Unintended Consequences of NPM Drive the “Bureaucracy”

This article examines the unintended consequences following implementation of a new public management (NPM) reform—a performance-based salary system—in two Swedish public schools. Headmasters and central office personnel were interviewed. The expected reform results at last appeared a decade after implementation when salary-setting procedures adopted the bureaucratic framework. Despite the common view that NPM reforms, owing to unintended consequences, fail because they adapt poorly to the Weberian control regime at public organizations, this article argues that the unintended consequences of an NPM reform can drive the “bureaucratic” organization even when there is no evidence of debureaucratization.     

Lamenting the list: a partial test of Sherman’s defiance theory as applied to female sex offenders

Through the community notification and sex offender registry laws that have been passed, the USA has created a strict legal environment that requires sex offenders to remain in compliance with the registry requirements placed on them by the state once they are released back into their communities. A variety of unintended consequences, such as unemployment and housing issues, have resulted from these laws and have the potential to impact the reentry efforts of released sex offenders. Using Sherman’s defiance theory as a theoretical lens, the current study examines the experiences of registered female sex offenders living in Florida. One hundred and six registered female sex offenders were surveyed to examine their experiences while on the registry, and whether those events influence feelings of defiance toward the registry and criminal justice systems. Results suggest that these offenders indeed experience unintended consequences due to their registration status, which in turn shows support for the four canonical elements of Sherman’s theory by inferring that these women feel unjustly punished and stigmatized. Research findings, policy implications, and limitations are discussed.     

College programs in prison and upon reentry for men and women: a literature review

People in prison participating in college education are least likely to recidivate and most likely to be employed after incarceration. Almost no research exists on the collateral – negative and often unanticipated – consequences of a criminal conviction on access to college upon community re-entry. We review these few studies, the existing research on college in prison – with special attention to women’s needs; some new ‘hybrid’ programs with 2 years of college in prison plus 2 years in the community; and the rare studies that interview people applying to college upon re-entry. Their struggles can be overwhelming and require more research and activism.     

The price of non-compliance with the Kyoto Protocol: The remarkable case of Norway

One of the ways to induce compliance is for an international enforcement mechanism to authorize the use of punitive consequences against a non-compliant country. However, such consequences should not cause significant damage to other (compliant) countries. The compliance mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol fails to meet this requirement. The Enforcement Branch of the Compliance Committee is instructed to impose punitive consequences on a non-compliant country that will have considerable adverse welfare effects for compliant countries as well. Using a numerical model, we show that in the case of Norway, the welfare effects can actually be worse if another country is punished than if Norway itself is punished.

The Unintended Consequences of the EU’s Rural Development Programme in the Arab Countryside

ABSTRACT

After the Arab revolts, the EU designed a new regional rural development programme to address the various political and economic threats in the Arab Mediterranean countryside. Although the programme is based on a new cognitive framework, it has generated unintended consequences that undermine its effectiveness. These consequences were predictable. They are a product of path dependency and the inability of policymakers to draw lessons from previous EU initiatives with similar aims and to contextualise the relationship between small farmers and political elites in the Arab countryside.     

Responsive regulation at the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority: An empirical assessment of assumptions underlying the theory

Responsive regulation usually boils down to the assumption that enforcers should not shift to coercing before it has become clear that persuading does not work. This presupposes that it is possible to determine what the correct enforcement style is, that enforcers can apply the most suitable style, and that enforcers control the negative unintended consequences of their conduct. We have studied the applicability of these presuppositions at the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority by way of observations, interviews, and a survey. The applicability of all three presuppositions has proven problematic; enforcement agents apply different styles in comparable cases; they are impeded in applying the most appropriate style; and they do not control the perverse consequences of their conduct because regulatees tend to perceive it as more coercive than intended by inspectors. Our findings are not unique to this inspectorate and hence raise questions about the applicability of the theory of responsive regulation.     

To What Extent Can the January 25 Revolution Be Seen as a “Bifurcation” in the Life Stories of Egyptian Migrants in France?

ABSTRACT

The revolutionary process initiated in Egypt in 2011 triggered a surge in Egyptian-led organizations in the public arena in Paris. This article examines the issue of the “biographical impacts of commitment” and applies the “life history approach” to these Egyptian activists. Our basic hypothesis is that the opening up of political perspectives in Egypt may be understood as a bifurcation process in such individual trajectories. It may have entailed a series of disruptions in everyday life to the extent of causing these Egyptian migrants to reconsider their positions within the French context.     

劳劲力市场户籍歧视法律经济分析

从对劳动歧视的法律和经济学意义以及户藉歧视这一我国特有的劳动歧视现象进行分析可以看出,限制外来工就业的政策法规降低了资源配置的效率,造成了社会整体福利的减少,所以必须修改或废除相关法规。     

构建担保物权期间制度的几点设想

我国目前担保物权期间制度的立法现状存在不足,需对担保物权期间制度中的担保期间的约定、期间届满后法律后果以及起算等问题予以重构。     

The Unintended Consequences of a European Neighbourhood Policy without Russia

ABSTRACT

After Russia’s retreat from the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU’s policy towards its eastern neighbours was split up. The internal unintended consequence of the EU’s choice to leave its policy unaltered was a tension between the objective of privileged relations with ENP countries and a promise to recognise the interests of Russia as an equal partner. Externally, the unintended outcome was that this fostered two opposing strategic environments: a cooperative one for the EaP and a competitive one with Russia. In terms of the management of unintended consequences, the EU has actively sought to reinforce its normative hegemony towards EaP countries, while at the same time mitigating certain negative unintended effects.