LEARNING FROM SUCCESS: ARE SUCCESSFUL GOVERNMENTS ROLE MODELS?

Do local governments learn from their successful peers when designing public policies? In spite of extensive research on policy diffusion and learning, there is still a lack of studies on how success relates to learning patterns. We address this deficiency by examining which other governments local administrative units draw lessons from. More precisely, we investigate whether public managers learn from the experiences of local governments whose citizens are satisfied with government services. Using a large dyadic dataset on all Swedish municipalities from 2010, we find that senior public managers in local administrations learn from similar local governments and from neighbours. But we also find clear evidence that they learn from local governments whose citizens are pleased with local public services. This indicates that best practices are spread among local governments.     

Restraining Women: Gender, Sexuality and Modernity in Salvador da Bahia

Abstract — The paper explores constructions of masculinity and feminity in the speech and practice of residents of a low-income settlement in Salvador, Bahia. In local talk about sexual mores and parenting, the dominant theme is the 'liberal' and 'decadent' character of the modern age. Modernity is equated with a loss of social control over female sexuality and reproduction. Embedded in this vision is a powerful gender ideology that conditions the construction of gender identities. Analysis reveals that the negotiation of identity is a complex and contested field. But against the postmodernist trend in contemporary gender studies, the paper argues that it is necessary to locate multiple and contested gender identities in the overarching gender system. This is rooted in gender ideology, in sexual practice and in the systematic features of social and economic life. Far from signalling transformation in the gender system, talk about women's loss of restraint and respectability functions as a brake upon pressure for change.     

‘You have to be with God and the Devil’: Linking Bolivia's Extractive Industries and Local Development through Social Licences

The social licence is an instrument that establishes the conditions for community acceptance of an extractive industry project in a locality. It emerges at the interface of debates on corporate social responsibility and indigenous rights in Bolivia. In this article, relations between mining companies and local communities are explored, with a particular focus on the role of participation and firm‐based commitments to local development. The conclusions point to the limits of voluntary firm initiatives in strengthening local sustainable development. A more demanding regulatory instrument is required that may facilitate mutual agreement on the terms by which resources are extracted.