Yes / Extant literature shows the positive impact of institutional development on investor rationality and market efficiency. The authors extend this evidence by investigating the performance-flow relationship in the Chinese mutual fund market before and after the enforcement of the revised Law of the People’s Republic of China on Securities Investment Fund. Empirical evidence reveals that Chinese investors irrationally chase past star performers before institutional reform, but gradually become rational and less obsessed with star-chasing behaviors after reform. Moving one percentile upward in the relative performance among the star funds is associated with money inflows by 0.532% after reform, much lower than 1.433% before reform. The findings confirm the positive influence of institutional development on investor rationality and market efficiency. The successful experience can be borrowed by other emerging markets with less developed institutions. / National Social Science Foundation of China [grant number 15AJY019].

This study deals with the impact of the legislative bill that enabled the creation of a regulated cannabis market in Uruguay as a means to combat organized crime in the country. This study will also explore the hypothesis that this legislative bill changed the legal character of criminality as well as reformulating narcotic issues from being a criminal issue into a public health issue. Analyzing the very specific case of Uruguay’s current narcotic policies becomes a means to explore the ideas that constitute Law Nr 19.172 “Marijuana and its derivatives” which might be indicative of the attitudes in society regarding criminality. This ties into the new iteration of the dichotomy between law and democracy as a result of this legislative reform in Uruguay and the possible new role of legal theory in a democratic country which is discussed in this article.

As Narrativas Políticas são histórias que contêm começo, meio e fim; vilões e heróis; perdas e ganhos; e, sobretudo, uma moral (soluções políticas). E por que estes elementos narrativos são importantes nesse estudo? Por meio de sua análise, pudemos compreender aquilo que é considerado a pedra fundamental das articulações e mudanças políticas: As ideias e os interesses. A Política Científica e Tecnológica (PCT) brasileira apresentou distintas narrativas nas últimas décadas, os documentos oficiais de C&T da década de 1970, como o I e II Plano Nacional Básico de Ciência Tecnologia (PBDCT, 1972-74 e 1976-1979, respectivamente), tinham como meta, impulsionar a autonomia nacional em setores estratégicos e suprir a demanda de mão-de-obra qualificada para que o processo de industrialização nacional fosse finalizado. Todavia, á medida que a crise econômica aumentava na década de 1980, a C&T perdia a imagem de ferramenta para o progresso, desta forma, o fomento público foi retirado progressivamente e a Academia teve que seguir sem amplo amparo estatal dos Planos anteriores, como vimos no III PBDCT (1980-1985). O resultado desta falta de financiamento público à C&T foi catastrófico: Houve um verdadeiro desmonte no setor, ocasionada pela falta de recursos. A C&T não tinha espaço estratégico na Agenda pública. A situação foi, gradualmente, revertida quando Fernando Henrique Cardoso assumiu a presidência em 1995 e promoveu inúmeras reformas, entre elas, tentar tornar o setor de C&T mais eficaz, empreendedor e inovativo. Para isto, era preciso desenvolver rearranjos estatais, como os que foram postulados no PlanoPluriAnual (PPA, 1997), no Programa de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, sobretudo, em sua terceira fase (III PADCT, 1998-2004), no Livro Verde (2001) e Livro Branco (2002). Estes documentos apontavam que as políticas públicas C&T estariam empenhadas em assumir novos desafios, convidar novos atores para sua fabricação e remodelar sua dinâmica de produção para atender um objetivo central: Produzir Inovações Tecnológicas por meio da interação universidade-empresa. Tal sinergia foi apresentada como peça-chave na transformação de conhecimento em riqueza, isto agregaria competitividade às nossas empresas, provocando uma nova inserção do Brasil nas relações comerciais internacionais. Essa seria a justificativa última para o financiamento público da ciência. Esta e demais premissas, também estavam presentes nos documentos de C&T&I de seu sucessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, como nos textos da Lei da Inovação (2004) 3º Conferência Nacional de C&T&I (2006) e Livro Azul (2010). Nosso estudo buscou analisar os elementos narrativos de todos os documentos citados e, ao analisa-los, pudemos concluir que desde 1995 o Paradigma que informa a Política Nacional de C&T é lastreado em pressupostos bem distintos daqueles vividos pelo auge do binômio na década de 1970. Acreditamos que esta reorientação se deve, sobretudo, pelo fato da Comunidade Científica ter absorvido, há quinze anos, o discurso da Inovação tecnologia empresarial como alternativa para manter-se no bojo do processo decisório da PCT, captar recursos e continuar a Pesquisa, instrumentos inviáveis nas décadas de 1980-90. / Policy Narratives are stories that contain \"beginning, middle and end\"; villains and heroes; losses and gains; and, above all, a moral (political solutions). And why these narrative elements are important in this study? Through its analysis, we understand what is considered the cornerstone of the joints of political changes: The ideas and the interests. The Science and Technology Policy (PCT) Brazilian showed distinct narratives in recent decades, the official documents of S & T in the 1970s, as the Basic I and II National Plan for Science, Technology (PBDCT, 1972-74 and 1976-1979, respectively), had as its goal, to boost national autonomy in strategic sectors and meet the demand for skilled labor for the national industrialization process was finalized. However, as the economic crisis grew in the 1980s, S & T lost its image as a \"tool\" to progress. In this way, the public support was withdrawn and the Academy had to follow on without extensive state support given by the earlier Plans, as we saw in PBDCT III (1980-1985). The result of this lack of public funding to the S & T sector was catastrophic: There was a real disassemble the sector, caused by lack of resources. The S & T had no strategic space in the public agenda. This situation was gradually reversed when Fernando Henrique Cardoso took office in 1995. The new President promoted numerous reforms, among them, the one trying to make the most effective use of S & T sector, as a tool for innovation and entrepreneurship. In order to reach this results, it was necessary to promote institutional rearrangements, which spelled out in the PlanoPluriAnual (PPA, 1997), in the Third phase of the Plan for Support of Scientific and Technological Development, mainly, the third step (III PADCT, 1998-2004) the Green Paper (2001) and White Paper (2002). These documents indicated that S & T policies would now be committed to take on new challenges, invite new players to reshape the dynamics of their production in order to meet a central goal: to produce technological Innovations through university-industry interaction. This synergy was presented as a key in transforming knowledge into wealth. And by doing that, science would add competitiveness to our companies, supporting a new insertion of Brazil in international market. This and other assumptions were also present in the documents of S & T & I of his successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as the texts of the Innovation Law (2004) 3rd National Conference on S & T (2006) and Blue Book (2010). That said, our study investigates the narrative elements of any cited documents and to analyze them, we concluded that since 1995 the paradigm that informs the National Policy of S & T is backed by very different assumptions of those experienced by the binomial peak in decade 1970. we believe that this shift is due, above all, because the scientific community has absorbed fifteen years ago, the discourse of Innovation with half remain at the core of decision-making of the PCT, raise funds and continue the search, viable instruments in decades of 1980-90.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan

This thesis consists of four empirically oriented papers on central bank independence (CBI) reforms.    Paper [1] is an investigation of why politicians around the world have chosen to give up power to independent central banks, thereby reducing their ability to control the economy. A new data-set, including the possible occurrence of CBI-reforms in 132 countries during 1980-2005, was collected. Politicians in non-OECD countries were more likely to delegate power to independent central banks if their country had been characterized by high variability in inflation and if they faced a high probability of being replaced. No such effects were found for OECD countries.    Paper [2], using a difference-in-difference approach, studies whether CBI reform matters for inflation performance. The analysis is based on a dataset including the possible occurrence of CBI-reforms in 132 countries during the period of 1980-2005. CBI reform is found to have contributed to bringing down inflation in high-inflation countries, but it seems unrelated to inflation performance in low-inflation countries.    Paper [3] investigates whether CBI-reforms are important in reducing inflation and maintaining price stability, using a random-effects random-coefficients model to account for heterogeneity in the effects of CBI-reforms on inflation. CBI-reforms are found to have reduced inflation on average by 3.31 percent, but the effect is only present when countries with historically high inflation rates are included in the sample. Countries with more modest inflation rates have achieved low inflation without institutional reforms that grant central banks more independence, thus undermining the time-inconsistency theory case for CBI. There is furthermore no evidence that CBI-reforms have contributed to lower inflation variability    Paper [4] studies the relationship between CBI and a suggested trade-off between price variability and output variability using data on CBI-levels, and data the on implementation dates of CBI-reforms. The results question the existence of such a trade-off, but indicate that there may still be potential gains in stabilization policy from CBI-reforms.

This thesis consists of four empirically oriented papers on central bank independence (CBI) reforms.    Paper [1] is an investigation of why politicians around the world have chosen to give up power to independent central banks, thereby reducing their ability to control the economy. A new data-set, including the possible occurrence of CBI-reforms in 132 countries during 1980-2005, was collected. Politicians in non-OECD countries were more likely to delegate power to independent central banks if their country had been characterized by high variability in inflation and if they faced a high probability of being replaced. No such effects were found for OECD countries.    Paper [2], using a difference-in-difference approach, studies whether CBI reform matters for inflation performance. The analysis is based on a dataset including the possible occurrence of CBI-reforms in 132 countries during the period of 1980-2005. CBI reform is found to have contributed to bringing down inflation in high-inflation countries, but it seems unrelated to inflation performance in low-inflation countries.    Paper [3] investigates whether CBI-reforms are important in reducing inflation and maintaining price stability, using a random-effects random-coefficients model to account for heterogeneity in the effects of CBI-reforms on inflation. CBI-reforms are found to have reduced inflation on average by 3.31 percent, but the effect is only present when countries with historically high inflation rates are included in the sample. Countries with more modest inflation rates have achieved low inflation without institutional reforms that grant central banks more independence, thus undermining the time-inconsistency theory case for CBI. There is furthermore no evidence that CBI-reforms have contributed to lower inflation variability    Paper [4] studies the relationship between CBI and a suggested trade-off between price variability and output variability using data on CBI-levels, and data the on implementation dates of CBI-reforms. The results question the existence of such a trade-off, but indicate that there may still be potential gains in stabilization policy from CBI-reforms.

The foster care system is responsible for taking care of society’s most vulnerable children and it is important that the system can be reformed as needed to meet the needs of these children. Institutional reform litigation is an ineffective method of improving the child welfare system and should no longer be relied upon. Although widely used institutional reform litigation is not efficient or effective in improving the foster care system. Litigation is unsuccessful in achieving reform because it does not embrace collaboration, cooperation, or communication but instead fosters a hostile environment in which the agencies under court mandate are expected to enact change. In 2006, two new organizations were established in California, the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care and the California Child Welfare Council. Both of these organizations created recommendations for improving foster care. Unlike institutional reform litigation, these two organizations worked collaboratively with various agencies and government branches in order to come up with recommendations that were feasible. These two organizations provide a method of reform that is less myopic and more supportive, allowing for meaningful improvements within California’s foster care system.

Despite significant growth in the number of 'good governance' initiatives promising to generate optimum developmental outcomes in resource-rich countries, there is surprisingly little empirical information about their sector and country-specific dynamics. This thesis focusses on how external 'good governance' norms and institutions interact with domestic actors and organisations to shape the institutional landscape of resource-rich countries. This objective is pursued by means of an in-depth case study of Ghana, a Sub-Saharan African nation that has become a middle-sized exporter of crude oil since January 2011. More specifically, it scrutinises two major reform efforts designed to steer the country's oil industry towards a developmental direction: the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international auditing and multi-stakeholder oversight mechanism, and the Public Interest and Accountability Committee, a home-grown citizens' oversight initiative in Ghana. The analytical lens employed in the study is based on comparative political economy and comparative institutional analysis. They are employed to make sense of the dialectic between the promise of corrective 'good governance' measures and the mirage of reform outcomes in the Ghanaian oil sector. The main argument advanced here is that 'good governance' solutions in the oil industry are essentially weak instruments, due to their inability to grapple with deep-seated instrumental politics, perverse institutional environment, and elite capture that continue to undermine reform in Ghana. This point is adduced to highlight the shortcomings of the 'good governance' agenda. The thesis draws from multiple data sources, collected through semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders, public officials, NGOs and community activists, development agencies, and oil companies. These are complemented by archival research, documentary sources, non-participant observation, and workshops.

As Narrativas Políticas são histórias que contêm começo, meio e fim; vilões e heróis; perdas e ganhos; e, sobretudo, uma moral (soluções políticas). E por que estes elementos narrativos são importantes nesse estudo? Por meio de sua análise, pudemos compreender aquilo que é considerado a pedra fundamental das articulações e mudanças políticas: As ideias e os interesses. A Política Científica e Tecnológica (PCT) brasileira apresentou distintas narrativas nas últimas décadas, os documentos oficiais de C&T da década de 1970, como o I e II Plano Nacional Básico de Ciência Tecnologia (PBDCT, 1972-74 e 1976-1979, respectivamente), tinham como meta, impulsionar a autonomia nacional em setores estratégicos e suprir a demanda de mão-de-obra qualificada para que o processo de industrialização nacional fosse finalizado. Todavia, á medida que a crise econômica aumentava na década de 1980, a C&T perdia a imagem de ferramenta para o progresso, desta forma, o fomento público foi retirado progressivamente e a Academia teve que seguir sem amplo amparo estatal dos Planos anteriores, como vimos no III PBDCT (1980-1985). O resultado desta falta de financiamento público à C&T foi catastrófico: Houve um verdadeiro desmonte no setor, ocasionada pela falta de recursos. A C&T não tinha espaço estratégico na Agenda pública. A situação foi, gradualmente, revertida quando Fernando Henrique Cardoso assumiu a presidência em 1995 e promoveu inúmeras reformas, entre elas, tentar tornar o setor de C&T mais eficaz, empreendedor e inovativo. Para isto, era preciso desenvolver rearranjos estatais, como os que foram postulados no PlanoPluriAnual (PPA, 1997), no Programa de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, sobretudo, em sua terceira fase (III PADCT, 1998-2004), no Livro Verde (2001) e Livro Branco (2002). Estes documentos apontavam que as políticas públicas C&T estariam empenhadas em assumir novos desafios, convidar novos atores para sua fabricação e remodelar sua dinâmica de produção para atender um objetivo central: Produzir Inovações Tecnológicas por meio da interação universidade-empresa. Tal sinergia foi apresentada como peça-chave na transformação de conhecimento em riqueza, isto agregaria competitividade às nossas empresas, provocando uma nova inserção do Brasil nas relações comerciais internacionais. Essa seria a justificativa última para o financiamento público da ciência. Esta e demais premissas, também estavam presentes nos documentos de C&T&I de seu sucessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, como nos textos da Lei da Inovação (2004) 3º Conferência Nacional de C&T&I (2006) e Livro Azul (2010). Nosso estudo buscou analisar os elementos narrativos de todos os documentos citados e, ao analisa-los, pudemos concluir que desde 1995 o Paradigma que informa a Política Nacional de C&T é lastreado em pressupostos bem distintos daqueles vividos pelo auge do binômio na década de 1970. Acreditamos que esta reorientação se deve, sobretudo, pelo fato da Comunidade Científica ter absorvido, há quinze anos, o discurso da Inovação tecnologia empresarial como alternativa para manter-se no bojo do processo decisório da PCT, captar recursos e continuar a Pesquisa, instrumentos inviáveis nas décadas de 1980-90. / Policy Narratives are stories that contain \"beginning, middle and end\"; villains and heroes; losses and gains; and, above all, a moral (political solutions). And why these narrative elements are important in this study? Through its analysis, we understand what is considered the cornerstone of the joints of political changes: The ideas and the interests. The Science and Technology Policy (PCT) Brazilian showed distinct narratives in recent decades, the official documents of S & T in the 1970s, as the Basic I and II National Plan for Science, Technology (PBDCT, 1972-74 and 1976-1979, respectively), had as its goal, to boost national autonomy in strategic sectors and meet the demand for skilled labor for the national industrialization process was finalized. However, as the economic crisis grew in the 1980s, S & T lost its image as a \"tool\" to progress. In this way, the public support was withdrawn and the Academy had to follow on without extensive state support given by the earlier Plans, as we saw in PBDCT III (1980-1985). The result of this lack of public funding to the S & T sector was catastrophic: There was a real disassemble the sector, caused by lack of resources. The S & T had no strategic space in the public agenda. This situation was gradually reversed when Fernando Henrique Cardoso took office in 1995. The new President promoted numerous reforms, among them, the one trying to make the most effective use of S & T sector, as a tool for innovation and entrepreneurship. In order to reach this results, it was necessary to promote institutional rearrangements, which spelled out in the PlanoPluriAnual (PPA, 1997), in the Third phase of the Plan for Support of Scientific and Technological Development, mainly, the third step (III PADCT, 1998-2004) the Green Paper (2001) and White Paper (2002). These documents indicated that S & T policies would now be committed to take on new challenges, invite new players to reshape the dynamics of their production in order to meet a central goal: to produce technological Innovations through university-industry interaction. This synergy was presented as a key in transforming knowledge into wealth. And by doing that, science would add competitiveness to our companies, supporting a new insertion of Brazil in international market. This and other assumptions were also present in the documents of S & T & I of his successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as the texts of the Innovation Law (2004) 3rd National Conference on S & T (2006) and Blue Book (2010). That said, our study investigates the narrative elements of any cited documents and to analyze them, we concluded that since 1995 the paradigm that informs the National Policy of S & T is backed by very different assumptions of those experienced by the binomial peak in decade 1970. we believe that this shift is due, above all, because the scientific community has absorbed fifteen years ago, the discourse of Innovation with half remain at the core of decision-making of the PCT, raise funds and continue the search, viable instruments in decades of 1980-90.

Magister Legum - LLM / This thesis advocates the expansion of the field of transitional justice to address corruption in African states emerging from conflict or authoritarianism. There is a close connection between corruption and conflict or repressive regimes in Africa. A good example is the Arab Spring of 2011, where citizens of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya protested against endemic corruption, leading to removal of despotic leaders from power. Dictators or conflicts tend to leave African states in situations where their coffers have been emptied corruptly and their citizens subjected to serious physical violence. What is more, corrupt and oppressive leaders use their ill-gotten assets to escape liability for their crimes. The evident link between the two forms of abuse makes it desirable to address them simultaneously when the dictatorship or conflict ends. Many African countries have deployed transitional justice mechanisms, such as criminal prosecutions, truth commissions, institutional reforms and reparations to address violations of civil and political rights. However, they have neglected corruption and other violations of social and economic rights, notwithstanding their crucial role in the violent past. Many countries still are haunted by the unresolved legacies of corruption and other socio-economic injustices. Recently, scholars and practitioners in the fields of transitional justice and anti-corruption have started to call for corruption and other socio-economic issues to be accommodated within transitional justice programmes. Problems encountered with the expansion of transitional justice mechanisms have not been worked out yet at the level of theory, policy and practice. This thesis subscribes to transformative justice theory as the most viable perspective from which to tackle corruption in transitional societies in Africa. Transformative justice theory is gaining increasing attention in the field of transitional justice, and it has been incorporated in the recent African Union Transitional Justice Policy. It champions locally driven mechanisms which reflect the needs of the victims and local communities, and which pursue socio-economic justice and transformation. The thesis argues that the current transitional justice mechanisms have the potential to become transformative and it will seek to answer how best each of these mechanisms may be implemented to address corruption. It is hoped that this thesis will assist in answering critical questions regarding the proximate relationship between corruption and violence, and in offering guidelines towards the total integration of an anti-corruption agenda into the field of transitional justice in Africa.