Interest Groups and Investment: A Further Test of the Olson Hypothesis

Mancur Olson's institutional sclerosishypothesis may be evident in the effects ofinterest groups on investment in physicalcapital. To test this proposition, we usecross sectional data on 42 countries forwhich information on the number of interestgroups is available to estimate the effectof those groups on the share of GDP thatgoes into physical investment. The resultsindicate that interest groups have adifferent effect on physical investment inOECD and non-OECD countries. In the OECDcountries, we find support for thehypothesis that interest groups harminvestment in physical capital. Indeveloping countries, interest groupseither have no effect on physicalinvestment or they have a slight beneficialimpact.     

THE IMPACT of FINANCIAL SERVICES GLOBALIZATION UPON the CARIBBEAN COMMON MARKET

This article tests three hypotheses concerning the policy effects of foreign exchange market liberalization and exchange controls in the three Caribbean Common Market countries of Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Barbados during the 1990s. It concludes that these cases do not show either monetary or fiscal policy to be particularly effective, when foreign exchange markets are liberalized before a functional bank regulatory system is put in place. These cases also imply that given the challenges posed by financial services globalization, the need for informed judgment by governments regarding the pace and scope of financial sector liberalization will remain critical, particularly within small developing countries.     

§ 4 Parteiengesetz – eine Bestimmung von der Politik für die Politik

Der Beitrag widmet sich dem für Parteispenden ma?geblichen § 4 des Parteiengesetzes mit dem Ziel, die Struktur der Bestimmung zu erl?utern und ihre Schw?chen offen zu legen. Dabei wird der Versuch unternommen, aufzuzeigen, inwieweit der Gesetzgeber eine für die politische Praxis günstige Regelung getroffen hat, die bereits aufgrund ihres Abwendungsbereichs nicht geeignet ist, politische Transparenz zu erzeugen, sondern umfassende Verschleierungsm?glichkeiten bietet und fast schon forciert.     

Bericht über die 32. Fachtagung der Gesellschaft für Umweltrecht

Ohne Zusammenfassung