The quantitative strand of social policy research suffers from a double deficit: on the one hand, analyses of aggregate expenditure dominate, and on the other hand, most studies of replacement rates focus on unemployment or sickness benefits, while pensions are excluded. This paper addresses the said deficit firstly by discussing the pension sectors' theoretical peculiarities and by proposing two hypotheses: one on the retrenchment of pension replacement rates and one on the role played by political parties in implementing it. Secondly, after a brief literature review and an outline of our methodological approach, we present regression results of replacement rate changes in 18 developed democracies. Our findings show considerably smaller cuts of pensions than of unemployment or sickness benefits, and striking differences regarding partisan effects between the sectors. Adapted from the source document.
The thesis attempts to measure the disjoint between the promise of human dignity that appears at the heart of Western law (e.g. in national constitutions and international human rights instruments), and the experiences of exclusion and frustration that, in 2017, have seen many Westerners turn to anti-liberal, populist demagogues for relief. In measuring this disjoint, the thesis looks to the work of liberal and anti-liberal theorists alike, including John Rawls, Bruce Ackerman, Carl Schmitt and Jacques Derrida. It then uses the insights gained to construct a liberal theory that can overcome the key problems identified, before using this theory to critically engage with the constitutional jurisprudence of three very different states: Canada, South Africa and the United States.
Treballs Finals del Màster d'Economia, Facultat d'Economia i Empresa, Universitat de Barcelona. Curs: 2020-2021, Tutor: Andreu Arenas ; In this study we analyze whether party bans ignite ideological polarization by exacerbating pre-existing differences. We use the 2003 ban on Batasuna, a leftist Basque political platform, as case study. In the 2005 Basque regional elections EHAK-PCTV contested in its name, which enabled the outlawed party to avoid the ban. We aim to analyze these effects in the short-term, one election period later. Using a continuous treatment in a Difference-in-Difference strategy, we are able to show that municipalities react differently given their differences in baseline support to Batasuna (measured by pre-ban vote shares in regional elections), rather than by differences in the loss of institutional representation (proxied by the pre-ban share of Batasuna councilors). The latter case holds in extreme circumstances, those in which the city mayor was from Batasuna, as the material loss of the ban is more salient. We find that the banned party increased its vote share in those places where its baseline support was higher. Moreover, the nationalist bloc increased its size while the federal bloc lost support, redefining group boundaries. We argue that the ban reinforced the ethnic identity political cleavage accentuating the inter-group political conflict.
Political Economy of Knowledge implies the analysis of the production of knowledge and the role of actors, policies and programs which influenced higher education development during the developmentlism (1970's), neoliberalism (1990's), and the current period of transformation for higher education in the Global South. Ecuador and Tanzania share postcolonial histories and dependent economies that have given their universities prominent roles in the construction of their respective states, societies and national economies. Just as classrooms and studies at the Central University of Ecuador, the University of Dar-es-Salaam became a key player in the democratization of the country (Campuzano, 2005; Lulat, 2005). In the 1960s and 1970s, during the euphoric period following the Cuban Revolution and the independence of many African countries, universities in Latin America and Africa committed themselves to the struggles against political and social inequalities and strengthened their ties to popular sectors. These conditions have changed through next decades. From the standpoint of political economy, this research provides background for analyzing higher education in the context of the historical conditions in which capitalist accumulation and inequality have occurred at the global level. It also discusses the trajectory of the relationships among universities, politics and knowledge in Latin America and Africa, with special emphasis on Ecuador and Tanzania. The field work done at two rural universities, one in Ecuador and one in Tanzania. On the basis of work with documents and the positioning of various stakeholders (leaders, activists in social and educational movements, professors, politicians), the analysis makes it possible to understand the articulation between the production of knowledge within the universities and the shifts in designing educational plans within the frameworks of political disputes and the correlation of forces within the framework of globalization. We examine the 1960s to the 1980s, as Ecuadorian universities engaged with agrarian problems and professionalization, while higher education in Tanzania in that period aimed to serve development in the newly independent nation. We look, in particular, at the establishment of research and teaching agendas for the provincial public universities of the State University of Bolivar in Ecuador and Mzumbe University in Tanzania, to understand the ways that these peripheral instititutions defined and legitimized local knowledge in the context of national and global transformations. This research algo examine, the political economy of higher education in these two countries towards the end of the 20th century and into the 21st century. We analyze, on the one hand, the selected universities' distinct local responses to the impacts of structural adjustment. In this section we also look at the ways that these universities have responded to the globalization of education in the 21st century, focusing on the importance of social sciences in the reconstruction of the State in the 20th century, in the context of a globalized economy.
Information is an essential element in meaningful decision making. In order to make qualified democratic decisions, correct political information is required. Even though indirect democracy is mainly based on decisions taken by elected representatives, citizens need to possess relevant information on politics and understand the rules of the political game in order to cast a meaningful vote. Recently, demands for more direct and participatory democracy in mature democracies have intensified the debate on politically sophisticated versus ignorant citizenry. This article focuses on the interplay between the use of the Internet and political knowledge. First, the role of the Internet in acquiring politically relevant information is deciphered. Second, an applied test of the virtuous circle hypothesis is carried out. It suggests that the most motivated citizens are also most likely to use the political opportunities of the Internet. Therefore, a third research question is examined: Does the obtained political information accumulate into higher political knowledge levels among the Internet users? The data consist of the national election study of 2003 in Finland. The results show that the role of the Internet in seeking political information is still limited. Even so, a distinct group of citizens who seek political information on the Internet can be identified. This group of 'modern political citizens' is rich in political information in many ways. Thus a virtuous circle does seem to exist. On the other hand, the data indicate that Internet use itself increases political knowledge only to a marginal degree when other variables are controlled for. Adapted from the source document.
Despite decades of research, our understanding of how institutional contexts influence urban political participation remains muddled. It is argued here that this confusion arises from the diversity of competing hypotheses, failures to conceptualize the causal processes underlying these hypotheses thoroughly, and the use of inadequate controls for rival hypotheses. A more comprehensive specification of the relationship between metropolitan jurisdictional contexts and two modes of participation is provided. After a presentation of a theoretical framework organizing the many extant hypotheses, these are tested, using survey data collected by the Knight Foundation from 2002 in twenty-five urban counties. Contrary to prior work, it is found that the size of local governments is positively associated with participation, while governmental fragmentation diminishes the propensity for political action.
AbstractWhile there is significant anecdotal evidence that excluded political opposition parties in repressive states adopt the form of human rights organizations, there is little systematic research into this phenomenon. What does exist tends to be descriptive rather than theoretical in nature. This paper draws from collective action and resource mobilization literatures, arguing that excluded political elites respond to repression by searching for political opportunities both domestically and internationally, and then transform their organizations into units better able to take advantage of those opportunities. The politics of external funding push these organizations towards a human rights and democratization orientation. The article evaluates this argument through an analysis of human rights movements in politically repressive, post-Communist Uzbekistan and considers the impact of this phenomenon on democratization and civil society development.
Women have long faced special barriers in their efforts to gain election to political office. We show that the hurdles women encounter go beyond the often-described familial responsibilities and occupational disadvantages to include perceptual and political barriers unique to women. Using a two-wave, five-year panel of people serving on city councils, we find women likely to pursue higher office only under particular conditions—conditions that seem to matter little to men. Additionally, the success of women in pursuing higher office is more closely tied to the circumstances in which they find themselves than is the success of men. We suggest that the motivational circumstances of women and men in pursuing a political career are more complex than previously assumed. It is not just that men and women differ in their career attitudes and perceptions but that these attitudes and perceptions have different meaning for the two sexes.
Our study of political participation in the Soviet Union, based on interviews with recent emigres, leads us to conclude that Soviet political culture is neither a "subject" nor a "subject-participant" one. There are meaningful forms of participation in the system, but they take place either outside the nominally participatory institutions, or within those institutions but in nonprescribed ways. The citizen may participate covertly, utilizing unsanctioned or blatantly illegal methods in attempts to influence policy implementation, not policymaking. The findings support the concept that traditional, prerevolutionary modes of citizen-state interactions are reinforced by the pattern of Soviet socioeconomic development and by a highly centralized and hierarchical administrative structure, itself a continuation of tsarist patterns. This study describes how different types of Soviet citizens try to influence policy implementation, and how they differentiate among the bureaucracies. Analysis of this activity leads us to reformulate our conception of Soviet political culture.
Identifies 200 compact ethnic areas and assesses the degree of political tension and risk by measuring the minority's size, geopolitical and cultural situation, economic performance, political status, and level of political activity.
AbstractThe study discovers that mixed ownership reform aimed at enhancing the performance and resource allocation efficiency of state‐owned enterprises may have unintended consequences in China. When the nature of state‐owned control remains unchanged, there is a risk of increased overinvestment due to misaligned interests between state‐owned equity representatives and companies. This incentive can be mitigated by introducing nonstate shareholders with political connections. The study employs a double machine learning method to analyze data from state‐owned listed companies that introduced nonstate shareholders through stock issuance between 2008 and 2019. The research underscores that modern corporate governance mechanisms are crucial for successful mixed ownership reform.
Today, identity expression and acceptance represent an important area of political advocacy and representation. Yet, how responsive are voters to new racial identity cues promoted by political leaders? Using candidates with interracial backgrounds as a case study, we assess whether voters are responsive to candidates who assert a mixed-race identity or if voters primarily rely on other traits, such as the candidate's family background, in determining their support of that candidate. Using an experimental design, this study presents participants with various hypothetical candidates who vary both in their racial heritages (i.e., candidates with Asian and White interracial parents or Black and White interracial parents) and identity choices (i.e., as single-race minority, single-race White, or biracial). We then compare how the mixed-race, single-race minority, and White participants evaluate the candidate. We expect that the mixed-race participants will be most supportive of candidates who signal a common in-group identity by identifying specifically as "biracial". On the other hand, the single-race minority and White participants should be more likely to adhere to the one-drop rule or hypodescent in their evaluations, meaning they will provide more positive evaluations of interracial candidates who identify as a single-race minority. Our study finds that the single-race minority and White participants completely overlook racial identity cues and instead focus on the description of the candidate's family heritage along with their own assumptions about hypodescent. The mixed-race participants, on the other hand, show strong support for biracial-identified, in-group political candidates This study adds to a burgeoning literature on racial perception and on political representation.
Comparative analysis of data from the Democracy & Local Governance research program shows that political power in the Slavic states of the former USSR is based on similar social & political values: social equality; dominant rights of the majority; & inequality of political participation of various social strata & groups. While local political leaders acknowledge that social conflict is undesirable, it is an inevitable component of a modern social system. Results show that leaders in Belarus are adapting very slowly to democratic principles of governing. The values of a totalitarian mentality remain strong in the face of a society in the process of transformation. It will be years before such principles become internalized values of political leaders. 1 Table. Adapted from the source document.
President Mobutu's announcement in Apr 1990 that he was opening Zaire (later to be come the Democratic Republic of Congo) to democracy was a sham. He remained president & the hundreds of political parties that were born created total chaos. Essentially government ceased to exist & Mobutu remained in power. Not until May 1997 was the Mobutu regime brought down by a coalition led by Laurent Kabila & supported by the US. However, this victory did not lead to democracy. Kabila became an incoherent authoritarian who alienated his own coalition & the international community. Nonetheless, he remained in power until he was killed in 2001. He was immediately succeeded by his son Joseph, who seemed to represent a change, but the transition was slow. The DRC was put under an international trusteeship, where it remained until an election was finally scheduled for 30 July 2006. The outcome split the country, & fighting broke out again. Eventually Kabila took office, but through corruption in the voting process. Essentially the DRC has collapsed. For it to become a state again, a way must be found for territorial control, fiscal capacity, & legal security to be reestablished. Only then can measures be taken to provide health, education, employment, & all the rights of the people that define a democracy. J. Stanton
