Rhetoric in municipal amalgamations: a comparative analysis

ABSTRACT

There is a large literature that seeks to evaluate municipal amalgamations ex post, but a relative dearth of scholarly inquiry into the practical political task of persuading the public to accept amalgamations ex ante. We address this important gap in the literature by conducting a rhetorical analysis to ascertain what types of arguments are believed to be efficacious for persuasion on amalgamation. We find evidence to suggest belief in the efficacy of persuading the public through recourse to various projected dreadful consequences, particularly amongst opponents of amalgamation. We conclude by considering some of the reasons behind the observed rhetorics and briefly outline one possible solution.     

Are management‐based regulations effective? Evidence from state pollution prevention programs

This paper evaluates a recent innovation in regulating risk called management‐based regulation. Traditionally, risk regulation has either specified a particular means of achieving a risk‐reduction goal or specified the goal and left the means of achieving that goal up to the regulated entity. In contrast, management‐based regulation neither explicitly imposes the means, nor the ends. Rather, what is required is that each regulated entity review its production processes and develop a set of goals and procedures that will reduce risk. I evaluate the effectiveness of management‐based regulation by taking advantage of policy variation that occurred when 14 states adopted such regulations for toxic chemical control in the 1990s. Using panel data for just over 31,000 manufacturing plants in the United States, I investigate whether facilities subject to management‐based regulations had larger changes in total quantities of toxic chemical releases, engaged in more pollution prevention activities, or reported fewer toxic chemicals to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The results indicate that management‐based regulation has had a measurable positive effect on the environmental performance of manufacturing plants. In particular, plants subject to management‐based regulation experienced larger decreases in total pounds of toxic chemicals released and were more likely to engage in source reduction activities. © 2007 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management     

The (Il)logics of Federal Budgeting,and Why Crisis Must Come

The U.S. federal budgeting system faces severe challenges in coming years. Deficits are being recorded at levels and with regularity not seen in prior periods. This article suggests that such problems reflect the uncomfortable mix of logics informing budgetary and political institutions—that is, the rules of the game. Logics make it appropriate to expect that government be limited in its tax demands but simultaneously responsive in providing expensive services necessary for the achievement of the American dream, for example. Crisis is needed to allow the emergence of institutional forms that mediate between these conflicting logics.     

Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence in Mothers At-Risk for Child Maltreatment

Using three interviews spanning 3 years, we identified intimate partner violence (IPV) classes and determined how class membership changed over time amongst a sample of 217 mothers at-risk for child maltreatment that were enrolled in an early childhood home visitation evaluation study. Data on perpetration/victimization, IPV type (verbal, physical, and sexual abuse and injury) and severity were used to conduct latent class analyses at each time point. Latent transition analyses established the proportion of mothers who changed classes over time. A three-class solution (minimal, moderate, and high IPV) was indicated at each time point. All classes included mutual IPV. Partners used minor verbal abuse in the minimal class, minor and severe verbal abuse and minor physical abuse in the moderate class, and all IPV categories in the high class. At each transition, 40 % or more women moved from minimal to moderate or high IPV. This movement emphasizes the need to screen women frequently and develop interventions recognizing the dynamic nature of IPV.     

Municipal Rebate Programs for Environmental Retrofits: An Evaluation of Additionality and Cost‐Effectiveness

When policies incentivize voluntary activities that also take place in the absence of the incentive, it is critical to identify the additionality of the policy—that is, the degree to which the policy results in actions that would not have occurred otherwise. Rebate programs have become a common conservation policy tool for local municipalities seeking to retrofit residential properties with efficient appliances. This research evaluates whether such rebates can be cost‐effective means for water utilities to promote water conservation. A unique database is developed that combines water‐use data over a three‐year period for all households that participated in a utility's high‐efficiency toilet (HET) rebate program, water‐use data for a matched sample of neighbors who did not receive a rebate, and a survey of rebate participants. Difference‐in‐differences models indicate that installation of an HET reduces household water consumption by approximately 7 percent. While installation of an HET appears to be an effective means for achieving household reductions in water consumption, our results also suggest that the rebate program is a much less effective means for achieving household reductions in water consumption. Specifically, the rebate program is found to provide limited additional water savings beyond what would have occurred naturally and is responsible for only 37 percent of the total water reduction attributable to the installation of HETs over the study period. © 2013 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.