A principal-agent model of corruption

One of the new avenues in the study of political corruption is that of neo-institutional economics, of which the principal-agent theory is a part. In this article a principal-agent model of corruption is presented, in which there are two principals (one of which is corrupting), and one agent (who is corrupted). The behaviour of these principals and agent is analysed in terms of the costs and benefits associated with different actions. The model is applied to political corruption in representative democracies, showing that, contrary to common belief, the use of principal-agent models is not limited to bureaucratic corruption. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Real Personal Uncertainty Induced by Means of Task-Related Feedback: Effects on Reactions to Voice and No-Voice Procedures

Building and extending on research on uncertainty management and voice and no-voice procedures, we examine how real personal uncertainty moderates the way in which people react to getting or being denied an opportunity to voice one??s opinions about decisions to be made. Specifically, results of two experiments show that conditions in which participants receive task-related feedback that induces personal uncertainty (versus conditions that produce more personal certainty) lead to stronger effects of voice and especially no-voice procedures on participants?? procedural fairness judgments (Experiments 1 and 2). Findings also reveal that in these conditions stronger effects of voice and particularly no-voice procedures can be found on participants?? anger about the way they have been treated, especially when participants are predisposed to react in intense terms to affect-related events (Experiment 2). Implications for the literature on uncertainty management and the social psychology of voice and no-voice procedures are discussed.     

Digital thombos: A new source for 18th century Sri Lankan family history. Research note

The Sri Lanka National Archives (SLNA) in Colombo preserve under the names of head thombo and land thombo several hundreds of eighteenth-century registers on family composition and landownership. At the time of their compilation by the Dutch East India Company or VOC the thombos suited a general administrative purpose; currently they are used only in genealogical research and in court cases concerning land disputes. Demographic, family and colonial history, however, can profit considerably from this neglected source. In the following we describe a project to digitize the registers of the Colombo province, and we discuss and evaluate the variables in the database by focusing on the family groups of a relatively small district.     

西方霸权的竞争者:过去与现在——作为一种全球治理视角

近年来，人们常常听到对于中国何时能超过美国成为世界头号经济体的各种预测。高盛首席经济学家吉姆·奥尼尔在最近的一次评估中认为，就目前的增长率而言，中国将在2027年超过美国。就在同一年，金砖四国GDP总和将超过目前的七国集团。     

Biofuel, dairy production and beef in Brazil: competing claims on land use in São Paulo state

This paper examines the competing claims on land use resulting from the expansion of biofuel production. Sugarcane for biofuel drives agrarian change in So Paulo state, which has become the major ethanol-producing region in Brazil. We analyse how the expansion of sugarcane-based ethanol in So Paulo state has impacted dairy and beef production. Historical changes in land use, production technologies, and product and land prices are described, as well as how these are linked to changing policies in Brazil. We argue that sugarcane/biofuel expansion should be understood in the context of the dynamics of other agricultural sectors and the long-term national political economy rather than as solely due to recent global demand for biofuel. This argument is based on a meticulous analysis of changes in three important sectors - sugarcane, dairy farming, and beef production - and the mutual interactions between these sectors.     

Reactions to Perceived Fairness: The Impact of Mortality Salience and Self-Esteem on Ratings of Negative Affect

In correspondence with terror management theory, the findings of two experiments show that reminders of death lead to stronger effects of perceived fairness on ratings of negative affect. Furthermore, in line with the theory's self-esteem mechanism, results of Experiment 1 suggest that state self-esteem may mediate this relationship between mortality salience and fairness. In further correspondence with the self-esteem mechanism, findings of Experiment 2 reveal that introducing an activity (after reminders of death and before the fairness manipulation) with which people can reaffirm positive conceptions of themselves leads people to react less strongly to variations in fairness than not introducing such a self-affirmation activity. These findings suggest that people react especially strongly to perceived fairness when they are in need for a boost in their self-esteem. Implications for the psychology of fairness are discussed.     

Predictors of Group Performance in a Police Criminal Investigation Department: the Role of Gender Homogeneity,Leadership and Team Characteristics

The Netherlands’ Ministry of Security and Justice has agreed on performance targets with the country’s police departments. Introducing the targets created a shift to controlling performance in team management focus. This empirical study of police teams in Utrecht in the Netherlands (N = 134) focuses on the influence of leadership style, gender and psychosocial team factors when teams are required to achieve agreed performance objectives. We address calls in the literature for more research into (objective) measures relating to effective police leadership and existing (police) management practices. Gender homogeneity, a combination of charismatic, empowering and transactional leadership styles, and team members’ awareness of team achievements were found to be relevant. The practical implications of these results are discussed.