Rescaling and reforming the state under NAFTA: implications for subnational authority

The new free trade agreements are rescaling governance in ways that have critical implications for subnational governments. The nation state is not simply being hollowed out; rather, a new governance nexus is forming — of nation states, multinational corporations and international agreements — which explicitly excludes subnational and local government voice. This article describes the new governance features of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and illustrates how they work out at the national, subnational and local scales using cases from the United States and Mexico. NAFTA provides the template for other free trade agreements including the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and a growing number of bilateral agreements. We show how NAFTA's governance structure is undermining subnational and local government authority in legislative and judicial arenas. Designed to advance privatization of public services, these agreements undermine the very ability of local governments to use markets for public goods by defining traditional state and local governance mechanisms as ‘non‐tariff barriers to trade’. Contradictions between private profit and public interest appear at the subnational level but their resolution is engaged at the global level between private investors and the nation state. Recognition of this rescaling requires attention to the reforming state and its implications for subnational authority and democratic representation and voice. Les nouveaux accords de libre‐échange ré‐échelonne la gouvernance selon des modalités aux implications critiques pour les gouvernements infra‐nationaux. L'État‐nation n'est pas seulement en train d'êvidé de son contenu, mais une nouvelle sphère de gouvernance se forme —à partir d'États‐nations, de groupes multinationaux et d'ententes internationales —, excluant explicitement toute voix de gouvernements locaux ou infra‐nationaux. Cet article décrit les nouvelles caractéristiques de la gouvernance selon l'Accord de Libre‐Échange Nord‐Américain (ALENA) et illustre, avec les cas des Etats‐Unis et du Mexique, comment elles opèrent aux échelons national, infra‐national et local. L'ALENA fournit un modèle pour d'autres accords de libre‐échange, comme la Zone de Libre‐Échange des Amériques (ZLEA) et un nombre croissant de conventions bilatérales. L'article montre comment la structure de gouvernance de l'ALENA mine l'autorité des gouvernements locaux et infra‐nationaux dans les domaines législatif et judiciaire. Destinés à favoriser la privatisation des services publics, ces accords sapent l'aptitude même des gouvernements locaux à recourir aux marchés pour les marchandises publiques, puisqu'ils définissent les mécanismes de gouvernance locale et étatique traditionnels comme des ‘barrières commerciales non‐douanières’. Les contradictions entre profit privé et intérêt public apparaissent au niveau infra‐national, mais leur résolution est entreprise au niveau mondial entre investisseurs privés et État‐nation. La reconnaissance de ce décalage d'échelon appelle à s'intéresser à l'État réformateur et aux implications pour toute autorité infra‐nationale et représentation ou voix démocratique.     

The tradeoff between mortgage prepayments and tax-deferred retirement savings

Many households face the tradeoff between paying an extra dollar off the remaining mortgage on their house and saving that extra dollar in tax-deferred accounts (TDAs) used for retirement. We show that, under certain conditions, it becomes a tax arbitrage to reduce mortgage prepayments and to increase TDA contributions because of the tax deductibility of mortgage interest and tax-exemption of qualified retirement savings. Using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, we document that a significant number of households that are accelerating their mortgage payments instead of saving in TDAs forgo a profitable tax arbitrage opportunity. Finally, we show empirically that this inefficient behavior is unlikely to be driven by liquidity or other financial constraints. Rather, the observed behavior can be attributed to a certain extent to the reluctance of many households to participate in financial markets as either lenders or borrowers.     

The infant formula debate

Two articles on ‘The baby milk controversy’, published in the August 1980 issue of Food Policy, were received with great interest and have generated a large response. In those articles, John Sparks put the case for the infant formula manufacturers and Andy Chetley replied. We now present the comments of a Third World scientist in response to those articles, a report from Andy Chetley on the international marketing code for breast-milk substitutes, and an appeal by Jennifer Halpern for increased cooperation between the multinationals and INFACT and its supporters.     

'Good and Bad'

If it's not good for something, then it's good for nothing. The Director of the Centre for Business and Professional Ethics at the University of Leeds continues her examination of basic terms frequently used in business ethics.     

Feminization and professionalization: A review of an emerging literature on the development of accounting in the United Kingdom

This paper analyses the feminization and professionalization experience of accounting in the United Kingdom. Accountancy is involved in an on-going struggle to consolidate its privileged position in society. It is, therefore, particularly sensitive to any process which may threaten this position. Since the position of women in society is a subordinate one, the increasing feminization of accounting may adversely affect this struggle. As a result, complex patriarchal structures evolve to reduce the threat to professionalization that feminization may pose, and also to reduce the contradictions between women's subordinate role in society, and their relatively privileged role in professionally aspiring occupations.