Taxation and representation

Social scientists have drawn a straightforward lesson from European history: taxation promotes representation. Drawing on this history, scholars have developed general theories that connect taxation to modern democracy. In this article I argue that these theories have overlooked the most important element in the relationship between taxation and representation in European history. Premodern assemblies, or their members, typically had a deep involvement in the mechanics of tax collection, and it was primarily through this that taxation promoted the emergence, strength, and longevity of representative institutions. But modern parliaments do not collect taxes. As a consequence, taxation has only a modest role in the promotion of democracy in the modern world. My argument challenges existing theories of the link between taxation and representation, including those made in the literature on rentier states. It also advances our understanding of the process by which premodern European representative assemblies were transformed into the basic institutions of modern democracy. Michael Herb is assistant professor of political science at Georgia State University. He is the author ofAll in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies (Albany, NY: SUNY, 1999). He received his Ph.D. from UCLA in 1997.     

China's Creative Industries: Copyright,Social Network Markets and the Business of Culture in a Digital Age

This article analyses the decline of Japanese labour unions and their struggles for revitalisation from a power resources perspective. It demonstrates first that the power resources of labour unions declined in the neo-liberal political process of labour-market deregulation as a result of lower union density, the intensified conflicts of interest among unions and their reduced access to policy-making. Although this situation induced labour unions to change their interest representation to some extent and organise an increasing number of non-regular and marginalised regular workers, the article claims that they are still concerned about protecting the vested interests of regular workers in large companies and their efforts to organise non-regular and marginalised regular workers have been insufficient. In addition, although community unions have aimed to organise these workers extensively, their human and financial resources are too small to do so and revitalise the labour movement.     

Globalization and Development in the Mekong Economies

This article details and dissects the promotion by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation of financial intermediaries – entities such as wholesale and retail micro-finance organisations and deposit-taking banks – as a key component within the push to establish and extend capitalist social relations in the underdeveloped world. It argues that the approach must be seen as emanating not out of some (re)discovery of key methods that foster the substantive and sustainable improvement of material conditions but rather the material and ideological interests attending late capitalism. Focusing on financial intermediary support in the Asia-Pacific, this article begins by outlining the new politics of development driving financial intermediary support and the broader agenda to which it belongs. The second section of the article details some “working examples” of the International Finance Corporation’s support of financial intermediaries in the Asia-Pacific, fleshing out the precise form that financial intermediary support takes. The article concludes by highlighting how the approach is further consolidating the death of development as a modern nationalist/internationalist project and deepening the distribution of late capitalism’s contradictions.     

Now you see it,now you don't

The Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980, at best, is now moribund. Events, in light of the Reagan Administration's budget cuts, have overtaken the times. Moreover, the principal advocates — Stevenson, Wydler and George Brown, Jr. — have departed for other climes, pursuits and interests. Fundamentally, the Act was doomed from its inception. It widely dispersed responsibilities among Federal agencies that in the past have shown, at best, a passivity towards technology transfer, or at worst, a disdain for it. Like so much Federal legislation in recent years, the Act lays out mandates broadly, badly defines terms and conditions, and omits the most important element of any law: penalties for violating it. Benign neglect, which seems to be the direction for at least the next four years, would appear to be its destiny. Section 11, Utilization of Federal Technology, however, might survive, but in a drastically truncated form, which should give precious little comfort to those who worked so hard for the passage of the Act.     

A field study of the accuracy and reliability of a biometric iris recognition system

PurposeThe iris of the eye appears to satisfy the criteria for a good anatomical characteristic for use in a biometric system. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a biometric iris recognition system: Mobile-Eyes?.MethodsThe enrollment, verification, and identification applications were evaluated in a field study for accuracy and reliability using both irises of 277 subjects. Independent variables included a wide range of subject demographics, ambient light, and ambient temperature. A sub-set of 35 subjects had alcohol-induced nystagmus. There were 2710 identification and verification attempts, which resulted in 1,501,340 and 5540 iris comparisons respectively.ResultsIn this study, the system successfully enrolled all subjects on the first attempt. All 277 subjects were successfully verified and identified on the first day of enrollment. None of the current or prior eye conditions prevented enrollment, verification, or identification. All 35 subjects with alcohol-induced nystagmus were successfully verified and identified. There were no false verifications or false identifications. Two conditions were identified that potentially could circumvent the use of iris recognitions systems in general.ConclusionsThe Mobile-Eyes? iris recognition system exhibited accurate and reliable enrollment, verification, and identification applications in this study. It may have special applications in subjects with nystagmus.     

Eastern Figures: Orient and Empire in British Writing

This article outlines the labour impacts and social consequences of the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis and 2008–09 global financial crisis on Southeast Asia. Both had adverse consequences on output, employment, income and poverty in the region, although the impact of the global financial crisis was much less severe compared to the Asian financial crisis. Economies recovered quickly from both crises. However, labour markets continue to be characterised by informal, vulnerable and precarious employment. The crises and the ensuing efforts of employers to resort to increased flexibility in labour hiring in both crisis and recovery periods fanned labour protests despite the diminutive size of the trade union movement and the underdeveloped system of industrial relations in most countries. In turn, these protests have triggered national and regional debates on rules for labour contracting, minimum wage adjustments and social protection. These debates have remained unresolved even as the region is gearing up for fuller economic integration in 2015 labelled as the ASEAN Economic Community.