Central / national / federal government policies Books

Book SynopsisThere are estimated to be almost 60 million people living in poverty throughout the European Union. This bleak statistic underlines the value of this important book which explores the nature and extent of poverty and social exclusion in six European countries, namely: Austria, Germany, Greece, Norway, Portugal and the UK. The book focuses on four 'life course' groups who might be considered particularly at risk: young adults, lone parents, the sick and disabled, and the retired.The authors show how poverty is the outcome of the interaction between several factors including education, gender and family structure. They emphasise the importance of distinguishing between poverty and non-monetary measures of deprivation and isolation. Although the poor are more at risk of suffering from deprivation, the authors demonstrate that this relationship is more tenuous than many people suppose. Employing rigorous theoretical and methodological analyses they go on to relate their findings to the policy environment in each of the countries, which were specifically chosen to reflect differing welfare systems. In this way the authors compare the impact of government policy on both the level of poverty and social exclusion, and on who is most at risk of experiencing them.Both statistically and in policy terms this book will be essential reading for students and academics of economics and the social sciences, and policy makers at both the national and European level.Trade Review'The book is an interesting read for those interested in how social exclusion affects European society. It is a book to recommend to those involved in decision making, especially those who think that social problems can simply be resolved with an increase in economic growth. . .' -- European LibraryTable of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. Social Exclusion and the Life Course 2. Poverty, Material Deprivation and Multi-dimensional Disadvantage During Four Life Stages: Evidence from the ECHP 3. Transitions from Youth to Adulthood 4. Lone Parenthood 5. Sickness and Disability 6. Transition into Retirement 7. Patterns of Social Exclusion: Implications for Policy and Research References Index

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Book SynopsisEuropean policies increasingly affect the daily decisions of European firms. Better understanding of the motivation and reasoning behind policies that affect industry is therefore essential to those interested in or affected by industrial policy. Industry and the European Union explores different European policy areas, focusing on aspects that are of particular importance for business.This important volume provides researchers, students and lecturers of European studies, international business and international political economy with an insight into how relevant European policies affect industry. The book will also offer all involved with industrial policy - including business associations, chambers of commerce and business information centres, as well as policymakers at regional, national and international levels - a unique and authoritative examination of industrial policy.Trade Review'Authors of books on economics and related subjects frequently claim that their work will be of interest to students, policymakers and business people. In my experience, however, they rarely succeed in living up to the claim. I think this book is an exception in actually achieving this objective. Its subject is the industrial policies of the European Union. I particularly like the broad canvas, which spreads beyond what is sometimes defined narrowly as industrial policy: there are interesting chapters on eleven different policy areas, and, together, they amount to a valuable source of reference. Each of the chapters is written by an experienced practitioner, working in the area, and there is an authoritative and informative feel throughout the whole volume. . . . I will readily recommend it to students at a variety of levels: undergraduate and postgraduate; in economics and on MBAs.' -- Stephen Davies, University of East Anglia, UK'This book is a most valuable contribution to the understanding of the complexity of European policies and their impact on individual businesses and industry as a whole. That focus makes this book unique. All in all, there are only a few books about the industrial policy of the European Union and none with such a focus.' -- Karel van Miert, Universiteit Nyenrode, The Netherlands'Contrary to standard works covering community industrial policy, this book is based on the experience of those involved in the actual formulation of policies. It documents the evolution of this policy towards a horizontal approach combining various instruments that need to be made consistent with each other. This book will be very valuable to scholars and policymakers alike.' -- Alexis Jacquemin, European Commission and Universite Catholique de Louvain, BelgiumTable of ContentsContents: Preface Foreword Part I: Introduction Part II: Policies of Importance to Industry Part III: The Industrial Policy of the European Union Part IV: The Future Index

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Book SynopsisIncreasingly, the governments of virtually all industrialised countries are confronted with persistent problems of unemployment and low pay for those with little formal education and few skills. To combat this growing problem, various countries are utilising different remedies - usually with disappointing results.Policy Measures for Low-Wage Employment in Europe is a focused and up-to-date set of studies highlighting several important new findings. The book considers in-depth policy measures in the areas of taxation, benefits and employer subsidies aimed at the low-skilled and illustrates the limitations of short-term solutions. The policy debate is extended to encompass the role of product demand related to low-paid, low-skilled work and to the functioning of the labour market. In particular, the study investigates the role of job satisfaction and turn over in two major low-paying sectors - the retail trade and the hotel industry.This book will prove a valuable contribution to the literature for labour economists and policymakers at European and national level and policy officers of trade union and employment organisations. Those interested in labour market problems will also find the work to be a fascinating read.Table of ContentsContents: Introduction Part I: Taxes, Benefits and Subsidies Part II: Long-Run Policy Issues of Low Pay Part III: Demand for Low-Paid Labour Index

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Book SynopsisThis insightful book examines the necessary conditions for the successful initiation and consolidation of unpopular economic reforms. Drawing on the burgeoning literature in the area of policy reform, it features a comparative analysis of fiscal reform in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic at different stages of the post-communist transformation. This analysis demonstrates that a significant number of the national differences in fiscal reform can be attributed to differences in political constraints. It also reveals that these very constraints change in the course of transformation and have become increasingly similar to the 'standard' restrictions which exist in the traditional EU and OECD countries.This in-depth analysis of the changing role of political determinants in post-communist fiscal reform will strongly appeal to economists and political scientists interested in the political economy of policy reform, post-communist economic transformation and the role of international organizations (IMF, EU) in shaping domestic policy-making. Policy analysts interested in fiscal reform in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic will also find much to interest them in this book.Trade Review'Frank Bonker has done a masterful job. . . This is probably the best book available on this important subject. And its significance is not limited to studies of postcommunist societies. It has important theoretical implications for everyone interested in the Political Economy of Policy Reform perspective within the field of comparative political economy.' -- John L. Campbell, Slavic Review'I read Frank Bonker's book with interest. The book is well documented, balanced, and interesting. The book is overall quite informative and detailed. The comparative approach is convincing and the author demonstrates a deep and detailed knowledge of the three countries and the subject. He also convincingly demonstrates that the topic has an importance that goes beyond the cases analyzed.' -- Bruno Dallago, President, European Association for Comparative Economic Studies and University of Trento, Italy'This is a very well organised and clearly written book with convincing arguments and analysis throughout. Its largely jargon-free style makes it accessible to the non-specialist and provides for a thorough and easily read piece of work. As well as being of interest to researchers specialising in this topic, the book should be usable by undergraduate as well as postgraduate students.' -- Martin Dangerfield, University of Wolverhampton, UKTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Fiscal Reform, Post-communist Transformation and the Political Economy of Policy Reform 2. The Political Economy of Fiscal Reform in the OECD Countries and the Developing Countries 3. Agenda and Context of Post-communist Fiscal Reform 4. Getting Started: The Initiation of Fiscal Reform after the Fall of Communism 5. Staying the Course I: Fiscal Reform During the Post-communist Fiscal Crisis 6. Staying the Course II: Fiscal Reform from the End of the Post-communist Fiscal Crisis to EU Accession 7. Conclusion: Post-communist Fiscal Reform and the Changing Nature of Political Constraints References Index

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Book SynopsisThis unique book demonstrates how instruments of economics can be usefully employed to analyse social policy. The merits and limits of social policy programmes are discussed as answers to problems of market societies.Taking this enlightened approach, the author addresses key issues such as access to health services, pension programmes, unemployment, poverty and family support. Microeconomic tools are used to evaluate the rationale behind these programmes, underpinning the theoretical propositions with strong empirical research. Unusually, economic values are shown to harmonise with, rather than condemn, ideas of social protection.Providing information about institutional structures of social policy programmes in many countries, this book will be a must for academics and students interested in social policy and the welfare state. Furthermore, those who want to follow the political and scientific discussion of social policy matters will find this book invaluable.Trade Review'This is going to be a most useful book. . . It is sensible, informed, well-argued, and clear, and there is a good balance between theory and the results of empirical research. . . For both teachers and students this will prove to be a valuable textbook; and for politicians, commentators, and others, it will be a helpful resource, showing how useful economic theory can be when social policy is discussed, and also what its proper limits are.' -- Citizen's IncomeTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. Equilibrium, Welfare, Uncertainty 3. Economic Aspects of Social Policy 4. Social Health Policy 5. The Economics of Pensions 6. Social Policy and the Labour Market 7. Families, Children and Gender 8. Poverty Index

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Book SynopsisPreventing Unemployment in Europe is an interdisciplinary volume offering an effective and authoritative contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the utility of preventive labour market policies. Positive labour market performance is discussed from a European perspective and analysed against the background of transferability in an era of increasing globalisation of markets. Concentrating particularly on the role of corporatist and market processes, the book focuses on the effects of preventive unemployment through the comparison of innovative and flexible policy solutions.Some of the fundamental issues the book tackles include the extent to which the conditional framework for preventive labour market policy is undergoing change, the response mechanisms to these changes which characterise national strategies and the learning processes which can be triggered through the exchange of national experiences within the EU. The discussions within the book benefit from both an economic analysis of the subject matter complemented by a broader social science approach.The editors, themselves distinguished scholars in this field, have produced a comprehensive resource which should prove invaluable reading for both policymakers and academics in the fields of labour market theory and policy.Trade Review'Against the background of stubbornly high levels of unemployment in a number of European countries a volume aimed at describing the way in which joblessness is addressed is an interesting and timely exercise. The editors bring together an impressive list of scholars from across Europe which results in a high quality scholarly output that should appeal to both labour market policy experts and the wider social science community.' -- Thomas Lange, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UKTable of ContentsContents: Part I: Preventive Labour Market Policy in a Changing Environment Part II: National Experience with Preventive Labour Market Policy Strategies Part III: Perspectives with Regard to European Learning Processes Index

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Book SynopsisThis timely book provides an authoritative analysis of the pension reform process in nine countries, namely Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK and USA, with Japan being covered in the introduction by the editors. The book draws on the work of experts from each of these countries to provide a picture of how the pension systems work in each country.The contributors examine the policy reform process in each country, against the background of the fiscal stresses arising from the ageing populations in OECD countries. They also analyse whether different types of pension delivery systems (e.g. the public-private mix) generate different standards of living. Each study is prepared according to a common template allowing meaningful analysis of pension delivery and outcomes across countries using similar macroeconomic statistics and microdata. Pension Systems and Retirement Incomes across OECD Countries is an extremely valuable and empirically sound book on a highly topical subject. It will appeal to scholars of economics, public policy, political science and finance as well as being of great interest to policymakers and practitioners involved in pension fund management.Trade Review'This is a readable work, accessible to the non economist.' -- Ken Marston, Australasian Journal on AgeingTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. An Overview 2. Pension Provision in Australia 3. Pension Provision in Canada 4. Pension Provision in France 5. Pension Provision in Germany 6. Pension Provision in Italy 7. Pension Provision in the Netherlands 8. Pension Provision in New Zealand 9. Pension Provision in the United Kingdom 10. Pension Provision in the United States Index

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Book SynopsisPollution, alternative fuels, congestion, intelligent transportation systems, and the shift from construction to maintenance all call for a reconsideration of the existing highway revenue mechanisms, especially the gas tax. David Levinson explores the fundamental theoretical basis of highway finance, in particular the use of tolls, and supports that theory with empirical evidence. The author examines highway finance from the perspective of individual jurisdictions and travellers, and considers their interactions rather than specifying a single optimal solution. Congestion pricing has long been a goal of transportation economists, who believe it will result in a more efficient use of resources. Levinson argues that if the governance were to become more decentralized, and collection costs continue to drop, tolls could return to prominence as the preferred means of financing roads for both local and intercity travel. An approach that creates the local winners necessary to implement road pricing is required before it can be expected to become widespread.Economists, civil engineers, planners, students and policymakers will find this detailed examination of transportation networks enlightening and useful.Trade Review'The book ought to be read by any practitioner or scholar who claims a serious interest in transportation finance. It would be an excellent secondary text for any course in transportation finance or policy, in either an economics department or a public policy program. This is a most welcomed addition to the transportation finance literature.' -- Odd J. Stalebrink, West Virginia University, USTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. History 3. Costs 4. Revenues 5. Hierarchy 6. Intertemporal Equity 7. Finance Choice on a Beltway 8. Finance Choice on an Interstate 9. Finance Choice at a Frontier 10. Congestion Pricing 11. Compensation 12. Deploying Electronic Tolls 13. Summary and Conclusions Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis book studies the impact of Egypt's Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Programme (ERSAP), the effects of which have been of great interest to the international community. Organizations such as the World Bank and the IMF uphold the programme as a success story and example for other countries to follow. ERSAP also has its critics, however, who resent its tendency to downsize government and fear possible negative effects on growth and development. The author discusses these concerns along with those regarding the possible negative social effects of ERSAP. This vital and timely study analyses the impact of ERSAP at two distinct levels - macro- and microeconomic. At the macro level the effects of ERSAP on variables including interest and exchange rates, domestic public debt, trade balance, budget deficit and inflation are considered. At the micro level two industrial case studies are considered in detail: the aluminium industry, and the iron and steel industry. Both are energy intensive industries affected specifically by ERSAP's policy of raising energy prices towards parity with world prices. They are also usually considered essential to any serious industrialization process. This book will interest and inform practitioners, policymakers and scholars of economics, industrial economics, development economics and development studies.Trade Review'Professor Abdel-Khalek, an Egyptian economist with numerous high-quality publications to his credit, gives another example of fine scholarship with this volume . . . the book . . . deserves high marks. The author has done an excellent job pointing out the shortcomings of using monetary policies alone to achieve multiple targets . . . Abdel-Khalek's work should set the standard for current research.' -- Khairy Tourk, The Journal of Energy and Development'This book will be of interest to a large variety of readers interested in economic policy, not only in Egypt but in many other developing countries as well . . . The author has done a good service in opening up questions regarding much of the policy package and the importance of tailoring more carefully to specific country circumstances. His reservations about the exchange rate, monetary policy, capital market liberalization, and trade liberalization merit consideration by all policy makers engaged in this work.' -- F. Desmond McCarthy, Journal of Economic Literature'Well written and informative, the book is highly recommended to readers interested in the Egyptian economy or the IMF's and WB's structural reform programs. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections.' -- D.D. Miller, Choice'Professor Abdel-Khalek has produced a damning critique of the effects of the IMF structural adjustment programme in Egypt based on a detailed appraisal of the experience of the 1990s. He demonstrates how the macroeconomic reforms resulted in an overvalued real exchange rate, leading to a consumption binge by the better off, rapidly rising imports and a deteriorating trade balance. At the same time high domestic interest rates penalised local industries, yet domestic savings actually fell rather than rose as might have been expected. The evidence from Professor Abdel-Khalek's painstaking investigation of the effects on Egypt's aluminium and steel industries revealed that much more damage was done to the latter, but that even for aluminium there was no significant benefit. Parallels are drawn between the experience of Egypt and that of Mexico and some East Asian countries. It is clear that structural adjustment programmes can actually weaken economic fundamentals and result in at best sluggish and volatile growth. This study is an important contribution to the literature that illustrates how the Washington consensus on structural adjustment is misguided. It deserves to be read by those with an interest in the political economy of the Middle East, as well as by all those concerned with development issues more widely.' -- Rodney Wilson, University of Durham, UKTable of ContentsContents: Foreword by Ibrahim Shihata Introduction 1. Stabilization Experience before the 1990s 2. Economic “Reform” in the 1990s 3. The Macroeconomic Effects of ERSAP: Structural Reform or Dutch Disease? 4. The Main Features of the Manufacturing Sector 5. The Microeconomic Effects of ERSAP: 1. The Aluminium Industry 6. The Microeconomic Effects of ERSAP: 2. The Iron and Steel Industry 7. ERSAP and Industrialization: Concluding Remarks Annexes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTaiwan has become a significant player on the world stage in many areas and has developed a distinct international profile and influence. Its pro-active foreign policy firmly reminds the world of a new political entity's achievement, aspirations and unfulfilled ambitions. This pioneering book discusses Taiwan's pragmatic diplomacy as a way of seeking legitimacy, survival and development for a burgeoning nation-state, against the dynamic changes in domestic and international scenes and tumultuous relations with China. With special reference to Taiwan's relations with Southeast Asia, a key region in Taiwan's international linkages, the book investigates three major pillars sustaining Taipei's unorthodox diplomacy. These three pillars are: Taiwan's investment and trade prowess, and the global networks built by its business elite; its special relations with global ethnic Chinese communities; and transnational activism of Taiwan's political, social and religious groups, in a so-called 'total diplomacy'.Political Scientists, students and international policy makers along with anyone interested in the changing role of China and Taiwan on the world stage will find this book lively and informative.Trade Review'The title of this book does not do it justice, for the book ranges far beyond Taiwan's diplomacy in Southeast Asia. The most authoritative book published to date on Taiwan's foreign policy (1949 to 2000), it covers Taiwan's foreign relations and diplomacy with Western developed states, the states of Africa and Latin America, Japan, the People's Republic of China, and the countries of Southeast Asia. Based on Chinese and English sources as well as personal interviews and correspondence, Chen Jie presents a wide-ranging, comprehensive view of Taiwan's efforts to gain greater international recognition. . . . Combining impressive scholarship with interesting analysis, Chen Jie presents new ways of understanding why Taiwan acts the way it does and sprinkles the explanations with wry humor. . . . All in all, a tour de force. Summing Up: Essential.'<BR>- S. Ogden, ChoiceTable of ContentsContents: Foreword by J. Bruce Jacobs Introduction 1. Foreign Policy of Taiwan Since Lee Teng-hui: Debut of a New Entity 2. Taiwan’s Relations with the ASEAN Countries: An Overview 3. Taipei’s Economic Diplomacy: A Demystifying Critique 4. Qiaowu: Kuomintang’s Historical Cross as New Taiwan’s Asset 5. ‘Total Diplomacy’: Parliamentarians, Parties, and NGOs References Index

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Book SynopsisMajor advances have been made recently in environmental social science but the context and importance of this research has also changed. Social and natural science studies of the environment have begun to interact more closely with each other and many analysts now agree that an understanding of environmental problems often depends on an understanding of the attitudes and behaviour of people and organisations. Moreover, policy and public debates have also shown that many assumptions that underpin arguments about sustainable development need to be reconsidered and re-framed.This book by leading researchers presents a critical review of debates in environmental social science over the past decade. Three broad areas are covered in ten chapters: the problems of scientific uncertainty and its role in shaping environmental policy and decisions; the development of institutional frameworks for governing natural resources; and the link between economic and technological change and the environment. The book begins with an overview essay examining how perspectives across environmental social science have shifted over the past decade and looking forward to the emergence of new research agendas.The book is essential reading for all students and scholars interested in social sciences and the environment.Trade Review'The ESRC/GEC programme has made a major contribution in terms of environmental social science research. The chapters in this book provide incisive, detailed and reflective critiques of the development of knowledge over the last ten years and provide powerful and important messages about the challenges presented by the complex relationship between environmental and social change. The book should be essential reading for all researchers and also for all policymakers who are grappling with questions about how to respond to environment/society controversies.' -- Judith Petts, Birmingham University, UK and Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution'Global environmental change will be with us forever. But how it happens in the future, and with what effect on the planet and its peoples depends to a large extent on how the international agreements, national politics and local actions play out. This collection provides the most comprehensive assessment yet of these critical interconnections, and reveals how social scientists are making an invaluable contribution to the creation of more science and just livelihoods in a future world.' -- Tim O'Riordan, University of East Anglia, UK'An aphrodisiac to the tepid response of positivist social science. People are not merely actors, perpetrators and victims, in an environmental drama. The critical social theorists in this book constructively show us how people are improvising the stage and the script as we update our understanding of nature, what constitutes a good life, and our individual and collective options.' -- Richard B. Norgaard, University of California, Berkeley, US'Negotiating Environmental Change is a child of the ESRCs Global Environmental Change Programme, by far the biggest piece of work by social scientists in the United Kingdom during the 1990s. At the beginning of the twenty-first century the balance sheet needs to be drawn up: what do our policies, insights and values owe to the collaborative efforts of social scientists? This book suggests that ideas and approaches that were conceived at a time when the "Ozone Hole", Global Warming and Biodiversity Losses were beginning to resonate in academic and policy circles have now entered the British and European psyche. The challenge of forward thinking in the twenty-first century, in which the environment is central to most of the issues that concern social science, is to demonstrate that the environment is not a "separate territory". Environmental thinking and practice affects us in various guises: governance and democracy, business and management, risk and everyday consumption: the substance of this book. Negotiating Environmental Change makes clear the contribution that new thinking is making to problems that were not looked upon as "environmental" a decade ago, but which we now see as being at the forefront of global research and policy agendas.' -- Michael Redclift, King's College London, UKTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Shifting Perspectives in Environmental Social Science 2. Risk, Uncertainty and Precaution: Some Instrumental Implications from the Social Sciences 3. Economics and Sustainable Development: What Have We Learnt, and What Do We Still Need to Learn? 4. Deliberative Democracy and Environmental Decision-Making 5. Governance and the Environment 6. After Seattle: What Next for Trade and the Environment? 7. Governing Natural Resources: Institutional Adaptation and Resilience 8. Sustainable Business Organizations? 9. Inducing, Shaping, Modulating: Perspectives on Technology and Environmental Policy 10. (Un) sustainable Consumption Index

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a long-term perspective on policies regarding intergovernmental grants in the US since the 1970s. This period spans six presidential administrations and encompasses a diverse set of political and economic conditions. Containing original research, this book contributes to critical assessments of intergovernmental grant issues such as: whether state and local government spending responds symmetrically to increases or decreases in federal aid the effects of converting categorical grants to block grants on program spending; and the political economy of federal aid distribution. >The author's empirical analyses are based on a unique data set of US federal intergovernmental grants and cover a range of programs, including transportation, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and community development and welfare. The book is a rich source of material on intergovernmental grants and fiscal relations for scholars and practitioners in public policy, political science, economics and public finance.Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Appendix 1. US Intergovernmental Grant Data and Sources 2. Asymmetric Responses to Increases and Decreases in Grants Appendix 2A. Response of State and Local Highway Spending to Increases and Decreases in Federal Highway Grants Appendix 2B. Asymmetric Responses in Economic Models 3. Federal Block Grants Implications for Spending Effort by States and Localities Appendix 3. The Effect of Federal Alcohol and Drug Abuse Block Grants on State and Local Government Spending: The Role of Federal Oversight 4. Political Economy of Grant Allocations: The Case of Federal Aid for Highways Appendix 4: Political Economy of Federal Aid for Highways Additional Empirical Results Index

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Book SynopsisThis book aims to further advance analysis on Negotiated Environmental Agreements (NEAs) in a multi-disciplinary and co-ordinated way. The authors advocate increased use of NEAs as policy instruments to deal with environmental problems.The book analyses, both theoretically and through the example of existing European agreements, the critical factors that can influence the performance of a negotiated environmental agreement. Negotiating Environmental Agreements in Europe contains 12 case studies analysing 12 different negotiated agreements in European countries. These are analysed comparatively in order to examine to what extent the different hypotheses postulated in the book are valid.Policymakers, environmental economists and researchers as well as NGOs and representatives of industries affected by NEAs will all find this book of immense interest and worth.Table of ContentsContents: Part I: Theoretical Reflections on Negotiated Agreements 1. Introduction 2. Theoretical Reflections on the Proliferation of Negotiated Agreements Part II: Twelve Case Studies on European Negotiated Agreements 3. Self-Commitment on the Collection and Recovery of Spent Batteries and the Reduction of Mercury Content in Batteries 4. The Voluntary Pledge Regarding the Environmentally Sound Management of End-of-Life Vehicles 5. The Belgian Agreement upon the Collection and Recycling of Batteries 6. Agreements on the Use of CFCs in France 7. The Agreement on the Quality of Gasoline in Italy 8. The Eco-Emballages Case Study: Domestic Packaging Waste in France 9. The UK Farm Films Producers Group 10. The Disposal of White and Brown Goods 11. The Energy Efficiency Agreement with the UK Chemical Industries Association 12. Covenant Regulating the Reduction of Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide Emissions by the Power Generation Industry 13. The Belgian Electricity Agreement 14. The Province of Vicenza Negotiated Agreements Part III: Bringing Theory and Practice Together: An Evaluation of the Studied Agreements 15. Comparative Evaluation of the Case Studies 16. General Conclusions and Policy Recommendations Index

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Book SynopsisIn evaluating environmental policy, researchers have tended to focus on the industry or market that is targeted by regulation and to disregard policy impacts in other parts of the economy. Recent research indicates, however, that in economies where governments rely on distortionary taxes, environmental regulation can profoundly affect costs and efficiency in areas other than the targeted industry or market. These findings signal the importance of evaluating environmental policy using a general equilibrium framework - an approach that can capture interactions across industries, sectors or markets. General equilibrium analysis can fundamentally alter the evaluation of environmental tax policies, and can overturn conventional wisdom concerning the relative cost-effectiveness of environmental taxes, emissions quotas, or mandated technologies.This volume gathers together important papers on the general equilibrium impacts of environmental regulation in the presence of distortionary taxes. Topics include optimal environmental taxation,'green tax reform' and the 'double dividend', and the choice among alternative policy instruments. The volume will be of interest to environmental economists, public finance economists and researchers interested in the economics of regulation.Table of ContentsContents: Introduction Part I: Surveys of Environmental Policy Making in the Presence of Distortionary Taxes Part II: Optimal Environmental Taxation in the Presence of Distortionary Taxes Part III: Environmental Tax Reforms and the ‘Double Dividend’ Part IV: Environmental Instrument Choice in a Second-best Setting Part V: Efficiency–Distribution Trade-offs in Environmental Policy Index

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Book SynopsisFederal states are lively sources of data on the economics and politics of the public sector. In this rich collection of essays, some of which are previously unpublished, Stanley Winer makes use of these data from Canada, the United States and Australia to explore a variety of issues including: the political economy of intergovernmental grants, the evolution of tax structure, the re-assignment of fiscal powers among jurisdictions, the nature of special interest groups, fiscally-induced internal migration and macroeconomic policy. Other chapters exploit the unique Canadian experience with both fixed and flexible exchange rate regimes to test ideas about the macroeconomic consequences of subcentral fiscal policy in a small, open federal country, the role of the exchange rate mechanism in the international transmission of economic activity, and the relationship between monetary growth and political popularity. A concern with the integration of economics and politics is evident throughout this book, which will be essential reading for all economists and political scientists with an interest in the public sector.Trade Review'The volume will be of particular interest to economists and scholars interested in macroeconomic policy with a background in economics and/or public choice.' -- Thomas Saalfeld, Regional and Federal StudiesTable of ContentsContents: Introduction Part I: The Political Economy of Fiscal Federalism Part II: Interregional Migration and Public Policy Part III: Empirical Macroeconomics in a Small, Open Federal State Part IV: Political Economy in an Applied Equilibrium Setting Index

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Book SynopsisLearning from Science and Technology Policy Evaluation presents US and European experiences and insights on the evaluation of policies and programs to foster research, innovation, and technology (RIT). In recent years, policymakers have promoted RIT policies to accelerate scientific and technological development in emerging fields, encourage new patterns of research collaboration and commercialization, and enhance national and regional economic competitiveness. At the same time, budgetary pressures and new public management approaches have strengthened demands for RIT performance measurement and evaluation. The contributors - leading experts in science and technology policy and evaluation - analyze and contrast the need and demand for RIT performance measurement and evaluation within the US and European innovation and policy making systems. They assess current US and European RIT evaluation practices and methods in key areas, discuss applications of new evaluative approaches and consider strategies that could lead to improvements in RIT evaluation design and policies. This up-to-date volume examining current and leading-edge evaluation methodologies will make a valuable addition to the libraries of research and innovation policymakers and analysts, educators and students of science and technology policy.Table of ContentsContents: 1. Learning from Science and Technology Policy Evaluation 2. The Academic Policy Analyst as Reporter: The Who, What and How of Evaluating Science and Technology Programs 3. Societal Challenges for R&D Evaluation 4. Frameworks for Evaluating S&T Policy in the United States 5. Evaluation of Research and Innovation Policy in Europe – New Policies, New Frameworks? 6. The Expanding Role of Peer Review Processes in the United States 7. The Evaluation of University Research in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, Germany and Austria 8. Challenges for the Evaluation of Complex Research Programmes 9. Evaluation of the BRITE/EURAM Program 10. Assessing RTD Program Portfolios in the European Union 11. Factors Affecting Technology Transfer in Industry – US Federal Laboratory Partnerships 12. Benchmarking University–Industry Relationships: A User-Centered Evaluation Approach 13. Evaluation of Regional Innovation Policies in Europe 14. Evaluating Manufacturing Extension Services in the United States: Experiences and Insights 15. Evaluating the Impacts of Grants on Women Scientists’ Careers: The Curriculum Vitae as a Tool for Research Assessment 16. Recognizing the Competing Values in Science and Technology Organizations: Implications for Evaluation 17. Real Options for Evaluating Public Sector R&D Investments 18. Evaluation as a Source of ‘Strategic Intelligence’ Index

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Book SynopsisDecision-makers increasingly seek to design environmental and development policies that will support sustainable development. Thus, practical tools to help formulate sustainable development policies and clear methods to assess their acceptability and effectiveness are urgently needed. This book contributes to meeting these needs by presenting both analytical and empirical aspects of decision-making processes. The authors explore the methods for integrating environmental and social sciences to support participatory policy design, implementation and assessment of sustainable development policies. These methods are applied, richly illustrated and discussed with reference to several case studies from various regions of the world. Although each chapter has a distinct focus, they all contribute to a clearer understanding of how sustainable development is perceived and assessed by society. The book is interdisciplinary, emphasising how the integration of a wide set of disciplines and stakeholder perspectives into the policy-making process can help to improve the perception of sustainable development policies. The authors argue that there should be greater transparency in the processes of modelling and integrated assessment in order to increase the meaningful participation of all stakeholders involved in the decision-making process.By deliberately avoiding technical jargon, this book will appeal to a broad audience including environmental, resource and development economists. It will also be of interest to anyone with a scientific or policy perspective in the measurement and assessment of sustainable development.Trade Review'The complexity and uncertainty of sustainable development decision-making process make this book quite vital to scholars, researchers and practitioners of development. The holistic approach of addressing environmental issues gives a better perspective of what, why and how environmental problems can be addressed so as to provide benefits to the society. This book is a welcome addition to the literature on a participatory approach which seeks out a consensus in ensuring the maximization of inputs from concerned parties.' -- Valentine U. James, Fayetteville State University, US'A multidisciplinary compilation bringing together 12 studies from around the world. Each chapter emphasises the necessity for integrated assessment and evaluation of environmental and development strategies when designing sustainable development policies. A concise, well referenced book exploring the challenges faced in the decision making process.' -- Friends of the EarthTable of ContentsContents: Preface Introduction Part I: Methodological Issues Towards Integrative Analysis Part II: Participatory Frameworks Part III: Perspectives in Ecological Economic Modelling Index

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Book SynopsisThe main theme of this study is the political economy of policy reform in less developed countries and post-socialist countries. Given the complexity of economic development and transition, Joachim Ahrens views failures in policy reform, poor public sector management, rent-seeking, corruption, and over-centralization as systematic, though not exclusive, instances of institutional failure. This interdisciplinary study looks for ways of constructing effective market-enhancing governance structures that provide appropriate incentive systems to cope with such failures. No blueprint is offered, but the book provides a conceptual governance framework that can be applied in a comparative way to analyze economic, political, and social obstacles to policy and institutional reform. The concept is not only used to analyze the politico-institutional foundation of policy reform in East Asia and Eastern Europe, but it also allows to elaborate country specific strategies to craft institutional safeguards that help overcome impediments to development and transition.This innovative book, which overcomes the conventional perspective of a government-market dichotomy, will be of interest to researchers, students, policymakers and all those concerned with the impact of the dialectic interaction between political and economic forces on economic development.Trade Review'. . . this volume is an excellent resource for those interested in the analysis of institutions' design and economic development. . .' -- Oscar Alfranca, Progress in Development StudiesTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction: Market, State, and Economic Development Part I: Policy Reform, Institutions, and Economic Performance 2. The Washington Consensus and Its Limits 3. From New Political Economy to New Institutional Economics 4. Institutional Change and Economic Performance Part II: Governance: Theory and Practice 5. Governance and Economic Performance: Conceptual Considerations 6. Governance in Practice: Evidence from Less Developed Countries and Economies in Transition 7. Rethinking Effective Governance: Politico-Institutional Structures and Economic Development in Comparative Perspective Appendix References Index

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Book SynopsisThe past two decades have seen a process of almost continuous reform in public management in developed countries and a renegotiation of traditional relationships between state, economy and society. These changes have been expressed through privatization, civil service reductions and restructuring, the introduction of market-type mechanisms to improve the delivery of public services, the construction of new forms of partnership between state and non-state organizations, and new types of regulation and accountability. In turn, these public management reforms have, in a variety of ways, been transferred to the state systems of developing and transitional economies. The Internationalization of Public Management constitutes one of the first attempts to examine the conceptual and practical problems which attend such policy transfers, and to make preliminary judgements about the successes and failures of public management reform in developing countries. The distinguished group of contributors offers instructive insights into the complex reality of the development state.Both academics and postgraduate students within the areas of politics and governance, public sector management and development studies will find this book essential reading. Practitioners in these fields, especially within aid agencies and research institutions, will also find the book contains valuable lessons and conclusions.Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. The Internationalization of New Public Management 2. Should Flawed Models of Public Management be Exported? Issues and Practices 3. Administrative Reform in Core Civil Services: Application and Applicability of the New Public Management 4. New Public Management and Development: The Case of Public Service Reform in Tanzania and Uganda 5. Local Government: Management or Politics? 6. The NPM Agenda for Service Delivery: A Suitable Model for Developing Countries? 7. Reinventing the Third World State: Service Delivery and the Civic Realm 8. Privatization and Regulation in Developing Countries 9. Human Resource Management and New Public Management: Two Sides of a Coin that has a Low Value in Developing Countries? 10. Information Systems and Public Sector Reform in the Third World 11. Moving the Public Management Debate Forward: A Contingency Approach Index

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Book SynopsisUnder the direction of Nobel laureate Robert A. Mundell and Paul J. Zak, eminent contributors to Monetary Stability and Economic Growth offer a unique insight into the way that economists analyse the causes of money (mis) management in the US, Latin America, Europe and Japan, and prescribe stabilising reforms. Their lively discussion provides answers to various questions including: How does monetary stability affect economic growth? How can nations best achieve monetary stability? When is monetary union desirable? Which anchors for monetary stability are likely to be most effective? How will the euro affect financial markets and the international monetary system? Is international monetary reform possible, and how can it be achieved? The mechanisms that link monetary policy - including foreign exchange regimes and the international monetary system - to economic performance are examined, and the ways in which countries can stimulate economic growth are explored. This superb narrative volume, brought alive by the debate between leading economists, is contextualised by the editors' excellent introduction. It will be of immense interest to students, researchers and teachers of macroeconomics and financial economics as well as professional economists.Table of ContentsContents: Foreword Steadman Upham Preface Monetary Stability and Economic Growth in Unstable Times Robert A. Mundell and Paul J. Zak 1. The Sixth Lord Robbins Memorial Lecture: Reform of the International Monetary System Robert A. Mundell 2. The State of the World Economy Introduced by Paul A. Samuelson 3. The Euro in Europe and the World Introduced by Christopher Johnson 4. Monetary Policy and Economic Growth in Latin America Introduced by Robert L. Bartley 5. Monetary Policy in the NAFTA Area and the Possibility of Monetary Union Introduced by Herbert Grubel 6. Randall Hinshaw Memorial Lecture: Exchange Rate Policy in Latin America Arnold Harberger 7. Is Monetary Stability Possible in Latin America? Introduced by Michael Connolly 8. Monetary Policy and Economic Performance in Mexico Introduced by Judy Shelton and Abel Beltran Del Rio 9. Economic Policy in Japan and East Asia Introduced by Jeffrey A. Frankel 10. The Future of the International Monetary System Introduced by Robert Solomon Index

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Book SynopsisIndependent institutes conducting policy research, analysis and public dialogue, or 'think tanks' as they are more commonly known, are one of the leading catalysts for ideas and action in civil societies around the world. Examining the role of think tanks in the policy formulation process, this groundbreaking study provides the first systematically comparative and methodologically rigorous map of such organizations and the social, political, legal and economic conditions that shape their work. Once found only in advanced industrial democracies, think tanks now provide information and advice for policymakers in countries as diverse as India, Lebanon, Chile, Bulgaria, Germany, Senegal and Thailand. Using case studies of 20 countries across five regions of the world (Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, Europe and Asia), James McGann and Erik Johnson explore how the environments in which think tanks operate serve to expand or constrict their autonomy and influence. They also suggest ways in which donors, policymakers and international organizations can ensure the viability and sustainability of these important institutions. With incisive analysis and cogent recommendations for how to seed and sustain independent think tanks around the world, this volume will be of great interest to those involved with think tanks themselves, as well as public policy and political science scholars, international development agencies and policymakers worldwide. The comparative dimensions of the book will have considerable appeal among students of comparative politics, public policy and international affairs.Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. Think Tanks and Governance 3. Comparative Politics and Policy Advice in the Americas 4. Comparative Politics and Policy Advice in Europe 5. Comparative Politics and Policy Advice in the Asia Pacific Region 6. Comparative Politics and Policy Advice in Africa 7. Comparative Politics and Policy Advice in the Middle East 8. Concluding Remarks 9. Data Appendix Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the majority of industrialised countries is the first small step on the way to an effective climate policy. In the long-term, climate policy will call for greater GHG reductions and the full participation of the global community. The five integrated chapters of this book review theoretical findings and empirical evidence in the search for the right incentives which could induce firms and governments to undertake GHG abatement measures.This book analyses the policy mixes that provide the best possible incentives for firms and governments to act on climate change and sign up to international climate agreements. In doing so, the authors address a multitude of related issues including the linkages between flexible mechanisms and voluntary agreements; regulation and taxation; the opportunities and barriers of the Kyoto Protocol for industry; and the incentives for firms to undertake climate-related R&D and investments. As well as illustrating the environmental benefits and cost-effectiveness of alternative policy mixes in reducing GHG emissions, the authors also offer sensible policy prescriptions for increasing the numbers of countries that ratify and implement climate agreements.Environmental and resource economists, environmental scientists, climate analysts and policymakers should all read this book which offers an authoritative contribution to what is arguably the most critical contemporary environmental policy issue.Trade Review'Climate change policies will likely grow in importance and complexity in the near future. This book is a solid attempt to improve our ability to make the right choices if more action has to be taken on climate change.' -- Matti Liski, Journal of Economic LiteratureTable of ContentsContents: Preface Introduction 1. The Compatibility of the Kyoto Mechanisms with Traditional Environmental Instruments 2. Negotiated Agreements and Climate Change Mitigation 3. Kyoto Flexible Mechanisms: Opportunities and Barriers for Industry and Financial Institutions 4. Traditional Environmental Instruments, Kyoto Mechanisms and the Role of Technical Change 5. The Future Evolution of the Kyoto Protocol: Costs, Benefits and Incentives to Ratification and New International Regimes Index

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Book SynopsisThis timely book explores the development of the European Social Model and questions whether the relatively high level of social protection provided, both in terms of social welfare provision and in the creation of workers' rights and employment regulation, is sustainable. At the 2000 Lisbon Council the Member States agreed that this model was in need of modernisation if the objective of creating the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in Europe was to be achieved. Consequently, this book examines the economic rationale for EU social policy, identifies the main factors promoting reform and assesses the priorities for reform in the enlarged EU.As a result of a fruitful collaboration between two authors from different disciplines, and culminating in several contributions to the economic-legal analysis of the EU social policy, this forward-looking book will be of great interest to academics, EU policymakers and law practitioners.Trade Review'This is an excellent book that I will definitely use for teaching. Adnett and Hardy provide an optimistic assessment of the potential development of a European Social Model in the face of increasing diversity. Drawing on political, legal and economic frameworks they argue that future regulation is likely to rely on soft law and social dialogue; an argument that is likely to stimulate considerable debate.' -- Jacqueline O'Reilly, Labour Market Policy and Employment Research Unit, Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB), GermanyTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. The Development of the European Social Model 2. The EU Legal and Decision-Making Context 3. The Economics of Employment Regulation 4. Trends and Issues in the European Labour Market 5. Terms of Employment and Workplace Health and Safety 6. Equality in Europe 7. Restructuring Enterprises in Europe 8. Consultation, Participation and Industrial Democracy in Europe 9. The Future of the European Social Model: Modernisation or Evolution? Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisUntil now public-sector reform and evaluation have mostly been discussed as separate fields and by separate 'communities'. This book aims at closing the gap in the international debate and literature by exploring the connections, and the interdependence, which exist between public-sector reform and evaluation. This book aspires to bring the discussion to a new level.With an assembly of articles written by internationally renowned scholars and experts, Evaluation in Public-Sector Reform is unique in its broad geographical range. It explores countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the USA, as well as categorically addressing countries which have so far remained conspicuously neglected in the international debate, including: the Netherlands, Germany and Italy as Continental European countries, and Japan and Latin America. This unusually broad focus brings to the fore the double function which evaluation has typically acquired in the context of public-sector reforms: its twofold mission is, on the one hand, to create transparency - promoting internal tools and procedures in public administration - and on the other, to produce external evaluative information, analyses and research on the processes and results of public-sector reforms. So, evaluation is experiencing a new ('third') wave, which is explicitly shown in this book.Academics, practitioners and students will be attracted to the book, first, for the broad regional scope of the overview presented on public-sector modernisation, and second, for exploring and highlighting evaluation in its 'Siamese-twin'-like connection with public-sector reform.Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Evaluation in Public-Sector Reform: Toward a ‘Third Wave’ of Evaluation? 2. Evaluating Public Management Reforms: An International Perspective 3. Evaluating Best Practice in Central Government Modernization 4. Evaluating Public Management Reforms in Central Government: Norway, Sweden and the United States of America 5. Public-Sector Reform and Evaluation in Australia and New Zealand 6. Evaluation and New Public Management in the Netherlands 7. Evaluation and Public-Sector Reform in Germany: Leaps and Lags 8. ‘As a Voluntary Choice or as a Legal Obligation’: Assessing New Public Management Policy in Italy 9. The Late and Sudden Emergence of New Public Management Reforms in Japan 10. Evaluating Public-Sector Reforms in Latin America 11. Learning from Evaluation Practice: The Case of Public-Sector Reforms 12. Evaluation in Public-Sector Reform: Trends, Potentials and Limits in International Perspective Index

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Book SynopsisClimate change is currently at the centre of scientific and political debate, and the need for well-designed international climate policies is widely recognised. Despite this, the complexity of both the climate change problem and the international negotiation process has resulted in a large number of outstanding issues which still require attention. The authors of this book attempt to address and resolve some of the problems which have remained on the climate change agenda, without serious action, for far too long.The authors contribute to the many discussions on international climate policy and provide an in-depth analysis of the main characteristics of the problem of climate change. They highlight the various potential solutions to the problem and their consequences, and look at the development and implementation of the international climate regime. Adopting a long-term perspective, they pay particular attention to the economic, institutional, political and social aspects of climate change.Issues in International Climate Policy is a comprehensive book which makes the complicated themes and issues accessible to a wider audience. It will be invaluable reading for all scientists, policymakers and environmental economists with a serious interest in climate change and the negotiation process.Table of ContentsContents: 1. Options for International Climate Policies: Towards an Effective Regime Part I: Problem Exploration and Relevant Context 2. Why Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Reasons, Issue-Linkages and Dilemmas 3. Challenges of Future Climate Policy: What Can Be Expected? 4. Global Trends and Climate Change Policies 5. Climate Change Policy in Changing Contexts: Globalization, Political Modernization and Legal Innovation Part II: Towards Solutions and Consequences of these Solutions 6. Policies and Measures in International Climate Policy: Price vs. Quantity 7. The Kyoto Mechanisms: Economic Potential, Environmental Problems and Political Barriers 8. Terrestrial Carbon Sinks and Biomass in International Climate Policies Part III: Implementation and the Development of a Climate Regime 9. Comprehensive Approaches to Differentiation of Future Climate Commitments – Some Options Compared 10. Linkages Between the Climate Change Regime and the International Trade Regime 11. Elaborating an International Compliance Regime under the Kyoto Protocol 12. Between ‘Curbing the Trends’ and ‘Business-as-Usual’: NGOs in International Climate Change Policies 13. Climate Options for the Long Term: Possible Strategies Index

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Book SynopsisCivil services in Western liberal democracies have undergone significant changes since the early 1980s, so much so that many of the traditional assumptions underpinning their role and operating practices have been fundamentally questioned. This volume explores a number of themes inherent in this transformation process and the significant problems encountered in modernizing civil services.The commitment to modernizing public services has been a constant trend of Western governments and has encompassed many approaches under a variety of labels, such as new public management and reinventing government. As a result of such developments, the public services of many countries have been transformed, with civil services being singled out for particular attention. This book critically examines the application of the modernization agenda in the old Commonwealth, the USA and Western Europe, including the institutions of the EU. Particular attention is given to developments in the British civil service, including the implications of devolved government, human rights legislation, and the Blair government's attempts to improve the policy process. For students and academics of public administration, public policy and comparative politics, this book will provide unrivalled coverage of one of the most critical issues in contemporary public management and policy.Trade Review'The chapters in Modernizing Civil Services, read collectively, provide an interesting overview of some of the major themes in public administration today. . . Modernizing Civil Services will be of interest to a wide range of students of public administration in booth the practitioner and academic domains.' -- Phil Charko, Canadian Public Administration'This is an excellent collection of papers examining the dimensions of change in contemporary civil service systems. It is especially valuable in linking changes in the civil service with other changes in governing.' -- B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh, USTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Modernizing Civil Services: An Era of Reform 2. Localism and Exceptionalism: Comparing Public Sector Reforms in European and Westminster Systems 3. Protecting Liberty and Benefiting Society: Can Market-based Administrative Reforms and Market-based Political Institutions Effectively Co-exist in the US? 4. Modernization as Europeanization: The Impact of the European Union on Public Administration 5. Executive Agencies and ‘Modernizing Government’ 6. Devolution, Integration and Modernization in the United Kingdom Civil Service 7. Modernization and Civil Service Accountability: The Case of Scottish Devolution 8. Implementation of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the Lord Chancellor’s Department 9. Modernizing Policy-making for the Twenty-first Century: The Professional Model 10. Civil Society, Virtue, Trust: Implications for the Public Service Ethos in the Age of Modernity References Index

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Book SynopsisWhy do some policies succeed so well while others, in the same sector or country, fail dramatically? The aim of this book is to answer this question and provide systematic research on the nature, sources and consequences of policy failure. The expert contributors analyse and evaluate the success and failure of four policy areas (Steel, Health Care, Finance, HIV and the Blood Supply) in six European countries, namely France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain and Sweden. The book is therefore able to compare success and failure across countries as well as policy areas, enabling a test of a variety of theoretical assumptions about policy making and government. The book also sheds more light on the legitimacy of governance in Western Europe and goes beyond understanding the concepts of success and failure to explaining their genesis empirically.Success and Failure in Public Governance will be of interest to academics and researchers of political science, public policy and public administration as well as to practitioners of public policy.Trade Review'Success and Failure in Public Governance fills a void . . . This valuable book should . . . prompt research that moves away from the present, somewhat static, institutional analysis toward studies that focus on political actors and their crafting of strategies that more or less successfully meet policy challenges that always contain a poisonous mixture of programmatic and political problems, given the prevailing political and institutional constraints.' -- Jorgen Gronnegaard Christensen, Journal of Public Administration Research and TheoryTable of ContentsContents: Foreword Part I: Evaluating and Explaining Public Governance: General Introduction Part II: Managing Decline: Public Policy and the Steel Sector Part III: Managing Reform: Public Policy and the Health Sector Part IV: Managing Innovation: Public Policy and the Financial Sector Part V: Managing Crisis: HIV and Blood Supply Part VI: Comparisons, Conclusions, Reflections Index

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Book SynopsisHow are the deals and decisions of the EU made - in the meeting rooms and at the conference tables, or by informal networks in the back corridors of power?This book addresses an issue of paramount importance concerning the politics of the European Union: aspects of governance and policy making in the EU that are labelled 'informal'. Much of the literature on the EU focuses on the formal facets of EU politics, but uniquely, the subject matter within this book deals with informal aspects such as: the role of personal relationships, the presence of non-hierarchical policy-networks and non-institutional channels of interest representation, and the relevance of the unwritten rules and routines which govern these aspects of EU politics. The contributors ascertain that the study of sectoral policy making in the EU is incomplete without attention to this informal governance, which is normatively and conceptually more complex than is generally assumed. They provide a number of different approaches to the subject, illuminating the nature of informal governance in the EU and demonstrating the way in which its analysis can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of politics and policy making in the EU.This highly original book will be a fascinating read for a wide-ranging audience - including academics, students, researchers and practitioners - with an interest in the governance of the EU.Trade Review‘Informal Governance in the European Union is a unique addition to both the European Union and public administration literature. . . A study of this type is long overdue.' -- Richard Grant, Public Administration Today'. . . [this volume] marks a welcome first step into the murky world of EU informal governance and it unquestionably lays the foundation for future research to come.' -- Brendan Flynn, European IntegrationTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Informal Governance in the European Union: An Introduction 2. Informal Governance: Improving EU Democracy? 3. Cultures of States and Informal Governance in the EU: An Exploratory Study of Elites, Power and Identity 4. Common Market Institutions, Fraud and Informal Networks 5. Building Velvet Triangles: Gender and Informal Governance 6. The Informal Governance of EU Environmental Policy: The Case of Biodiversity Protection 7. Selling off the State and Supranational Regulation: Informal Governance in the EU 8. Informal Governance and Biotechnology 9. Formal and Informal Governance in Single Market Regulation 10. Informal Governance in the Common Agriculture Policy 11. Informality as an Asset? The Case of EMU 12. Governing by Informal Networks? Nuclear Interest Groups and the Eastern Enlargement of the EU 13. Backing into the Future? Informality and the Proliferation of Governance Modes (and Policy Participants) in the EU Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis volume collects a set of important articles that provides a wealth of broad insights into the causes and consequences of regulation. They show beyond doubt that this field of study is remarkably lively and filled with controversy. The first two parts of the book introduce the essential economic content of the issues that regulation deals with, covering the main 'market failures' that are addressed, and then turning specifically to the causes and consequences of regulation in these areas. The next section presents a series of papers dealing with various phases of the policy life cycle, and the concluding part investigates the role of corporate self-regulation.Trade Review'An excellent collection of classic and modern analyses of key regulatory issues. A valuable reference for students, teachers, and practitioners of regulatory policy.' -- David E.M. Sappington, University of Florida, USTable of ContentsContents: Acknowledgements Introduction Thomas P. Lyon PART I TARGETS OF REGULATION 1. Harold Demsetz (1968), ‘Why Regulate Utilities?’ 2. Oliver E. Williamson (1976), ‘Franchise Bidding for Natural Monopolies – in General and with Respect to CATV’ 3. R.H. Coase (1960), ‘The Problem of Social Cost’ 4. Martin L. Weitzman (1974), ‘Prices vs. Quantities’ 5. Hayne E. Leland (1979), ‘Quacks, Lemons, and Licensing: A Theory of Minimum Quality Standards’ PART II CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF REGULATION 6. Gordon Tullock (1967), ‘The Welfare Costs of Tariffs, Monopolies, and Theft’ 7. Sam Peltzman (1976), ‘Toward a More General Theory of Regulation’ 8. Gary S. Becker (1983), ‘A Theory of Competition Among Pressure Groups for Political Influence’ 9. Joseph P. Kalt and Mark A. Zupan (1984), ‘Capture and Ideology in the Economic Theory of Politics’ 10. Gregg A. Jarrell (1978), ‘The Demand for State Regulation of the Electric Utility Industry’ 11. George L. Priest (1993), ‘The Origins of Utility Regulation and the “Theories of Regulation” Debate’ 12. James M. Buchanan and Gordon Tullock (1975), ‘Polluters’ Profits and Political Response: Direct Controls versus Taxes’ 13. Michael T. Maloney and Robert E. McCormick (1982), ‘A Positive Theory of Environmental Quality Regulation’ 14. B. Peter Pashigian (1985), ‘Environmental Regulation: Whose Self-Interests are Being Protected?’ 15. Sam Peltzman (1975), ‘The Effects of Automobile Safety Regulation’ PART III POLITICAL CONTROL, ADMINISTRATIVE DISCRETION AND ENFORCEMENT 16. Barry R. Weingast and Mark J. Moran (1983), ‘Bureaucratic Discretion or Congressional Control? Regulatory Policymaking by the Federal Trade Commission’ 17. Matthew D. McCubbins, Roger G. Noll and Barry R. Weingast (1989), ‘Structure and Process, Politics and Policy: Administrative Arrangements and the Political Control of Agencies’ 18. Brian Levy and Pablo T. Spiller (1994), ‘The Institutional Foundations of Regulatory Commitment: A Comparative Analysis of Telecommunications Regulation’ 19. Daniel McFadden (1976), ‘The Revealed Preferences of a Government Bureaucracy: Empirical Evidence’ 20. Thomas P. Lyon and John W. Mayo (2005) ‘Regulatory Opportunism and Investment Behavior: Evidence from the U.S. Electric Utility Industry’ 21. P. Fenn and C.G. Veljanovski (1988), ‘A Positive Economic Theory of Regulatory Enforcement’ 22. David Weil (1996), ‘If OSHA is So Bad, Why is Compliance So Good?’ PART IV SELF-REGULATION 23. Sheoli Pargal and David Wheeler (1996), ‘Informal Regulation of Industrial Pollution in Developing Countries: Evidence from Indonesia’ 24. John W. Maxwell, Thomas P. Lyon and Steven C. Hackett (2000), ‘Self-Regulation and Social Welfare: The Political Economy of Corporate Environmentalism’ Name Index

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Book SynopsisHuman Capital, Trade and Public Policy in Rapidly Growing Economies argues that only two centuries ago, no society had ever enjoyed sustained growth in living standards. The contributors to this book aim to discover why the world today exhibits a predilection for perpetual self-improvement.In particular, the book focuses on the forces underlying long-lasting growth in East Asia's Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs). Drawing from the experiences of Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, it questions whether public policy can contribute to removing barriers towards accumulation of wealth, and if so, what development policy should be put in place to remedy the existing distortions or market failure problems.Theoretical and empirical analyses are also used to broach other important issues, such as: Why do some economies experience growth while others decline? What are the major determinants of long-term growth and development? Is human capital the main driving force? Does international trade play a crucial role? This book will appeal to those with an interest in development and public policy.Table of ContentsContents: Foreword 1. Introduction: A Quick Reference to Growth Theory Part I: Human Capital 2. Market Structure and Innovation Revisited: Endogenous Productivity, Training and Market Shares 3. Human Capital Formation and Patterns of Growth with Multiple Equilibria 4. On the Relationship Between Fertility and Public Education in Different Stages of Development 5. Productivity Growth and Catch-up in Less-developed Economies Part II: Trade 6. Total Factor Productivity and the Catching-up Process 7. Indeterminacy in a Dynamic General Equilibrium Model of International Trade 8. Evaluating the Quantitative Effects of Import Restrictions – An Almost Neoclassical Benchmark 9. Innovation in a Shrinking World Part III: Public Policy 10. Long-run Effects of Financial Policy in an Endogenously Growing Economy 11. Credit Rationing, Public Borrowing and Endogenous Growth 12. Government Expenditure and Social Status in a Two-sector Model of Endogenous Growth 13. Economic Growth and the Environmental Kuznets Curve in Taiwan: A Simultaneity Model Analysis Index

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Book SynopsisThe WTO's attempts at agricultural trade liberalization have raised concerns that the current movement towards globalization fails to adequately address environmental issues. Even in developed countries, where agriculture at the farm-level represents a small fraction of total GDP, trade-induced changes in agricultural production levels could have considerable environmental effects. This timely new book analyzes the possible linkages between agricultural trade liberalization and the environment, and assesses the negative and positive impacts of any possible reforms. The authors begin by providing an extensive empirical examination of the potential environmental consequences of agricultural trade liberalization at both a global and US level. However, not only might changes in trade policy affect the environment, but environmental policy can also influence trade. Consequently, the authors conduct a detailed study of the impact of US agri-environmental policies on trade flows. To conclude, they investigate conceptual and policy aspects of the important inter-relationship between agricultural trade and unintentional environmental by-products, transboundary concerns and multilateral environmental agreements.In the context of ongoing trade negotiations, this comprehensive book provides an objective overview of the potential economic consequences of the relationship between trade and the environment. It will be of special interest to agricultural, development and environmental economists as well as policymakers and policy analysts confronting the practical problems of environmental and economic assessment.Trade Review'. . . the book provides a comprehensive analysis of multiple aspects of the relationship between trade and the environment. . . It is definitely an eye-opener and a step forward in an ever more important discussion. It highlights the extreme complexity of the relationship between trade liberalization, agricultural policy and environmental effects and shows that trade liberalization does not and should not exclude environmentally friendly agricultural production.' -- Angela M. Hau, Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture'This is a very valuable and timely book that provides insightful factual and methodological perspectives on the co-evolution of agriculture and the environment in an era of trade liberalization and environmental regulation. It is an especially useful resource for understanding the emerging agricultural policies, which integrate environmental, international trade and income distribution considerations. It will be very beneficial for students of agricultural policy as it provides broad perspectives on both the forces shaping the future of global agriculture and the environment, and the crucial details of modeling for policy assessment and design.' -- David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley, US'The environmental consequences of trade are a major issue in the debate over the merits of expanded global trade. This book offers a systematic and accessible presentation of the conceptual issues and empirical results related to agricultural trade and the environment, as well as the impacts of environmental policies on trade. Agriculture is in many countries a major environmental driver, making an understanding of the environmental consequences of agricultural trade essential for a comprehensive understanding of the trade and environment issue. The empirical work presented in this book is largely focused on the United States but there are conceptual and methodological lessons that can be applied to studies in other contexts. The book is a valuable contribution to the emerging scientific evaluation of trade and the environment. It will be of interest to economists and policy analysts working in this area.' -- James Shortle, Pennsylvania State University, USTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction Joseph Cooper 2. The Environmental By-Products of Agriculture: International Policy Responses Joseph Cooper, Jason Bernstein, Uptal Vasavada amd Jean-Christophe Bureau PART I: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION 3. Some Domestic Environmental Effects of US Agricultural Adjustments under Liberalized Trade: A Preliminary Analysis Joseph Cooper, Robert Johansson and Mark Peters 4. Global Environmental Effects of Agricultural Adjustments under Liberalized Trade John Sullivan and Kevin Ingram PART II: TRADE IMPACTS OF AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS 5. Domestic Agri-Environmental Policies in a Trade Perspective Mark Peters and Mark Smith 6. Effects of Agri-Environmental Payment Policies on Agricultural Trade Joseph Cooper, Mark Peters and Roger Claasen PART III: IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND POLICY 7. Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Trade Joseph Cooper and Jonathan Kaplan 8. Further Considerations Joseph Cooper References Index

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Book SynopsisThis significant new book presents a comparative study of the role of policy research institutes within policy transfer, and the subsequent impact policy transfer has upon the processes of Europeanisation and globalisation.In an era of globalisation, it is generally assumed that processes of policy transfer have increased. At the same time, however, there has been a recognition that understanding governance purely through state centred institutional approaches is no longer tenable. In this book, Stella Ladi argues that in order to fully understand domestic governance we must examine the impact of non-governmental organisations such as policy research institutes. Using a sophisticated, multi-level framework of analysis, the author concentrates on three particular case studies with which to evaluate the transfer of ideas, the transfer of policy programmes and the transfer of institutions, within the European Union. She concludes that the analysis of policy transfer is crucial in identifying international policy entrepreneurs, as well as important policy developments in domestic and world politics.The multi-disciplinary approach of this book will appeal to students and scholars of the social sciences, particularly those specialising in public policy and administration, international relations and comparative politics. It will also be of interest to policymakers and practitioners within international organisations.Trade Review'The impact of non-governmental players has been given scant attention in the policy transfer literature. This book addresses that gap and provides a detailed exploration of their role and influence in this process within a European context. . . This well-written, easily accessible and clearly-structured book is a welcome addition to the policy transfer literature and can be recommended to anybody interested in this field. Not only does it make an important empirical contribution to our understanding of the policy transfer arena but it also provides a useful analytical framework that warrants further exploration and development.' -- Tobias Jung, Political Studies Review'Stella Ladi has taken on a daunting set of challenges: a comparative study of policy transfer; a study of the role of think tanks in the transfer process; and the relevance of Europeanisation to shaping the transfer process. As such, this is an innovative book tackling increasingly important issues that cut across the fields of public policy and international relations. It deserves to be widely read as the first systematic study of its kind - and others will surely follow.' -- Kevin Featherstone, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK'Policy transfer is on the increase, fuelled by the dual processes of globalisation and Europeanisation. Stella Ladi provides an incisive and detailed account of how policy transfer is shaping policy developments in Europe within a rich theoretical context.' -- Diane Stone, Central European University, HungaryTable of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. Towards a Multi-level Framework of Analysis 2. The Macro- and Meso-Levels of Analysis: Globalisation, Europeanisation and Policy Transfer 3. The Micro-Level of Analysis: The Third Sector and Policy Research Institutes 4. The Transfer of Policy Ideas: The International Dialogues Foundation and Youth Employment Policy 5. The Transfer of Policy Programmes: Understandingbus and Environmental Policy 6. The Transfer of Policy Institutions: Paremvassi and the Transfer of the Ombudsman Institution 7. Comparing the Role of Policy Research Institutes in Processes of Policy Transfer 8. Conclusions Appendix 1: A List of Interviews Undertaken in the Course of the Study Appendix 2: Sample Questionnaires Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisGovernments, Competition and Utility Regulation continues the series of annual books, published in association with the Institute of Economic Affairs and the London Business School, which critically reviews the state of utility regulation and competition policy. The book contains incisive chapters on competition policy and trade, antitrust and consumer welfare, merger control and efficiency, emissions trading, Ofcom and convergence, energy regulation and competition, regulating the London Underground, the future of water regulation and European merger control.Chapters on each topic are followed by comments from regulators, competition authority chairmen and other experts in the relevant fields. The book provides analysis of and commentaries on the most significant developments in regulation and competition policy, drawing on experiences in Britain, the United States and the European Union, as well as in international trade negotiations. It will be of value to practitioners, policymakers and academics who are concerned with regulation, deregulation and policies to promote competition.Trade Review'The book is written by a group of academic researchers and practitioners and, as such, provides insightful analyses from both theoretical as well as practical perspectives. It will be of value to policymakers, industry stakeholders, and regulators who are interested in utility regulation and policies to foster a competitive market environment.' -- International Energy Law and Taxation ReviewTable of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. Competition Policy and Trade: The WTO after the Cancun Meeting – Frédéric Jenny, Comment – Geoffrey Owen 2. Does Antitrust Policy Improve Consumer Welfare? Assessing the Evidence – Robert W. Crandall and Clifford Winston, Comment – David Arculus 3. Efficiencies in Merger Control – Jrissy Motis, Damien Neven and Paul Seabright, Comment – Sir John Vickers 4. Emissions Trading: A Market Instrument for our Times – Charles Nicholson, Comment – Colin Robinson 5. Ofcom: A Converged Regulator? – Annegret Groebel, Comment – Colin Robinson 6. Energy Regulation and Competition after the White Paper – Eileen Marshall, Comment – Stephen Littlechild 7. Regulating London Underground – Chris Bolt, Comment – Tom Winsor 8. Commitment and Control in Regulation: The Future of Regulation in Water – Colin Mayer, Comment – Philip Fletcher 9. Do We Need European Merger Control? – Jacques Steenbergen and Leonard Waverman, Comment – Derek Morris Index

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Book SynopsisJapanese environmental management style is in many ways distinct from that found in Europe or the USA. There is less emphasis on litigation, more emphasis on administrative guidance and considerable use of voluntary mechanisms for policy implementation. This volume considers what factors may have contributed to Japan's relatively successful efforts at dealing with severe industrial pollution and problems associated with rapid urbanization.The book introduces Japan's environmental history, its key environmental regulations and the forces that have driven Japan to introduce these environmental regulations and programs. It also examines the various formal and informal institutional mechanisms and policy instruments that have been introduced over the past several decades to implement pollution control and energy conservation. The authors conclude by putting Japan's environmental policy experiences in comparative perspective and considering what useful lessons can be drawn from the Japanese experience for developing nations. Providing a detailed analysis of environmental policies and policy instruments in Japan by leading experts in the field, this book will be of great interest to students of environmental policy and politics and policymakers concerned with environmental protection in Asia.Trade Review'This book is a must; it is best reading for all interested in or working on environmental policy formulation and implementation, be it in a polluted industrial country or in a polluting developing country.' -- Environmentalist'. . . a well-conceptualized analysis of the evolution of Japan's environmental policies and programmes. . . The quality of integration from chapter to chapter is much superior to that of most multiple-author texts.' -- International Sociology Review of Books'The eleven contributors to this book provide profound retrospective view son the fearsome damage inflicted on the environment of Japan and on its people during the rapid economic growth period from late 1950s to the early 1970s. The book also presents a clear vision of how developing countries might draw lessons from Japan's experiences in overcoming some of its pollution problems.' -- Hiroshi Ohta, Pacific Affairs'This is, I'm sure, the most comprehensive and the best book ever on Japan's environmental policy. This book is a must; it is best reading for all interested in or working on environmental policy formulation and implementation, be it in a polluted industrial country or in a polluting developing country.' -- Udo E. Simonis, Internationales AsienforumTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Learning from Japanese Environmental Management Experiences 2. Japan’s Environmental Policy: Past and Future 3. Japan’s Environmental Policy: Institutions and the Interplay of Actors 4. Economic Implications of Pollution Control Policy in Japan 5. Japan’s Environmental Politics: Recognition and Response Processes 6. Japan’s Environmental Policy: International Cooperation 7. Environmental Policy Instruments 8. Case Studies of Environmental Politics in Japan 9. Local Government, Industry and Pollution Control 10. Japan’s Environmental Policy: Financial Mechanisms 11. Environmental Industries and Technologies in Japan 12. Japan’s Environmental Management Experiences: Strategic Implications for Asia’s Developing Countries 13. Environmental Policy Making in the Advanced Industrialized Countries: Japan, the European Union and the United States of America Compared 14. Evaluating Japan’s Environmental Policy Performance References Index

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Book SynopsisThis text provides a comprehensive introduction to the many different issues related to the Sisyphean task of building science and technology capabilities in developing countries. It attempts to answer crucial questions including: how can knowledge be utilized to improve the human condition, and how can we bridge the growing knowledge divide between those who produce and use modern science and technology - and those who do not?Francisco Sagasti examines the complex interactions between science, technology and development through history, explores how capabilities in these areas are created in different countries and places the role of international co-operation in perspective. The book then introduces a 'science and technology capability index' to rank countries, analyses the policy implications of the place they occupy, and summarizes the experience of developing countries in formulating science and technology policies. It concludes with a review of important lessons for the future. This highly innovative and original work will strongly appeal to academics, policymakers, development practitioners and students interested in the role of knowledge and innovation in contemporary society, and in the disparities between developed and developing countries.Trade Review'Francisco Sagasti is both a deep scholar and a policy analyst of exceptional practical significance. From his work at the World Bank to the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, to his intellectual leadership in Peru, he has made a steady flow of valuable contributions. He has extraordinary understanding of the relevance of knowledge, skill, and freedom for socioeconomic development. This book is a treasure.' -- David A. Hamburg, President Emeritus, Carnegie Corporation of New York and Cornell University Weill Medical College, US'A landmark study that will inspire practitioners as much as it will inspire further research on the role of technology in economic change. A powerful reminder to policymakers on the importance of creativity as a source of economic renewal.' -- Calestous Juma, Harvard University, US'Knowledge and Innovation for Development is a splendid piece of scholarship, which no-one else could possibly have written. It brings together an astonishing array of writers and ideas and it is beautifully written.' -- Rodger Schwass, York University, CanadaTable of ContentsContents: Preface Introduction 1. Knowledge, Technology and Production: A Conceptual Framework 2. A Brief Historical Perspective 3. The Knowledge Explosion and its Manifestations 4. The Knowledge Divide and Disparities in Developing Country Capacities 5. Strategies and Policies for Building an Endogenous Science and Technology Base Concluding Remarks Appendix 1: Comparison between the Science and Technology Capacity Index and Other Indexes Appendix 2: Science, Technology and Development: The Imperative of Social Innovation Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisCare of the elderly in their own homes has increasingly come into the focus of contemporary welfare policies and raises important questions about the governance of welfare in general. By taking a comparative and thematic approach, this interesting and timely book offers a comprehensive analysis of the principal issues surrounding the governance of home care.The analysis presented systematically maps out governing arrangements in relation to formal and informal care services, informal care, care workers and users of care across nine countries. The authors explore the ways in which country specific contexts shape governing arrangements and bring together insights from social care and public policy literature, two different yet complementary theoretical perspectives.Combining social care and public policy, Governing Home Care will be of great interest to scholars and postgraduate students and researchers of comparative social and public policy, as well as gender studies with particular interest in health policy, welfare state policies, family studies, and the sociology of caring and ageing.Trade Review'This is an exhaustive text, soundly rooted in "social policy", which contains a wealth of detailed information on home care: a topic of welfare policy that is little studied. . . it provides an extremely useful initial analysis of home care governance in the nine countries studied and is a useful basis for further research in this area. It will be of interest to researchers and students of social policy, particularly those who are interested in undertaking comparative studies, as well as to senior managers in health and social services (national and local levels), who plan to develop and commission home care services for older people.' -- Pat Chambers, International Journal of Health Planning and Management'Governing Home Care closes several important gaps in the literature. The authors provide both a rich source of empirical data on home care in different countries and new theoretical approaches on the governance of public sector services and comparative welfare research. As such, this book stretches far beyond the field of care for the elderly in their homes. . . This book is an invaluable source for students and researchers of health and social care, gender studies and comparative welfare state studies. It stimulates creative thinking and the search for new and more sustainable avenues in home care and comparative public policy alike.' -- Ellen Kuhlmann, Journal of European Social PolicyTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction to the Governance of Home Care 2. Analysing Home Care Governance: Bringing Together Different Conceptual Perspectives 3. Contexts of Governing Home Care: Ideas and Institutions 4. Governing Formal Care Services: Between Integration and Fragmentation 5. Integrating Informal Care Provision 6. Care Workers: Defining the Boundaries of Occupational Territories 7. Care Users: Between Citizens and Consumers 8. Home Care Governance: Mapping out Convergences and Divergences Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisExamines a new aspect of one of the highest profile issues facing Africa today-land-grabbing-and shows the widespread impact of small-scale dispossession. Dispossession of land on a small scale can have as great an impact on living conditions as large-scale land-grabs. With the increasing commodification of land, new forms of dispossession, in urban as well as rural districts, are also gaining in importance. This book looks at this largely uninvestigated issue through case studies in the Eastern DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda: here the loss of land often represents the loss of people's livelihoods inthese areas of extreme land scarcity in highly populated regions. In the post-conflict states of the Great Lakes, governance challenges increase the risk of dispossession of the already poor and vulnerable: formal institutions are weak or biased; customary authorities have lost some of their moral authority. The cases in this book show in particular how local power dynamics, often rooted in history, bear upon the processes of land competition, dispossession and land grabbing. This timely volume will be important not only for those in African Studies, but for those in development studies, as well as practitioners and policy-makers worldwide. An Ansoms is assistant professor in development studies at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium); Thea Hilhorst is a senior advisor at the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Causes and risks of dispossession and land grabbing in the Great Lakes region - An Ansoms Introduction: Causes and risks of dispossession and land grabbing in the Great Lakes region - Thea Hilhorst Land grabbing and development history: The Congolese experience - Jean-Philippe Peemans This land is my land: Land grabbing in Ituri (DRC) - Daniel Fahey Land grabbing by mining companies: Local contentions and state reconfiguration in South-Kivu (DRC) - Sara Geenen Land grabbing by mining companies: Local contentions and state reconfiguration in South-Kivu (DRC) - Jana Hönke Competition over soil and subsoil: Land grabbing by local elites in South Kivu (Eastern DRC) - Klara Claessens Competition over soil and subsoil: Land grabbing by local elites in South Kivu (Eastern DRC) - Emery Mushagalusa Mudinga Competition over soil and subsoil: Land grabbing by local elites in South Kivu (Eastern DRC) - An Ansoms The continuities in contested land acquisitions in Uganda by Mathijs van Leeuwen, Ilse Zeemeijer, Doreen Kobusingye, Charles Muchunguzi, Linda Haartsen and Claudia Piacenza Land grabbing and power relations in Burundi: Practical norms and real governance - Aymar Nyenyezi Land grabbing and power relations in Burundi: Practical norms and real governance - An Ansoms Land grabbing and land tenure security in post-genocide Rwanda - Chris Huggins The reorganization of rural space in Rwanda: Habitat concentration, land consolidation and collective marshland cultivation by An Ansoms, Giuseppe Cioffo, Chris Huggins and Jude Murison "Modernizing Kigali": The struggle for space in the Rwandan urban context - Vincent Manirakiza and An Ansoms Conclusion - An Ansoms and Thea Hilhorst

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Book SynopsisA timely, ethnographically informed account of the "development state" of Tanzania, showing how development practice and culture have become integrated into everyday life, politically, socially and economically. How has development affected the practices of the state in Africa? How has the development state become the basis of social organisation? How do Tanzanians position themselves to obtain aid money to effect change in their personallives? Financial aid flows have entrenched an economy of intervention in which the main beneficiaries are those who can claim to undertake development activities. Even for those not formally engaged in the development sector, its discourses influence everyday discussion about class and inequality, poverty and wealth, modernity and tradition. With Tanzania as the country focus, the author shows how the practices of development have infiltrated not only the state at large but many aspects of people's everyday lives. Maia Green is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester.Trade ReviewVery helpful in understanding the multifaceted subject of developmental aid in a country that was once seen as one of the poorest in the world. * AFRICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY *Readers familiar with Tanzania will find much of interest and much to ponder in this book. * TANZANIAN AFFIARS *'Will have a major impact in anthropology, development, science and technology and policy studies. ... [and] a significant influence on international development practitioners, policy makers and students of development. -- Professor Steven Robins, Department of Sociology & Social Anthropology, University of StellenboschTable of ContentsIntroduction Tanzania: A Development State Participating in Development: Projects and Agency in Tanzania Decentralising Development Globalising Development through Participatory Project Management Making Development Agents: Nationalising Participation in Tanzania Localising Development: Civil Society as Social Capital after Socialism Anticipatory Development: Building Civil Society in Tanzania Development Templates: Modernising Anti-Witchcraft Services in Southern Tanzania Making Middle Income: New Development Citizenships in Tanzania Conclusion

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Book SynopsisInterrogates the narratives of "land grabbing" and "agricultural investment" through detailed local studies that illuminate how these are experienced on the ground and the implications for Africa's land and agricultural economy. Africa has been at the centre of a "land grab" in recent years, with investors lured by projections of rising food prices, growing demand for "green" energy, and cheap land and water rights. But such land is often also used or claimed through custom by communities. What does this mean for Africa? In what ways are rural people's lives and livelihoods being transformed as a result? And who will control its land and agricultural futures? The case studies explore the processes through which land deals are being made; the implications for agrarian structure, rural livelihoods and food security; and the historical context of changing land uses, revealing that these land grabs may resonate with, even resurrect, forms of large-scale production associated with the colonial and early independence eras. The book depicts the striking diversity of deals and dealers: white Zimbabwean farmers in northern Nigeria,Dutch and American joint ventures in Ghana, an Indian agricultural company in Ethiopia's hinterland, European investors in Kenya's drylands and a Canadian biofuel company on its coast, South African sugar agribusiness in Tanzania's southern growth corridor, in Malawi's "Greenbelt" and in southern Mozambique, and white South African farmers venturing onto former state farms in the Congo. Ruth Hall is Associate Professor at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa; Ian Scoones is a Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex and Director of the ESRC STEPS Centre; Dzodzi Tsikata is Associate Professor at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana, Legon.Trade ReviewThis collection of essays is the finest to be published on the broad debates of land grabbing in Africa. It covers empirically rich and diverse case studies. These are framed in an introduction of immense analytical heft that should be read by everyone who thinks they know what is often called in short hand the land grab in Africa. * AFRICAN AFFAIRS *[T]here has been a great need for the detailed case study approach and the kind of integrated, informed assessment presented in this collection. * AFRICAN STUDIES REVIEW *This anthology provides up to date political economy perspectives of large-scale cases of land acquisitions in eight African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and South Africa). . . . [C]ompelling but not altogether comforting reading. * AFRICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY *The most historically grounded, lucid and nuanced understanding to date of the complex political economy of the contemporary rush for land in Africa. - Prof Adebayo Olukoshi, former Executive Secretary, United Nations Institute for Development and former director of * CODESRIA *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Contexts and Consequences of Africa's Land Rush - Ruth Hall and Ian Scoones and Dzodzi Tsikata State, Land and Agricultural Commercialisation in Kwara State, Nigeria - Joseph Ariyo and Michael Mortimore Recent Transnational Land Deals and the Local Agrarian Economy in Ghana - Dzodzi Tsikata and Joseph Yaro Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Ethiopia: Implications for Agricultural Transformation and Livelihood Security - Maru Shete Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Ethiopia: Implications for Agricultural Transformation and Livelihood Security - Marcel Rutten Land Deals and Pastoralist Livelihoods in Laikipia County, Kenya - John Letai Land Deals in the Tana Delta, Kenya - Abdirizak Nunow The State and Foreign Capital in Agricultural Commercialisation: The Case of Tanzania's Kilombero Sugar Company - Emmanuel Sulle The State and Foreign Capital in Agricultural Commercialisation: The Case of Tanzania's Kilombero Sugar Company - Rebecca Smalley Trapped between the Farm Input Subsidy Programme and Green Belt Initiative: Malawi's Contemporary Agrarian Political Economy - Blessings Chinsinga Trapped between the Farm Input Subsidy Programme and Green Belt Initiative: Malawi's Contemporary Agrarian Political Economy - Michael Chasukwa Agrarian Struggles in Mozambique: Insights from Sugarcane Plantations - Gaynor Paradza and Emmanuel Sulle South African Commercial Farmers in the Congo - Ruth Hall and Ward Anseeuw and Gaynor Paradza

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Book SynopsisThis book is a major contribution to regulatory theory from three members of the world-class regulatory research group based in Australia. It marks a new development in responsive regulatory theory in which a strengths-based pyramid complements the regulatory pyramid.The authors compare the accomplishments of nursing home regulation in the US, the UK and Australia during the last 20 years and in a longer historical perspective. They find that gaming and ritualism, rather than defiance of regulators, are the greatest challenges for improving safety and quality of life for the elderly in care homes. Regulating Aged Care shows how good regulation and caring professionalism can transcend ritualism. Better regulation is found to be as much about encouragement to expand strengths as incentives to fix problems. The book is underpinned by one of the most ambitious, sustained qualitative and quantitative data collections in both the regulatory literature and the aged care literature. This study provides an impressive evidence base for both theory development and reassessment of policy and practitioner responses in the field.The book will find its readership amongst regulatory scholars in political science, law, socio-legal studies, sociology, economics and public policy. Gerontology and health care scholars and professionals will also find much to reflect upon in the book.Trade Review‘Regulating Aged Care is a significant achievement and addresses areas of personal caring which do not usually receive attention. [It] is an important book which draws attention to the central problems of providing care for large numbers of vulnerable people. . . [it] should be required reading on undergraduate and postgraduate courses relating to applied social science, health and medical sociology.' -- Alison M. Ball, Sociology'This book provides an impressive evidence base for both theory development and reassessment of policy and practitioner responses in the field.' -- International Social Security Review'They have given us a fascinating case study here, rich in detail, and masterfully interpreted against the backdrop of evolving regulatory strategy. It is rare indeed to find this depth of analysis made accessible, laced throughout with humanity, compassion, and humor.' -- Malcolm Sparrow, Harvard University, US'This book offers an intelligent and insightful account of the development of nursing home regulation in three countries - England, the USA and Australia. But, more than that, it intertwines theory and more than a decade of empirical work to provide a telling and sophisticated explanation of why and how good regulatory intentions often go awry, and what can be done to create systems of regulation which really work to produce improvement.' -- Kieran Walshe, University of Manchester, UKTable of ContentsContents: Preface Part I: Nursing Home Inspection Observed 1. History of Nursing Home Regulation 2. US Nursing Home Regulation 3. The Disciplinary Society and its Enemies 4. American Regulatory Strategies 5. English Nursing Home Regulation 6. Australian Nursing Home Regulation Part II: Rethinking Regulation and Governance 7. Dimensions of Ritualism 8. Market Ritualism 9. Transcending Ritualism 10. The New Pyramid References Index

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Book SynopsisThe WTO's attempts at agricultural trade liberalization have raised concerns that the current movement towards globalization fails to adequately address environmental issues. Even in developed countries, where agriculture at the farm-level represents a small fraction of total GDP, trade-induced changes in agricultural production levels could have considerable environmental effects. This timely new book analyzes the possible linkages between agricultural trade liberalization and the environment, and assesses the negative and positive impacts of any possible reforms. The authors begin by providing an extensive empirical examination of the potential environmental consequences of agricultural trade liberalization at both a global and US level. However, not only might changes in trade policy affect the environment, but environmental policy can also influence trade. Consequently, the authors conduct a detailed study of the impact of US agri-environmental policies on trade flows. To conclude, they investigate conceptual and policy aspects of the important inter-relationship between agricultural trade and unintentional environmental by-products, transboundary concerns and multilateral environmental agreements.In the context of ongoing trade negotiations, this comprehensive book provides an objective overview of the potential economic consequences of the relationship between trade and the environment. It will be of special interest to agricultural, development and environmental economists as well as policymakers and policy analysts confronting the practical problems of environmental and economic assessment.Trade Review'. . . the book provides a comprehensive analysis of multiple aspects of the relationship between trade and the environment. . . It is definitely an eye-opener and a step forward in an ever more important discussion. It highlights the extreme complexity of the relationship between trade liberalization, agricultural policy and environmental effects and shows that trade liberalization does not and should not exclude environmentally friendly agricultural production.' -- Angela M. Hau, Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture'This is a very valuable and timely book that provides insightful factual and methodological perspectives on the co-evolution of agriculture and the environment in an era of trade liberalization and environmental regulation. It is an especially useful resource for understanding the emerging agricultural policies, which integrate environmental, international trade and income distribution considerations. It will be very beneficial for students of agricultural policy as it provides broad perspectives on both the forces shaping the future of global agriculture and the environment, and the crucial details of modeling for policy assessment and design.' -- David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley, US'The environmental consequences of trade are a major issue in the debate over the merits of expanded global trade. This book offers a systematic and accessible presentation of the conceptual issues and empirical results related to agricultural trade and the environment, as well as the impacts of environmental policies on trade. Agriculture is in many countries a major environmental driver, making an understanding of the environmental consequences of agricultural trade essential for a comprehensive understanding of the trade and environment issue. The empirical work presented in this book is largely focused on the United States but there are conceptual and methodological lessons that can be applied to studies in other contexts. The book is a valuable contribution to the emerging scientific evaluation of trade and the environment. It will be of interest to economists and policy analysts working in this area.' -- James Shortle, Pennsylvania State University, USTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction Joseph Cooper 2. The Environmental By-Products of Agriculture: International Policy Responses Joseph Cooper, Jason Bernstein, Uptal Vasavada amd Jean-Christophe Bureau PART I: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION 3. Some Domestic Environmental Effects of US Agricultural Adjustments under Liberalized Trade: A Preliminary Analysis Joseph Cooper, Robert Johansson and Mark Peters 4. Global Environmental Effects of Agricultural Adjustments under Liberalized Trade John Sullivan and Kevin Ingram PART II: TRADE IMPACTS OF AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS 5. Domestic Agri-Environmental Policies in a Trade Perspective Mark Peters and Mark Smith 6. Effects of Agri-Environmental Payment Policies on Agricultural Trade Joseph Cooper, Mark Peters and Roger Claasen PART III: IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH AND POLICY 7. Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Trade Joseph Cooper and Jonathan Kaplan 8. Further Considerations Joseph Cooper References Index

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Book SynopsisThis comprehensive and engaging book investigates the role of international actors in the making of social policy in South East Europe. Introductory chapters on transnationalism and Europeanization are followed by a series of nine linked case studies depicting research undertaken within this region. The book charts the variable influence that international actors such as formal organizations, non-governmental organizations, consulting companies and individual transnational policy entrepreneurs have on key policy issues, including pensions, social protection, labour markets and health. The authors conclude that welfare settlements are a complex product of historical and institutional legacies, the neo-liberal interventions of the World Bank, the emerging impact of the EU, and the crowded international arena resulting from war and post-war reconstruction agendas.Written by leading researchers in the field, Social Policy and International Interventions in South East Europe will be of great interest to researchers and students of social policy, policy studies and regional studies, as well as policymakers within international and governmental organizations.Trade Review‘Social Policy and International Interventions in South East Europe proves a comprehensive, dense, and thought provoking read, particularly successful in framing both the historical and institutional contexts of the countries examined, as well as literary debates on the subject - and is thus a precious resource. . .' -- Irene Dioli, Journal of Southeastern Europe'The questions broached by the volume are of interest to all who are concerned with development and politics. Experts will find the data and is presentation quite useful; others will benefit from the background information presented in each chapter. . . . Social Policy and International Interventions in South East Europe is an excellent addition to the academic literature and will serve all those who are trying to keep pace with fluid developments in the transitional states of south east Europe.' -- Richard P. Farkas, Slavic Review'This is a remarkably rich and thought-provoking collection. Its substantial case studies make it a vital resource for studying social policy in South East Europe. Its focus on the flows of international actors, agencies, ideas and resources poses critical questions about how the emergence of social policy, the emergence of new forms of governance and the creation of new "spaces of welfare" are connected. The implications of this concern with emergent forms and directions reach far beyond the region itself.' -- John Clarke, The Open University, UK'A brilliant book that shows conclusively that transnational actors have taken their place alongside states in setting social policy in Europe. Through careful and comprehensive case studies of a wide range of South East European countries, this volume systematically presents a wealth of new data on transnational actor interventions. It helps to shape an emerging debate on the relative power of transnational and domestic actors and makes a unique empirical contribution to the discussion. The authors have done an amazing job of coordinated digging and produced some impressive results.' -- Mitchell Orenstein, Johns Hopkins University, USTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Transnationalism and the Making of Social Policy in South East Europe Bob Deacon and Paul Stubbs 2. Europeanization of Social Policy? Prospects and Challenges for South East Europe Noémi Lendvai 3. Slovenia Mojca Novak and Katja Rihar Bajuk 4. Bulgaria and Romania Dimitri A. Sotiropoulos and Luana Pop 5. Croatia Paul Stubbs and Siniša Zrinščak 6. Turkey Burcu Yakut-Cakar 7. Macedonia Maja Gerovska Mitev 8. Bosnia and Herzegovina Reima Ana Maglajlić Holiček and Ešref Kenan Rašidagić 9. Serbia Mihail Arandarenko and Pavle Golicin 10. Albania Arlinda Ymeraj 11. Kosovo Fred Cocozzelli 12. Conclusions Bob Deacon, Noémi Lendvai and Paul Stubbs Index

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Book SynopsisGovernance is now a major topic in political science. To date, analysts of governance have paid scant attention to social policy or welfare state reform. In this book, the concept of governance is used to analyse the outgoing variety of the welfare mix as well as shifting responsibilities and modes of interaction. This unique and path-breaking work analyses the governance of welfare state reform in the areas of health, pensions, labour market and education policy. The authors compare both the different processes of reform (politics) and the change of policies in different welfare state regimes. They question if the change of regulatory structures results in growing convergence or ongoing divergence of welfare states. Governance of Welfare State Reform will be essential reading for researchers and students interested in social policy and governance studies. Political scientists, sociologists and social policymakers will also find this book an invaluable read.Trade Review'A timely and empirically grounded contribution to the literature on welfare governance. Examining internationalisation, regionalisation, privatisation and re-regulation, the case study chapters open up important questions about converging and diverging governance practices.' -- Janet Newman, The Open University, UKTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Governance and Comparative Welfare State Research Irene Dingeldey and Heinz Rothgang PART I: CHANGES OF POLICY AND REGULATORY STRUCTURES 2. Converging Governance in Healthcare Systems? Heinz Rothgang 3. Vanishing Variety? The Regulation of Funded Pension Schemes in Comparative Perspective Thorsten Hippe 4. Changing Forms of Governance as Welfare State Restructuring: Activating Labour Market Policies in Denmark, the UK and Germany Irene Dingeldey 5. International Organisations as Governance Actors: The OECD in Education Policy Kerstin Martens and Anja P. Jakobi 6. Are Welfare States Converging? Recent Social Policy Developments in Advanced OECD Countries Peter Starke and Herbert Obinger PART II: THE POLITICS OF WELFARE STATE REFORM 7. Competitive Transformation and the State Regulation of Health Insurance Systems: Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands Compared Thomas Gerlinger 8. Pension Politics in the 21st Century: From Class Conflict to Modernising Compromise? Giuliano Bonoli 9. Ideas and the Politics of Labour Market Reform Robert Henry Cox 10. Agenda Setting and Political Institutions in Education Policy: A Cross Country Comparison Michael Baggesen Klitgaard 11. Conclusion: The Governance of Welfare State Reform Heinz Rothgang and Irene Dingeldey Index

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Book SynopsisNew technologies often appear to be beyond the control of any existing governing systems. This is especially true for transformative technologies such as information technologies, biotechnologies and nanotechnologies. Peter Phillips examines in this book the deep governing structures of transformative technology and innovation in an effort to identify which actors can be expected to act when, under what conditions and to what effect. He analyzes the life cycles of an array of examples where converging technologies have created transformations and supervisory challenges.The author begins by providing assessments of the concepts of transformative technology, innovation, and related regulatory difficulties. He then evaluates the various tools commonly used to examine governing systems, including overarching paradigms for managing transformative innovation and the models and taxonomies used to investigate governing via the state, the market, and civil authorities. By applying the paradigms, tools and methodologies to current transformative changes, he investigates the challenges of governing in practice: first, the systems and authorities that define knowledge; second, the structures that regulate discovery, invention and ingenuity; third, the public, private and collective processes that engage in gestating new ideas; and, finally, the distributed governing networks underlying the production and marketing of new products. The book concludes with the author's observations on the implications of using deep governing systems and an appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of our tools of analysis.Academic specialists, practitioners and professionals in the areas of economics, management, political science, sociology, public policy and science-technology-society studies will appreciate the author's broad theoretical approach. The methodological insights will interest those policymakers working on technological change and innovation policies in regional, national and international institutions.Trade Review'It is a book that will be in high demand in universities and even high schools. It will be read happily by those individuals, private and public, who have an interest in the process of change. The author is to be congratulated for making such a timely book available to the public.' -- Jack Boan, Heterodox Economics Newsletter'Peter Phillips has written an interesting review of a rich set of debates concerning the conditions under which radical technological innovations can occur. . . Ostensibly, the book aims to answer the question: who is in control? The analysis provides an effective remedy to those why might have supposed that innovative processes are either purely automatic or else out of control.' -- Research PolicyTable of ContentsContents: Preface Part I: The Challenge 1. Introduction Part II: Grounding the Analysis 2. Transformative Technology 3. Innovation 4. Governing Part III: Tools for Analysis 5. A Framework for Analysis 6. Governing via the State 7. Governing through the Market 8. Governing with Civil Authorities Part IV: Governing in Practice 9. Governing Knowledge 10. Governing Invention 11. Governing the Gestation of an Invention 12. Governing Production, Marketing and Consumption Part V: Implications 13. Conclusions Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis book considers the role of international organizations and their promotion of ideas and recommendations in social and health policy. It explores a wide range of organizations, scrutinizing their ideas-based content, their role as policy actors and their impact on national policy. What is the role of international organizations in the making of national social policy ideas and practices? What is the content of ideas advocated by international organizations? In examining these and other questions this book presents a range of international organizations dealing with social and health policies. The authors illustrate how welfare policy is shaped by the interplay between national and international policy-makers, focusing on the role of ideas rather than revisiting the more commonly discussed economic and technological issues associated with internationalization of welfare policy. They explore the content of ideas that international actors such as the EU and the OECD are promoting through recommendations and decrees concerning various systems of social policy. The possible effects of national and supranational welfare discourses on national welfare systems are also discussed.Dealing with both with the normative and cognitive dimensions of social and health policy discourses, this comprehensive book will prove invaluable to policy-makers as well practitioners within international organizations. It will also strongly appeal to scholars of international studies, public policy and social policy.Trade Review'. . . a welcome and highly relevant contribution to the literature on social policy development in a 21st century, globalized world.' -- European Social Observatory'The Role of International Organizations in Social Policy makes an important contribution to the research about social policy of nation states that are increasingly integrated both in terms of socio-economic integration and in terms of membership of international organizations. The main strength of the book is to look at ideas and the way they "travel" between IO and nation states. This book is important for research in the field since it reviews the scattered literature and applies analytical perspectives to selected international organizations and their social policy recommendations. In some regards it explores new grounds and offers analyses, which may be an important contribution to an emerging scientific discussion on the role of international organizations and ideas in national welfare states. We lack analyses of various international organizations and their social policy recommendations. In this regard it is one of the first encompassing contributions in the field of IO and social policy.' -- Klaus Armingeon, University of Berne, SwitzerlandTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction Rune Ervik, Nanna Kildal and Even Nilssen 2. Comparing Social Policy Ideas Within the EU and the OECD Nanna Kildal 3. Directly-deliberative Polyarchy: A Suitable Democracy Model for European Social Policy? Milena Büchs 4. Combating Social Exclusion in the European Union Even Nilssen 5. Policy Making and Application of Law: Free Movement of Persons and the European Court of Justice Aksel Hatland and Even Nilssen 6. EU and OECD Advice and Changes in German Family Policy: Can Reforms be Attributed to Participation in Learning Processes? Tord Skogedal Lindén 7. Policy Actors, Ideas and Power: EU and OECD Pension Policy Recommendations and National Policies in Norway and the UK Rune Ervik 8. In Search of a New Approach to Pension Policy: The International Labour Office between Internal Tension and External Pressure Remi Maier-Rigaud 9. Towards a European Convergence in Pension Policy Outputs? Evidence from the OMC on Pensions Axel West Pedersen and Henning Finseraas 10. Global Health Policy: What Role for International Governmental Organizations? Christof Schiller, Henni Hensen and Stein Kuhnle Index

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