The political economy of class conflict

Texts reviewed:

C. Crouch (1977) Class Conflict and the Industrial Relations Crisis, Heinemann Educational Books.

F. Hirsch and J. H. Goldthorpe (eds) (1978) The Political Economy of Inflation, Martin Robertson.     

The Singapore developmental state in the new economy and polity

Abstract

This article presents a counterpoint to the popular portrayals of political transitions in the Philippines and Indonesia as ‘people power’ driven by civil society mobilisation. Inherent in this kind of analysis is the popular assumption that transitions from sultanistic regimes are likely to be driven almost completely by forces outside of the regime, as they do not allow for independent actors or institutions that could peacefully arrange for transition ‘from within’. This article suggests that, despite the appearance of a ‘people power’ revolution, the key driver behind the fall of the Marcos and Suharto regimes was forces internal to the regimes. Sultanistic regimes could collapse not only as a result of society-led displacement; sultanistic rulers could also be brought down by an alliance of moderate opposition elites and regime soft-liners, which opens up the way for a much less revolutionary path out of sultanism. More importantly, this article suggests that these elites emerged as a result of their growing marginalisation in the patronage system. Their challenge to the sultan was motivated less by strong democratic conviction than by desire to gain greater access to state patronage.     

Justice,nature and political economy

Clearly the globalization of finance has provided opportunities for OFCs to emerge. From a sociological perspective it is argued, however, that closer analysis demands respect for their diversity and even idiosyncrasy. Analytical concepts are offered to situate this diversity and to develop a more reflexive understanding of the processes through which the system of OFCs continues to develop. We arrive at a distinctive approach for theorizing OFCs under conditions of globalization.     

科学发展观视阈下低碳价值观建构路径的思考

低碳经济是以低能耗、低污染、低排放为基础的经济模式,是人类社会继农业文明、工业文明之后的又一次重大进步。发展低碳经济就是学习实践科学发展观。低碳价值观是一种崭新的价值理念,其建构离不开一定的社会环境,需要培植深厚的低碳文化底蕴。     

The economy,corruption, and the vote: Evidence from experiments in Sweden and Moldova

How does corruption affect voting behavior when economic conditions are poor? Using a novel experimental design and two original survey experiments, we offer four important conclusions. First, in a low corruption country (Sweden), voters react negatively to corruption regardless of the state of the economy. Second, in a high corruption country (Moldova), voters react negatively to corruption only when the state of the economy is also poor; when economic conditions are good, corruption is less important. Third, respondents in Sweden react more strongly to corruption stimuli than respondents in Moldova. Finally, in the low corruption country, sociotropic corruption voting (or voting based on corruption among political leaders) is relatively more important, whereas in our high corruption country, pocketbook corruption voting (or voting based on one's own personal experience with corruption, i.e., being asked to pay bribes) is equally prevalent. Our findings are consistent with multiple stable corruption equilibria, as well as with a world where voters are more responsive to corruption signals more common in their environment.     

Extending the rational choice model from the economy to society

That the extension of the rational choice model beyond the economy to all society can finally lead to integration of social theory is often claimed by the model’s advocates. The underlying assumption is that this model is valid for both the economy and society, in the form of an economic approach to, or a utilitarian paradigm of, all social behaviour. The meta-theoretical presupposition or injunction that agents are (should be) profit-seekers or utility-optimizers is therewith given the mission to integrate and ‘save’ contemporary social science. However, such extensions of the rational choice model from the economy to society neglect the fact that this presupposition has been partly mitigated and compromised within economics itself. If so, then suspicion is strong that the rational choice model would be even less appropriate for the other social sciences and thus fall short of achieving its self-designated role of integration of social theory. The conclusion of an interdisciplinary analysis drawing both from economics and sociology is that rational choice is far from being an integrative model of the economy and society.     

Privatisation and regulation in an Asian transitional economy: the case of Mongolia

Mongolia's transition to a market economy has entailed rapid and extensive privatisation accompanied by, inter alia, stabilisation, liberalisation and de‐regulation. The primary objective of this strategy was to cement the new political and economic order. Little weight was given to the problems created by the privatisation programme and only limited consideration given to questions of regulation in the economic, social and environmental spheres. However, the failure of the economy to translate economic growth into poverty reduction and the acceleration of the privatisation programme, which includes the progressive transfer of land, and proposals to privatise health, educational and cultural assets, have made regulation a more pressing issue. New, powerful social classes and interest groups have emerged, which have contributed to regulatory failure and capture and have undermined public policy. We identify a range of issues relating to privatisation and regulation and discuss the degree to which they are being addressed by the post‐1990 political class. Although there exist a number of regulatory agencies, there is a lack of political commitment, and only piecemeal implementation and enforcement. The scarcity of experienced and technically competent staff capable of establishing and operating effective regulatory agencies and ensuring compliance is also a major problem. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The challenges facing public housing authorities in a brave new world

Abstract

Public housing authorities (PHAs) are entering a brave new world. Major proposed changes to the public housing program will force PHAs to compete with private sector providers for tenants. To succeed, they will have to act more like entrepreneurial market participants: to change their management practices, the types of tenants they house, and the kinds of developments they operate, and to attract private capital for the development and operation of public‐private public housing ventures.

PHAs must confront the challenges of transformation while pursuing four mutually conflicting goals: housing the neediest, achieving diversity of tenantry, cross‐subsidizing by attracting unsubsidized tenants, and attracting private capital. Success, or even survival, may require sacrificing one or more of these goals. Whether PHAs can increase housing production to such an extent that they can provide sufficient housing for the neediest while fulfilling the other goals as well remains unclear.     

Deliberative qualities in televised election debates: the influence of the electoral system and populism

Abstract

Concerns are raised repeatedly about the quality of televised debates. Both a country’s electoral system and the presence of populist candidates have been argued to influence the deliberative qualities of these debates. By using an extended version of the Discourse Quality Index, this study conducts a content analysis of 12 televised election debates in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2015. Against expectations, results show that politicians in multiparty systems do not justify their policy positions more and are not more respectful in the televised debates. Rather, this study uncovers a clear populist challenge to key deliberative debate qualities across party systems. Left- and right-wing populist politicians adopt more positions without proper justification, and the presence of right-wing populists in the televised debates increases the number of disrespectful interactions, lowering the deliberative qualities of the televised debates in different electoral contexts.     

The anti-political economy

This paper develops Michel Callon's analysis of the technological economy in two ways. First, the paper is concerned with the way that political activity is framed through the use of a variety of technical devices. Arguing against the view that politics can be located in all forms of social and economic activity, the paper suggests that politics should be regarded as a rather specialist activity that is often directed towards 'anti-political' ends. Second, through a discussion of what the paper terms 'the fragility of metrological regimes' and the 'inventiveness of measurement', the paper argues that measurement and calculation can have the effect of disrupting the frame of politics, and creating a conduit for the cross-contamination of the economic and the political.     

Inconsistent effects of a feature on home prices—lang's two‐market explanation

Abstract

In his 2005 article “Valuing the Suburbs: Why Some ‘Improvements’ Lower Home Prices,” Robert E. Lang proposes an explanation of why improvements to a home may either add to or detract from its value. He suggests a dual housing market: “one for conventional low‐density suburbs, and one for cities and denser suburbs” (8). The former values features implying a natural or less intense use, and the latter values features adding “intensity or utility to a property” (8).

This article reinterprets Lang's explanation as an example of interaction (something having a different effect under one condition than it does under another) arising via summation followed by a nonlinear function of the result. An alternative explanation in terms of the fit between characteristics of a home and its location is also noted.     

The Social Market After the Crash

Markets are powerful tools for reform in both the public and private realms. But those markets need careful design and stewardship if they are to work to create value rather than simply becoming a mechanism for distributing rents to private investors. SMF Director Ian Mulheirn examines how the social market framework offers the most cogent analysis of recent events and how it can be a vital guide for future policy.     

Housing affordability and family well‐being: Results from the housing voucher evaluation

Abstract

Studies report that real estate brokers often provide less information to black clients than to whites and steer them to different neighborhoods. However, few studies have investigated racial differences in housing search procedures. If blacks believe they will receive less useful information from brokers, they may avoid them.

Analyzing 1992 data from Detroit, this study finds that blacks were significantly less likely than whites to consult brokers. Blacks tended to rely more on methods such as talking with friends, checking newspaper ads, or driving through neighborhoods. Blacks were also more likely to believe that they missed housing opportunities because brokers discriminate. Differences in the socioeconomic characteristics of subjects account for some of the differences in the use of brokers. Eradicating discrimination by brokers will broaden housing opportunities only for blacks who use brokers. Policy actions that address the perception of discrimination by brokers may be a more powerful tool.     

The political economy of dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is defined as the psychological discomfort or annoyance that may exist when an individual's choice is not consistent with his values and beliefs. Dissonance may cause an individual to reconsider his values and beliefs, enter new choices with different parameters, respond to the constraints imposed, or change his individual preference function. This paper extends Festinger's (1957) theory of cognitive dissonance to the work of public choice theorists and seeks to explain the incentives of the iron triangle to foment and quell dissonance. Examples are provided for specific environmental and health and safety risks. Akerlof and Dickens (1983) used cognitive dissonance to justify public sector intervention as necessary to correct what they perceived as a market failure in the choice of safety equipment by workers in hazardeus industries. Unlike Akerlof and Dickens (1983), we argue that the concept of cognitive dissonance is applicable to the analysis of public sector decisions giving rise to government failure as well as private decisions involving possible market failure. This paper views the public sector as a market-like arrangement in which dissonance may be produced and exchanged like any other commodity. Cognitive dissonance provides a useful framework for examining individual choice and also expands our understanding of the unseen elements of rent-seeking.     

The political economy of targeting

One of the most widely used method of targeting is to reduce welfare benefits as income rises. Although the need for such targeting is clear enough, it also entails two important difficulties. Firstly, the prospect for the recipients of losing part of their benefits if they were to earn more can be a deterrent to work harder. Secondly, by reducing the number of recipients, targeting reduces the political support for taxation and redistribution. The purpose of this paper is to study the voting equilibrium of the degree of targeting and the level of taxation in an economy where labour supply is variable. The analysis reveals that targeting may be fatal for redistribution even though it rejects strictly less than the richest half of the population, and that it is not possible for a coalition of the extremes to form and reject the middle income group from the welfare system. Moreover, because targeting affects labour supply, we find that Pareto improvements are possible when targeting is either “too low” or “too high”. We also find that voting simultaneously over taxation and targeting is favourable to the poor in the sense that they can converge to their most-preferred policy by successively forming a majority coalition with the rich to increase targeting and with the middle to increase taxation.     

The political economy of fertility

This paper studies the political economy of fertility. Specifically, I argue that fertility may be a strategic choice for ethnic groups engaged in redistributive conflict. I first present a simple conflict model where high fertility is optimal for each ethnic group if and only if the economy’s ethnic diversity is high, institutions are weak, or both. I then test the model in a cross-national dataset. Consistent with the theory, I find that economies where the product of ethnic diversity and a measure of institutional weakness is high have increased fertility rates. I conclude that fertility may depend on political factors.     

Second Best Governance? Governments and Governance in the Imperfect World of Health Care Delivery in China,India and Thailand in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to assess the usefulness of conceptions of different modes of governance for understanding policy outcomes by studying the experience with hierarchical and non-hierarchical governance modes in the health care sector in China, India, and Thailand. The paper shows their experience with non-hierarchical modes to have been largely disappointing and that all three, but especially Thailand, are in the process of reverting to a more hierarchical mode of service delivery. The conclusion from this study is that non-hierarchical governance is not a substitute for or an improvement upon hierarchical governance in health care due to the many market and government failures that afflict the sector and affect the ability of different governance modes to function effectively. The hierarchical mode of government is also imperfect but less so than the alternatives in delivering health care.     

Homeownership and Wealth among Low- and Moderate-Income Households

Abstract

Although currently neither politically nor fiscally feasible, the notion that access to inexpensive, presumably high‐quality housing should be a government‐guaranteed universal right would be a terrible idea even if it were popular and affordable. The proposition fails on three counts. It isn't necessary. It doesn't make economic sense. And, most compelling, were such a policy to be implemented, its putative beneficiaries would not thank us.

Even if we should not promulgate “a right to decent, affordable housing,” we want to assure that all Americans have access to decent, affordable housing. Happily, we can count on the private housing market (coupled with rising prosperity) to serve 95 percent of the country's households. Serving the remaining 5 percent requires concerted measures to scale back onerous housing regulations that prevent the private housing sector from meeting the needs of lower‐income and untypical households.