A CAUTIONARY NOTE ON ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

Environmental questions have become a permanent feature of the political landscape in contemporary Australia and now play a significant role in election campaigns at both state and federal levels. Indeed, one of the most significant policy debates in the 1996 Federal election focussed on the environmental policy proposed by the Liberal/National Party coalition, which sought to fund a host of environmental programs from the proceeds of a part privatisation of Telstra. The trade-offs involved in this policy have generated substantial opposition to it and served to underline the prominence of environmental questions in Australian politics. Despite the importance of ‘the environment’ in popular thought, public debate is still typically characterised by ‘feel good’ policy announcements by politicians, sensationalist media reporting and deceptive claims by some environmental interest groups. Whilst progress has undoubtedly been made, the result has often been a plethora of inchoate and frequently conflicting policies. Not surprisingly this ‘muddle through’ approach has produced numerous instances of government intervention not only failing to meet its planned objectives but also generating unintended consequences.     

The Politics of Market-Based Environmental Regulation: Continuity and Change in Air Pollution Control Policy Conflict

Objectives. To expand scholarly attention to a neglected area of environmental policy and politics, I attempt to test several empirical propositions drawn from the small body of existing research on the politics of market-based environmental regulation. Methods. I analyze public comments on a recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulatory action guiding states on the design of various market-based air pollution control programs. I focus on the types of commenting organizations and the nature, extent, and foundations of their support or opposition to market-based regulatory instruments. Results. I find more support for than opposition to the use of economic incentive programs in air pollution control. The support from business commenters is not surprising, but the level of support expressed by state regulators departs from previous research findings. Environmental groups are the principal dissenters. Overall, the findings suggest both change and continuity in the politics of air pollution control policymaking, with some possibility of a shift in the contours of the advocacy coalitions in the pollution control policy network. Conclusions. Market-based environmental regulation is still an evolving phenomenon in American public policy. Further research on the politics of its development is in order, and the opportunities to pursue such research are substantial.     

Negotiating the Superfund: Are Environmental Protection Agency regional officials willing to bargain with states?

Negotiation and bargaining are important activities in the implementation of intergovernmental public policies. Given the design of environmental policy, intergovernmental negotiations are an essential part of the interaction of environmental program managers. This study examines the willingness of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional officials to bargain with their state counterparts in the national Superfund program. A model of working relationships is developed to analyze the negotiating behavior of regional EPA officials. The findings of this study indicate that both strategic (trust, involvement) and structural (relations with EPA headquarters, state program capacity, and state political context) factors are associated with whether or not regional officials are willing to negotiate with state-level administrators. The implications of these findings for the national Superfund program, the larger context of intergovernmental management, and larger themes in public administration are discussed in the conclusion of this paper.     

Business Mobilization and Public Policy in the U.S. States*

Objective. The goal of this study is to examine how the political mobilization of business interests influences aggregate public policy outputs in the states. We examine the relationship between business mobilization and general state policy liberalism, as well as policy that we term state “business policy climate.” Methods. We construct a measure of the “business policy climate” from a number of tax and regulatory indicators in the states and examine whether business influences it and policy liberalism using ordinary least squares regression. Results. The analysis shows that business mobilization does not influence general policy liberalism but is a significant influence on a state's business policy climate. Specifically, the dominance of a state's campaign finance system by business interests makes policy more favorable toward business. Conclusions. The extent of business mobilization in a state is an important influence on public policy outputs but is constrained by the activities of other political actors such as unions.     

Public Opinion and Dynamic Representation in the American States: The Case of Environmental Attitudes*

Objective. We investigate causal processes linking environmental conditions, attitudes, and policies in the American states: Is public opinion about ecology shaped by environmental conditions? Are state policymakers responsive to environmental opinions? Does public opinion respond to policy adoption? Methods. Using public opinion data from the DDB Worldwide Life Style Survey to measure aggregate state attitudes about the environment, as well as measures of water quality and policy intervention, we capture the dynamics of representation in the American states on the environment during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Results. Our findings support a thermostatic model of representation—state environmental opinions are influenced by environmental conditions and are responsive to policy outputs alongside improved environmental conditions. Conclusions. This model of the opinion‐policy linkage refines our understanding of representation and focuses us not just on the passage of public policy to address public desires, but the effectiveness of that policy as well.     

The Context for Political Corruption: A Cross‐National Analysis*

Objective. How do we explain variations across nations in the incidence of political corruption? Recent theoretical work locates the causes for corruption in a combination of institutional conditions: monopoly power, little accountability, and wide discretion. This focus on the form of political institutions clarifies the micro‐scale causes of political corruption, but it leaves unanswered questions about the macro‐scale causes of corruption. Methods. This article addresses these questions about the macro scale through an analysis of perceived levels of corruption across nations. Results. Our work identifies poverty, large populations, and small public sectors as contextual causes of corruption. Historically‐based differences in political cultures across broad geographical regions also affect the perceived incidence of corruption in nations. Conclusion. Further research should attempt to link micro‐ and macro‐scale causes together in a single, multi‐scalar model of corruption.     

Determinants of environmental public participation in China: an aggregate level study based on political opportunity theory and post-materialist values theory

The level of public participation in response to environmental issues in China has significantly increased over the past 10 years. This expansion of participation occurred as the government was pursuing legislative and regulatory approaches to address environmental pollution. Factors contributing to the development of environmental public participation are explored based on the political opportunity theory and post-materialist values theory. Two participation styles are used as dependent variables in a panel data framework. The empirical results of an analysis of provincial level data indicate that the degree of openness to participation and economic development level show consistently significant impacts on the levels of different environmental participation styles, thus demonstrating the applicability of the political opportunity theory and Inglehart’s post-materialist values theory in predicting environmental public participation in China. The results also show that other variables, including educational level and environmental pollution level have different or even reverse effects depending on the form of participation examined. In general, the results are consistent with cross-national studies of environmental policy development and political participation.     

浅析印尼对外商投资的法律规制

印度尼西亚与贸易有关的法律主要包括《海关法》、《政府投资条例》以及新修订的《投资法》等。印尼的投资环境受到传统观念、政局的稳定性、军警社会化以及公职人员腐败等因素的影响。在目前印尼社会背景下,我国应把握好其政治转型过程中对我国政策的变化,关注对华人政策的变化以及充分利用好国际贸易规则与国内法律,加强重点领域的贸易,以促进中印（尼）之间的贸易与投资。     

Political economy and the adoption of everyday environmental policies in the American states, 1997: an exploratory analysis

The political economy model has been widely and effectively used to explain and predict adoption rates of highly salient and/or controversial policies in the American states. However, use of this model to predict policy adoption in noncontroversial domains has been limited. This article tests the extent to which the model is successful in explaining the adoption of less-salient, everyday policies intended to improve environmental quality among the American states. The addition of conditional terms related to the model's political and bureaucratic components resulted in explaining 57% of the variance in commitment to everyday environmentalism among the American states. In sum, the number of everyday environmental policies adopted by state governments is a function of economic considerations, legislative accountability and professionalism, bureaucratic commitment, political culture and previous levels of policy adoption. Alternately—and unlike more controversial environmental policy domains—partisanship, ideology, party control of government and interest group forces do not have an impact on adoption of everyday environmental policies.     

Effects of Conservative Sociopolitical Attitudes on Public Support for Drug Rehabilitation Spending

Objective . In this article we investigate why traditionally conservative social groups show less support for spending on drug rehabilitation programs than for drug control spending in general. Methods . Using data from the 1984 through 1998 General Social Surveys, we first estimate logistic regressions of support for drug control spending across five sociopolitical cleavages. We then estimate effects of three types of sociopolitical attitudes on support for drug spending within traditionally conservative groups. Results . Resistance to rehabilitation spending among conservatives is related to their opposition to the welfare state, punitive attitudes toward criminals, and among whites, racial attitudes. Conclusions . Our findings suggest that citizens may withhold support for a social policy to the extent that it evokes negative associations with other salient sociopolitical issues or attitudes. We discuss the importance of these associations for understanding the relationships among political debate, public opinion, and policy outcomes.     

Implementation and Politics

An investigation of the relationship between state socioeconomic and political structural variables and state noncompliance with the requirements of federal public welfare grant policy during the period 1970-1972 is reported. The major finding is that the more affluent and politically competitive states are most likely to engage in noncompliance. These are the states that historically have provided the most generous welfare benefits. In addition, those states that expericnce frequent changes in directors of the department of public welfare are more likely to engage in noncompliance. The discussion suggests that state welfare policy is more complex than is revealed by aggregate or average expenditures. Other elements such as decisions about compliance with federal grant requirements must be considered, and the complexity of the choices and possible trade-offs confronting state officials should be recognized.     

Russian Society Before and After 2012

The Russian elections of 2012 mark a turning point by showing that electoral corruption was an open demonstration of indifference to public opinion, a demonstration of power, and a refusal to “play by the rules.” The new political system that is developing is becoming institutionalized.     

Women’s political empowerment: Influence of women in legislative versus executive branches in the fight against corruption

This research adds to the literature on gender and corruption, with the main contributions lying in the comparison of the relative influence of women in the legislative versus the executive branches of the government on cross-country corruption. Placing the empirical analysis within the context of the determinants of corruption, results, using data over a large sample of nations covering the years 2018–2020, show that it is women in the legislative branch (via membership in parliaments) that exert a downward pressure on corruption. On the other hand, women in the executive branch (captured via female heads of state and female cabinet ministers) did not exert a statistically significant influence on corruption. Such insignificance also held when an overall index of women’s political empowerment was used and with respect to the longevity of women’s suffrage in a nation. Interestingly, nations with quotas for women’s political participation experienced greater corruption. Our quantile regression results uniquely show the sensitivity of the prevalence of corruption to the factors driving it. These findings provide additional insights into the role of women in government - women across the board in government will not necessarily lead to a “cleaner” government, and that, the institution of quotas to bolster women’s participation in the political process is not advisable, at least when corruption reduction is a goal.     

PHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS IN AUSTRALIA AND SWEDEN: WELFARE POLICY AND THE COST OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Pharmaceutical benefits provide a stable framework within which consumers, prescribers, suppliers, pharmacists and other actors undertake transactions. The state in effect delivers a good that enhances individual autonomy. A major reason for the legitimacy enjoyed by pharmaceutical benefits in both Australia and Sweden is that these programs have strong attributes of universalism (rather than targeting). Sweden's predominantly public health system allows greater scope for pharmaceutical policy innovation. Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), while historically resilient and effective, is now wedged precariously between traditional considerations of equity and public health on the one hand, and constant pressure for increased marketisation on the other.     

"The Attila the Hun law": New York's Rockefeller drug laws and the making of a punitive state

In 1973, New York's Governor Nelson Rockefeller responded to panic about soaring heroin use by renouncing his aggressive treatment programs and enacting the most punitive drug policy in the United States. His "Rockefeller Drug Laws" mandated sentences up to life in prison for selling any narcotics. These punishments, comparable to the penalties for murder, served as models for subsequent "War on Drugs" policies enacted across the nation.This article explores the ideological and political work accomplished by this high profile legislation—for policy makers, for members of the general public who clamored for "get tough" strategies, and for the drug users targeted by the statutes. The laws were a repudiation of liberal treatment programs and specialists' expertise, and provided a forum to remake the much-maligned welfare state into a stern, macho vehicle for establishing order in society. Increasingly punitive policies constricted the rights of drug users by rhetorically constructing "addicts" and "pushers" as outside of the polity and as the antithesis of full citizens. Therefore, the Rockefeller Drug Laws not only had devastating effects on drug offenders, but also were instrumental in the profound renegotiation of the state's role and responsibilities.     

Gray Peril or Loyal Support? The Effects of the Elderly on Educational Expenditures*

Objectives. Do large concentrations of elderly represent a “gray peril” to maintaining adequate educational expenditures? The gray peril hypothesis is based on an assumption of instrumental self‐interest in political behavior. In contrast, we argue that loyalty to community schools competes with economic self‐interest and that older citizens are heterogeneous in their preferences. Methods. We test these arguments and their implications for public school finance using a data set of more than 9,000 school districts. Results. The data show that longstanding older residents represent a source of support for educational expenditures while elderly migrants lower spending. Further, this divide among the elderly and their impact on policy outputs depends on how states finance local public education and on aspects of state and local tax policy. Conclusions. Elderly concentrations are a financial asset for a school district unless the senior community includes a large number of new arrivals. The design of tax policy can have enormous impact on the depth of political cleavages and their ultimate impact on public policy. The results are consistent with the idea that loyalty—an emotional bond between residents and their community's institutions—competes with and often trumps instrumental self interest.     

Determinants of the timing of social insurance legislation among 18 OECD countries

The purpose of this paper is to determine which theory best explains the development of social insurance programs. The survival analyses of 4 social insurance programs in 18 OECD countries present mixed results. The adoption of each social insurance program is developed and related to a combination of industrialism, modernization, left-wing participation, state autonomy, and international environment. Based on these findings, it is concluded that no single paradigm adequately explains the adoption of each of the social insurance programs. However, the combination of two society-centered approaches – namely, logic of industrialism and political conflict explanation – and a state-centered approach better explains the origin and development of modern social policy than does the international diffusion theory.     

From Enlightened Self‐interest to Welfare Coalitions: Overcoming Identity‐based Tensions in the Israeli Welfare State

A common argument in the social policy literature is that ethnic and identity‐based heterogeneity undermines the welfare state. In part, this happens because of difficulties in the generation of broad social solidarity in diverse societies: solidarity which is allegedly necessary for sustaining public support for the welfare state. This study explores this argument's logic in the context of welfare state politics in Israel. Israel would appear to be a near‐perfect example of how heterogeneity strains social solidarity and, in turn, undermines the welfare state. Quite differently from most studies, however, this work's emphasis is not on public attitudes or voting, but on the political interaction between economically disadvantaged identity‐based minorities – specifically Arabs on the one hand and religious Jews on the other – in the welfare field. It is argued that shared interests enable extensive co‐operation among political elites in the welfare field despite religiously‐ and nationally‐based antagonism.     

市场化改革与腐败治理：基于微观案件数据的实证分析

随着市场化改革的深入，中国的腐败现象也呈增长趋势。本文通过对1993—2013年3 843个腐败案件的分析发现，那些具有配置资源权力的官员出现腐败问题的可能性更大，程度也更严重。这一效应在官员的任职领域正处于市场化改革阶段时被放大，但随着改革的完成而大幅度减小。市场化过程中腐败问题的制度性根源在于市场化改革没有完成或不彻底的市场化，而不是市场化本身。因此，只有坚持市场化改革，才能清除权力寻租的土壤，进而遏制腐败问题。     

Management of HIV/AIDS in the Australian federal system

The purpose of this article is to analyse the effect of the federal structure on public health policy in a crisis situation. Federalism has been one of the most important features of the Australian political system shaping AIDS policy because it has created problems with the coordination of policies and has limited the Commonwealth's capacity to introduce a coherent national monitoring, education, protection, testing and legal framework. My main point is that in the situation of crisis, there is a tendency to rely on the political will of the centre. The political will of the federal health department, subsumed by conflicts and difficulties, has not lasted long enough to construct a new, more uniform structure (a uniform surveillance, legal and health acts framework). It can be concluded that while political intervention and political will cannot be overestimated as means of overcoming organizational rigidities in an emergency situation, the need for a framework conducive to rapid and coordinated responses is obvious. The lesson from the AIDS epidemic points to the need for more uniform public health legislation, for more uniform system of recording data on HIV and for more uniform civil liberties legislation.