Critical decisions and constitutional rules

Many constitutions specify procedures that allow critical decisions to be made with a different rule than routine decisions. We propose a theory of constitutional rules that explains why. The theory is based on the assumption that the type of a decision can be observed, but not verified. We characterize two classes of second-best constitutions, both with clear analogues in real world constitutions: (i) incentive scheme (IS) constitutions that elicit information about the type of a decision through a costly switching procedure and (ii) veto (VT) constitutions that grant limited veto powers to interested parties.     

Organizational Responses to Contending Institutional Logics: The Moderating Effect of Group Dynamics

This paper advances knowledge on how the forms of institutional logics that emerge and become venerated among members of a singular organization in a heterogeneous field are influenced by struggles between contending interest groups. It examines the moderating effect of group dynamics that occur when an organization attempts to balance novel institutional complexity within organizational bounds through its hiring and promotion systems. The authors argue that, while the specific institutional oppositions of heterogeneous fields compel organizational changes, the institutional forms that emerge and become legitimate among members of an organization in such fields are the effects of indeterminate social processes of regularization and breaking of coexisting logics. The paper provides insights into how the negotiations among groups of organizational actors over the process and outcome of institutional change are influenced by asymmetric power relationships yet significantly mediated by their social strategies. The findings reported are from an ethnography of the enactment of institutional changes at a South Korean credit card company following the economic crisis in 1997 and the International Monetary Fund bailout programme.     

Democratization Under the Threat of Revolution: Evidence From the Great Reform Act of 1832

We examine the link between the threat of violence and democratization in the context of the Great Reform Act passed by the British Parliament in 1832. We geo‐reference the so‐called Swing riots, which occurred between the 1830 and 1831 parliamentary elections, and compute the number of these riots that happened within a 10 km radius of the 244 English constituencies. Our empirical analysis relates this constituency‐specific measure of the threat perceptions held by the 344,000 voters in the Unreformed Parliament to the share of seats won in each constituency by pro‐reform politicians in 1831. We find that the Swing riots induced voters to vote for pro‐reform politicians after experiencing first‐hand the violence of the riots.     

Does Contraceptive Use Always Reduce Breast-feeding?

Previous studies suggest that access to modern contraceptives can reduce breast-feeding rates because women who had been using breast-feeding to avoid pregnancy substitute away from it. This article shows that contraceptive use can also have a positive effect on breast-feeding. A mother often weans a child if she becomes pregnant again, which can occur sooner than desired if she lacks access to contraceptives. Thus, by enabling longer birth spacing and preventing unwanted pregnancies, contraceptive use allows for a longer duration of breast-feeding. This positive effect should primarily affect infants who are past the first few months of life because their mothers are more fecund then, and the negative effect should affect infants who are very young because the contraceptive property of breast-feeding is strongest then. I test for these dual effects using Demographic and Health Survey data for Indonesia. I find evidence of the positive birth-spacing effect: contraceptive use increases the likelihood that children continue to be breast-fed past age 1. There is also suggestive evidence of a negative substitution effect among infants age 3 months and younger.     

A study of factors related to rural job preference among prospective nursing graduates

Four hundred and thirty prospective nursing graduates from ten schools and five colleges in India were studied to identify factors related to their preferences for work in urban or rural areas. Seventy per cent expressed a preference for urban work. Significant factors related to rural preferences were: religion and background (rural or urban); type of educational institution (government or non-government); and living in a rural setting during community nursing experience. Of the personal, professional and socio-cultural factors related to rural work preference, the most significant were: accomodation, sanitation and safe water; job availability for spouse, security, and school for children. Of the personal and professional factors, the most important were: continuing education opportunities, job satisfaction, and intellectual stimulation.