Vouchers and voting: An initial estimate based on the median voter model

One of the major concerns associated with school voucher proposals is that they will only benefit those who leave public schools in favor of private schools. The children left behind in public schools are expected to necessarily be made worse off by such policies. This paper provides evidence suggesting that children left behind in public schools will also benefit. The available evidence suggests that, after a voucher plan, voter support for public schools will rise enough to increase the human capital of public school students, despite the presence of negative peer group effects.     

A transaction-based approach to policy intervention

A transaction-based approach to policy intervention is presented. The approach overcomes a number of weaknesses in current approaches to policy intervention. The approach involves three main conceptual elements: transactions, transaction governance mechanisms, and governance principles. The transaction is taken to be the basic unit of analysis. Profiles of transactions vary along a number of transaction dimensions. Transaction governance mechanisms - such as, for example, government service, regulation, contracts, vouchers, markets, taxes, and self-service - are each suitable for governing transactions having particular profiles. A mechanism will fail when used to govern transactions not fitting the profile. Governance principles are criteria or expectations - for example, efficiency, justice and liberty - used to judge how well a mechanism fulfills or achieves important societal goals. Specific choices of governance mechanisms (from the set that are technically feasible) therefore should be made according to how well they satisfy these governance principles. Public high school education is used as an example to illustrate the approach. A number of conclusions are offered.This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Public Administration Portland, Oregon, April, 1988.     

Regulating the deregulated

He has presented papers on traffic safety worldwide, published numerous articles, authored several books, and edited several more. His current project is a book on truck drivers and road safety.     

THE DIMMING OF ILLUSIONS: CHANGING ATTITUDES OF LABOURERS TO DIRECT GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT ON NSW PUBLIC WORKS, 1899–1916*

Abstract: Direct employment on public works (or day labour) was a powerful symbol of the possibilities for reform within capitalism in the early years of this century. It promised not only more work at times of high unemployment, but better conditions of employment. Further, there was the possibility of labourers, through their unions, having much greater control of their working lives. The major political battles were over whether governments should use day labour or contract. But, for the labourers themselves, the question of the nature of the administration of day labour became an increasingly important one. A sympathetic administration, such as that under E.W. O'Sullivan, not only meant great practical benefits for labourers; it served also as an example of what was possible through developing an alternative model of dealing with capitalist crises. However, in the case where a Labor government was unwilling to challenge the weight of traditional bourgeois economic thinking, day labour lost any pretence of being either model employment or a symbol for the future. In 1910–16, when labourers already had raised expectations of what day labour promised, such administration meant a growing alienation of labourers and their unions from the Holman Government and from Labor's parliamentary road in general.     

The U.S. regulatory environment and international trade: Lessons from the electricity sector

Regulation has been frequently blamed for the decline of U.S. international competitiveness. This article examines the alleged link between regulation and trade within the context of electric utility policies implemented since 1970. Under an alternative electricity future in which the regulatory burden is reduced and regulatory inefficiencies are minimized, electricity prices are shown to fall by at least 30%. This reduction in the price of a key factor input is shown to lead to reductions in the prices of U.S. export- and import-competing goods and, ultimately, to a modest reduction in the U.S. trade deficit.     

POLICY AS A MOVING TARGET: A CALL FOR CONCEPTUAL REALISM

Since the early 1970s, policy scholars have paid great attention to issues of policy implementation, treating it as the "missing link" between policy formulation and results. Most often, policy problems have been seen as static phenomena that can be corrected by carefully specified programs. This paper, drawing upon examples from Swedish energy policy, argues that this is not the case, that political and social conditions are so prone to change that implementation must be a dynamic process if it is to be effective. This has distinct conceptual and practical implications for the study and design of policy implementation.