德国与欧盟的社会标准:全球化及欧洲一体化的影响

本文一方面旨在探究全球化和欧洲一体化对民族国家社会标准以及社会政策行动空间和分配空间的潜在影响;另一方面概述发达民主国家在过去二十年里社会政策的核心发展趋势,并讨论这样一个问题,即改革结果到底是由全球化和欧洲一体化这些外部条件变化促成的、还是因社会经济现代化进程以及社会福利国家自己造成的问题状况等内因导致的,或是所有上述因素综合影响的结果。最后本文简要阐释在欧盟层面进行社会政策再规制的可能性。讨论这一问题之所以具有重要意义,是因为很多学者将国家间和超国家的社会标准看作是维持西欧福利国家成就的救命稻草,这尤其因为在经济全球化时代,民族国家已经无力提供有力支撑。     

Allele frequencies for 15 autosomal STR loci and admixture estimates in Puerto Rican Americans

Allelic frequencies of 15 short tandem repeats (STR) markers (CSF1PO, FGA, THO1, TPOX, VWA, D3S11358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, D21S11, D19S433 and D2S1338) were determined using the AmpFl STR Identifiler PCR Amplification Kit in Puerto Rican American individuals (N=205) from Massachusetts. The FGA, D18S51 and D2S1338 loci had a high power of discrimination (PD) with values of 0.967, 0.965 and 0.961, respectively. Significant deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg (HW) equilibrium were not detected. An important genetic contribution of Caucasian European (76.4%) was detected in Puerto Rican Americans. However, comparative analysis between Puerto Rican American and other neighboring populations from United States mainly with African and Caucasian Americans, revealed significant differences in the distribution of STR markers. Our results are important for future comparative genetic studies of different American ethnic groups, in particular a cultural group called Hispanic-Americans and should be helpful for forensic and paternity testing.     

Ausverkauf des „Tafelsilbers“: Bestimmungsfaktoren der Privatisierungserlöse in EU- und OECD-Staaten 1990–2000

The 1990s have witnessed unprecedented attempts at privatising state-owned enterprises in virtually all OECD democracies. This contribution analyzes the differences in the privatisation proceeds raised by EU and OECD countries between 1990 and 2000. It turns out that privatisations are part of a policy of economic liberalisation in previously highly regulated economies as well as a reaction to the fiscal policy challenges imposed by European integration and the globalisation of financial markets. In addition, institutional pluralism exerts significant and negative effects on privatisation proceeds. Partisan differences only emerge if economic problems are moderate, while intense economic, particularly fiscal problems foreclose differing partisan strategies.     

Bremst der Föderalismus den Leviathan? Bundesstaat und Sozialstaat im internationalen Vergleich, 1880–2005

This paper examines the impact of federal state structures on welfare state development in the six classic OECD federations since the 1880s. Starting from the widely acknowledged assumption in comparative public policy research that depicts federalism as an impediment to the expansion of the Leviathan, we demonstrate that federalism has facilitated as well as impeded social policy development. Development is contingent on several time-dependent factors, including the degree of democratization, the type of federalism, the stage of welfare state development and early distribution of social policy responsibility. Federalism also has had an impact on patterns of benefit provision, and we identify a variety of bypass strategies by which the six federations were able to overcome their built-in constitutional rigidities. These institutional changes had a lasting structural impact on the emerging patterns of social security. Overall, federalism has contributed to a status quo bias in social policy, not only because it delayed the early consolidation of national social programs but also, more recently, because it has protected the welfare state against retrenchment.     

A study of how individuals solve complex and ill-structured problems

A number of factors cause individuals to use diverse strategies to solve problems. This paper presents a methodology for examining these differences in strategy. Verbal protocols are elicited to collect data on the cognitive processes occurring during problem solving. These data, codified into propositional representations, and non-parametric statistical comparisons are then used to evaluate the significance of strategy differences. These strategies are then mapped with dynamical graphs, with which we examine the task-independent and the task-specific cognitive representations the participants used. As an illustrative example we apply this methodology to study the influence of two contributing factors, professional training and national culture, on the strategies adopted by professionals to solve a complex and ill-structured problem (hunger in a country). The problem-solving strategies of professionals from different countries and trained in architecture, engineering, law or medicine are analyzed to show some intriguing differences in the general strategies adopted by individuals belonging to different professions, and the outcomes from using these strategies.     

Partisanship and Incumbency in Presidential Elections

Party identification is a standard part of our understanding of presidential voting, but the effects of presidential incumbency on presidential voting have not been recognized in most voting models. Democratic candidates in the twentieth century received 10 percent more of the two-party vote when Democratic incumbents were running for reelection than when Republican incumbents were running. National Election Studies surveys show that the effect of incumbency varies with individual partisanship, with the greatest effect, as expected, among independents. Opposition party identifiers defect at a higher rate than incumbent party identifiers when the incumbent is running for reelection. Even after controlling for retrospective and prospective economic voting, a 6 percent effect is found for incumbency. Incumbency thus conditions the impact of partisanship on presidential voting.     

ATTITUDINAL EFFECTS OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE COOPERATION IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Using data from a national mail survey, opinions on the local economic development process held by economic development practitioners working for a city, chamber of commerce and public-private agencies are compared. The data show that public-private agency officials bridge the gap between the perspectives held by chamber government officials. Economic develop- ment practitioners working for public-private agencies have more respect for both governmental employees and business people than do other economic development practitioners. They feel that it is possible to gain more control over the economic development process than do their business or governmental counterparts. And, they indicate the advantages for the local community of maintaining such control; for example, being better able to stop businesses from whipsawing disorganized communities into making unnecessary concessions.