Power struggles in policy feedback processes: incremental steps towards a circular economy within Dutch wastewater policy

Policy Sciences - Environmental problems are usually not tackled with path-departing policies but rather with incrementally adjusted or unchanged policies. One way to address incremental change is...     

Improving large-scale implementations by applying research and data analysis: A case study on First 5 LA's implementation of PCIT in Los Angeles County

This paper presents the case of First 5 LA's 5-year countywide implementation of the Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) program. Enthusiasts of PCIT point to it as a high-quality parenting program with the potential to positively influence child behavior, reduce recidivism into the child welfare system, and increase caregiver's confidence and self-esteem. In September 2012, First 5 LA, an independent County agency in Los Angeles that advocates on behalf of parents with young children, began a $20 million countywide implementation of PCIT. The collaborative effort between First 5 LA, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, and the University of California, Davis demonstrates the role that research and data analysis can play in improving large-scale implementations. The authors of this paper were contracted to conduct an evaluation of the implementation of the countywide PCIT program, and preliminary outcomes were analyzed after the first round of data collection in early 2015. This paper will discuss this case and provide examples of how research and data analysis were used effectively to make key improvements to the design and implementation of the program. The paper will then discuss bureaucratic challenges and constraints with the collaborative use of research and data. The paper will conclude with some recommendations on how research and data can effectively be used to influence policy implementation in large-scale implementations involving collaboration among multiple organizations.     

O.J.'s defense: A reductio ad absurdum of the economics of Coase and Posner

A reductio ad absurdum takes the principles of a doctrine, applies them exactly as their creators did only to an entirely different subject and with horrendous results, and thus shows what absurd conclusions are logically compatible with the original thesis. This article applies the tenets of the Chicago law and economics tradition, as adumbrated by two of its most distinguished practitioners, Coase and Posner. It shows that on the basis of this canon a case can be made out for freeing O.J. Simpson—even if he did indeed kill his wife. The article is an attempt to show that the libertarian reliance on personal and private property rights is a much more robust thesis than the Chicago precept of wealth maximization.     

The Contingencies of Societal Accountability: Examining the Link Between Civil Society and Good Government

Corruption interferes with and distorts the processes of political decision making and implementation, often to the disadvantage of the already disadvantaged. Yet our understanding of the factors that might propel a political system from lower to higher levels of probity remains speculative. This article examines the role of one category of actors often touted as an important countervailing force to political power: civil society. Existing case study research provides evidence that civil society can play a decisive role in holding public officials accountable, but that the success of such societal accountability is contingent upon a number of favorable contextual and institutional conditions. The analyses presented here use panel country data to examine whether the strength of civil society affects corruption. The results corroborate the findings of existing case studies; a vibrant civil society mitigates corruption but only provided that conditions such as political competition, press freedom, and government transparency exist in the country.     

Conference on Business Crime,Fraud and Corruption England,March/April 1991 Preliminary Call for Papers

Conference on Business Crime, Fraud and Corruption England, March/April 1991 Preliminary Call for Papers