The rise and decline of regional power: A historical case-study of privilege seeking

This paper comprises one of Olson's findings about the rise and decline of nations and Tullock's idea of privilege-seeking. In the historical framework of Northern Europe the history of a town being closely linked with its saltern is investigated. It is shown that throughout the centuries rent- and privilege-seeking dominated. This was primarily done to avoid competition and, finally, to get excessive revenues. The sovereigns' production-costs of the privileges were low and Tullock's results of an efficient transfer mechanism are confirmed. Additionally, the findings of coalition-forming and mortgaging support the inevitable sclerotic process. Market activities find their political counterparts which is illustrated by the building and destroying of specific coalitions. A typical delay of privilege- and coalition-seeking is observed depending on the economic and political success. Regulatory measures are explored then “exploited”, and allies are found, “utilized” and dropped, finally leaving certified rents of no value.     

Allocative or Distributive Aims of Income Taxation?

Relations of income tax legislation and economic development are traditional subjects of German public finance. Reginald Hansen's book (1996) on practical consequences of the “Methodenstreit” for income taxation is considered under three aspects: history of economic thought, tax-systems and aims of income taxation. The introduction is followed by four paragraphs: 1. Long-term views of income taxation, 2. Reginald Hansen's comments on income taxation in Germany, 3. From Schmoller and Wagner to the modern German type of income taxation, 4. “Ability to pay,” “Pay as you use” or what else? The article demonstrates progressive and restrictive results of the long-term view focusing on the evaluation of income taxation principles.     

‘We,the European People . . .’—Relâche?

Abstract:  The failure of the European constitutional treaty has not been taken seriously by the European constitutionalists. It is regarded as a kind of accident which will be repaired in due course. The article is a plea for a reopening of the debate on Europeanness. Europe cannot and should not be a 'superstate'; nor can it be a kind of revival of the European nation state which is threatened by globalisation. Even less can it be a community of post-national deliberators as Jürgen Habermas would have it. Europe should be constructed as an entity of its own which responds to the heterarchical relational logic of fragmentation which characterises post-modernity and globalisation of which it is a part. It cannot be its counterpart. Europe does not need a 'constitution', and it does not need a 'people' either.     

A typology of homicides committed by youth groups

Based on a complete survey of homicides committed by young people between the age of 14 and 21 (juvenile and adolescent offenders) in the German state of Brandenburg during a period of 10 years, two typologies are presented to describe homicidal acts. The first typology is based on motivation and identifies the basic social attitude of the offender manifested in the concrete offence, whereas the typology based on group context deals with the social conditions influencing the offender in his actions in the youth group. Both are supported by comprehensive data regarding the personal and social circumstances of the offenders and offences. In the typology based on motivation, our study distinguishes between homicide committed out of conviction, homicide due to the social background and homicide for egoistic reasons in order to satisfy a sudden urge in an overpowering situation. In the typology based on group context, a distinction is made between solo and group offences with the latter being subdivided into emotional/non-emotional and planned/ unplanned acts. By typologizing offences according to motivation, perpetrators can be categorized according to their affiliation with a certain milieu and their emotional and ideological disposition. Contrary to conventional criminological studies, the typology according to group context suggests a high percentage of group-based violent crime, which has so far been described on the margin only.     

Unusual findings in a death caused by a car fire

Witnesses detected a burning car in the parking lot next to a discotheque in the early morning hours. After the fire had been extinguished, the charred body of the 23-year-old car owner was found in the driver's seat. The young man had been a guest of the discotheque the previous night and consumed plenty of alcoholic drinks. The traces left by the fire on the car suggested that the fire had started in the passenger compartment. At autopsy, greyish-brown discoloration and induration of the mucosa of the respiratory tract were found in addition to massive aspiration of soot and signs of soot swallowing. The macroscopic and histological findings pointed to a chemical burn of the airways probably caused by chlorine gases developing when the covering of the passenger compartment was burning. Chemical burns due to inhalation, aspiration and swallowing of soot are all signs of vitality, so that a smoldering fire must have gone on for a while inside the car with the windows closed. The most probable cause of the fire is that clothing or textile material in the car was set on fire by a burning cigarette.     

Drug Policies and Drug Prevalence: The Role of Demand and Supply

Changes in drug policy within countries and variations in drug policy across countries do not show clear cut relationships with drug prevalence levels. Neither liberal nor repressive policies promote or reduce drug use. Though policy might affect supply, factors associated with demand seem to exert a greater impact. Socio-economic conditions and attitudes of the populations towards drugs and related areas might be more important than policy in determining the prevalence level of cannabis and the turnover rate to hard drug use.     

“Staatswirtschaftslehre”—A Component of “Staatswissenschaften” Today and Tomorrow

The paper starts from problems of reorganization of the Welfare State. The second paragraph contains definitions and materials. The third paragraph turns to the development of Staatswissenschaften, especially to cameralistic views, public choice and deregulation. The fourth section deals with present Staatswirtschaftslehre as a component of Staatswissenschaften. The fifth paragraph is focussed on deregulation and reorganization of the state.The paper demonstrates: Staatswissenschaften and Staatswirtschaftslehre will be important academic disciplines also tomorrow, though the State will be reorganized by privatization, non-government-organizations and rearrangements of private and public sector activities under the conditions of new technologies and open markets.