Public Provision of Goods and Services under Cost Uncertainty: The Government’s Bureaucratic Organization

The digital transition is a challenge that developed countries are currently facing. The transition process is associated with different degrees of uncertainty, which are particularly relevant for changes that have to do with the provision of goods and services produced by public administrations. Our paper uses a partial equilibrium model to study the effects of uncertainty on the public provision of goods and services produced by bureaucratic agencies, including the incentive of the government to consolidate production. We assume that bureaucratic agencies may play either a cooperative game with each other and a non-cooperative game against the government (i.e., a consolidated bureaucracy) or a non-cooperative game with each other and against the government (i.e., competing bureaus). Both the government and the bureaus face tradeoffs between maximizing the electorate preferences and extracting some political and/or bureaucratic rents. We find that a cooperative (competitive) bureaucratic solution depends on the nature of the goods produced. We find that costs’ uncertainty affects the level of public production and the way the policymakers extract their rents.

Models of Capitalism, Institutions and Corporate Social Responsibility

The purpose of the paper is to show that the differences in the level of CSR involvement between countries result from the distinct institutional environments characteristic for the different models of welfare capitalism. These models vary in terms of how the institutional arrangements determine the form and level of public provision of social services such as health care, pensions, education and social assistance. It is argued that companies operating under stronger institutional pressure occurring in countries with an extensive welfare state model are less likely to engage in voluntary provision of social services. In contrast, when companies operate in countries with a relatively minor role of the state in creating and redistributing well-being and a relatively low institutional pressure in this regard, their chances of involvement in socially responsible activities are greater.

Two Scenarios for Sustainable Welfare: A Framework for an Eco-Social Contract

More nation states are now committing to zero net carbon by 2050 at the latest, which is encouraging, but none have faced up to the transformation of economies, societies and lives that this will entail. This article considers two scenarios for a fair transition to net zero, concentrating only on climate change, and discusses the implications for contemporary ‘welfare states’. The first is the Green New Deal framework coupled with a ‘social guarantee’. I argue that expanded public provision of essential goods and services would be a necessary component of this strategy. The second scenario goes further to counteract runaway private consumption by building a sufficiency economy with ceilings to income, wealth and consumption. This would require a further extension of state capacities and welfare state interventions. The article provides a framework for comparing and developing these two very different approaches.

The constitutionality of default arbitration

<p>A proposed Bilateral Arbitration Treaty would subject international commercial disputes between enterprises in signatory states’ jurisdictions to arbitration unless the parties agreed to the contrary. This marks a substantial departure from conventional understandings of arbitration as based on the consent of the parties. More importantly, the policy would modify the jurisdiction of the courts, removing a large number of disputes to offshore tribunals subject to minimal judicial oversight. This paper explores the constitutional propriety of such a policy, with particular attention paid to the principles of the separation of powers, the rule of law, public provision of essential State functions, open justice, and democracy. These constitutional principles would be subverted if the policy were to operate within the existing regulatory framework for arbitration. The paper makes recommendations for possible modifications to the policy that would make it a better fit with the constitution.</p>

The constitutionality of default arbitration

<p>A proposed Bilateral Arbitration Treaty would subject international commercial disputes between enterprises in signatory states’ jurisdictions to arbitration unless the parties agreed to the contrary. This marks a substantial departure from conventional understandings of arbitration as based on the consent of the parties. More importantly, the policy would modify the jurisdiction of the courts, removing a large number of disputes to offshore tribunals subject to minimal judicial oversight. This paper explores the constitutional propriety of such a policy, with particular attention paid to the principles of the separation of powers, the rule of law, public provision of essential State functions, open justice, and democracy. These constitutional principles would be subverted if the policy were to operate within the existing regulatory framework for arbitration. The paper makes recommendations for possible modifications to the policy that would make it a better fit with the constitution.</p>

Liberalisation of trade in education services : the implications of GATS for education in New Zealand, especially pertaining to primary and early childhood education

<p>This paper situates trade in education services in the broader debates regarding the marketisation of education in New Zealand. It conducts a critical appraisal of the ideological influences on policy decisions to explore potential implications of GATS for the New Zealand education system. This discussion considers GATS in terms of the particular ideological and political project that underpins it. Market principles were introduced into New Zealand education fifteen years ago with the policies that rapidly and radically transformed the administration of the education system. These reforms, derived from neo-liberal economic discourse and New Right ideology, directly challenged the fundamental principles of equity, access and free public provision - ideals that had embedded education in its social context and relations, and structured education policy in New Zealand for the previous 50 years. Redefining education as a detached commodity traded in an education marketplace, and driven by imperatives of efficiency, profitability and "consumer choice", created the environment necessary for expanding international education markets. Trade in education services is New Zealand's fourth largest export earner. This research involves a review and analysis of literature to explore possible influences and implications of market and trade imperatives on the provision of primary and early childhood education services. In particular it discusses issues of equity, access, and the influences which shape the values and culture of education. It argues that prioritising commercial over social principles distorts the (traditional) role of education in terms of nation-building, identity formation, and the promotion of democratic values and citizenship. This is an exploratory and even speculative paper, raising issues and questions that can only be answered by full and open discussion involving all stakeholders and informed by comparative research. Acknowledging the tensions between the proponents of different perspectives and views it urges more open debate about where are we going with the ongoing and future role of education in New Zealand society.</p>

Liberalisation of trade in education services : the implications of GATS for education in New Zealand, especially pertaining to primary and early childhood education

<p>This paper situates trade in education services in the broader debates regarding the marketisation of education in New Zealand. It conducts a critical appraisal of the ideological influences on policy decisions to explore potential implications of GATS for the New Zealand education system. This discussion considers GATS in terms of the particular ideological and political project that underpins it. Market principles were introduced into New Zealand education fifteen years ago with the policies that rapidly and radically transformed the administration of the education system. These reforms, derived from neo-liberal economic discourse and New Right ideology, directly challenged the fundamental principles of equity, access and free public provision - ideals that had embedded education in its social context and relations, and structured education policy in New Zealand for the previous 50 years. Redefining education as a detached commodity traded in an education marketplace, and driven by imperatives of efficiency, profitability and "consumer choice", created the environment necessary for expanding international education markets. Trade in education services is New Zealand's fourth largest export earner. This research involves a review and analysis of literature to explore possible influences and implications of market and trade imperatives on the provision of primary and early childhood education services. In particular it discusses issues of equity, access, and the influences which shape the values and culture of education. It argues that prioritising commercial over social principles distorts the (traditional) role of education in terms of nation-building, identity formation, and the promotion of democratic values and citizenship. This is an exploratory and even speculative paper, raising issues and questions that can only be answered by full and open discussion involving all stakeholders and informed by comparative research. Acknowledging the tensions between the proponents of different perspectives and views it urges more open debate about where are we going with the ongoing and future role of education in New Zealand society.</p>

GAP FILLERS OR PIONEERS: INFORMAL WATER SUPPLIERS IN PERI-URBAN AREAS OF THE TECHIMAN MUNICIPALITY OF GHANA

There is continuous expansion and growth of urban and peri urban areas in Sub-Saharan Africa with projections indicating that this will double. Some peri-urban areas such as those in the Techiman municipality of Ghana are experiencing this trend. Nonetheless, the spate of growth of these areas outstrips the supply of utilities by municipal water distribution networks. As a result, some areas have little or no public provision. In order to address the water supply challenge, places with favourable hydrological settings are witnessing the emergence of informal water suppliers as “gap fillers” or “pioneers”, providing water services. Noteworthy, however, existing studies about informal water suppliers in peri-urban areas in Ghana lump them together, without considering the water source. This study differs in that it specifically examines the evolution and the features of informal water suppliers who privately and independently abstract and supply groundwater. Additionally, it attempts to understand the nature of informality of the suppliers and the possibility of formalisation. The paper is an exploratory study using the case of private mechanised borehole operators who supply water in their respective areas. The findings showed that in some peri-urban areas in the Techiman municipality, some dwellers constructed and operated mechanised boreholes, which provide in-situ water and utilities to others. They are mostly pioneer water suppliers in some of the areas. Their services are informal by nature because they are largely independent of the formal sector and apply informal arrangements in rendering their services. Seen also as business enterprises, they are not licenced. However, the boreholes are registered with the Municipal Assembly, which indicated some level of formalisation. The study recommended that efforts to formalise them further should focus on improving water quality monitoring for consumption and promoting sustainable abstraction.

“Do We Not Bleed?” Sanitation, Menstrual Management, and Homelessness in the Time of COVID

Although access to adequate sanitation is formally recognized as a basic human right, public toilets have long been flagged as absent necessities by groups marginalized by class, gender, race, and ability in the United States. Navigating public spaces without the guarantee of reliable restrooms is more than a passing inconvenience for anyone needing immediate relief. This includes workers outside of traditional offices, people with medical conditions, caretakers of young children, or anyone without access to restroom amenities provided to customers. This absence is also gendered in ways that constrain the freedom of those who menstruate to participate in the public sphere. Managing menstrual hygiene requires twenty-four-hour access to safe, clean facilities, equipped for washing blood off hands and clothing and mechanisms for discreet disposal of used menstrual products. Public provision of such amenities is woefully inadequate in New York City (NYC), and homeless women especially bear the brunt of that neglect. Public health concerns about open defecation, coupled with feminist complaints that their absence restricted women’s ability to be out in public, catalyzed state investment to construct public toilets in the late 1800s. By 1907, eight had been built in NYC near public markets, and by the 1930s, the city built and renovated 145 comfort stations. However, changing public perceptions, vandalism, maintenance costs, and the City’s fiscal crisis in the 1970s all combined to reduce their numbers and degrade their quality. Public pay toilets provided a brief respite before falling victim to protest by feminists, who were rightly dismayed by policies that required payments for public usage of toilets but not for urinals. Supply deteriorated, and by 2019, NYC ranked ninety-third among large U.S. cities in per capita provision of public toilets. The remaining facilities are inadequately maintained and poorly monitored. The absence of public toilets poses an everyday challenge, but public health emergencies bring the need for public toilets into clear focus––as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, which eliminated publicly accessible bathrooms in both private and public settings. That said, the effects of COVID on bathroom availability disproportionately affected those who were unable to heed the public health message to shelter at home––mobile “essential workers” and individuals experiencing homelessness. Homelessness advocates have long complained that civic toilet scarcity amounts to de facto entrapment, turning biological necessities into “public nuisances” for want of appropriate facilities. Criminalizing public urination and defecation in the absence of public facilities punishes the existence of individuals experiencing homelessness and challenges outreach workers’ efforts to gain their trust. With women increasingly prominent among those living on the streets or in shelters, this scarcity also impedes managing menstruation. Default reliance on private business is no answer for anyone defying passable “customer” profiles. Nor does the recent success of NYC’s “menstrual equity” efforts in schools, prisons, and shelters, with their primary focus on supplying menstrual products, suffice to cover the daytime needs of those on the move.

Neoliberalism

Neoliberalism is an international, transdisciplinary, and interdisciplinary concept with political, economic, and social dimensions. Neoliberalism is a governing rationality based on market logic that protects free markets by reducing business regulations, restricting citizen and resident welfare state protections, and increasing welfare state discipline. This entails three dimensions: First, neoliberalism consists of economic governing principles to benefit free markets both globally and domestically to the advantage of corporations and economic elites. Second, this includes concurrent state governing principles to limit welfare state protections and impose disciplinary governance so service users will be individually responsible and take up precarious work. A third component is neoliberal governmentality—the ways neoliberalism shapes society’s members through the state to govern themselves as compliant market actors. Neoliberalism is at its core a political reasoning, organizing society around principles of market rationality, from governance structure to social institutions to individual behavior in which individuals should behave as responsible and accountable market actors. Among its central tenets are that individuals should behave as independent responsible market actors; the social welfare state should be downsized and delegated to lower levels of government; and public welfare should be privatized, marketized, and commodified. While neoliberal policy design sets public provision parameters, its signature tool is to govern through state public administration. New public managerialism is a common example, as is managerialism more generally; they both borrow business management principles and apply them to the management of all aspects of social services. Because of its prescriptive nature, there is concern that neoliberalism dictates practice, threatening professional authority of social workers and challenging the implicit trust the public puts in professions. Writ large, there are concerns about democracy itself as neoliberalism works against the will of the people and collective responses to social problems. Resistance to neoliberalism is growing and early examples are provided.