Non-institutional Actors Research Articles

Preferenze sociali e preferenze istituzionali a confronto: il caso del distretto forestale dell’Arci-Grighine (Provincia di Oristano)

The research analyses the efficiency of the representative democracy model in the land policies definition. The representative model is based on the assumption that people (public) are not able to manage their interests, but need the presence of representatives in order to assure the common interest. The paper focuses on the comparison between social preferences and institutional preferences. The hypothesis is that in the case there is a wide divergence of preferences between institutional and social preferences, it means that institutional actors have a different perception of priority in comparison to the society. To analyse the divergences concerning land policies authors have used a questionnaire designed in order to consider the main management strategies on rural development. The questionnaire - subdivided into thematic sections (forest functions, strategies of territorial development, renewable energies and forest fire control strategies) - has been submitted face-to-face to the representatives of local institutions and to the non-institutional actors. The results of the interviews have been compared statistically considering the two groups of actors, with the purpose of emphasizing the convergence and divergence on land policies. The study area is the forest district of Arci-Grighine in the Oristano department (Sardinia).

Governance, participation and in-between

The article presents a comparison of practices through which non-institutional actors are included in governing processes in London, Madrid, Paris and Rome. Widespread concepts such as those of governance and participation are used here in a specific way to form an ideal-typical continuum of different kinds of inclusion. In each city the degree of consistency and complementarity among practices of governance and/or participation may result from an explicit and comprehensive policy of inclusion covering the entire city, based on a coherent strategy, or is explained by other factors. Convergences and differences between the four European metropolises are tentatively explained by analyzing the role played in each city by variables such as the orientation of policy agendas, the nature of urban political systems and changes affecting them, the institutional arrangement of local government, the strength of political leadership and its strategies for seeking consensus with economic interests and civil society as well as the exogenous pressures exerted by national and trans-national actors who provide local actors with cognitive and normative frameworks.

Life Sciences and Regional Innovation: One Path or Many?

Despite the widespread interest of national, regional and local governments in promoting their own biotechnology industry, it is now well known that this sector exhibits characteristically high levels of geographical clustering in a relatively small number of locations. However, what is less well understood is how these regions have emerged and evolved through time. While there is a tendency to conceive of the necessary and sufficient conditions in fairly universal and formulaic terms—strong research universities with leading medical schools, a well-developed local venture capital industry, and a deep labour market in highly skilled scientific occupations are factors that are most commonly emphasized—we contend that the evolutionary pathways followed by individual regions with successful life science sectors are far from identical. Differences in local historical, geographical and institutional conditions are likely to shape and constrain the subsequent actual evolution of life science industries in particular places in distinctive ways. In this paper, we examine this issue through the lens of a national, 5 years, collaborative research initiative analyzing cluster development and evolution in Canada. We present findings from the study of life science industries in Canada's three largest city regions (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver), as well as in three smaller city regions (Ottawa, Saskatoon and Halifax). Despite the conventional wisdom that public and private research institutions determine the trajectory of life sciences cluster development, our research suggests that a multiplicity of institutional and non-institutional actors, alongside background regional conditions and chance events, provide the impetus for cluster emergence and growth. We find that regional-scale policy interventions within an overarching national institutional framework have both intended and unintended consequences in helping determine the shape and nature of each region's life science clusters. Finally, we find that both local and non-local sources of knowledge are important to sustaining growth, innovation and dynamism within life science clusters.

Mexico under Fox

Mexico made a peaceful transition to democracy when it elected opposition candidate Vicente Fox president in July 2000 - an event that has had a profound impact on the country's political system, its economic and social policy, and its international relationships. Mexico Under Fox exmaines the elements of continuity and change found in Mexico today. The authors consider the changing nature of Mexico's party system and the growing influence of noninstitutional political actors. They also explore the debate over social-policy reform and the conflict between vested economic interests and the forces favoring a more open economy. In the final chapters, they discuss the impact of Mexico's democratic transition, as well as the September 11 terrorist attacks, on Mexico-U.S. relations.

Bargaining Community exemptions: the role of Italian actors in the negotiation of state aid to labour and industry

SummaryThis article analyses the role of Italian (institutional and non-institutional) actors in the area of state aid to labour and industry, two particularly sensitive European policies. The comparison between two decisions—the one concerning state incentives for youth employment and the other concerning the double recapitalization of Alitalia—allows the author to conclude that Italian policy preferences are best promoted when a viable compromise solution is first reached domestically and then pushed through the Union, and when Italian actors manage to argue their case in EU-compatible terms.

The decision-making processes in environmental matters : two italian case studies

The philosophy -which has guided the growth of industrial countries- has been characterized as aspiration to unlimited quantitative increase. This increase has been based on alteration of natural system , waste of resources and dissipation of energy. The phenomena of decrease and pollution, which invest urban and metropolitan ambits, are assuming the level of emergency and are holding such importance as to require the revision of the specific decision-making system. The pursuit of such an aim requires a clear definition of the decision-making processes in environmental matters and the examination of the factors which compromise its efficacy, in the ampler context of the politics of territory management. The resolution of 'environmental issue' has to be compared with a different culture of transformation, which conjugate environmental values and socio-economic development. In relation to this the research has been subdivided in these phases : • description of environmental problems in Campania (South Italy) and in Lombardia (North Italy), with particular reference to metropolitan areas; • study of characters and manners of course of the environmental decision¬ making processes in Campania (South Italy) and in Lombardia (North Italy). Examination of elements which compromise the effectivness of environmental decisions; • description of actual situation about regional planning in environmental matters, in comparison with European and Italian aims; • definition of the system of competences in environmental matters : specification of the outline of institutional and non-institutional actors, of their organizational patterns, of their ambits of action and of their ambits of competence in every enviromental matters. The results of this study can be pinpointed in : • definition of reference criteria for the reorganization of the decisional system in environmental matters; • expression of hypotesis for the revision of decisional network in environmental matters, according to contents of the law which institute the Metropolitan City authority (Law 142/90).