scholarly journals The political economy of mass transit infrastructure investments in the greater Toronto area

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Hon Wa Au

Politicians in the Greater Toronto region have announced major regional and local transit infrastructure investments in recent years. While benefits of enhanced facilities are recognized, experts interviewed assert that projects were identified and justified more predominantly by political preferences, and rarely on objective, expert evidence; while the public also become frustrated with the inability to provide feedback, as well as to witness the delivery of results. Given limitations in funding and attractiveness of alternative funding tools and structures of governance, experts advocate honest, open examination of all feasible ways to plan, implement and deliver transit. In the end, the resulting structure must be effective, progressive and responsive to changing needs. For Toronto, these include improving customer service, facilities, funding and labour management.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommy Hon Wa Au

Politicians in the Greater Toronto region have announced major regional and local transit infrastructure investments in recent years. While benefits of enhanced facilities are recognized, experts interviewed assert that projects were identified and justified more predominantly by political preferences, and rarely on objective, expert evidence; while the public also become frustrated with the inability to provide feedback, as well as to witness the delivery of results. Given limitations in funding and attractiveness of alternative funding tools and structures of governance, experts advocate honest, open examination of all feasible ways to plan, implement and deliver transit. In the end, the resulting structure must be effective, progressive and responsive to changing needs. For Toronto, these include improving customer service, facilities, funding and labour management.


2021 ◽  
pp. 205789112199169
Author(s):  
Kana Inata

Constitutional monarchies have proved to be resilient, and some have made substantive political interventions even though their positions are mostly hereditary, without granted constitutional channels to do so. This article examines how constitutional monarchs can influence political affairs and what impact royal intervention can have on politics. I argue that constitutional monarchs affect politics indirectly by influencing the preferences of the public who have de jure power to influence political leaders. The analyses herein show that constitutional monarchs do not indiscriminately intervene in politics, but their decisions to intervene reflect the public’s preferences. First, constitutional monarchs with little public approval become self-restraining and do not attempt to assert their political preferences. Second, they are more likely to intervene in politics when the public is less satisfied about the incumbent government. These findings are illustrated with historical narratives regarding the political involvement of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in the 2000s.


2020 ◽  
pp. e1-e8
Author(s):  
Michael Harvey

The “political economy of health” is concerned with how political and economic domains interact and shape individual and population health outcomes. However, the term is variously defined in the public health, medical, and social science literatures. This could result in confusion about the term and its associated tradition, thereby constituting a barrier to its application in public health research and practice. To address these issues, I survey the political economy of health tradition, clarify its specifically Marxian theoretical legacy, and discuss its relevance to understanding and addressing public health issues. I conclude by discussing the benefits of employing critical theories of race and racism with Marxian political economy to better understand the roles of class exploitation and racial oppression in epidemiological patterning. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print December 22, 2020:e1–e8. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305996 )


Author(s):  
Luna Bellani ◽  
Heinrich Ursprung

The authors review the literature on the public-choice analysis of redistribution policies. They restrict the discussion to redistribution in democracies and focus on policies that are pursued with the sole objective of redistributing initial endowments. Since generic models of redistribution in democracies lack equilibria, one needs to introduce structure-inducing rules to arrive at a models whose behavior realistically portrays observed redistribution patterns. These rules may relate to the economic relationships, political institutions, or to firmly established preferences, beliefs, and attitudes of voters. The chapter surveys the respective lines of argument in turn and then present the related empirical evidence.


Archaeologia ◽  
1840 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward A. Bond

The object of the accompanying Paper is to draw attention to a series of financial transactions which, although intimately connected with our early history, and essential to its faithful development, have hitherto found no place in its pages. Political economy was the science most remote from the speculations of our chroniclers; nor had they, commonly, such an acquaintance with the affairs of the Exchequer as qualified them to transmit to us a correct exposition of the wealth and resources of the country. We are not surprised therefore to find their statements with regard to the revenue inaccurate and meagre; but we are at a loss to account for their silence respecting the Italian money-lenders who, as it will appear, were the main supporters of the King in periods of financial embarrassment, and who, everywhere dispersed throughout the kingdom, must have very beneficially influenced the commercial and even the political condition of the country, by an example of superior enterprise and intelligence, by their connexions with foreign governments, and by the immense capital which they introduced and circulated. This deficiency is supplied by the Public Records; and consequently the evidence which they yield becomes of interest and value. We find in them a vein of history, as it were, hitherto unexplored; and all that I have now attempted, is to present a sample of its produce.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document