Evolution Of Institutions Research Articles

State Policy in the Sphere of Education: Actual Problems of Theoretical Discussion

In modern science, despite the existing consensus regarding the role of the state in educational processes, a number of questions constantly arise related to methodological approaches to the analysis of the content of the concept of “public education”. The article presents the main aspects of the theoretical analysis of the role of the state in the development of education policy in a globalizing world. The processes associated with the formation of a system of mass education in various regions of the world are studied. The authors argue that public education systems with historically developed regional characteristics should be compared only by abstracting their distinctive features in order to identify criteria that can serve as measurement variables. The various assessments of neoliberal reforms in the field of education, which were initially focused on a deep restructuring of cultural, social, political and economic relations between the state, the market and society are also analyzed. The main aspects of critical analytics presented in the works of scientists who seek to reveal the true background and consequences of neoliberal educational policy are explored. Overcoming the neoliberal syndrome in theory and practice, ultimately, opens up new opportunities for theoretical analysis of the evolution of state education policy in the following promising areas: conceptual framework and methodological approaches to research on the ideological resources and practices of state reforms in the field of education; strategic analysis of the dynamics of educational policy in the modern world; the influence of education policy on the evolution of democratic institutions and many others.

Под сенью королей

The article is devoted to the problem of the relationship between monarchy and democracy, the question of whether the monarchical form of government is able to adapt to modern realities and how compatible it is with democracy. This problem is not well understood, and no new political theory has been developed on it since Walter Bagehot published his classic work “The English Constitution” about the British system of government in 1867. The phenomenon of the “northern kingdoms” is investigated, which lies in the fact that the kingdoms of Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have earned advanced positions in socio-economic development and evolution of democratic institutions and are at the top of the modern states’ development ratings. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that the leading positions of the northern monarchies in the evolvement of the political, and as a result, the socio-economic sphere are largely due to the high level of unity of the nation, in which the form of government of these states, the democratic constitutional monarchy, plays a decisive role. To confirm this research hypothesis, the work of Phillip Manow “In the Kings’ Shadow” is used. This work suggests a possible explanation of this phenomenon providing historical and political analysis of the transition of the nation’s political representation from the King to the parliament when moving from absolute monarchy to democracy. In constitutional monarchies, the monarch preserves in symbolical and representational form the concept of national cohesion and the nation’s common will removing it from the competitive field of politics, therefore, monoethnic northern kingdoms have a high level of solidarity and national unity “in the shadow of the king”. This significantly affects coherence and efficiency of the system of public authority and public institutions. Moreover, in constitutional monarchies, the Crown symbolizes and represents historical continuity, cultural and ethnic traditions and norms of behavior; representatives of monarchial dynasties can serve as more adequate role models than elected politicians.

Evolution of Panchayati Raj Institutions in India

Evolution of Panchayati Raj Institutions in India

Diaspora policy in Ethiopia: institutional dimension

The article touches upon the new branch of Ethiopian public policy – diaspora politics. This sphere is considered through the prism of the evolution of key state institutions designed to regulate the contacts of Ethiopian citizens and state with compatriots living abroad. The modern Ethiopian diaspora is a complex phenomenon given its multi-ethnic and multi-religious, geographically unevenly distributed composition. Moreover, its representatives do not always have legal status in a receiving country. Despite this, in recent decades, the Ethiopian authorities have done a lot to establish a dialogue with the diaspora and attract its resources for the social and economic development of the country. The study examines the main objectives of Ethiopia’s diaspora policy, the development of a system of state institutions in this field, the influence of different Ethiopian identities on the contacts of the Ethiopian government with the diaspora, the role of the diaspora in the inflow of foreign investment into the country, the main problems and difficulties hampering the effective interaction between the Government and the Ethiopian diaspora abroad. Conclusions on possible prospects of diaspora policy of Ethiopia at the present stage have been drawn.

Institutional Evolution of the Global Oil Market

The article analyzes the institutional stages of the development of the world oil market, conditioned by the dominant types of market structures (monopoly, oligopoly, perfect competition), the positions of the largest players, pricing methods.

The Different Angles of the European Democracy

The history of the institutionalised cooperation in Europe now looks back to more than seven decades. What differentiates this cooperation from other international organisations is the common heritage and destiny the European countries share and the community they have found in a high level of integration. However, since the very beginning of this cooperation, there have been debates about the best method and way to express common European positions. Part of this debate is the question of the democratic legitimacy of the Union institutions. As it is set out in Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union, democracy is not only a fundamental value of the Member States, but also an expectation towards the European Union. Even though the institutional setting of the European democracy has gone a long way in the past seven decades, the question of democratic legitimacy is still being one of the key subjects and future challenges within the framework of the currently ongoing discussions on the future of Europe. There is no shortage of reform proposals, nevertheless, the main debate has been rather one-sided as it envisions only one avenue to decrease the so-called “democratic deficit” and strengthen the European policy space. What is the function of democracy in the context of the European integration and how can it represent a European position or serve as a check over the Union institutions? What institutions could be able to create a bridge between the peoples of the Member States and the European institutions? This paper seeks to outline the different responses to these questions. To this end, it outlines the theoretical background and institutional evolution of democratic legitimacy in the European integration while seeks to evaluate the current proposals and envision the alternative ones.

Сложностно-ориентированная повестка дня для институциональной экономической теории

Institutional economics has been at the peak of its scientific capabilities long enough to reach midlife crisis. Despite its growing interdisciplinarity and other positive trends, the field is now struggling with the lack of “big ideas” and inertia of its methodological approaches. The article considers the potential of the complexity-oriented paradigm in institutional economic theory. Firstly, one of the promising avenues for future research is to focus on the institutions of digital capitalism. They are much more complex than the institutions of industrial society and their analysis requires a move beyond the reductionist perspective. Digital technologies are both transformational and institutional technologies, which makes them suitable for testing new complexity-centric approaches. Secondly, there is a number of methodological steps that could be taken in order to overcome the reductionist approaches, for example, reconsider the concept of institutional evolution in light of the paradigm of extended evolutionary synthesis or bring the human actor model in line with the enactivist (dynamic-interactionist) paradigm. Finally, there is an obvious need for a serious revision of the philosophical foundations of institutional analysis. The article puts forward new principles for studying economic institutions, based on the ideas of post-structuralism, actor-network theory, object-oriented ontology, social constructionism and performativity theory, process philosophy and enactivist philosophy of mind. Introducing these new perspectives to economics will help us expand institutionalist imagination and supplement the standard institutional methodologies with more advanced interdisciplinary approaches.

Social inquiry for higher education in Russia: Sociological context

The purpose of the work is to determine the characteristics of the social demand for higher education in Russia. The methodological basis of the research is built around the neo-institutional theory, namely D. North's theory of institutional evolution. A theoretical model of the social inquiry for higher education in Russia was developed; four factors with the greatest influence on the social demand were formulated: 1) social inertia; 2) market laws; 3) students' intentions; 4) fashion and trends. The research was conducted and the results of comprehension of features of the social demand for higher education in Russia were presented. The qualitative empirical research aimed at verification of the proposed model of the social inquiry along with the analysis and comparison of the importance of the formulated factors. The theoretical model of the social demand for higher education in Russia was developed; a comparison of concepts of the social inquiry was made.

La agricultura familiar, un enunciado con múltiples contenidos

Family farming is a form of production whose significance has developed according to different perspectives introduced by knowledge, shifting from a subsidized alternative, through a regional integration policy, to an expression of cultural and environmental biodiversity that enables sustainability. It earned a place in the political agenda at national, regional and global spheres, as an open concept characterized by the vulnerability of its actors, yet with the potential to become a real alternative for food production compatible with current environmental discourses. Its conceptualization has made its way, from social and political organizations contesting hegemonic positions, to the main agendas of international organizations. In Uruguay, the same process is taking place in terms of legal and institutional evolution. However, the implementation of these new agendas persists as a challenge. In this context, the need for a real appropriation of these policies by the actors directly linked to the territory to ensure their vindication arises.

The growth and evolution of higher educational institutions In India pertaining 19th to science education in the second half of the century and the early two 20th decades of the century

The growth and evolution of higher educational institutions In India pertaining 19th to science education in the second half of the century and the early two 20th decades of the century

The growth and evolution of higher educational institutions In India pertaining 19th to science education in the second half of the century and the early two 20th decades of the century

The growth and evolution of higher educational institutions In India pertaining 19th to science education in the second half of the century and the early two 20th decades of the century

From Family Household Economics to the Economic Theory of the Modern Family: Sesquicentennial Shifts in Ontology and Epistemology

The article is dedicated to the evolution of institutions of the household and the family, as well as their perception in economics from the nineteenth century to the present day. Modern academic literature largely preserves the notion of an undivided unity of family and household, which is inherited from the 19th century neoclassical economic thought and reflects the socio-economic realities that existed a century and a half ago. However, following the active emancipation of individuals from the traditional family in the West in the first half of the 20th century, the process of gradual disappearance of family households as one of the three major (along with the firm and the state) economic actors began. In modern western countries, the decision makers in the markets of labour, capital and consumer goods are no longer families, but independent individuals. Families do not disappear, but in western countries they are transformed into a kind of partner firms, whose members freely choose/change partners according to changing personal needs. This qualitative change in the nature of family unions was reflected in the 1980s in “the economic theory of the family” based on the approaches of Gary Becker and Robert A. Pollak, where the behaviour of sexual / marital partners is consistently likened to market behaviour. These trends of changing ontology and epistemology of the family as an economic entity are very important for understanding the capabilities and limitations of traditional family support policies manifested in modern Russia.

Reforming Institutions: Where to Begin?

Institutions promote growth—this view now holds firm ground. The task then is to ‘engineer’ growth promoting institutions. Endogeneity characterises institutions, for example, groups enjoying political power influence economic institutions but political power itself is a function of wealth. The question then is: what to reform first? History stands witness that generally the societies with extreme inequality and a heterogeneous population tend to evolve institutions that restrict access to economic opportunities for the poor which in turn constrains economic development. On the other hand societies with greater equality and homogeneous population typically enjoy growth-promoting institutions. Institutional reforms should therefore begin with institutions that serve to create or perpetuate inequality and heterogeneity in the society. We argue that the four different kinds of educational systems in operation in Pakistan are a major source of creating and perpetuating inequality and heterogeneity in the population. Access to a single and common educational system will open-up similar opportunities of higher education and job attainment for all the citizens, thereby reducing inequality. Diverse educational systems promote different sets of beliefs while a uniform system forges beliefconvergence in the society that in turn facilitates agreement on a common set of institutional reforms. Therefore it is the educational system that should be the first to reform. We also argue that in Pakistan, unlike some European countries in the 17th century, neither commercial interest nor fiscal constraints can force the de jure power to reform institutions. Typically, large commercial interests in Pakistan have thrived on favours from the de jure power and therefore have no interest in changing the system. Foreign aid eases the fiscal constraints from time to time relieving government of the need to reform institutions. The thought of a revolution of some kind is still a far cry, the society having no such inclination. The alternative then is the gradual approach preferred by North, Acemoglu and Rodrik. This gradual approach suggests the area of educational reforms. JEL classification: D02, D03, P16 Keywords: Institutional Evolution, Institutional Change, Human Behaviour

O publicație în inima actualității: Revista de Dreptul Familiei

: The Journal of Family Law is a publication with a legal profile, dedicated to family relations. The specialized topic concerns the institutions of family law, in their dynamics and in connection with the law of persons, the law of contracts, real rights, as well as with other fields of private and public law. The structure of the magazine resonates with the imperatives of judicial practice and with the requirements of interpreting the law in the literature. The practical and theoretical approaches have as obligatory landmarks the legislative and doctrinal novelties, in the Romanian law and in the comparative law. The analysis of the institutions is based on the practice of national courts and the binding case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union. Addressed to legal specialists, but also to all those interested in the evolution and interpretation of institutions, the Family Law Review is a useful tool for identifying viable solutions for the rigorous application of legal norms.

Spatial-temporal analysis of urban-rural differences in the development of elderly care institutions in China.

Aging is both a sign of rising life expectancy per capita and social progress, and a challenge for society. Due to the decline in physiological functions, the rate of illness has increased significantly, leading to a rise in demand for healthcare, life care and other elderly care. With the overlapping impact of an aging population, advanced aging, empty nesting families and the weakening of traditional elderly care functions, the issue of elderly care for the empty nesters, the elderly alone and the disabled has become more prominent and has become a focal point of concern for all sectors of society. As an important supplement to the elderly care service system, institutional care, together with home care, community care and rural care, are mutually complementary. The study establishes a panel database of urban and rural elderly-care institutions in 276 cities from 2010 to 2016, and uses comprehensive measurements to reveal the spatial-temporal changes of urban and rural elderly care institutions in China. First, in terms of spatial pattern, the overall score of elderly care institutions in urban areas shows a "double-high" spatial pattern of higher scores in coastal areas than inland areas, and higher scores in urban areas than in rural areas. In terms of the differences in the scores of secondary indicators, the eastern urban areas have higher scores than the rural areas for the indicators of facilities construction and nursing staff of elderly institutions, while the eastern rural areas have higher scores than their urban counterparts for the indicators of service recipients of elderly institutions. Second, in terms of temporal change, there is a clear "urban progress and rural regression" in the evolution of China's elderly care institutions. Third, in terms of spatial and temporal evolution, there is a clear spatial autocorrelation in the composite scores of urban and rural elderly care institutions in China, and the spatial autocorrelation of the composite scores of elderly care institutions shows a clustering pattern. The contradiction between the limited ability to pay of the elderly people staying in elderly care institutions and the huge demand for elderly care services is bound to affect the sustainability of the development of public elderly care institutions in both urban and rural areas. Due to historical factors, the marketisation of elderly care institutions in China started late and the marketisation of elderly care is not high. As the population ages, China's elderly-care institutions have begun to transform from public institutions of a welfare nature to those with some market mechanisms, but the overall transformation has been slow, resulting in the service guarantee system of elderly-care institutions lagging far behind the actual needs of the elderly. The long-term development of elderly care institutions must introduce market mechanisms, enhance the endogenous dynamics of elderly care institutions, correctly handle the relationship between fairness and efficiency of elderly care services, and improve the professionalism, income and treatment of elderly care staff while compensating for the lack of development of elderly care institutions and the inadequate layout of space, so as to continuously improve the service quality of elderly care institutions.

The Dynamics of University-Industry Interactions in Peripheral Contexts: Evidence from Brazil

This research aims at addressing the factors that constrain the flow of knowledge between universities and industry when these players are embedded in peripheral contexts. A multiple-case study was carried out in order to describe and understand the limitations of universities as agents of innovation in peripheral ecosystems. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with the coordinators of five Technological Innovation Centers (entities equivalent to TTO) of all Federal Institutes (five) located in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The findings show that there are constraining elements associated with the socioeconomic environment (the lack of economic dynamism and low absorptive capacity at firms), with universities (a lack of infrastructure, resources, and available researchers) and intermediary agents (the lack of staff and institutional legitimacy). The observed conditions lead to challenges in fostering dense knowledge flows, thus perpetuating regional economic asymmetries and hindering the institutional evolution of academic institutions toward the notion of entrepreneurial universities. Our research contributes to literature by addressing in detail the limitations of universities in spurring dense innovation networks in laggard ecosystems. Instead, more complex co-evolutionary processes seem to be at play – and “silver bullet” policies are likely to offer disappointing results.

Historical and legal conditions of functioning and evolution of criminal correspondence institutions in the Ukrainian SSR

Purpose. The purpose of the study is to determine the historical and legal conditions for the development of penal institutions in the Soviet period, their evolution in the context of the transformation of correctional labor legislation, as well as the main types of violations of the rights of persons who served sentences. Methods. The methodological basis of the research was a complex of general scientific, special scientific and philosophical methods, as well as the principles of historicism and objectivity. Results. It has been established that in relation to the Soviet criminal-executive system, it is expedient to apply the concept of the penal-correctional system, because from the first years of the formation of Soviet power, the maintenance of persons serving punishment was carried out primarily in labor colonies, and physical labor was understood as the main and effective way of atonement. The first legal act regulating the penal system was adopted on October 23, 1925, the Correctional Labor Code of the USSR, which established the priority of educational tasks for prisoners and the idea of correction of convicts. The Central Directorate of Correctional Labor Camps and Labor Settlements of the NKVD («GULAG») became a certain symbol of Soviet power and a vivid example of the fact that the penal system was totalitarian. Throughout June 1941, we can talk about deliberate acts of terror and mass murders of prisoners in correctional facilities in Western Ukrainian regions. The post-war penal system was a combination of correctional labor colonies, separate camps (detention for a term of three years or more), labor colonies for minors, prisons, and transit and transfer points. The last normative-legal act that consolidated the structure of the Soviet criminal-executive system was adopted in 1970 «Correctional Labor Code of the Ukrainian SSR». Originality. The main stages of the development of the criminal correctional system of the Ukrainian SSR, as well as the historical and legal conditions for the emergence of criminal correctional institutions, have been established. Practical significance. The results of the research can be used in the process of historical and legal research, preparation of special courses.

Europe’s “independence wars”: A constitutional perspective—A reply to Antoine Vauchez

Abstract This reply to Antoine Vauchez deploys a constitutional perspective to analyze three critical moments identified by Vauchez in the institutional evolution of the European Union. It argues that a constitutional lens offers a more robust perspective for considering the key issues underlying each of the “critical junctures.” It enables a clearer identification of the costs to the EU of prioritizing functional objectives over democratization. It places debate about the independence of the European Central Bank within the broader context of how to situate expert bodies within governance structures. The debates around the judiciary in Hungary and Poland can be seen as part of the inevitable tension between viewing Europe’s construction as a work in progress towards “ever closer union” and the idea that the basic rules of democratic political association should be settled and stable. Far from being a benign “proxy” for Europe’s constitutional evolution, “independence” obscures the real issues and the costs of evasion.

What if time was not money? Towards a pluriversal understanding of time for sustainable consumption

Facing the growing emergency of changing consumption patterns to address the environmental crisis, many scholars have been studying individual behavioural change. Acknowledging that consumption is not just an individual choice but a social practice – embedded in socioeconomic, material, affective and cultural configurations – recent work has broadened the understanding of how to address sustainable consumption. Even though sustainability issues are fundamentally time-bound, time is seldom conceptualised as a substantive element. This article aims to contribute to this debate by raising the importance of time understandings to address (un)sustainable consumption. In the first part of this article the idea that the dominant economic system has pervaded our imaginaries, our behaviours and interactions, including how we see and experience time, is discussed, drawing mainly on degrowth scholars. The main understandings of time that stem from the assumption that ‘time is money’ are highlighted through the metaphors of the clock, the arrow and the target. Drawing on a qualitative fieldwork carried out in Ireland in spring 2021 among people engaged in sustainable practices, three alternative understandings of time – the cycle, the flow and the link – are then brought forward and discussed. It is argued that these different time understandings are performative in that they open up opportunities for more sustainable consumption and that we should aim at a pluriversal understanding of time that could foster the evolution of social organisation and institutions, towards non-capitalist goals such as wellbeing and environmental preservation.

Institution of Preliminary Investigation Suspension: Issues of Theory and Statutory Regulation

The author attempts to analyze the current criminal procedure legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as the system of scientific knowledge available in the theory of criminal procedure law for the need to improve the criminal procedure institution of preliminary investigation suspension. The reliability of the results is ensured by the integrated use of general scientific and private methods allowing formulating an idea of the modern criminal procedure institution of preliminary investigation suspension. The use of the comparative research method allowed the author to conclude that it is possible to implement certain criminal procedural norms of foreign legislation regulating the institution of suspension of a criminal case. The method of historical analysis used in the study allowed us to consider the evolution of this procedural institution and highlight the historical stages of its legal development. The statistical method provides for the study of the suspension of the preliminary investigation based on representative empirical material, which made it possible to identify objective patterns and formulate specific conclusions (it was used when taking into account the results of a survey of citizens). As a result, the author determines the elements inherent in the institution of preliminary investigation suspension and defines the concept. The suspension of the preliminary investigation should be understood as the complex activity of the competent state bodies and officials established by the Criminal Procedure Law, including the adoption of a temporary procedural decision on the suspension of the preliminary investigation, criminal prosecution, the production of procedural actions on the grounds that prevent further criminal proceedings provided for in the law, up to their elimination. According to the author, the main trends in the development of the institution of suspension of the preliminary investigation are: amendment of Chapter 28 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, which consists in replacing the phrase «suspension (resumption) of the preliminary investigative activities» with «suspension (resumption) of the preliminary investigation»; expanding the list of grounds for suspending the preliminary investigation; supplementing the criminal procedure legislation with an appropriate norm regulating the prohibition of decision-making on the suspension of the preliminary investigation carried out in the abbreviated form of inquiry; resolution of the issue of the production of investigative actions in suspended criminal cases.