Theory suggests that tort reform could have either of two impacts on accidents. First, reforms could increase accidents as tortfeasors internalize less of the costs of externalities, and thus, have less incentive to reduce the risk of accidents. Second, tort reforms could decrease accidents as lower expected liability costs result in lower prices, enabling consumers to buy more risk-reducing pr...

In Public Administration, it is taken for granted that reforms are initiated and conducted by leaders. However, one can wonder whether change is indeed always coming from leadership and whether the concept thereof as the driving force behind change and the panacea for all the problems encountered during reforms is not a bit overrated in recent literature. Th is paper presents the argument that ...

The Effect of Divorce Laws on Divorce Rates in Europe This paper analyzes a panel of 18 European countries spanning from 1950 to 2003 to examine the extent to which the legal reforms leading to “easier divorce” that took place during the second half of the 20th century have contributed to the increase in divorce rates across Europe. We use a quasi-experimental set-up and exploit the different t...

In this paper we use a rich population based register data set for Norway to identify effects on fertility by exploiting eight different reforms in paid and unpaid maternity leave. We use a non-parametric regression discontinuity design comparing mother’s giving birth before and after the reforms. Unlike previous studies we can narrow down the treatment group to those who were eligible for the ...

Improving the environment for business is an important part of the growth strategy of Abenomics. As the goal for this effort, the Abe Administration aims to improve Japan’s rank in the World Bank Doing Business Ranking to one of the top three among OECD. This paper clarifies what it takes for Japan to achieve the goal. By looking at details of the World Bank Doing Business ranking, we identify ...

Korea recently introduced three major health care reforms: in financing (1999), pharmaceuticals (2000), and provider payment (2001). In these three reforms, new government policies merged more than 350 health insurance societies into a single payer, separated drug prescribing by physicians from dispensing by pharmacists, and attempted to introduce a new prospective payment system. This essay co...

Abstract This chapter describes the most prominent public management reform trajectories in German administration over past decades since unification. In 1990s, New Steering Model emerged as a variant of NPM. Since mid-2000s, local governments Germany have been subjected to mandatory their budgeting and accounting system known Municipal Financial Management reforms. Both reforms led substantial...

Background: The health insurance and family physician reform in Iran were implemented in 2005. This study was conducted to assess the effect of these reforms on avoidable hospitalizations among the rural population of Eslam-shahr County, Iran.    Methods: We conducted a before-after study in Eslam-shahr County’s single existing hospital. This county is a part of the Tehran Prov...