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Distributive Justice

Allen Buchanan

in Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination: Moral Foundations for International Law

This chapter grapples with the most controversial topic in the discourse of human rights: distributive justice. The chief questions to be addressed are (1) whether a justice‐based international legal ... More

This chapter grapples with the most controversial topic in the discourse of human rights: distributive justice. The chief questions to be addressed are (1) whether a justice‐based international legal order should include rights of distributive justice (sometimes called social and economic rights) for individuals that exceed the right to the means of subsistence that is already widely recognized in international and regional human rights instruments, and (2) whether international law should recognize not only individuals but collectivities such as states or “peoples” or nations as having rights of distributive justice. To situate these questions, the chapter begins by considering alternative explanations for widespread skepticism about the possibility that distributive justice can have a significant place in the international legal order. The remaining sections of the chapter discuss: I. The Place of Distributive Justice in International Law; II. Reasons for Rejecting a Prominent Role for Distributive Justice in International Law Today; III. Deep Distributive Pluralism; IV. Societal Distributive Autonomy; and V. Institutional Capacity and Lack of Political Will.Less

Pension Design: The Options

Nicholas Barr

in The Welfare State as Piggy Bank: Information, Risk, Uncertainty, and the Role of the State

This chapter sets out the wide range of options for pension design – funded or Pay‐As‐You‐Go, public or private, defined‐contribution or defined‐benefit – drawing on economic theory, the experience ... More

This chapter sets out the wide range of options for pension design – funded or Pay‐As‐You‐Go, public or private, defined‐contribution or defined‐benefit – drawing on economic theory, the experience of different countries, and analysis of public and private institutional capacity constraints. Though the options vary in the form and extent of state involvement, even the most private arrangements require continuing government involvement, notably to ensure macroeconomic stability, to enforce contributions, and to ensure regulation of financial markets; and if reducing uncertainty is an objective – addressing inflation, pooling risks within a generation and across generations – the role of the state is to that extent larger.Less

The Challenges of Business Leadership: CEOs and the Case of the Business Council of Australia  

Stephen Bell

in Dispersed Democratic Leadership: Origins, Dynamics, and Implications

Business leaders are assumed to play an important role in the national leadership of liberal democracies, an idea supported by major political theories. Pluralists have focused on the often ... More

Business leaders are assumed to play an important role in the national leadership of liberal democracies, an idea supported by major political theories. Pluralists have focused on the often fragmented nature of business interests and point to the competing interests as they highlight the challenges of collective action that business leaders may have to confront in politics. This chapter discusses the capacity and power resources that business leaders bring to the task of exerting national influence or leadership and the impediments or constraints that these leaders have to deal in politics as well as the level of engagement they have with governments. As the chapter reveals answers to the inquiry, it also exposes how the operation of business influence and leadership in Australia is compromised by various institutional and ideological factors.Less

Complexity, Capacity, and Collective Decisions

Derek A. Epp

in The Structure of Policy Change

This chapter introduces the three hypotheses that are tested in this book. Each hypothesis argues that lawmakers can process information more completely under a given set of circumstances and that ... More

This chapter introduces the three hypotheses that are tested in this book. Each hypothesis argues that lawmakers can process information more completely under a given set of circumstances and that this influences patterns of policy change. The complexity hypothesis is that issues that are complicated for either natural or political reasons will be more vulnerable to policy punctuations than less complicated issues. The institutional capacity hypothesis is that government institutions can invest in policy analysis to help lawmakers sort through all of the information relevant to complex issues. Institutions that have a higher institutional capacity should produce policies that are less prone to major disruptions. Finally, the chapter discusses the difference between deliberative and collective decision-making procedures, hypothesizing that, given the right conditions, collective decision-making can allow lawmakers to process information at a very high level.Less

Duties to Prevent, Investigate, and Redress Human Rights Violations by Private Military and Security Companies: The Role of the Host State

Christine Bakker

in War by Contract: Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, and Private Contractors

This chapter examines the positive human rights obligations of the host states of private military and security companies (PMSCs). It considers the duties to prevent violations; to investigate them ... More

This chapter examines the positive human rights obligations of the host states of private military and security companies (PMSCs). It considers the duties to prevent violations; to investigate them and to prosecute their perpetrators; and to provide reparations to the victims. The lack of institutional capacities often precludes full compliance with these obligations, and military occupation or other forms of effective control by third states may give rise to extra-territorial application of human rights duties. The host state can be held accountable for violation of a positive obligation, when violations occur outside the scope of effective control by a third state, and where the institutional capacities are sufficiently developed to comply with at least some of these duties. The chapter argues that the human rights obligations of the host state must be implemented in a perspective of substantive complementarity with the obligations of the hiring state and the home state.Less

Institutional Capacity in the American States

Derek A. Epp

in The Structure of Policy Change

This chapter looks at budgeting across the fifty US states. It focuses on legislative professionalism—the amount of time lawmakers spend in session, the level of compensation lawmakers receive for ... More

This chapter looks at budgeting across the fifty US states. It focuses on legislative professionalism—the amount of time lawmakers spend in session, the level of compensation lawmakers receive for their service, and, finally, the degree to which lawmakers can take advantage of government research services. Some state legislatures are highly professionalized and closely resemble the US Congress, but others, like New Hampshire, are designed to attract part-time "citizen legislators." The chapter argues that states with more professionalized legislatures have higher levels of institutional capacity and are therefore better equipped to process and react to policy information. Consistent with this argument, quantile regressions show that states with more professional legislatures see fewer major budgetary disruptions.Less

Barriers to Service Provision: lessons learned from donor-supported early childhood development projects

Mary E. Young

in Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and Its Impact on Global Policy

Benefits of interventions to improve the development of young children (ages 0–6 years) are well-known. Despite an increased global awareness of the importance of early childhood development (ECD), ... More

Benefits of interventions to improve the development of young children (ages 0–6 years) are well-known. Despite an increased global awareness of the importance of early childhood development (ECD), we still have much to do. In developing countries, we must harness the science of ECD to scale up ECD policies and programs, but there are impediments to this implementation. This chapter reviews lessons learned from external donor-supported ECD projects in developing countries to identify key factors causing delays in implementation. The issues relate to the preparation, management and implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of projects. Two main conclusions are that attention to training of staff and all stakeholders at each stage of a project is indispensable to delivering effective high-quality services, and proper understanding of monitoring and evaluation—and support from the highest levels—are crucial. Continued fine-tuning of indicators to demonstrate the impact of ECD remains a research priority.Less

Instabilities in Federal Policy Making

Derek A. Epp

in The Structure of Policy Change

This chapter documents policy punctuations evident in the US federal budget. It develops a methodology for sorting programmatic areas of the US budget based on the complexity of underlying issues. ... More

This chapter documents policy punctuations evident in the US federal budget. It develops a methodology for sorting programmatic areas of the US budget based on the complexity of underlying issues. Similarly, the chapter introduces a measure of institutional capacity, and demonstrates that, based on this measure, the capacity of the federal government to process and respond to policy information has varied considerably over time. Using quantile regression techniques, the chapter shows that large budgetary changes (either sudden increases or dramatic cuts) are more likely in complex programmatic areas and less likely during periods of heightened institutional capacity. These relationship are statistically robust to the inclusion of potentially confounding factors in the regression models.Less

Neuroscience and Ideology: Why Science Can Never Supply a Complete Answer for Adolescent Immaturity

June Carbone

in Law and Neuroscience: Current Legal Issues Volume 13

For those who study adolescent development and the transition to adulthood, the lure of innovations in neuroscience is considerable. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) and CT scans offer the illusion ... More

For those who study adolescent development and the transition to adulthood, the lure of innovations in neuroscience is considerable. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) and CT scans offer the illusion of peering into the teen brain and discovering what many have long suspected — while all the parts are there, they are not necessarily fully connected. Innovations in neuroscience and adolescent decision-making say more about our existing decision-making processes than they do about the adolescents who are the subject of the decisions. This chapter argues that to resolve the issues about the role of neuroscience, we need to question the framework in which it arises. That is, the increasing complexity of scientific determinations raises issues of institutional capacity. Recognizing innovations in the science of adolescent development may change not so much our view of adolescence as the calculus underlying institutional functions. The chapter begins by describing the ‘lure of neuroscience’, that is, the promise and limitations of the scientific advances, comparing legal decision-making capacity in individual cases versus broader matters of constitutional doctrine or public policy, analysing the recent US Supreme Court decisions on the juvenile death penalty in such terms, and assessing the role of neuroscience in the different possible outcomes of that case.Less

Designing Responsive Institutions

Derek A. Epp

in The Structure of Policy Change

This chapter concludes the book by summarizing the key findings: issue complexity, institutional capacity, and decision-making procedures all have a major effect on the ability of institutions to ... More

This chapter concludes the book by summarizing the key findings: issue complexity, institutional capacity, and decision-making procedures all have a major effect on the ability of institutions to process information, and, consequently, on the structure of policy change. The chapter discusses ways that these findings can be utilized by practitioners and policy analysts to develop more responsive public institutions.Less

Exploring the impacts of Area-Based Initiatives through a neo-institutionalist perspective

Rene Peter Hohmann

in Regenerating deprived urban areas: A cross national analysis of area-based initiatives

The chapter provides the analytical framework for this cross-national comparison. Applying a neo-institutional lens, the Institutional Capacity Building Framework is presented to analyse and compare ... More

The chapter provides the analytical framework for this cross-national comparison. Applying a neo-institutional lens, the Institutional Capacity Building Framework is presented to analyse and compare the transformation and institutionalisation of social, political and intellectual capital during the implementation of both Area-based Initiatives.Less

Human Capital, Social Capital, and Institutional Capacity

Steve Rayner

in Linkages of Sustainability

This chapter elaborates the concepts of human capital, social capital, and institutional capacity in relation to environmental impact, economic development, and sustainable resource use. It also ... More

This chapter elaborates the concepts of human capital, social capital, and institutional capacity in relation to environmental impact, economic development, and sustainable resource use. It also discusses cultural theory, which suggests that understanding the degree of social differentiation within networks is essential to understanding social capital and its impact in resource management.Less

The Role of the Legislature

Aruna Sathanapally

in Beyond Disagreement: Open Remedies in Human Rights Adjudication

Chapter 2 examines what role the legislature might play relative to the courts when open remedies are employed, and prepares the ground for the analysis of the interaction between courts and ... More

Chapter 2 examines what role the legislature might play relative to the courts when open remedies are employed, and prepares the ground for the analysis of the interaction between courts and legislatures. It cogently and critically evaluates the development of, and debate over, the notion of ‘dialogue’ between courts and legislatures over fundamental rights, identifying two divergent understandings of dialogue. It presents two models that guide the analysis of declarations of incompatibility: specialisation (a process of adjustment of legislation between courts and legislatures, with each institution playing its own distinct, or specialised, role) and dual review (where judicial conclusions on human rights compliance are not treated as authoritative and binding, but rather provisional and open to disagreement). This chapter concludes by identifying a notable gap in the existing dialogue scholarship, namely, a tendency to focus on legislative output rather than interrogate the role and processes of the legislature itself.Less

Chinese and Russian Economies Since Reforms: Transformational Recession in Russia and Acceleration of Growth in China

Vladimir Popov

in Mixed Fortunes: An Economic History of China, Russia, and the West

Various explanations of the transformational recession are discussed and an alternative explanation is suggested: the collapse of output was caused primarily by several groups of factors, all of ... More

Various explanations of the transformational recession are discussed and an alternative explanation is suggested: the collapse of output was caused primarily by several groups of factors, all of which were linked to institutional capacity. First, by greater distortions in the industrial structure and external trade patterns on the eve of the transition: it was possible to overcome these distortions under the gradual transition strategy, but under shock therapy a deep recession was inevitable. Gradualism, in turn, was possible only with a strong institutional capacity. Second, by the collapse of state and non-state institutions, which occurred in the late 1980s–early 1990s and which resulted in chaotic transformation through crisis management instead of organized and manageable transition. And third, by poor economic policies, which basically consisted of bad macroeconomic policy and import-substitution industrial policy. Strong institutional capacity was a necessary, although not a sufficient, condition for good policies.Less

Extending the Theoretical Argument: The Philippines and Vietnam

in The Institutional Imperative: The Politics of Equitable Development in Southeast Asia

This chapter, which compares equitable development in the Philippines and Vietnam, examines how the Philippines has historically been plagued by weak institutions that have denied it the potential ... More

This chapter, which compares equitable development in the Philippines and Vietnam, examines how the Philippines has historically been plagued by weak institutions that have denied it the potential for growth and equity. It describes how a highly institutionalized political party in Vietnam has successfully implemented social reforms that have created a relatively equitable society and stimulated economic growth without excessively exacerbating the distribution of income. The chapter suggests that the experiences of these two countries validate the role of institutional power and capacity in equitable development.Less

The FDCA as the Test for Truth of Promotional Claims

Christopher Robertson

in FDA in the Twenty-First Century: The Challenges of Regulating Drugs and New Technologies

Physicians often prescribe drugs and devices for “off-label” uses not reviewed or approved by the FDA, but the makers of those products are not allowed to promote those uses, as that would evince an ... More

Physicians often prescribe drugs and devices for “off-label” uses not reviewed or approved by the FDA, but the makers of those products are not allowed to promote those uses, as that would evince an intent contrary to their approved labels. This regulatory equilibrium is precarious under an expanding conception of the First Amendment, but such judicial and scholarly analyses turn on unwarranted presumptions about the truth of the manufacturers' promotional claims, a truth that is unknowable until tested by the FDA or courts.Less

Why Did the West Become Rich First? Why Are Some Developing Countries Catching Up, But Others Are Not?

Vladimir Popov

in Mixed Fortunes: An Economic History of China, Russia, and the West

The West exited the Malthusian trap by eliminating collectivist institutions. This led to an increase in inequalities, savings, and investment, but was associated with dramatic social costs in the ... More

The West exited the Malthusian trap by eliminating collectivist institutions. This led to an increase in inequalities, savings, and investment, but was associated with dramatic social costs in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. In the nineteenth to twentieth centuries, during the era of colonialism, this pattern was imposed on part of the developing world, where it resulted in an institutional vacuum— traditional, collectivist structures were destroyed, while new modern institutions did not take root, which led to even greater costs than several centuries before in the West. Other developing countries that managed to resist Westernization of their institutions, and to preserve institutional continuity as well as relatively low inequality (East and South Asia, Middle East), did not gain much in terms of economic growth before the mid 1900s, but were better positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities as soon as natural increases in productivity allowed an increase in savings rate.Less

Chinese and Russian Economies Under Central Planning: Why the Difference in Outcomes?

Vladimir Popov

in Mixed Fortunes: An Economic History of China, Russia, and the West

The socialist experiment of the twentieth century in these two countries was a reaction to the inequalities and social tensions created by the preceding Westernization. It led to a decrease in wealth ... More

The socialist experiment of the twentieth century in these two countries was a reaction to the inequalities and social tensions created by the preceding Westernization. It led to a decrease in wealth and income inequalities, in crime rates, and in the shadow economy. But the centrally planned economy could only work efficiently for 20–30 years—this may have been enough to restore collectivist institutions in China, but not in Russia. In Russia, creeping dismantling of community institutions had been going on since at least the seventeenth century; in China—only from the Opium Wars of the mid nineteenth century. What was a passing episode and deviation from the trend in Russia was a return to mainstream development and restoration of a long-term trend in China. Hence, economic liberalization from 1979 onwards in China, even though accompanied by growing income inequality, did not result—at least until today—in institutional collapse; in Russia the institutional capacity of the state fell dramatically.Less