The Rationale Behind the Creation and Diffusion of Independent Regulatory Agencies: The Case of the Telecommunications Sector in Egypt

The creation and diffusion of Independent ^{1 1}Three different meanings of the regulatory state have been identified by Jordana and Levi-Faur (2004): the minimal, the prudent, and the overambitious meaning. The minimal meaning refers to the regulatory state as a field of study grouping scholars from different disciplines. The prudent meaning emphasises the tendency of modern states to use power and authority. An overambitious notion, the regulatory state developed to replace other state forms such as the welfare, developmental, and stabilisation state. Regulatory Agencies (IRAs) was greatly investigated in the context of the developed countries, particularly in Europe. Many scholars have provided different theories to explain the logic behind the formation and the spread of such agencies. These theories are important but not sufficient to explain the same phenomenon in the context of the developing countries wherein socio-economic and political environments are different. Adopting an institutional framework of analysis, and based on an in-depth qualitative documentary analysis and interviews with different stakeholders, this article investigates the creation and diffusion of the IRAs in Egypt particularly in the telecommunication sector. The findings show that the creation of the IRAs in the Egyptian telecommunications sector represents a rational response to the external isomorphic pressures exerted by international agency and can be explained on functional and practical grounds rather than any other factors of democratic governance or political uncertainties.     

Public management in South Asia: dimensions and directions of change

Public management in South Asia has been influenced by the colonial past which has resulted in the domination of administrative systems by the bureaucrats. Bureaucracies remained firmly entrenched as powerful groups and performed both administrative and political functions. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka represent cases with similar backgrounds which opted for different political and economic systems after achieving independence. Consequently, a number of issues have emerged in public management in South Asia. These include debureaucratization of the policy process, complex relationship between specialists and generalists, integration of administrative structures, reconciliation of merit and equity, choice between professional and political patronage, revitalization of management, bridging the ever widening gap between the citizens and administrators, and the establishment of a sound ethical base of administration. The success of South Asian governments in dealing with these issues will determine, to a considerable extent, the dimensions and directions of change. While some of the issues will have to be addressed in the natural course of development, others will require a substantial degree of commitment from the governments as well as the societies.     

Shifting emphasis in the role of the state: Urban housing reform in China 1

Studies on the role of the state and its control over the economy favour a reduction of state involvement in the process. While such efforts were conducive to the political and economic arrangements in the capitalist world, China presented an entirely different challenge. The state played a dominant role in the production and delivery of all public goods and exercised effective control over the economy in China. However, the changing circumstances following China's adoption of liberalisation have set in motion a number of changes including an apparent reduction of state control over the economy. A case in point is the shift in the role of the state in the production and distribution of public housing in the urban areas. There have been efforts to introduce a market system in housing provision through privatisation, commercialisation and socialisation, and these have resulted in increased private home ownership as well as the formulation of new regulations to govern the real estate market. The intention was to gradually transfer the responsibility of production and management of this essential commodity to property development and professional management companies. However, the state has continued to play a prominent role on the pretext of protecting the citizens from negative consequences of the reforms. The state must take into consideration the nature of the society and its tradition of providing public services and adjust policies to derive maximum benefit from the reforms. As a result, the role of the state has shifted, rather than reduced, and the transformation provides a new perspective on the potential pitfalls in liberalising and rolling back the state.     

Civilian supremacy in democracies with ‘fault lines’: The role of the parliamentary standing committee on defence in Bangladesh

This article sets out to identify the conditions that promote civilian supremacy over the military in the post-military democracies. The article addresses the case of Bangladesh, where a decade-old post-military democratic political process is riddled with problems, such as the absence of opposition parties in the parliament, chronic political instability and violence and inefficient governance. However, the powerful military has not yet shown any inclination towards intervention in domestic politics. Rather, various civilian institutions, such as the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence (PSCD), have been successful in raising the level of the military's accountability to the civilian government and society. The article seeks to explain the role of PSCD during 1998–2001 in promoting civilian supremacy in Bangladesh. It argues that three sets of factors can explain the PSCD's role. First, there is intense competition for political power between the two major parties, which resists the military's involvement in politics in favour of any one political party. Second, there is the important role of civil society in favour of civilian supremacy. Third, there are external factors such as the donor countries' and international agencies' stance in favour of democracy and the Bangladesh military's participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions, which are discouraging military intervention in politics at home.     

Control rights, bureaucratic corruption and the allocation of resources

In a two-sector model, we show that corruption is endogenously determined by the model parameters. It depends on the fraction of unskilled labor and the relative TFP differential between skilled and unskilled sector. First, for a larger proportion of unskilled labor force, there is widespread corruption and for smaller share of unskilled labor force, there is no corruption. For the intermediate level, equilibrium depends on the number of corrupt bureaucrats and there are multiple equilibria. Second, corruption decreases with the relative TFP differential between skilled and unskilled sector. For the intermediate level of TFP differential, there are multiple equilibria. On its consequences, corruption causes rise in the wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers. It distorts the allocation of resources, which results in the output and the welfare losses, and it is associated with the higher tax rate.     

Combining autosomal and Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat data in paternity testing with male child: methods and application

Paternity testing is being increasingly requested with the aim of challenging presumptive fatherhood. The ability to establish the biological father is usually based on the genotyping of autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) in alleged father, mother and child, but the use of Y-chromosomal STR has gained interest in the last few years. In this work, we propose a new probabilistic approach that combines autosomal and Y-chromosomal STR data in paternity testing with father/son pairs taking into account mutation events. We also suggest a new two-stage approach where we first type Y-STRs and possibly autosomal STR for the putative father and son, conditional on Y-STR results. We applied this approach to 22 cases. Our results show that Y-STRs can identify nonpaternity cases with high accuracy but need to be validated with autosomal STR to establish paternity. Moreover, the two-stage approach is less costly than the standard approach and is very useful in motherless cases.     

Female student athletes’ perceptions of acceptability and the occurrence of sexual-related behaviour by their coaches in India

The current study assessed the perceptions of acceptable sexual behaviour of coaches and the occurrence of sexual harassment among female student in India. A sample of 180 Indian female student-athletes at intercollegiate and inter-university levels with male coaches participated in this study. A questionnaire on sport-specific Touch and Behaviour versus Unwanted Intimacy from coaches (Vanden Auweele et al., 2008), consisting of 41 items on a 5-point rating scale was used. The participants were asked to indicate the acceptability of specific coaching behaviour as well as the occurrence of the behaviour represented in each item. The acceptability of the behaviour was determined by means and standard deviations, while the occurrence was determined by frequencies. Factor analysis was performed to determine the structure of the coaches’ behaviour and athletes’ acceptability thereof, which yielded four factors. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine the internal consistency of the extracted items on each factor. Two factors, namely, unwanted sexual behaviour and inappropriate verbal and physical sexual behaviour, were regarded by athletes as very serious and unacceptable coach behaviour, while a third factor represented context-dependent suspicious behaviour (a grey area in which athletes differ in their opinion) and was perceived to be serious and unacceptable. A fourth factor represented acceptable behaviour. The occurrence of very serious and unacceptable behaviour was reported by 31% of the female athletes.     

Land tenurial dynamics and participatory forestry management in Bangladesh

Of late, participatory forestry management, more popularly known as ‘social forestry’ (SF), has acquired great significance in Bangladesh as a strategy for both forest resource management and rural development. However, research on the contextual factors such as social relations, institutional structures, forest policies and land tenurial arrangements which regulate SF's performance in the field has been limited. Land ownership and tenurial arrangement is one crucial factor which has remained virtually unexplored in the context of Bangladesh SF. This article examines the land use and tenure arrangements in selected SF projects in Bangladesh. It focuses on the perceptions and choice of the SF farmers regarding land ownership, tenure and use; implications of central land tenurial policy on farm productivity and farmers' motivation; and also on the difference between farmers' land use choice and the assumptions of the SF planners. It shows that land tenure is a complex issue for SF. Although tenurial security is a major motivating force for farmers, providing permanent land ownership alone has little impact on farm productivity or on the growth of collective effort among SF farmers. Farmers need institutional assurance and support (especially from the government) to fully utilize the potential rights and benefits associated with such ownership. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

State formation and economic development in post-war Somaliland: the impact of the private sector in an unrecognised state

ABSTRACT

Unrecognised internationally, Somaliland operates as a hybrid political order where a range of state and non-state entities provide security, representation and social services. Local business elites have impacted state formation after war by lobbying against a range of regulations, providing the government with loans and contributions rather than paying sufficient taxes, and by hindering the development of sound financial institutions. The success of such activities has led to de facto protectionism, where foreign ventures have had limited access to the Somaliland market. While such protectionism may have negatively impacted economic development and growth opportunities, recent engagements by multinational corporations in the Berbera port suggest that foreign private investments risk sparking violent conflict. In contrast, domestic businessmen have played a role in preventing or resolving violent conflict at crucial stages in Somaliland’s recent history. Based on fieldwork in Somaliland, we argue that the impact of international corporate actors in post-war contexts needs to be understood in light of local culture and power dynamics, in which the political and economic roles of local business elites are central.