Agency under constraint: Ideological preferences and the politics of electricity regulation in Latin America

Whereas both the literature on globalization and the literature on regulatory diffusion stress the pressures that led to policy convergence, this article shows how the ideology of incumbents produced different regulatory outcomes, even in the face of strong financial and technological pressures that constrained policy agency. By looking at the regulatory frameworks adopted at the time of electricity privatization in Latin America, this article shows that right‐wing governments adopted regulations that eliminated barriers to entry and investment and limited the discretion of regulators (market‐conforming regulations), and that former statists who had pragmatically converted to the market creed instead chose regulations that tended to impose higher barriers to entry and investment and gave regulators wide discretion in conflict resolution and price setting (market‐controlling regulations). These findings suggest the need to look at the ideology (and ideological legacies) of government coalitions for a more nuanced understanding of the process of regulatory diffusion that took place across many sectors in most regions of the world.     

Naming without shaming: The publication of sanctions in the Dutch financial market

Enforcement agencies increasingly disclose or “name and shame” corporate offenders. This article uses responsive regulation as a framework for an empirical study of the impact of non‐anonymous publication of sanctions in the Dutch financial market. These publications are characterized as “naming without shaming”, because they are used for technical guidance rather than with the intention to shame. The findings show that naming offenders functions as a general deterrent in the market for financial intermediaries, but considerably less so in the capital market. In both markets, the publication of sanctions weakened the impact of enforcement. In the capital market, the publications neutralized the seriousness of offenses and contributed to the image of the regulator as powerless. In the market for financial intermediaries, naming offenders was perceived as stigmatizing shaming and led to defiance, rather than compliance. The case study suggests, however, that the publication of sanctions may provide an opportunity for guidance, provided they contain a moral message, rather than technical instruction.     

侦查讯问中的情绪调节

在侦查讯问的激烈对抗中,侦查人员和犯罪嫌疑人都会出现剧烈的情绪变化。因此,有必要从心理学和侦查学相结合的角度去探讨侦查人员和犯罪嫌疑人的情绪反应,并在此基础上分析这些情绪产生的原因,提出有针对性的情绪调节策略。此举对于查明犯罪事实,达到预期目标具有重要的意义和价值。     

现行国有资产监管体制的发展趋势

我国现行的国有资产监管体制是随着社会主义市场经济体制的建立和探索逐渐形成的。其优势在统一性、严密性、包容性,劣势在框架狭小、到位缓慢、环境欠佳。本文在利弊分析基础上,认为产融结合、社会文化事业发展和国有资产在监管缝隙中有流失风险的形势,并提出了国资监管体制的趋势性建议。     

国外职业安全与健康政府管制研究综述

职业安全与健康政府管制研究在发达国家已形成比较完善的理论体系。本文在深入分析国外职业安全与健康政府管制相关文献的基础上,对有关研究者的观点进行提炼,并按照职业安全与健康政府管制必要性、管制对象与方法、管制绩效评价三个方面进行综述。国外学者总体上对职业安全与健康政府管制绩效持肯定态度,但也指出管制的负面性,强调:应对政府管制权力加以制约;注重政府管制的方式方法,提高管制效果;加强政府管制绩效评价,树立成本—收益理念。这些可以为我国政府的安全生产管制实践提供借鉴。     

论职工民主管理立法的调整对象

职工民主管理法制化是我国民主法制建设的一项重要内容,是市场经济法律体系中的一个重要组成部分。为此,制定一部适应市场经济需要的职工民主管理法显得迫切而且极为重要。在民主管理的立法中,首先需要解决好的一个问题,就是明确民主管理立法中的调整对象。劳动关系、管理关系和为保护劳动关系和实现管理关系而产生的其他社会关系都应纳入民主管理立法的调整范围之内。     

论循环经济法的若干基本问题

当我国启动循环经济立法之际,为明确该立法方向、位阶、体系结构和框架,本文从理论源头上厘清循环经济法的一些基本问题以促进相关立法工作健康发展。     

No Identification Without Representation: Constraints on the Use of Biometric Identification Systems

The human species is again becoming nomadic. Each year, about two billion persons move across large geographic distances (not to mention people in “virtual mobility” through information and communication technology). Many of these people have weak or unreliable identification documents—and many poorer people in developing countries do not even have these documents. In 2000, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) calculated that 50 million babies (41% of births worldwide) were not registered at birth. In this scenario, a personal identification scheme based on birth registration and state‐issued passports is less and less tenable. Biometrics appears to offer a viable technological solution. However, the technology itself is subject to popular critique, warning of dystopian futures of overwhelming surveillance and loss of privacy. The best answer to those who fear an Orwellian future is to engage with the technology and seek to ensure that biometric identification systems are developed in positive ways. We suggest that identification schemes become problematic when the reciprocity of identification goes unnoticed, forgotten, or (what is worse) is intentionally bypassed. The dynamics of identification should be reciprocal, dialogical, and involving mutual recognition. In the traditional political domain, this is the recognition by the state of a citizen and by the citizen of the state. In the digital age, identification systems must increasingly transcend geopolitical borders. A globally recognized identification scheme is therefore a necessity. However, it is merely the nature of the borders that has changed here—not the nature of identification. Our call will be: no identification without representation.     

The Politics of “Fracking”: Regulating Natural Gas Drilling Practices in Colorado and Texas

This article focuses on the politics of regulating natural gas fracking operations in Colorado and Texas. Between‐state differences in the economic importance of natural gas production, political traditions, environmental impacts of drilling activities, and local governmental responses to risk reduction, and entrepreneurial activities are discussed in relation to policy‐making initiatives. In the concluding section, I suggest that Colorado's regulatory approach offers a greater degree of environmental protection than Texas. Key reforms adopted in 2007–8 can be largely attributed to electoral victories that ensured unified party control over state government and the determined efforts of the proenvironmental governor to make changes in both the regulatory commission and in the substance of natural gas drilling policies.     

Focal Points in Public Policy: Evidence from Voluntary Regulation

Numerous studies argue that law affects behavior “expressively”—such as when states create focal points that overcome the coordination difficulties firms face. We argue that governments help firms overcome coordination dilemmas by explicating a preferred strategy for firms weighing investment in voluntary regulation. Firms would prefer to coordinate on a common strategy as a way of reducing the costs of voluntary regulation and increasing its benefits. We test our hypothesis about the efficacy of focal point selection with the European Union's (EU) advocacy of the Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) over a rival environmental management system, International Standards Organization (ISO) 14001. EU nations have statistically significantly lower rates of ISO 14001 certification than comparable countries at least in part due to their advocacy of EMAS. These results emphasize the role the state plays in coordinating business behavior even when such policy is simply expressive.