This article argues that a failure to embrace a particular form of governance, "populist deliberative democracy" (PDD), likely contributes to the rise and persistence of mass incarceration in the United States. The article relies on varied converging sources of data. First, the article examines...

This paper discusses recent policy trends in Canada, the changing role of the various actors in the system, international comparisons and a range of other social policy topics. The immediate purpose of the paper is to examine the reasons why social policy analysts need to look to the future and...

Trends over the last 25 years suggest that nearly 80% of the social sector spending has come from state budgets. Taken together with other policy developments in the country, the centre's role in financing social welfare, including elementary education, is likely to decline further. Analysing...

The U.S. economy was damaged by the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. Output plunged and unemployment spiked. Mandated shutdowns, social distancing, and altered consumption patterns resulted in many businesses closing permanently and laying off workers.To replace lost jobs and incomes, the economy needs...

The alarming rise in drinking water pollution across the U.S. is often attributed to cost cutting pressures faced by local officials. We know little, however, about why these pressures are so severe for some cities compared to others. We present a new theory to argue that an important...

From a government perspective, shared-use or open-access infrastructure arrangements can provide significant prospects for sustainable development. The shared use of infrastructure built by mining companies can spur and support additional mining projects and other economic activities and...

This chapter reviews the theory of the voluntary public and private redistribution of wealth elaborated by economic analysis in the last forty years or so. The central object of the theory is altruistic gift-giving, construed as benevolent voluntary redistribution of income or wealth. The theory...

Using a new data set on Swiss state and local governments from 1890 to today, we analyze how the adoption of proportional representation affects fiscal policy. We show that proportional systems shift spending toward broad goods (e.g. education and welfare benefits) but decrease spending on...