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Legislature
Kinds of Legislature Selected AbstractsESTIMATING INCUMBENCY EFFECTS IN U.S. STATE LEGISLATURES: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDYECONOMICS & POLITICS, Issue 2 2010YOGESH UPPAL This paper estimates the incumbency effects in elections to the House of Representatives of 45 states in the United States using a quasi-experimental research method, regression discontinuity design (RDD). This design isolates the causal effect of incumbency from other contemporaneous factors, such as candidate quality, by comparing incumbents and non-incumbents in close contests. I find that incumbents in state legislative elections have a significant advantage, and this advantage serves as a strong barrier to re-entry of challengers who had previously been defeated. However, the incumbency advantage estimated using the RDD is much smaller than are the estimates using existing methods, implying a significant selection bias in the latter. [source] The Lisbon Judgment of the German Constitutional Court: A Court-Ordered Strengthening of the National Legislature in the EUEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 5 2010Philipp Kiiver This article discusses the judgment of the German Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the Treaty of Lisbon, concentrating on the court's insistence on the prerogatives of the national legislature. The court's insistence on prior national legislative ratification for the application of the simplified treaty revision procedure and of similar de facto amendment procedures, including the flexibility clause, is conservative but understandable from the perspective of German constitutional law. The prescription of prior bicameral ratification for the application of the flexibility clause makes the German government procedurally one of the most tightly controlled in the EU, although this would not be unique, and the effect of such control will depend on the cleavage between the government and the national legislature, especially the German upper chamber. None of the procedures insisted upon by the court are incompatible with EU Treaty law. Whether the new procedures will actually enhance the democratic legitimacy of EU measures in German perception will depend on the degree to which political parties in the national legislature will publicly politicise their stance on the decisions in question, allowing voters to hold them to account. All the court can do is prescribe opportunities where such politicisation may take place. [source] The ,Checks and Balances' Doctrine in Member States as a Rule of EC Law: The Cases of France and GermanyEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 5 2003Theodore Georgopoulos The paper argues that the mutation of the Judiciary and the Executive role vis-ā-vis the Legislature appears to be an application of an emerging doctrine in EC public law that conspicuously resembles the ,Checks and Balances' theory of American constitutionalism. The action of one public authority is,or must be,countered by the reaction of another for the benefit of EC law. Apart from identifying the features of this ,principle' in comparison to its equivalent American doctrine, the paper deals with the question of a possible coexistence of this new model of governance with the traditional one. The comparative perspective is necessary here. Whereas in Germany the constitutional model appears to cope with European demands, in France it seems largely opposed to such a dynamic conception of the separation of powers. [source] A Retrospective Look at the Water Resource Management Policies in Nassau County, Long Island, New York,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 5 2008Daniel J. St. Germain Abstract:, The residents of Nassau County Long Island, New York receive all of their potable drinking water from the Upper Glacial, Jameco/Magothy (Magothy), North Shore, and Lloyd aquifers. As the population of Nassau County grew from 1930 to 1970, the demand on the ground-water resources also grew. However, no one was looking at the potential impact of withdrawing up to 180 mgd (7.9 m3/s) by over 50 independent water purveyors. Some coastal community wells on the north and south shores of Nassau County were being impacted by saltwater intrusion. The New York State Legislature formed a commission to look into the water resources in 1972. The commission projected extensive population growth and a corresponding increase in pumping resulting in a projected 93.5 to 123 mgd (4.1 to 5.5 m3/s) deficit by 2000. In 1986, the New York Legislature passed legislation to strengthen the well permit program and also establish a moratorium on new withdrawals from the Lloyd aquifer to protect the coastal community's only remaining supply of drinking water. Over 30 years has passed since the New York Legislature made these population and pumping projections and it is time to take a look at the accuracy of the projections that led to the moratorium. United States Census data shows that the population of Nassau County did not increase but decreased from 1970 to 2000. Records show that pumping in Nassau County was relatively stable fluctuating between 170 and 200 mgd (7.5 to 8.8 m3/s) from 1970 to 2004, well below the projection of 242 to 321 mgd (10.6 to 14.1 m3/s). Therefore, the population and water demand never grew to projected values and the projected threat to the coastal communities has diminished. With a stable population and water demand, its time to take a fresh look at proactive ground-water resource management in Nassau County. One example of proactive ground-water management that is being considered in New Jersey where conditions are similar uses a ground-water flow model to balance ground water withdrawals, an interconnection model to match supply with demand using available interconnections, and a hydraulic model to balance flow in water mains. New Jersey also conducted an interconnection study to look into how systems with excess capacity could be used to balance withdrawals in stressed aquifer areas with withdrawals in unstressed areas. Using these proactive ground-water management tools, ground-water extraction could be balanced across Nassau County to mitigate potential impacts from saltwater intrusion and provide most water purveyors with a redundant supply that could be used during water emergencies. [source] Truth and Fiction: A Study of the Gender Gap in the US National LegislaturePOLITICS, Issue 3 2001Stephanie L. Hallett In the United States, women are generally perceived to vote more liberally than men. Analysing voting patterns from 12 US Congresses (the 94th to 105th Congress) on a range of political issues, I conduct an estimation explaining voting behaviour by gender, differences in party identification and affiliation with different geographical regions in the United States. My results indicate that women do generally vote more liberally than men, but this difference can be attributed to differences in party identification and regional representation more than to gender differences. [source] The Common Law Power of the Legislature: Insurer Conversions and Charitable FundsTHE MILBANK QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2005JILL R. HORWITZ New York's Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield conversion from nonprofit to for-profit form has considerable legal significance. Three aspects of the conversion make the case unique: the role of the state legislature in directing the disposition of the conversion assets, the fact that it made itself the primary beneficiary of those assets, and the actions of the state attorney general defending the state rather than the public interest in the charitable assets. Drawing on several centuries of common law rejecting the legislative power to direct the disposition of charitable funds, this article argues that the legislature lacked power to control the conversion and direct the disposition of its proceeds and that its actions not only undermined the nonprofit form but also raised constitutional concerns. [source] Mechanisms for intergovernmental relations in federationsINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 167 2001Brian R. Opeskin Federations employ a large variety of mechanisms for conducting relations between central, regional, and local levels of government. These mechanisms span the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government within each level. Executive involvement ranges widely in degree of formality, from the making of formal intergovernmental agreements to informal liaison between governmental officers. Executive mechanisms have also evolved for correcting vertical and horizontal fiscal imbalances in federal systems. Legislatures play an important role in giving the force of law to cooperative policies initiated by the executive. These legislative mechanisms include reciprocal schemes, complementary schemes, mirror legislation, and the reference or delegation of powers from one level of government to another. The judiciary, though often undervalued, is significant for its role in establishing the legal framework within which other branches of government conduct their intergovernmental relations, through articulation of powers and competencies. The article concludes that policy makers should exercise care in selecting mechanisms that are appropriate to their task. In particular, regard should be had to the efficiency of each mechanism, and its conformity with federal values and the rule of law. [source] Legislatures, Legitimacy and Crises: The Relationship Between Representation and Crisis ManagementJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2010Alastair Stark This article presents a theoretical argument that the study of representation can yield important insights for crisis analysts. The argument is presented through a claim that the representative systems, legislatures and individuals of a state , defined here broadly as ,representative institutions', should be factored into political analyses of crisis management, as they provide a lens for novel explorations of crisis issues. In particular, the use of parliamentary perspectives, and the examination of specific legislature functions during crises, can lead to valuable insights into the legitimacy dynamics that characterize political crisis episodes. [source] The Court's Role in Promoting Comprehensive Justice for Pregnant Drug and Alcohol UsersJUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2008Tourine Johnstone ABSTRACT Drug use during pregnancy is an important social and medical issue. Legislatures and courts have offered a variety of responses, ranging from imprisonment to comprehensive service programs that are rehabilitative in nature. This article discusses the prevalence and effects of prenatal drug use, followed by a presentation of the scope of legal responses and treatment options. Some courts do not provide outreach services for drug-offending mothers, while others may offer a limited range of services. In contrast, a comprehensive justice approach would provide a wide range of health, employment, and social programs for the offender. This approach is based on philosophies of restorative justice, therapeutic jurisprudence, and procedural justice. Such a theory-based comprehensive justice program ultimately benefits mothers, children, and the community. Considerations are offered for judges who seek to implement a comprehensive justice approach to address this important problem. [source] Th e Decision to Contract Out: A Study of Contracting for E-Government Services in State GovernmentsPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 3 2007Anna Ya Ni Government contracting, especially for information technology products and services, has accelerated in recent years in the United States. Drawing on the insights of privatization studies, the authors examine the economic and political rationales underpinning government decisions to contract out e-government services. This article tests the extent to which economic and political rationality influence governments' contracting decisions using data from multiple sources: a survey conducted by National Association of State Chief Information Officers, a survey by the National Association of State Procurement Officers, the Council of State Legislatures, and macro-level state data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Important factors affecting the state-level contracting decision are population size, market size, the competitiveness of the bidding process, the professional management of contracts, the partisan composition of legislatures, and political competition. Political rationales appear to play a major role in state contracting decisions. Some arguments associated with markets and economic rationality are clearly politically motivated. [source] The Effect of Electoral Geography on Pork Barreling in Bicameral LegislaturesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010Jowei Chen How does the electoral geography of legislative districts affect pork barreling? This article presents a formal model extending Mayhew's classic credit-claiming theory to account for the electoral geography of bicameralism. Under bicameralism, upper chamber (Senate) and lower chamber (Assembly) legislators who share overlapping constituencies must collaborate to bring home pork projects. Collaboration is easier between a Senator and an Assembly Member who share a large fraction of their constituents and thus have relatively aligned electoral incentives. But dividing a Senate district into a larger number of Assembly district fragments misaligns these electoral incentives for collaboration, thus reducing equilibrium pork spending. Hence, increased Senate district fragmentation causes a decrease in equilibrium spending. I exploit the 2002 New York Senate expansion as a natural experiment, examining how sudden changes in the geographic fragmentation of Senate districts account for differences in the distribution of pork earmarks immediately before and after the redrawing of district boundaries. [source] The New Racial Calculus: Electoral Institutions and Black Representation in Local LegislaturesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2010Melissa J. Marschall In this study we revisit the question of black representation on city councils and school boards using a novel substantive and methodological approach and longitudinal data for a sample of over 300 boards and councils. Conceptualizing black representation as a two-stage process, we fit Mullahy's hurdle Poisson models to explain whether and to what extent blacks achieve representation in local legislatures. We find that while the size of the black population and electoral arrangements matter more than ever, especially for overcoming the representational hurdle, the extent to which the black population is concentrated is also strongly associated with black council representation. Further, whereas black resources and opportunities to build "rainbow" coalitions with Latinos or liberal whites are marginally if at all related to black legislative representation, we find that legislative size is an underappreciated mechanism by which to increase representation, particularly in at-large systems, and is perhaps the best predictor of moving towards additional representation. [source] Women on the Sidelines: Women's Representation on Committees in Latin American LegislaturesAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2005Roseanna Michelle Heath This article explores how new groups can be marginalized after they gain representation in the legislature. We use data from six Latin American legislatures to examine the effect of institutional and political factors on how traditionally dominant male political leaders distribute scarce political resources,committee assignments,to female newcomers. In general, we find that women tend to be isolated on women's issues and social issues committees and kept off of power and economics/foreign affairs committees as the percentage of legislators who are women increases, when party leaders or chamber presidents control committee assignments, and when the structure of the committee system provides a specific committee to deal with women's issues. Thus, to achieve full incorporation into the legislative arena, newcomers must do more than just win seats. They must change the institutions that allow the traditionally dominant group to hoard scarce political resources. [source] Adverse Event Reporting: Lessons Learned from 4 Years of Florida Office DataDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 9 2005Brett Coldiron MD, FACP Background Patient safety regulations and medical error reporting systems have been at the forefront of current health care legislature. In 2000, Florida mandated that all physicians report, to a central collecting agency, all adverse events occurring in an office setting. Purpose To analyze the scope and incidence of adverse events and deaths resulting from office surgical procedures in Florida from 2000 to 2004. Methods We reviewed all reported adverse incidents (the death of a patient, serious injury, and subsequent hospital transfer) occurring in an office setting from March 1, 2000, through March 1, 2004, from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. We determined physician board certification status, hospital privileges, and office accreditation via telephone follow-up and Internet searches. Results Of 286 reported office adverse events, 77 occurred in association with an office surgical procedure (19 deaths and 58 hospital transfers). There were seven complications and five deaths associated with the use of intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. There were no adverse events associated with the use of dilute local (tumescent) anesthesia. Liposuction and/or abdominoplasty under general anesthesia or intravenous sedation were the most common surgical procedures associated with a death or complication. Fifty-three percent of offices reporting an adverse incident were accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities, or American Association for Ambulatory Health Care. Ninety-four percent of the involved physicians were board certified, and 97% had hospital privileges. Forty-two percent of the reported deaths were delayed by several hours to weeks after uneventful discharge or after hospital transfer. Conclusions Requiring physician board certification, physician hospital privileges, or office accreditation is not likely to reduce office adverse events. Restrictions on dilute local (tumescent) anesthesia for liposuction would not reduce adverse events and could increase adverse events if patients are shifted to riskier approaches. State and/or national legislation establishing adverse event reporting systems should be supported and should require the reporting of delayed deaths. [source] Does a critical mass exist?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002A comparative analysis of women's legislative representation since 1950 It has often been argued theoretically that a ,critical mass,' ranging from 10 to 35 per cent women, is needed before major changes in legislative institutions, behaviour, policy priorities and policy voting occurs. This paper examines one of the less-explored dimensions of the critical mass concept: Is there a process by which women reaching a critical mass of the legislature accelerates the election of further women? Using data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, we analyze this question for 20 industrialized democracies over a period of half a century, longer than any other relevant research. Descriptive results indicate that gains in women's representation have been incremental rather than a critical mass accelerating the election of women to legislatures. In a multivariate analysis of the percentage of women in the lower house of the legislature, the critical mass is tested against established explanations of women's gains in seats: institutional rules, egalitarian political culture, political parties and economic development. Of two measures of the critical mass theory, one has no impact and the second results in only a small increase in women's gains. Far from being clearly demonstrated, critical mass theories need empirical testing. [source] The Lisbon Judgment of the German Constitutional Court: A Court-Ordered Strengthening of the National Legislature in the EUEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 5 2010Philipp Kiiver This article discusses the judgment of the German Constitutional Court on the constitutionality of the Treaty of Lisbon, concentrating on the court's insistence on the prerogatives of the national legislature. The court's insistence on prior national legislative ratification for the application of the simplified treaty revision procedure and of similar de facto amendment procedures, including the flexibility clause, is conservative but understandable from the perspective of German constitutional law. The prescription of prior bicameral ratification for the application of the flexibility clause makes the German government procedurally one of the most tightly controlled in the EU, although this would not be unique, and the effect of such control will depend on the cleavage between the government and the national legislature, especially the German upper chamber. None of the procedures insisted upon by the court are incompatible with EU Treaty law. Whether the new procedures will actually enhance the democratic legitimacy of EU measures in German perception will depend on the degree to which political parties in the national legislature will publicly politicise their stance on the decisions in question, allowing voters to hold them to account. All the court can do is prescribe opportunities where such politicisation may take place. [source] European Parliament and Executive Federalism: Approaching a Parliament in a Semi-Parliamentary DemocracyEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 5 2003Philipp Dann This paper proposes an understanding of the European Parliament not along theories about what the EU should become, but what it is and surely will continue to be, that is a very distinct federal structure. The European Parliament is a parliament in an executive federalism,with far-reaching consequences for its form and functions. After outlining the characteristics of this federal structure, these consequences will be demonstrated by analysing the European Parliament in contrast with two ideal types of parliaments: the working parliament, separated from the executive branch and centred around strong committees (like the US Congress), and the debating parliament, characterised by the fusion of parliamentary majority and government as well as plenary debates (like the British House of Commons). Dwelling thus on a comparison to a legislature in a non-parliamentary federal system, like the US Congress, this paper argues that the European Parliament might best be understood as a special case of a working parliament. Finally, it will be proposed to consider the influence of executive federalism not only as fundamentally shaping the European Parliament but also as rendering the EU generally a semi-parliamentary democracy. [source] Delegation of Regulatory Powers in a Mixed PolityEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 3 2002Giandomenico Majone It is a common place of academic and political discourse that the EC/EU, being neither a parliamentary democracy nor a separation-of-powers system, must be a sui generis polity. Tocqueville reminds us that the pool of original and historically tested constitutional models is fairly limited. But however limited, it contains more than the two systems of rule found among today's democratic nation states. During the three centuries preceding the rise of monarchical absolutism in Europe, the prevalent constitutional arrangement was ,mixed government',a system characterised by the presence in the legislature of the territorial rulers and of the ,estates' representing the main social and political interests in the polity. This paper argues that this model is applicable to the EC, as shown by the isomorphism of the central tenets of the mixed polity and the three basic Community principles: institutional balance, institutional autonomy and loyal cooperation among European institutions and Member States. The model is then applied to gain a better understanding of the delegation problem. As is well known, a crucial normative obstacle to the delegation of regulatory powers to independent European agencies is the principle of institutional balance. By way of contrast, separation-of-powers has not prevented the US Congress from delegating extensive rule-making powers to independent commissions and agencies. Comparison with the philosophy of mixed government explains this difference. The same philosophy suggests the direction of regulatory reform. The growing complexity of EC policy making should be matched by greater functional differentiation, and in particular by the explicit acknowledgement of an autonomous ,regulatory estate'. At a time when the Commission aspires to become the sole European executive, as in a parliamentary system, it is particularly important to stress the importance of separating the regulatory function from general executive power. The notion of a regulatory estate is meant to emphasise this need. [source] One Man Two Hats: What's All the Commotion!FINANCIAL REVIEW, Issue 2 2009Jay Dahya G28; G30; G34 Abstract We examine performance in publicly listed U.K. companies over a period that encompasses the issuance of the Cadbury Committee's Code of Best Practice, which calls for the abolition of the combined CEO/COB position. We find that companies splitting the combined CEO/COB position to conform to the Code's requirement did not exhibit any absolute or relative improvement in performance when compared to various peer-group benchmarks. We do not necessarily scoff at mandated board structures, but the evidence suggests that this particular legislature coerced the abandonment of the combined CEO/COB position and appears to be wide of the mark. [source] A conceptual framework for understanding global and transnational public goods for healthFISCAL STUDIES, Issue 2 2002Todd Sandler Abstract The paper presents two taxonomies for classifying global and transnational health-promoting activities according to three parameters of publicness , non-rivalry of benefits, non-excludability of non-payers and the aggregation technologies. Based on these taxonomies and their implications for efficiency and equity, this paper identifies the need for international cooperation in some, but certainly not all, areas concerning the provision of such health-promoting activities. Additionally, institutional responses are evaluated in light of the various health-promoting activities. The roles of multilaterals, non-governmental organisations, foundations and nations are addressed. A host of current global health issues , for example, public-private partnerships, international orphan drug legislature and patent protection , are addressed. [source] Semi-presidentialism, Cohabitation and the Collapse of Electoral Democracies, 1990,2008GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 1 2010Robert Elgie Semi-presidentialism is the situation where a constitution makes provision for both a directly elected fixed-term president and a prime minister and cabinet who are responsible to the legislature. A common argument against the adoption of a semi-presidential constitution by a new democracy is the problem of cohabitation , where a president from one party holds power at the same time as a prime minister from an opposing party and where the president's party is not represented in the cabinet. The concern is that cohabitation creates competing power centres within the executive that are dangerous for young democracies. This article shows that cohabitation has been directly associated with the collapse of a young democracy in only one case. Moreover, by specifying the conditions under which cohabitation can occur, we also show that the threat of cohabitation has been associated with collapse in only one further case. We suggest that this is so because cohabitation refers to a very specific situation that can only occur under a certain combination of circumstances that can often be avoided. Overall, we show that there is little evidence to support one of the most well-known and long-standing arguments against semi-presidentialism. Thus, while semi-presidentialism may indeed be perilous for new democracies, we conclude that it is perilous for reasons other than the problem of cohabitation. [source] Evaluating Medical Effectiveness for the California Health Benefits Review ProgramHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 3p2 2006Harold S. Luft An important aspect of the mandate assessments requested by the California legislature is a review of the scientific and medical literature on the medical effectiveness of the proposed health insurance benefit mandate. Although such a review bears many similarities to effectiveness reviews that might be undertaken for publication as research studies, several important differences arise from the requirements of the California legislation. Our reviews are intended to assist the legislators in deciding whether to support a specific mandate to modify health insurance benefits in a particular way. Thus, our assessments focus on how the scientific literature bears on the proposed mandate, which may involve a complicated chain of potential effects leading from altered coverage to ultimate impact on health. Evidence may be available for only some of the links in the chain. Furthermore, not all the evidence may be directly applicable to the diverse population of California or the subpopulation affected by the mandate. The mandate reviews, including the medical effectiveness analyses, may be used in a potentially contentious decision making setting. The legislative calendar requires that they need to be timely, yet they must be as valid, credible, and based on the best information available as possible. The focus on applicability also implies the need for informed, technical decisions concerning the relevance of the articles for the report, and these decisions need to be made as transparent as possible. These goals and constraints yield an approach that differs somewhat from an investigator-initiated review of the literature. [source] Steps toward nationhood: Henry Laurens (1724,92) and the American Revolution in the South*HISTORICAL RESEARCH, Issue 200 2005James J. Kirschke Henry Laurens's political career ranks among the South's crucial contributions to the Revolution and American nationhood, contributions that historians have largely neglected. This article attempts to estimate this Southern role through an examination of Laurens's life and letters, and the political culture of his home state, South Carolina. Laurens and others in the South, despite an incongruous commitment to slavery, gave the emerging nation a distinctly Southern stamp by advocating state federalism, the sovereignty of the people through democratic legislature, and a strong executive. [source] The Rule of Law in the Realm and the Province of New York: Prelude to the American RevolutionHISTORY, Issue 301 2006HERBERT A. JOHNSON British and American views of public law have diverged greatly over the past two hundred years. This article examines the evolution of New York's adherence to the rule of fundamental law and the use of colonial common law courts to protect the rights of New York subjects against the prerogative power of the crown. As a conquered province from 1664 to 1683, New York was denied a legislature. Thereafter the colonial legislative bodies were active in making unsuccessful attempts to claim their birthright as Englishmen. In England the Glorious Revolution represented a major step in the development of parliamentary supremacy. In New York, however, it facilitated an ethnic insurrection followed by the realization that English governmental policy mandated the denial of basic rights of Englishmen to colonial residents. The Glorious Revolution simply made it possible for parliament, as well as the crown, to regulate colonial affairs without any constitutional restrictions prior to 1774. In terms of constitutional dynamics in eighteenth-century England, continued imperial rule through an untrammelled royal prerogative substantially increased the political power and revenues of the crown. Failing to consider the impact of monarchial power in a growing empire, the 1688,9 Convention Parliament laid the foundation for an unbalanced British government in the middle of the eighteenth century. Deprived of patronage and extraordinary revenues at home, the monarchs turned to regulation of their empire and to reaping increased financial benefit. Both of these unintended consequences of the Glorious Revolution threatened parliamentary supremacy, even as parliament's new-found power began to undermine the rule of law in the empire. [source] Policy Legitimacy and Institutional Design: Comparative Lessons for theEuropean UnionJCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 1 2000David McKay Research on the democratic deficit in the European Union (EU) tends to focus on general questions of institutional design rather than the link between institutions and specific policy responsibilities. This article argues that, following EMU, a high degree of fiscal centralization is not tenable given theabsence of EU-wide citizen support for a greatly enhanced central role and European political parties operating in a genuine European legislature. Given this, it is appropriate to examine fiscal relations in existing federations to discover which, if any, approximates to the likely post-EMU pattern in the EU. The experience of five federations , Australia, Canada the US, Germany and Switzerland suggests that most can be learnt from the Swiss model which is characterized by a high degree of vertical fiscal autonomy, and state (cantonal) interpenetration of national decision-making. The article concludes that, while Switzerland cannot serve as a model for the EU, the Swiss experience does show that a modern industrial state can successfully operate in the context of a high degree of fiscal decentralization. [source] Legislating Professionals: Private Bills for Entry to Practise Professions in Ontario, 1868,1914JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 3 2005TRACEY L. ADAMS This paper explores profession-state relations, through a case study of the Ontario government's historical practice of granting individual petitioners the right to circumvent requirements for entry to practise established by professional bodies. Through this practice, the Ontario legislature implicitly challenged professions' right to determine competence and expertise. While some have argued that states regulate professions to regulate expertise, this analysis suggests that state acceptance of professional expertise was a gradual process that came several decades after the establishment of professions in the province. [source] MICROALGAE AND CYANOBACTERIA: FOOD FOR THOUGHT,JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2 2008Miroslav Gantar In non-Western civilizations, cyanobacteria have been part of the human diet for centuries. Today, microalgae and cyanobacteria are either produced in controlled cultivation processes or harvested from the natural habitats and marketed as food supplements around the world. Cyanobacteria produce a vast array of different biologically active compounds, some of which are expected to be used in drug development. The fact that some of the active components from cyanobacteria potentially have anticancer, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and other effects is being used for marketing purposes. However, introduction of these products in the form of whole biomass for alimentary purposes raises concerns regarding the potential toxicity and long-term effects on human health. Here, we review data on the use of cyanobacteria and microalgae in human nutrition and searched for available information on legislature that regulates the use of these products. We have found that, although the quality control of these products is most often self-regulated by the manufacturers, different governmental agencies are introducing strict regulations for placing novel products, such as algae and cyanobacteria, on the market. The existing regulations require these products to be tested for the presence of toxins, such as microcystin; however, other, sometimes novel, toxins remain undetected, and their long-term effects on human health remain unknown. [source] Regional Income Disparity and the Size of the Public SectorJOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMIC THEORY, Issue 5 2009MICHELE GIUSEPPE GIURANNO This paper explores the impact of income inequality between jurisdictions on government decision making affecting the size of the public sector. We model policy choices as the outcome of regional representatives' negotiations in the legislature. We show that the more unequal interregional income distribution is, the greater the underprovision of public goods. More specifically, greater interregional income disparity leads to a smaller public sector. A wealthier economy as a result may have a relatively smaller government size when income disparity increases. [source] Electoral Systems, Legislative Process, and Income TaxationJOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMIC THEORY, Issue 1 2000Yan Chen We characterize the equilibrium income tax schedules and the optimality conditions under two types of political institutions, a two-party plurality system with a single district, and one with multiple districts where tax policies are determined through a legislature. It is shown that the exogenous social welfare functions in the optimal taxation literature can be endogenously determined by explicitly modeling the political institutions, which put different welfare weights on different subsets of the population. This paper also extends the Coughlin probabilistic voting model and the Baron,Ferejohn legislative bargaining model to a function space. [source] And the Beat Goes On: Further Evidence on Voting on the Form of County Governance in the Midst of Public CorruptionKYKLOS INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, Issue 1 2009Gökhan R. Karahan SUMMARY ,Operation Pretense,' an FBI sting operation conducted in Mississippi during the 1980s, uncovered widespread corruption among the state's county supervisors. The revelations prompted the Mississippi legislature to authorize including on the November 1988 ballot a measure asking voters whether they favored switching to a more centralized ,unit system' of county governance or instead retaining the decentralized ,beat system' then in place in all but two of the state's 82 counties. We examine voters' decisions to participate in that election, in which 47 counties returned majorities for the unit system and 35 counties opted for the status quo. Controlling for participation in the 1988 presidential race and other relevant factors, we find that turnout rates for the beat-unit choice were positively correlated with supervisor corruption. We also find that the corrupt counties' higher voter turnouts were driven mainly by supporters of the corruption-prone beat system. 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