Decentralization looms large in any analysis of Canadian economic and social policy. This trend has been especially pronounced in the area of unemployment insurance (UI) and social assistance (SA) programmes. Provinces now manage SA programmes and retain 100% of any cost savings that they achieve, while the Federal government maintains full responsibility for the passive component of UI. Under a series of provincial-federal Labour Market Development Agreements, since 1997 most of Canada's provinces have taken over administrative responsibility for the employment benefit and support measures (EBSMs) targeted on UI beneficiaries. A number of articles have examined the implications for provincial SA systems of restrictive measures in the UI programme. This paper examines the possibility that provinces may shift actual and potential SA clients onto the insurance system (now called employment insurance, EI). It concludes that within the context of EBSMs, any cost-shifting of this ...
Ma and Chen have proposed an authenticated encryption scheme with public verifiability. The scheme claims that the TTP can publicly verify the sender's signature without running a zero knowledge proof protocol. The problem in verification which causes the TTP to reject a valid signature with non-negligible probability is pointed out.
This report presents an analysis of the application of the comprehensive development framework (CDF) principles to the process of preparation and implementation of the poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) in Burkina Faso. It is based on the work of the case study team that carried out a fieldwork in Burkina Faso in April and May 2002. Burkina Faso was chosen because it was one of the first countries to have completed a full PRSP, the cadre strategique de lutte contre la pauvrete (CSLP), and because it is highly dependent on international aid to finance its public budget. An objective of the Burkina Faso case study was to identify ways and means to strengthen local capacity to implement the CSLP in order to enhance the likelihood of Burkina Faso achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs). Translating budgetary resources into sustained poverty reduction outcomes will require Burkina Faso and its development partners to address two fundamental challenges: first, the quality of public service delivery will need to improve markedly and will need to engage the process of decentralization and the participation of civil society in implementation and monitoring development efforts at the local level. Second, the diversification of the economy from dependence on agriculture will need to be accelerated and the private sector needs to be enabled to perform better its role as the engine of growth and exports. The report is organized as follows: chapter one gives introduction. The second chapter provides a brief overview of the historical context and landmarks leading to the CDF principles and CSLP in Burkina Faso. Chapter three gives detailed analysis of each of the CDF principles in terms of how the principle is being applied, progress in executing the principle, and the major issues and challenges to be faced. Chapter four analyzes some specific issues and challenges of implementation and sequencing. The chapter concludes with a discussion of a simple scorecard by which the team attempted to rank the likelihood of achieving specific CSLP goals.
The aim of this research is to analyze factors influencing fiscal need and fiscal capacity autonomy era. Estimated result of two models, fiscal need and fiscal capacity showed a positive effect and significant at 1% level. The research finding are (i) these estimated models enrich the public finance references. the difference between fiscal need (FN) and fiscal capacity (FC) can be derived a fiscal gap (FG); (ii) the increasing of the fiscal expenditure need was larger than fiscal capacity; (iii) the districts/towns (kabupaten/kota) faced some 'trade-off', such as, between pattern if fiscal centralization and fiscal decentralization, between execution of program oriented and budget oriented, and between reduction of fiscal gap and uncertainly of aid allocation.
The contribution of theology to control and accounting has been traced through the \nmonastic tradition demonstrating how the Cistercians used decentralized control of their \nextensive farms in contrast to the centralized control of the Benedictines (Knowles,1948). \nThe contribution of theology to political economy was traced by Weber and Tawney in \ntheir analysis of the Calvinist roots of liberal market capitalism and more subtly by Adam \nSmith in his ironic use of a phrase from Isaiah Ch 60 as the title for his seminal work on \nmarkets. \nThis paper reports upon a case of the interplay of theology and control and accountability \nwhich occurred as the Church of England set out to respond to a financial crisis. \nAccountability was theorized as stemming from the three elements of covenant, constitution \nand contract all of which were contested in the ground metaphor of autonomy. It \ndemonstrates how a group of financiers from within the evangelical tradition (which places \nstress on headship and control) led an attempt to create a new church governance body (a \nnational council) with strongly integrated central control and diminished democratic and \nconciliar participation. They had described the church as 'a cats cradle of autonomous and \nsemi autonomous organizations'. The case then demonstrates how the other theological \ntraditions (anglo-catholic and liberal) were mobilized , over a period of several years, to \npermit the new body to come into life but to unravel the proposed centralised control and \nto maintain the existing nature of governance and to enrich the complexity of the 'cat's \ncradle'. \nThe case analysis is based upon the theory of eco-systems (as a more formal view of the \ncat's cradle) to show how the loosely coupled nature of eco systems with their multiple \ntheological stances and their multi layered processes of relationships and accountabilities \nwere almost impervious to the attempt to shift them into an ordered and controlled \nhierarchy.
Fiji is currently implementing health care reforms with the first phase of reforms focusing on decentralization of the health system. Part of this effort focuses on looking at financing options. Some options for financing health care include private health insurance, social insurance, community financing, user-pays system (out-of-pocket), health savings accounts, government taxation and subsidies, and overseas loans and aid funding. This paper addresses all these options in detail and provides an analysis into each of these options relevance to Fiji and in some instances to other nations in the South Pacific region. Given the relative small populations of Fiji and its neighbouring nations, a regional approach to financing could prove more viable in the longer-term, however political, social, economic, legal and cultural issues will need to seriously explored.
Epidemiology of Acute Renal Failure The development of acute renal failure (ARF) in the hospital setting continues to be associated with poor outcomes (1â7). Over the last three decades, several experimental models have identified pathophysiologic mechanisms associated with ARF and have enhanced our understanding of the disease (8â10). It is evident that ARF can result from alterations in renal perfusion, changes in glomerular filtration, and tubular dysfunction, and that correction of these factors can ameliorate the effects of ARF (11,12). On the basis of the identification of the underlying mechanisms, several new potential interventions have been developed that have been shown to alter the course of incipient and established ARF in experimental models (13â15). Application of these findings has resulted in improvements in the prevention of ARF due to radiocontrast agents, aminoglycoside antibiotics, and rhabdomyolysis (16,17). Several other agents are now in advanced stages of development or initial phases of clinical trials (18,19). In concert, advances in dialysis have occurred with the availability of continuous renal replacement therapies in addition to intermittent hemodialysis and acute peritoneal dialysis (20â22). It is well recognized that uncomplicated ARF can usually be managed outside the intensive care unit (ICU) setting and carries a good prognosis, with mortality rates less than 5% to 10% (23,24). In contrast, ARF complicating nonrenal organ system failure in the ICU setting is associated with mortality rates of 50% to 70%, which has not changed for several decades (6,25â30). These figures are in sharp contrast to the experience with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), where in-hospital mortality rates have declined from the range of 50% to approximately 6% over the past 25 to 30 yr. Much of the credit for improved AMI outcomes has been attributed to the use of coronary care units, cardiac catheterization, aspirin, ÎČ-adrenergic antagonists, thrombolytic therapy, and, more recently, specialized percutaneous coronary interventions and glycoprotein IIbâIIIa inhibitors (31â34). In spite of improved dialytic technology, including the development and refinement of continuous renal replacement therapies for the most critically ill patients, we have seen no material change in the high mortality rates associated with ARF. Indeed, we have not demonstrated any pharmacologic or other intervention effective in the early management of ARF. Interventions that have been deemed ineffective (or potentially harmful) include the following: loop and osmotic diuretic agents (35,36), ârenal doseâ dopamine (37,38), atrial natriuretic peptide (39,40), insulin-like growth factor-1 (41), and endothelin receptor antagonists (42). Although ARF may develop in 5% or more of hospitalized patients, the heterogeneity of ARF and associated comorbidity make its study more difficult than AMI and other, more discrete conditions. Among the impediments to progress in ARF research is the lack of a uniform definition of ARF that might be used to compare and contrast observational studies, and to allow for rational design of clinical trials. Relatively few studies have examined the incidence of hospital-acquired ARF. The oft-cited study by Hou et al. (23) reported an ARF incidence estimate of 4.9%. Shusterman et al. (24) conducted a similar study identifying ARF in 1.9% of hospitalized patients. A follow-up study recently published by Hou and colleagues (43) showed an increase in incidence (7%), but a similar spectrum of risk factors. ARF in the ICU setting has also been characterized in the last two decades. Lian[Combining Tilde]o et al. (6) found ICU patients with ARF to have associated organ failure, sepsis, and other complications. It is well recognized that the development of ARF is associated with an increase in mortality (22,25,26,44,45). It is also known that patients with ARF as part of multiorgan failure have the highest mortality rates. In several studies, sepsis-related ARF had a significantly worse prognosis than ARF in the absence of sepsis (46,47). It is also recognized that untreated ARF may contribute to a higher incidence of new-onset sepsis (48). Definition of ARF The spectrum of definitions in published studies of ARF is striking, ranging from severe (e.g., ARF requiring dialysis) to relatively modest observable increases in serum creatinine concentration (e.g., increase in serum creatinine of 0.3 to 0.5 mg/dl above baseline). Solomon et al. (36) used the definition of an increase in serum creatinine of 0.5 mg/dl within 48 h of radiocontrast exposure in a widely cited study that showed a borderline significant difference in ARF among individuals given saline infusion versus furosemide or mannitol before radiocontrast exposure. However, neither the Solomon et al. study nor others that use this ARF definition (including the Tepel et al. (49) and Kay et al. (50) publications on N-acetyl cysteine) have shown an association between a transient change in serum creatinine and morbidity, or the likelihood of long-term recovery of renal function. Many other definitions of ARF have been applied; some are outlined in Table 1. The most liberal of definitions have been used in intervention studies aimed at ARF prevention, usually in the context of radiocontrast exposure, one of the few instances in which ARF can be anticipated.Table 1: Alternative ARF definitions from several published studiesSeveral of the definitions are extremely complex (see Lian[Combining Tilde]o et al. (6) and others) and could allow excessive subjectivity in ARF determination. These would likely be impractical for prospective, multicenter investigations. Moreover, none of the definitions used to date take into account the modifying effects of age, gender, and race on creatinine generation (and thereby serum creatinine concentration in ARF). It is noteworthy that creatinine generation is typically higher among individuals who are younger, male, and African American (51). Therefore, at the same decrement in GFR, persons with different demographic characteristics may be more likely to âqualifyâ with ARF diagnoses, particularly those definitions that require a minimum peak creatinine (e.g., 50% increase, to at least 2.0 mg/dl). By use of this definition, we found a twofold increase in the incidence of amphotericin Bâassociated ARF among men (52). Whether male gender is a true risk for ARF or simply a risk for being diagnosed with ARF is unclear. Regardless, the association of ARF with male gender highlights one of the limitations of the use of a definition of ARF that is creatinine based and not age, gender, and race adjusted. Changes in serum creatinine are not specific and do not discriminate the nature and type of renal insult (e.g., ischemic, nephrotoxic) or the site and extent of glomerular or tubular injury, and levels are relatively insensitive to small changes in GFR (53). Moreover, changes in serum creatinine may lag behind changes (decline or recovery) in GFR by several days. Finally, because serum creatinine is influenced by one of the potential interventions for ARF (e.g., creatinine is removed by dialysis), its specificity for renal recovery is even more problematic. Empiric Evidence of the Focus on Creatinine and Urine Output We recently completed an analysis focusing on correlates of timing of nephrology consultation for ARF in the ICU (54). To avoid the complexities of comparing individuals whose ARF developed during a complicated ICU stay, we restricted our analysis to those patients with evidence of ARF at ICU admission and excluded individuals designated as âdo not resuscitate.â We considered a wide array of demographic, clinical, laboratory, and physiologic variables (including pulmonary artery catheter data in some patients). The serum creatinine concentration and urine output (either as a continuous variable or the dichotomous âoliguriaâ) (<400 ml/d) were associated with the timing of consultation. There was no relation between the timing of consultation and hospital service, medical history, physiologic parameters, other laboratory studies, or the presence or absence of organ system failure, despite the fact that many of these factors have been shown to predict mortality in ARF in other studies. In other words, empiric evidence demonstrates that the definitions used in published reports are operative in practice, with little attention to risk profiles or associated nonrenal organ system failure. Analogous Definitions in Other Conditions Conceptual Framework for Disease Definitions. Disease definitions may be used to ascertain the presence of a disease in an individual or a population, guide the nature and timing of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, and, in individual patients, help determine prognosis. The presence of any disease is inferred from a combination of clinical symptoms and signs, and alterations in biologic markers that can be reproducibly measured. Measures defining a disease should be responsive to change, track the natural history of the disease, and provide an assessment of the severity of injury. Consequences of the untreated disease and its response to specific interventions are additional criteria that might be considered when evaluating the choice of variables to define and classify a disease. Most disease definitions rely on the presence of specific markers that are measurably altered in response to an injury, and the sensitivity and specificity of any definition depends on the criteria used. These âresponse variablesâ may appear at varying time points in the disease and help define the course of the disease. Ideally, the magnitude and pattern of change of the response variable correlate with disease outcomes. For instance, AMI can be diagnosed with the combination of chest pain and elevated cardiac troponins or creatine phosphokinase. Gradations in the severity of signs (including electrocardiography) and symptoms and the levels of troponin and creatine phosphokinase profile allow further classification of the disease spectrum (e.g., angina, unstable angina, demand ischemia, silent ischemia, myocardial infarction). A key feature for AMI is that the clinical presentation is directly related to an underlying event (i.e., coronary thrombosis). Moreover, the markers are sensitive, specific, and correlate with the severity of injury, even in the absence of typical clinical features. In contrast, sepsis is heterogeneous in its presentation and affects multiple organs, so no single marker can be used to define the presence or absence of disease. Recognizing this limitation, a functional definition for sepsis has been based on events in the natural history of the sepsis syndrome: systemic inflammatory response syndrome, sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock (55). In the absence of specific markers, effective definitions for a disease rely on multiple parameters, some of which represent the specific response to the disease, whereas others reflect nonspecific consequences of the disease. Disease severity is graded on the basis of the presence of specific parameters. For instance, the transition from sepsis to severe sepsis requires the presence of sepsis-related organ dysfunction. These graded definitions are more readily applied to classify populations, although they have also been used to guide interventions in individual patients and research subjects (56,57). The multidimensional definition and classification construct has been applied to several diseases where a single specific diagnostic criterion is not available or is otherwise unsuitable. For example, the Ranson criteria enable early classification of severe acute pancreatitis (58). These criteria rely on the presence of three or more of the 11 criteria evident within 48 h of admission. Criteria include age and a series of laboratory parameters that reflect consequences of disordered pancreatic function (i.e., hyperglycemia in absence of diabetes, hypocalcemia, azotemia, anemia, hypoalbuminemia, leukocytosis, elevations of the hepatic enzymes lactate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase) and physiologic variables (i.e., metabolic acidosis, hypoxia) to grade the response. Interestingly, serum amylase and lipase, enzymes directly related to pancreatic injury (and analogous to creatinine in ARF), are not included in the scoring system. The number of positive criteria are associated with mortality ranging from <5% for zero to two criteria to 100% for seven to eight criteria (58). Similarly, the Child-Pugh classification is a means of assessing the severity of hepatic cirrhosis (59). It assigns scores for each of three laboratory parameters (bilirubin, albumin, and prothrombin time) and two clinical criteria representing the consequences of liver failure (encephalopathy and ascites). The individual scores are summed and then grouped as <7 (A), 7 to 9 (B), and >9 (C). A Child-Pugh âCâ classification forecasts survival of less than 12 mo. Cancer staging similarly uses the tumor node metastasis grading system to classify malignant disease. to of these classification is the lack of any single criterion to the disease and on the consequences of the disease and on other factors the course of the disease for We that ARF be in a similar in of of and organ ARF has more in with sepsis or pancreatitis than with of in For any the to the disease is and where and when the in the natural history of the disease. The whereas the could time points for variables should allow of the disease and provide a to determine the time course of the disease. Renal functional alterations many (e.g., and markers specific for the site and pattern of injury are Several new are to study ARF and are to be for studies et al. and et al. demonstrated that may be an early marker for renal injury specific for the renal et al. and et al. have new markers for disease, including a new that is found in urine injury. Other studies have a spectrum of markers for renal injury but none have been in a number of patients advances in likely provide new for assessment Several for changes in GFR each has markers may be the most and for assessment of changes in GFR and these markers are being to be a marker for changes in GFR but requires in the ICU and other that use contrast agents are being in experimental models of ARF and could provide on the and extent of and the presence of renal It is evident that of the site and extent of injury would a of the underlying severity of renal dysfunction, could and could help guide specific therapeutic of for of from Other to ARF It is evident that definitions of ARF that rely on serum creatinine and urine output do not the spectrum of ARF in clinical in they do not the clinical to for therapeutic Indeed, in the timing of to renal injury has to heterogeneity in intervention studies in ARF and may be for the lack of It is also recognized that of care (including the timing of of of and the use of likely the course and outcomes ARF. diagnostic and classification are to allow for advances in ARF research and clinical We on two but related we to the of and specific markers to the site and severity of renal injury and to track functional change over we to more define the course of ARF in a of and factors that the renal response to injury and outcomes from ARF. this increase diagnostic specificity and allow for more of For instance, the of radiocontrast and underlying renal function determine the of creatinine and incidence of In most elevations in serum creatinine are seen within 48 h radiocontrast exposure, so that the of a or early therapeutic intervention can be In contrast, when the nature and timing of insult are less well characterized (e.g., of in a with in serum creatinine and urine output are less of the pattern of with the response could help to guide the timing of specific interventions, and compare two or more interventions in clinical trials. We the heterogeneity of ARF and the absence of specific markers for renal injury, an effective diagnostic and classification should parameters other than the renal response to injury. organ system also affects the ARF For instance, serum creatinine levels may the severity of renal in hepatic failure with elevated levels and the for may further GFR In other and response factors have been in the definition and classification of disease (see and the Failure classification for sepsis Criteria To the to we should into several factors that to injury, the nature and timing of the the response of the to the and the consequences of the ARF We that a new definition for ARF should from each of these would to a more definition for the and would the assessment of interventions in this Table a definition for ARF that variables from each of the is grade an risk of classification of acute renal a for staging ARF that is based on the criteria within each We based grade on the risk of ARF from studies. We grade the nature and timing of the insult on the basis of of the specific insult and the time from the insult to the of We grade the response variables the criteria by the Acute We define nonrenal organ by organ failure scores Gradations in the and reflect levels of risk for an whereas those in the and reflect an severity of We that at each of individual patients would be graded within each On the basis of the in the patients would be into the of ARF and would stages during the course of the disease and in ARF et al. demonstrated three of ARF On the basis of these is widely that clinical ARF has three and The of each on the basis of the presence of disease and the nature and type of et al. and have recently a classification for ARF that phases for this and recovery in response has also been established in experimental ARF the response can be graded on the basis of for the and this is being as a therapeutic (e.g., may the response to the in renal function in ARF. For any given the pattern of ARF on or to injury and the nature and severity or of injury. The renal response is likely to be on these two factors and may in determine nonrenal organ dysfunction. the course is nonrenal organ further the renal of acute renal failure aimed at the and established ARF. from with individuals on the basis of may be to more define the time course of disease and time points for intervention is similar in to sepsis syndrome, where of have been for therapeutic The multicenter of the to be within h of the organ system failure the nature and timing of the insult in ARF were one could a specific therapeutic to ameliorate the injury and the within a known therapeutic the renal response can be can be and on the presence or absence of the underlying nonrenal organ dysfunction, specific interventions, as dialysis could be the These The definitions could be used to the presence of disease by the response variable graded for the for ARF and of the increase in serum creatinine of mg/dl with a grade of and an insult grade of is more likely to represent significant injury (and to be by more than the and insult were and an grade of a similar increase in serum creatinine might require dialytic A of versus course could be in diagnostic and classification in aimed at and The multidimensional can be with A with creatinine and no grade seen h a contrast grade with a urine output of and a follow-up serum creatinine of mg/dl grade with no nonrenal grade would be A 48 h a change in serum creatinine to mg/dl and a in urine output to evidence of On the basis of these two time is evident that this has a in renal representing an from the injury or injury. the for change in renal function based on the timing of the contrast would have been a to creatinine within the from the response would an of the initial injury A therapeutic intervention with a that could ameliorate injury or could then be for this In a example, a who coronary artery and replacement is The is with a creatinine of 2.0 mg/dl and a history of serum creatinine from to mg/dl with urine output ml/d) on an There was no in during or and has not any There was no evidence for or on is with on and requires two to a of is 7 mg/dl and serum On the basis of of is to have of to and diagnostic would be considered to be acute on renal failure. Many and care (and would not with dialysis or in this because the is urine and has no By use of the classification this would be the presence of and in renal a could be to dialytic although is no evidence on which to make this data on outcomes associated with patients in clinical would be more to than data on patients as acute on renal a Framework for and Although a more diagnostic and classification system would be to could also be used to of For example, in a comparing dialysis or one could that dialysis should for subjects with of or with of or A more and classification could new and markers from and investigations. For instance, were that predict the renal these could be included as new criteria in the Similarly, new injury markers could be included in the insult and provide more specific on the nature and severity of disease. Other markers of renal function (e.g., or of organ (e.g., could be included to other and The definitions are based on in other as acute liver disease, and The criteria are and to The could be applied to a or for individual The could also and However, are several limitations to (and our we that the are but the and of each to the definition and classification has not been We do not these are the or are others that to be We do not have markers for defining the consequences of renal dysfunction. We to define the nature and severity of underlying disease with the markers at We that the established for response variables are related to outcomes and are We the of the variables to determine additional definitions would be It is evident that studies to the of the definition in several However, we a new diagnostic and classification to help management and into this ARF continues to be a a significant of time for and to the that ARF to outcomes in the critically little progress has been in this of the key impediments to progress is the lack of a uniform definition for this disease. definitions that rely on changes in serum creatinine and urine output are neither nor We a new classification for ARF that from other in an to data and, we studies to the of construct and to the and of within each we (or a is not a On the we more in ARF effective interventions, and, mortality rates in the single study was by a from the for and by The to in Acute Renal Disease study the of of and
First, the study is defined first that the welfare finance is a financial system executed by the public responsibility for the welfare user who have the livelihood problem to do human life. Secondly, the welfare finance in the contemporary society clarifies contradiction to which a quasi-surplus value has been raised while a quasi-value of usability of social welfare has been decreased. Finally, the problem of the decentralization type finance to improve the contradiction of the welfare finance is discussed. In a word, the problems are to be expanded local taxes and to construct a local sovereignty and financial system.
Open access
Diverse Approaches in Healthcare and Education Studies
Between 1974 and 2002 there were three state financed work life programmes at federal level in Germany, with a financial outlay of more than âŹ1 billion. The author evaluates the programmesâ achievements, conflicts and deficits and pays special attention to the role of social science research in work design projects; he concludes by comparing the German experiences and the Norwegian tradition of work life programmes since the 1960s. The social partners participated at programme and project level from the very beginning. Many successes have been achieved: the easing of physical work load and unhealthy work; the development of flexible and decentralized work organization in industry and services; providing working people with opportunities to make better use of their qualifications. There were also lost opportunities: due to massive conflicts between trades unions, employersâ associations and the programme administration, the initial perspective of enhancing democratic participation and enlarging the scope of co-determination in industry was abandoned, after a series of successful experiments, as early as 1980. The implementation of modern forms of work organization, including semi-autonomous group work, largely failed; it was (and still is) restricted to less than 5% of enterprises in Germany. Recent tendencies in industry to return to Tayloristic forms of work organisation, to intensify work processes by introducing market-driven work organisation and flexible working time schemes, directly contradict the original intentions of the programmes.
Chapter 12 pulls together the different elements covered in the other chapters. Each chapter so far has inherent in it a contracting commandment. Following these commandments in an organized and business-like fashion leads to more effective contracting. In this final chapter, we will look at a framework for implementing these commandments. This approach is referred to as SMART Contracting TM . The acronym SMART stands for Strategically Managed, Aligned, degenerative, Transitional. SMART Contracting is a balanced approach that considers technical, legal, business and human issues in the development of more effective contracting approaches while recognizing the need to accommodate ongoing change. It is deliberately nonprescriptive. This means that we need to apply the principles and manage the detail depending on what we want to achieve and how much latitude we have to adapt corporate procedures. I feel that I have to apologize for the trademark. In a previous book I used other trademarked terms and was criticized for doing so by one reviewer. I am very sensitive to such criticism, especially if I agree with the comment! However, the trademark protects the term.
Jung Min Park, Edwin K. P. Chong, Howard Jay Siegel
Applications such as e-commerce payment protocols, elec-tronic contract signing, and certified e-mail delivery require that fair exchange be assured. A fair-exchange protocol al-lows two parties to exchange items in a fair way so that either each party gets the other&apos;s item, or neither party does. We describe a novel method of constructing very ef-ficient fair-exchange protocols by distributing the computa-tion of RSA signatures. Specifically, we employ multisig-natures based on the RSA-signature scheme. To date, the vast majority of fair-exchange protocols require the use of zero-knowledge proofs, which is the most computationally intensive part of the exchange protocol. Using the intrinsic features of our multisignature model, we construct protocols that require no zero-knowledge proofs in the exchange proto-col. Use of zero-knowledge proofs is needed only in the pro-tocol setup phase--this is a one-time cost. Furthermore, our scheme uses multisignatures that are compatible with the underlying standard (single-signer) signature scheme, which makes it possible to readily integrate the fair-exchange fea-ture with existing e-commerce systems.
Die Kompetenzverteilung zwischen den verschiedenen Gebietskörperschaftsebenen eines föderativen Staates kann sich erheblich auf das Wirtschaftswachstum auswirken, da es insbesondere die Regionen eines Landes sind, die zu seiner gesamten wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung beitragen. Dies legt einen regionalen Zuschnitt der staatlichen Wirtschaftspolitik nahe. Aus ökonomischer Sicht wird in der theoretischen Diskussion hingegen vornehmlich auf die Effizienzaspekte einer dezentralen Bereitstellung und die Finanzierung öffentlicher Leistungen abgehoben. Selten findet sich das Argument, dass DezentralitĂ€t oder Föderalismus â vermittelt ĂŒber eine höhere Innovationsund ReformfĂ€higkeit des politischen Systems â zu einer Steigerung des Wachstums fĂŒhren. Nach einer Diskussion der theoretischen Ăberlegungen zu Föderalismus und Wachstum wenden wir uns in diesem Beitrag der empirischen Frage zu, welche Bedeutung die Zuordnung von Entscheidungskompetenzen und die institutionelle Ausgestaltung des fiskalischen Föderalismus fĂŒr die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung eines Landes haben. Auf Basis der bisher existierenden theoretischen und empirischen Studien zu Wirtschaftswachstum und Föderalismus werden offene Fragen und mögliche AnsĂ€tze zu ihrer Beantwortung formuliert. <bold>Abstract</bold> The assignment of competencies in a federal state can have a strong impact on economic growth, because the regions of a country particularly contribute to its total economic development. Hence, public policy should be tailored to regional needs. Public economists however mainly focus on the efficiency of decentralized public goods provision and financing; seldom arguments concerning political innovation due to a decentralized experimentation of policies and its impact on economic growth are considered. After a discussion of theoretical arguments on federalism and economic growth, the empirical question is addressed in this paper whether the assignment of autonomy and the institutional design of fiscal federalism influence economic development of a country. On this basis, open question and potential routes of research are formulated.
In the context of recent decentralization of regional development in Indonesia, the local authorities and communities need to understand by how potential sources for financing regional development effect the economic growth. There is three sources of financing such as government, private investor and local communities. The purpose of this paper is to explain the role of financing resources of the economic sectors in regional economic growth. Using panel data generated from economic sectors among 20 kabupaten/kota (municipalities) in Jawa Barat Province during 1991-2000 I examine the effect in economic growth of different financing sources. The pattern of development financing was varied among regions. The financing concentration was occurred in some regions where have good available infrastructures and characterised with industry-based development. The results from empirical analysis suggest that the impact of both government and private financing on economic growth is significant in industry-based regions. In the period analysis, communities financing through bank loans supported the regional development significantly in both industry-based and agro-based regions. The implication based on this study is that the local authority should encourage the private financing sources to promote local economic growth.
John Grundy, Valentine Healy, L Gorgolon, E Sandig
INTRODUCTION: In 1991 the Philippines Government introduced a major devolution of national government services, which included the first wave of health sector reform, through the introduction of the Local Government Code of 1991. The Code devolved basic services for agriculture extension, forest management, health services, barangay (township) roads and social welfare to Local Government Units. In 1992, the Philippines Government devolved the management and delivery of health services from the National Department of Health to locally elected provincial, city and municipal governments. AIM: The aim of this review is to (i) Provide a background to the introduction of devolution to the health system in the Philippines and to (ii) describe the impact of devolution on the structure and functioning of the health system in defined locations. METHOD: International literature was reviewed on the subjects of decentralization. Rapid appraisals of health management systems were conducted in both provinces. Additional data were accessed from the rural health information system and previous consultant reports. RESULTS: Subsequent to the introduction of devolution, quality and coverage of health services declined in some locations, particularly in rural and remote areas. It was found that in 1992-1997, system effects included a breakdown in management systems between levels of government, declining utilization particularly in the hospital sector, poor staff morale, a decline in maintenance of infrastructure and under financing of operational costs of services. CONCLUSION: The aim of decentralization is to widen decision-making space of middle level managers, enhance resource allocations from central to peripheral areas and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health services management. The findings of the historical review of devolution in the Philippines reveals some consistencies with the international literature, which describe some negative effects of decentralization, and provide a rationale for the Philippines in undertaking a second wave of reform in order to 'make devolution work'.
On May 20, 1999, Nature published a brief report on an experiment performed by researchers at Cornell University that indicated that pollen from genetically modified (GM) Bt corn (Zea mays) could kill the larvae of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). In laboratory tests, caterpillars fed milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) leaves dusted with pollen from a Bt corn hybrid showed retarded growth and increased mortality. âThese results,â the authors stated, âhave potentially profound implications for the conservation of monarch butterfliesâ (Losey et al., 1999). In a press release announcing the publication in Nature, the principal investigator on the Cornell study, John Losey, had expressed due caution: âPollen from Bt-corn could represent a serious risk to populations of monarchs and other butterflies, but we can't predict how serious the risk is until we have a lot more data. And we can't forget that Bt-corn and other transgenic crops have a huge potential for reducing pesticide use and increasing yields. This study is just the first step, we need to do more research and then objectively weigh the risks versus the benefits of this new technologyâ (Cornell News, 1999). Such caution was wasted on Greenpeace International. The day the findings of the Cornell study were published it already demanded that authorities in the United States, Argentina, Canada, and the European Union take immediate action and prohibit the growing of genetically engineered maize crops. The environmentalist nongovernmental organization (NGO) reiterated its earlier call for a ban on all releases of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Less than a month later, in a media-oriented action, members of Greenpeace dressed up as butterflies confronted a meeting of European Union environment ministers held in Luxembourg, carrying banners demanding âGive butterflies a chance.â In Europe, their campaign apparently found resonance among the authorities: The European Commission decided to freeze the approval process for new Bt maize varieties. The Cornell study did not show that monarch butterfly populations in the wild were actually endangered by Bt corn. However, when Monsanto and Novartis, the companies that sold Bt corn at that time, correctly pointed out that the detrimental effects had so far only been shown in the laboratory, Greenpeace branded them as irresponsible. A spokesperson declared: âSuch reactions are the precise opposite to precaution and follow the same pattern of denial these companies have employed for decades, when health and environmental effects of their chemical pesticides were exposed. However, in the case of these GMOs we are talking about living toxins that can reproduce in nature and transmit their dangerous traits to wild species. We cannot consider GMOs harmless until harmful effects are fully proven (sic)â (Greenpeace, 1999a). (The last sentence is obviously aâFreudian?âslip of the tongue and should be read: âWe cannot consider GMOs harmless until the absence of harmful effects is fully proven.â) For Greenpeace, not just monarchs were supposed to be endangered. The NGO drew up a list of over 100 species of butterflies that it believed could be harmed by GM maize. It accused biotech companies and regulatory authorities of fully ignoring these risks (Greenpeace, 1999b). More recent field research performed in the American Midwest, however, seems to indicate that monarch butterfly populations are hardly affected, if at all, by the large-scale cultivation of Bt maize in this region (Ortman et al., 2001). The monarch butterfly case is only one among many occasions in which the so-called Precautionary Principle (PP) has been invoked to advocate preventative action to forestall possible harm even before the likelihood or the possible extent of the latter has been scientifically well established. This principle is highly contested. With many other environmentalist NGOs, Greenpeace champions its adoption as a central principle of international law against tenacious opposition from the United States, Canada, and Australia (Greenpeace, 2002). The principle is also at issue in recent World Trade Organization trade disputes between the United States and the European Union. But why does the PP play such a central role? The PP is an outgrowth of increased environmentalist awareness since the 1970s. The conviction took hold that humanity finds itself in a historically unprecedented situation in which our technological capacity and the potential scale of our actions far exceed our predictive knowledge. According to the German philosopher Hans Jonas, this discrepancy between the ability to foresee and the power to act itself assumes ethical importance and asks for humility and responsible restraint on our part. Jonas maintains that it is possible to extract from this situation of profound scientific uncertainty a rule or principle of decision making that is itself not uncertain at all, namely the rule âto give in matters of a certain magnitudeâthose with apocalyptic potentialâgreater weight to the prognosis of doom than to that of blissâ (Jonas, 1984). The supreme moral imperative in the new age, Jonas holds, is that humankind may not put its own existence and survival at stake in the wager of technological progress. If we want to find a philosophical basis for the PP, we must look for it in Jonas' book on the imperative of responsibility (although he himself did not use the expression PP). Environmentalists often hold that modern biotechnology has âapocalyptic potentialâ because it tampers with the basic processes of life. If we release GMOs into the environment, the ultimate consequences for the natural flora and fauna are extremely hard to predict but may well be irreversible. However, many environmentalists, just like Jonas, believe that we possess a decision rule or principle for dealing with fundamental scientific uncertainty that is itself not the least uncertain. That rule is the PP. Thus, in almost any debate, it seems that the PP can be brought in as a trump card to override all other considerations and arguments. But what exactly is the PP? Proponents of the PP assert that the principle is already âenshrinedâ in such international agreements as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, but existing definitions of it are at best partial and incomplete. In the context of dealing with environmental hazards, the Rio Declaration of 1992 presented the following formulation of what a precautionary approach entails: âWhere there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.â A well-known definition of the PP was spelled out in a January 1998 meeting at Wingspread in Racine, Wisconsin. The Wingspread Statement summarized the principle thus: âWhen an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientificallyâ (Raffensberger and Tickner, 1999). Definitions such as these beg many questions. Is there ever full scientific certainty? Do we need a minimal threshold of scientific certainty or plausibility before we may (or should) undertake preventative action? And do we really know how to prevent harm if we are so much ignorant about the underlying cause-effect relationships? The definitions that are currently on offer fail to spell out the precise conditions that have to be fulfilled before the PP may be invoked or the nature of the preventative action that has to be taken. The types of action suggested range from implementing a ban, imposing a moratorium while further research is conducted, allowing the potentially harmful activity to proceed while closely monitoring its effects, to just conducting more research. The PP does not have a very precise meaning as long as such crucial aspects are left largely unanswered. In practice, however, the PP is often given a more definite meaning by reducing it to an absurdity. Normally, no minimal threshold of plausibility is specified as a âtriggeringâ condition, so that even the slightest indication that a particular product or activity might possibly produce some harm to human health or the environment will suffice to invoke the principle. And just as often no other preventative action is contemplated than an outright ban on the incriminated product or activity. The intervention of Greenpeace in the monarch butterfly case seems to fit this pattern. Closely linked to various versions of the PP is the idea of reversing the onus of proof. Thus, the adherents of the Wingspread Statement declare that âthe applicant or proponent of an activity or process or chemical needs to demonstrate that the environment and public health will be safe. The proof must shift to the party or entity that will benefit from the activity and that is most likely to have the informationâ (Raffensberger and Tickner, 1999). Greenpeace also holds that effective implementation of the PP requires a shift in the burden of proof (Greenpeace, 2001). Shifting the burden of proof seems a fairly straightforward way to ensure, as Jonas demanded, that greater weight will be given to the âprognosis of doomâ than to the âprognosis of bliss.â Before looking into the proper assignment of the burden of proof, we must first examine more closely the underlying justification for the strong version of the PP. Why should the prospect of harmful effects of a new technology take precedence over the prospect of beneficial effects, quite apart from the inherent likelihood of each of these possibilities? The obvious answer seems to be that such a priority is defensible only when the harmful effects are of such magnitude that they carry catastrophic (or, as Jonas would say, âapocalypticâ) potential. The infinite costs of a possible catastrophic outcome necessarily outweigh even the slightest probability of its occurrence. This type of reasoning exhibits a remarkable resemblance to a well-known example of a âzero-infinity dilemma,â namely Pascal's famous âwager.â When it comes to wagering on the existence of God, the 17th century French philosopher argued incisively in his PenseÌes that it is better to be safe than sorry (Haller, 2000; Graham, 2002; Manson, 2002). Given an unknown but nonzero probability of God's existence and the infinity of the reward of an eternal life, the rational option would be to conduct one's earthly life as if God exists. Alas, Pascal's reasoning contains a fatal flaw. His argument is vulnerable to the âmany godsâ objection (Manson, 2002). Consider the possible existence of another deity than God, say Odin. If Odin is jealous, he will resent our worship of God, and we will have to pay an infinite price for our mistake. Never mind that Odin's existence may not seem likely or plausible to us. It is sufficient that we cannot exclude the possibility that he exists with absolute certainty. Therefore, the very same logic of Pascal's wager would lead us to adopt the opposite conclusion not to worship God. Pascal's argument, then, cannot be valid. If the wager argument is not valid, the strong version of the PP (which Manson dubs the âcatastrophe principleâ) cannot be valid either. Take the application of this principle to the problem of global warming. Environmentalists often argue that even if it is not conclusively established that the emission of carbon dioxide and other gases causes an enhanced greenhouse effect, the mere prospect of an ecological catastrophe due to such a scenario should lead us to drastically curb our emissions of greenhouse gases now. By the same logic, however, one could conjure up the possibility of a coming ice age. The mere prospect of this equally catastrophic scenario should then induce us to avert this outcome by stepping up the emission of greenhouse gases. Thus, the strong version of the PP would lead to contradictory recommendations (compare with Graham, 2002). In a similar way, it could be argued that this principle commits us to each of two contradictory policies: (a) We must not develop GM crops, and (b) We must develop GM crops. The first alternative is argued vehemently by many environmentalists who appeal to the PP. To support the second possibility, Gary Comstock conjures up a dramatic scenario in which people are forced to seize upon the remaining reserves of nature in a desperate effort to overcome food shortages resulting from global warming. He then argues, in the style of the environmentalists, that âlack of full scientific certainty that GM crops will prevent environmental degradation shall not be used as a reason for postponing this potentially cost-effective measureâ (Comstock, 2000). Therefore, the strong version of the PP is untenable. But what about the proposed shifting of the onus of proof toward those who advocate a new technology or activity? Reversing the burden of proof would amount to substituting the maxim âguilty until proven innocentâ for the age-old legal principle âinnocent until proven guilty.â Biotech enthusiasts and antiregulationists resent this departure from what they consider time-honored legal sanity (Miller and Conko, 2000). They are prone to counter the frequent invocation of the PP with an equally insistent demand of âsound science.â The same opposition is also at the center of the present World Trade Organization trade disputes between the United States and the European Union and their disagreement on the regulation of GM crops. One side claims the moral high ground, whereas the other side attempts to seize the scientific high ground. The situation is highly polarized because various economic and political interests are at stake (Fig. 1). Wheat (Triticum aestivum) fields in the Palouse region of the state of Washington in the United States. The polarized discussion about the PP and the adoption of GM crops has become a proxy for everything that Europeans and environmentalists in other countries don't like about modern agriculture. The rejection of agricultural biotechnology may perhaps be tolerated as a European indulgence but hardly makes sense on a global scale. The critics of the PP assert that the burden that environmentalists and regulators want to impose on the proponents of new technologies tends to be unbearable (Miller and Conko, 2000). In the name of absolute safety, the latter are asked nothing less than to demonstrate conclusively that the new technologies they advocate offer no possible harm. This is a formidable, perhaps even logically impossible, task. You cannot prove a negative (compare with Wildavsky, 1995). Moreover, a risk-free world is not a real option. Thus, a consistent application of the PP would in the final analysis stifle all innovation. A closer analysis of what is involved in applying the classical principle âinnocent until proven guilty,â however, reveals that the situation need not be as black and white as it seems at first sight. Take the paradigm case of criminal justice. There are two main ways in which a miscarriage of justice can come about. Either the suspect did not commit the crime, but the verdict found him guilty; or the suspect did commit the crime, but the verdict found him not guilty. In a civilized system of justice, the risks of the first type of error are minimized as far as possible. That is what is meant by the phrase âinnocent until proven guilty.â The system contains safeguards and precautions in the form of high standards of proof so as to ensure that a suspect will be condemned for a certain criminal offense only if it has been established âbeyond reasonable doubtâ that he in fact committed the alleged offense. Alas, there is a price to be paid for this cautious and civilized approach, namely the possibly large number of wrongdoers who have to be acquitted due to âlack of sufficient proof.â To a certain extent, the risks of the two types of error are inversely related. We may to the risk of an by demanding ever more standards of proof but only at the of increasing the risk of Therefore, we must that there is an involved in the of our system of criminal justice. We may to our standards as high as we but a must be the system will become by making it to sentence on the of there is a similar to be between the of a type or a type the of when it is in fact or to the when in fact it is By a we a particular this should on our of the and with of the two types of The analysis that the at issue is not just to burden of proof. as we for more or less standards of proof, an of In other the burden we want to put on the of one or the other party more or less on we our standards of proof more or less This may us to from the polarized opposition of PP versus In most companies to GM crops have to their to for health effects and environmental This can be more or less The of those who by âsound is a fully risk However, it is only possible to this in more and such as or are at then the expression âsound is because it the that necessarily into the of of and between type and type In other or more ecological effects are at the of the fully risk is of âsound will be to such less straightforward as or risks that can be However, as the proponents of the PP are in lack of of harm is not of lack of harm. If we are really about such hazards, we can put in effort to more about their plausibility or It would be to our with an appeal to âsound science.â A recent European on the release of GMOs into the environment that any that to or a transgenic should carry out a environmental risk into immediate and 2001). This new regulation of GM crops much further than some American also argue for a more approach et al., 2001). The new European a burden of proof on biotech companies to or not they are to take that burden on their will on the definition of a or for conducting environmental risk The to be is that the on these companies will become them at the of regulatory and for of environmental This will be enhanced by the fact that the of the has been by the PP and that regulatory authorities may give to the of GMOs only they have been that the release will be safe for human health and the The fairly of the environmental risk need not be in if of play for the regulation of GM crops can be More is also about the that have to be taken into in The outcome of the is for on or not in are taken as a or or not a strong to as a option is 2001). The and of a Bt maize hybrid or any other transgenic might be quite in than in the United States. Europeans are to because their countries lack of and other of regulatory at holds that the in on GM is not about safety, but is in fact a proxy for a on how should be 2001). GM crops have become a for all that Europeans don't like in modern agriculture. a for and a rejection of agricultural biotechnology perhaps may be tolerated as a European the prospect hardly makes sense on a global scale. this is what Greenpeace us as a the NGO us a serious answer to the of how to a growing world and natural the of modern biotechnology (compare with 1999). We can even press the environmentalist organization by the Thus, it that the polarized on the PP is just a proxy for a on the of world agriculture.