Showing papers on "Legislation published in 2009"

Democratic Innovations: Designing Institutions for Citizen Participation

Abstract: Can we design institutions that increase and deepen citizen participation in the political decision making process? At a time when there is growing disillusionment with the institutions of advanced industrial democracies, there is also increasing interest in new ways of involving citizens in the political decisions that affect their lives. This book draws together evidence from a variety of democratic innovations from around the world, including participatory budgeting in Brazil, Citizens’ Assemblies on Electoral Reform in Canada, direct legislation in California and Switzerland and emerging experiments in e-democracy. The book offers a rare systematic analysis of this diverse range of democratic innovations, drawing lessons for the future development of both democratic theory and practice.

An Empirical Study of Environmental Awareness and Practices in SMEs

Abstract: With increasing awareness of environmental issues, there has been rising demand for environmental-friendly business practices. Prior research has shown that the implementation of environmental management practices is influenced by existing and potential stakeholder groups in the form of external pressures from legislators, environmental groups, financial institutions and suppliers, as well as internally by employees and owner/manager attitudes and knowledge. However, it has been reported that despite business owner/managers having strong “green” attitudes, the level of implementation of environmental-friendly practices is low. In order to explore the connection between pressures for improved practices and the management actions taken, this article examines how influence from various stakeholders is related to awareness of environmental issues, and how this awareness relates to actions taken within the businesses to reduce the environmental impact of their operations. The results indicate that legislation does result in general environmental awareness, and that organizations are then willing to␣change their business processes and environmental strategies. However, despite their actions they have little awareness of the benefits that might arise from cost reductions from their environmental-friendly practices. Those influenced by their suppliers act to reduce waste, but do not put into place formal environmental management systems, or use environmental messages to market their goods or services. Nevertheless, it can be argued that they have a real commitment to environmental issues, as evidenced by a willingness to voluntarily contribute to environmental organizations.

Super Wicked Problems and Climate Change: Restraining the Present to Liberate the Future

Abstract: Climate change may soon have its “lawmaking moment” in the United States. The inherent problem with such lawmaking moments, however, is just that: they are moments. What Congress and the President do with much fanfare can quickly and quietly slip away in the ensuing years. This is famously so for environmental law. Subsequent legislative amendments, limited budgets, appropriations riders, interpretive agency rulings, massive delays in rulemaking, and simple nonenforcement are more than capable of converting a seemingly uncompromising legal mandate into nothing more than a symbolic aspirational statement. Climate change legislation is especially vulnerable to being unraveled over time for a variety of reasons, but especially because of the extent to which it imposes costs on the short term for the realization of benefits many decades and sometimes centuries later. To be successful over the long term, climate change legislation will need to include institutional design features that insulate programmatic implementation to a

Legislation, Collective Bargaining and Enforcement: Updating the OECD Employment Protection Indicators

Abstract: This paper presents updated estimates of the OECD employment protection indicators for 30 OECD countries and 10 emerging economies and considers important aspects of employment protection other than those provided in legislation Collective agreements often contain provisions relating to employment protection, but in most OECD countries, severance pay and notice periods in collective agreements are similar to those set out in legislation Where bargaining takes place largely outside individual firms at the national, regional or sectoral level and collective agreements include provisions substantially more generous to employees than those in legislation, they are incorporated into the OECD indicators Many OECD countries exempt some groups of firms or workers from employment protection rules Such exemptions have mixed success in promoting employment among exempted groups, but do not have a large impact on the accuracy of the OECD indicators More than half of OECD countries have specialised courts or procedures to handle unfair dismissal cases, reducing the time taken to deal with cases and improving satisfaction with legal outcomes Resolving disputes early (either through pre-court dispute resolution procedures or pre-trial conciliation) saves time and money compared with waiting for a court decision More research and cross-country comparable data are needed on the efficiency of conciliation procedures and the cost of pursuing or defending dismissal cases

From the 'Old' to the 'New' Suspect Community: Examining the Impacts of Recent UK Counter-Terrorist Legislation

Abstract: The war on terror' has emerged as the principal conflict of our time, where Islamic fanaticism' is identified as the greatest threat to Western liberal democracies. Within the United Kingdom, and beyond, this political discourse has designated Muslims as the new enemy within'--justifying the introduction of counter-terrorist legislation and facilitating the construction of Muslims as a suspect community'. In this paper, we develop Hillyard's (1993) notion of the suspect community' and evidence how Muslims have replaced the Irish as the main focus of the government's security agenda whilst also recognizing that some groups have been specifically targeted for state surveillance. We conclude that the categorization of Muslims as suspect may be serving to undermine national security rather than enhance it.

Efficient Take-Back Legislation

Abstract: Product and waste take-back is becoming more regulated by countries to protect the environment. Such regulation puts an economic burden on firms, while creating fairness concerns and potentially even missing its primary target: environmental benefits. This research discusses the economic and environmental impacts of extended producer responsibility type of legislation and identifies efficiency conditions. It is shown that the right policy would (i) make producers responsible for their own waste to avoid fairness concerns and (ii) favor eco-design producers to create stronger environmental benefits. Furthermore, the efficiency of take-back systems is also driven by environmental classification of products, industry structure, and end-user willingness to participate in take-back programs.

Finnish health and social welfare registers in epidemiological research

Abstract: Finland introduced a personal identification number system in 1964, and since then practically all administrative registers have included this unique identification code. Currently Finland has strict data protection laws, which prohibit the collection of sensitive health and social information. Health data that includes identifiers can be gathered by obtaining informed consent from the patients or clients, or under special legislation. An important exemption of this general principle, however, is the collection and use of such data for statistical and scientific purposes, for example in epidemiological studies. Thus, these registers can be used as a basis when trying to improve health, welfare, health services, and social welfare services. This article describes the health and social welfare register system and data protection legislation in Finland, and gives some examples on epidemiological register studies. This article also presents methods for promoting register research, including the newly launched Finnish Information Centre for Register Research.

Women workers and perceptions of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in India

Abstract: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which entitles rural households to 100 days of casual employment on public works at the statutory minimum wage, contains special provisions to ensure full participation of women. This paper, based on fieldwork in six states in 2008, examines the socio-economic consequences of the NREGA for women workers. In spite of the drawbacks in the implementation of the legislation, significant benefits have already started accruing to women through better access to local employment, at minimum wages, with relatively decent and safe work conditions. The paper also discusses barriers to women’s participation.

A Fistful of Dollars: Lobbying and the Financial Crisis

Abstract: Using detailed information on lobbying and mortgage lending activities, we find that lenders lobbying more on issues related to mortgage lending (i) had higher loan-to-income ratios, (ii) securitized more intensively, and (iii) had faster growing portfolios. Ex-post, delinquency rates are higher in areas where lobbyist' lending grew faster and they experienced negative abnormal stock returns during key crisis events. The findings are robust to (i) falsification tests using lobbying on issues unrelated to mortgage lending, (ii) a difference-in-difference approach based on state-level laws, and (iii) instrumental variables strategies. These results show that lobbying lenders engage in riskier lending.

An Essay on Crimes and Punishments

Abstract: Penal laws, so considerable a part of every system of legislation, and of so great importance to the happiness, peace, and security of every member of society, are still so imperfect, and are attended with so many unnecessary circumstances of cruelty in all nations, that an attempt to reduce them to the standard of reason must be interesting to all mankind. Its is not surprising, then, that this little book has engaged the attention of all ranks of people in every part of Europe.

Gender Quotas, Electoral Laws, and the Election of Women: Evidence From the Latin American Vanguard

Abstract: This study uses district-level data from national legislative elections in 19 Latin American countries to evaluate the effect of gender quota legislation, in concert with other electoral rules, on the election of women legislators. Well-designed quota legislation has a profound positive impact on the election of women, regardless of the type of party list (closed or open). Where quota legislation is in force, the use of closed lists on average results in a greater percentage of women legislators elected to office than does the use of open lists. However, this difference is not as great as would be expected based on the prevailing conventional wisdom and is primarily the consequence of the superiority of the closed-list systems when the number of seats a party wins in a district (party magnitude) is two. With one important exception, party magnitude is generally unrelated to women's electoral success in the region.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act

Abstract: This report provides a summary and explanation of the provisions in the HITECH Act, which is intended to promote the widespread adoption of health information technology (HIT) for the electronic sharing of clinical data among hospitals, physicians, and other health care stakeholders. It gives an overview of prior actions taken by Congress and the Administrations to promote HIT, and briefly describes efforts by the 109th and 110th Congresses to enact comprehensive HIT legislation.

Is Animal Cruelty a “Red Flag” for Family Violence? Investigating Co-Occurring Violence Toward Children, Partners, and Pets

Abstract: Cross-reporting legislation, which permits child and animal welfare investigators to refer families with substantiated child maltreatment or animal cruelty for investigation by parallel agencies, has recently been adopted in several U.S. jurisdictions. The current study sheds light on the underlying assumption of these policies-that animal cruelty and family violence commonly co-occur. Exposure to family violence and animal cruelty is retrospectively assessed using a sample of 860 college students. Results suggest that animal abuse may be a red flag indicative of family violence in the home. Specifically, about 60% of participants who have witnessed or perpetrated animal cruelty as a child also report experiences with child maltreatment or domestic violence. Differential patterns of association were revealed between childhood victimization experiences and the type of animal cruelty exposure reported. This study extends current knowledge of the links between animal- and human-directed violence and provides initial support for the premise of cross-reporting legislation.

Race and the Response of State Legislatures to Unauthorized Immigrants

Abstract: Increasingly, state legislatures are enacting laws to regulate immigrant populations. What accounts for these responses to foreign-born residents? To explain legislative activity at the state level, the authors examine a variety of factors, including the size and growth of foreign-born and Hispanic local populations, economic well-being, crime rates, and conservative or liberal political ideology in state government and among the citizenry. The authors find that economic indicators, crime rates, and demographic changes have little explanatory value for legislation aimed at restrictions on immigrant populations. Rather, conservative citizen ideology appears to drive immigrant-related restrictionist state legislation. Meanwhile, proimmigrant laws are associated with larger Hispanic concentrations, growing foreign-born populations, and more liberal citizen and governmental orientations. These findings suggest that ideological framing is the most consistently important factor determining legislative responses...

Assessing Freeman’s Stakeholder Theory

Abstract: At least since the publication of the monumental Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach (1984), the “stakeholder theory” originated by R. E. Freeman has engrossed much of the business ethics literature. Subsequently, some advocates have moved a bit too quickly and without proper definition or argument. They have exceeded Freeman’s intentions which are more libertarian and free-market than is often thought. This essay focuses on the versions of stakeholder theory directly authored or coauthored by Freeman in an effort to recover (1) Freeman’s intentions and (2) the argumentative justification of stakeholder theory. It then argues that Freeman’s appeal to legal, economic, and ethical constraints ultimately produce arguments that are invalid. One can thoroughly support legislation constraining corporations or seeking to prevent age discrimination, market monopolies, and externalities and regret the extent that capitalism is heir to such shortcomings without it following that (1) business beneficiaries should be changed from stockholders to stakeholders and (2) the latter should be given serious decision-making power. Further, stakeholder theory neither defines nor battles any obvious opposition. Hence, it is difficult to see what it changes about business management. In short, stakeholder theory either changes too much about business, or nothing important at all (depending on one’s interpretation). Efforts to supplant or improve the reigning theory of capitalism will have to do better.

The realisation of children’s participation rights: Critical reflections

Abstract: Children’s participation has been one of the most debated and examined aspects of the Convention on the Rights of the Child since it was adopted by the UN in 1989. Books have been written, research has been undertaken, thousands of initiatives have been introduced, and spaces for children’s voices have been created, from the school to the global community. Children have been engaged in advocacy, social and economic analysis, campaigning, research, peer education, community development, political dialogue, programme and project design and development, and democratic participation in schools. The last 20 years have been a period of both advocacy to promote and legitimate the concept of participation, and exploration of strategies for translating it into practice. Indeed, for many people, children’s rights have become synonymous with participation. What is now needed is a stronger focus on the application of that learning to embed participation as a sustainable right for all children, in all areas of their lives. In order to achieve this goal, we need to go back to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and analyse carefully the rights it embodies and the specific obligations it therefore imposes on governments. Child participation will never become a reality without holding governments fully to account for introducing the necessary legislation, policy and practice to ensure that children are enabled to claim their right to be heard and be taken seriously in all decisions affecting them. We also need to reflect on the learning from the considerable body of experience gained over the years since the Convention was adopted, to address challenges that are unique to children’s participation and to explore how they can be met.

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in Africa: An Evaluation of Outcomes

Abstract: Background Since 2003, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been the most ambitious initiative to address the global HIV epidemic. However, PEPFAR’s effect on HIV-related outcomes is unknown.

Buying Power: A History of Consumer Activism in America

Abstract: A definitive history of consumer activism, "Buying Power" traces the lineage of this political tradition back to our nation's founding, revealing that Americans used purchasing power to support causes and punish enemies long before the word boycott even entered our lexicon. Taking the Boston Tea Party as his starting point, Lawrence B. Glickman argues that the rejection of British imports by revolutionary patriots inaugurated a continuous series of consumer boycotts, campaigns for safe and ethical consumption, and efforts to make goods more broadly accessible. He explores abolitionist-led efforts to eschew slave-made goods, African American consumer campaigns against Jim Crow, a 1930s refusal of silk from fascist Japan, and emerging contemporary movements like slow food. He also sheds new light on activists' relationship with the consumer movement, which gave rise to lobbies like the National Consumers League and Consumers Union as well as ill-fated legislation to create a federal Consumer Protection Agency.

Greasing the Wheels: Using Pork Barrel Projects to Build Majority Coalitions in Congress

Abstract: Pork barrel projects would surely rank near the top of most observers' lists of Congress's most widely despised products. Yet, political leaders in Congress and the President often trade pork for votes to pass legislation that serves broad national purposes, giving members of Congress pork barrel projects in return for their votes on general interest legislation. It is a practice that succeeds at a cost, but it is a cost that many political leaders are willing to pay in order to enact the broader public policies that they favor. There is an irony in this: pork barrel benefits, the most reviled of Congress's legislative products, are used by policy coalition leaders to produce the type of policy that is most admired - general interest legislation. This book makes the case that buying votes with pork is one way in which Congress solves its well-known collective action problem.

Mitigating mountain hazards in Austria – legislation, risk transfer, and awareness building

Abstract: . Embedded in the overall concept of integral risk management, mitigating mountain hazards is pillared by land use regulations, risk transfer, and information. In this paper aspects on legislation related to natural hazards in Austria are summarised, with a particular focus on spatial planning activities and hazard mapping, and possible adaptations focussing on enhanced resilience are outlined. Furthermore, the system of risk transfer is discussed, highlighting the importance of creating incentives for risk-aware behaviour, above all with respect to individual precaution and insurance solutions. Therefore, the issue of creating awareness through information is essential, which is presented subsequently. The study results in recommendations of how administrative units on different federal and local levels could increase the enforcement of regulations related to the minimisation of natural hazard risk. Moreover, the nexus to risk transfer mechanisms is provided, focusing on the current compensation system in Austria and some possible adjustments in order to provide economic incentives for (private) investments in mitigation measures, i.e. local structural protection. These incentives should be supported by delivering information on hazard and risk target-oriented to any stakeholder involved. Therefore, coping strategies have to be adjusted and the interaction between prevention and precaution has to be highlighted. The paper closes with recommendations of how these efforts could be achieved, with a particular focus on the situation in the Republic of Austria.

Environmental enrichment: practical strategies for improving feline welfare

Abstract: Practical relevance The clinical application of evidence-based enrichment strategies for the domestic cat housed in a variety of confined environments, ranging from the veterinary cage to the domestic home, is of particular importance – both in relation to providing opportunity for appropriate feline behaviour, and in the prevention and treatment of behavioural and associated health problems (eg, feline lower urinary tract disease associated with negative emotional states such as generalised anxiety). Environmental enrichment has gained particular relevance in the light of current animal welfare legislation. For example, in the UK, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 stipulates that owners/keepers have a duty of care to their animal(s) that includes allowing the animal to exhibit normal behaviour patterns. Evidence base Research into environmental enrichment as a means of improving animal welfare is still very much in its infancy, particularly in relation to the domestic cat. Thus, evidence-based studies are somewhat sparse and more are needed to validate current recommended enrichment practices. Audience This article aims to assist general veterinary practitioners to recognise how cats respond to confinement, and to understand what constitutes environmental enrichment, to help them implement or advise on appropriate enrichment strategies for cats confined in a hospital cage, home environment (particularly an indoor-only home), or cattery or rescue shelter, based on published evidence to date.

Revisiting Readmissions — Changing the Incentives for Shared Accountability

Abstract: When legislation was enacted in 1983 establishing prospective payment for hospitals, the incentives for hospitals changed dramatically. Cost-based payments for hospital days and services were replaced with a set payment per admission that was based on the patient's diagnosis-related group. The goal of the legislation was to encourage shorter lengths of stay and more efficient care, but policymakers were also concerned about possible increases in readmissions. Higher rates of readmissions, they thought, might be a consequence of the legislation either because patients might be prematurely discharged from the index hospitalization or because services might be “unbundled” by hospitals in an . . .

The choice of corporate liquidity and corporate governance

Abstract: This paper uses the second-generation antitakeover legislation as a natural experi- ment to understand corporate governance in‡uence on managerial decisions, speci…cally by examining in‡uences on …rms'liquidity choices between cash and loan commitments. These choices dier primarily in the allocation of ex-post control rights of …rms'liquid- ity reserves, which may lead to disagreement among stakeholders about …rms'liquidity choices. The resulting decisions are strongly in‡uenced by their relative bargaining pow- ers, i.e., corporate governance. The introduction of antitakeover laws during the 1980s and 1990s weakened managerial discipline by reducing the threat of takeover. Subse- quently, …rms with bad internal governance tended to increase cash holdings relative to loan commitments, but this tendency was signi…cantly weaker for …rms with good inter- nal governance. This is consistent with the optimizing behavior of management which balances private bene…ts of cash against fewer control challenges provided by increased oversight of loan commitments. Findings suggest the choice of corporate liquidity is a channel for corporate governance, and large cash holdings may be a sign of con…dence in good management.

Cross-Cutting Influences of Environmental Protest and Legislation

Abstract: This research examines the influence of types of protest activities, Congressional hearings and political characteristics on environmental legislation enacted from 1961–1990. We find that rates of environmental protest rise with increases in the amount of previous institutional activities, but extra-institutional activities do not raise the overall rate of protest. Protest has no direct effect on the passage of legislation, but institutional protest activities significantly raise the rate of Congressional hearings on the environment. When comparing all environmental laws to those designated as having a major impact, we find both similarities and differences. For example, prior legislative activity decreases both rates, but increases in criteria air pollutants and partisan characteristics of Congress significantly affect only the rates of major environmental legislation.

Informal Politics, Formalised Law and the ‘Social Deficit’ of European Integration: Reflections after the Judgments of the ECJ inVikingandLaval

Abstract: The judgments of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) of December 2008 in Viking and Laval on the compatibility of national collective labour law with European prerogatives have caused quite a heated critical debate This article seeks to put this debate in constitutional perspectives In its first part, it reconstructs in legal categories what Fritz W Scharpf has characterised as a decoupling of economic integration from the various welfare traditions of the Member States European constitutionalism, it is submitted, is bound to respond to this problematique The second part develops a perspective within which such a response can be found That perspective is a supranational European conflict of laws which seeks to realise what the draft Constitutional Treaty had called the ‘motto of the union’: unitas in pluralitate Within that framework, the third part analyses two seemingly contradictory trends, namely, first, albeit very briefly, the turn to ‘soft’ modes of governance in the realm of social policy and then, in much greater detail, the ECJ's ‘hard’ interpretations of the supremacy of European freedoms and its strict interpretation of pertinent secondary legislation The conflict‐of‐laws approach would suggest a greater respect for national autonomy, in particular, in view of the limited EU competences in the field of labour law