The World Bank and Healthcare Reforms: A Cross‐National Analysis of Policy Prescriptions in South America

Recent literature on comparative welfare states has recognised the central role international financial institutions (IFIs) play in shaping social policy. Particularly in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), where constraints often lead to reliance on foreign resources, IFIs can act as agenda‐setters, transferring their ideas to vulnerable governments. The neoliberal model promoted by IFIs at the end of the 20th century reveals their influence on domestic policy in South America. This study analyses the impact of World Bank (WB) prescriptions on healthcare reform legislation in five South American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Paraguay, and Peru. In doing so, it attempts to answer the following questions: Are LMICs receptive to IFIs’ healthcare system prescriptions? More precisely, have WB policy prescriptions been adopted in healthcare reform legislation in South American countries? If so, in what way? Through content analysis, this study examines domestic healthcare legislation vis‐à‐vis the WB’s prescriptions. The main findings show that countries are receptive to IFIs prescriptions, making them a legitimate source of policy recommendations. Further, the results suggest a correlation between economic development and reliance on foreign resources and the degree to which countries adhere to IFIs prescriptions.

THE UYEZD CENTER OF THE VYATKA PROVINCE IN THE CONDITIONS OF ETHNOCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND URBAN REFORM OF THE 70s OF THE 19th CENTURY

The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the change in the attitude of domestic historians to the problem of self-governance of towns in pre-revolutionary Russia. The new vision is mediated by the influence of foreign historiography, the renewal of historical methodology, and a long period of forgetting the theme. Addressing to the study of the imperial period in the history of urban self-governance is also determined by modern trends: ongoing search for optimal structural models of current local authorities and a keen interest in the domestic experience in the formation of urban self-governance bodies in the conditions of the country’s capitalist development. The local aspect is interesting in the context of insufficient coverage of the preserved complex of historical sources. The article considers the activities of municipal self-governance bodies of Yelabuga, one of uyezd centers of the Vyatka province, during the period of the City Regulation of 1870. The main changes introduced by the new law in the organization and activities of local self-governance bodies are described, the weaknesses of the pre-reform legislation are identified, against the background of which the progressive nature of innovations is noted. The conclusion is made about providing the country’s towns with equal opportunities for further development. Special attention is paid to changing hiring rules of municipal self-governance bodies; the social composition of Yelabuga City Duma is examined, as well as its features that manifested in the predominance of the merchant class. The influence of the commercial and industrial population strata on the development of Yelabuga during the time under study is revealed. By a comparative analysis of mandatory resolutions of Yelabuga (Vyatka province) and Chistopol (Kazan province) City Dumas, the approaches of self-governance bodies of uyezd centers to conducting economic activities and regulating public relations are studied. The conclusion is formulated that the absence of compulsory (police) power reduced the effectiveness of the regulatory function performed by the City Dumas, but the use of the law-based right to develop and implement mandatory regulations gave positive results. The structure of municipal budgets determined by the Regulation of 1870 is examined, the incomes and expenses of Yelabuga are analyzed, the conclusion is made about limited budgetary rights of city authorities that led to infringement of public interests.

The Evident Need for Banking Reform in the Legal Marijuana Industry

Marijuana reform legislation has created a lucrative industry for legal marijuana on the local and state level in some jurisdictions. Federal laws have forced legal marijuana dispensaries to be cash-only businesses with limited banking options. The lack of normal banking services has also affected firms’ ability to manage profits earned from operations. Our hermeneutic phenomenological study was grounded by the conceptual framework of the motivations of humans and humans’ need to feel safe. The participants in this study were owners and operators in the legal marijuana industry in Colorado. Data were collected through interviews, although the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020 made data collection more challenging because of the added pressure on potential participants. The data analysis plan for this study consisted of transcribing and reviewing the data, coding themes and supporting themes, and synthesizing and reporting findings from the data collected. The study’s findings included the participants’ concerns about safety in their cash-only operations, their methods for conducting business, and the banking options available to them. Common themes that emerged from the interviews were cash, banking, safety, and the limitations of business size. Findings from my study contribute to fostering positive social change on the organization and industry level by providing accounts of how owners and operators navigate the banking dilemma in the legal marijuana industry.

The Evident Need for Banking Reform in the Legal Marijuana Industry

Marijuana reform legislation has created a lucrative industry for legal marijuana on the local and state level in some jurisdictions. Federal laws have forced legal marijuana dispensaries to be cash-only businesses with limited banking options. The lack of normal banking services has also affected firms’ ability to manage profits earned from operations. Our hermeneutic phenomenological study was grounded by the conceptual framework of the motivations of humans and humans’ need to feel safe. The participants in this study were owners and operators in the legal marijuana industry in Colorado. Data were collected through interviews, although the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020 made data collection more challenging because of the added pressure on potential participants. The data analysis plan for this study consisted of transcribing and reviewing the data, coding themes and supporting themes, and synthesizing and reporting findings from the data collected. The study’s findings included the participants’ concerns about safety in their cash-only operations, their methods for conducting business, and the banking options available to them. Common themes that emerged from the interviews were cash, banking, safety, and the limitations of business size. Findings from my study contribute to fostering positive social change on the organization and industry level by providing accounts of how owners and operators navigate the banking dilemma in the legal marijuana industry.

Current Scottish Land Reform and Reclaiming the Commons: Building Community Resilience

Scotland has been addressing the highest European concentrations of land ownership through land reform legislation, encouraging communities to buy out the lairds. Collective efforts to take ownership of the commons are explored through application of theories on governance, regional development and institutions. Experiences of Inner and Outer Hebridean islanders under private and then community ownership, paying special attention to the case of the Isle of Eigg, are considered. Their collective tenacity, flexibility and confidence in securing a community future despite continuing challenges to remote small island living are offered as keystone examples from Scotland of small island enterprise, social development and collective community actions.

Pematangan Demokrasi Melalui Transformasi Demokrasi

Kosakata ‘demokrasi’ menjadi bagian dari banyak bahasa besar didunia, padahal kata ‘demokrasi’ berasal dari bahasa Yunani: ‘ demokratia’; akar maknanya ‘demos’ yang berarti rakyat; dan ‘kratos’ yang berarti memerintah. Pada awalnya demokrasi dimaknai sebagai bentuk pemerintahan yang merupakan kebalikan dari bentuk monarkhi dan aristokrasi. Pada susunan masyarakat Yunani, Athena-lah yang memulai dan mngembangkan benih demokrasi modern dengan susunan polis-nya. Polis ini menjadi dasar tumbuhnya demokrasi modern, dan juga masyarakat negara. Para pendukung demokrasi memandang bahwa apa yang baik untuk individu, adalah juga yang baik untuk warga negara. Kedaulatan Rakyat sebagai sumber tertinggi dalam sistem pemerintahan negara, dan pelaksanaan kedaulatan rakyat ini dilakukan secara demokratis, dengan memperhatikan keseimbangan antara perlindungan hukum dan law enforcement (pemaksaan hukum) menjadi hak yang penting, terutama pada saat warga masyarakat berhadapan dengan institusi negara. Constitutional Reform ini mengandung legislation reform dan judicial reform. Legislation reform tidak hanya untuk pengaturan hal-hal baru, tetapi juga penyesuaian dari aturan-aturan yang sudah ada sebelumnya. Hukum yang di reformasi harus dibuat dengan cara aspiratif, lebih menjamin hak-hak rakyat, transparan, sehingga dapat mewujudkan keadilan. Adanya Constitutional Reform ini untuk mematangkan demokrasi yang masih belum menampakkan wujud sebenarnya dalam negara Indonesia yang negara hukum demokratis ini.

Models of procedural management of criminal prosecution in Russia and foreign countries

The article is devoted to the study of foreign and Russian models of procedural management of criminal prosecution. The authors propose general theoretical approaches that made it possible to conduct their systemic analysis and comparison. Prerequisites for the research: the necessity to reform legislation in terms of procedural management of criminal prosecution, optimize the distribution of procedural functions between the official subjects of criminal procedural activity. Purpose of the research: to create a theoretical model of procedural management of criminal prosecution based on historical and comparative-legal analysis of Russian and foreign structures. Results and novelty: An abstract (theoretical) model of managing criminal prosecution is a set of procedural parameters reflecting: 1) The coincidence of the head of the criminal prosecution and the subject who initiated it, or the absence of such a coincidence; 2) Unity or plurality of subjects of procedural management, their subordination; 3) The presence or absence of a combination of managerial powers with supervisory and control powers; 4) Correlation of the management with the procedural independence of the subject conducting the criminal prosecution; 5) The coincidence of the head of the criminal prosecution and the public prosecutor in one person; 6) Freedom and limits of disposal of the subject of criminal prosecution, and criminal action; 7) The powers of the head of the criminal prosecution to terminate the case and withdraw the charges. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the range of analyzed problems, taking into account the changes that occur in the field of criminal proceedings, as well as the need for an optimal distribution of powers in the procedural management of criminal prosecution.