This article examines the extent to which local governments in North Carolina embrace innovation in their economic development activities. The study makes a distinctive theoretical contribution by examining the relationship between innovation in how economic development policies are administered and implemented (using concepts associated with governance and NPM), and innovation in what is substantively done (policy innovation). An analysis of the results from a statewide survey of local governments in North Carolina finds that certain governance/management variables are significant determinants of economic development policy innovation. An implication of this finding is that new ways of doing economic development may go hand‐in‐hand with new ways of governing and managing. Many of the governance/management variables are also positively associated with the use of a greater number of traditional economic development strategies and tools. This suggests that local governments may find it helpful to be innovative in how they implement economic development irrespective of the substantive policy orientation of particular strategies and tools.
Intergovernmental councils in Germany comprise 18 sectoral ministerial conferences and the prime ministerial conference as peak organization. They complement the Bundesrat as institutions of Intergovernmental Relations in the German system of cooperative federalism, dealing with matters of shared rule as well as self-rule. Based on expert interviews among ministerial bureaucrats, this contribution finds that contrary to conventional wisdom, vertical influence and autonomy protection are not their main purpose. Rather, they serve primarily information exchange and coordination. Still, the emphasis on either influence and autonomy protection or coordination and information as well as the directions of interaction vary across policy sectors. We further investigate constitutional allocation of power and party political composition as determinants on the specific purpose of ministerial conferences. The findings suggest that the allocation of power is more important than party political composition in explaining variation between sectoral ministerial conferences.
"Mit den gravierenden Auswirkungen der internationalen Finanzkrise auf Russland, stellt sich die Frage, welche Strategie die russische Führung zur Reform ihrer Wirtschaft favorisiert. Trotz neuer Impulse durch Präsident Medwedew wird deutlich, dass sich die wirtschaftspolitische Strategie Russlands in den nächsten Jahren nicht radikal verändern wird. Die politische Kultur und industrielle Struktur werden dazu führen, dass auch künftig der russische Staat in der Wirtschaft eine zentrale Rolle spielen wird." (Autorenreferat)
During each electoral period, the strategic interaction between voters and political elites determines the number of viable candidates in a district. In this paper, we implement a hierarchical seemingly unrelated regression model to explain electoral coordination at the district level in Uruguay as a function of district magnitude, previous electoral outcomes and electoral regime. Elections in this country are particularly useful to test for institutional effects on the coordination process due to the large variations in district magnitude, to the simultaneity of presidential and legislative races held under different rules, and to the reforms implemented during the period under consideration. We find that district magnitude and electoral history heuristics have substantial effects on the number of competing and voted-for parties and lists. Our modeling approach uncovers important interaction-effects between the demand and supply side of the political market that were often overlooked in previous research. (GIGA)
Overall, this thesis finds that financial and economic conditions in central, eastern and south-eastern Europe (CESEE) are significantly affected by euro area monetary policy. Moreover, monetary policy independence in CESEE countries seems to be somewhat limited, especially in the presence of unofficial euroisation. Given high business cycle synchronization between CESEE countries and the euro area, the limitation or absence of independent monetary policy is not very costly. The first part of the thesis deals with the ECB's non-standard monetary policy measures introduced since 2008, with the results suggesting that spillovers of non-standard monetary policy measures to south-eastern Europe are similar to spillovers of conventional monetary policy measures that have been identified by the literature. The second part focuses on unofficial financial euroisation. The results lead to the conclusion that domestic central banks in countries with independent monetary policy can only partially control the "euro part" of the interest rate channel in the presence of unofficial financial euroisation. The third part assesses the degree of business cycle synchronization between the Western Balkans and the European Union. The results indicate that business cycles have clearly converged over time, and that foreign trade is the most important positive contributor to business cycle synchronization. ; Diese Dissertation kommt zu dem Schluss, dass die finanziellen und wirtschaftlichen Bedingungen in Zentral-, Ost- und Südosteuropa (CESEE) erheblich von der Geldpolitik des Euroraums beeinflusst werden. Darüber hinaus erscheint der Spielraum für unabhängige Geldpolitik in den CESEE-Ländern eingeschränkt zu sein, insbesondere durch die vorherrschende inoffizielle Euroisierung. Jedoch ist angesichts der hohen Synchronisierung von Konjunkturzyklen zwischen den CESEE-Ländern und dem Euroraum die Einschränkung beziehungsweise Abwesenheit einer unabhängigen Geldpolitik nicht sehr kostspielig. Der erste Teil der Arbeit befasst sich mit den seit 2008 eingeführten unkonventionellen geldpolitischen Maßnahmen der EZB. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Auswirkungen der unkonventionellen geldpolitischer Maßnahmen der EZB auf Südosteuropa den Auswirkungen konventioneller geldpolitischer Maßnahmen, wie sie durch bestehende Literatur identifiziert wurden, ähneln. Der zweite Teil dieser Arbeit befasst sich mit inoffizieller finanzieller Euroisierung. Die Ergebnisse führen zu dem Schluss, dass Zentralbanken in CESEE-Ländern mit eigenständiger Geldpolitik den "Euro-Teil" des Zinskanals bei inoffizieller finanzieller Euroisierung nur teilweise kontrollieren können. Der dritte Teil dieser Arbeit untersucht den Grad der Synchronisierung von Konjunkturzyklen der Westbalkan-Länder mit der Europäischen Union. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich die Konjunkturzyklen im Laufe der Zeit deutlich angeglichen haben und dass der Außenhandel den wichtigsten positiven Beitrag zur Synchronisierung von Konjunkturzyklen leistet. ; 108 Seiten
