Suchergebnisse

Political polarization expressed through the spatial model of political competition explains the rejection of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe by French voters. The increasing polarization of the distribution of voters during the last 30 years made the outcome of the 29 May 2005 referendum a predictable event. Figures, References. [Copyright 2005 Elsevier B.V.]

Abstract
Who gets to determine rights and justice? Which mechanism of judicial selection and accountability is optimal? There is no easy answer. If judges are independent experts, nominated and evaluated by their peers, they will be immune from the pressures of electoral rent-seeking, but unaccountable to the people. If judges are elected, they will be democratically accountable, but subject to the redistributive pressures of the ballot box. If judges are nominated and controlled by politicians, they will face the temptations of bureaucratic self-interest and will not be democratically accountable, but they will be shielded from the Public Choice problems of elections. This paper uses the death penalty in the United States to measure and compare the impact of different methods of judicial selection. In the end, there is no optimal solution – at least not within a state judicial monopoly.

AbstractThe market for kidneys offers a case study of Baptists and Bootleggers. In almost every country, sales are currently illegal and donated organs are allocated by a central planner. Thousands of people die every year, because of the shortage caused by the absence of markets. This paper starts by examining the free-market alternative, and shows that a market would solve the shortage (and thus unnecessary deaths). It then uses gains-from-trade analysis to explain why current vested interests oppose a move to a market, despite the immense potential for saved lives. In a shift to a market, gains from trade would be distributed away from lucky patients (who receive a zero-price kidney) and various industries that benefit from the shortage (dialysis, medical equipment, etc.); these "Bootleggers" form an alliance with "Baptists" (altruistic donors, large segments of the bioethics community, and organ allocation central planners).