Showing papers on "Legislation published in 1992"

The power of the European Parliament as a conditional agenda setter

Abstract: he European Parliament under the current cooperation procedure has an important power: it can make proposals that, if accepted by the Commission of the European Communities, are easier for the Council of Ministers to accept than to modify, since only qualified majority is required for acceptance, whereas full unanimity for modification. The importance of this power, which I call the power of the conditional agenda setter, has not been recognized in previous scholarly work. For structural reasons explained in the text, this power is likely to increase in the future. I conclude by arguing that the conditional delegation of power to international actors (the European Parliament, Commission, and the Court of Justice) is a frequent phenomenon in European institutions. This delegation presents three important advantages: it makes possible the selection of one among many possible equilibria, it accelerates European integration, and it diffuses responsibility for politically unpopular measures. T he European Parliament (EP) is widely considered a weak parliament (Dehouse 1989; Edward 1987; Fitzmaurice 1988; Lenaerts 1991; Lodge 1989; Wessels 1991). Moreover, discussions are frequently advanced about the "democratic deficit" of European institutions, which, among other things implies a weakness of the EP (Bogdanor 1989; Bowler and Farrell 1993; Thomas 1988; Williams 1991). Yet in 1989, the EP, when confronted with the common position of the Council of Ministers specifying low standards on exhaust emissions for small cars, raised the standards and was able to impose its decision on both the Commission of the European Communities and a "reluctant majority" in the Council of Ministers (Jacobs and Corbett 1990, 170). According to the cooperation procedure established by the Single European Act treaty, the Council of Ministers can modify the position of the Parliament by a unanimous vote, but in this case the Council could not agree on any alternative. The legislation in question is far from trivial, since it affects around 60% of all passenger cars in the European Community (Kim 1992). Moreover, the differences in positions between the EP and the Council were significant: compared to the Council's position, the legislation adopted raised the price of small cars by more than five hundred dollars apiece and significantly improved the environment. I shall explain this surprising power of the EP. I argue that under the current cooperation procedure, the EP has an important power: it can make proposals that, if accepted by the Commission, are easier for the Council of Ministers to accept than to modify (only qualified majority being required for acceptance but unanimity, for modification). I call this the power of the conditional agenda setter and study its properties. My answer generates a second question: If the EP is able to influence the legislative process so significantly, why does it not do so all the time? Alternatively, if the conditional agenda-setting power is significant, the EP should have been recognized in the literature as a strong parliament. To address these issues, I shall specify the conditions under which the EP can make use of its agenda-setting power. The European Community fascinates observers and scholars because it is a unique object of study. Accordingly, a series of neologisms have been invented to describe it. It is "neither a state nor an international organization" (Sbragia 1992, 257); "less than a Federation, more than a Regime" (W. Wallace

International cooperation and institutional choice: the European Community's internal market

Abstract: The decision of the European Community (EC) members to complete their “internal market” by the end of 1992, as embodied in the 1987 Single European Act (SEA), may represent the most ambitious instance of multilateral cooperation since the construction of the post-World War II international order. The economic objective of internal market completion is the removal of a wide array of nontariff barriers to trade that elsewhere have proved politically intractable, including border controls, national standards, preferential procurement policies, and industrial subsidies. The institutional structures underpinning the internal market are more constraining on the behavior of sovereign states than has been the case for other international regimes. The SEA replaced unanimity voting (national vetoes) in the primary decision-making body of the EC, the Council of Ministers, with a system of majority voting over matters pertaining to the internal market. In addition, the internal market is buttressed by an elaborate and powerful legal system. EC law is considered to have supremacy over national laws and to have “direct effect” in domestic jurisdictions, regardless of whether it is explicitly incorporated through legislation.

Long-Term Investing in Politicians; Or, Give Early, Give Often

Abstract: THE political history of the United States is filled with stories about the power of money in shaping public decisions, and concern about this power is a frequent cause for public debate and an occasional cause for public legislation. Nonetheless, despite years of research by political scientists and economists, the extent to which money actually buys political influence on a regular basis remains a mystery. Virtually all scholarly work attempting to document a systematic effect of money on public decisions focuses on the relationship between campaign contributions-especially Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions-and congressmen's roll-call voting behavior.1 Overall, the

Structuring politics: The rules of the game: The logic of health policy-making in France, Switzerland, and Sweden

Abstract: Explaining change is a central problem for institutional analysis. If institutions are purported to have a kind of staying power, then how can the same institutions explain both stability and change? If institutions limit the scope of action that appears possible to different actors, why can they sometimes escape these constraints? This essay uses the case of national health insurance politics to show how institutions can explain both policy stability and policy change. The key to the analysis is a break with "correlational" thinking. Rather than analyzing policy-making in terms of correlations between policy inputs (such as demands from various social groups or past policy legacies) and policy outputs (such as specific pieces of legislation) the strength of institutional analysis is to show why policy inputs and policy outputs may be linked together in different ways in different political systems.

Proxy decision making for incompetent patients. An ethical and empirical analysis.

Abstract: RECENTLY, proxy or surrogate decision making regarding the termination of life-sustaining interventions for incompetent patients has been widely endorsed and promoted. After theCruzandecision and the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990, many states enacted proxy statutes specifically for health care. Indeed, even states such as New York and Massachusetts, which in the past had avoided enacting any legislation on living wills and securing the rights of patients, have quickly adopted See also pp 2082 and 2101. health care proxy laws. Simultaneously with this growing enthusiasm for proxy decision making have arisen ethical and empirical doubts about whether proxies can select interventions that the patient would have selected. These divergent trends confront us just as there is a growing need to develop policies on this issue. Consequently, it is important to examine several questions on proxy decision making: How widely endorsed is proxy decision making? What is the justification of

Dangerous Voices: Women's Laments and Greek Literature

Abstract: In Dangerous Voices Holst-Warhaft investigates the power and meaning of the ancient lament, especially women's mourning of the dead, and sets out to discover why legislation was introduced to curb these laments in antiquity. An investigation of laments ranging from New Guinea to Greece suggests that this essentially female art form gave women considerable power over the rituals of death. The threat they posed to the Greek state caused them to be appropriated by male writers including the tragedians. Holst-Warhaft argues that the loss of the traditional lament in Greece and other countries not only deprives women of their traditional control over the rituals of death but leaves all mourners impoverished.

The Need to Belong: Rediscovering Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Abstract: Newtonian principles of physics were regarded as true until Einstein demonstrated that they provided an inadequate explanation of the laws of nature. Similarly, Freudian analysts viewed a woman's admission of being sexually abused by her father as a neurotic fantasy stemming from an "Electra complex." Only recently have other forms of therapy shown that women are accurate in their accounts of being abused. In every field of knowledge, anomalies such as these arise that call current practices and "paradigms" (i.e. world views) into question and necessitate the creation of new paradigms and related practices. It is precisely through this process that a body of knowledge develops. Such a process is now taking place in the field of special education. Anomalies have arisen that seriously call into question the validity of segregating students with specific physical, intellectual, or emotional needs. Moreover, these anomalies demand that new paradigms be created and embraced. THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PARADIGM: SKILLS AS A PREREQUISITE TO INCLUSION In the United States, P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, and the concept of the least restrictive environment (LRE) initially were seen as meaningful steps toward including children with physical, intellectuaI, and emotional needs within regular classrooms. In actuality, however, this legislation and its embedded concept of LRE still gave credence to segregated, self-contained classrooms. Although lip service was given to the idea that students would be integrated as much as possible, the underlying paradigm supporting the maintenance of the continuum of services was that students with severe, or even moderate, impairments needed to learn and demonstrate basic skills (e.g., staying quiet in class, going to the washroom independently,) in self-contained classrooms before they could, if ever, be allowed to enter regular classrooms. This educational paradigm can be represented as follows:

Economics of Direct Legislation

Abstract: This paper develops a theory of direct legislation to explain (i) why some issues are resolved by popular vote and others by elected representatives, and (ii) why citizens vote on some ballot propositions and abstain on others. Evidence is provided by a new data set describing 871 California propositions. The main findings are the following. "Good government" issues were usually resolved by legislative measures and distributional issues by initiatives. Citizen-initiated legislation was more common when representatives were unresponsive to the electorate. Voter turnout was higher on distributional propositions than good government propositions. Voter participation on ballot measures has been increasing over time.

Disabled People in Britain and Discrimination: A Case for Anti-discrimination Legislation

Abstract: (1992). Disabled People in Britain and Discrimination: A Case for Anti-discrimination Legislation. Disability, Handicap & Society: Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 287-289.

Economic Analysis as an Aid to Subsidisation Decisions

Abstract: Factors governing the entry of new drugs into clinical practice are changing, with increasing emphasis on economic issues. In future, organisations that subsidise the use of Pharmaceuticals are likely to require sponsors to provide evidence of the cost-effectiveness of their products. The first national government to signal such an intention is the Commonwealth Government of Australia, which from January 1993 will require economic analyses in support of applications for listing of new pharmaceutical products on its schedule of pharmaceutical benefits. This move is underpinned by legislation that requires the country’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) to consider costs and effectiveness when recommending listing of new drugs. The approach that has been recommended to the Committee is based on advice from a group of consultants, health economists and clinicians. The PBAC will use economic analyses as an aid to decision-making that will remain within a clinical framework; the viewpoint will be societal, and analyses will include costs that fall outside the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. The preferred approach is comparative cost-effectiveness analysis with a particular emphasis on the marginal costs of obtaining additional health benefits with new drugs, compared with existing therapies. The use of analyses that are restricted to potential cost savings with new drugs is discouraged, as is the inclusion of indirect costs and benefits. To facilitate the conduct of economic analyses, it is planned to hold meetings with specialist clinicians to obtain consensus on a range of intermediate clinical outcome indicators, and to publish lists of ‘standard’ Australian costs that will be updated regularly. The approach being followed in Australia has implications for both the government and the pharmaceutical industry. The responsibility for monitoring the effects of this new policy lie with the government. The success, or otherwise, of the policy should not be gauged simply by the effects on the price of new drugs which, historically, have been relatively low in Australia. A full evaluation will require that more effort be put into clinical outcomes research and the development of population databases, an area in which Australia lags behind other countries.

Equality, Difference and State Welfare: Labour Market and Family Policies in Sweden

Abstract: Many feminists regard Sweden as a progressive paradise, in terms of both its levels of social provision and its degree of gender equality. Although it is commonly appreciated that virtually all Swedish women are in the labour market and that public sector day care provisions are better than in most Western countries, the way in which this has been achieved is less well known. For example, many English-speaking feminists are surprised to learn that Sweden does not rely on equal opportunity legislation to promote equal pay or to counter sex discrimination.

The Impact of OBRA on Medical Practice within Nursing Facilities

Abstract: Major changes in the federal oversight of nursing home care were passed by Congress and became law as the Nursing Home Reform Amendments of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA 87). The final regulations to implement OBRA 87 were published in September, 1991. The intent of this article is to provide an overview of selected parts of the nursing home reform regulations, which have a direct impact on physician practice within nursing facilities, and to offer strategies for successful management of the changes that are required. A brief review of the origins of the legislation and the process by which law is turned into practice is provided as a context in which to understand the changes mandated by the Nursing Home Reform Amendments of OBRA 87.

THE RISE OF THE CHICAGO PACKERS and THE ORIGINS OF MEAT INSPECTION and ANTITRUST

Abstract: The Meat Inspection Act of 1891 and the Sherman Act of 1890 are closely tied. This link makes clearer Congress' intent in enacting the legislation. Both laws were products of economic conditions after 1880 and reflected, in part, widespread concern about the market power of Chicago meat packers. The concerns of local slaughterhouses, which were being displaced by new, low-cost refrigerated beef,, and of farmers, who sold livestock to the large Chicago packers, were echoed elsewhere by other small businesses and farmers, who feared for their livelihood during a time of structural change in the economy. I. INTRODUCTION In the few years between 1887 and 1891, the legislative basis was established for major intervention by the federal government into the American economy: The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, the Sherman Act of 1890, and the Meat Inspection Act of 1891.[1] With these laws the federal government became directly involved in the regulation of railroad rates, antitrust enforcement, and the inspection and certification of food quality for consumers. Representing a significant break from what had previously been considered an appropriate role for the federal government, this legislation provided a new and permanent mandate for government regulation in the market economy. Despite the importance of these laws, the link between the economic and political environment in the United States in the late nineteenth century on the one hand, and the legislative histories of the laws on the other, has not been thoroughly explored. As a result, the motives of Congress for enacting these laws remain both unclear and controversial. Consider meat inspection and antitrust. Although most attention in the literature is focused on the 1906 Meat Inspection Act, made popular by the publication of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, the initial legislation, the Meat Inspection Act of 1891, came fifteen years earlier, and it addressed the production and consumption of fresh beef. But as reported in this paper, there is no evidence of a major health crisis regarding the consumption of beef at the time. Something else appears to have been on the mind of Congress when it passed the legislation in 1891. The objectives of Congress in enacting the Sherman Act are even more controversial because of the prominence of the law. Debate revolves around whether the Sherman Act was designed to promote competition and consumer welfare or to limit competition and protect special interests.2 This paper argues that to gain a better understanding of the origins of this important legislation and its early economic effects, the laws must be placed into the context of the extraordinary changes taking place in the American economy in the late nineteenth century. The linkages among the laws help to identify the underlying political and economic forces behind the legislation. Three broad characteristics of the economy must be kept in mind in analyzing this period: First, the post-Civil War period was a time of general deflation. Between 1864 and 1900 the consumer price index fell by 47 percent (U.S. Department of Commerce [1975, 211]). In general, prices for farm products followed the overall pattern, but prices for cattle fell in real terms after the mid-1880s. Fluctuations in farm prices also appear to have coincided with periods of agrarian unrest.3 Second, as described by Higgs [1971] and Chandler [1977], the period after 1880 was a time of major structural change in the economy. The economy was becoming more industrial, and biased technological change, economies of scale in production, distribution, and marketing, as well as the lowering of transportation costs were fundamentally altering production methods and products. This affected the competitive positions of many firms, creating winners and losers (James [1983]; Burns [1983]; Atack [1985]). Emerging large firms expanded from local to national and international markets, and existing small firms found their local markets threatened by new competitors. …

The Beveridge Report: Its origins and outcomes

Abstract: The Beveridge Committee had an inauspicious start. It was intended by the British government to be a minor tidying-up operation. When the report was completed, the government seriously considered not publishing it. The report advocated family allowances, a free health service and full employment, and that all social insurance benefits should be at flat rate and at subsistence level with the aim of abolishing poverty. But the actual recommendations would not have fully achieved Beveridge's aims. Although the report had a rapturous media reception, the government initially decided not to commit itself to action. But pressure from parliament forced Prime Minister Churchill to produce plans for legislation. When the report finally became law, the benefits were about a third less than Beveridge had recommended. As a result his social assistance safety net, intended to have a very small role, ended up giving ultimate protection to some 7 million persons. The report had a major influence in other countries by setting a much more ambitious agenda for social security than had generally been accepted before.

International Trends in Environmental Impact Assessment

Abstract: This paper explores the range of legislation that has created the EIA mandate. A more comprehensive study of all EIA laws is under preparation by the Commission on Environmental Law of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, but this study will not be complete until 1992. In the absence of such an exhaustive analysis, this paper sketches the global legislative trends in EIA.

Pressure through law

Abstract: Group litigation has been recognised by political scientists in the States as a useful method of gaining ground and attracting publicity for pressure groups since the turn of the century. In Britain however, recognition that the courts fill such a role has come more slowly. Despite this lack of recognition, pressure through law is far from a modern phenomenon. As the authors show, such cases can be identified in Britain as early as 1749 when abolitionists used the court to test conflicting views of slavery in common law. This book looks at the extent to which pressure groups in Britain use litigation, presenting a view of the courts as a target for campaigners and a vehicle for campaigning. It begins with a description of the tradition of pressure through law in Britain, tracing the development of a parallel tradition in the United States, which has been influential in shaping current British attitudes. The authors analyse the significance of the political environment in Britain in test-case strategy. In contrast with America, Britain has no written constitution and no Bill of Rights and its lack of Freedom of Information legislation makes both litigation and the monitoring of its effects very difficult. However, the centralised character of the British government means that the effects of lobbying are rather more visible in the corridors of power. The authors examine a large number of case studies in order to analyse current practice, and they look at the rapidly changing European and international scene, discussing transnational law, the European community and the Council of Europe. They also look at the campaign tactics of global organisations such as Amnesty and Greenpeace. Carol Harlow and Richard Rawlings are experienced in public law and familiar with political science literature. They are therefore able to relate legal systems to the political process, in a book designed to be accessible and important to lawyers, to political scientists and to lobby group activists.

Predestined to save the earth : the environment committee of the European Parliament

Abstract: Despite an increase in the influence of the European Parliament in the decision making process of the European Communities in recent years some commentators still maintain that the EP's impact on EC legislation remains marginal. Taking the Environment Committee of the European Parliament as its focus this article assesses the contribution made by the EP to EC environmental policy. While it is often asserted that the EP's legislative role in relation to environmental policy began with the Single European Act, in fact the EP performed a legislative role, including the right of initiative, before 1987; a role subsequently enhanced by the SEA. Tracing the decision making process through the various stages of initiation, consultation, cooperation and implementation, and using case studies to illustrate the Committee's contribution to this process, the variable impact of the EP upon EC environmental policy is revealed. The role of the Environment Committee as a promoter of ‘environmentalism’ within EC policy an...

Regulation of immigration in 1993: pieces of the European Community jig-saw puzzle.

Abstract: This contribution will try on one hand to take stock of the past [European Community] policy on migration and on the other hand to provide the basic elements which are shaping a future potentially common (or partly common) policy carried out either through intergovernmental cooperation or community legislation or both. Pertinent treaties and legislation are also described. (EXCERPT)

Costs of monitoring food safety and vertical coordination in agribusiness: What can be learned from the British Food Safety Act 1990?

Abstract: The British Food Safety Act 1990 may significantly affect the structure of agribusiness. The most important aspect of the new act is the introduction of the “due diligence” defence clause. Food companies must prove that they exhibited due diligence in ensuring that food in their possession conformed to the provisions of the act. This may significantly increase the monitoring costs facing food companies. As a result, alternative forms of vertical coordination that minimise the costs of compliance with the act may evolve. Agribusiness companies need to be aware of the potential impact of the due diligence clause on monitoring costs and policy makers need to consider the implications for industrial structure when framing food safety legislation. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Women and Japanese Management: Discrimination and Reform

Abstract: Standard works on the employment systems of Japanese companies deal almost exclusively with men. Women, however, constitute the vast majority of the low wage, highly flexible "non-core" employees. This book breaks new ground in examining the role of Japanese women in industry. It assesses the extent to which growing pressure for equal opportunities between the sexes has caused Japanese companies to adapt their employment and personnel management practices in recent years. The author puts the argument in an historical perspective, covering the employment of Japanese women from the start of Japan's industrialisation up to the turning point of the 1986 Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Law. She examines the background and execution of the legislation and she looks at the response of the business community. In her case study of the Seibu department store, which takes up the final part of the book, Lam concludes that the EEO Law has not had the desired effect.

Can the United States Promote Democracy

Abstract: Is it possible for the United States to promote democracy and pluralism? Are there potential actions, programs, and policies to be undertaken or avoided -that will encourage the development of an appropriate system of checks and balances, promote the participation of existing and emerging groups in the political life of foreign nations, strengthen the rule of law in such countries, and enhance the protection of minority rights and values? If such initiatives do exist, then what are their chances of success? What factors will encourage or retard their effectiveness? These questions, formerly addressed only in remote academic circles, have recently moved to the forefront of the American foreign policy debate. The democratic revolutions of 1989, coupled with the retreat of authoritarian regimes in Latin America and parts of Asia and Africa, have prompted a resurgence of interest throughout the U.S. government and society at large in promoting democracy. The 1989 Support for East European Democracy (SEED) legislation authorizing U.S. spending for these purposes presupposes that such objectives are obtainable. It reads:

Regulatory Federalism in the European Community

Abstract: In this paper, the issue of the most efficient allocation of regulatory responsibilities among the subnational, national, and European Community (EC) levels of government is addressed. The most obvious impact of EC regulations on national and subnational policies is a transfer of legislative competences to the EC, as the principle of supremacy of EC law bars member states from passing laws inconsistent with the relevant EC legislation. There are less obvious but no less important ways in which EC regulations influence the political process in the member states. Thus, the process of implementation of EC regulations at the national level has led to an increase in the rule-making powers of the member states' executives and a corresponding weakening of the role of the national parliaments. Also, the relationship between central and subnational governments is significantly affected, especially in countries with a federal or regional structure. It is argued that, despite the theoretical and political appeal of ...

The History of European Archives and the Development of the Archival Profession in Europe

Abstract: The history of European archives or the development of the European archival profession can only be discussed superficially as single entities. Nevertheless, there is a tendency recently to harmonize European archival legislation and practices, if not to unify them. The author discusses the genesis and history of the evolution of archival theory and practice in the major European countries through the creation of the great archival repositories, the birth of archival science, and the development of modern archives. He ends the article with an overview of current archival evolution in Europe and suggests the areas in which archival harmonization is likely to be most successful.

Disability and Employment

Abstract: Focuses on institutional discrimination in employment and explains why anti‐discrimination legislation is the most likely solution. Defines institutional discrimination against disabled people, then provides substantive quantitative evidence of institutional discrimination in employment. Examines the main factors which cause that discrimination, and finally evaluates government policies relating to disabled people’s employment.

Human Behavioural Ecology and Environmental Conservation

Abstract: We contend that humans, as living organisms, evolved to sequester resources to maximize reproductive success, and that many basic aspects of human behaviour reflect this evolutionary history. Much of the environment with which we currently deal is evolutionarily novel, and much behaviour which is ultimately not in our own interests, persists in this novel environment. Environmentalists frequently stress the need for ‘sustainable development’, however it is defined (see Redclift, 1987), and we contend that a knowledge of how humans are likely to behave with regard to resource use, and therefore a knowledge of what kinds of programmes are likely to work in any particular situation, is necessary to achieve sustainability. Specifically, we predict that issues which are short-term, local, and/or acute, such as an immediate health-risk, will be much easier to solve than issues which are broad, and which affect individuals other than ourselves, our relatives, and our friends. The bigger the issue is, the less effective is likely to be the response. Hence, the biggest and most troublesome ecological issues will be the most difficult to solve — inter alia because of our evolutionary history as outlined above.This may not appear to bode well for the future of the world; for example, Molte (1988) contends that there are several hundred international environmental agreements in place, but Carroll (1988) contends that, in general, none of them is particularly effective if the criterion for effectiveness is a real solution to the problem. There are countless examples of ‘aggressors’ (those nations causing the problem) not complying with an agreement, slowing its ratification, or reducing its effectiveness (e.g. the US versus Canada, or Great Britain versus Sweden, with regard to acid rain legislation: Fig. 1, cf. Bjorkbom, 1988). The main problem in these cases is that the costs are externalized and hence discounted by those receiving the benefits of being able to pollute. Any proposed change is bound to conflict with existing social structures, and negotiations necessarily involve compromise in a quid pro quo fashion (Brewer, 1980). We contend, along with Caldwell (1988) and Putnam (1988), that nations are much too large to think of as individual actors in these spheres. Interest groups within nations can affect ratification of international environmental treaties; for example, automobile industry interests versus those of environmental NGOs in the USA on the acid rain issue. It may even be that our evolutionary history is inimical to the entire concept of the modern nation state.Barring major, global, socio-political upheaval, we suggest that a knowledge of the evolution of resource use by humans can be used to solve at least some resource-related problems in modern industrial societies. In some cases, these can probably be solved with information alone, and in other cases, the problems can probably be solved by playing on our evolutionary history as social reciprocators; environmental problems which tend to be relatively local and short-term may be solvable in these ways. Economic incentives can provide solutions to many other types of problems by manipulating the cost and benefits to individuals. We suggest that broader, large-scale environmental problems are much more difficult to solve than narrower, small-scale ones, precisely because humans have evolved to discount such themes; stringent regulations and the formation of coalitions, combined with economic incentives to use alternatives and economic disincentives (fines) not to do so, may be the only potential solutions to some major, transboundary environmental issues.In preparing this argument, we have reviewed literature from many scholarly fields well outside the narrow scope of our expertise in behavioural ecology and wildlife conservation. Our reading of many works from anthropology, economics, political science, public policy, and international development, will doubtless seem naive and simplistic to practitioners of those fields, and solving all environmental problems will ultimately take expertise from all of these fields and more. In general, however, we have found agreement for many of our ideas from these disparate disciplines, but much of their literature does not allow for a rigorous, quantitative hypothesis-testing approach to analysing the main thesis presented here — an approach that we, as scientists, would encourage. We hope to challenge people interested in environmental issues from many perspectives, to consider our arguments and find evidence, pro or con, so that we (collectively) may come closer to a better analysis of, and ultimately to solutions for, our most pressing environmental problems.

The implementation and enforcement of European community environment legislation

Abstract: The credibility and acceptability of European Community environment legislation depends to a large extent on its implementation ‘on the ground’. This paper considers the problems facing member states when they come to implement Community environment legislation. In recent years greater attention has focused on this aspect of the EC environmental policy process. The first and second sections of the study consider respectively the state of implementation in the member states and those characteristics of the Community legislative process which have an impact on implementation. The final two sections assess Community enforcement mechanisms and the means through which implementation may be improved. It is suggested that a centralised Community inspectorate, though probably desirable, is at present politically unrealistic if not possibly inappropriate. The development of the alternative ‘inspection of inspectors’ concept is outlined.

First amendment challenges to hate crime legislation: Where's the speech?

Abstract: (1992). First amendment challenges to hate crime legislation: Where's the speech? Criminal Justice Ethics: Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 6-20.