Money as Punishment: Neoliberal Budgetary Politics and the Fine

ABSTRACT

In August of 2014, a young Indigenous woman, known as Ms. Dhu, died in the lock-up of the South Hedland Police Station after being detained for unpaid fines totalling $3622. Her death drew attention to the fact that fine defaulters – most of whom are Indigenous and female – are once again being imprisoned at astonishing rates in Western Australia, after the practice was more or less discontinued elsewhere. What does the nexus between the fine, incarceration and forced labour tell us about the relationship between money and penality in contemporary neoliberal/neoconservative states? Pointing to the combined influence of the Chicago and Virginia schools of neoliberalism on Australian public policy, I suggest that the recent expansion of monetary sanctions must be understood as a way of transferring the debt burdens of the state downwards, onto those classified as excessive ‘users’ of public services. Not only does the fine blur the boundaries between civil and criminal law, it also harnesses punishment to the fiscal imperatives of an increasingly austere, deficit-averse state.     

Taking Time Seriously

Dramatic world change has stimulated interest in research questions about the dynamics of politics. We have seen increases in the number of time series data sets and the length of typical time series. But three shortcomings are prevalent in published time series analysis. First, analysts often estimate models without testing restrictions implied by their specification. Second, researchers link the theoretical concept of equilibrium with cointegration and error correction models. Third, analysts often do a poor job of interpreting results. The consequences include weak connections between theory and tests, biased estimates, and incorrect inferences. We outline techniques for estimating linear dynamic regressions with stationary data and weakly exogenous regressors. We recommend analysts (1) start with general dynamic models and test restrictions before adopting a particular specification and (2) use the wide array of information available from dynamic specifications. We illustrate this strategy with data on Congressional approval and tax rates across OECD countries.     

Private extension-service provision for smallholder horticultural producers in Kenya: an approach

An approach to establishing improved private extension-service provision for smallholder horticultural producers in Kenya was developed between 2003 and 2005 by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology and Natural Resources Institute in the UK, in collaboration with EurepGAP FoodPLUS GmbH and the House of Quality–South Africa, international NGOs, export companies, and out-grower farmer groups. The approach focused on good agricultural practices, food safety, EU regulations on maximum pesticide-residue limits, and the EurepGAP Standard. The approach is not a blueprint, but the lessons learned are applicable to similar smallholder production systems in other African countries.     

越南——广西提升与东盟合作的重要伙伴

广西与越南的合作在经贸基础、发展战略、合作机制及项目等方面已具备诸多优势,可通过推进项目合作、处理贸易逆差、引导边贸转型升级、加强北部湾合作开发等方面着手,探索与越南合作的新优势和新途径,以越南为支撑点促进与东盟的全局合作。     

行政伦理学应关注的四个重大问题

本文认为行政伦理学的发展必须倡导对该领域内重大问题的关注以及学者们在此类研究中的合作努力,作者提出四个值得关注的重要问题公共行政伦理学研究的规范性基础、全球化、组织设计、平等问题。     

Assessing the Abu Sayyaf Group's Strategic and Learning Capacities

It remains unclear whether the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) is a well-structured terror organization that poses a strategic threat, or a loosely organized collection of bandits that poses limited risk. Efforts to assess the nature of the organization are complicated by flaws in existing datasets on Violent Non-State Actors (VNSAs). ASG's role in kidnappings serves as a test-case to estimate incongruities among four major datasets on VNSAs. Original data collected at the agent level provides an additional point of comparison and also serves to test the efficacy of ASG's knowledge-dissemination structures, which are key in determining VNSAs' strategic capacities.     

Does it Matter Who Works at the Center? A Comparative Policy Analysis of Executive Styles

This article develops the concept of executive style to explore how variations in the relationships between politicians, career civil servants, and political appointees affect the types of policy outputs. A comparative analysis of home care policies in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia finds that the former’s civil service executive style – where professional civil servants work in close partnership with politicians in all phases of the policy process – led to the development of an innovative home care program with a long-term vision, whereas the latter’s politicized executive style – where politicians marginalize the role of civil servants in favor of political appointees – led to frequent changes in policy largely driven by short-term considerations.