This thesis conceptualizes and documents transformations underlying the contemporary condition of Canadian political membership. Through an examination of recent changes in Canadian immigration policy underwritten by the neoliberal reconfiguration of the state, the imperatives of ‘skills discourse’ and the exigencies of economic globalization, this thesis interprets the effect of globalization on the state and state-based membership as a process referred to by Saskia Sassen as ‘incipient denationalization’. / Graduate

[pt] Esta dissertação estuda a relação entre descentralização e desenvolvimento econômico. Para tanto, o trabalho parte da análise das teorias sobre meios e fins do desenvolvimento até chegar à teoria neoinstitucional, que enfatiza o papel das instituições para o processo de desenvolvimento. Em seguida, visto que a descentralização foi amplamente defendida como uma reforma institucional positiva para o desenvolvimento econômico, são analisados os argumentos teóricos a favor da descentralização. Estes são classificados segundo seu objetivo econômico, que presume que as prestações do poder local seriam desenhadas de modo mais eficiente, e seu objetivo político, notadamente, o fortalecimento da democracia local. Tais objetivos estão ligados à hipótese de que a descentralização contribui para o aumento da participação popular e, conseqüentemente, permite fortalecimento de mecanismos de feedback e accountability e examina-se, portanto, a relação entre participação e desenvolvimento. Após a fundamentação teórica, são analisados os problemas e benefícios da reforma observados no contexto brasileiro. Além de tratar das avaliações da descentralização após a Constituição Federal de 1988, este trabalho considera a influência da tendência à re-centralização e do problema da captura do poder pelas elites locais nos resultados da descentralização no Brasil. / [en] This thesis studies the relationship between decentralization and economic development. The work starts with the analysis of theories about means and ends of development until reaching the new institutional theory, which emphasizes the role of institutions for the development process. Subsequently, since decentralization has been widely advocated as a positive institutional reform for economic development, it analyzes the theoretical arguments in favor of decentralization. They are classified according to its economic aim, which assumes that the benefits of local government would be designed more efficiently, and its political aim, notably, the strengthening of local democracy. Both aims are linked to the hypothesis that decentralization contributes to the increase of popular participation and, consequently, allows strengthening of feedback and accountability mechanisms. The relationship between participation and development is, therefore, examined. After presenting the theoretical foundations, it analyzes the obstacles and benefits of the decentralization reform observed in the Brazilian context. While addressing the evaluation of decentralization particularly after the 1988 Federal Constitution, this thesis considers the influence of the trend toward re-centralization and the problem of capture by local elites in the results of decentralization in Brazil.

This Master Thesis gives an insight of railroad infrastructure at a regional level of European importance through a case-study within the Rhine-Neckar region in Germany. Administrative competences are hard to overcome from the planning point of view, consequently regions rely on informal planning tools to achieve a broader transnational and integrated transport strategy in Europe. Beside that metropolitan regions have in a scientific sense four different functions. One of them is the gateway function in a polycentric European development. Therefore this thesis analyze the new high-speed railway track between Frankfurt am Main and Mannheim. Furthermore the thesis draws an outlook of the further development of the new high-speed railway and their expected problems out of a regional planning point of view. The conclusion give an insight, if all four scientific metropolitan functions can be found within the region and what their approach of a cooperative federalism is about. All four metropolitan functions can be found within the region in terms of the new high-speed railway. The innovation function is given through the INTERREG IVB-NWE project CODE24, which was elected as a strategic initiative and was of European importance. The decision-making and control function is given through the established European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation, as it gives the whole initiative an European legal form. The symbol function can be found particularly in a footnote of the German Federal Train Track Expansion Act back in 2004, as the region achieved a legal boundary at the federal level. The last function, the gateway function, is given as the corridor between those two agglomerations has the highest traffic volume in Germany.

Cette thèse s’articule en trois essais qui contribuent à la littérature en économie politique des pays en voie de développement. Le premier chapitre étudie l’impact des distorsions dans la representation législative des provinces au sein du Congrès argentin dans la distribution des revenus fédéraux. Le chapitre 1 est coécrit avec Sebastián Galiani (University of Maryland) et Gustavo Torrens (University of Indiana). En utilisant trois types de variations exogènes dans la representation legislative des provinces on montre que des changements dans le nombre de sièges n’a aucun effet sur le montant de révenus fédéraux que chaque province reçoit. Le deuxième chapitre (co-écrit avec S. Galiani et G. Torrens) analyse la dynamique des réformes structurelles dans les pays en voie de développement, en présence d’organisations internationales pourvoyeuses de fonds. Nous développons un modèle dynamique où on montre que ces organisations modifient l’équilibre politique et peuvent induire des pays à sur-reformer et les exposer à un cycle de réformes et contre-réformes. Le troisième chapitre de cette thèse étudie l’impact des nouvelles technologies d’information sur le comportement politique des jeunes en Argentine. J’analyse l’impact d’un programme de distribution d’ordinateurs portables ciblé aux étudiants des écoles secondaires, qui ont voté pour la première fois après une baisse de l’age du droit de vote à 16 ans. Je trouve que l’accès au programme a un effet négatif dans leur taux de participation aux élections; des données complementaires montrent que l’utilisation qu’ils donnent aux ordinateurs est plutôt de divertissement, un fait qui conduit au désintérêt en politique. / This thesis consists of three essays on the political economy of developing countries. Chapter 1 « Fiscal Federalism and Legislative Malapportionment: Causal Evidence from Independent but Related Natural Experiments » (cowritten with S. Galiani and G. Torrens) investigates the impact of distortions in districts' representation in the Argentine Congress on the distribution of federal tax resources. Exploiting exogenous variations in the provinces' legislative representation, we show that changes in the share of seats do not result in changes in the share of federal tax resources each district gets. Chapter 2, entitled « International Organizations and Structural Reforms » (co-written with S. Galiani and G. Torrens), we analyze the dynamics of structural reforms in developing countries in the presence of international organizations that fund reforms. We develop a dynamic model in which we show that these organizations alter the local political equilibrium and may incentivize countries to over-reform. This, in turns, leaves countries prone to suffer violent cycles of reform and counter-reform. In chapter 3, « Computers and Youth Political Participation », I study the impact of new information technologies on the political behavior of young people in Argentina. I analyze the effect of a laptop distribution program aimed at high school students who voted for the first time after voting age was lowered to 16. My analysis show that exposure to the program is associated with a decrease in turnout rates of teenagers, and I present evidence that suggests that this may be due to increased entertainment use of computers, which eventually leads to apathy in politics.

L'évolution du débat européiste de la naissance du mouvement antifasciste Giustizia e Libertà (GL) en 1929 jusqu'à la dissolution du Partita d'Azione (PdA) en 1947 est le cœur de cette recherche. Le propos est sa contextualisation dans une dimension européenne. Si GL agit surtout en exil dans les années Trente, le PdA, né en 1942, est l'un des protagonistes de la Résistance armée italienne. Leur révolution démocratique aspire à souder les valeurs de la liberté politique et de la justice sociale. Ils souhaitent la constitution d'une Italie républicaine dans le cadre d'une Europe politiquement unifiée et démocratique. Cette thèse met en exergue les idées d'unité européenne élaborées dans ce milieu antifasciste pluriel. Dans une période de crise du processus de la construction européenne, l'exploration de cette filiation politico-intellectuelle ambitionne de contribuer à la connaissance des courants européistes et des réflexions diverses autour de l'unité de l'Europe. / The evolution of the Europeanist debate from the birth of the anti-fascist movement Giustizia e Libertà (GL) in 1929 until the dissolution of the Partita d'Azione (PD) in 1947 is the heart of this research. The purpose is its contextualization within a European dimension. If GL acts mainly in exile in the Thirties, the PdA, born in 1942, is one of the protagonists of the ltalian Armed Resistance. Their democratie revolution aspires to weld the values of political freedom and social justice. They want the constitution of a republican ltaly within the framework of a politically unified and democratie Europe. This thesis highlights the ideas of European unity developed in this plural anti-fascist milieu. ln a period of crisis in the process of European construction, the exploration of this political and intellectual filiation aims to contribute to the knowledge of Europeanist currents and the various thoughts regarding the unity of Europe.

The contemporary phenomenon of the global rush for farmland has generated intense debate from different actors. While the proponents embrace it as a "development opportunity", the critics dub it "land grabbing". Others use a neutral term: "arge-scale land acquisitions". Whatever terminology is used, one fact remains indisputable - since 2007 vast swathes of farmlands in developing countries have been sold or leased out to large-scale commercial farmers. Ethiopia is one of the leading countries in Africa in this regard and, as a matter of state policy, it promotes these investments in peripheral regions that are predominantly inhabited by pastoralists and other indigenous communities. So far, the focus of most of the studies on this phenomenon has been on its economic, food security and environmental aspects. The questions of land rights and political implications have been to a great extent overlooked. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to this knowledge gap by drawing upon the experience of the Gambella regional state - the epicentre of large-scale land acquisition in Ethiopia. To this end, this thesis argues that large-scale land acquisitions in Ethiopia is indeed redefining indigenous communities' right to land, territories and natural resources in fundamental ways. By doing so, it also threatens the post-1991 social contract - i.e. ethnic federalism - between the envisaged new Ethiopian state and its diverse communities, particularly the peripheral minorities and indigenous ethnic groups. / Church Development Service (EED) now ¿Brot für Die Welt¿

Структура магистерской диссертации включает в себя введение, три главы, заключение, список использованных источников. В первой главе рассмотрены теоретические основы и законодательная база предоставления субвенций бюджетам бюджетной системы Российской Федерации. Во второй главе исследованы методические основы и проведен анализ предоставления субвенций региональным и местным бюджетам на примере консолидированного бюджета Свердловской области. В третьей главе предложены пути совершенствования порядка предоставления субвенций на финансовое обеспечение расходных обязательств субъектов РФ и муниципальных образований. В заключении сформированы основные выводы. / The structure of the master's thesis includes an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion, and a list of sources used. The first chapter discusses the theoretical foundations and legislative framework for the provision of subsidies to the budgets of the budgetary system of the Russian Federation. The second chapter explores the methodological foundations and analyzes the provision of subventions to regional and local budgets on the example of the consolidated budget of the Sverdlovsk region. The third chapter proposes ways to improve the procedure for providing subventions for financial support of expenditure obligations of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipalities. In conclusion, the main conclusions are formed.

Unfunded public pension and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) liabilities impose major threats to local fiscal sustainability, which increases governments' default risk and crowds out funding for essential local services. To close the funding gaps, localities may apply a wide range of fiscal instruments, including increasing taxes, fees, and user charges, issuing debt and bonds, obtaining grants and/or decreasing expenditures. This research compares the US local fiscal choice behavior in the context of the fiscal federalism framework. The goal is to identify the ideal mix of constitutional fiscal rules to preserve local fiscal sustainability. Not only should the rules aim to minimize local adverse fiscal behavior pre-crisis, which may include excessive spending, large accumulations of unfunded liabilities, and over-reliance on external grants, but also allow strong local fiscal adaptive capacity post-crisis. The findings help localities identify any effective and prudent fiscal options available to close their pension funding gaps and contribute to the overall sub-national fiscal institutional reforms. Theoretically, this research introduces a novel analytical framework pertaining to local fiscal sustainability by separating pre-crisis and post-crisis institutional analysis and by consolidating two historically viewed as two competing paradigms, public choice and public finance. I argue that the two approaches are complementary rather than contradictory since public choice theory sets up an institutional prerequisite for normative outcomes to be realized and prevents the occurrence of extreme circumstances. The ideal mix of formal fiscal rules, thus, should induce the balanced budget rule that applies to all budget items, stringent spending and debt limits, and institutionalized local tax authority and stable tax structure, but not tax limits. Tax limits are less effective in constraining government than spending and debt limits due to fiscal gimmicks. Moreover, stringent tax limits could significantly limit local governments' ability to bounce back on their own. This research also found that cities do apply different fiscal strategies to reduce exogenous shocks, given their unique fiscal institutions in place. Furthermore, cities with fewer institutional constraints exhibit a faster speed of adjustment. However, certain institutional variables, such as public union size and tax authority, might not have the same fiscal implications as predicted by the theory. Cities often manage to cut their short-term spending regardless of the size of their public unions. A broad range of tax authority does not imply greater local revenue-generating capacity. Own source revenue autonomy might be a better indicator of local fiscal adaptive capacity. / Doctor of Philosophy / Unfunded public pension and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) liabilities impose major threats to local fiscal sustainability, which increases governments’ default risk and crowds out funding for essential local services. To close the funding gaps, localities may apply a wide range of fiscal instruments, including increasing taxes, fees, and user charges, issuing debt and bonds, obtaining grants and/or decreasing expenditures. This research compares the US local fiscal choice behavior in the context of the fiscal federalism framework. The goal is to identify the ideal mix of constitutional fiscal rules to preserve local fiscal sustainability. Not only should the rules aim to minimize local adverse fiscal behavior pre-crisis, which may include excessive spending, large accumulations of unfunded liabilities, and over-reliance on external grants, but also allow strong local fiscal adaptive capacity post-crisis. The findings help localities identify any effective and prudent fiscal options available to close their pension funding gaps and contribute to the overall sub-national fiscal institutional reforms. Theoretically, this research introduces a novel analytical framework pertaining to local fiscal sustainability by separating pre-crisis and post-crisis institutional analysis and by consolidating two historically viewed as two competing paradigms, public choice and public finance. I argue that the two approaches are complementary rather than contradictory since public choice theory sets up an institutional prerequisite for normative outcomes to be realized and prevents the occurrence of extreme circumstances. The ideal mix of formal fiscal rules, thus, should induce the balanced budget rule that applies to all budget items, stringent spending and debt limits, and institutionalized local tax authority and stable tax structure, but not tax limits. Tax limits are less effective in constraining government than spending and debt limits due to fiscal gimmicks. Moreover, stringent tax limits could significantly limit local governments’ ability to bounce back on their own. This research also found that cities do apply different fiscal strategies to reduce exogenous shocks, given their unique fiscal institutions in place. Furthermore, cities with fewer institutional constraints exhibit a faster speed of adjustment. However, certain institutional variables, such as public union size and tax authority, might not have the same fiscal implications as predicted by the theory. Cities often manage to cut their short-term spending regardless of the size of their public unions. A broad range of tax authority does not imply greater local revenue-generating capacity. Own source revenue autonomy might be a better indicator of local fiscal adaptive capacity.

No description available.

This research sought to explain the emergence of the Wyoming Core Area Strategy (WCAS), a state-based Greater Sage Grouse conservation plan. It presents a theoretical framework that is based on and adds nuance to the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). The hypothesis this study explored was: if a subsystem's jurisdiction is threatened by a hierarchically superior subsystem's policy outputs and this jurisdiction is necessary to meet the threatened subsystem's goals, then policy change may occur as a result of a strategy by the agents in the threatened subsystem. The data used to examine the hypothesis included expert interviews, historical documents, and interviews from media sources (secondary source interviews). The hypothesis was supported; the WCAS emerged because the Endangered Species Act listing outputs within the Species Conservation Policy Subsystem threatened the Wyoming Land Use Policy (WLUP) Subsystem's jurisdiction, which was necessary to meet the WLUP Subsystem's economic and lifestyle goals; the Governor of Wyoming drove the development and enactment of the WCAS as a strategy to retain jurisdiction. The research demonstrated that in order to fully account for the WCAS's emergence, a less mechanistic view of the framework, one that accounts for the ability of agents in a subsystem to act strategically, was needed. The research also demonstrated that the Greater Sage Grouse conservation benefited from the ESA listing process despite its warranted but precluded listing status. The time frame the research explored was 2002 through March 2012. / Master of Arts