The emergence of a civilian power: Germany and central Europe

This article argues that in its policies towards the central European countries, unified Germany displayed the characteristics of a civilian power. This was a consequence of the changes the west German state had undergone since its inception, which predisposed it towards a particular foreign policy. The article has three sections. It first sketches the ideal type civilian power, and places its normative commitments in the tradition of international liberalism. The second section illustrates the particular German circumstances that make an inclination towards a civilian foreign policy possible. The third section presents an outline of selected German policies towards the Visegrad countries, namely aid, trade, and institutional extension, and compares the findings with the civilian power ideal type introduced in Part I.     

The coordinate plane of global governance

The ‘coordinate plane of global governance’ developed in this paper describes the trade-off between static gains and dynamic losses associated with international policy harmonization. A simple model illustrates how potential gains result from producing positive international spill-overs, whereas potential losses come from restricted systems competition between national policy regimes. The solution to this model allows identifying the cut-off level between policies suitable for global harmonization and policies which should better not be centralized. An application of the concept to selected policy fields illustrates its relevance for decision-making on global governance.

Promoting customer engagement: A new trend in utility regulation

This paper traces a new development in regulation that encourages utilities to engage more directly with their customers. We make four contributions: First, we perform a comprehensive analysis of how regulators are using customer engagement, and offer a simple model for understanding different customer engagement initiatives. Second, we review assessments of customer engagement. We find that there are no quantitative, empirically robust assessments of the effectiveness of customer engagement as a regulatory tool. Third, we develop two detailed case studies of an energy regulator and a water regulator that are in the forefront of customer engagement efforts. We find that there is no direct link between the engagement strategy used and the economic incentives received by a firm. Finally, we propose a framework for improving the customer engagement process. The new framework relies on microeconomics, modern tools of program evaluation, and supplying the regulated firm with direct incentives to engage with the customer.     

The economic significance of “insignificant” rules

We know relatively little about the economic effects of “insignificant” rules because they are not typically analyzed. Yet, these rules could be cumulatively important. We provide an economic analysis of one proposed rule to control hazardous air pollutants, which is not considered to be economically significant. This rule is of particular interest because it is one of the first in a long series of rules that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will consider for limiting hazardous air pollutant emissions. Our analysis suggests that the proposed controls that EPA has considered are not likely to pass a benefit–cost test. We recommend that an agency base its decision to allocate additional resources to benefit–cost analysis on the expected value of the improved information. In addition, agencies should consider applying a rule of thumb that would specify a threshold level of risk reduction that needs to be achieved before some kinds of regulation are considered.     

The political economy of environmental regulation: Towards a unifying framework

There are several theories that attempt to explain various aspects of environmental policy. Building on insights from this theoretical work, and recent advances in our understanding of instrument performance, this paper constructs a more complete theory of environmental regulation. There are two primary contributions of this research. The first is to provide more satisfactory explanations for a number of observed patterns of environmental policy. For example, there is, as yet, no satisfactory theory about the emergence of incentive-based mechanisms, such as marketable permits and effluent fees. The second contribution of this paper is to develop a parsimonious framework for understanding many important aspects of environmental policy. This framework suggests the outputs of environmental policy emerge from a struggle between key interest groups.This research was supported by the National Science Foundation. I would like to thank Gordon Hester for helpful comments. Responsibility for the final product rests solely with the author.     

Bausteine des Vertrauens — eine Begriffsanalyse

Vertrauen ist in den vergangenen Jahren zu einem in den Wirtschafts-, aber auch den Sozialwissenschaften populären Forschungsgegenstand geworden. Es wird mit verschiedenen Fragestellungen sowie unter Zugrundelegung unterschiedlicher handlungstheoretischer Grundannahmen untersucht. Dementsprechend existiert eine ganze Reihe wissenschaftlicher Vertrauenskonzepte, die vielfach kaum kompatibel sind: Ähnlich wie in der Sprache des Alltags wird auch im wissenschaftlichen Diskurs eine mehr oder minder heterogene Klasse von Beziehungen und Entscheidungen unter dem Begriff des Vertrauens gefasst. Dieser Beitrag möchte einen systematischen Überblick über die Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede wissenschaftlicher Vertrauenskonzepte geben. Zu diesem Zweck werden einzelne Dimensionen des Phänomens ?Vertrauen“ unterschieden, entlang derer eine Begriffsanalyse erfolgt. Hinter dieser Begriffsanalyse steht das fernere Erkenntnisinteresse, den Blick für potenzielle Vertrauensressourcen zu schärfen, entsprechend der Einsicht, dass sich Vertrauen als eine Form von ?social capital“ verstehen lässt. Die Identifikation von Vertrauensressourcen erfordert es, unterschiedliche empirische Formen des Vertrauens zu unterscheiden.     

Genipin--a novel fingerprint reagent with colorimetric and fluorogenic activity

Genipin, the hydrolytic product of geniposide, which is extracted from gardenia fruit, shows good potential as a fingerprint reagent. It develops latent fingerprints on paper as blue impressions with good contrast and resolution. Even very faint impressions that are barely visible in ambient light will fluoresce brightly upon illumination at ca. 590 nm and are best viewed with a barrier filter above 630 nm. Potential advantages of genipin are the combination of colorimetric and fluorogenic activity in one reagent as well as its being a safe and environmentally friendly natural product.