Controlling Migration in an Open Labor Market

A direct immigration policy is no longer feasiblefor a single region in a common labor market. Within apolitical economy approach, this paper focuses on the question ofwhether migration can be controlled through the composition ofgovernment expenditures. Taking into account both capital and laborincome, it turns out that the median voter's income is U-shaped in thenumber of immigrants. Therefore, the government can eitherprovide less of the goods preferred by foreigners in order to minimizeimmigration or carry out an active immigration policy byshifting its expenditures towards those publicly provided goods. Thepaper identifies the factors that determine the government'schoice between the two strategies.     

Public–Private Partnerships and the Public Accountability Question

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are growing in popularity as a governing model for delivery of public goods and services. PPPs have existed since the Roman Empire, but their expansion into traditional public projects today raises serious questions about public accountability. This article examines public accountability and its application to government and private firms involved in PPPs. An analytical framework is proposed for assessing the extent to which PPPs provide (or will provide) goods and services consistent with public sector goals of effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. Six dimensions—risk, costs and benefits, political and social impacts, expertise, collaboration, and performance measurement—are incorporated into a model that assists public managers in improving partnerships’ public accountability.     

Intermunicipal Cooperation in the Netherlands: The Costs and the Effectiveness of Polycentric Regional Governance

This article examines the effects of the structure of intermunicipal cooperatives (IMCs) on the perceived transaction costs and benefits of IMCs. Hypotheses based on a polycentric theory of regional governance are tested using data from Dutch municipalities. The findings are mixed. In line with polycentric theory, networks characterized by a multiplicity of territorial scales reduce IMC transaction costs. Contrary to polycentric theory, however, if IMCs are organized under a uniform legal regime, lower costs and higher benefits are reported. Structural factors that dominate the debate between polycentrism and monocentrism prove to be of limited importance. On the other hand, the results indicate support for the hypotheses that intermunicipal trust (as a cultural variable) contributes to perceptions of effective and efficient cooperation.     

Cohousing For Whom? Survey Evidence to Support the Diffusion of Socially and Spatially Integrated Housing in the United States

Cohousing is a resident-led neighborhood development model that clusters private dwelling units around collectively owned and managed spaces, with potential to address long-term social and environmental challenges in American metropolitan regions. To date, however, the cohousing model has been slow to diffuse beyond a demographically narrow following. This limited following may signal to policymakers that cohousing is an unappealing housing model, and therefore an impractical policy objective. Drawing from a survey of 1,000 American residents, the results of a multivariate regression model suggest that (a) many of the characteristics of the current resident population of cohousing in the United States have no statistical association with the individuals who indicate interest in cohousing nationwide; (b) other characteristics serve as better predictors of interest in cohousing; and therefore (c) the slow diffusion of cohousing is likely the consequence of inaccessibility rather than low appeal. Overcoming these challenges demands shifts in policy.     

Balancing friends and foes: Explaining advocacy styles at global diplomatic conferences

The growing attempts by non-state interests to influence global policy processes has attracted much scholarly interest in recent years. One important question thereby is what characterizes and explains the interactions of non-state advocates with policymakers. In order to clarify this matter, we analyse the advocacy strategies of non-state actors, more precisely whether and why they address opponents instead of more like-minded policymakers. For this purpose, we analyse evidence collected through 228 interviews with advocates who attended the WTO Ministerial Conferences (Geneva 2012) and the United Nations Climate Conferences (Durban 2011; Doha 2012). Our results show that transnational advocates predominantly target like-minded policymakers and that their activities are much less focused on their opponents. Variation in advocacy towards opponents or like-minded policymakers is explained by the alignment of non-state actors with policymakers, the salience of topics on the political agenda, group characteristics, and whether or not advocates hail from democratic countries.     

Umstellung der Genehmigungs- sowie Erlaubnistatbestände durch das UGB Bücher I & II

Zusammenfassung  Bisher galten wasserrechtliche Erlaubnis und die Bewilligung nebeneinander. Evtl. kamen noch auf L?nderebene weitere M?glichkeiten, wie die gehobene Erlaubnis, hinzu. Das derzeit geltende komplizierte System beh?rdlicher Zulassungsinstrumente für wasserwirtschaftliche Vorhaben soll mit dem UGB vereinfacht werden. Neben der integrierten Vorhabengenehmigung (IVG) für künftig dem UGB-Buch I unterliegende Vorhaben wird im UGB-Buch Wasserwirtschaft als Grundtypus der beh?rdlichen Zulassung für Gew?sserbenutzungen nur noch die wasserrechtliche Erlaubnis bestehen bleiben. Welche Bedeutung diese Neuerung für bestehende und zukünftige Anlagenbetreiber haben k?nnte, soll im folgenden Beitrag er?rtert werden.     

Research misconduct

She is editor of Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization;and author, most recently, of Stealing Into Print: Fraud, Plagiarism, and Other Misconduct in Scientific Publishing.     

Storage time for criminal trace evidence

The article discusses the question if and under what conditions trace evidence may be stored for DNA analysis. The authors report on several cases in which methodological improvements or even the introduction of DNA technology itself helped to identify the perpetrator or to rule out a suspect, who may already have been wrongly convicted, many years after the offence. Under medical and scientific aspects these cases seem to speak in favour of unlimited storage. German law does not contain explicit regulations on the storage of trace evidence of unknown origin, although it seems admissible under existing law. In view of a minor need of protection as against a high interest in the preservation of trace evidence, storage for an unlimited period of time seems necessary.     

Interindividual morphologic variability as reason for misinterpretations in forensic osteology exemplified by a rib

Bone finds make great demands on the examiner. The first priority is to establish the remains as human, because then further analyses have to be performed for identification. Especially for bone fragments it may be extremely difficult to determine whether they are of human or animal origin. In the reported case a bone fragment similar to a human rib was found in a medieval town together with more than 300 non-human bones. As it turned out, a medieval cesspit had been opened during excavation works. Even an mtDNA analysis could not answer the question whether the rib was of human origin. A direct comparison with numerous ribs of humans and mammals showed the great interindividual variability, but in the end it was possible to rule out a human origin and to identify the fragment as the third left rib of a pig.