The Governance of Public Pensions: An Institutional Framework

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. T. Matkin ◽  
Gang Chen ◽  
Hina Khalid
Keyword(s):  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Institutional Framework ◽  
Public Pensions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Pension Systems ◽  
Retirement System ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Lagged Effects ◽  
Pension Governance

Prior studies of public pensions emphasize the effect of the political economy on the performance of pension systems. We argue that this approach overlooks important institutional features of pension governance and fails to account for endogenous, indirect, and lagged effects. In this article, we describe those limitations and develop an institutional framework to explain the complexity of public pension governance. We identify and discuss critical environmental conditions, formal institutions, and the causal pathways between institutions and pension performance. We also use a case study of the Florida Retirement System to illustrate the explanatory power of the institutional framework.

scholarly journals A Teoria da Autonomia de Hélio Jaguaribe: um teste à luz da Política Externa Independente de Jânio Quadros (1961-1962)

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fábio Santino Bussmann
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Theory Test

Esse artigo analisa o poder explicativo da Teoria da Autonomia de Hélio Jaguaribe em relação aos momentos indubitavelmente autônomos da Política Externa Brasileira (PEB). Isso foi feito mediante o estudo de caso, em forma de teste de teoria, da Política Externa Independente (PEI) do governo Jânio Quadros, que é representativa desses momentos. O estudo de caso foi realizado por meio da análise de conteúdo no programa de pesquisa Nvivo. O argumento resultante da análise realizada é o de que a Teoria da Autonomia tem o potencial de explicar de forma mais precisa e estruturada os momentos de autonomia da PEB do que arranjos conceituais usados atualmente no estudo dos referidos momentos da PEB, já que a PEI, de forma representativa, evidencia objetivos referenciados a uma visão estrutural-hierárquica do cenário internacional, no campo político-econômico.Palavras-chave: Teoria da Autonomia, Política Externa Independente, Política Externa Brasileira.ABSTRACT:This article analyzes the explanatory power of Helio Jaguaribe's Theory of Autonomy in relation to the undoubtedly autonomous moments of Brazilian Foreign Policy (BFP). This was done through a case study, in the form of a theory test, of the Independent Foreign Policy (IFP) of the Jânio Quadros government, which is representative of these moments. The case study was conducted through content analysis in the Nvivo research program. The argument resulting from the analysis is that the Autonomy Theory has the potential to explain in a more precise and structured way the moments of autonomy of the BFP than the conceptual arrangements currently used in the study of the referred moments of the BFP, since the IFP, in a representative way, shows objectives referenced to a structural-hierarchical vision of the international scenario, in the political-economic field.Keywords: Autonomy Theory, Independent Foreign Policy, Brazilian Foreign Policy.Recebido em: 29 jan. 2019 | Aceito em: 03 dez. 2019. 

scholarly journals The political economy of corruption in Brazil

1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 26-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Fernandes da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Institutional Framework ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Institutional Environments ◽  
Institutional Evolution ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Interpretation

This article is the first part of a research on corruption in Brazil and it is theoretical. Despite this, it provides an economic interpretation of corruption using Brazil as a case study. The main objective of this research is to apply some microeconomic tools to understand the "big corruption"�. However, I am going to show that corruption is not simply a kind of crime. Rather, it is an ordinary economic activity that arises in some institutional environments. Firstly, some corruption cases in Brazil will be described. This article is aimed at showing that democracy itself does not ensure control over corruption. Secondly, I am going to do a very brief survey of institutional changes and controls over corruption in some Western Societies in which I am going to argue that corruption, its control and its illegality depend on institutional evolution by streamlining the constitutional and institutional framework. Thirdly, I am going to explain how some economic models could be adopted for a better understanding of corruption. Finally, I will present a multiple-self model applied to the public agent (politician and bureaucrat) constrained by institutions and pay-off systems.

scholarly journals ‘FOR THEMISTOCLES OF PHREARRHIOI, ON ACCOUNT OF HONOUR’: OSTRACISM, HONOUR AND THE NATURE OF ATHENIAN POLITICS

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Matteo Barbato
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Institutional Framework ◽  
The Political ◽  
Athenian Democracy ◽  
Competition And Cooperation ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
The One ◽  
Politically Active

Abstract This article offers a new interpretation of the Athenian institution of ostracism and explores its significance for our understanding of democratic politics. A popular scholarly trend interprets ostracism as an instrument for pursuing (or regulating) conflict among aristocratic politicians, in accordance with a view of Athenian democracy as dominated by a restricted elite competing for power and prestige. This article aims to reassess this picture by investigating ostracism in the light of recent studies of honour, which have stressed honour's potential for balancing competition and cooperation within communities. By using the ostracism of Themistocles as a case study, it argues that ostracism was a manifestation of an institutionalized concern for honour in Athenian democracy. On the one hand, ostracism could punish politically active citizens who, in excessively enhancing their own honour, failed to respect democratic equality. On the other, it could be employed for tackling shameful behaviour which placed the agent below the community's standards of honour. The article then sets ostracism against Athens’ broader institutional framework and argues that Athenian democracy was not so much concerned with policing intra-elite conflict as much as it was designed to foster a balance between competitive and cooperative values and ensure broad participation in the political domain.

Kämpfe um Bergbau und die Möglichkeiten demokratischer Transformation

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (189) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Dietz
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Political Effects ◽  
Mining Project ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Relationship

The article explores the political effects of popular consultations as a means of direct democracy in struggles over mining. Building on concepts from participatory and materialist democracy theory, it shows the transformative potentials of processes of direct democracy towards democratization and emancipation under, and beyond, capitalist and liberal democratic conditions. Empirically the analysis is based on a case study on the protests against the La Colosa gold mining project in Colombia. The analysis reveals that although processes of direct democracy in conflicts over mining cannot transform existing class inequalities and social power relations fundamentally, they can nevertheless alter elements thereof. These are for example the relationship between local and national governments, changes of the political agenda of mining and the opening of new spaces for political participation, where previously there were none. It is here where it’s emancipatory potential can be found.

2018 Fiji Election Results: Patterns of Voting by Provinces, Rural-Urban Localities, and by Candidates

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruo Nakagawa
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
The Political ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Election Results

Akin to the previous, 2014 event, with no data on voter ethnicity, no exit polls, and few post-election analyses, the 2018 Fiji election results remain something of a mystery despite the fact that there had been a significant swing in voting in favour of Opposition political parties. There have been several studies about the election results, but most of them have been done without much quantitative analyses. This study examines voting patterns of Fiji’s 2018 election by provinces, and rural-urban localities, as well as by candidates, and also compares the 2018 and 2014 elections by spending a substantial time classifying officially released data by polling stations and individual candidates. Some of the data are then further aggregated according to the political parties to which those candidates belonged. The current electoral system in Fiji is a version of a proportional system, but its use is rare and this study will provide an interesting case study of the Open List Proportional System. At the end of the analyses, this study considers possible reasons for the swing in favour of the Opposition.

Islamic and Jewish Religious Feminists Tackle Islamic and Jewish Oral Law: Maintenance and Rebellion of Wives

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-63
Author(s):  
Ruth Roded
Keyword(s):  
State Policy ◽  
Political System ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Jewish Law ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Parallel Case ◽  
First Time

Beginning in the early 1970s, Jewish and Muslim feminists, tackled “oral law”—Mishna and Talmud, in Judaism, and the parallel Hadith and Fiqh in Islam, and several analogous methodologies were devised. A parallel case study of maintenance and rebellion of wives —mezonoteha, moredet al ba?ala; nafaqa al-mar?a and nush?z—in classical Jewish and Islamic oral law demonstrates similarities in content and discourse. Differences between the two, however, were found in the application of oral law to daily life, as reflected in “responsa”—piskei halacha and fatwas. In modern times, as the state became more involved in regulating maintenance and disobedience, and Jewish law was backed for the first time in history by a state, state policy and implementation were influenced by the political system and socioeconomic circumstances of the country. Despite their similar origin in oral law, maintenance and rebellion have divergent relevance to modern Jews and Muslims.

Language Movement and Civil War in West Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ericka A. Albaugh
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Language Spread ◽  
The 1960S

This chapter examines how civil war can influence the spread of language. Specifically, it takes Sierra Leone as a case study to demonstrate how Krio grew from being primarily a language of urban areas in the 1960s to one spoken by most of the population in the 2000s. While some of this was due to “normal” factors such as population movement and growing urbanization, the civil war from 1991 to 2002 certainly catalyzed the process of language spread in the 1990s. Using census documents and surveys, the chapter tests the hypothesis at the national, regional, and individual levels. The spread of a language has political consequences, as it allows for citizen participation in the political process. It is an example of political scientists’ approach to uncovering the mechanisms for and evidence of language movement in Africa.

An Intersectional Approach to the “Mobility Trap” That Ensnares Migrant Youth in China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaorong Gu
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Urban China ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Life Chances ◽  
Migrant Youth ◽  
Political Economic

This essay explores the theory of intersectionality in the study of youths’ lives and social inequality in the Global South. It begins with an overview of the concept of intersectionality and its wide applications in social sciences, followed by a proposal for regrounding the concept in the political economic systems in particular contexts (without assuming the universality of capitalist social relations in Northern societies), rather than positional identities. These systems lay material foundations, shaping the multiple forms of deprivation and precarity in which Southern youth are embedded. A case study of rural migrant youths’ ‘mobility trap’ in urban China is used to illustrate how layers of social institutions and structures in the country’s transition to a mixed economy intersect to influence migrant youths’ aspirations and life chances. The essay concludes with ruminations on the theoretical and social implications of the political-economy-grounded intersectionality approach for youth studies.

Traditionalism and politics: A case study of Northern Nigeria

1967 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. O. Dudley
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
High Time ◽  
The Political ◽  
Northern Nigeria ◽  
The North ◽  
The Right

In the debate on the Native Authority (Amendment) Law of 1955, the late Premier of the North, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto, replying to the demand that ‘it is high time in the development of local government systems in this Region that obsolete and undemocratic ways of appointing Emirs’ Councils should close’, commented that ‘the right traditions that we have gone away from are the cutting off of the hands of thieves, and that has caused a lot of thieving in this country. Why should we not be cutting (off) the hands of thieves in order to reduce thieving? That is logical and it is lawful in our tradition and custom here.’ This could be read as a defence against social change, a recrudescence of ‘barbarism’ after the inroads of pax Britannica, and a plea for the retention of the status quo and the entrenched privilege of the political elite.

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