The Nature and Functions of the State

Author(s):  
Michael Taggart

For much of last century it was taken for granted in many countries that it was the duty of the State to care for its citizens ‘from cradle to grave’: to provide education, pensions, medical services, and public utilities, and to hold out a safety net for the less fortunate so that they had food, shelter, and the other necessaries of life. Since the late 1970s, however, these functions of the State have been put in question by the worldwide march towards privatization. The privatization movement was said to be a response to budget deficits and mounting public debt, perceived inefficiencies in government operations, and a loss of faith in the ability of governments in the developed world to meet the expectations of their citizenry of an ever-increasing standard of living. This article discusses the influence of economic theory on the privatization movement; the impact of changes in the economy (namely, the privatization movement) on law, particularly legal scholarship; the meaning of privatization; the public/private law divide; and privatization in the UK; corporatization and public sector reforms; deregulation; and contracting out.

Author(s):  
D L Tolley ◽  
G J Fowler

This paper examines the impact of the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) in the United States and the Energy Act 1983 in the United Kingdom on the nature of the purchase tariffs for co-generators and combined heat and power (CHP) plant, and considers the reasons why the prospects for investment by private generators might be enhanced in the United States.


Author(s):  
Olena Pikaliuk ◽  
◽  
Dmitry Kovalenko ◽  

One of the main criteria for economic development is the size of the public debt and its dynamics. The article considers the impact of public debt on the financial security of Ukraine. The views of scientists on the essence of public debt and financial security of the state are substantiated. An analysis of the dynamics and structure of public debt of Ukraine for 2014-2019. It is proved that one of the main criteria for economic development is the size of public debt and its dynamics. State budget deficit, attracting and using loans to cover it have led to the formation and significant growth of public debt in Ukraine. The volume of public debt indicates an increase in the debt security of the state, which is a component of financial security. Therefore, the issue of the impact of public debt on the financial security of Ukraine is becoming increasingly relevant. The constant growth and large amounts of debt make it necessary to study it, which will have a positive impact on economic processes that will ensure the stability of the financial system and enhance its security.


Author(s):  
Geoffrey Meen ◽  
Christine Whitehead

Affordability is, perhaps, the greatest housing problem facing households today, both in the UK and internationally. Even though most households are now well housed, hardship is disproportionately concentrated among low-income and younger households. Our failure to deal with their problems is what makes housing so frustrating. But, to improve outcomes, we have to understand the complex economic and political forces which underlie their continued prevalence. There are no costless solutions, but there are new policy directions that can be explored in addition to those that have dominated in recent years. The first, analytic, part of the book considers the factors that determine house prices and rents, household formation and tenure, housing construction and the roles played by housing finance and taxation. The second part turns to examine the impact of past policy and the possibilities for improvement - discussing supply and the impact of planning regulation, supply subsidies, subsidies to low-income tenants and attempts to increase home ownership. Rather than advocating a particular set of policies, the aim is to consider the balance of policies; the constraints under which housing policy operates; what can realistically be achieved; the structural changes that would need to occur; and the significant sacrifices that would have to be made by some groups if there are to be improvements for others. Our emphasis is on the UK but throughout the book we also draw on international experience and our conclusions have relevance to analysts and policy makers across the developed world.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo J. Morelli ◽  
Paul T. Seaman

This article examines the theoretical underpinning of living wage campaigns. The article uses evidence, derived from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey from 2005 to 2008, to examine the extent to which a living wage will address low pay within the labour force. We highlight the greater incidence of low pay within the private sector and then focus upon the public sector where the living wage demand has had most impact. The article builds upon the results from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey with analysis of the British Household Panel Survey in 2007 in order to examine the impact that the introduction of a living wage, within the public sector, would have in reducing household inequality.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendon Wilkins

Archaeology is said to add value to development, creating a deeper sense of place, community identity as well as improving health and wellbeing. Accentuating these wider social values has been welcomed by a profession keen to broaden its public relevance and legitimacy and protect its seat at the table in modern cultural life, but how much, if at all, do the public actually benefit from developer-led archaeology? Benefits to individuals and communities from archaeology projects are often abstract, intangible and difficult to attribute, and the discipline arguably lacks a satisfactory frame of reference around which it can express and design for these additional social values. Drawing on the language of social impact investing, this article will explore how the UK-based collaborative platform, DigVentures, has addressed this challenge. It introduces a 'Theory of Change' and 'Standards of Evidence' framework to account for the impact of development-led archaeology programmes, illustrating the causal links between activity and change through the case of the Pontefract Castle Gatehouse Project. It is complemented by a short documentary film exploring the spectrum of digital and physical opportunities for participation by the public alongside a team of highly experienced professional field archaeologists, demonstrating how development-led archaeology can be designed to accomplish far more than answer a planning brief.


2017 ◽  
pp. 119-134
Author(s):  
Wojciech Fill

The legal-financial status of the Agricultural Property Agency is complex. Rights and obligations of the financial nature of the public are interspersed with numerous powers and duties of the sphere of private law. Specific elements shaping financial status Agency are organizational relationship and the capital of other legal entities, including primarily with the Treasury and the companies controlled by the Agency. They occur in the context of normative pass Agency to the public finance sector and its companies to the category of public sector entities. In view of the takeover by the executive agencies, a significant part of the tasks previously performed by the state without legal personality, budgetary establishments, precisely in this area normative appeared completely unique opportunity to examine the impact of the construction of legal personality to changes in the shape of subjectivity.


2021 ◽  
pp. 433-447
Author(s):  
Howard Davis

Without assuming prior legal knowledge, books in the Directions series introduce and guide readers through key points of law and legal debate. It discusses European Convention law and relates it to domestic law under the HRA. Questions, discussion points, and thinking points help readers to engage fully with each subject and check their understanding as they progress and knowledge can be tested by self-test questions and exam questions at the chapter end. This chapter considers the application of Convention rights in the field of prisoners’ rights; the impact of Convention rights on prisoners in the UK is considered. Prisoners remain within the protection of the European Convention on Human Rights, though the application of these rights will take their position into account. Prisoners’ rights include not only rights to the non-arbitrary loss of liberty (Article 5) and rights to fair procedures (Articles 5 and 6), but also not to be disproportionately denied the rights and freedoms in Articles 8–11. Imprisonment deprives individuals of their liberty and, therefore, is a public function for which the state is responsible under the Convention. The controversy over prisoners’ right to vote is discussed in Chapter 25.


2020 ◽  
pp. 195-212
Author(s):  
Maxine Eichner

This chapter describes how US policymakers would regulate the economy if they became serious about supporting the American Dream. Legislators would stop making an ever-higher GDP the ultimate economic goal and instead focus on ensuring that every American gets the resources they need to thrive. Since thriving Americans require healthy families, this would require ensuring that families, too, receive the resources they need to thrive. To serve these goals, markets must be put in their proper place in the larger economy, alongside both families and government. When it comes to ensuring that families get the resources they need, the state has five critical functions to fill. These are: (1) partnering with parents to provide the conditions young children need at home; (2) investing in excellent daycare and prekindergarten programs; (3) regulating the economy to reduce economic inequality and insecurity; (4) constructing a strong social safety net; and (5) regulating the workplace to allow workers to reconcile work with family. The chapter closes by describing the public programs that would support each of these five functions.


2019 ◽  
pp. 119-132
Author(s):  
David Rhind

This chapter describes the evolution of UK Official Statistics over an 80 year period under the influence of personalities, politics and government policies, new user needs and changing technology. These have led to changing institutional structures – such as the Statistics Commission - and periodic oscillations in what statistics are created and the ease of their accessibility by the public. The chapter concludes with the impact of the first major statistical legislation for 60 years, particularly as a consequence of its creation of the UK Statistics Authority. This has included major investment in quality assurance of National and Official Statistics and in professional resourcing. These changes are very welcome, as is the statutory specification of government statistics as a public good by the 2007 Statistics and Registration Service Act. But problems of access to some data sets and the pre-release of key economic statistics to selected groups of users remain. Given the widespread societal consequences of the advent of new technologies, what we collect and how we do it will inevitably continue to change rapidly.


1938 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1123-1139
Author(s):  
Orren C. Hormell

A survey of the state legislation on public utilities for the period 1936-38 reveals the continuation of certain trends which were pointed out in the article published by the author in this REVIEW in June, 1936.The period under consideration in the present article (1936–38) witnessed a marked extension of the exercise of regulatory functions by the Federal Government, and at the same time a notable strengthening of the powers and an increase in activities of the public utilities commissions in several states.


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