On the Political Economy of Environmental Policy

In the past there was hardly any use of economic instrumentsin environmental policy, mainly command and control measureswere used. More recently, ecological taxes as well as tradablepermits became more popular and voluntary agreements have beenimplemented. Using the Public Choice approach we ask for thereasons of this wider acceptance of economic instruments. Weconclude that the use of market based instruments inenvironmental policy has not increased very much and theirimpact on the actual situation is still rather low, but thereis hope of a at least some increase in the future.     

The Influence of Federal Regional Offices on State Medicaid Maternal and Child Health-Care Services

This article focuses on the influence of federal regional administrativeoffices on maternal and child health-care services in stateMedicaid programs. The empirical results demonstrate that regionaladministrative offices affect the adoption of state policy choices.More traditional economic and political variables seem to havelittle direct impact These findings provide important insightsinto the role of federal regional offices in state Medicaidmaternal and child health-care services. They emphasize theneed for further empirical research on the exact processes bywhich regional administrative offices exert their impact onthe American policy process.     

The flypaper effect and competition in the local market for public goods

In this paper, we explore how the ability of bureaucrats to extract resources from their community may be limited by competition in the local market for public goods. Specifically, we examine intergovernmental aid as a resource bureaucrats seek to control. Intergovernmental aid has been found to be more stimulative of local government expenditures than predicted by neo-classical economic theory. In this research, the ‘flypaper effect’ is used as an indicator of the ability of bureaucrats to control local resources in excess of local demand and preferences. We empirically relate variation in the flypaper effect to the extent of competition in the local market for public goods. Competition does not consistently limit the flypaper effect. The implications of this finding for theories of competition in the local market for public goods are then discussed.     

Concepts of “Decentralization” and “Federalization” in Ukraine: Political Signifiers or Distinct Constitutionalist Approaches for Devolutionary Federalism?

While the implementation of decentralization in Ukraine holds promise for improving the weak state of consociationalism there, the framing of the issue along regionally distinct lines persists. After a discussion of how preferences for “decentralization” over “federalization” have been inspired in Ukraine, the article evaluates the significance of these terms beyond sociopolitical stratification, that is, their relevance for constitutional reform of unitary states. Belgium and Spain, two countries that transitioned from unitary states to federal and decentralized systems (respectively) are viewed as instructive cases here. Overall, it is found that either approach abets successful devolutionary federalism if accompanied by ongoing, underlying measures to improve consociationalism.     

A Clean Development Mechanism with global atmospheric benefits for a post-2012 climate regime

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol allows the crediting of emission reductions from greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement projects in developing countries. The CDM is an offsetting mechanism and, in principle, a zero game to the atmosphere: emission reductions achieved from CDM projects allow industrialised countries to increase their emissions, respectively. The article explores how the CDM could be moved beyond a pure offsetting mechanism in a post-2012 climate regime by crediting only a fraction of the emission reductions from CDM projects, thereby providing a net atmospheric benefit. Potential implications on the carbon market are assessed in a qualitative manner and different design options for such a reform to the CDM are discussed. An important conclusion is that the effects on carbon market depend considerably on whether the use of the CDM is limited through caps or not.

Patients as consumers: courts, contracts, and the new medical marketplace

The persistent riddle of health-care policy is how to control the costs while improving the quality of care. The riddle's once promising answer--managed care--has been politically ravaged, and consumerist solutions are now winning favor. This Article examines the legal condition of the patient-as-consumer in today's health-care market. It finds that insurers bargain with some success for rates for the people they insure. The uninsured, however, must contract to pay whatever a provider charges and then are regularly charged prices that are several times insurers' prices and providers' actual costs. Perhaps because they do not understand the healthcare market, courts generally enforce these contracts. This Article proposes legal solutions to the plight of the patient-as-consumer and asks what that plight tells us about market solutions to the health-care quandary.