The role of the state in voluntary environmental reform: A case study of public land

Conventional environmental reform is characterized by the compliance of firms with direct regulatory pressure from the state. Scholars are now turning their attention to alternative modes of reform where firms proactively improve their operations through the implementation of voluntary environmental strategies (VES). While previous research on VES has typically focused on the manufacturing sector, this study explores challenges to corporate greening in the natural resource extractive sector when strategies are undertaken on public land. Findings from two case study regions in the Canadian province of Alberta suggest that VES undertaken on public land are significantly constrained by certain features of the system of environmental governance and the regulatory regime, particularly the reluctance of the state to be involved as a co-regulator of public land. The importance of solid leadership from the state in environmental reform – including cases of voluntary corporate initiatives – is discussed.     

浅析明代"家乐"问题

明代兴起的"家乐"与前代在勾栏瓦舍中戏班的演出有所不同,一方面这种形式为传统戏剧的改良提供了硬件的支持,另一方面它也有自身不可克服的弱点.基于自身优势,家乐在明中叶后盛极一时,但同时又因为先天缺陷,在清中叶就几近销声匿迹.     

治安管理视角下的社会管理创新中的公民参与问题研究

公安机关在推进社会管理创新的过程中,应当转变社会治理模式、加强行政相对人对社会管理的参与。在治安管理领域,公民参与的制度匮乏、程序缺失、积极性不高等原因导致公民参与整体水平较低,影响了治安管理的效果。通过邀请公民参与规范性文件的制定、建立案件公开制度等一系列方式,全力保障行政相对人对治安管理的参与和知晓,从而促进其对公安机关的理解和支持,达到维护社会秩序稳定的目的。     

Costs of taxation and the size of government

Existing theory on the form of government suggests that a parliamentary system promotes a larger size of government than does a presidential system. This paper extends the existing theory by allowing for distortionary taxation. A main result is that if taxation is sufficiently distortionary, the parliamentary system may promote a smaller size of government than the presidential system. The proposed mechanism appears consistent with several empirical patterns in the data that cannot be explained by other theories.     

Nine points of the law: evidentiary rules and the costs of litigation

If the defendant in a lawsuit is better informed than the plaintiff about the value of damages that could potentially be assigned by the court, biasing the burden of proof toward the plaintiff may lower aggregate efficiency losses from litigation.     

Landnahme, das Wachstumsdilemma und die ?Achsen der Ungleichheit“

This contribution analyzes relations between capitalistLandnahme*, the current twofold??economic and ecological??crisis of capitalism and social inequality. The core assumption is that capitalist societies need to constantly seize non-capitalist social environments in order to safeguard processes of dynamic self-stabilization. At present however, a tipping point seems to have been reached as conventional economic growth, set to overcome economic crisis, inevitably increases ecological dangers. Advanced capitalist societies thus face a growth dilemma and it seems necessary to readjust the ??axes of inequality??. To this purpose a theory of capitalistLandnahme is essential, as this approach encapsulates an extended concept of exploitative relations, which allows for a pluralistic understanding of social antagonisms and relations of domination. This article offers a topical analysis of finance capitalism in order to exemplify this approach. It argues that theLandnahme theorem can be brought to bear fruitfully as an analytical link between a theory of capitalism and research in intersectionality.     

Autorisierung. Eine wissenschafts- und wirtschaftssoziologische Perspektive auf geistiges Eigentum

Property obliges??and intellectual property entails responsibility about the knowledge produced. The theoretical concept of authorization enables the development of a genuinely sociological perspective of intellectual property. Based on this perspective of intellectual property, it is possible to introduce new aspects in the current and for the advanced knowledge capitalism central debate. The concept of authorization is based on the observation that??from the perspective of knowledge users??it is very difficult (if not impossible) to assess in advance the quality of knowledge and knowledge goods, like for example drugs. This uncertainty entails the consumers?? demand for authorization for an attribution of responsibility. The need of authorization is caused by the extent of insecurity and it exists independently from the aspiration of intellectual property by a company or person (for the time being, the debate struggles only with the last problem). Starting from there, the article examines the question how authorization is being established in the social field. Thereby, it is not only contentious whether or not knowledge should be commercialized or is open access. It is also contentious to which extend the power of definition should be hierarchically monopolized or egalitarianly distributed. The theoretical perspective will be illustrated with a case study on the authorization of seed??the latter being an economic resource which is of elementary importance for human life.     

Kapitalismus und Gender. Eine Auseinandersetzung mit der kapitalismuskritischen Intersektionalitätsforschung

In intersectionality research capitalism is often analyzed as a social order that systematically produces social inequalities. Particularly the feminist literature describes capitalism as a set of gendered institutions that enforces patriarchal control structures. This paper does not engage in a critique of capitalism. Instead, it follows a strictly analytical perspective in order to discuss the basic structure, the culture and the institutions of modern capitalism with respect to gender equality. The paper argues that modern capitalism in general is neutral in respect of gender issues. Discriminations against women are caused by traditional gender stereotypes and concrete institutional settings that can be changed without tearing at the very fabric of modern capitalism.