Convergence in the Dutch Health Insurance: Possibilities and Obstacles in a European Perspective

Convergence in Dutch Health Insurance presents possibilities and obstacles considered from a European perspective. The idea is to converge the two existing systems of social and private health insurance. Private health insurers will be obliged to offer a minimum level of health insurance cover based on community rating. In this article consequences of the EC Treaty are in focus. Extensive convergence can be legally allowed in the interests of the common good. The European Court of Justice plays a decisive role in deciding whether convergence is approved according to the rules of the EC Treaty.     

Equipoise and the Criteria for Reasonable Action

Critics of clinical equipoise have long argued that it represents an overly permissive, and therefore morally unacceptable, mechanism for resolving the tensions inherent in clinical research. In particular, the equipoise requirement is often attacked on the grounds that it is not sufficiently responsive to the interests of individual patients. In this paper, we outline a view of equipoise that not only withstands a stronger version of this objection, which was recently articulated by Deborah Hellman, but also plays important roles in clarifying the discussion.     

Politics versus culture: Which is stronger?

This article examines the assertion that cultural factors, more than anything else, explain the rapid economic progress of Asian countries in recent years, as against the slow progress (and even retrogression) of African countries. In considering the relationship of politics to culture, it begins by examining various quandaries: the meaning of culture; the causes and manifestations of culture; the possibilities of rapid acculturation; and the importance of Westernization for development. Examples are presented to indicate that cultural barriers to development are often politically created and, as such, politically vulnerable. Political elasticity theory is introduced here to explain the capacity of leaders to influence and change culture, as shown in three case studies. The article ends with an examination of the implications of the propositions presented for World Bank lending programs, suggesting, not only the importance of taking culture into account, but going beyond it into the political requisites for changing culture. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Herb Werlin taught African studies in the political science departments at SUNY, Stony Brook and The University of maryland, College Park. From 1977 to 1984, he edited the newsletterThe Urban Edge for the World Bank. In 1993 he retired from the urban studies department at the University of Maryland. He is currently an independent consultant in urban development and development administration fields. This article is being adapted for a chapter of a book,Exploring the Mysteries of Development: Using Political Elasticity Theory.     

The Dimensions of Lawyer-Client Relations: Notes Toward a Theory and a Field Study

Recent research on lawyer-client relations has called into question the traditional image of the lawyer as the autonomous professional. This research note reviews this research and proposes a three-dimensional framework for interpreting lawyer-client relationships. The utility of the framework is illustrated using data collected through interviews with corporate lawyers and their clients in Toronto.