Gender Quotas for Corporate Boards: Depoliticizing Gender and the Economy

Gender quotas for corporate boards can be seen as a way of drawing attention to gendered power within the economy as well as a way to democratize the economy, yet the debate about them has focused on the economic and business benefits of gender equality rather than on gender justice or democracy. This article examines how women’s under-representation in economic decision-making was constituted as an economic problem in the European Union’s gender-equality policies and how the economization of the debate on gender quotas for corporate boards affects understandings of gender equality and the economy. The article contributes to research on gender and neoliberalism through developing an approach for analysing the depoliticizing effects of economized gender-equality discourses. It argues that the depoliticized understandings of gender and the economy put forward in the debate water down the politicizing potential of the proposed EU gender-balance directive and that the debate about gender quotas has enhanced the neoliberalization and corporatization of EU gender-equality discourse.     

Do Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies Predict Deviant Peer Affiliation and Subsequent Substance Use?

Recent evidence suggests parent-adolescent discrepancies regarding adolescent disclosure can provide insight into parent-child relations and adolescent adjustment. However, pathways linking discrepancies to adjustment are not well known. We tested a model linking parent-adolescent discrepancies in disclosure to adolescent substance use through affiliation with deviant peers. Using three annual waves of data from a community-based study (N?=?357; 91% African American; 53% female; M_age?=?13.13 years, SD?=?1.62 years at baseline), findings revealed that adolescent-reported secrecy and deviant peer affiliation were positively associated with substance use one and two years later, respectively, but there was no evidence of mediation. The results highlight associations of adolescent secrecy and adjustment, and the role peers play in adolescent substance use behaviors.     

It is all about value: How domestic party brands influence voting patterns in the European Parliament

Research on the European Parliament finds legislative voting patterns remained constant following the Eastern enlargement of the European Union. This article shows that Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from these new member states are actually more likely to vote along European party lines. Given that these MEPs often come from less institutionalized domestic party systems that lack norms of legislative discipline, we should expect them to exhibit more erratic voting behavior than MEPs from mature systems. Why would stronger party discipline at the European level be associated with more volatile and fragmented domestic party systems? This article argues MEPs from less institutionalized systems rely more on the brand of their European party, which provides better information and career opportunities than their parties at home, and thus are more likely to vote along European party lines. I find support for this theory using data from the sixth European Parliament (2004–2009).     

What happens after a local referendum? The effect of direct democratic decision-making on protest intentions

Proponents of direct democracy claim that participation in decision-making stimulates future engagement. However, there is also evidence showing that participation is lower in systems that provide comparatively more opportunities for direct democratic involvement. Hence, it is unclear whether direct democratic involvement promotes or discourages other forms of political participation. In this study, the relationship between direct democratic involvement and the intention for political protest is evaluated empirically, based on data that was gathered in the scope of a local referendum in Belgium. Unique two-wave panel data from before and after the referendum is complemented by qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with local policymakers and citizens. While the findings generally support the claim that direct democratic involvement fosters future participation, there is no indication that the relationship is mediated by political efficacy. Apparently, the theory of participatory democracy is also useful in societies that have little experience with direct democratic decision-making.     

The party politics of legislative‒executive relations in security and defence policy

Abstract

The move from territorial defence to ‘wars of choice’ has influenced the domestic politics of military interventions. This paper examines the extent to which both the substance and the procedure of military interventions are contested among political parties. Regarding the substance, our analysis of Chapel Hill Expert Survey data demonstrates that across European states political parties on the right are more supportive of military missions than those on the left. On the decision-making procedures, our case studies of Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom show that political parties on the left tend to favour strong parliamentary control whereas those on the right tend to prefer an unconstrained executive, although with differences across countries. These findings challenge the view that ‘politics stops at the water’s edge’ and contribute to a better understanding of how political parties and parliaments influence military interventions.     

Mobilising faith-based and lay leaders to address antenatal care outcomes in northern Ghana

ABSTRACT

Despite the benefits of antenatal care, evidence from sub-Saharan Africa suggests that women often initiate these services after the first trimester of pregnancy and do not complete the recommended number of visits. This study examines the impact of mobilising faith-based and lay leaders to address the socio-cultural barriers to antenatal care uptake in northern Ghana in the context of a broader child survival project. A quasi-experimental design was used, and data were analysed using a difference-in-differences approach. The results presented in this article indicate the potential for faith-based and lay leaders to promote uptake of maternal and child health behaviours.     

Advocacy coalitions,beliefs and climate change policy in the United States

The Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) asserts that disagreement over policy core beliefs divides organizations into competing coalitions. We apply Discourse Network Analysis to 1,410 statements in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today to investigate what kinds of beliefs contribute to coalition formation in the climate change policy debate in the news media in the United States. We find that the beliefs concerning the reality of anthropogenic climate change, the importance of ecology over economy and desirability of governmental regulation divide organizations into three advocacy coalitions: the economy, ecology and science coalitions. Policy preferences such as cap and trade do not; they find support across coalition lines. Based on these findings, we suggest that ACF theory could be clarified to better account for how beliefs concerning policy instruments contribute to coalition formation. In some policy domains, policy instruments are where opposing coalitions find agreement. In others, they are more divisive.     

Views of public health leaders in English local authorities – changing perspectives following the transfer of responsibilities from the National Health Service to local government

This paper reports on the findings of a research project that examined the changes to the public health system in England introduced in 2013. Drawing on case study research and two national surveys the findings explore the impact of organisational change on the composition and role of public health teams. Views and experiences were obtained from public health leaders involved in the transfer of staff and functions from the National Health Service in England to local authorities. National surveys at two points in time aimed to compare and contrast views on the evolving changes. The new organisational and managerial arrangements had enabled public health professionals to widen their work and influence, and public health skills and budgets were welcomed by those in local government. Initially, in some areas, directors of public health were less certain of the benefits of the transfer to local government compared to high levels of confidence expressed by elected members, but perspectives changed over time and moved closer together. National headline figures were found to mask high levels of turbulence and churn being experienced by individual authorities identified in the case study research, and the trend of reducing capacity through cuts to staff, budget and services was a cause for serious concern.     

Innovation after the revolution: foreign sovereign bond contracts since 2003

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. Key points

• In 2003, under official pressure, amendment provisionsin standard form New York law sovereign bond contracts shiftedto resemble English law boilerplate.
• Market participants andofficials expected contracts in New York and London to convergearound a common formulation.
• Contrary to expectations, theshift away from old boilerplate did not lead to convergencearound new boilerplate.
• Issuers in London, and to a lesserdegree in New York, are experimenting with diverse terms andinstitutional arrangements.
• Amendment provisions in recentissues have used hybrid formulations, permitting holders tovote in person or by written consent, with different approvalthresholds.
• More issuers are using trust structures.
• Creditorcommittees are making a qualified comeback, though the adoptionand formulation of committee provisons does not appear to trackissuers' credit quality.
• Not all issuers agree to pay committeeexpenses.
• Some issuers have agreed to require unanimous creditorconsent to amend litigation-related terms, . . . [Full Text of this Article]