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Policy Mix (policy + mix)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences40%

Selected Abstracts

The size and mix of government spending on illicit drug policy in Australia

DRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 4 2008
TIMOTHY J. MOORE
Abstract Aim. To estimate how much governments in Australia spend on reducing and dealing with illicit drug problems. Methods. Government documents and supplementary information sources were used to estimate drug-related expenditure for the financial year 2002,03, in Australian dollars. Public sector expenditure on reducing drug problems (,proactive expenditure') was classified into four policy functions: prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement. Expenditure related to the consequences of drug use (,reactive expenditure') was included as a separate category. Results. Spending by Australian governments in financial year 2002,03 on all drug-related activities was estimated to be $3.2 billion. Proactive expenditure was estimated to be $1.3 billion, comprising 55% on enforcement, 23% on prevention, 17% on treatment, 3% on harm reduction and 1% on activities that span several of these functions. Expenditure on dealing with the consequences of drug use was estimated to be $1.9 billion, with the majority the result of crime-related consequences. Conclusion. Several insights result from estimating these expenditures. First, law enforcement is the largest drug policy component, with Australian governments also spending significant amounts on treatment and prevention programmes. Secondly, apart from the prevention component, Australia's drug policy mix is strikingly similar to recent international estimates. Finally, expenditures associated with dealing with the consequences of illicit drugs are large and important for assessing drug-related public sector expenditure. [source]

Social protection in Europe: A European trade union perspective

INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 1 2003
Martin Hutsebaut
Governments and social partners in the European Union (EU) look for ways and means to adapt welfare systems to new needs, to keep expenditure under control, and to find alternative and supplementary financial resources in order to cope with future financial commitments. The EU is actively involved in the search for solutions to these common problems. It becomes more and more evident that only an active economic, budgetary, taxation and social policy mix can provide a solid base for safeguarding social systems. The author presents the most recent figures relating to actual and future social protection expenditure in the EU, disaggregated according to function and showing significant differences between gross and net figures. Attention is also paid to coverage and replacement rates of social benefits and to the availability of social infrastructures. The article then shows the shifts in implicit tax rates on labour in comparison with the rate on other factors. The conclusion outlines a European trade union view on the future of social protection in Europe and suggests possible issues for social benchmarking. [source]

The ,Sense and Nonsense of Maastricht' Revisited: What Have we Learnt about Stabilization in EMU?,

JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 4 2006
WILLEM H. BUITER
This retrospective argues that old criticisms of the Stability and Growth Pact survive intact, but emphasizes two further features. First, the Pact imposes constraints on national fiscal autonomy, but there are no clear cross-border externalities that warrant debt and deficit limits. Second, the Pact cannot address E(M)U-wide stabilization and the fiscal-monetary policy mix. [source]

The Swedish Legal Services Policy Remix: The Shift from Public Legal Aid to Private Legal Expense Insurance

JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 1 2003
Francis Regan
A number of governments in the 1960s and 1970s pursued the goal of equal access to legal services by establishing publicly funded legal aid schemes. Some societies also promoted Legal Expense Insurance (LEI) to fill some of the gaps in legal aid. The recent trend to small government means many societies are keen to experiment further with legal services policy. This article examines one such experiment in Sweden where reforms included major cuts to public legal aid and requiring most people to rely on private LEI. But how well does this policy mix promote equal access to legal services? And are there lessons for other societies? In this article I describe and assess the policy remix. I argue that the reforms are a bold policy experiment but that they had mixed and some undesirable consequences, and that there are few lessons for other societies. [source]

Trade policy mix: IPR protection and R&D subsidies

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2006
Moonsung Kang
Abstract This paper analyses strategic R&D policy under circumstances where intellectual property rights protection resulting from firms' R&D investment is not perfect. By examining policy choices wherein a government chooses both R&D subsidies and IPR protection levels simultaneously, we show that it is optimal for a government to adopt sufficiently weak IPR protection and to subsidize R&D investments of domestic firms. Inducing R&D investment of foreign rival firms will increase the profits of domestic firms. Ce mémoire analyse une politique stratégique de R&D quand la protection des droits de propriété intellectuelle (DPI) qui découlent d'investissements en R&D par les entreprises est imparfaite. En examinant les choix de politiques par lesquels un gouvernement définit simultanément les niveaux de subventions pour la R&D et de protection de la propriété intellectuelle, on montre qu'il est optimal pour un gouvernement d'adopter une protection des DPI suffisamment faible et de subventionner les investissements en R&D des entreprises nationales. Susciter un accroissement des investissements en R&D des entreprises étrangères rivales devrait augmenter les profits des entreprises nationales. [source]