Transition accounting for India in a multi-sector dynamic general equilibrium model

Using a quantitative methodology designed specifically for emerging economies, we measure the components of India’s economic growth over the period 1960–2005. Our approach accounts for time-varying parameters, transitional dynamics and non-linear trends. We find that increased productivity in the service sector, facilitated by a structural shift toward services, is the principal driver of India’s economic growth. Our measures also suggest that the allocation of inputs across sectors has not improved over this period, and in the case of labor appears to have significantly worsened. We further find that fluctuations in output around its trend are due primarily to fluctuations in sector-specific total factor productivity, with fluctuations in labor market distortions and labor taxes also playing important roles. In the period 1960–1980, productivity fluctuations in the agricultural sector are the dominant source of cycles. Since then, productivity fluctuations in the manufacturing and service sectors have been more important.     

Tribal law enforcement authority to enforce state laws

This paper summarizes the current status of the ability of tribal law enforcement officers to enforce state law in all states that have Indian country – defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1151 as any Indian reservation, dependent Indian communities, or Indian allotments – within their borders. It is important to understand the current status of those officers as their agencies look to improve public safety in their nations. First, for context, we provide a brief background on tribes and tribal law enforcement. Then, we present a summary of the legal jurisdictional challenges faced by tribal law enforcement. Finally, we analyze the current status of tribal law enforcement officers in each state and conclude with a summary and concluding remarks.     

Identification of the Class Characteristics in the Handwriting of Polish People Writing in English

Abstract: An investigation was carried out to identify the class characteristics of Polish people writing in English and to specifically identify those characteristics that separate Polish handwriting from English handwriting. In the first stage, 40 Polish and 40 English handwriting samples were collected and systematically examined. In total, 31 features were identified that occurred in ≥25% of the Polish handwriting samples and therefore considered class characteristics. Of these, chi‐square analyses identified 21 class characteristics that occurred significantly more in Polish compared to English handwriting. Twenty‐one of the class characteristics in the Polish handwriting had similar constructions to the copybook pattern thus supporting the theory that class characteristics frequently stem from the taught writing system. In the second stage, an algorithm was developed using seventeen of the class characteristics that successfully discriminated between a further 13 Polish and 12 English handwriting samples.     

Tertiary Education in Security and Policing in Australia

This paper reports on the current status of police and security education in Australian universities and technical colleges. The study was undertaken in the context of calls for greater professionalisation of policing and security along with a variety of conduct scandals that have driven reform agendas for both sectors. The study found that police studies had a significant profile in universities with a wide range of courses available, but virtually no profile in technical and further education (TAFE) colleges. Conversely, protective security offerings were proportionately more prominent in the TAFE sector than in universities. Courses in information and communication technology security were more common across universities and TAFE. The research also found that, of the 39 Australian universities, 9 have research centres related generally to policing and security. These also appeared to favour policing over security. We argue that these findings should be of concern, given the fact that private and public sector security services have eclipsed police, in numbers at least, in many jurisdictions. Security should, we argue, be counted as an equal partner with police in crime prevention services. In addition, we argue that those engaged in security management should be given greater opportunities for study at the university level. Moreover, security studies should have an expanded research focus.     

Clientelism: factionalism in the allocation of public resources in Iraq after 2003

This article examines clientelism in Iraq as a case study of one form of corruption. Iraq is an unusual case of corruption, because a key feature of Iraq's corrupt environment is an institutionalised factional political system based on sectarian quotas. The article explores the many links between clientelism and political factionalism, discussing whether clientelism arose because of factionalism, or whether factionalism merely determines the ways that clientelism currently operates in Iraq. Using fieldwork data, the findings show there are two distinct levels of clientelism in Iraq, both of which are linked to political factions: the individual level and the organisational level. First, clientelism at the individual level entails the elites of many political factions regarding ‘money politics’ as a means of influence in Iraq/Kurdistan by buying people's affiliations and thereby governing people. Second, clientelism at the organisational level entails that the spoils of political office are shared out among the elites of the political factions in a proportionate fashion. The article concludes that clientelism is a form of political rather than economic corruption; and that while there may be some immediate value in clientelism, its long-term harm outweighs its short-term value.     

Towards a Model Public Sector Integrity Commission

This article examines the current debate in Australia about public sector integrity and the idea of a standing anticorruption commission. From this debate the article outlines a specific type of ‘public sector integrity commission’ that in principle should have the necessary powers and techniques at its disposal to minimise corruption while ensuring efficiency and fairness. The debate has been most active in jurisdictions that have not had an anticorruption commission – mainly in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania – but debate about integrity commissions has occurred in all jurisdictions. The authors argue that anticorruption commissions are essential to ensure the integrity of the public sector and that a model commission should: cover all elements of the public sector; independently investigate serious and mid‐level complaints; have own motion powers to investigate any matter; have summary authority to apply administrative sanctions; make use of a range of investigative tools; not be tasked with combating major and organised crime; and be held accountable to citizens through a parliamentary committee and a parliamentary inspector.     

A Genetic Basis for Social Trust?

A propensity to believe that fellow citizens will not act against our interests in social and economic transactions has been identified as key to the effective functioning of democratic polities. Yet the causes of this type of ‘generalized’ or ‘social’ trust are far from clear. To date, researchers within the social and political sciences have focused almost exclusively on social-developmental and political/institutional features of individuals and societies as the primary causal influences. In this paper we investigate the intriguing possibility that social trust might have a genetic, as well as an environmental basis. We use data collected from samples of monozygotic and dizygotic twins to estimate the additive genetic, shared environmental, and non-shared environmental components of trust. Our results show that the majority of the variance in a multi-item trust scale is accounted for by an additive genetic factor. On the other hand, the environmental influences experienced in common by sibling pairs have no discernable effect; the only environmental influences appear to be those that are unique to the individual. Our findings problematise the widely held view that the development of social trust occurs through a process of familial socialization at an early stage of the life course.