This work asserts that bureaucratic organization is not only an inevitable part of the modern administrative state, but that a high quality bureaucracy within a strongly empowered executive branch is an ideal mechanism for running government in the modern era. Beginning with a philosophical inquiry into the purpose of American government as we understand it today, this paper responds to criticisms of the role of expanded government and develops a framework for evaluating the quality of differing government structures. Following an evaluation of the current debate surrounding bureaucracies (from both proponents and critics), this thesis outlines the lessons and principles for structuring and managing an efficient bureaucracy. Finally, this paper concludes with two case studies – Puerto Rican bureaucratic failures and Japanese/Chinese national development – to consider the effects of compliance and non-compliance to the lessons outlined in this work. The inquiry finds that principles such as specialization, political autonomy, effective information systems, higher accountability standards, and managerial emphasis on policy implementation are all critical to superior bureaucratic governance.

This paper serves to further investigate factors influencing partisanship in Mexican politics with a focus on state spending and drug violence. With state spending, this paper builds on prior literature about political effects of federal social spending (Handelman 1997, Domínguez and Chappell 2004, Díaz-Cayeros 2009) to propose a similar theory regarding state social spending. The proposed panel data model for national elections between 2000 and 2012 finds that for diputados elections, a thousand-peso increase in state spending had a statistically significant influence on party voting – boosting PRI candidates (typically incumbents) by 0.66% and hurting both PAN and PRD candidates by 0.78% and 1.57% respectively. This paper also proposes an alternative theory of state spending whereby the effect comes from a linkage of spending and economic performance. With drug violence, this paper studies the importance of the Mexican Drug War on the Mexican political environment but finds no consistent party impact of instability (modeled with intentional homicide statistics) in national elections from 2000 to 2012. This paper delves into potential explanations for this finding including different effects by election, distrust of political parties, and the perception of little difference between parties. Finally, the paper outlines other responses to instability and drug violence to demonstrate approaches taken by Mexican citizens outside of the ballot box. These alternative strategies include protesting, lobbying, migration, and the rise of private security.

The purpose of the research was to conduct a study of the impact of gentrification on the Metropolitan Atlanta area. This research focused on the policies that influenced or affected recipient communities because of gentrification. These changes are attributed to residents relocating from various sections of a transitioned community to another community. Available research, however, does not fully address the new challenges recipient communities face because of a boost in its population. Current research does not fully address the pressure on recipient communities’ resources due to (possible) lack of housing, schools, transportation, and social services because of an influx of citizens; nor does the current research fully address an overall strategy to sustainable community and economic development for recipient communities.

This thesis examines the evaluation of the economic, environmental and social effects of dams, and lessons learned from previous dams. It then focuses on cost benefit analysis as a decision-making tool pre-project for evaluating the potential gains and losses of building a dam; and as a framework for evaluating dams in operation. It reviews the basic assumptions required for a legitimate cost benefit analysis, and the inherent limitations of this method. It uses the Sardar Sarovar dam as a case study for the use and abuse of cost benefit analysis in decision-making, interstate politics, propaganda and activism. It also illustrates the difficulties in dividing costs and benefits in an equitable manner at national, state, and grassroots levels.

Doctor Scientiae - DSc / Robust Spectral Methods for Solving Option Pricing Problems by Edson Pindza PhD thesis, Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of the Western Cape Ever since the invention of the classical Black-Scholes formula to price the financial derivatives, a number of mathematical models have been proposed by numerous researchers in this direction. Many of these models are in general very complex, thus closed form analytical solutions are rarely obtainable. In view of this, we present a class of efficient spectral methods to numerically solve several mathematical models of pricing options. We begin with solving European options. Then we move to solve their American counterparts which involve a free boundary and therefore normally difficult to price by other conventional numerical methods. We obtain very promising results for the above two types of options and therefore we extend this approach to solve some more difficult problems for pricing options, viz., jump-diffusion models and local volatility models. The numerical methods involve solving partial differential equations, partial integro-differential equations and associated complementary problems which are used to model the financial derivatives. In order to retain their exponential accuracy, we discuss the necessary modification of the spectral methods. Finally, we present several comparative numerical results showing the superiority of our spectral methods.

Even with clear advantages to using internet based survey research, there are still some uncertainties to which survey methods are most conducive to an online platform. Most survey method literature, whether focusing on online, telephone, or in-person formats, tend to observe little to no differences between using various survey modes and survey results. Despite this, there is little research focused on the interaction effect between survey formatting, in terms of design and framing, and public opinion on social issues, specifically child immigration policies - a recent topic of popular debate. This paper examines an anomalous result found within the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) public opinion immigration question focusing on a DACA-related policy, where support was evenly split on the typically highly favored policy. To decipher the unprecedented result, an experimental survey design was conducted via Qualtrics by comparing various survey formats (single-style, forced choice, Likert scale) and inclusionary policy details to the original CCES “select all that apply” matrix style. By comparing the experimental polls, the results indicated that the “select all that apply” matrix again produced anomalous results, while the various other methods produced a breakdown similar to typical DACA-related polling data. These findings have necessary implications for future survey designs and those examining public opinion on child immigration policies.

No description available.

<p>This thesis seeks to explain the way in which assisted housing and health policies evolved in Canada and the United States during four watershed periods: the mid-1940s, the late 1960s, the late 1970s, and the mid-1980s. To achieve this objective, it discusses the concepts of health, the broader determinants of health, disease prevention, and health promotion; it reviews documents which urge that greater attention be paid to the broader determinants of health during policy formulation; and it examines recent studies which stress the value of linking assisted housing and health policies.</p> <p>After an overview of assisted housing and health policy development in Europe, the thesis explores the evolution of these policy fields in Canada and the United States up to the mid-1940s, and investigates the reasons why these nations followed the policy paths they did.</p> <p>Using the neo-institutional approach to explain the complex interplay among the various institutions, actors, and events that affect the public policy process, the thesis discusses eight major institutional and behavioral variables that contribute to the shaping of policy over time. It then studies the influence which these variables had on assisted housing and health policies during the four watershed periods.</p> <p>Examination of postwar Canadian and US policy trends shows that although housing was treated in both countries mainly as an economic issue and only secondarily as a determinant of well-being, Canada dealt with healthcare essentially as a social issue and adopted a public system, while the US treated it as a socioeconomic issue and relied heavily on the private sector. Despite these policy differences, a potential for linking assisted housing and health policy manifested itself in both countries during the mid-1940s and late 1960s, but declined after the late 1970s.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This dissertation looks at how enhanced political participation opportunities can increase individual liberty and improve public-sector reform efforts. It blends political theory with contemporary concerns for individual well-being and government accountability. To do this, several research methodologies are used, including normative, qualitative process-tracing, and quantitative analysis. First, the dissertation draws insights from ancient and modern political philosophy and the political thought and example of Jane Addams in 19th Century Chicago. It begins with Josiah Ober’s work on civic dignity, which he defines as “equal high standing” among citizens, marked by “non-infantilization and non-humiliation.” This definition is a useful starting point but somehow seems thin for a concept of such import. In exploring the wisdom of Tocqueville’s “schools” of democracy and Jane Addams’ notion of fellowship, I expand the definition of civic dignity to include “having a sense of ownership.” In other words, being dignified as a citizen in a self-governing political community should include having a seat at the proverbial table where one can speak and be heard. This means that political participation opportunities would ideally carry low transaction costs while maximizing the substance that can be contributed. Through Addams’ experience at Hull House, the settlement house she co-founded, I highlight how these opportunities for meaningful political participation are indispensable to individual civic dignity, and by extension, individual liberty and well-being. Second, civic dignity is viewed through a different lens, namely the role it can play when incorporated successfully into policy design and implementation. Arguably, a self- governing political community’s greatest asset is the collective knowledge and lived experience of its citizens. But current political participation mechanisms and policy designs do not do a good job leveraging that resource, and many individuals may find themselves unofficially shut out. Using process-tracing methodology, a case study explores resettlement projects targeting the urban poor in Mandaue City, the Philippines. The case study results demonstrate that deepening democracy (by incorporating civic dignity into the policy design and implementation) not only benefits individual liberty, but can also produce better outcomes and contribute to anti-corruption efforts. Taking civic dignity into account during policy design and implementation is not merely a “feel good” option; it is a strategic option that allows the political community to leverage local knowledge by enlisting the participation of those individuals or groups closest to the problem or challenge at hand. While this finding is not entirely novel, it is far from standard practice. Domestically and internationally, the coercive force of government and/or the “tyranny of experts” is too often the default approach for policy design and implementation. Third, the theoretical and practical explorations of civic dignity are used to construct a measure for civic dignity. In a data driven world, reliable and valid measurement is key, and if the concept of civic dignity is going to gain currency, then validating a scale to capture it is essential. Through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), survey items are examined to determine which items map onto the latent factors that comprise civic dignity. A 22-item four-factor solution that maps onto the four components of civic dignity is presented. The newly minted Civic Dignity Scale is then compared against measures from political science and psychology literature that are theoretically related but distinct from civic dignity, such as political efficacy and self-determination, to test for construct validity. Spearman correlations yield reassuring results, showing statistically significant strong positive correlations as hypothesized. Finally, the relationship between the Civic Dignity Scale and political participation is analyzed for further construct validity. A Poisson regression model shows that for every one unit increase in an individual’s civic dignity, the likelihood that one would participate in political activities also increases. While a confirmation factor analysis is needed for further scale validation, the EFA and subsequent analyses do codify and deepen our understanding of civic dignity. In the future, a fully validated Civic Dignity Scale would enable reformers like Addams and those in Mandaue City to legitimize and track their efforts empirically.

Amid increasing trends of market concentration and corporate political activity in the United States, this thesis takes a quantitative approach to evaluating Luigi Zingales’ political theory of the firm. Using data from the Economic Census and from the Center for Responsive Politics, I find that concentration as measured by four and eight largest firms’ share of establishments exhibits a significant positive relationship to corporate lobbying at the intensive margin. On the other hand, concentration as measured by four and eight largest firms’ share of employment exhibits a significant negative relationship on politically active firms’ decision to lobby at the extensive margin. Through drawing upon existing quantitative literature on this subject, I conclude that Zingales’ theory remains sound and its implications on the political economy of the United States are bleak. Further research should look into politically feasible policy solutions to this troubling relationship.