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2802. Are Russians Undemocratic?
- Author:
- Michael McFaul and Timothy J. Colton
- Publication Date:
- 06-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- A NEW NARRATIVE ABOUT POST -S OVIET R USSIA is taking hold in policy, media, and academic circles and shows signs of entrenching as a new conventional wisdom. By this reading, Russia's experiment with democracy has flat-out failed. So misconceived and mismanaged were the political and economic reforms of the 1990s that they have fueled mass disenchantment with democratic norms and brought authoritarianism back into repute. Russians, in short, are said to be giving up on democracy.
- Topic:
- Democratization and Government
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Asia
2803. Pitfalls on the Road to Fiscal Decentralization
- Author:
- Vito Tanzi
- Publication Date:
- 04-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- IN PAST YEARS, the subject of fiscal decentralization interested mainly specialists—even though several countries, including the United States, came into existence through the political and economic integration of already existing political entities, such as states or principalities. Recently, however, fiscal decentralization has been attracting more general attention, largely because of pressures for greater fiscal decentralization in many countries around the world. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a range of issues related to fiscal decentralization, focusing in particular on possible alternatives to decentralization and various pitfalls that may be associated with it. Unlike much of the previous literature on the subject, therefore, this paper will pay less attention to the actual processes of decentralization and more on whether decentralization is the right direction for a country to choose.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States
2804. Making the World Safer for Incumbents: The Consequences of McCain-Feingold-Cochran
- Author:
- John Samples
- Publication Date:
- 03-2001
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), joined by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), have introduced legislation adding new regulations on campaign finance. Their proposed law bans “soft money” going to political parties, restricts advertising by for-profit corporations and labor unions, and greatly increases the ambit of federal election law.
- Topic:
- Government and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States
2805. Toward Market Education: Are Vouchers or Tax Credits the Better Path?
- Author:
- Andrew J. Coulson
- Publication Date:
- 02-2001
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Education markets have consistently done a better job than state monopolies of serving both our individual needs and our communal goals. Yet all market-inspired education reforms are not intrinsically or uniformly effective. They can succeed only to the extent that they support the conditions for a thriving education market and ensure that all families have access to that market.
- Topic:
- Education and Government
2806. Fiscal Policy Report Card on America's Governors: 2000
- Author:
- Stephen Moore and Stephen Slivinski
- Publication Date:
- 02-2001
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- This report presents the findings of the Cato Institute's fifth biennial fiscal policy report card on the nation's governors. The grading mechanism is based on purely objective measures of each governor's fiscal performance. Those governors with the most fiscally conservative records— the tax and budget cutters—receive the highest grades. Those who have increased spending and taxes the most receive the lowest grades.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
2807. "Big Oil" at the Public Trough? An Examination of Petroleum Subsidies
- Author:
- Ronald J. Sutherland
- Publication Date:
- 02-2001
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Critics of the oil industry allege that the industry receives large and unwarranted government subsidies and that rival technologies, such as those for ethanol, renewable energy, and energy efficiency, deserve compensating government preferences. The evidence indicates that, on balance, the oil industry is not a net beneficiary of government subsidies. The facts point in the opposite direction. The oil industry is more harmed than helped by government intervention in energy markets.
- Topic:
- Environment, Government, and Industrial Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States
2808. Democratizing U.S. Trade Policy
- Author:
- Pat Choate and Bruce Stokes
- Publication Date:
- 11-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Storm clouds signaling trouble with American trade policy have been gathering for some time. In the early 1990s, Congress barely approved creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and only strenuous efforts by the Clinton administration and the business community ensured passage of legislation creating the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the late 1990s, President Clinton twice failed to obtain congressional renewal of his trade-negotiating authority. The massive demonstrations during the meeting of the world's trade ministers in Seattle in 1999 reflected a widespread public unease with the impact of trade policy on a range of issues, from clear-cutting practices in the forests of Indonesia to the price of AIDS drugs in southern Africa. Today, public opinion polls consistently demonstrate that, although the American public supports freer trade in theory, it often has profound reservations about trade liberalization in practice. And the current global economic slowdown may only further polarize public opinion on trade issues.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States, Indonesia, South America, and North America
2809. Dangerous Liaisons in 1940s Quebec: Vichy or la France libre
- Author:
- Robert Schwartzwald
- Publication Date:
- 03-2001
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- It may come as a surprise to American readers that during the Second World War, both the Vichy regime and la France libre cared deeply about public opinion in French Canada. Yet resource-rich Canada was Britain's principal ally against Nazi Germany before the collapse of the Hitler-Stalin pact and the attack on Pearl Harbor. If public opinion in English-speaking Canada rallied immediately behind Great Britain and was solidly interventionist, this was not the case in Quebec. In his study, Montreal historian Eric Amyot demonstrates that the opposing French camps well understood the necessity of waging a war for public opinion in the largely French-speaking province. At stake were Canadian government policy and the respective claims for legitimacy of Vichy and la France libre both at home and on the world stage.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- Britain and France
2810. Les élections locales françaises de mars 2001: un échec pour la majorité
- Author:
- Gérard Grunberg
- Publication Date:
- 06-2001
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- The local elections of spring 2001 constituted a defeat for the Socialist government. The outcome of these elections in large and medium-sized cities show significant losses for the Left––despite Socialist victories in Paris and Lyon––and especially for the Communists whose numbers continue to decline. The only left-wing party to improve its position was the Green Party. These results do not reflect a clear rejection of the government by the public, but they outline two reasons for the Left to worry: First, although polls seemed to be favorable to the Left, the elections' disappointing outcome shifted the political climate in a way that benefits the Right. While the Left was politically destablilized, the election results boosted the opposition's morale and Jacques Chirac now felt confident in taking the offensive in his race for the presidency. Second, the election results––more specifically the analysis of how votes shifted between the two rounds––reveal two developments: The Right did a better job than the Left at mobilizing its potential voters for the second round; and in the context of the National Front schism, more far-right voters than in the past voted for moderate-right candidates. Such trends suggest that the 2002 elections will be a challenge for a more divided and instable "gauche plurielle." The local elections of 2001 moved the Left from the role of favorite to that of challenger.
- Topic:
- Government