Suchergebnisse

This paper studies empirically the effects of and the interactions amongst economic and political liberalizations. Economic liberalizations are measured by a widely used indicator that captures the scope of the market in the economy, and in particular of policies towards freer international trade (cf. Sachs and Werner 1995, Wacziarg and Welch 2003). Political liberalizations correspond to the event of becoming a democracy. Using a difference-indifference estimation, we ask what are the effects of liberalizations on economic performance, on macroeconomic policy and on structural policies. The main results concern the quantitative relevance of the feedback and interaction effects between the two kinds of reforms. First, we find positive feedback effects between economic and political reforms. The timing of events indicates that causality is more likely to run from political to economic liberalizations, rather than viceversa, but we cannot rule out feedback effects in both directions. Second, the sequence of reforms matters. Countries that first liberalize and then become democracies do much better than countries that pursue the opposite sequence, in almost all dimensions.

In the intense political debate on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy there is a high degree of consensus that the present rates of production growth must be stopped and structural surpluses dismantled. On the other hand, there is broad agreement that the structural adjustment of agriculture must not lead to unacceptable social hardships. Is an alternative to the present CAP which meets these criteria conceivable?

Важнейшие современные реформы (с конца 1990-х гг.) в Германии, которые проведены в пенсионном обеспечении, на рынке труда, в сфере социально-трудовых отношений и организации труда, привели к стремительному росту занятости лиц в возрасте 50-65 лет и одновременно сделали Германию моделью для подражания для других европейских стран. В немецких реформах отразились идеи о новой роли пожилых людей в мире, в общественном прогрессе. Значительное внимание уделено проблеме старости и активного старения, которые являются основой для развития новых политических проектов в отношении пожилых. Достижение общественного консенсуса по острым вопросам позволило без помех реализовать комплексные и радикальные реформы в формате work first. В статье представлены итоги политики и практики поддержки занятости пожилых к 2015 г. и анализируются вновь появившиеся на этом пути проблемы. Несмотря на достигнутые успехи, в стране растет число нездоровых работников, усиливается проблема бедности в старости, стагнирует мобильность на рынке труда, приватизируется система гибкого перехода на пенсию. В заключение подводятся общие итоги исследования, обсуждаются перспективы использования опыта Германии в России, а также возможный эффект от повышения пенсионного возраста и увеличения продолжительности трудовой занятости в нашей стране. ; The paper is examining the process and outcomes of contemporary policy and practice of supporting the employment of the elderly people in Germany. The first part of the article deals with the factors, under the pressure of which the government was forced to implement deep institutional and structural reforms in many areas of life, in order to balance economic and social situation and to meet the criteria of the Lisbon strategy of the European Union. In the second part the most important modern reforms (in late 1990s) in the pension system, the labor market, in the field of social and labor relations and work organization are considered in detail. These reforms led to a rapid increase in employment of persons aged 50-65 years, and made Germany a model to be emulated by other European countries. The German reforms are viewed in the context of the public and academic discourse on the role of elder people in the modern world and on the problem of old age and active aging, which is the basis for the development of new political projects for the elderly people as well as for creating a consensus in the period of radical reforms work first. In the third part there is a survey of the outcomes of the policies and practices aimed to support the employment of the elderly by 2015, and an analysis of the problems that emerged recently. A particular emphasis is placed on the increase in the number of unhealthy workers, on the growing problem of poverty in old age, on the stagnant mobility in the labor market, on the deregulation of the system of flexible retirement. In conclusion, along with a summary of the overall results of the study, the author discusses the prospects of using the experience of Germany in Russia, as well as the possible effects of rising the retirement age and increasing the duration of employment in our country.

This article aims to understand the political economy of higher education based on the contextualization and the description of the main government programs developed throughout the Lula and Dilma governments. The academic capitalism category will be explored for an initial analysis of neoliberal reforms in Brazilian higher education. The category seeks to identify the multiple forms and meanings through which market and pro-market behaviors have been adopted by the US universities to create processes of integration to the new economy in search of alternative funding sources. When Brazilian government programs are approached to the perspective of academic capitalism, we identify that the changes imposed by the amendments in legislation contribute to the restructuring of academic practices and create conditions for implementation of the academic capitalist regime. However, the functional-systemic-structural bias of the category and the need to mediate with the "concrete" imposes limits for the understanding of higher education reforms in the country. Thus, in order to reflect on the implications of neoliberal logic for reforms in dependent countries such as Brazil, it is necessary to resume the thinking of the Brazilian sociologist Florestan Fernandes and submit the dependent pattern category on higher education formulated by him in the 1970s to contemporary historical-concrete mediations to understand how ongoing reforms are related to that pattern. ; El objetivo de este artículo es presentar el ejercicio de entender la economía política de la educación superior a partir de la contextualización y de la descripción de los principales programas gubernamentales desarrollados durante las gestiones de Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva y Dilma Rousseff. Se explora la categoría capitalismo académico para un ejercicio inicial de análisis de las reformas neoliberales en la educación superior brasileña. Dicha categoría se propone identificar los múltiples significados y formas mediante los cuales las universidades estadunidenses han adoptado comportamientos de mercado y promercado para crear procesos de integración a la denominada nueva economía en búsqueda de fuentes alternativas de financiación. Al aproximar los programas del gobierno brasileño a la perspectiva del capitalismo académico, se identifica que los cambios impuestos por las modificaciones en la legislación contribuyen a la reestructuración de las prácticas académicas y crean condiciones para la implementación del régimen académico capitalista. Sin embargo, el sesgo funcionalista-sistémico-estructural de la categoría y la necesidad de mediación con lo concreto imponen límites a la comprensión de las reformas en la educación superior del país. Se observa que, para reflexionar sobre las implicaciones de la lógica neoliberal de las reformas en los países dependientes como Brasil, es necesario retomar el pensamiento del sociólogo brasileño Florestan Fernandes y someter la categoría estándar dependiente de la educación superior a mediaciones histórico-concretas contemporáneas para entender cómo las reformas en curso se relacionan con ese estándar. ; Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar o exercício de compreensão da economia política do ensino superior a partir da contextualização e descrever os principais programas governamentais desenvolvidos nos governos Lula e Dilma. Exploramos a categoria capitalismo acadêmico para um exercício inicial de análise das reformas neoliberais no ensino superior brasileiro. Essa categoria busca identificar as múltiplas formas e significados, por meio das quais comportamentos de mercado e pró-mercado têm sido adotados pelas universidades estadunidenses para criar processos de integração à chamada nova economia em busca de fontes alternativas de financiamento. Ao aproximar os programas governamentais brasileiros à ótica do capitalismo acadêmico, identificamos que as mudanças impostas pelas alterações na legislação contribuem para a reestruturação das práticas acadêmicas e criam condições para a implementação do regime acadêmico capitalista. Entretanto, o viés funcionalista-sistêmico-estrutural da categoria e a necessidade de mediação com o concreto impõem limites para o entendimento das reformas no ensino superior do país. Vislumbramos que, para refletir sobre as implicações da lógica neoliberal nas reformas em países dependentes como o Brasil, é necessário retomar o pensamento do sociólogo brasileiro Florestan Fernandes e submeter a categoria padrão dependente de educação superior, formulada por ele na década de 1970, a mediações histórico-concretas coetâneas para compreender como as reformas em curso se relacionam com aquele padrão.

Orta Asya'nın kuzey doğu ülkesi olan Kırgız Cumhuriyeti (Kırgızistan), 1990 yılına kadar Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Biriliği'nin (SCCB) bir üye ülkesi idi. 1990'da egemenliğini, 1991'de 31 Ağustos'ta da bağımsızlığını kazanan Kırgızistan'ın ekonomik yapısı, 1990'a kadar SSCB'yi oluşturan ve merkezi ekonomik programla yönetilen diğer devletler gibi sosyalist sistemden liberal ekonomiye geçme çabasına girmiştir. SSCB zamanında birliği oluşturan ülkeler arasında merkezi planlı yönetimin oluşturduğu sistemle karşılıklı ekonomik bir yardımlaşma söz konusuydu. Buna göre, ülkeler ekonomik sektörlerde birbirinin tamamlayıcısı veya müşterisi durumundaydı. Bu dönemde Kırgızistan'da daha çok tarım ağırlıklı üretime ağırlık verilmiştir. Bağımsızlığın ilk döneminden itibaren Kırgızistan'da serbest piyasa ekonomisine geçmek amacıyla Ekonomik Reform Programları uygulamaya koyulmuş, yerel para birimi "Som" tedavüle çıkarılmıştır. Ancak, ilk yıllarda reform programları uygulamada başarılı olamamış, başlangıç koşulları ve ülkenin stratejik öneme sahip doğal kaynaklarının az olmasının da etkisiyle 1990-1995 yılları arasında negatif bir büyüme gerçekleşmiştir. 1996-2000 yıllarında ise Kırgızistan ekonomisinde tarım sektöründeki iyileşme ve sanayi sektörüne yapılan yatırımlarla olumlu bir büyüme gerçekleşmiştir. Dış ticarette, Birleşik Devletler Topluluğu (BDT) ülkeleri başta olmak üzere Avrupa ve Orta Doğu ülkeleriyle ticaret hacmi artmıştır. Kırgızistan'da yapısal reformun başlıca politika aracı özelleştirme olmuştur. Özelleştirme ile serbest piyasa ekonomisinin rekabet ortamını yaratma ve geliştirme hedefinin yanı sıra dünya ekonomisine entegre olacak bir sosyal-toplumsal ortamın oluşturulması da amaçlanmıştır. Reform programları dahilinde Kırgızistan'da stratejik öneme sahip işletmeler dışında kamu kurumlarının neredeyse tamamı çeşitli özelleştirme yöntemleriyle özelleştirilmiştir. Emek piyasasında ise, bağımsızlığın ilk yıllarından itibaren meydana gelen özelleştirme ve üretimin düşüş göstermesinden dolayı istihdam daralması olmuş, işsizlik artmış ve buna bağlı olarak bölgeler arası ve ülke dışına göç meydana gelmiştir. ; Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan) which is located in the North-East of Central Asia was a member country of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) until 1990. Kyrgyzstan proclaimed its sovereignty in 1990 and the independence on 31st August 1991. The economical structure of Kyrgyzstan, like all of the other governments which were governed by the central system of USSR until 1990, started changing from the socialist system to the liberal system. During the USSR period there was an economical solidarity between the republics. According to this, countries were either complementaries or the customers of each other. At that time Kyrgyzstan concentrated on agricultural production. Beginning from the first period of independency, to pass to free market economy, Kyrgyzstan started applying economical reform programs, so local Money "Som" was put into circulation. But in the first years the reform programs were not applied successfully and because of the beginning conditions and luck of the natural resources, between 1990-1995 there was a negative growth. But between 19962000 there was a positive growth because of the improvement in the agricultural sector and investments in the industry. In the foreign trade, the trading volume of Kyrgyzstan has increased with leading of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), European and Middle Eastern countries. In Kyrgyzstan the main politics means of structural reform was privatization. The aim of privatization was not only to create a rivalry atmosphere and develop the free market economy, but also to create a social-societal atmosphere that will be integrated to the world economy. Depending on the reform programs except for some of the strategical institutions almost all of the public institutions were privatized. In the labor marketing, because of the privatizations from the beginning of the independency and the decrease in productivity, unemployment increased and because of this, migrations between the regions and migrations to the other countries started.

This paper analyzes the development of legal mechanisms and micro-level institutional reforms aimed at consolidating the rights of indigenous peoples in post-conflict Guatemala. The research is based on prolonged fieldwork carried out with the Office of the Defender of Indigenous Peoples' Rights of the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman's Office (PDH), established in 1998. The paper argues that the establishment of state institutions and institutional reforms oriented towards the protection of indigenous peoples' rights since the end of hostilities in Guatemala's internal armed conflict in 1996 represent important advances, although they occurred within a broader context in which the peace process failed to tackle structural inequalities effectively or enduringly. On the surface, the PDH and related reforms appear to provide indigenous people with unprecedented access to forms of legal redress for human rights violations, including both individual and collective rights. However, given the structural, interpersonal and institutional racism that plagues Guatemalan state and society, such measures remain little more than symbolic, as inadequate funding, racist attitudes within PDH mid- to high-level functionaries, and a lack of institutional will to train functionaries to understand, identify and process systematic violations of indigenous peoples' rights sufficiently impede the effective addressing of profound structural inequalities. The norms and behavior within state institutions and the attitudes of state functionaries operating from within Guatemala's post-conflict multicultural state are today, then, shaped by more subtle forms of exclusion and marginalization of indigenous populations, leading us to question the impact of institutional change on transformations in the political culture. © 2011 Oxford Department of International Development.

Main problems of eastwards enlargement of the EU are caused by the EU itself. Before the East European states applying for membership can be integrated, the EU has to reform its expenditure, especially the structural Fund. Also the Common Agrarian Policy needs a fundamental reform. But these reforms are delayed and the applicants are burdened with new tests and requirements. Some groups demanding a swift enlargement try to use the new East European members for social dumping in Western Europe.

Arviointitutkimus koskee Suomen talouden ytimen, valtiokonsernin talousohjauksen tilaa vuosien 1987-2008 uudistuskauden jälkeen. Mihin oli tultu vuonna 2008 ja miten talousohjausjärjestelmä toimii? Arvioinnin kohteena on myös se, miten ohjausjärjestelmän tila vastaa 2010-luvun haasteita. Arviointiaineiston muodostavat uudistuskauden dokumentit sekä ohjausjärjestelmän kaikkien tasojen eduskunnan, hallituksen, valtiovarainministeriön, ministeriöiden, virastojen ja laitosten sekä tarkastusviranomaisten haastattelut. Vastaavaa lähestymistapaa ei suomalaisessa hallinnontutkimuksessa ole aikaisemmin sovellettu. Arviointi tukeutuu kompleksisuusteoreettiseen viitekehykseen. Kompleksisuusteoriaa ei ole myöskään vastaavalla tavalla hyödynnetty. Tutkimus on siten sekä lähestymistapansa että teoriaulottuvuutensa osalta pioneerityötä, jota ei ole voitu perustaa aiempaan tutkimukseen. Sellaisena se avaa, vaatii ja osoittaa useita jatkotutkimustarpeita. Tutkimuksen päätuloksia ovat ensinnäkin se, että talousohjauksen ytimen, finanssipolitiikan ohjausrakenne on tasapainossa uudistustavoitteiden kanssa ja sellaisena se tukee talouden kokonaishallintaa. Toiseksi tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että tulosohjaustavoitteet, tuottavuus, taloudellisuus ja vaikuttavuus eivät ole toteutuneet talousarviolain edellyttämällä tavalla. Laki ja käytännön toiminta ovat kaukana tasapainosta. Lain vaatimukset ovat taakkana toimijoille. Taakka ei kuitenkaan näy suoraan menoina momenteilla ja siksi se ei ole saanut osakseen ansaitsemaansa huomiota. Kolmantena uudistustavoitteena ollut demokraattisen ohjauksen vahvistaminen näyttää valtiokonsernin osalta rakenteellisesti toteutuneen. Toimivuuden kannalta rakenne on kuitenkin vielä niin uusi, että erityisesti eduskunnan näkökulmasta sen toimivuutta on vaikea arvioida. 2010-luvun haasteiden kannalta tutkimuksessa tulee esiin joukko riskitekijöitä. Yksi niistä on talousohjauksen päätoimijan, valtiovarainministeriön ohjausrakenne. Se näyttää olevan epätasapainossa ministeriön kasvaneiden vastuiden kanssa. Taloudellisesti vaikeina aikoina valtiovarainministeriön rooli lisäksi korostuu järjestelmälogiikan mukasesti talouden tasapainottajana. Ministeriön ohjausrakenteella on yleistä merkitystä, koska se heijastuu koko hallinnon talousohjaukseen. Se voi olla sille joko tukena tai taakkana. ; In the administrative reforms of 1987-2008 in Finland the state as a whole was divided into three parts the core state, autonomous parts and actors operating in market conditions. The structural division was taken further when in 2010 the universities were split off from the financial governance of the core state to join the autonomous actors. Each part of the state body has its own financial governance. The study is confined to reforms in the system of financial governance of a state concern (core state) and the functionality of the system of governance after the reforms. This is an evaluative study assessing first the reforms in the structure and governance tools and thereafter their functionality. The structural research is based chiefly on documentary material from the era of reform. The functionality of the structures is evaluated from the perspectives of Parliament, the Government, the Ministry of Finance, the ministries, agencies and institutions and also the inspectorate. The functionality evaluation is based on 96 personal interviews with actors in charge of governance, the elite in financial governance. The object of the evaluation was the main finances under overall control and the objectives set for management by results of improving productivity, economy of operations and effectiveness. As the reforms progressed, it became a political objective to strengthen democracy or political governance in financial governance. This, too, was made a target of evaluation. The evaluation relies on the concepts of complexity theory. It was the working hypothesis of the study that through the concepts of the theory it would be possible to explain and comprehend reform processes, the functionality of the reforms and the problems experienced in them. In the study of the structure the main criterion was the complexity theory concept far from a state of equilibrium and in the study of functionality the concept of significance . No such complexity theory based study in the field of administrative science has so far been presented in Finland. Thus on the basis of the study the applicability of complexity theory to the research of reform processes and the functionality of reforms was evaluated. In the study of structure the research question was how after the reforms of 1987-2008 the governance structure of a state financial governance system is in a state of equilibrium with the goals of the reforms. The question in the study of functionality was how the financial governance system of a state concern functioned after the reforms from the perspectives of various actors. Likewise thereafter an answer was sought in the nature of triangulation to how the situation of the financial governance system structure and functionality appear to be in equilibrium with the challenges to financial governance apparent in the 2010s. Is the financial governance system a support, burden or risk to the challenges of the 2010s? In summary the answers to the research questions in light of the evaluation of the structure and functionality data are as follows: 1. The core of financial governance, the governance structure of financial policy and its functionality would appear to be almost in equilibrium with the goals of financial overall administration. In this respect the structure also supports overall financial governance. 2. The objectives of productivity, economical and efficacy in management by results would appear to be very far from being in equilibrium with respect to the requirements of the budgetary legislation (Talousarviolaki). Due to shortcomings in accounting and evaluation systems the objectives has not been achieved. Thus the management by results structure would appear to be a burden on financial governance and administration of the state economy as a whole. The structure of management by results would appear to be in a state of disintegration 3. The aim of strengthening democracy through the structural reforms of the 2000s appears to have been achieved. However, the structure is still mostly so new that its functionality, especially as regards Parliament, is difficult to evaluate. The structure appears mostly to support overall financial management, but this may entail risks from the perspective of overall financial management. 4. The situation of financial governance, from the perspective of the challenges of the 2010s would appear, as far as financial policy is concerned to be almost in equilibrium with the policy challenges, but from the perspective of overall financial management this would not appear to be the case in all respects; the situation in governance is likely to require reforms and attention to the obvious risk factors latent therein. The study permits the evaluation that complexity theory, a derivative of systems theory, would appear to be applicable to the research of reforms of complex systems and their functionality and to offer opportunities to explain and comprehend the successes and failures of reforms.

This article critically examines discourses of political policing in contemporary Northern Ireland. Recognising the post-conflict and post-reform climate that policing now occurs within, it argues that these environmental factors have conditioned discourses of policing that are directly tied to how legitimate political opposition to the political status quo in post-Good Friday Agreement (GFA) Northern Ireland is policed. The article asserts that political policing discourses have taken a new trajectory that departs from traditional ethno-nationalist interpretations of the issue to instead reflect a broader structuralist interpretation of state-police power relations. It concludes with the argument that political policing discourses have evolved to reflect common class based disillusionment with the post-GFA state across the political divide that sees the matter rooted in police protection of a system of devolved governance that has failed to tackle structural exclusion and socio-economic deprivation.

During the past 20 years, pension reforms in the EU countries have lowered pension benefits. As a consequence of reforms each person's responsibility for the result has increased. Examples of such reforms are those in Latvia (1995–2001), Germany (2001–2004) and the Netherlands (2004–2010). The essential part of future pension sufficiency is based on funded pension schemes, which are expected to prevent poverty and ensure the replacement of sufficient income in old age.The government defines a significant role to funded pension schemes. It is important to take into consideration major structural weaknesses in relation to social security. This includes such aspects as security and payment levels, risk management of savings and payment phases, tax implications and necessity of pension plan monitoring. These are all the problems to be solved in order to draw funded schemes as an integral part of retirement security among investors.This paper investigates the importance of funded pension schemes in securing pension in Latvia and in some old EU countries.

In this article we examine the preconditions for fulfilling the aims of regulatory reform, exemplified through the case of Norway. We cover both the process of regulatory reorganization and decision-making within established regulatory structures. We argue that regulatory agencies operate in a complex political-administrative context and that we must combine instrumental and institutional perspectives to understand how they work in practice. This is done by applying a transformative approach that embraces organizational-structural elements, interests, cultural components and features from the institutional environment. We describe how a new regulatory reform policy has been introduced in Norway and focus on agency reform processes in two policy areas and on regulatory practice in two regulatory agencies. The main picture is that there is a loose coupling between the OECD regulatory policy ideal and a) general Norwegian regulatory policy; b) the reorganization of regulatory agencies in specific policy areas; and c) regulatory practice in individual cases. Adapted from the source document.

AbstractTaking water institutions as an illustrative context, this paper attempts a quantitative analysis of the structural and functional linkages within institutional structure and indicates their performance implications and strategic importance for promoting institutional reforms. Against an overview of existing empirical works on institutions in general and water institutions in particular, the paper develops an analytical framework for specifying alternative models of institution–performance interaction within the water sector under different assumptions concerning institutional linkages and their structural properties. These models are, then, empirically estimated using the perception-based information provided by an international panel of 127 water experts from 43 countries and regions around the world. Based on the model results, the paper offers quantitative evidences for institutional linkages and their performance implications, and concludes by indicating their policy roles, especially in developing some reform design and implementation principles useful to overcome the technical and political economy constraints for institutional reforms.