scholarly journals Mapping the Trade and Environment Nexus: Insights from a New Data Set

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Frédéric Morin ◽  
Andreas Dür ◽  
Lisa Lechner
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Design ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Policy Innovation ◽  
Import Competition ◽  
Environmental Standards ◽  
Trade And Environment ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Regime Effectiveness ◽  
Environment And Trade

Environment and trade are increasingly linked through preferential trade agreements. Despite the encompassing nature of environmental provisions in trade agreements, studies on causes and consequences of the trade and environment linkage are scarce. A main cause hindering research in this area is the lack of data. In this research note, we introduce an original data set (TREND) on environmental provisions found in 630 trade agreements signed between 1947 and 2016—the most comprehensive data set in terms of both variables coded and agreements covered. We illustrate the data set’s usefulness by assessing the question of why countries include environmental provisions in trade agreements. Are trade negotiations opportunities to promote stringent environmental standards? Or are environmental provisions window dressing covering protectionist interests? We find evidence that democracies, countries that face import competition, and countries that care about the environment are more likely to include environmental provisions in trade agreements. The database is of particular relevance for research on international institutional design, policy innovation, regime complexity, policy diffusion, and regime effectiveness.

scholarly journals International Bureaucrats and the Formation of Intergovernmental Organizations: Institutional Design Discretion Sweetens the Pot

2014 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tana Johnson ◽  
Johannes Urpelainen
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Design ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Principal Agent ◽  
Intergovernmental Organizations ◽  
Model Case ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Agent Model ◽  
Principal Agent Model ◽  
International Bureaucracy ◽  
Design Preferences

AbstractBureaucrats working in international intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) regularly help states design new IGOs. Sometimes international bureaucrats possess limited discretion in institutional design; sometimes, they enjoy broad discretion. In fact, they gain discretion even when they openly oppose state preferences. This contravenes conventional thinking about delegation: discretion should decrease as preference divergence between states and international bureaucrats increases. We develop a principal-agent theory of how much discretion states grant to international bureaucrats in the design of new IGOs. This is novel: while principal-agent theories of international delegation are common, scholars have not analyzed principal-agent relationships in the creation of new IGOs. We argue that even an international bureaucracy that disagrees with states' design preferences may enjoy substantial design leeway, because of states' need for bureaucratic expertise. In developing this argument, we employ a formal principal-agent model, case studies, and an original data set.

Diversity and Power: Selection Method and Its Impacts on State Executive Descriptive Representation

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-233
Author(s):  
Sarina Rhinehart ◽  
Matthew J. Geras
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Selection Method ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Executive Leaders ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Minorities

This article explores diversity within top leadership positions in state governments, specifically, the role that position selection method plays in promoting the inclusion of racial and ethnic minorities into positions of power. We hypothesize that minorities will be more likely to serve in appointed positions as governors consider diversity in making appointments and less likely to serve in elected positions due to the additional hurdles for candidates of color. Using an original data set of state executive leaders from 2001 to 2017 from all 50 states, we find evidence that institutional design influences levels of diversity among state executive leaders. Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to be appointed than elected to state executive leadership positions. In addition, we find that Democratic governors are more likely than Republican governors to appoint minorities. Ultimately, this evidence is important for understanding how institutional design can have consequences for descriptive representation, specifically for groups that have been historically excluded from political life.

Portugal

2021 ◽  
pp. 675-691
Author(s):  
Jorge M. Fernandes ◽  
Miguel Won
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Sharp Increase ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Legislative Organization ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Party Members ◽  
Positive Effect

In this chapter, we examine the Portuguese case whose institutional design makes it a paradigm of party-centered legislative debates. Together with the closed-list proportional representation electoral system, the rules-induced centrality of parties in legislative organization creates strong incentives for party leaders to keep tabs on party members on the floor. In this chapter, we describe the formal and informal rules of legislative debate in Portugal. Using an original data set from 1999 through 2019, our empirical analysis yields three key results. First, women continue to be sidelined from floor access, not only in the opportunities to take the floor but also in the length of speeches they deliver. Second, seniority has a positive effect in increasing the likelihood of taking the floor. Third, our results point out to a sharp increase in the likelihood of taking the floor and making long speeches, which corroborates our general theoretical expectations in the volume.

The regulatory independence of audiovisual media regulators: A cross-national comparative analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 619-638
Author(s):  
Adriana Mutu
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Design ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Audiovisual Media ◽  
Regulatory Authorities ◽  
National Media ◽  
Institutional Differences ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Academic Debate

There is a rich scholarship investigating the formal regulatory independence as an outcome of particular institutional arrangements of National Regulatory Authorities for various utility sectors. In contrast, the establishment of national media authorities has only recently stimulated the academic debate on the links between formal independence and institutional design. No empirical measurements have yet been done to scrutinise the independence of audiovisual media regulators in Europe. This article addresses this gap and provides a first empirical assessment of the cross-country variations in formal independence of national media regulators. The analysis is based on an original data set comprising formal independence scores for 43 National Regulatory Authorities which were created by the year 2014. It is demonstrated that institutional differences among National Regulatory Authorities mirror different levels of formal independence, which varies across countries.

Beyond Trade

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Milewicz ◽  
James Hollway ◽  
Claire Peacock ◽  
Duncan Snidal
Keyword(s):  
Network Models ◽  
Institutional Arrangement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Original Data ◽  
International Governance ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Issue Linkage ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Novel Design

Increased complexity and density of transnational problems create unprecedented challenges and opportunities for contemporary international governance. “Issue linkage” is one institutional arrangement through which states address these changing circumstances. In this article, we examine the widening scope of the nontrade agenda in preferential trade agreements (PTAs). Nontrade issues (NTIs) such as human rights, democracy, environment, corruption, and labor standards are increasingly linked to PTAs. This issue linkage has important implications for understanding changing patterns of international trade, including the shift to PTAs and the rise of NTIs. We show that (1) states’ choices to commit to bilateral or plurilateral versions of traditional PTAs and to PTAs with NTIs are highly interdependent, (2) states increasingly incorporate NTIs into PTAs, as the associated costs of policy change are lowered through earlier agreements, and (3) network pressures favor the increasing adoption of bilateral and especially plurilateral NTIs over time. Using an original data set on NTIs covering 522 PTAs and spanning the period 1951 to 2009, we evaluate states’ motives behind the widening nontrade agenda of trade agreements using longitudinal network modeling. We employ multiplex coevolution stochastic actor-oriented network models in a novel design to account for interdependencies within and across states’ decisions. Following a descriptive mapping of major NTIs, we evaluate our theoretical arguments. Testing against the alternative explanations of power and commitment, we find that endogenous cost considerations are the most significant factor explaining the inclusion of NTIs into PTAs.

Imperfect Recall: The Politics of Subnational Office Removals

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 777-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisha C. Holland ◽  
José Incio
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Design ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Electoral Accountability ◽  
Imperfect Recall

Why do some citizens remove the same politicians that they elected from office? This article examines the use of recall referenda, an increasingly prevalent process in which citizens organize a vote to remove politicians from office before they complete their terms. Although celebrated as a tool to improve electoral accountability, we argue that recall referenda are organized to pursue political vendettas. We test this claim using an original data set on the different stages leading to subnational recalls in Peru. Recalls are initiated more often when politicians lose by narrow vote margins and when women hold office. Once put to a vote, citizens do use office performance to decide whether to retain their politicians. Losing politicians organized fewer recall referenda following an institutional reform that allowed politicians to name their successors. The implication is that recall referenda create weak incentives to improve office performance, but careful institutional design can improve their functioning.

scholarly journals How Intense Policy Demanders Shape Postreform Politics: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Rocco ◽  
Simon F. Haeder
Keyword(s):  
Affordable Care Act ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
State Level ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Policy Feedback ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Affordable Care Act

Abstract The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been a politically volatile process. The ACA's institutional design and delayed feedback effects created a window of opportunity for its partisan opponents to launch challenges at both the federal and state level. Yet as recent research suggests, postreform politics depends on more than policy feedback alone; rather, it is shaped by the partisan and interest-group environment. We argue that “intense policy demanders” played an important role in defining the policy alternatives that comprised congressional Republicans' efforts to repeal and replace the ACA. To test this argument, we drew on an original data set of bill introductions in the House of Representatives between 2011 and 2016. Our analysis suggests that business contributions and political ideology affected the likelihood that House Republicans would introduce measures repealing significant portions of the ACA. A secondary analysis shows that intense policy demanders also shaped the vote on House Republicans' initial ACA replacement plan. These findings highlight the role intense policy demanders can play in shaping the postreform political agenda.

Rotational Characteristics of the Green Solar Corona: 1947-1991

1994 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 139-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Rybák ◽  
V. Rušin ◽  
M. Rybanský
Keyword(s):  
Solar Corona ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Rotation Period ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Coronal Emission ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The World ◽  
Coronal Emission Line ◽  
Homogeneous Data

AbstractFe XIV 530.3 nm coronal emission line observations have been used for the estimation of the green solar corona rotation. A homogeneous data set, created from measurements of the world-wide coronagraphic network, has been examined with a help of correlation analysis to reveal the averaged synodic rotation period as a function of latitude and time over the epoch from 1947 to 1991.The values of the synodic rotation period obtained for this epoch for the whole range of latitudes and a latitude band ±30° are 27.52±0.12 days and 26.95±0.21 days, resp. A differential rotation of green solar corona, with local period maxima around ±60° and minimum of the rotation period at the equator, was confirmed. No clear cyclic variation of the rotation has been found for examinated epoch but some monotonic trends for some time intervals are presented.A detailed investigation of the original data and their correlation functions has shown that an existence of sufficiently reliable tracers is not evident for the whole set of examinated data. This should be taken into account in future more precise estimations of the green corona rotation period.

Electing the Senate

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy J. Schiller ◽  
Charles Stewart III
Keyword(s):  
Original Data ◽  
State Legislators ◽  
Internal Conflict ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Senate Elections ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Seventeenth Amendment ◽  
The People ◽  
Election Process

From 1789 to 1913, U.S. senators were not directly elected by the people—instead the Constitution mandated that they be chosen by state legislators. This radically changed in 1913, when the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving the public a direct vote. This book investigates the electoral connections among constituents, state legislators, political parties, and U.S. senators during the age of indirect elections. The book finds that even though parties controlled the partisan affiliation of the winning candidate for Senate, they had much less control over the universe of candidates who competed for votes in Senate elections and the parties did not always succeed in resolving internal conflict among their rank and file. Party politics, money, and personal ambition dominated the election process, in a system originally designed to insulate the Senate from public pressure. The book uses an original data set of all the roll call votes cast by state legislators for U.S. senators from 1871 to 1913 and all state legislators who served during this time. Newspaper and biographical accounts uncover vivid stories of the political maneuvering, corruption, and partisanship—played out by elite political actors, from elected officials, to party machine bosses, to wealthy business owners—that dominated the indirect Senate elections process. The book raises important questions about the effectiveness of Constitutional reforms, such as the Seventeenth Amendment, that promised to produce a more responsive and accountable government.

scholarly journals The Trade and Environment Debate: Relevant for Southern Agriculture?

1994 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary A. Marchant ◽  
Nicole Ballenger
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Standards ◽  
Trade And Environment ◽  
Agricultural Producers ◽  
International Debate ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Environment Policy ◽  
Know How ◽  
Trade Measures

AbstractThis paper introduces and briefly discusses the economics of two important trade and environment policy issues--international harmonization of environmental standards and the use of trade measures for environmental purposes. Both issues are likely to generate lively international debate among environmentalists, industry representatives, and trade negotiators over the next few years. As the international community seeks new multilateral rules in these areas, agricultural producers will want to know how they will be affected. Thus, this paper also examines the potential impacts of environmental policy on the competitiveness of commodities unique to the Southern region of the United States.

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