Do Financial Incentives Affect Firms' Demand For Disabled Workers?

A number of OECD countries aim to encourage work integration of disabled persons using quota policies. For instance, Austrian firms must provide at least one job to a disabled worker per 25 nondisabled workers and are subject to a tax if they do not. This "threshold design" provides causal estimates of the noncompliance tax on disabled employment if firms do not manipulate nondisabled employment; a lower and upper bound on the causal effect can be constructed if they do. Results indicate that firms with 25 nondisabled workers employ about 0.04 (or 12%) more disabled workers than without the tax; firms do manipulate employment of nondisabled workers but the lower bound on the employment effect of the quota remains positive; employment effects are stronger in low-wage firms than in high-wage firms; and firms subject to the quota of two disabled workers or more hire 0.08 more disabled workers per additional quota job. Moreover, increasing the noncompliance tax increases excess disabled employment, whereas paying a bonus to overcomplying firms slightly dampens the employment effects of the tax.

Education as a mirror of Spanish society: challenges and policies towards multiple diversity

The ways in which the dominant cultural majority frames the educationalsystem determine perceptions of its own identity and understandings ofthe ‘other.’ In this article I take a political approach, by examining themanagement of cultural diversity within Spanish education policies, treating“education as the mirror of society”. This article analyzes Spanish challengesand policies approaches towards the management of immigrationrelated diversity in education. The main finding is that there is not one approach,but several, due to both the decentralized character of the educationsystem and the multiplicity of diversity that is at stake (i.e. language,religion, culture etc.)

Temporary and circular labour migration : reassessing established public policies

Today, Temporary Labour Migration is a fundamental course of action promoted by relevant economic and political agents, such as EC, the GCIM, or the OECD. Based on a specific empirical case study of Temporary and Circular Labour Migration in the Catalonian agrarian sector, which has been distinguished as a particularly successful formula, we identify a new area of interest: the emergence of a new empirical migrant category, the Circular Labour Migrant, which remains theoretically unnamed and lacks public recognition. We argue that, until now, there have been two historical phases regarding temporary labour migration: one of total deregulation and another of partial regulation, led by private actors with support from public institutions, and featuring circularity. IN a developed Welfare State context, it would be normatively pertinent to except a step towards a third phase, one involving the institutionalization of this new mobility category through the elaboration of a public policy.

Is there really a backlash against multiculturalism policies? New evidence from the multiculturalism policy index

In much of the western world, and particularly in Europe, there is a widespread perception that multiculturalism has ‘failed’ and that governments who once embraced a multicultural approach to diversity are turning away, adopting a strong emphasis on civic integration. This reaction, we are told, “reflects a seismic shift not just in the Netherlands, but in other European countries as well” (JOPPKE 2007). This paper challenges this view. Drawing on an updated version of the Multiculturalism Policy Index introduced earlier (BANTING and KYMLICKA 2006), the paper presents an index of the strength of multicultural policies for European countries and several traditional countries of immigration at three points in time (1980, 2000 and 2010). The results paint a different picture of contemporary experience in Europe. While a small number of countries, including most notably the Netherlands, have weakened established multicultural policies during the 2000s, such a shift is the exception. Most countries that adopted multicultural approaches in the later part of the twentieth century have maintained their programs in the first decade of the new century; and a significant number of countries have added new ones. In much of Europe, multicultural policies are not in general retreat. As a result, the turn to civic integration is often being layered on top of existing multicultural programs, leading to a blended approach to diversity. The paper reflects on the compatibility of multiculturalism policies and civic integration, arguing that more liberal forms of civic integration can be combined with multiculturalism but that more illiberal or coercive forms are incompatible with a multicultural approach.

The European Union and refugees: towards more restrictive asylum policies in the European Union?

Several scholars have argued that European countries have decided to cooperate on asylum and migration matters at the EU level in order to develop more restrictive policies. In particular, it has been argued that European states have ‘venue-shopped’ to a new policy-venue in order to escape national constraints. This paper puts this argument to the test by assessing the extent to which the development of EU cooperation on asylum matters has indeed led to the adoption of more restrictive asylum standards. The paper argues that, actually, EU asylum cooperation has led to an overall increase in protection standards for asylum-seekers and refugees. This outcome is explained by two main factors: the increasing ‘judicialisation’ of asylum in the EU and institutional changes in the EU asylum policy area that have strengthened the role of more ‘refugee-friendly’ institutions.

Opinions on tobacco control policies in Lausanne, Switzerland, 2003-2006.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the determinants of opinions regarding tobacco control policies in the Swiss general population. METHODS: Cross-sectional study conducted between 2003 and 2006 on a random sample of adult residents of Lausanne, Switzerland, aged 35-75 years (2601 women and 2398 men). Nine questions on smoking policies were applied. RESULTS: Ninety-five percent of responders supported policies that would help smokers to quit, 92% no selling of tobacco to subjects aged less than 16 years, 87% a smoking ban in public places and 86% a national campaign against smoking. A further 77% supported a total ban on tobacco advertising, 74% the reimbursement of nicotine replacement therapies and 70% an increase in the price of cigarettes. A lower support was found for two non-evidence-based interventions total ban of tobacco sales (35%) and promotion of light cigarettes (22%). Never smokers, women, physically active subjects, teetotallers and subjects with lower educational level were more likely to favour stronger measures while no differences were found between age groups. Reimbursement of nicotine replacement therapies was favoured more by current smokers and inactive subjects. CONCLUSION: The vast majority of responders supported the recommended tobacco control policies. Opinions regarding specific interventions vary according to the policy and subjects' characteristics.

How current Tax Laws affect Woodlands Owners, August 1998

This report is on the effects of the tax reforam act of 1986 on timber production activites.

Modern Perspectives on Fiscal Stabilization Policies

The present paper describes recent research on two central themes of Keynes General Theory: (i) the social waste associated with recessions, and (ii) the effectiveness of fiscal policy as a stabilization tool. The paper also discusses some evidence on the extent to which fiscal policy has been used as a stabilizing tool in industrial economies over the past two decades.

Asessing public policies. The case of education in Europe and the interaction between personal and institutional factors

The paper deals with the comparative study of European citizens' satisfaction with the state of education in their respective countries. Individual and contextual effects are tested applying multilevel analysis. The results show that educational public policies (level of decentralization, degree of comprehensiveness and public spending) as well as the students' social environment (socioeconomic and cultural status) have a sound impact on the opinions about the state of education.

Social spending and demographics: The role of public policies in the intergenerational redistribution of income. Empirical evidence from Spain and Catalonia

The demographic shift underway in Southern Europe requires a revision of some of the fundamental principles of the traditional welfare state. We analyze the evolution of several aspects of welfare and social expenditure over the last two decades. We find that in the context of the present demographic changes and real estate boom current social and pension policy leads to a new distribution of benefits and burdens which is highly intergenerationally unequal. We argue for a revised definition of public policy based on Musgrave's proposition as a possible rule for an intergenerationally fair distribution.

Electoral Platforms, Implemented Policies, and Abstention

Recent studies of American politics evidence that political polarization of both the electorate and the political elite have moved 'almost in tandem for the past half century' (McCarty et al., 2003, p.2), and that party polarization has steadily increased since the 1970s. On the other hand, the empirical literature on party platforms and implemented policies has consistently found an imperfect but nonnegligible correlation between electoral platforms and governmental policies: while platforms tend to be polarized, policies are moderate or centrist. However, existing theoretical models of political competition are not manifestly compatible with these observations. In this paper, we distinguish between electoral platforms and implemented policies by incorporating a non-trivial policy-setting process. It follows that voters may care not only about the implemented policy but also about the platform they support with their vote. We find that while parties tend to polarize their positions, the risk of alienating their constituency prevents them from radicalizing. The analysis evidences that the distribution of the electorate, and not only the (expected) location of a pivotal voter, matters in determining policies. Our results are consistent with the observation of polarized platforms and moderate policies, and the alienation and indifference components of abstention.

Study of Iowa's Current Road Use Tax Funds (RUTF) and Future Road Maintenance and Construction Needs, 2006

The 81st General Assembly of the Iowa Legislature, in Section 85 of House File 868, required the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct a study of current Road Use Tax Fund (RUTF)revenues, and projected roadway construction and maintenance needs.

Study of Iowa’s Current Road Use Tax Funds (RUTF) and Future Road Maintenance and Construction Needs, 2006

The 81st General Assembly of the Iowa legislature, in Section 85 of House File 868, required the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) to conduct a study of current Road Use Tax Fund (RUTF) revenues, and projected roadway construction and maintenance needs. With input from Iowa’s cities, counties and other interested groups, the Iowa DOT completed this report for submittal to the legislature.