Are Some Citizens More Equal than Others? Evidence from a Field Experiment

The equal treatment of all citizens is one of the fundamental principles of good administrative practice. Nevertheless, there are growing numbers of media and scientific reports on unequal treatment by public administrations. This article examines the unequal treatment of citizens by gender and ethnic origin by means of a survey‐based field experiment in German local government. With the help of two vignettes and randomized assignment of names, responses to fake citizen requests by local governments are analyzed for speed, quality, and service orientation. The results show very limited discrimination effects. While there is no evidence for general ethnic discrimination, a more differentiated analysis indicates patterns of ethnic discrimination conditioned by gender.     

Politikwandel und seine Messung in der vergleichenden Staatstätigkeitsforschung: Konzeptionelle Probleme und mögliche Alternativen

Policy change is an important concept in comparative policy analysis. Despite its central significance, most empirical studies fail to provide clear-cut definitions and measurement of this concept. Against this background, this article evaluates previous scholarship on policy change in the areas of social and environmental policy. We find that most studies use proxies for measuring policy change even though they contradict the basic idea of policy-making activities. Furthermore, studies usually neither capture the complexity of policy change, nor take into the possibility of policy change through dismantling account. Additionally, the empirical focus of most analyses is too narrow, thereby impeding robust statements about causality. In response to these shortcomings, we propose a new conceptual perspective, which captures policy change as a broader empirical phenomenon. We discuss its advantages as well as its disadvantages and show the implications for the research process.     

Das Bundesverfassungsgericht im politischen System der BRD – ein unbekanntes Wesen?

This article argues that the Judicialization hypothesis as a dominant research paradigm in the literature on the Bundesverfassungsgericht leaves out a number of relevant aspects. Rather, the court should be understood as being embedded in an area of competing interests among government, opposition, courts, litigating citizens and public opinion. The article identifies the institutional links between actors and relevant research questions. Finally, it discusses the theoretical, methodological and empirical challenges for further research on the Bundesverfassungsgericht.     

Local autonomy, tax morale, and the shadow economy

Policymakers often propose strict enforcement strategies to fight the shadow economy and to increase tax morale. However, there is an alternative bottom-up approach that decentralises political power to those who are close to the problems. This paper analyses the relationship with local autonomy. We use data on tax morale at the individual level and macro data on the size of the shadow economy to analyse the relevance of local autonomy and compliance in Switzerland. The findings suggest that there is a positive (negative) relationship between local autonomy and tax morale (size of the shadow economy).     

Superimposition of ante- and post-mortem photographs of tattoos as a means of identification--a case report

With the rising number of tattooed people tattoos have become increasingly important for the identification of unknown corpses. Tattoos can be helpful in both phases of the identification process, either by providing clues to the identity of an unknown person or body or as a means of verifying a postulated identity. In the presented case, an ante-mortem photograph of a tattoo was available although it was of poor quality. The respective skin region of the body was photographed from the same angle as the tattoo on the ante-mortem photograph. When superimposing the two photos, the tattoos were found to match and the identity of the body could be verified.     

What the design of an R&;D tax incentive tells about its effectiveness: a simulation of R&;D tax incentives in the European Union

Most industrialized countries apply special tax incentives to boost the R&D expenditures of firms. This study considers the design of such R&D tax incentives as applied in the European Union and simulates its effect on the post-tax R&D expenditures of firms in different industries and different profit/loss-situations by means of the simulation model European Tax Analyzer. Any restrictions and progressive tax incentives are explicitly taken into account. Our results indicate that for designing and measuring public support to R&D it is often not sufficient to focus only on tax rate effects of R&D tax incentives and the design of a tax incentive must be in accordance with the framing tax system in order to be effective. As soon as there are any limitations in place, our results suggest a considerably lower impact of R&D tax incentives on the post-tax R&D expenditures than the commonly used B-Index by the OECD. The results clearly illustrate the beneficial impact of immediate cash refunds for unused tax incentives.     

Municipal debt in Switzerland: new empirical results

Switzerland has experienced extensive institutional reforms at the local level that could influence local debt. These reforms have included municipal mergers, greater inter-communal cooperation, reformed political decision-making mechanisms, and the introduction of new public management measures. Many of these reforms originated at the cantonal level. However, the institutional diversity among Swiss municipalities hardly has diminished. A cross-sectional analysis for the 137 largest Swiss cities and villages in 2004 shows that direct democratic rights and a high degree of fiscal autonomy lead to a lower level of local debt. There is no statistical support for the hypothesis that reforms following the new public management guidelines had an effect on debt levels.     

Unschuldige Opfer staatlichen Handelns

Die Ereignisse rund um 9/11 haben den Rechtsstaat mit neuen Herausforderungen konfrontiert. Die Antwort auf die Frage, wie der Gefahr terroristischer Aktivitäten begegnet werden kann, ist letztlich von grundrechtlichen Problemstellungen bestimmt. Der vorliegende Beitrag setzt sich vor diesem Hintergrund mit einem Szenario auseinander, das noch in der aktuellen politischen Diskussion in hohem Maß präsent ist: Wie hat der Staat zu reagieren, wenn – gleich den Ereignissen in New York – eine gekaperte Passagiermaschine auf ein Hochhaus oder ein vollbesetztes Stadion zurast? Untersagt die Pflicht zum Schutz des Lebens der entführten Passagiere eine Einwirkung auf die Maschine oder darf der Staat auch unschuldige Opfer in Kauf nehmen, wenn dies zum Schutz anderer unbedingt erforderlich ist?