金融市场投资工具不足的今天 ,国家应尽快恢复国债期货交易 ,以搞活金融流通领域 ,发展金融期货市场。     

乡村混混与村落、市场和国家的互动——深化理解乡村社会性质和乡村治理基础的新视阈

乡村混混与村落、市场和国家的交互作用,以及由此带来的一系列政治社会现象,构成我们深化理解乡村社会性质和乡村治理基础的新视阈。一方面,乡村性质决定了混混群体在与村落、市场和国家三者的互动中,表现出不同的群体特征、行为逻辑和生命轨迹。另一方面,乡村混混等农村灰色势力又构成了乡村治理的非正式的基础,影响乡村治理的诸多层面,从而构成了乡村治理的非正式的基础。     

The State of the State: Comparing Governance in China and the United States

How do two world powers with starkly different governing systems share common accountability problems, and why? Does the cycle of administrative reform produce additional need for reforms that come full circle, eventually exacerbating problems without solution? Yongfei Zhao and B. Guy Peters of the University of Pittsburgh examine governance in the United States and China and point out that conflicts in government functions unique to each country result in strikingly similar accountability issues.     

The Face of the State

From a liberal perspective, policies designed to permit the participation of minorities in national institutions while retaining their cultural particularities are justified either on the grounds that culture has a particular importance or on the basis of equal treatment of individuals. This paper argues that such policies, while not without benefits, have at least the potential to compromise the perceived neutrality of an important state institution. It focuses on the Canadian decision to permit the use of religious symbols as part of the uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Advocates of such policies focus only on their benefits and ignore the potential difficulties; the paper argues that a more balanced assessment is required, one which weights advantages and disadvantages.