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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Central government
This book is your guide to becoming an empowerment leader. Its purpose: to redirect and re-energize leadership in government.
What role have parliaments played in the dramatic changes occurring in Eastern and Central Europe? Adopting a common research framework, the contributors analyze in detail the role and operations of parliaments in ten of the new democracies. They focus on what determines their capacity to have some impact on public policy. They identify the significance of parliaments operating in often hybrid systems of government, with the relationship between the executive and legislature not well defined, and with an absence of constraining influence that typify western political systems.
This collection, by an economist who participated in many of the events described, sketches the more important economic developments from the end of the Second World War to the early 1980s. In so doing, it brings together a series of papers which were produced by Sir Alec Cairncross during this period. The topics covered include: economic development in the immediate post-war period, including some long neglected issues, such as the role of economists in the wartime government of Britain; sterling crises and devaluation during the 1960s and 1970s; the wider view and long-term issues involved, including a review of some of the economic ideas that have influenced the British government since the war. The importance of ecomomic history as an intellectual discipline is central and sets the context for the entire work. This study is intended to be of use for all those seeking to understand the course of post-1945 economics.
The last decade has witnessed important developments in
international trade policy, both at the multilateral and regional
levels. "International Trade Policy" provides an extensive,
in-depth analysis of the theoretical and policy considerations
which underlie these developments.
Energy Policy is a key area in each of the world's economies and
the oil shocks of the 1970's empasized how important energy had
become. "Models for Energy Policy" analyzes a range of models of
energy use. In recent recent years a growing awareness of
environomental issues has had a major impact on perceptions of
energy use as growing numbers of people express concern at the
relationship betweem energy and the greenhouse effect, acid rain
and the depletion of the ozone layer.This has created a demand for
more and better models of energy.
Using a broadened conceptualization of agenda setting, this
volume's objective is to examine the drug issue from mid-1984 to
mid-1991 to determine how drug-related issues and events -- both
real and fabricated -- and the primary agendas drove the issue over
time. Based on this objective, four questions are posed:
This book focuses on what is arguably the most devastating phenomenon in the history of modern civilization, the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows how, on the one hand, the pandemic has exposed governments the world over to deal with a major health crisis; and, on the other, efforts by the ruling forces to enforce surveillance on people and disciplining them by maneuvering cutting-edge digital technology in the name of security and safety. Second, it explores how the mainstream versions of crisis communication and risk communication face huge challenges during a pandemic. Finally, it analyses how the pandemic propels an extraordinary expansion of infodemic - rapid spread of excessive quantities of misinformation and disinformation of the fake and false variety - and how social media in particular becomes its main tool in causing subversion of the prevalent information order. Engaging, comprehensive and accessible, this book will be of immense importance to scholars and researchers of politics, especially governance and political communication, communication studies, and public health management. It will be vital for public policy professionals, experts in thinktanks, career bureaucrats, and non-governmental organizations.
From soil degradation and biodiversity loss to the coexistence of malnutrition and obesity, many of the largest challenges facing humanity today are underpinned by food and agriculture systems. In order to alleviate and resolve them, global governance of food and agriculture needs to be reformed. Unravelling the array of international regulatory instruments, this timely book provides the first systematic analysis of the international law surrounding food systems. International Agricultural Law and Policy provides a systems-based analysis of the rules that intersect with the physical elements of agriculture against a framework of commonly held norms. The author conducts a comprehensive examination not only of the rules, but also the implementation and broader socioeconomic, scientific and political context. By, exploring and clarifying the relationship between food security and the right to food and sustainability, Johnson closes the gap between the disparate international rules that govern food and agriculture, while exploring the practical implications of these overlapping regimes. This unique book is an invaluable resource for lawyers and social scientists working within food and agriculture systems and their governance and lays the much-needed groundwork for future research. For policy makers in the food and agricultural space, this book provides a wide-ranging and innovative analysis of the global regulatory landscape that influences law and policy processes.
The bestselling author of Simpler offers a powerful, provocative, and convincing argument for protecting people from their own mistakes Based on a series of pathbreaking lectures given at Yale University in 2012, this powerful, thought-provoking work by national best-selling author Cass R. Sunstein combines legal theory with behavioral economics to make a fresh argument about the legitimate scope of government, bearing on obesity, smoking, distracted driving, health care, food safety, and other highly volatile, high-profile public issues. Behavioral economists have established that people often make decisions that run counter to their best interests-producing what Sunstein describes as "behavioral market failures." Sometimes we disregard the long term; sometimes we are unrealistically optimistic; sometimes we do not see what is in front of us. With this evidence in mind, Sunstein argues for a new form of paternalism, one that protects people against serious errors but also recognizes the risk of government overreaching and usually preserves freedom of choice. Against those who reject paternalism of any kind, Sunstein shows that "choice architecture"-government-imposed structures that affect our choices-is inevitable, and hence that a form of paternalism cannot be avoided. He urges that there are profoundly moral reasons to ensure that choice architecture is helpful rather than harmful-and that it makes people's lives better and longer.
Drawing on research across a wide range of European countries, this book analyzes the key issues at stake in developing long-term care systems for older people in Europe with a focus on progression and improvement for policy and practice.
Migration in Europe is a pressing social and political issue for the policy makers of the 1990s. Drawing upon a wide body of knowledge, expertise and analysis, European Migration in the Late Twentieth Century combines an important survey with a series of detailed country studies on migration in Europe.The authoritative overview essay by the editors examines migration to and within Europe. They compare the flows during the last forty years with the present situation, detailing both the magnitude and geography of migration over this period. This is followed by thirteen individual country studies each of which features an historical introduction to emigration and immigration in the featured country, quantitative data sets and a detailed assessment of the social and political implications. These studies - specially prepared by leading scholars - cover the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Israel, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia and the former USSR. This comprehensive and scholarly book will be welcomed by teachers and researchers of social sciences and history for presenting new insights on one of the key political, social and economic issues facing modern Europe.
During its comparatively short life as a set of institutions, the European Union (EU) has experienced rapid growth in size, remit and policy competence. In addition, the resulting analytical and factual literature has more than matched this growth. As Roger Levy notes, '[a] visit to the institutions of the EU now requires a travel itinerary on the scale of the cultural tour once favoured by the aristocracy.' This valuable and detailed study provides, for the first time, a systematic empirical analysis of EU programme management in all of the main spending areas over a 20 year period. After setting out the management framework in each area, Roger Levy looks methodically at audit evidence to build up a comprehensive performance profile. The management of EU spending programmes is subject to almost continual media speculation about its propriety and efficiency. The unprecedented resignation of the Santer Commission en masse in March 1999 was a direct result of its management failures. Using up-to-date, original data, this valuable book provides an empirical antidote to much of the speculation which dominates this issue. This accessible analysis of the vast data available on this contentious area will prove invaluable reference to anyone studying the European Union, as well as European and national government officials, research organisations and pressure groups.
'An instant classic. Sabir is an inspiration' Arun Kundnani, author of The Muslims are Coming! What impact has two decades' worth of policing and counterterrorism had on the state of mind of Muslims in Britain? The Suspect draws on the author's experiences to take the reader on a journey through British counterterrorism practices and the policing of Muslims. Rizwaan Sabir describes what led to his arrest for suspected terrorism, his time in detention, and the surveillance he was subjected to on release from custody, including stop and search at the roadside, detentions at the border, monitoring by police and government departments, and an attempt by the UK military to recruit him into their psychological warfare unit. Writing publicly for the first time about the traumatising mental health effects of these experiences, Sabir argues that these harmful outcomes are not the result of errors in government planning, but the consequences of using a counterinsurgency warfare approach to fight terrorism and police Muslims. To resist the injustice of these policies and practices, we need to centre our lived experiences and build networks of solidarity and support.
How economics needs to change to keep pace with the twenty-first century and the digital economy Digital technology, big data, big tech, machine learning, and AI are revolutionizing both the tools of economics and the phenomena it seeks to measure, understand, and shape. In Cogs and Monsters, Diane Coyle explores the enormous problems-but also opportunities-facing economics today and examines what it must do to help policymakers solve the world's crises, from pandemic recovery and inequality to slow growth and the climate emergency. Mainstream economics, Coyle says, still assumes people are "cogs"-self-interested, calculating, independent agents interacting in defined contexts. But the digital economy is much more characterized by "monsters"-untethered, snowballing, and socially influenced unknowns. What is worse, by treating people as cogs, economics is creating its own monsters, leaving itself without the tools to understand the new problems it faces. In response, Coyle asks whether economic individualism is still valid in the digital economy, whether we need to measure growth and progress in new ways, and whether economics can ever be objective, since it influences what it analyzes. Just as important, the discipline needs to correct its striking lack of diversity and inclusion if it is to be able to offer new solutions to new problems. Filled with original insights, Cogs and Monsters offers a road map for how economics can adapt to the rewiring of society, including by digital technologies, and realize its potential to play a hugely positive role in the twenty-first century.
This text provides discussions of ethnic politics in Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, offering an interpretation of the nature of ethnic consciouness and the causes of ethnic tensions. Ethnic consciousness is defined in terms of a psychological and political ideology that is, predominantly, influenced by the attitude and policy of the state. This idea is developed through an examination of the influence that theoretical ideas - such as neo-patrimonialism, corporatism, ethnocracy, internal colonialism and class - have had upon the various regimes in the countries above. The book explores how the influence of these different theories and conceptualizations of the state, resulted in a variety of manifestations of political ethnicity.
"This entirely updated and enlarged Second Edition of a landmark reference/text continues to provide comprehensive coverage of every important aspect of policy studies--discussing concepts, methods, utilization, formation, and implementation both internationally and across each level of government."
For centuries, denuded landscapes, fouled streams, and dirty air were accepted by society as part of the price that had to be paid for mineral production. Even initial environmental legislation devised by industrialized countries in the 1960s and 1970s was largely designed without mining in mind. And developing countries had little in the way of environmental policy. With the advent of sustainability in the 1990s, times have changed. Today's economic development, many now feel, must not come at the expense of an environmentally degraded future. Current policies toward mining are under rigorous review, and mineral-rich developing countries are designing environmental policies where none existed before. In Mining and the Environment, noted analysts offer viewpoints from Australia, Chile, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European community on issues and challenges of metal mining.
There is no better guide than Paul Krugman to basic economics, the ideas that animate much of our public policy. Likewise, there is no better foe of zombie economics, the misunderstandings that just won't die. Arguing with Zombies is Krugman "the most hated and most admired columnist in the US" (Martin Wolf, Financial Times) at his best, turning readers into intelligent consumers of the daily news with quick, vivid sketches of the key concepts behind taxes, health care, international trade and more. In this new book, in which he builds on and expands his The New York Times columns and other writings, "the most celebrated economist of his generation" (The Economist), offers short, accessible chapters on topics including the European Union and Brexit, the fight for national health care in the United States, the financial meltdown of 2007-2008, the attack on Social Security and the fraudulent argument-the ultimate zombie-that tax cuts for the rich will benefit all.
Introduction of a common European currency has been, and is, a process bristling with difficulties. Will establishing European science be any easier? The contributors to the volume have treated this question with the seriousness it deserves. The results steer away from an easy optimism, but emphasize the importance of such enterprise. This insightful text should be of interest to policy makers and scientists alike, not the least because it shows how the two groups influence each other.' - Barbara Czarniawska, University of Gothenburg, SwedenSince the European Research Area was launched at the beginning of the century, significant efforts have been made to realise the vision of a coherent space for science and research in Europe. But how does one define such a space and measure its development? This timely book analyses the dynamics of change in the policy and governance of science and research within Europe over the past decade. It widens the scope of traditional policy analysis by focusing attention on the interaction between policy rationales, new governance mechanisms, and the organisational dynamics of the scientific field. The contributors build a novel analytical framework to understand the European research space as one shifting from a fragmented space of 'Science in Europe' to one that is labeled 'European Science'. The chapters explore the dynamics of this shift through the lenses of political science, organisation theory, science policy and related analytical traditions. Towards European Science is an interdisciplinary book which will attract a wide set of scholars and professionals interested in science policy, governance and scientific practice. It will also be of use to university leaders and managers, as well as policy-makers and practitioners working on issues of internationalisation and the Europeanisation of science. Contributors: I. Bleiklie, D. Braun, L. Cruz-Castro, J. Enders, L. Engwall, A. Gornitzka, T. Hedmo, K. Jonkers, B. Lepori, T. Luukkonen, G. Mathisen Nyhagen, M. Nedeva, L. Sanz-Menendez, L. Wedlin
The 27 articles reprinted in this volume are among Peter Mieszkowski's most important contributions to public, urban and regional economics. Several of these pieces concern income distribution theory and policies for promoting equality in wages, housing and education.The first part of this book includes studies of labour markets, tax incidence and the distributive effects of trade unions and wage subsidies. Two important conclusions presented in these papers concern the local property tax: it is a tax on capital and it results in under-provision of local public goods. The second and third parts of the book address, respectively, the decentralization of cities and and tax reform. Issues discussed include: racial discrimination in housing markets, the design of land use regulation, the negative income tax, consumption taxes, and tax reform in transition countries, particularly Eastern European countries. These outstanding essays bring together, in an accessible form, the work of one of the most important scholars in the field of public finance and urban economics.
In the late 1980s a consensus appeared to have emerged that a level of unemployment around 1.6 million was satisfactory. The subsequent rise in unemployment showed that this satisfaction was misplaced. The British economy remains an "economy of unemployment", vulnerable to cyclical recession and large-scale job loss. Why this should be so, and what was wrong with policy towards unemployment and the labour market are the twin focuses of this book. Its emphasisis on the analysis of the structure of unemployment and through this the identification of responsible policies which could address unemployment. "Understanding Unemployment" includes contributions from economics, sociology, social policy, law, psychology and geography. It addresses such issues as the nature of labour supply and demand, employer recruitment practices, the effect of unemployment on individuals and families and the potential impact of European integration. Taken together, they offer new and positive perspectives on unemployment and on the nature of effective, active labour market policies.
How the optimism gap between rich and poor is creating an increasingly divided society The Declaration of Independence states that all people are endowed with certain unalienable rights, and that among these is the pursuit of happiness. But is happiness available equally to everyone in America today? How about elsewhere in the world? Carol Graham draws on cutting-edge research linking income inequality with well-being to show how the widening prosperity gap has led to rising inequality in people's beliefs, hopes, and aspirations. For the United States and other developed countries, the high costs of being poor are most evident not in material deprivation but rather in stress, insecurity, and lack of hope. The result is an optimism gap between rich and poor that, if left unchecked, could lead to an increasingly divided society. Graham reveals how people who do not believe in their own futures are unlikely to invest in them, and how the consequences can range from job instability and poor education to greater mortality rates, failed marriages, and higher rates of incarceration. She describes how the optimism gap is reflected in the very words people use--the wealthy use words that reflect knowledge acquisition and healthy behaviors, while the words of the poor reflect desperation, short-term outlooks, and patchwork solutions. She also explains why the least optimistic people in America are poor whites, not poor blacks or Hispanics. Happiness for All? highlights the importance of well-being measures in identifying and monitoring trends in life satisfaction and optimism--and misery and despair--and demonstrates how hope and happiness can lead to improved economic outcomes. |
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