While we know that emotional reactions are important influences on political behavior, we know far less about the sources of these emotions. This paper studies the causes of fear and anger in reaction to a negative stimulus: the financial crisis. Anger should have been experienced among individuals who believed a specific actor was to blame for the crisis. Moreover, individuals should have been...

Effective strategies to build a national approach to the integration of health and urban planning at all levels of government is essential if the health problems of urban Australians, such as obesity and respiratory illnesses, are to improve. This paper examines some policies and initiatives that could facilitate intergovernment cooperation on health and sustainability within the constraints of...

The uneven diffusion of local and state laws restricting the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in the United States may be a function of inconclusive scientific evidence and lack of guidance from the federal government. The objective of this study was to assess whether the rationale for amending clean indoor air acts (CIAAs) is being conflated by issues that are not directly re...

The problems of quality and cost in the U.S. health care system are unlikely to be solved without strong leadership from the federal government, which can mobilize action to set national priorities for quality; develop and promulgate standards for care; and stimulate implementation of performance measures and standards for providers. All of these functions would best be carried out by a new fed...

The current political climate in the United States has mobilized scientists to become more cognizant of the need to advocate for sustainable science funding from the federal government and for acceptance of evidence-based policy making that relies on the best available scientific data. Many scientists, however, do not learn about science policy or how to advocate in Washington, D.C., or at the ...

Exposures to low levels of lead in the environment are believed to have potentially significant health effects, especially in children; such exposures to the general population come from many sources. Responsibility for regulating lead exposures has been derived from a multitude of laws passed by the Congress, and thus ultimate protection of people depends on actions taken by several agencies o...

This paper extends the theory of legal cartels to a.liated private value and common value environments, and applies the theory to explain joint bidding patterns in U.S. federal government o.shore oil and gas lease auctions. We show that e.cient collusion is always possible in private value environments, but may not be in common value environments. In the latter case, fear of the winner’s curse ...

America’s local governments spend about one-eighth of our national income, one-fourth of total government spending, and employ over 14 million people. This paper surveys the large and growing economics literature on local governments and their finances. A primary difference between local and national government is the ease of labor mobility within countries, which disciplines local governments ...

Personnel systems and policies can have a substantial influence on the quality of local government. This paper shows that Japanese local governments provide stable and well-paid careers. Indeed, pay scales are slightly higher than those of central government staff. As a result, Japanese local governments have attracted good staff into their ranks and built up strong human resource capacity over...

Over the past decade, various means of decentralizing authority and responsibility to local governments have been discussed. It was broadly recognized that local government capacity would need to be strengthened considerably if the central government were to lessen its role in the intergovernmental fiscal system. Most Thai local governments have limited capacity for financial management, planni...