Suchergebnisse

The United States finds itself at the center of a historically unparalleled empire, one that is wealth-generating and voluntary rather than imperialistic, say the authors of this compelling book. William E. Odom and Robert Dujarric examine America's unprecedented power within the international arenas of politics, economics, demographics, education, science, and culture. They argue persuasively that the major threat to this unique empire is ineffective U.S. leadership, not a rising rival power center.America cannot simply behave as an ordinary sovereign state, Odom and Dujarric contend. They describe the responsibilities that accompany staggering power advantages and explain that resorting to unilateralism makes sense only when it becomes necessary to overcome paralysis in multilateral organizations. The authors also offer insights into the importance of liberal international institutions as a source of power, why international cooperation pays, and why spreading democracy often inhibits the spread of constitutional order. If the United States uses its own power constructively, the authors conclude, the American empire will flourish for a long time

Demographic Challenges for Human Resource Management Practices and Labour Market Policies in Japan and Germany - An Overview-- H. Conrad, V. Heindorf & F. Waldenberger Aging Workforces and Challenges to Human Resource Management in German Firms-- U. Backes-Gellner & S. Veen Pensions and Labour Market Reforms for the Ageing Society-- A. Seike Effects of Institutions on Human Capital Investment: A Comparison of Policies in Japan, Germany and the USA-- B. Wolff, M. Gunkel & S. Wenzke Labour, Income and Poverty among Elderly Japanese-- I. Ohashi The Employment of Older Workers in Japanese Firms: Empirical Evidence From Micro Data-- Y. Higuchi & I. Yamamoto Effects of Support Measures on Employment of Elderly People in Japan-- J. Nakamura Ergonomic Design and Intervention Strategies in Health Promotion for Ageing Workforces-- H. Luczak & M. C. Stemann The Performance-based Salary System and Personnel Management Reforms in Japan-- K. Nakamura Paradigm Changes in Labour Market Policies for Older Workers in Germany - Background Factors and Recent Developments-- G. Naegele Towards 'Ageless' Employment Policies - A Union's Experience of the Extension of the Mandatory Retirement Age-- N. Shintani

In January 2007 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published, on an ad hoc basis, a series of financial soundness indicators (FSIs) based on a common methodology (the IMF compilation Guide) for 62 countries, including all 27 European Union countries. The European Central Bank (ECB), jointly with the Banking Supervision Committee (BSC), has an interest in monitoring the development of this IMF initiative in the context of its own work on compiling macro-prudential indicators (MPIs). The aim of this paper is to identify the main similarities and differences between the FSIs and the MPIs for national banking sectors, as the overlap between MPIs and FSIs in this sub-set is greatest. As a result of the recently issued amendments to the IMF compilation Guide for FSIs, some key methodological differences between the two approaches have been eliminated and it is therefore expected that the figures published by the two institutions will soon converge. The paper concludes with an investigation of the few other areas where the remaining differences could potentially be narrowed.

Monetary theory not only provides the tools to analyse monetary arrangements, it also shapes them in an essential way. The selected papers gathered together in this book deal with a variety of topics concerning both aspects of this twofold relationship. A number of controversial issues regarding the demand for money are empirically investigated and the functioning of a cashless economy is clarified by critically assessing the new monetary economics. Filippo Cesarano shows the important role played by monetary theory in shaping the evolution of monetary arrangements. This principle is illustrated by focusing on several issues relating to both current and future developments of monetary institutions: the optimum quantity of money, the international monetary system and monetary unions. Equilibrium models are viewed as a benchmark against which the actual conditions of the economy must be set. Money and Monetary Systems will be of great interest and value to economists specialising in monetary theory and international monetary economics, postgraduate students in economics and economic historians

This landmark work is the first sustained critique of Latin American neostructuralism, the prevailing narrative that has sought to replace "market fundamentalism" and humanize the "savage capitalism" imposed by neoliberal dogmatism. Fernando Leiva analyzes neostructuralism and questions its credibility as the answer to the region's economic, political, and social woes. Recent electoral victories by progressive governments in Latin America promising economic growth, social equity, and political democracy raise a number of urgent questions, including: What are the key strengths and weaknesses of the emerging paradigm? What kinds of transformations can this movement enact? Leiva addresses these issues and argues that the power relations embedded in local institutions, culture, and populations must be recognized when building alternatives to the present order. Considering the governments in countries such as Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, Leiva examines neostructuralism's impact on global politics and challenges whether this paradigm constitutes a genuine alternative to neoliberalism or is, rather, a more sophisticated form of consolidating existing systems.

Intro -- Department of the Treasury Blueprint for Actions -- Contents -- Preface -- Executive Summary -- The Need for Review -- Recommendations -- Conclusion -- Introduction -- History of the Current Regulatory Framework -- Broad Overview of the U.S. Financial Services Sector -- Depository Institution Regulation and History -- Futures Regulation and History -- Securities Regulation and History -- Insurance Regulation and History -- Short-Term Recommendations -- President's Working Group of Financial Markets -- Mortgage Origination -- Liquidity Provisioning by the Federal Reserve -- Intermediate-Term Recommendations -- Thrift Charter -- State Bank Regulation -- Payment and Settlement Systems -- Future and Securities -- Insurance -- The Optimal Regulatory Structure -- Recommendation Overview -- General Choices for Reform -- Optimal Structure: An Objectives-Based Regulatory Structure -- Market Stability Regulator -- Prudential Financial Regulator -- Business Conduct Regulator -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- Appendix A - Federal Register Notice -- I. General Issues -- II. Specific Issues -- Appendix B - Review of Past Treasury and Administratio Regulatory Reform Reports -- Appendix C - Existing Regulatory Structures for Subprime Mortgage Origination -- Appendix D - Descriptions of Select U.S. Payment and Settlement Systems Federal Reserve Bank Systems -- Appendix E - Commodity Futures Modernization Act Core Principles -- References -- Index.

The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution was established to foster policy innovation from leading economic thinkers—ideas based on evidence and experience, not ideology and doctrine. The overall goal is to promote America's long-term economic growth, and economic security for American families. This important book brings The Hamilton Project's approach to one of the most critical issues facing Americans today—health care. In Who Has the Cure? a team of noted economists and policy analysts emphasizes the importance of universal health care—not just its value to individual and families, but also the overall economy. They examine in detail four policy alternatives for achieving universal health insurance coverage that would also improve efficiency in the health care industry. The contributors to this volume also evaluate proposales designed to make health care more affordable and effective. Among the possible strategies studied here are an expansion of preventive care, income-related cost sharing, and reform of Medicare's prescription drug benefit.

democracy - Canadian Parliament - merit - Public Service Commission of Canada - En 1908, afin de lutter contre le favoritisme qui mine autant l'efficacité de l'administration publique que la démocratie, le Parlement canadien décrète que les fonctionnaires de l'État seront dorénavant nommés selon le principe du mérite, en fonction de processus administrés par un organisme indépendant : la Commission de la fonction publique du Canada. Publié à l'occasion du centenaire de la commission, ce livre retrace l'histoire de ce principe et de cette institution, nés dans la controverse et, depuis, le sujet d'inlassables débats. Il permet de mieux comprendre la résilience exceptionnelle et la contribution unique de la commission à l'édification d'une administration publique indépendante, qui constitue un pilier important de la démocratie parlementaire canadienne. On y découvre également comment la commission a contribué, au fil des ans, à trouver un équilibre sans cesse renouvelé entre trois objectifs, reliés mais parfois contradictoires, associés à la dotation de l'administration publique d'une démocratie libérale : la neutralité politique de l'administration, l'égalité démocratique et l'efficacité en matière de gestion.

"In Professionalism and Public Service, leading scholars in the field assess the state of public administration in Canada and move the discipline forward on both the professional and the academic level." "The contributors to this volume trace the evolution of public administration institutions, explore issues such as the protection and improvement of the public service, describe recent innovations in the area of service delivery, and assess how these developments have increased the legitimacy of public administration among citizens. The various chapters also study recent advances in teaching methods and examine the importance of ongoing learning and training within the public service, both for students as well as for public administration practitioners." "Written in honour of Kenneth Kernaghan, the groundbreaking scholar who played an important role in public administration in Canada, Professionalism and Public Service highlights some of his lasting contributions to the discipline. It is a history of the recent evolution of an essential part of Canadian governance and a fitting tribute to a distinguished scholar."--Jacket

Drug policy has spread into new areas of society and new players are now engaged in this policy. This leads to the question: How can we understand and explain the increasingly complex puzzle that we call drug policy?

A very wide range of drug policies are implemented in contemporary societies - not only by governments, but also by local communities, organisations, public institutions, private enterprises, sports clubs etc., with consequences for drug users, citizens and society in general.

In Drug Policy anthropologists, criminologists and sociologists analyse different aspects of drug policy, seeing it as a way of regulation drugs - including control, treatment, prevention and harm reduction. Using examples from both Denmark and the USA, the authors' approach is to focus in particular on the history and consequences of drug policy in practice. The topic is analysed on an international, national as well as local level. This book will be of great value to advanced undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in drug policy, as well as to academics, practitioners and policy makers in the drug field.

In the age of globalization, many economic sectors are addressed not only by the policies of national, but also of international institutions. Using three cases of highly internationalized sectors of the German economy - international tourism, telecommunications, and the pharmaceutical industry - the paper tries to spell out and explain the differences in the governance architecture of these economic sectors. The main differences identified concern the prevalent purpose or goals of governance; the prevalent governance instruments; the relative importance of agencies at different territorial levels; and the prevalence of public, private, or mixed forms of governance. These differences are interrelated and reflect differences between sectoral economies. In the light of the comparison, the relationship between different levels in a multi-level governance structure is discussed, with a view to the extent and nature of coordination that exists between them. Both the architecture and the regimes of multi-level governance are shaped by attempts to cope with conflict, and manifest the endurance of conflicts that cannot be resolved once and for all.

The study examines US-European productivity and worker attitude differences, focusing on changes in incentive structures. We analyze productivity and worker attitudes in five plants in the UK and US belonging to the same multinational producer of automotive sensors and actuators. We examine the firm's efforts to make complementary changes in product strategy and human-resource policies. In particular, we look at the impact of a Value-Added Gainsharing plan (VAG) that was introduced at different times among the four plants. Our analysis draws on multiple plant visits, surveys of almost all of the workforce, and confidential financial data. Our study offers a rare look inside a low-wage, non-union firm. We find that the VAG had an impact on productivity and profitability. We find that the UK plant's productivity and worker satisfaction was well below that of the US plants. However, neither our analysis nor interviews with managers suggest that differences in national institutions play a key role in explaining these results.

"When members of deliberating groups speak with one another, their predeliberation tendencies often become exacerbated as their views become more extreme. The resulting phenomenon -- group polarization -- has been observed in many settings, and it bears on the actions of juries, administrative tribunals, corporate boards, and other institutions. Polarization can result from rational Bayesian updating by group members, but in many contexts, this rational interpretation of polarization seems implausible. We argue that people are better seen as Credulous Bayesians, who insufficiently adjust for idiosyncratic features of particular environments and put excessive weight on the statements of others where there are 1) common sources of information; 2) highly unrepresentative group membership; 3) statements that are made to obtain approval; and 4) statements that are designed to manipulate. Credulous Bayesianism can produce extremism and significant blunders. We discuss the implications of Credulous Bayesianism for law and politics, including media policy and cognitive diversity on administrative agencies and courts"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site

Advances in Experimental Social Psychology continues to be one of the most sought after and most often cited series in this field. Containing contributions of major empirical and theoretical interest, this series represents the best and the brightest in new research, theory, and practice in social psychology. This serial is part of the Social Sciences package on Science Direct. Visit www.info.sciencedirect.com for more information. Advances Experimental Social Psychologyis available online on ScienceDirect- full-text online of volumes 32 onwards. Elsevier book series on ScienceDirect gives multiple users throughout an institution simultaneous online access to an important compliment to primary research. Digital delivery ensures users reliable, 24-hour access to the latest peer-reviewed content. The Elsevier book series are compiled and written by the most highly regarded authors in their fields and are selected from across the globe using Elsevier's extensive researcher network. For more information about the Elsevier Book Series on ScienceDirect Program, please visit: http://www.info.sciencedirect.com/bookseries/

This paper examines the influence of family human capital on offspring's economic status in post reform rural China by concentrating on the father-son relationship. We focus on two indicators of family background: family class origin (jiating chengfen) and occupational experience. The results of a family wealth function for 2002 suggest that, after controlling for other individual and family characteristics, both measures of family background have a significant influence on family wealth. First, parental experience of a nonagricultural family business before collectivization has a positive and statistically significant effect on current family wealth. Second, the offspring of landlord/rich peasant and middle peasant families are more likely to have higher family wealth than poor and lower-middle peasant families. We also find cohort and regional differences in the influence of family background. Our findings suggest that the strength and robustness of the Chinese rural family as a cultural institution preserves family human capital across radical institutional changes. -- Family human capital ; family background ; intergenerational correlation ; distribution of wealth