Decentralization in Peru's Agricultural Policy: A Critical Review from 1993 to 1998

In 1983 decentralization was already being described as the latest fashion in development administration and it has been gaining in popularity ever since. This theoretical concept has been embraced world-wide and incorporated into economic and political reform plans. In this paper, the proclaimed desire for decentralization in Peru's public administration is tested by reviewing the example of its agricultural policy and in particular its strategy with regard to public agricultural subsidies. The objectives of the paper are: (1) to illustrate the discrepancies between the theoretical objectives of decentralization and how it is implemented in practice; (2) to analyse the structure of Peru's agricultural support policies, evaluate the process of decentralization in this sector and subsequently identify possible problem areas and make policy recommendations; and (3) using the regionally differentiated public expenditures for the agricultural sector in the period from 1993 to 1998, to cross-check the lip-service paid to decentralizing agricultural policy in Peru.     

The purity of impure public goods

In this paper, we provide a new perspective on the links between the analysis of the voluntary provision of pure and impure public goods. In particular, it is shown that the impure public good model can be transformed into a pure public good one. This innovative method not only leads to new comparative statics results, but also provides new insights on the impure public good model, for example, on causes of the nonneutrality of income transfers with regard to Nash equilibria in the impure public good case.     

Hohe Sterblichkeit

Diagnostik und Therapie der Lungenentzündung - Verschiedene Erreger wie Viren, Bakterien oder Pilze k?nnen das Lungengewebe angreifen und urs?chlich für eine Pneumonie sein. Daraus resultiert, dass es für die verschiedenen Formen der Pneumonie und auch verschiedene Behandlungsans?tze gibt.     

Combating “maritime terrorism” off the coast of Somalia

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the international naval mission in the Gulf of Aden from 2008 to 2010, both in terms of its counter-piracy and its counter-terrorism objectives. We draw on arguments developed in the literature of terrorism and law and economics, detailed statistical analyses and a large number of in depth interviews. Counter-piracy operations are a qualified success: their main effects are the stabilisation of attacks at a high level and the substitution between the relatively well protected transit corridor in the Gulf of Aden and the open sea. However, the counter-piracy measures deterred pirates from forming alliances with Islamist movements and may therefore made a major contribution to international security.     

Rankings und Indikatoren — hilfreiche Kennzahlen oder Verkürzungen mit fatalen Folgen?

Die Verdichtung von Informationen zu einer Kennzahl scheint praktisch: Sie erleichtert den globalen Vergleich verschiedener L?nder. Aus der Positionierung innerhalb eines Rankings werden wirtschaftspolitische Empfehlungen abgeleitet. Der Politik wird signalisiert, genau an den Einzelkennziffern zu drehen, die im jeweiligen Ranking enthalten sind. Welche Vor- und Nachteile mit Indikatoren und Indikatorensystemen verbunden sind, diskutierten die Autoren im Rahmen der Panelsitzung, die der Wirtschaftsdienst anl?sslich der Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2011 organisiert hat.     

Consumers' inferences about quality across diverse service providers

When consumers encounter different services as part of the same service experience they may use information about one group of service providers to draw inferences about the quality they expect to receive from another group of service providers. This research identifies the conditions under which information about the quality of one type of service (e.g., a hotel's front desk) influences quality perceptions of another type of service (e.g., a hotel's tour services). Results show that consumers' beliefs about managerial control influence generalizations across service providers. Also, consumers infer managerial control from the spatial proximity between the premises of the service providers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Impact of AIDS on Family Composition,Welfare, and Investment: Evidence from Uganda*

Although availability of quantitative information on the extent of HIV/AIDS in Africa is improving, the socio‐economic implications of the epidemic remain poorly understood. This paper explores this issue for Uganda focusing on households who received foster children between 1992 and 2000, a phenomenon that affected more than 15% of households. The authors find that addition of a foster child resulted in significant reductions of per capita consumption, income, and household investment which were more pronounced for the poor. Initial disadvantages in foster children's access to education for this group were overcome in the course of UPE implementation, while new inequalities have emerged in access to health services. Foster children's ability to access services will thus be affected by the broader policy environment as well as programs more specifically targeted at this group.