Public management and productivity towards an appraisal of the productivity of alternative forms of public service delivery

Although independent administrative units are used worldwide as alternate forms of public service delivery, only limited systematic knowledge is available as how to apply these organisational forms with the maximum positive effects. This paper aims to explore the productivity gains achieved by administrative units increasing their degrees of independence, shifting from organisational independence to budgetary and legal independence. Focusing on self-operating decentralised units, on public law enterprises and on publicly owned private law enterprises, this appraisal reveals that continuously increasing independence is accompanied by productivity gains, but, depending on varying service delivery conditions--in terms of divergent service concepts or notions of productivity--this may be in terms of quality of output, technical efficiency or allocative efficiency.

Consequently, in order to make the best possible organisational choice, a contingency model has to take into consideration that alternative forms of service delivery find their maximum positive effects not only under varying task contexts but equally in the pursuit of different productivity targets.     

Institutional Framework for the Province of all Mankind: Lessons from the International Seabed Authority for the Governance of Commercial Space Mining

This article addresses the current lack of a legal framework for the use of space resources found on asteroids and other celestial bodies. In a world of growing inequality and in face of the increasing commercialization of space, governance structures are needed to ensure that the benefits of the “province of all mankind” are not solely reaped by those industrialized nations that have the technological and financial capabilities. Drawing upon the practical achievements of the International Seabed Authority governing the extraction of natural resources from the seabed in areas beyond national jurisdiction, a discursive policy framework for the equitable development of the global commons of space is proposed. Acknowledging the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach, the normative structure is complemented by the insight gained from stakeholders from across sectors, in a critical effort to unite political, ethical, and commercial considerations.     

The effects of rules on local political decision-making processes: How can rules facilitate participation?

It is often claimed that participation empowers local actors and that an inclusive decision-making process is crucial for rural development. We aim to investigate how formal and informal rules are set in local decision-making processes and how those rules may impact the actual level of participation by local actors. In a comparative case study, the rules-in-use for the planning of community projects in Thailand are examined. For our analysis, we use the Institutional Analysis and Development framework, which allows for more precise analysis of the impact of the rules. Fifty-three villages are served by four selected Tambon Administrative Organisations (TAO) which are either known for success in achieving participation or ranked as problematic in implementing the decentralization and local participation goals of the Thai government. The study is based on 60 semi-structured interviews with TAO staff, a survey of village leaders in 50 villages and a household survey of 104 villagers. We scrutinize seven types of rules and show some particular differences in terms of the impact from the rules-in-use. In the TAOs ranked as less participatory, the attendance rate in the meetings is found to be lower (boundary rule), villagers are informed about a meeting with a shorter notice (information rule) and more villagers mention that elites interfere in the project selection process (aggregation rule). A high level of fuzziness appeared in the position and authority rules. Further, we obtained information on the particular deontic logic, showing generally a high share of de facto may-statements in the implementation of the rules. We conclude that if the policy goal is enhancing participation, rule-setting offers good scope for intervention. From a practical perspective, information on administrative procedures has to be made more accessible and public administrators should receive procedural training.     

Is group memebership a prerequisite for group identification?

The purpose of this research is to examine the theoretical considerations and empirical evidence for the operationalization of an important concept. I attempt to determine if group membership is a necessary condition for group identification and discuss the role of group identifications for translating political interests into political preferences.     

Willing Daughters: The Moral Rhetoric of Filial Sacrifice and Financial Autonomy in Tokyo's Sex Industry

Japan has one of the world's largest and most diverse legal sex industries. In a limited female labor market, sex industry work is a stigmatized yet lucrative form of women's short-term employment and advertisements for recruiting new employees are prominently displayed across urban spaces associated with feminized consumption. In this article, I examine the ideological impasses that adult Japanese women working in Tokyo's sex industry express when talking about their motives for pursuing this work. Female sex workers commonly justify their work as the necessary sacrifice of filial daughters. This rhetoric of reluctant acceptance for the sake of others, however, obscures the reality that many sex workers are middle-class and college-educated women who find the financial opportunity and flexibility of this industry appealing in contrast to more dominant forms of feminized labor. These women express the ambivalence of their desires for economic self-sufficiency through narrating the dependence of others on them. Examining these ambivalences, I argue that sex workers’ motivations can only be understood through considering the ethical and moral frameworks that define the gendered economies in which they labor.     

Who Has to Pay for Periods of Insolvent Insurance in Long-Tail Coverage Claims? New Jersey High Court Changes the Game in Favor of Policyholders

Two new cases have changed the game in New Jersey for allocating defense and indemnity costs in long-tail environmental or toxic tort claims. The high court has established that solvent insurers must absorb insolvent insurers’ share of costs in long-tail claims until all solvent insurance is exhausted, at which time insolvent shares will be borne by the Property-Liability Guaranty Association. In addition, the high court has established that insurers have a right of contribution against other insurers when they pay more than their allocated share of defense or indemnity.