North Korea End-Game or Mid-Game? Some scenarios and their implications for US–China relations

North Korea looms large as a challenge for the United States and China. US–China cooperation in working to deal with the challenge of North Korea is often held up as an example of constructive engagement between Washington and Beijing. Nevertheless, North Korea has the potential to generate discord or even conflict between the United States and China. This paper considers several possible scenarios for North Korea and evaluates the implications of each for the US–China relationship.     

Asymmetric payoffs in simultaneous and sequential prisoner’s dilemma games

We investigate the role of payoff asymmetry in laboratory prisoner’s dilemma games. Symmetric and asymmetric games are examined in simultaneous and sequential settings. In the asymmetric sequential games, we study the impact of having payoff advantaged players moving either first or second. Asymmetry reduces the rates of cooperation in simultaneous games. In sequential games, asymmetry interacts with order of play such that the rate of cooperation is highest when payoff disadvantaged players move first.     

Explaining Japan's Tortured Course to Surveillance Satellites

On December 25, 1998 the Japanese government reinterpreted a long‐standing policy prohibiting the use of outer space for military purposes by announcing its intention to develop a network of domestically produced and deployed “information‐gathering” satellites to be utilized primarily by the Japan Defense Agency (JDA) and other national security institutions. This decision is important in its own right—for one, Japan is a major player in the space technology arena—but also because of the precedent it sets for other areas of technology and military policy in Japan today. As many observers have noted, Japan appears to be undergoing a broad reexamination both of its view of the appropriate level of interaction between government bureaucracy and industry and of its military security strategy in the first decade of the twenty‐first century. The case of surveillance satellites links these two areas together, offering broader lessons for the course of Japanese policy in numerous areas in the future.     

Effectiveness of private finance initiatives (PFI): study of private financing for the provision of capital assets for schools

The study reported in this paper explores how effective Public Private Partnerships (PPP) have been as critical providers of capital assets within the state education sector in the UK. Specifically, the research investigates the impact on educational provision of the UK government's contentious £43 billion Private Finance Initiative (PFI). The inquiry focuses on 27 English Local Education Authorities (LEAs) currently or recently involved in PFI. The investigation examines the effect of PFI's on LEA decision‐making processes and discusses these authorities assessment of the UK government's current PFI strategy. An evaluation of PFI as a source of sustainable finance is reported as well as recommendations made for LEAs currently considering adoption of PFI. Through such analysis, this study seeks to de‐layer and ascertain the influence of complex external environmental influences and stakeholders that need to be taken into account in order to make PPPs work. The paper concludes by presenting the critical considerations for enhancing the working relationship between private and public sector partners. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Security cooperation in Northeast Asia: Problems and prospects

During the past five years there have been a growing number of proposals for dialogue, “regimes” and other cooperative institutions designed to enhance regional security. This article critically evaluates the key proposals and notes the objections that have been raised against them. It goes on to argue that many of these objections are without validity. The article contrasts the considerable progress in this area, which has been achieved in Southeast Asia with the absence of progress in Northeast Asia — and suggests some reasons for the difference. The article concludes with an analysis of some of the contradictory elements of such concepts as “cooperative security,” “security cooperation” and “common security,” which are gaining increasing currency in the region.     

Heterogenous demand for public goods: Behavior in the voluntary contributions mechanism

Numerous laboratory experiments have investigated the performance of several processes for providing public goods through voluntary contributions. This research has been able to identify features of the institution or environment which are reliably likely to produce outcomes “close” to the free riding outcome or “substantially” greater than the pessimistic prediction of standard models. One such feature is the “marginal per-capita return” (MPCR) from the public good. Various authors have altered MPCR between groups or for an entire group at the same time. The experiments reported here address a different question, “What would happen if, within a group, some persons faced a ‘high’ MPCR while others faced a ‘low’ MPCR?”