Cross Border Health Care: An Analysis of Recent ECJ Rulings

Recent rulings of the European Court of Justice show a trend towards a virtual European health-care basket. Four developments underlie this trend. First, the competence of the European Union seems to mature in the field of health care. Secondly, through a variety of authorisation procedures, individual Member States can to a large extent determine the conditions for cross border care. Thirdly, recent court cases indicate that the co-ordination of cross border care increasingly becomes a EU matter. Finally, in particular border regions, more flexible procedures for cross border care are being developed. An analysis of these developments from an (economic) institutional/constitutional point of view shows that potential Pareto-improvements can be expected from recent changes. These improvements depend on the institutional/constitutional framework into which these rules and engagements are embedded. Our analysis suggests that, although the current (increasing) role for the EU seems desirable, diminishing the role that individual Member States can play is not. National authorisation procedures, local/regional arrangements and flexible rulings are mechanisms that can secure an efficient level of output and an optimal size of the jurisdiction responsible for cross border care. This leads to the following recommendations: Current authorisation procedures (which differ per Member State) have to be maintained in order to secure an optimal community size for cross border services and goods; Bilateral agreements and flexible procedures in cross border regions should be stimulated in order to adapt institutional arrangements to the demand for cross border care by (a group of) individuals. The increased competency of the EU in the field of health care can best be used to make authorisation procedures more consistent and stimulate regional cross border care arrangements.     

Scoring women on their labor changes

Women have less opportunities in the labour market than have men. Theories and material on inequality between the sexes are available, but it is not possible to determine accurately the precise handicap that women experience: an adequate means of measurement is lacking.In this article, the theoretical basis for the new complex variable LCS (Labour Chances Score) is described. LCS is developed to enable the measurement of the labour chances of arbitrary groups on the labour market, and to compare them. The LCS method has made the available qualitative data quantifiable. Scores are measured on the four elements of LCS: (being subject to) regulations; (being subject to) expectations; (unfolding) qualifications; (participation in) communication.The LCS mothod is to be used for policy research, as well in the emancipation of working women. Once a low score on a LCS-element is found, policy can be made to remove it.     

Collaborative Innovation,New Technologies,and Work Redesign

Stakeholders agree on the need to promote innovation in work organization in public services. This article deploys the concept of collaborative innovation to discuss employees' and managers' experiences of a major technology‐driven work redesign project within National Health Service pharmacy services in Scotland. The authors draw on extant literature on New Public Management (NPM) and collaborative approaches to innovation to frame more than 40 in‐depth interviews with managers and employees. They find that key components of collaborative innovation—related to joint problem‐solving, interdisciplinary working, and mutual learning—were important to the success of the redesign project and had positive impacts on job quality for some employees. The authors argue that researchers and policy makers should look beyond NPM‐driven models that have dominated some areas of the public innovation literature to consider the potential added value of collaborative innovation to improving both work and service delivery in the public sector.     

Constructing “Hmong American Youth”: A Critical Discourse Analysis of 25 Years of Academic Literature on Hmong American Youth

Hmong American youth have been in the United States for 40 years, and yet research still suggests a binary portrayal of their experiences—model minorities or struggling delinquents. In this study, we use critical discourse analysis to examine academic literature and the construction of “Hmong American youth.” We examine academic literature discursive practices and power in controlling the discourse on Hmong American youth and shaping practices and policies. Using critical discourse analysis, we call attention to academic literature and its power, and challenge researchers to reconstruct a more complex discourse of Hmong American youth that captures their histories, possibilities, and desires.     

Zum Begriff der Projekte und Pläne i. S. des Art. 6 Abs. 3 FFH-Richtlinie

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

A short history of studying incremental institutional change: Does Explaining Institutional Change provide any new explanations?

Kathleen Thelen is one of the leading scholars studying incremental institutional change. In her early works from the 1990s, she introduced the conceptualization of different modes of incremental change. These modes have central attention in her recent co-edited book with James Mahoney, Explaining Institutional Change (2010). Compared with Thelen's earlier work, this book provides clearer definitions, addresses the explanatory factors of institutional change, and discusses the patterns and sequences of gradual institutional change. The theory presented by Mahoney and Thelen, however, seems overambitious and subject to a need to be overly crisp and clear.