Foreign Policy and Empirical Democratic Theory

This paper compares the research on the determinants of domestic policy outcomes, primarily in American state governments, with similar research in the area of foreign policy. Using seven foreign policy measures, it then tests a hypothesis based on Cutright's cross-national analysis of social insurance programs, that political representativeness is more important in accounting for policy outcomes among developed than among undeveloped nations. Finally, it suggests what implications the reported findings may have on empirical democratic theory.

Download Full-text

The Political Economy of Religion and Social Insurance in the United States, 1910–1939

Studies in American Political Development ◽

10.1017/s0898588x06000071 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 132-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Kenneth Scheve ◽

David Stasavage

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Political Economy ◽

Social Insurance ◽

Critical Role ◽

Income Redistribution ◽

The United States ◽

Policy Outcomes ◽

The Political ◽

State Governments ◽

Individual Preferences

There are few scholars who would disagree with the proposition that individual economic position and economic risk play a critical role in shaping preferences for income redistribution and social insurance. There is less consensus, however, about the extent to which non-economic factors also influence individual preferences regarding social insurance provision. A number of scholars have examined how issues of race and identity have influenced the development of social insurance programs in the United States, as well as individual attitudes with respect to these programs. In a theoretical context, other authors have considered how attitudes toward income redistribution might also depend upon psychological dispositions such as the “belief in a just world.” In this article, we focus on religiosity as an important factor that can shape both individual preferences and policy outcomes regarding social insurance in the United States. To do so, we develop an argument about religion and social insurance as substitutes that draws both on existing work on the political economy of social insurance and on findings in social psychology regarding what we call the “coping effect” of religion. We test our hypothesis using historical evidence from two early social insurance policies: workers’ compensation legislation enacted by state governments between 1910 and 1930 and New Deal unemployment relief.

Download Full-text

Beyond indices: The potential of fuzzy set ideal type analysis for cross-national analysis of policy outcomes

Policy and Society ◽

10.1016/j.polsoc.2013.10.003 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 303-317 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

John Hudson ◽

Stefan Kühner

Keyword(s):

Fuzzy Set ◽

Ideal Type ◽

Policy Outcomes ◽

Type Analysis ◽

National Analysis ◽

Cross National

Download Full-text

Sudden stop: When did firms anticipate the potential consequences of COVID-19?

German Economic Review ◽

10.1515/ger-2020-0139 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Lukas Buchheim ◽

Carla Krolage ◽

Sebastian Link

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

High Frequency ◽

Domestic Policy ◽

County Level ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Policy Changes ◽

Sudden Stop ◽

School Closures ◽

Potential Sources ◽

Policy Measures

Abstract COVID-19 hit firms by surprise. In a high frequency, representative panel of German firms, the business outlook declined and business uncertainty increased only at the time when the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic led to domestic policy changes: The announcement of nation-wide school closures on March 13 was followed by the largest change in business perceptions by far. In contrast, the data provides no evidence for the relevance of other potential sources of information on business perceptions: Firms did not learn from foreign policy measures, even if they relied on inputs from China or Italy. The local, county-level spread of COVID-19 cases affected expectations and uncertainty, albeit to a much lesser extent than the domestic policy changes.

Download Full-text

South Africa’s Economic Role in Africa

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192894199.013.50 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 418-440

Author(s):

Mills Soko ◽

Mzukisi Qobo

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Foreign Policy ◽

Domestic Policy ◽

Policy Outcomes ◽

African Region ◽

Economic Interests ◽

Economic Role ◽

Policy Performance ◽

Economic Diplomacy ◽

Southern African Region

South Africa’s expansion into Africa since the dawn of democracy has mostly been a product of a series of deliberate domestic and foreign policy decisions implemented by successive post-apartheid governments. By prioritizing the ‘African Agenda’, South Africa has sought to harness its representation at the helm of continental institutions into meaningful foreign policy outcomes, including economic diplomacy objectives. South Africa has largely succeeded in fulfilling the goals outlined in its foreign policy and in the ‘African Agenda’. Nonetheless its actions, especially in the context of the enactment of the Protocol on Trade in the Southern African region, has also undermined the economic interests of its regional neighbours. The extent to which South Africa will be able to sustain its foreign policy performance in Africa in the future will depend on how far it weighs its domestic policy pressures with its continental obligations, on how it responds to and accommodates the economic concerns of its regional neighbours, and on how it manages African perceptions of the country.

Download Full-text

Corrupt Actions and Forest Loss: A Cross-National Analysis

International Journal of Social Science Studies ◽

10.11114/ijsss.v6i10.3534 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (10) ◽

pp. 23

Author(s):

Jamie M Sommer

Keyword(s):

Holistic Approach ◽

Ordinary Least Squares ◽

Forest Loss ◽

Middle Income ◽

Different Types ◽

Policy Measures ◽

National Analysis ◽

Cross National ◽

Low And Middle Income ◽

Petty Corruption

Extant literature documents the negative environmental impacts of corruption on forest loss. More recently, research has shown that both grand and petty corruption are associated with higher levels of forest loss in low- and middle-income nations. However, the extant research neglects to assess how different types of grand and petty corruption impact forest loss. To address the gap in the literature, this article differentiates the effect of various types of corrupt actions on forest loss. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression for a sample of 87 low- and middle-income nations from 2000 is used to test if grand corrupt actions, namely embezzlement and bribes, and petty corrupt actions including theft and corrupt exchanges are related to increased forest loss. The dependent variable uses satellite forest data from 2001 to 2014. Results show that embezzlement, bribes, theft, and corrupt exchanges all impact forest loss, which suggests that policy measures to curb corruption should take a holistic approach to corruption, rather than rely on individual interventions.

Download Full-text

Supplemental Material for Do Needs for Security and Certainty Predict Cultural and Economic Conservatism? A Cross-National Analysis

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology ◽

10.1037/a0036170.supp ◽

2014 ◽

Keyword(s):

National Analysis ◽

Cross National

Download Full-text

Capitalising upon Globalisation

10.3366/edinburgh/9781474423564.003.0003 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

David M. Webber

Keyword(s):

Political Economy ◽

Foreign Policy ◽

International Development ◽

Macroeconomic Policy ◽

Domestic Policy ◽

Policy Decisions ◽

Gordon Brown ◽

Development Policies ◽

At Home

Having mapped out in the previous chapter, New Labour’s often contradictory and even ‘politically-convenient’ understanding of globalisation, chapter 3 offers analysis of three key areas of domestic policy that Gordon Brown would later transpose to the realm of international development: (i) macroeconomic policy, (ii) business, and (iii) welfare. Since, according to Brown at least, globalisation had resulted in a blurring of the previously distinct spheres of domestic and foreign policy, it made sense for those strategies and policy decisions designed for consumption at home to be transposed abroad. The focus of this chapter is the design of these three areas of domestic policy; the unmistakeable imprint of Brown in these areas and their place in building of New Labour’s political economy. Strikingly, Brown’s hand in these policies and the themes that underpinned them would again reappear in the international development policies explored in much greater detail later in the book.

Download Full-text

In Quest of a Second Boom

Contemporary Arab Affairs ◽

10.1525/caa.2018.000015 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1-2) ◽

pp. 257-278 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shirzad Azad

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Middle East ◽

Crucial Role ◽

Gulf Cooperation Council ◽

East Region ◽

Personal Motivation ◽

Policy Measures ◽

The Republic ◽

Middle East Region ◽

Different Parts

In spite of her troubled presidency at home and premature, ignominious exit from power, Park Geun-hye made serious attempts to bolster the main direction of the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) foreign policy toward the Middle East. A collaborative drive for accomplishing a new momentous boom was by and large a dominant and recurring theme in the Park government’s overall approach to the region. Park enjoyed both personal motivation as well as politico-economic justifications to push for such arduous yet potentially viable objective. Although the ROK’s yearning for a second boom in the Middle East was not ultimately accomplished under the Park presidency, nonetheless, the very aspiration played a crucial role in either rekindling or initiating policy measures in South Korea’s orientation toward different parts of a greater Middle East region, extending from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to Morocco.

Download Full-text