From Weber to Kafka: Political Instability and the Overproduction of Laws

With inefficient bureaucratic institutions, the effects of laws are hard to assess and incompetent politicians may pass laws to build a reputation as skillful reformers. Since too many laws curtail bureaucratic efficiency, this mechanism can generate a steady state with Kafkaesque bureaucracy. Temporary surges in political instability heighten the incentives to overproduce laws and can shift the economy towards the Kafkaesque state. Consistent with the theory, after a surge in political instability in the early 1990s, Italy experienced a significant increase in the amount of poor-quality legislation and a decrease in bureaucratic efficiency. (JEL D72, D73)

Jacobitism, Coastal Policing, and Fiscal-Military Reform in England after the Glorious Revolution, 1689–1702

Customs activity during the 1690s has mainly been studied from a fiscal-military perspective that attributes administrative growth and bureaucratic efficiency to the rise of fiscal necessities in the wake of the Nine Years’ War. This article challenges that view with a focus on the one truly momentous change of the Customs during the 1690s: the establishment of a preventive coastal police. Changes in the Customs were occasioned not primarily by fiscal concerns but resulted from the government's preoccupation with Jacobitism and the successful lobbying of Parliament by the wool interest. As the politics of the wool ban before 1689 demonstrate, coastal policing was a losing bargain in fiscal terms and mainly reflected the interests of certain sections of the merchant community. Fiscal pressures alone do not, therefore, explain the fundamental reform of the Customs in the wake of the Glorious Revolution. The beginnings of systematic coastal policing are instead linked to the rise of Parliament and anti-Jacobite precautions of William III's government. The article offers a new, coherent picture of such changes and calls into question the validity of a central assumption about the rise of the fiscal-military state in Britain after the Glorious Revolution, suggesting a more complicated explanation for fiscal reforms.

A Perspective on Administrative Distance, Theoretical Development and Measurement

The conceptualization of administrative distance exists for over 20 years. Despite its ubiquity, we found an unsatisfactory theoretical and practical depth when it comes to its operationalization, and studies that narrow onto its development are scarce. We have set, therefore, to improve both the theoretical scope and measurement of administrative distance. We achieved this using an inductive approach, which allowed us to infer from observed results, such observation suggesting the addition of the variables in the Doing Business Report, as they capture a previously omitted and relevant aspect of administrative distance: bureaucratic efficiency. We use a reference model, featuring a panel random-effects regression, as a benchmark for the study of our proposal. We achieve an improved model with a significantly higher explanatory capacity while observing that the new measure is both significant and independent from the existing administrative distance measure, being complementary. This work opens several avenues for future research, having meaningful consequences for the development of better institutional distance models.

A Perspective on Administrative Distance, Theoretical Development and Measurement

The conceptualization of administrative distance exists for over 20 years. Despite its ubiquity, we found an unsatisfactory theoretical and practical depth when it comes to its operationalization, and studies that narrow onto its development are scarce. We have set, therefore, to improve both the theoretical scope and measurement of administrative distance. We achieved this using an inductive approach, which allowed us to infer from observed results, such observation suggesting the addition of the variables in the Doing Business Report, as they capture a previously omitted and relevant aspect of administrative distance: bureaucratic efficiency. We use a reference model, featuring a panel random-effects regression, as a benchmark for the study of our proposal. We achieve an improved model with a significantly higher explanatory capacity while observing that the new measure is both significant and independent from the existing administrative distance measure, being complementary. This work opens several avenues for future research, having meaningful consequences for the development of better institutional distance models.

Akuntabilitas Kinerja Bidang Pertamanan DISPERKIM Kota Malang dalam Mewujudkan Good Governance

The purpose of this paper is to describe the embodiment of performance accountability in DISPERKIM Parks Sector, Malang City. This paper is also based on the development concept of performance measurement from Speklé & Verbeeten (2014) through three indicators of operational use, incentive use, and explanatory use. The results of this study are: a) Operational use: in organizational operational planning and preparation of budget allocations is strongly influenced by institutional restructuring and the influence of regional heads in determining bureaucratic efficiency; b) Incentive use: the number of employees namely 214 people can only reach the target of 78.45%, so it’s not surprising that Malang City still receives accountability reports in the BB category; and c) Explanatory use: in the formulation of strategy and communication’s goal, the head of the department and the chief of sector are only limited to reviewing every quarter only, meaning there is no subordinate involvement in the formulation of strategy. For strategy and learning management it’s known that Parks Sector minimizes program and activity budgets, so that it’s used as a reference in observing budget absorption

Does bureaucracy affect the outcome of logistics performance? Empirical evidence from South Asia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop and test theory-driven hypothesis on trade costs’ effect of logistics performance (LP) and bureaucratic efficiency, primarily from SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe paper develops hypothesis based on the review of the literature and theory linking LP, trade costs and institutions. The authors test the hypothesis using secondary data sources: World Bank-UNESCAP trade costs database, World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and Political Risk Service's Political Risk Rating. Fixed-effect approach is used to test the hypothesis.FindingsThe influential role of bureaucratic quality on relationship between LPI and South Asian trade costs (inter-SAARC and intra-SAARC) is evident. The results also point out that bureaucratic quality also conditions the effect of different dimensions of LPI on South Asian trade costs. Further, it is found that bureaucratic inefficiency mitigates the effects of LPI on South Asia's trade costs with its proximate trading partners APEC (Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation) and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations).Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis is conducted using short span of data. With the availability of long span of data, the understanding of the relationship studies in this paper will improve.Practical implicationsThe results suggests policymakers to improve bureaucratic efficiency for utilizing the full potential effect of LPI in deceasing trade costs. The study inspires businesses to act and advocate in favor of reforms in governance system.Originality/valueThis paper is among the first, which investigates the possibility that the relationship between LPI and trade costs depends on the bureaucratic efficiency. It provides a more detailed description of the LPI-trade costs relationship.

The battle of numbers: Refugee protection, race, and Neoliberal politics of bureaucratic efficiency

This paper examines the early years of systematic refugee claim processing in Canada to explore the ways neoliberal bureaucratic practices rely on and (re)produce racialization in their day to day operations. I argue that due to the rise of neoliberalism, systematic refugee protection in Canada has come to exclude claimants who have borne the label of economic migrant. Furthermore, I argue that the exclusion of economic migrants from refugee protection has been a racialized and racializing project. The institutional procedures that worked to exclude these migrants inherited, drew upon, and reproduced racialized knowledges about certain national groupings. Racialization of economic migrants provided the claim processing bureaucracy with quick and efficient means of screening large numbers of claimants out of their workload. Thus, I argue that neoliberal governance of refugee claims in Canada has been a racialized and racializing bureaucratic practice. El artículo examina los primeros años de proceso sistemático de solicitudes de asilo en Canadá para explorar la forma en que las prácticas burocráticas neoliberales se apoyan en, y (re)producen, la racialización en sus actividades cotidianas. Argumento que, debido al auge del neoliberalismo, la protección sistemática a los refugiados en Canadá ha terminado excluyendo a solicitantes que llevan la etiqueta de migrantes económicos, y que la exclusión de los migrantes económicos de la protección a los refugiados ha sido un proyecto racializado y racializante. Los procedimientos institucionales que han servido para excluir a dichos migrantes heredan conocimiento racializado sobre determinados grupos nacionales. La racialización de los migrantes económicos ha proporcionado a la burocracia de procesamiento de solicitudes unos medios rápidos y eficaces de excluir a numerosos solicitantes del sistema. Por tanto, argumento que la gobernanza neoliberal de solicitudes de asilo en Canadá ha sido una práctica burocrática racializada y racializante.

THE PHENOMENON OF PICKING UP BALLS IN THE PPDB PROCESS (PHENOMENOLOGY STUDY OF PICKING UP FOOTBALL AT SMK SIANG 1 BOJONEGORO)

Private educational institutions have various methods of recruiting students according to school needs. In general, these schools prefer to implement PPDB (New Student Admissions) with the "pick up ball" method, rather than taking PPDB Online. PPDB "pick the ball" is a method of recruiting students that is followed by all school units including, educators and students. They go directly to the field to find and pick up students. So, not only students who come to the school to register, but the school will pick up prospective students. This research is a qualitative study using the Alfred Schutz phenomenology approach. Max Weber's theory of social action as the analysis knife of this research. The focus of this research study is the SMK Siang 1 Bojonegoro school unit. The selection of informants was done purposively. Data obtained through observation, indepth interview, and documentation. The results of the study, SMK Siang 1 Bojonegoro has several reasons for "picking up the ball", including: maintaining school prestige, eliminating negative stereotypes, competition between schools, increasing economic capital, bureaucratic efficiency, and the existence of a communal culture in the Bojonegoro community. There are two strategies used to make "pick the ball" successful. Hegemony strategy, actors act on the basis of franchise principles, seen from the side of efficiency and effectiveness alone. Meanwhile, the actor's Social Capital strategy acts based on moral and religious values.

A case study of government and civil societies’ collaboration and challenges in securing the rights of Congolese refugees living in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Several South African focused studies have identified the numerous challenges faced by refugees in securing their legal rights to employment, education, health care, etc. There is a need therefore to investigate the extent to which such challenges are conterminous with bureaucratic institutions (such as government departments) limitations in fully implementing the refugee policy. In cognisance of the many shortcomings associated with state-assisted integration models, we examined how bureaucratic efficiency (in the provisioning of refugee rights) can be achieved, i.e. the feasibility of instituting dependency partnerships between the state and civil society. A case study based interpretive research design technique was adopted, drawing from one focus group discussion with Congolese refugees and face-to-face in-depth interviews with three purposively selected NGO representatives. We used two theoretical perspectives, namely the theory of monopolisation and Weber’s theory on bureaucracy, to analyse how bureaucratic arrangements can negatively impact on the implementation of the refugee policy and consequently on the refugees’ quality of life and standard of living in their host country. We identified that primary cultural factors, amongst others, unruly practices, social closure, and institutional biases widen the chasm between the formulation of a progressive refugee policy and its efficient implementation. The setting up of human rights education interventions and dependency partnerships is recommended as a means of improving bureaucratic efficiency in the transfer or implementation of refugee social protections.