Alternative Institutional Designs Research Articles

Governance of local food systems: Current research and future directions

Social, economic, and environmental concerns have boosted interest in local food systems as well as alternative or transitional models of food production, distribution, and consumption. Recent studies suggest that more attention is needed to uncover aspects of the governance of these transitional models. In this systematic literature review, we attempt to close this gap by reviewing 55 papers from 2010 to 2020. Using frameworks borrowed from the public administration literature on collaborative governance, we explore the main elements of collaborative governance, including leadership, collaboration processes, starting conditions, and institutional designs. We then suggest opportunities for future research in the study of local food systems. The literature also accounts for key factors that facilitate or make collaboration difficult. Our findings indicate that the local food systems literature is rich in descriptions of actors and alternative institutional designs. However, far less research addresses leadership in local food supply chains and how we should measure outcomes. We conclude with suggestions for further research.

Modeling Alternative Collaborative Governance Network Designs: An Agent-Based Model of Water Governance in the Lake Champlain Basin, Vermont

AbstractWith the widespread use of collaborative governance mechanisms for mitigating water pollution, an opportunity exists to test alternative institutional designs based on collaborative governance theory using computer simulation models, particularly when there is a clear relationship between governance networks, observable resource allocation decisions, and measurable outcomes. This is especially the case for wicked problems like nonpoint source water pollution where there are compelling questions regarding how best to design policies, allocate funds, and build administrative capacity to meet water quality standards. We present an agent-based model (ABM) of water governance for the Lake Champlain Basin to simulate the impacts of alternative collaborative governance arrangements on the development of suites of water quality projects. The ABM is connected or coupled with land use and phosphorus load accumulation models that are informed by existing hydrologic models, project datasets, and state-set load reduction targets. We find that regionally arranged collaborative governance in water quality project planning and implementation can lead to better water quality outcomes, thereby affirming one of the central premises of collaborative governance regime theory. We also find that externally mandated collaboration, as opposed to voluntary, self-initiated collaboration, can lead to better water quality outcomes, adding to our understanding of which type of collaborative governance arrangement is best suited to the specific contexts of this case. Further, without adequate administrative capacity in the form of human resources located in central network actors to manage project funds, “administrative bottlenecks” may form and money can go unspent. This research demonstrates the efficacy of using simulations of alternative institutional design for theory testing and tuning, and policy prototyping.

Post-contentious politics and Iran's first ecovillage

ABSTRACTThe existing scholarship on alternative institutional designs around environmental issues mostly focuses on ideals, goals and practices of these designs. It remains unclear under which circumstances these initiatives emerge and expand. Moreover, those scholars who address the emergence and expansion of these initiatives focus on examples which are located in advanced industrialised societies. It remains unclear why and how these alternative institutions emerge in non-industrialised societies and countries which have not gone through the same growth path as their advanced industrialised counterparts. Consequently, transformative implication of these initiatives for broader social change in non-advanced industrialised societies has not been explored. In this paper, I show that in Iran the emergence of these alternative designs should be understood within the context of post-contentious politics. I present original research on a cooperative that embraces an alternative lifestyle and whose aim is to create Iran's first ecovillage. This case study discusses one kind of response to the contraction of space for civil society and environmental non governmental organisations in Iran. The paper adds to our understanding of the interplay between democratisation processes and environmental activism.

Against Global Parliament

AbstractExperimentation is often thought to be a key quality of any legitimate democratic system. Employing global parliamentary proposals as a heuristic, this article suggests that top‐down models for global democratization – proffered by liberal cosmopolitans and world government scholars – may create path‐dependencies which foreclose options for experimenting with alternative institutional designs in the future. Drawing upon historical institutionalism, the structure, sequence, and setting of top‐down proposals are outlined to show how experimentation with other forms of democracy may be constrained in problematic ways. Following this assessment, the article suggests that striving for democratic values under a pluralist arrangement of global governance may facilitate incremental institutional development and promote experimentation over time.

The emergence of attractors under multi-level institutional designs: agent-based modeling of intergovernmental decision making for funding transportation projects

Multi-level institutional designs with distributed power and authority arrangements among federal, state, regional, and local government agencies could lead to the emergence of differential patterns of socioeconomic and infrastructure development pathways in complex social---ecological systems. Both exogenous drivers and endogenous processes in social---ecological systems can lead to changes in the number of "basins of attraction," changes in the positions of the basins within the state space, and changes in the positions of the thresholds between basins. In an effort to advance the theory and practice of the governance of policy systems, this study addresses a narrower empirical question: how do intergovernmental institutional rules set by federal, state, and regional government agencies generate and sustain basins of attraction in funding infrastructure projects? A pattern-oriented, agent-based model (ABM) of an intergovernmental network has been developed to simulate real-world transportation policy implementation processes across the federal, the state of Vermont, regional, and local governments for prioritizing transportation projects. The ABM simulates baseline and alternative intergovernmental institutional rule structures and assesses their impacts on financial investment flows. The ABM was calibrated with data from multiple focus groups, individual interviews, and analysis of federal, state, and regional scale transportation projects and programs. The results from experimental simulations are presented to test system-wide effects of alternative multi-level institutional designs, in particular different power and authority arrangements between state and regional governments, on the emergence of roadway project prioritization patterns and funding allocations across regions and towns.

Economics and Environmental Markets: Lessons from Water-Quality Trading

Water-quality trading is an area of active development in environmental markets. Unlike iconic national-scale air-emission trading programs, water-quality trading programs address local or regional water quality and are largely the result of innovations in water-pollution regulation by state or substate authorities rather than by national agencies. This article examines lessons from these innovations about the “real world” meaning of trading and its mechanisms, the economic merits of alternative institutional designs, utilization of economic research in program development, and research needed to improve the success of environmental markets for water quality.

On the Evasion of Executive Term Limits

Executive term limits are pre-commitments through which the polity restricts its ability to retain a popular executive down the road. But in recent years, many presidents around the world have chosen to remain in office even after their initial maximum term in office has expired. They have largely done so by amending the constitution, sometimes by replacing it entirely. The practice of revising higher law for the sake of a particular incumbent raises intriguing issues that touch ultimately on the normative justification for term limits in the first place. This article reviews the normative debate over term limits and identifies the key claims of proponents and opponents. It introduces the idea of characterizing term limits as a variety of default rule to be overcome if sufficient political support is apparent. It then turns to the historical evidence in order to assess the probability of attempts (both successful and unsuccessful) to evade term limits. It finds that, notwithstanding some high profile cases, term limits are observed with remarkable frequency. The final section considers alternative institutional designs that might accomplish some of the goals of term limits, but finds that none is likely to provide a perfect substitute. Term limits have the advantage of clarity, making them relatively easy constitutional rules to enforce, and they should be considered an effective part of the arsenal of democratic institutions.

Negotiating Around Tradeoffs: Alternative Institutional Designs for Climate Finance

The primary question addressed in this paper is: How would different governance priorities affect the institutional arrangements for a credible financing mechanism in the climate regime? The paper argues that tradeoffs are inevitable in climate finance negotiations, so it is important to recognise them upfront and organise negotiations around the priorities that different sets of countries identify. Such a process would generate alternative institutional designs, each offering a different balance of voice in governance, scale of funding, and timely action. Arunabha Ghosh is CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), India. He is also an Associate at the Global Economic Governance Programme, Oxford; Faculty Associate at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Oxford; and Associate Fellow at the Governance of Clean Development Project at the University of East Anglia.

Carbon Banks

Carbon sequestration is one of the options that can be used to reduce atmospheric carbon, but its use in an offset market is complicated by the temporary nature of sequestered carbon and the risks associated with carbon release and price. In this paper a carbon bank is proposed to handle these problems. The bank is both an aggregator and a risk bearer. Sink generators deposit their credits with the bank and are paid for maintaining their "savings" with the bank. The carbon bank is also the source where large-scale emitters can come and buy either a temporary or permanent credit and pay the bank in return for the credit and services provided. The advantages of the bank over alternative institutional designs include lower transaction costs, flexible carbon credits and price, and lower risk to risk-averse parties. The carbon bank could be an effective means to deal with many of the unresolved issues within the forthcoming Canadian offset system.

Unequal Partners: Cost-Benefit Analysis and Executive Review of Regulations

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has oversight responsibilities for implementation of two of the most controversial and significant developments in administrative rulemaking over the past 30 years. OIRA both acts as the eyes and ears of the President for purposes of overseeing the regulatory process and serves as the guardian of economic analysis in the rulemaking process. While the role of cost-benefit analysis in determining regulatory outcomes remains controversial, support for presidential oversight over rulemaking has grown considerably. This paper looks at the interaction between executive oversight and cost-benefit analysis in the rulemaking process. I argue that OIRA's mission in implementing executive oversight is often not compatible with its mission as an advocate for economic analysis. When such instances of incompatibility occur, the political preferences of the president dominate over analytical concerns. If executive oversight has overshadowed economic analysis, it would explain why requirements for economic analysis have not led to more cost effective regulations. Advocates of a greater role for economic analysis in regulatory decisionmaking need to examine whether alternative institutional designs for implementing such analysis would better serve their aims.

Citizenship, identity and immigration in the European Union: between past and future

European citizenship, identity and immigration are constitutive issues facing the European polity and have important consequences for domestic political systems. This study, of citizenship within the setting of the nation-state and comparative immigration policies, concentrates on their theorization in a post-national, post-statist context, such as the EU, and on alternative European institutional designs. By blending normative political theory with European integration, this volume develops an original theoretical framework for European Union citizenship, identity and immigration as well as a set of policy proposals for institutional reform. Challenging the conventionally held views in these areas, the author argues that a constructive model of European citizenship and identity is vital to the construction of a democratic, heterogeneous and inclusive European polity. The book shouldappeal to academics and political actors concerned with issues of European governance as well as to undergraduate and postgraduate students of European politics, European integration, European Union Law, political theory and sociology.

Institutional designs for long-term stewardship of nuclear and hazardous waste sites

Within the borders of the United States reside numerous nuclear and hazardous waste sites that will pose risks to humans and ecosystems for many centuries, and in some cases several millennia. This paper evaluates several designs for an institution to act as the steward for these sites. To offer lessons learned about the characteristics of long-lasting human institutions, several that have existed for hundreds and thousands of years are reviewed, including the Dominican monastic order, the Sangha community of Buddhist monks, and universities such as those located in Oxford and Paris. Six alternative institutional designs are evaluated over a set of four evaluation criteria. It is recommended that the United States establish a new type of secular nonprofit institution, entitled The Stewardship Institution, to act as steward for the sites. This option is judged most able to focus on the mission of stewardship, meet its technical challenges, survive inevitable periods of political and economic instabilities, and meet current generation cost and implementation concerns. Other institutions considered include a consolidated national stewardship organization, a religious organization, and a new state of the union called the Legacy State.

Reinventing the Pentagon: How the New Public Management Can Bring Institutional Renewal

As the Cold War winds to an end, cuts in the military budget are a certainty. This new fiscal reality presents a difficult, long-term, highly complex managerial challenge. It calls for solving serious problems of organization and control, managing relationships with suppliers, and choosing between alternative institutional designs. If defense spending is to be reduced without enfeebling the military, the Pentagon must make major changes in the way it does business - it must restructure, decentralize, and trim away the fat. Reinventing the Pentagon provides the solutions to many of the restructuring problems the Department of Defense now faces. Fred Thompson and L. R. Jones take the key concepts of the new public management - streamlining controls; implementing mission-driven, results-oriented budgets; creating more flexible and responsive hiring systems; and more - and tell how to organize the Pentagon to make these reforms work. Using specific applications of the new public management, the authors show how to align the Department of Defense's organizational strategy with its structure; redesign governance relationships between its mission centers and their suppliers; adjust individual and organizational self-interest to the objectives of national defense; implement responsibility budgets; replace rules and regulations with incentives; use competition and market mechanisms rather than administrative solutions, and more. Reinventing the Pentagon outlines the changes in the Pentagon's personnel, accounting, and financial management practices - as well as in the congressional appropriations, authorization, and oversight process - that are needed to make mission-driven, results-orientedbudgeting a reality.

The Limitations of Legal Institutions For Addressing Environmental Risks

This article assesses the major systems of environmental liability in the United States—the toxic tort system and Superfund. The discussion of each of these areas first lays out the scientific background of the environmental problems and the applicable regulatory regime. It then analyzes the efficacy of these regimes for addressing environmental problems and suggests alternative institutional designs for better promoting the goals of equitable and cost-effective compensation of disease victims and efficient deterrence and remediation of environmental degradation.