Waste in the Sewer: The Collapse of Accountability and Transparency in Public Finance in Jefferson County,Alabama

Following failed auctions for sewer debt in April 2008, major bond rating companies downgraded Jefferson County, Alabama’s bond rating to D (default) triggering massive mandatory payments by the county to its creditors. At the time of writing, the county teeters on the brink of actual default and bankruptcy, unable to pay service on its $3.3 billion sewer debt portfolio. If the county defaults, it will be the largest municipal bankruptcy in United States history, eclipsing Orange County, California’s 1994 default. The intriguingly complex tale of the Jefferson County debt crisis is recounted here by identifying and examining failures of transparency and accountability by local bureaucratic and political actors, private financial institutions, as well as the larger regulatory framework governing public finance. Enhanced regulation of local government and the financial sector plus greater local government capacity to close accountability gaps and thus prevent future crises of similar scale in this or other jurisdictions are recommended.     

The backlash against civil society in the wake of the Long War on Terror

The enthusiasm for civil society that emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the spread of democratic regimes has been replaced in recent years by a backlash against civil society on many levels and fronts. This has particularly intensified since the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the ensuing global war on terror. This article examines the causes of this backlash within the context of the ‘Long War on Terror’, describes the overt and implicit manifestations of the backlash, and reflects upon the implications for the future. It considers how the growing prominence of concerns about security and the concomitant expansion of counter-terrorist measures across the world threaten the spaces for civil society to flourish and act. It argues that while the manifestations of the backlash, such as the crackdown on NGOs in Russia and the taming of NGOs by bilateral and multilateral agencies, may appear to be disparate, unconnected phenomena, on closer inspection it is clear that they are intricately intertwined.     

Stability and change 1300–1700: The socio‐economic context of the self‐perpetuating family farm in England

The article examines the not inconsiderable role played by alteration in the pattern of inheritance custom in bringing about the transformation of the medieval peasantry into a self‐respecting group of small‐holders. Where child‐portions in the form of cash or education were accepted as legitimate equivalents to land and stock, sixteenth‐century holdings remained large, 30–100 acres. Where the principle was not accepted, the medieval pattern of overcrowded twelve‐acre holdings either persisted or reappeared.

The very considerable differences, in cultural and economic terms, between the small‐holder of the thirteenth‐century in England and the small‐holder of the eighteenth century has been largely obscured and overlooked by the use of the term ’peasant’ to designate both groups. Thus the medievalists discuss the disappearance of the peasantry in the fifteenth century and modern historians and sociologists probe the causes of the disappearance of the peasantry in the eighteenth. Both have in mind the self‐perpetuating family farm but they are discussing two very different types of rural economy. Such confusion is surely an indicator of the need for a closer definition of terms among those concerned with rural studies.     

Dynamic selection effects in means‐tested,urban school voucher programs

Much of the controversy surrounding school vouchers, and privatization schemes generally, stems from concerns about social stratification. This paper identifies the form and magnitude of selection effects in a means‐tested New York City voucher program. It compares students who applied for vouchers, with the eligible population of public‐school students; those who initially used vouchers, with those who declined them; and those who remained in private schools, with those who eventually returned to public schools. Differences along the lines of ethnicity, residential mobility, mother's education, and income are observed. In addition, specific aspects of a child's education—parental satisfaction, school uniform requirements, and larger class sizes—all increased the length of time voucher students remained in private schools. Throughout the program's life span, however, the largest and most consistent effects revolved around families' religious identity and practices. © 2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Postsecondary preparation and remediation: Examining the effect of the early assessment program at California State University

In this paper we investigate how participation in the Early Assessment Program, which provides California high school juniors with information about their academic readiness for college‐level work at California State University campuses, affects their college‐going behavior and need for remediation in college. Using administrative records from California State University,–Sacramento and the California Department of Education, we find that participation in the Early Assessment Program reduces the average student's probability of needing remediation at California State University by 6.1 percentage points in English and 4.1 percentage points in mathematics. Rather than discouraging poorly prepared students from applying to Sacramento State, EAP appears to lead students to increase their academic preparation while still in high school. © 2010 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Planning theory as political practice

Howell S. Baum is associate professor, teaching planning theory, social planning, and organizational behavior at the University of Maryland Institute for Urban Studies and School of Social Work and Community Planning. He has done research on planning in bureaucratic organizations and is author of Planners and Public Expectationsand The Invisible Bureaucracy.He is completing a book on the experience of working in bureaucracy, Membership Without Intimacy.