Misguided Policies Research Articles

Determinants of CO2 emission for post-Soviet Union independent countries

This article analyses the determinants of CO2 emission for 15 post-Soviet Union independent (PSI) countries given their recent transition to market-based economies and their relatively high levels of corruption. The direct and indirect effects of economic growth on CO2 emission for the PSI countries are derived using a multiple-equation generalized method of moment (GMM) approach to account for simultaneity among corruption, growth and CO2 emission. A linear relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) and CO2 emission was observed from the analysis. Furthermore, GDP influences CO2 emission directly, but also indirectly through its impact on corruption. Similarly, corruption affects CO2 emission directly, as well as indirectly through its impact on GDP. Political democracy and economic freedom increase CO2 emission indirectly through their impact on economic growth. Improved energy efficiency and the EU climate policy reduce CO2 emission, while inflows of foreign direct investment tend to increase CO2 emission.Policy relevanceFirst, PSI countries need to invest more in efficient energy technologies to mitigate CO2 emission levels significantly. Second, PSI policies aimed at reducing deforestation (thereby increasing population density) may help mitigate carbon emission. Third, PSI countries would be well served to recognize the detrimental effects of foreign direct investment before embarking on a misguided policy path that attracts such inflows at any cost.

Keynesian versus Marxian Explanations of the Financial Crisis

ABSTRACTMany Keynesian economists envisioned a new dawn of Keynesianism in the 2007–8 financial meltdown in the United States. Nearly seven years later, it is clear that the much-hoped-for Keynesian prescriptions are completely ignored. Why? Keynesian economists’ answer: “neoliberal ideology,” which they trace back to President Reagan. This study argues, by contrast, that the rise of neoliberalism has much deeper roots than pure ideology, that the transition from Keynesian to neoliberal economics started long before Reagan was elected president, and that the Keynesian reliance on the ability of the government to regulate and revive the economy through policies of demand management rests on a wishful/optimistic perception that the state can control capitalism. The study further argues that the Marxian theory of unemployment, based on his theory of the reserve army of labor, provides a much more robust explanation of the protracted high levels of unemployment than the Keynesian view, which attributes the plague of unemployment to the “misguided policies of neoliberalism.” Likewise, the Marxian theory of subsistence or near-poverty wages provides a more cogent account of how or why such poverty levels of wages, as well as a generalized predominance of misery, can go hand-in-hand with high levels of profits and concentrated wealth than the Keynesian perceptions, which view high levels of employment and wages as necessary conditions for an expansionary economic cycle.

Changes in tax structures in European Union Member States

The European Union does not have a comprehensive common tax policy and substantial changes in this specialized policy area are not likely in the foreseeable future. Albeit common rules, requirements, minimum rates for certain tax types were implemented in the last few decades, they barely limit the Member States in using their tax policies as one of the worthiest elements of their arsenal in increasing competitiveness or quite the contrary, to undermining their own international competitiveness inadvertently through a misguided tax policy. In this article, we put the tax policies of the Visegrad Group and the Eurozone core countries (Germany, Austria and the Netherlands), as well as changes in these policies under the magnifying glass, in terms of the impact of tax structure changes on economic growth and employment in the last decade.

The Theory of Industrial Society and Cultural Schemata: Does the "Cultural Myth of Stigma" Underlie the WHO Schizophrenia Paradox?

The WHO's International Studies of Schizophrenia conclude that schizophrenia may have a more benign course in "developing" societies than in the West. The authors focus on this finding's most common corollary: cultural schemata are shaped by the transition from agrarian to industrial society. Developing societies are viewed as traditional, gemeinschaft cultures lacking the stigmatizing beliefs about persons with mental illness held in modern, gesellschaft cultures of developed societies. The Stigma in Global Context-Mental Health Study formalized the cultural myth of public stigma (CMPS) with propositions linking level of development to intolerant, exclusionary, and individualistic attitudes. In 17 countries, the authors find no support for the corollary; where support is found, the findings are opposite expectations, with developed societies reporting lower stigma levels. Reconceptualizing of the cultural landscape on more specific dimensions also produces null or contrary findings. This correction to nostalgic myths of cultural context in developing societies thwarts misguided treatment, policy, and stigma-reduction efforts.

School travel route measurement and built environment effects in models of children’s school travel behavior

The most common form of physical activity for people of all ages is walking, thus the use of active travel modes, such as walking or cycling for school trips, can increase daily physical activity levels. School travel is one way to encourage walking and cycling on a daily basis. Much of the recent literature reports inconsistent results pertaining to how the built environment may relate to active school travel. To date, there is no consistent approach toward conceptualizing the “environment” for its measurement, and this may be partially to blame for the inconsistent results. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to examine how characteristics of the built environment might relate to mode of school travel, while testing how measurement of the environment may influence the results in terms of the shortest path or respondent reported route mapping. The results indicate that model parameter estimates vary when using these two route measurement methods. Differences in the conceptualization and measurement of the school travel environment could carry forward into misguided planning or policy interventions targeting environmental features that may actually have no influence on school travel decisions.

As Jornadas de Junho de 2013 e o Patriotismo Constitucional: A Necessidade de Repensar a Cidade Coerente e o Desenvolvimento Sustentável Intergeracional

The currently live in cities dates back to a daily conquest of each affected in building an environment of mutual coexistence of solidarity. The institutional gap between this need the current framework of public policies on urban mobility took several profiles and claims of citizens during the month of June 2013, setting up a permanent journey of great demonstrations by the country discussing his legacy should consider the constitutional basis on which all affected, rulers and ruled, are called in their share of responsibility for the complex challenges of this century. Certainly, urban mobility in a well-ordered society is one of these challenges in order to overcome the misguided policies and lack of planning of the coming century.

Psychological research and global climate change

Human behaviour is integral not only to causing global climate change but also to responding and adapting to it. Here, we argue that psychological research should inform efforts to address climate change, to avoid misunderstandings about human behaviour and motivations that can lead to ineffective or misguided policies. We review three key research areas: describing human perceptions of climate change; understanding and changing individual and household behaviour that drives climate change; and examining the human impacts of climate change and adaptation responses. Although much has been learned in these areas, we suggest important directions for further research.

The Empiricists' Insurgency

Research on insurgency has been invigorated during this past decade by better data, improved methods, and the urgency of understanding active engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. This “empiricists' insurgency” reinforces a classic literature on the essential role of civilians while challenging older theories about how they affect conflict outcomes. It provides a general framework describing “irregular” insurgencies (where government capacity exceeds rebel capacity), which is analytically cohesive and empirically tested using subnational data from multiple conflicts. The new research provides guidance on intervention design, including governance improvement, development programs, and rules of engagement. The design of interventions matters: Some key evidence comes from measuring the effects of misguided policies. The framework may enable better conceived and implemented interventions, including foreign engagements with and without troop deployment, depending on the type of insurgency and mindful of political limitations. We position these findings in the literature and highlight directions for future research, including legal aspects of countering insurgency.

Setor elétrico: mimetismo, fragmentação e suas sequelas

This article attempts to show that the current crisis experienced by the Brazilian electrical sector is not only related to unexpected hydrological droughts. Although one needs to take into account the relatively severe hydric constraints, the critical signs had already been evidenced about four years ago. Despite the enormous differences of the Brazilian case, several misguided policies have been implemented here under strong inspiration of the type of market model adopted, influenced by a mimicry of thermal-based systems. This adaptation modeling generates a highly volatile market where paltry and priceless values come one after another. The crisis is far from being over, since the structural basis of the model is not being questioned.

Should zombie lending always be prevented?

It has been argued that zombie lending might have been one of the main culprits behind the sluggish Japanese recovery in the so-called “lost decade”. Among others, zombie lending may lead to misallocation of capital, reduction of profits for healthy firms, and lower employment. The only remaining question is: Why do banks engage in zombie lending practices? Is it due to wrong incentives for bank managers, or perhaps misguided government policies? Using a simple model, the paper exposes a strong link between collateral value and the strategic importance of zombie lending. The author shows that zombie lending may be an optimal strategy for a bank in some cases as it leads to greater lending ex-ante and prevents further losses from fire sales. Consequently, it can be argued that zombie lending is a side effect of market incompleteness and is ex ante welfare improving, so that it may not be possible or even desirable to prevent its occurrence. Another policy implication is that capital injection into the banks would not solve any problem. However, direct purchase of the collateral on the market would certainly alleviate the problem of zombie lending.

Introduction to the special issue “The shadow economy, tax evasion and governance”

In an economically globalized world, new and hitherto hardly satisfactory mastered governance tasks arise, in particular for the taxation of companies and capital. The example of Greece, Italy, and Spain shows what kind of problems for public finance may occur when a significant proportion of economic activity takes place in the shadows, i.e., without paying duties and taxes. This will not only undermine tax morale in general, but also complicates the provision of public goods as, e.g., roads and bridges, or increases national debt. As the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone demonstrated, a large shadow economy can have significant negative economic consequences for any member state in a currency union. The shadow economy and tax evasion are at least partially caused by misguided tax policies, as well as by other weaknesses of local and federal governance. Without a deeper understanding of the shadow economy and tax evasion, as well as their relation to tax policy and state governance, an effective and efficient reduction of these side effects of government policy is nearly impossible. To study determinants and consequences of the shadow economy and tax evasion, the biannualMunster shadoweconomyconferences have been established in 2009.The conferences are dedicated to the empirical, experimental, agent-based and theoretical analysis of all topics surrounding the shadoweconomy, tax evasion and tax compliance. The scientific disciplines involved cover economics, econophysics, and psychology, to name only a few. The participants come from a large number of countries, from South Korea to the United States and from Russia to South Africa.

Xenophon und die spartanische Nauarchie

Xenophon generally considered Sparta to have been a well organized, ideal city-state, which fact he attributed to the presumed lawgiver Lycurgus. By contrast, he saw the Sparta of his own time as having gone awry in several ways, especially due to the undertakings of leading Spartans towards other Greek cities, which lead to the corrupting influx of gold as a symbol of prestige ( Lac . 14). These misguided Sparta big-power policies were associated with the harmosts, who served as magistrates in foreign areas and were not provided for in the Lycurgan system. Not mentioned in this context are the nauarchs, who served in overseas areas as ship’s captains, and could also, like the harmosts, be involved in political operations and thus win power not only for Sparta but also for themselves. In my opinion, the reasons for this silence regarding the nauarchia become evident from an analysis of the concrete actions of nauarchs in Xenophon’s Hellenika . There, as we shall see, the nauarchs are on official missions as elected magistrates, responsible to the polis, who generally worked for the strength of Sparta. Although the same persons are often involved, the nauarchs, unlike the harmosts, assumed no permanent foreign positions of rulership, which, according to Xenophon, was what was the cause of Sparta’s undoing. The nauarchs – by contrast with the harmosts – occupied individual positions, which caused fewer problems and which were not suited to maintain any permanent rulership. Therefore, Xenophon had no immediate reason to include the nauarchs in his critique of the contemporary Lakedaimonion politeia . The main thrust of his argument was rather that the role of a long-term hegemonic power in the Aegean was one that overtaxed the powers of Sparta, for the often ruthless behavior of the magistrates sent abroad was what sparked the resistance against Spartan rule. By contrast to Athens, Sparta could conduct no successful imperial policy, and only brought itself into danger. Thereby Xenophon does not take into consideration the fact that Sparta, as a land power, was dependent on a certain maritime strength and presence as well, and hence needed the right kind of commanders. Therefore, he ultimately prefers not to mention the nauarchs in connection with the ideal Spartan constitution, and to connect the city’s imperial misbehavior only with the harmosts.

Silencing Dissent: How Biased Civil Rights Policies Stifle Dialogue on Israel

Silencing Dissent: How Biased Civil Rights Policies Stifle Dialogue on Israel

A Marriage by Any Other Name: Why Civil Unions Should Receive Federal Recognition

The federal government now recognizes same-sex marriages as triggering rights and responsibilities under federal law. However, it still generally refuses to recognize alternative legal statuses — civil unions and domestic partnerships — that were created by states to serve as functional marriages. Even though all the states that created such alternative policies now permit same-sex couples to marry, this misguided policy causes ongoing harms. Some same-sex couples who entered into alternative relationships when marriage was not an option may now lack the capacity to marry. Couples who have since married may also be hurt by the federal government’s refusal to recognize civil unions or domestic partnerships retroactively, even in situations where it is now recognizing same-sex marriages retroactively. This essay argues that the current federal policy is based on a mindlessly literalist approach to statutory interpretation that should be repudiated. Federal law generally looks to state law to determine valid marriages, and the state laws that created these alternative statuses defined them to be fully equivalent to marriages in all respects. Couples who enter into such unions thus make exactly the same legal commitments to each other that couples who marry make to each other. Just as the federal government routinely recognizes foreign marriages, even when called something other than “marriage,” it should recognize state civil unions or domestic partnerships that are likewise legally indistinguishable from (other) marriages.

Restricting the use of cars by license plate numbers: A misguided urban transport policy

Several conurbations in Latin America have implemented policies to restrict the use of private cars by prohibiting those with a license plate number ending on some digit, which vary each day, from circulating on that weekday. These policies have been formulated as a “second best” option to congestion charging as the latter policy has been deemed politically unfeasible so far. The idea underlying license plate restrictions is very simple: by not allowing a proportion of the total number of vehicles to circulate on a given day, congestion levels and other externalities are expected to decrease, improving the quality of life for people. Based on a simple microeconomic analysis, supported by a review of the literature and by evidence collected in several cities where these restrictions have been implemented, it is concluded that the policy is apparently effective only in the very short-term, but ultimately it fails to achieve its objectives and usually leads to a worse outcome.

When more data steer us wrong: replications with the wrong dependent measure perpetuate erroneous conclusions.

There is a replication crisis in science, to which psychological research has not been immune: Many effects have proven uncomfortably difficult to reproduce. Although the reliability of data is a serious concern, we argue that there is a deeper and more insidious problem in the field: the persistent and dramatic misinterpretation of empirical results that replicate easily and consistently. Using a series of four highly studied "textbook" examples from different research domains (eyewitness memory, deductive reasoning, social psychology, and child welfare), we show how simple unrecognized incompatibilities among dependent measures, analysis tools, and the properties of data can lead to fundamental interpretive errors. These errors, which are not reduced by additional data collection, may lead to misguided research efforts and policy recommendations. We conclude with a set of recommended strategies and research tools to reduce the probability of these persistent and largely unrecognized errors. The use of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves is highlighted as one such recommendation.

Poverty in the midst of affluence: how Hong Kong mismanaged its prosperity

Hong Kong is among the richest cities in the world. Yet over the past 15 years living conditions for the average family have deteriorated despite a robust economy, ample budget surpluses and record labor productivity. Successive governments have been reluctant to invest in services for the elderly, the disabled, the long-term sick, and the poor, while education has become more elitist. The political system has helped to entrench a mistaken consensus that social spending is a threat to financial stability and economic prosperity. In this trenchant attack on government mismanagement, Leo Goodstadt traces how officials have created a new poverty in Hong Kong and argues that their misguided policies are both a legacy of the colonial era and a deliberate choice by modern governments-not the result of economic crises. This book is highly relevant to the continuing debate about the efficiency of market forces in solving welfare problems and the claims put forward for the superiority of the private sector in meeting housing, health and educational needs.

Robert L. Campbell's essay, “An End to Over and Against”

This essay replies to a review essay written by Robert L. Campbell, “An End to Over and Against” ( The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 13, no. 1), which discussed recent biographical and historical studies of Ayn Rand by Jennifer Burns ( Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right ) and Anne C. Heller ( Ayn Rand and the World She Made ). The main point of discussion is the way in which Ayn Rand and Nathaniel Branden engaged the ideas and practices of modern psychology.

Enlightenment Fundamentals: Rights, Responsibilities & Republicanism

This essay re-examines some key fundamentals of the Enlightenment regarding individual rights, responsibilities and republicanism which deserve and require re-emphasis today, insofar as they underscore the character and fundamental importance of mature judgment, and how developing and fostering mature judgment is a fundamental aim of education. These fundamentals have been clouded or eroded by various recent developments, including mis-guided educational policy and not a little scholarly bickering. Clarity about these fundamentals is more important today than ever. Sapere aude!

“Taming the Media Monster”: Teen Pregnancy and the Neoliberal Safety (Inter)Net

Discourses constructing teen pregnancy as a dire result of misguided welfare policy helped to usher in the punitive welfare reform legislation of 1996. An important counterpart to that law has been an increase in private sector teen pregnancy prevention work, led by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. In response to calls for innovative, market-based approaches to social welfare, the National Campaign has spearheaded a trend of utilizing new media technologies, such as social networking websites, mobile and smartphone capabilities, and online gaming in teen pregnancy prevention. This article examines the social-media-based work of the National Campaign, showing the heavily disciplinary and moralizing functions of these strategies and their role within a new construction of social welfare. It argues that these tactics form a redefined notion of the social safety net based on a vision of citizens distributing vital, attractively packaged information among themselves via a privatized cybernetwork in order to maintain social well-being through the cultivation of proper sexual and reproductive behavior. Within this framework, teen sexuality emerges as the most urgent target for discipline and management. Viewed as impulsive, naive, media savvy, and trend obsessed, teenagers appear to require provocative market-based interventions into their most intimate moments. Grounded in the neoliberal discourses of multiculturalism, market rationality, and intimate citizenship, this teen pregnancy prevention work ultimately serves to obscure and undergird the punitive work of welfare reform and its deepening of inequalities based on race, class, gender, and sexuality.