Debt and the Local Economy: Problems in Benchmarking Local Government Debt Affordability

Debt creation imposes an obligation to repay borrowed funds from a wealth base that for most local governments is capitalized in property values. Therefore, the ability to afford debt is tied to the local economy, a factor often overlooked by localities in the analyses of their own position. However, debt levels are also relative, as the many debt affordability studies among governments and by bond rating agencies suggest. We argue here that economic concentration and interjurisdictional coordination fundamentally provide a broader analytical approach to the question a locality asks: can we afford more debt?     

Partisanship and principle: Voters and the New Zealand electoral referendum of 1993

Abstract. In a two–stage referendum process, in 1992 and 1993, New Zealand voters authorised a radical change from a plurality electoral system to proportional representation. Although ad hoc groups, not the major political parties, led the debate for and against the change, the nature of the issue ensured that partisanship had a strong effect on voters' choices. Yet many voters were also guided by their political principles and values, including fairness of representation on one side, and preference for single–party, decisive governments on the other. Experience of proportional representation since 1996 has resulted in a fairly high level of uncertainty toward electoral change, independent of partisanship. Values and partisanship, however, remain the two stabilising influences.     

IMPLEMENTING A PROGRAM OF COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN SURFACE MINING POLICY

This article outlines the legislative history of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 and describes the forces that promoted a federalist arrangement of shared powers and responsibility for implementing the environmental reclamation provisions of the Act. The major components of the Act are reviewed and the Act is examined in terms of its general effectiveness in promoting reclamation as well as its contribution to the practice of American federalism and the capacity of state government to implement complex regulatory programs. The article concludes that SMCRA has had a positive impact in terms of improving state capabilities, expanding public involvement in decision making, and enhancing federal and state cooperation.     

AUTHORSHIP AND THE PUBLIC SPEECH

Abstract: At one level, this paper is a fairly straightforward analysis of speeches about industry training made by two business people on behalf of the state. As such, it can be situated within a constellation of relations described by the following formations: relations between and within business and government; the role of non-statutory public advisory bodies; and the nexus of economy and training. At a second level, the paper may be read as an attempt to address the techniques of speech writing within the public service and how these resonate with "famous names" to produce authored — and authorised — documents. And at a third level, what I am seeking is to advocate the use of discourse analysis in the study of Australian public policy, by positioning the speeches within a set of structuring forms of knowledge. I want particularly to argue for the dominance of neoclassical economics as a key logic determining the terms of truth within such speeches. This will be maintained both through a reading of these specific texts and a discussion of the context within which they were produced, circulated and consumed.     

A Latent Variable Analysis of General Strain Theory

Strain theory has returned to the forefront of criminological theory and research, due primarily to the general strain model developed by Robert Agnew. Agnew posits that a broad range of negative social relations comprises strain and that these straining mechanisms lead to delinquent behavior and other maladaptive functioning. Moreover, strain has its strongest effect on delinquency when certain coping strategies are attenuated or when delinquent peers reinforce perceptions of strain. Although several studies have now shown the utility of general strain theory as an explanation of delinquency, they have relied mainly on cross-sectional effects or two-wave panel designs using methods that fail to consider measurement error or autocorrelated errors. In this study we extend these analyses by estimating a latent variable structural equation model that examines the effects of strain—operationalized as negative life events—on conventional attachment and delinquency over a 3-year period. Furthermore, we directly assess Agnew's coping strategies hypotheses by stratifying the models by self-efficacy, self-esteem, and peer delinquency. The results indicate that significant longitudinal effects of strain on delinquency emerge during year 3 but that these effects are not conditioned by self-efficacy or self-esteem. Changes in strain also affect changes in delinquency, but only among those who report no delinquent peers. We do find, however, that over the initial 2 years strain has a negative effect on delinquency among those high in self-efficacy, self-esteem, or delinquent peers. The findings are discussed in terms of Agnew's theory.     

The Fiscal Organization of Metropolitan Areas: The Allegheny County Case Reconsidered

Is consolidation of local governments within metropolitan areasdesirable? The "traditional reform approach" advocates greaterconsolidation to promote efficiency and equity. However, recentstudies by the U.S. Advisory Commission on IntergovernmentalRelations (ACIR), relying on a "public choice approach," arguethat formally fragmented systems can produce self-determination,citizen choice, competition, fiscal equivalence, accountability,and representation. This study reassesses the evidence presentedin the ACIR study on Allegheny County. While concurring thattraditional reform efforts are poorly conceptualized, the findingsshow that fiscal disparities among Allegheny County municipalitiespersist and have significantly increased over the past decade.These findings, taken together with those from citizen surveys,challenge the conceptual foundations and policy implicationsof both approaches. F or more than half a century, scholars