Institutional competitiveness in the global economy: Denmark,the United States,and the varieties of capitalism

Despite high taxes, a large welfare state, and much economic regulation, Denmark competes successfully against other advanced capitalist economies. Denmark’s success is based in large part on its institutional competitiveness – its capacity to achieve socioeconomic success as a result of the competitive advantages that firms derive from operating within a particular set of institutions. The institutional basis for successfully coordinating labor markets and vocational training programs are examined for Denmark and the US – two countries that were very different institutionally but very successful in the 1990s and in the 2000s. We show that there is no one best way to achieve success in today’s global economy, except with respect to social inequality; that the mechanisms underlying institutional competitiveness are more complex than often recognized; that institutional hybrids can be as successful as purer political economic cases; and that high taxes and state spending can enhance socioeconomic performance. As such, this paper challenges both neoliberalism and the varieties of capitalism school of comparative political economy.     

The growth and gaps of genetic data sharing policies in the United States

The 1996 Bermuda Principles launched a new era in data sharing, reflecting a growing belief that the rapid public dissemination of research data was crucial to scientific progress in genetics. A historical review of data sharing policies in the field of genetics and genomics reflects changing scientific norms and evolving views of genomic data, particularly related to human subjects’ protections and privacy concerns. The 2013 NIH Draft Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy incorporates the most significant protections and guidelines to date. The GDS Policy, however, will face difficult challenges ahead as geneticists seek to balance the very real concerns of research participants and the scientific norms that propel research forward. This article provides a novel evaluation of genetic and GDS policies’ treatment of human subjects’ protections. The article examines not only the policies, but also some of the most pertinent scientific, legal, and regulatory developments that occurred alongside data sharing policies. This historical perspective highlights the challenges that future data sharing policies, including the recently disseminated NIH GDS Draft Policy, will encounter.     

Gentrification and Displacement: Modeling a Complex Urban Process

ABSTRACT

To shed some light on longstanding questions around gentrification, in this research we model environmental gentrification and gentrification-related displacement of residents. We do this through the development of an agent-based model of a simple urban region, considering different urban contexts and policy approaches to polluted facilities and the relationship of these policies with subsequent gentrification and displacement. We find that gentrification-related displacement is most likely, and most impactful, in urban regions characterized by high levels of density and low levels of residential segregation preferences. Displacement is far less prevalent in low-density regions, particularly those with high segregation preferences. We discuss the potential for different policy implications in these different urban contexts.     

Social Capital and Political Support: A Reassessment of the Putnam Thesis in East and West Germany

A sizeable scholarly literature has generally uncovered weak, statistically trivial connections between social capital and political support, in spite of its logical appeal. Much of this research, however, has adopted an overly restrictive research design. It has overwhelmingly focused on the impact of social trust on political trust, from which broad inferences about the utility of the social capital perspective have been made. Rarely, however, has the impact of social capital been systematically assessed on indicators of political support which are more diffuse in character. Using data drawn from the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS), the present study analyses the impact of different measures of social capital on political support in the Federal Republic of Germany. The results strongly support the conclusion that social capital influences diffuse support.     

Factors Associated with the Performance of User Groups in a Participatory Forest Management around Dodola Forest in the Bale Mountains,Southern Ethiopia

This study analysed and determined factors associated with performance in collective action of a forest under participatory forest management in Southern Ethiopia. Data were collected in 22 user groups and a performance index was computed using indicators including forest cover change, households' perception of the change and satisfaction in their livelihoods, management activity, and length of overdue rent payment. The results show that heterogeneity, level of forest dependence and geographical variables such as altitude and distance to town are important variables that may affect the performance of user groups. The findings indicate the importance of taking into account the needs of members of user groups, differences among local people in dependence on forest income, and differences in values attached to the forest in the design of participatory forest management.