Poverty and Support for Militant Politics: Evidence from Pakistan

Policy debates on strategies to end extremist violence frequently cite poverty as a root cause of support for the perpetrating groups. There is little evidence to support this contention, particularly in the Pakistani case. Pakistan's urban poor are more exposed to the negative externalities of militant violence and may in fact be less supportive of the groups. To test these hypotheses we conducted a 6,000‐person, nationally representative survey of Pakistanis that measured affect toward four militant organizations. By applying a novel measurement strategy, we mitigate the item nonresponse and social desirability biases that plagued previous studies due to the sensitive nature of militancy. Contrary to expectations, poor Pakistanis dislike militants more than middle‐class citizens. This dislike is strongest among the urban poor, particularly those in violent districts, suggesting that exposure to terrorist attacks reduces support for militants. Long‐standing arguments tying support for violent organizations to income may require substantial revision.     

Challenges in Implementing Justice Research in the Allocation of Natural Resources

Water reform in Australia has demanded that water usage for irrigation operates in an environmentally sustainable manner. It has resulted in the need to reduce allocations in some local communities, and to date government policy has relied on economic instruments to take the lead in developing equitable processes to do this. A series of community-based justice studies were undertaken and demonstrated that it is possible to derive a package of actions, which reflect the fairness judgments of the vast majority of the community. However, the implementation of these actions within the decision-making process has proven to be a more complex matter. This paper discusses four professional, methodological, and ethical challenges for all justice researchers. It concludes by noting the applicability of this form of research in other natural resource allocation dilemmas. Therefore it is imperative that justice researchers confidently insert themselves in to environmental policy debates. Only in this way will the social criteria for triple bottom line accounting for sustainable development be adequately represented.     

Administrative discretion and the Access to Information Act: An “internal law” on open government?

Abstract: Canada's Access to Information Act establishes a qualified right to government information for all Canadians. However, critics complain that some politically sensitive requests ‐ often filed by journalists or political parties ‐ are given differential treatment, with longer delays and tougher decisions on disclosure. An econometric analysis of 2,120 requests handled by Human Resources Development Canada in 1999–2001 suggests that the complaints have some merit. Requests that were identified as sensitive, or that came from the media or political parties, were found to have longer processing time, even after other considerations were accounted for. The probability that such requests would exceed statutory response times was also significantly higher. The analysis illustrates a broader point: that internal bureaucratic procedures play an important role in defining what the right to information means in practice. The analysis also highlights the need to give the federal information commissioner better tools to deal with problems of delay. Sommaire: La Loi sur l'accès à l'information du Canada assure le droit à l'information gouvernementale pour tous les Canadiens. Cependant, les critiques se plaignent du fait que certaines demandes épineuses sur le plan politique ‐ requêtes souvent déposées par des journalistes ou des partis politiques ‐ font l'objet d'un traitement différentiel, avec des délais plus longs et des décisions plus strictes au moment de la divulgation. Une analyse économétrique de 2 120 requêtes traitées par Développement des Ressources humaines Canada de 1999 à 2001 laisse entendre que les plaintes sont en partie justifiées. On a constaté que les requêtes dites «sensibles», ou qui viennent des média ou des partis politiques, prenaient plus de temps à traiter, même compte tenu d'autres considérations. En outre, ces requêtes risquaient souvent de dé passer le temps de réponse légal. L'analyse illustre un point plus général, à savoir que les procédures bureaucratiques internes jouent un rôle important en définissant ce que le droit à l'information signifie dam la pratique. L'analyse souligne également qu'il est néessaire de dormer au Commissaire fédéral à l'information de meilleurs outils pour faire face aux problèmes de délai.     

Trust, Trusts, and Accountability: The Role of States in College Saving Plans

With the adoption of Section 529 plans, states have played an increasing role in college savings. When parents prepay for their children's college education, states invest the proceeds with the expectation that the investment returns will cover tuition increases. In times of fiscal stress, states decrease funding for higher education, causing schools to increase tuition. Because current investment returns have not kept pace with tuition increases, state managers have an even greater burden to ensure that these funds are managed properly. Our research interest is the fiduciary role of state governments in managing these plans in a volatile investment market.     

Identity,dignity and development as trajectory: Bihar as a model for democratic progress in Nepal? Part I. Bihar's experience

Down into the last decades of the twentieth century, Bihar remained India's poorest state and one under the domination of its landowning upper castes – a well-nigh hopeless case for development in the view of most outside observers. But in the 1990s, a fresh leader gained a new dignity for the Backward castes, even as the state's poverty and corruption continued unabated. And then in the mid-2000s, another Backward leader was able to combine this societal uplift with a remarkable level of economic development. This article in two parts endeavours to make a case that Nepal, long suffering under conditions similar to those hobbling Bihar until recently, might follow a similar two-stage path of dignity and then development.     

Predictors of sexually coercive behavior in a nationally representative sample of adolescent males

Data from male participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health are used to examine childhood predictors of late adolescent and early adulthood sexually coercive behavior and adolescent mediators of these relationships. A path analysis shows that experiencing sexual abuse as a child has a direct effect on perpetrating subsequent coercion that is partially mediated by early sexual initiation. Involvement in delinquent activities in adolescence was the only additional significant predictor of sexually coercive behavior and completely mediated the relationship between physical abuse in childhood and later sexual coercion. Of note, more than half of men reporting sexually aggressive acts had no history of childhood victimization, so pathways to sexually coercive behavior for this group remain unidentified. In addition to the universal prevention approaches currently in use in the field, these findings suggest that targeted prevention programs need to be formulated for youth with histories of childhood sexual or physical abuse.