Forms Of State Intervention Research Articles

The impact of state development institutionson the innovative behavior of firms: qualitative effects

Basing on a series of in-depth interviews with top executives of Russian innovation companies, the paper analyzes qualitative effects generated by the support from the state development institutions. Non-financial impacts, in particular, changes in firms’ innovation behavior, turned out to be quite significant. At the same time, tightening of formal control of the development institutions increases the risks and costs faced by the supported companies. We have identified two models of firms’ innovation behavior associated with different demand for public support instruments. These models are conditioned not so much to firms’ characteristics, but rather by the values of top managers and their views on appropriate forms of state intervention in innovation processes.

Better Safe than Sorry? Indigenous Peoples, Carbon Cowboys and the Governance of REDD in the Amazon

Indigenous peoples around the world and particularly in Latin America are struggling to strengthen their control over land and the territories they inhabit. The strengthening of rights has come as a result of multiple processes both at national and global levels, in which the role and responsibilities of states have been transformed. Transnational processes challenge the presumed association between nation-states, sovereignty and territoriality. One of these challenges comes from international initiatives such as Reducing emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD). Global REDD in its broadness and national REDD in its uncertain early phases represent opportunities for private actors to negotiate with holders of land rights. In the Amazon, indigenous peoples’ territories, given their wide extension and that they are mainly forested areas, become interesting for all sorts of REDD actors. However, despite legal and rhetoric recognition of indigenous land rights, effective recognition is still lacking. In this paper, I will focus on one particular type of actor, so-called carbon cowboys – a term coined by journalists to signify actors who are willing to push the limits of established negotiation mechanisms to gain control over forest areas. I will focus on carbon cowboys’ practices and the responses from indigenous peoples in Colombia to highlight a common claim across the region, namely better state presence and regulation. The response from indigenous peoples’ organizations indicates that although territorial control is an important achievement, some form of state intervention is required to protect their rights in an uncertain REDD terrain.

The structure of financial markets and the form of state bailouts, 1974–2009

The form of state bailouts of banks can vary widely. Some are highly interventionist, expanding state control and pushing losses onto private actors, while others insulate private actors from losses. This paper demonstrates that the nature of national financial systems is a key determinant of the form of state intervention, through a statistical analysis of state responses to financial crises in the upper middle-income and upper-income states from 1974 to 2009. States that rely on private banks for most capital needs generally adopt more generous terms than states where capital markets play a significant role. These effects are both statistically significant and large. States with capital market-based financial systems are one and a half times more likely to nationalize banks and over twice as likely to recover state bailout funds. Moreover, other seemingly important variables, such as party ideology, do not produce significant effects.

Power and Resistance in the Neoliberal Age

Aim of this work is trying to show, from a mainly theoretical standpoint but with constant ref-erences to Italian concrete cases, how neoliberalism, even though usually described as a State withdrawal from many issues left to individuals’ freedom, would actually represent an increase in forms of State inter-vention and control. The paper aims to analyze what forms this control may take, starting from current economic crisis, finding they are attributable to two scenarios: an explicit centralizing form, analyzed through the analytical tools of state of exception literature (Schmitt, Agamben); an implicit technical form, studied referring to the literature on government through numbers (Porter, Power, Miller, Es-peland, Desrosier). The paper also tries to show, once again through concrete examples, and by compari-son with Polanyi’s analysis of resistance to ‘900 classical liberalism, how behind the two neoliberal power there would be the same strength to impose to consciences, and most of all what would be the conse-quences of this for the possibility for social movements to try to deconstruct neoliberalism’s discourse, and to challenge it by collective action.

Bad banks: the urban implications of asset management companies

Asset management companies (AMCs), such as Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency and Spain’s Socieded de Gestión de Activos Procedentes de la Reestructuración Bancaria (Management Company for Assets Arising from Bank Reorganisation, SAREB), are important policy responses to financial crises involving the acquisition and management of toxic debt. Given their massive real estate portfolios, AMCs have decisive urban impacts. And yet, there is almost no literature on their urban dimension. This article responds to this gap by providing an overview of AMCs as a response to financial and real estate crises and by analysing their urban dimensions. While AMCs are designed to save banks, they impact on cities because of the increasing integration of finance and real estate. Moreover, AMCs deepen the integration of real estate and global capital. Finally, because they are a form of state intervention, AMCs may serve to politicize the tension between the use value of real estate and its exchange value.

What Does Ronald Coase Think of the Coase Theorem?

Coase’s theorem stated that economic actors can solve their own external problems arise between them. Apart from the distribution rights at first, parties involved are always likely to reach a mutualism agreement which is an efficient solution. If they cannot finish it by themselves then the case will be brought into the court so they have reduced efficiency in their business. By putting a case in court, the more expensive transaction costs will come up. Many costs are discarded for judicial legal fees, hiring lawyers, transportation for going to the court, and judicial proceedings time. The court is also another form of state intervention that inhibits the economic growth and natural competition in the market. The logic used by most of Judges is not economic logic in deciding a business cases. Most of them only use legal consideration on the basis of regulatory legislation and evidences in a trial process and avoid economic logic in deciding a case. They only use legal reasoning based on the philosophy of legal positivism. Economic logic should be used in deciding a business case with accounting consideration to find the most win-win solution for both parties based on market mechanisms.

Analysis of New Legal Provisions for Granting of “De Minimis Aid”

The European legislator pays special attention to the state aid, appreciated as a form of state intervention in the economy, because of the risk of immediate discrimination or competition distortion. Taking into consideration all these aspects, it was established that the state aid prohibition rule affects trade between Member States. However, the rule is not an absolute prohibition and state aid can be granted to prohibited categories, strictly within a law frame, involving a special procedure for granting them the aid and also to monitor them, in order not to distort competition. But granting a lower amount of the state aid is without question a measure necessary in any economy, lawfully, without affecting competition within the European single market. “Minimis aid” does not follow the usual procedure for granting the aid, it has a specific granting procedure, on which we will focus in the current study.The new provisions for granting the “minimis aid” come in support of the European and national authorities by simplifying competition rules, while having the practical role to facilitate the administrative work of these authorities.This study aims to introduce and analyze the new measures, reporting also to the existing jurisprudence on the matter, aims to highlight the positive contribution made by the legislative changes, and the controversial issues that may be subject to future changes.

Italian universities, Fascism and the promotion of corporative studies

This article deals with a specific aspect of the development of corporativism as ‘unofficial’ doctrine of Fascist Italy: its presence in Italian universities. It argues that corporatist schools followed the fortune of the ideals they were called to represent, which were definitely eclipsed by the mid-1930s, when the economic crisis called for more direct and effective forms of state intervention in economic life. In the universities, the rise of corporativism as a specific field of study, and the broader project of creating an ideologically educated future ruling class, challenged the domination exercised by the powerful faculties of law in particular, which traditionally were the key paths for access to the legal profession and the civil service. The resistance of the conservative university establishment meant that the plans to promote corporatist curricula had failed well before the fall of the regime, but many of those appointed to teach Corporative Studies under Fascism maintained their academic positions in Italy's ‘de-Fascistized’ post-war law faculties, and made innovative contributions to Italian social and economic thought.

State intervention and the microcredit market: the role of business development services

We analyze in this paper how various forms of state intervention can impact microfinance institutions’ lending behavior. Using a simple model where entrepreneurs receive individual uncollateralized loans, we show that, not surprisingly, state intervention through the loan guarantee increases the number of entrepreneurs receiving a loan. However, after modeling business development services (BDS) provided by the microfinance institution, we show that the loan guarantee can have a counterproductive effect by reducing the number of entrepreneurs benefiting from such services. We therefore analyze an alternative policy: BDS subsidization. We show that if BDS are efficient enough and are targeted toward less performing borrowers, then—for fixed government expenditures—such subsidies do better in terms of financial inclusion than the loan guarantee. Moreover, we argue that—under similar conditions—BDS subsidization alone does better in terms of financial inclusion than a mix of policies.

EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF STATE SUBSIDIES ON BUSINESS

The effect of market regulation tools on business is a complex phenomenon, and the after-effects of such regulation could be both favourable and adverse. The enhancement of the positive effect is a scientific task, which requires a systematic approach. In order to find a solution to this problem, it is necessary: a) to identify the relevant factors; b) to make a coherent evaluation of these factors and their influence on the phenomenon under investigation; c) to establish the optimal form and extent of the SRB (State Regulation of Business) tool required for the achievement of the desired results. The study analyses aims of economic regulation and business management from the point of view of a state. It also examines the practice in economic research and evaluation of EU Structural Funds in Lithuania and abroad. The research is focused on problems caused by state subsidies for business enterprises as one of the forms of SRB. The research also focuses on possibilities to enhance the effectiveness of business regulation. The main objects of this study are: state subsidies for business enterprises as a form of state intervention in the market, and the possible correlation between the specifications of subsidies and their effect on business. The evaluation presented in this study proved that EU subsidies had a direct positive influence on the effect of subsidies. The research into the influence of various subsidy criteria on the effect of subsidies revealed that a greater effect results from the rate rather than the size of funding.

The Politics of Liberal Financial Governance and the Gold Standard

This article challenges the way liberal economic governance has come to be theorised as a passive and depoliticised form of governance. Using the classic case of the gold standard, it shows how state intervention came to be shaped by considerations of state power and diverged considerably from the traditional emphasis on free markets and stable conditions of investments. As I argue, the gold standard was constructed through political struggles over monetary governance which involved significant constraints for capitalist investors. Its institutions helped establish a new structure for exerting control over finance. By resituating the gold standard in a broader historical perspective, I show how nineteenth-century monetary governance, far from leading to a retreat of the state, established in fact the foundations of a new form of state intervention: modern central banking.

The Evolution of the European Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications

The paper reviews the historical transformation of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications from the era dominated by state-owned enterprises to the presence of regulated competition. In the course of these developments, the vision of the roles of the public and private sectors in electronic communications changed in expected and unexpected ways. While the period is characterized by a shift toward less direct state intervention, the intensity of regulation has increased in many areas. Most recently, in the wake of the financial crisis, new forms of state intervention can be observed, including public investment in communications infrastructure and public-private partnerships. As a result of the reforms, Europe has been able to achieve major successes but it also suffered unanticipated setbacks compared to other regions. The European Union emerged as the global leader in mobile communications during the 1990s and was able to roll-out first-generation broadband access networks more rapidly than many of its peers. Recently, however, Europe as a whole has not performed as well in deploying next-generation networks and advanced mobile communications services. The paper offers a political-economic explanation for these developments and assesses their effects on the performance of the European electronic communications sector and the economy. From this analysis, the European model emerges as a unique institutional arrangement with peculiar advantages and disadvantages. Once these are recognized, sensible next steps to build the strengths while avoiding the weaknesses of the model can be seen more clearly.

Gobernanza, democracia y ciudadanía: sus implicaciones con la equidad y la cohesión social en América Latina

A critical analysis of the concepts of governance and governability in higher education, as well as their relationship to democracy and citizenship. Also explores the implications on equity policies and social cohesion in Mexico and Latin America. The paper underscores the role of the State and its links to the private sector, questioning the process that intends to privatize the public sphere. In the case of higher education in Latin America and in Mexico, emphasis is placed on the autonomous nature of public universities, maintaining that governance, insofar as government policy for higher education institutions, may become a new form of state intervention and control, at the expense of academic freedom, the diversity of institutions and public higher education, ignoring the specific characteristics of each institution. It states that the challenge of governance consists in dealing with the special features of every country, in terms of the freedom of self-determination, as well as the boost on leadership of the professional authority and on knowledge, above the power of authority and political representation.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT TOOLKIT FOR CLIMATE CHANGE: CRITICAL REVIEW OF STATE INTERVENTION IN PRAXIS

This paper aims to review the various forms of state intervention in urban planning, and its purpose is to reconsider guidelines for solving problems in cities, caused by climate change.After World War II, urban planning was guided by centralized state management, in the scope of progress and social justice. State intervention was recognized as an instrument for creating new models of the city spatial organization. However, because of the new market conditions arising, the policies about Urban Development came in the focus again, in order to control global influences, mainly climate change (the costs of construction, environmental pollution and hazards). It is therefore necessary to return again to the public intervention in urban planning. This will not be easy, because it has to be consistent with democratic freedoms; some of them should be strengthened, and some limited to ameliorate the effects of climate change.In conclusion, the set of general guidelines is expected, in order to translate the policy measures for climate change mitigation, into the instruments urban development is controlled by. Therefore, the changes in defining of building codes are expected, as well as the standards for energy conservation and land-use control (zoning, taxes and urban regulations, etc.).

Housing in the Welfare State: Rethinking the Conceptual Foundations of Comparative Housing Policy Analysis

Many scholars interpret the contraction in social housing and the expansion of home ownership as reflections of a reduced role for the state and an increase in the marketisation of housing. This paper challenges this interpretation by pointing to two weaknesses in its conceptual underpinnings. One is its failure to distinguish between housing as capital (traded in the purchase market for dwellings) and housing as a service (traded in the rental market for accommodation), leading to an underestimate of the extent and diversity of continuing state intervention in housing. The other problem is a narrow focus on the balance between market and state which neglects the role of self-provisioning in the household as a form of production. The alternative view proposed here is, first, that forms of state intervention in the markets for housing capital and services are so diverse and complex that a more comprehensive analysis is needed before conclusions on trends in the state's overall role can be reached, and, second, that while home ownership reflects a dominant role for the market in the distribution of housing capital, it reflects a familialisation of housing services – it enables households to self-provision themselves with accommodation and thereby remove this service from the realm of both market exchange and state provision. The paper also suggests that the welfare benefit of home ownership lies not only in its widely recognised social insurance effect but also in the efficiency and cost-reduction effects which self-provisioning of housing provides.

Reflections on the riots in Hackney

![][1] Unlike some surgeries around the country, ours was neither attacked nor forced to close during the recent riots in England, although major street-fighting and looting took place in nearby Dalston and Tottenham. Shops close by in Stoke Newington were largely spared as a result of the mobilisation of the local Turkish community to defend shops and restaurants from the mobs threatening to extend their raids from Mare Street further north. The Turkish mobilisation revealed a stark contrast between the cultures in the north and south of the borough, the former more independent and entrepreneurial, the latter more atomised and dependent on welfare and other forms of state intervention. The Turkish community is large and diverse, but it has strong … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif

Ecology to Technocracy: Scientists, Surveys and Power in the Agricultural Development of Late-Colonial Zambia

This article provides an account of the transformation in agricultural development expertise that took place in late-colonial Zambia. Frustration with the slow pace of agricultural ‘improvement’ in the Native Reserves forced the socially and ecologically aware approach to rural development fostered during the 1930s–1940s, to give way to the technocratic model now associated with the green revolution agriculture and the ‘developmental state’. Through an exploration of these changes, the article seeks to advance ongoing debates concerning the interrelationship between knowledge, intervention, expertise and power in rural development. It focuses on research undertaken by Department of Agriculture (DOA) staff on the Tonga Plateau in Zambia's Southern Province during the 1940s and 1950s. Being both a major maize producing area and home to political organisations that challenged colonial and postcolonial rulers, the Tonga Plateau has long been the subject of concentrated scholarly enquiry. In late colonial Zambia, its political and economic importance made it a living laboratory1 for various scientists and technical experts. The article contributes to the rich historiography of agriculture on the Tonga Plateau by examining the knowledge claims behind various forms of state intervention that took place there.

La figura de la vagancia en el Código Rural de Buenos Aires (1856-1870)

This work deals with a form of state intervention that affected the supply of rural labor, the persecution of vagrancy, a practice with a long tradition in the Pampa area, and which operated for social control for a long time. Specifically, we will analyse how it was considered in the Rural Code in the province of Buenos Aires (1865), where customs and new notions of law were embodied. How was vagrancy defined? How was it considered in the Rural Code? Is it possible to observe changes and continuities as regards the previous legislation? What debates did the inclusion in the Code, led to, before and after its passage? These are the main issues we attempt to tackle, through the analysis of sources relating to the creation of the rule from 1856 to 1870.

Politique familiale, politiques sociales et fécondité en Suède

This article examines the importance of fertility in the history of family policy in Sweden. As Sweden experienced the effects of the second stage of the demographic transition in the late 19th century, the demographic variables gradually became issues to consider, then arguments for state intervention. The best illustration of these debates was the establishment of a voluntaristic family policy in the 1930s. However, this family policy gradually changed and, in the early 1970s, adopted the characteristics of a social policy involving family support. This shift in forms of state intervention can be explained by the explicit political will not to encourage one particular concept of the family but rather to respect the plurality of types of families, nevertheless making two-income families a norm to strive for. Thus, measures promoting linkage between family life and work life are the most interventionist within the family. However, it is plausible to wonder whether the axiological neutrality of the state vis-à-vis forms of private life means a lack of interest in fertility policies.

Social Work and the Community: A Critical Context for Practice, Paul Stepney and Keith Popple, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, pp. x + 201, ISBN 13 9781403991263, ISBN 10 140239126X, 19.99

This is a generally very sound book that, with the exception of my thoughts in the last paragraph of this review, is well conceived and executed. It provides an authoritative and up-to-date grounding in aspects of ‘community’ that are relevant to social work in the twenty-first century. There are some minor irritations—notably writing about ‘New Labour’ as though the authors take for granted that it is still novel, on so many pages that I lost count of them. Aware as I am that, by the time this book comes of age, there will be children in secondary schools who were not born when ‘New’ Labour came to power in 1997, I shall agree to differ with the authors over this particular editorial decision. However, there are so many ways in which the book pleases me that I incline towards concentrating on its strengths in this review. We don't have enough really good books about ‘community’ as it applies now in social work, so this book is a welcome addition to my shelf. It begins appropriately enough with familiar discussion about the nature of community and the contribution of community students and different forms of state intervention in communities. The reader needs to note that although the treatment of concepts crosses national boundaries into Europe, the discussion of community work, by and large, is not exactly permeated with discussion of global aspects (some of the discussion in Chapter 9 is the exception to this). In a book that uses notions such as ‘Gemeinschaft’ and ‘Gesellschaft’ and deals, albeit briefly, with globalization, this is a shame. On page 154, under the heading ‘European policy context’, we are told in the first sentence that Part II contains a detailed analysis of the wider policy context. I must have misinterpreted this because I was disappointed to find that the chapter beginning Part II was a very British—indeed, with its early emphasis on Community Development Projects and so on, a rather English treatment. (There isn't a huge amount about Scotland or Wales in the book and there is even less about Northern Ireland.) However, by the same token, it was a fine-grained yet robust analysis, so I became absorbed in it and put my reservation on hold. Throughout, I found this capacity to retain my interest a feature of this well written book. Indeed, the great strength of the book is that it devotes space to analysis of aspects of community policies and practice of great relevance to the practitioner in England.