The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness

Examines flaws in evaluations of teacher effectiveness that lead districts to allow poor performance to go unaddressed. Recommends a comprehensive system, to be used accountably and integrated with human capital policies, and efficient dismissal policies

The design and sequencing of trade and investment policy reform : an institutional analysis

This paper analyzes from an institutional perspective the experiences of twelve countries with selected aspects of trade and investment policy reform. The analysis highlights two distinct but related determinants of the appropriate design of policy reform - the organizational capabilities of government bureaucracies, and the political flexibility of governments. There exists considerable variations among countries in their organizational capabilities and in their political commitment to change. It follows that the appropriate mix and sequence of policy reforms will be quite different. The design of lending programs supported by the World Bank should respond to these differences between countries.Environmental Economics&Policies,Trade and Regional Integration,Economic Theory&Research,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Enterprise Development&Reform

Quality of Life in Urban and Rural Europe

Europe has large geographical differences in terms of economic and social development. Differences emerge both between and within Member States and regions, but also between urban and rural areas within regions. This has relevance for the Europe 2020 Strategy with regard to its objectives of inclusive growth and social cohesion (European Commission, 2010). The Social Investment Package (SIP) promotes efficient and effective social policies that respond to and support people’s needs throughout their lives, recognising the spatial dimension as an important element of good governance. To this end, the European Commission’s country-specific recommendations take into account spatial aspects (European Commission, 2012). This policy brief explores differences in quality of life in urban and rural Europe drawing on Eurofound’s third European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS). Previous research has found important differences in material deprivation and living standards between urban and rural areas especially in poorer Member States, while other aspects of quality of life also differ between urban and rural areas in richer countries (Eurofound, 2006). This document builds on these findings, adding analysis of recent data and paying attention to the impacts of the crisis

Caloric Sweetened Beverage Taxes: The Good Food/Bad Food Trap

Beverage Taxes, Obesity Prevention, Public Health Strategies, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, H, H2, H25,

A framework for luck egalitarianism in health and healthcare

Several attempts have been made to apply the choice-sensitive theory of distributive justice, luck egalitarianism, in the context of health and healthcare. This article presents a framework for this discussion by highlighting different normative decisions to be made in such an application, some of the objections to which luck egalitarians must provide answers and some of the practical implications associated with applying such an approach in the real world. It is argued that luck egalitarians should address distributions of health rather than healthcare, endorse an integrationist theory that combines health concerns with general distributive concerns and be pluralist in their approach. It further suggests that choice-sensitive policies need not be the result of applying luck egalitarianism in this context

Workplace Bullying and Ethical Leadership

In order to increase business productivity, benefit packages and other financial incentives might not be adequate. Rather, the focus upon common respect for — and decent treatment of — all workers is discussed, with primary emphasis given to the endemic workplace problem of worker harassment. Simple courtesies, genuine team and individual service acknowledgement, and the dismantling of a counterproductive, hierarchical worker system, often lead to increased productivity, congenial relationships, and a happier and healthier worker