Divergence and convergence of policy priorities among sub-national units in federal systems: the cases of Canada and Spain

The study of policy dynamics at the sub-national level in federal systems is getting growing attention by scholars of comparative politics and agenda- setting. These studies analyze to what extent the political agendas of regional governments are converging or diverging over time, focusing on: institutional factors (e.g., formal rules defining issue jurisdiction, type of government, intergovernmental arrangements), preferences (mostly of political parties), and agenda capacity (Hooghe et al. 2008). This constitutes an important change from previous analysis on comparative federalism, which traditionally focused on institutions as explanatory variable, providing a static outlook on the vertical distribution of authority between levels of government (Wibbels 2003). It also constitutes an important change in relation to another set of studies (Filippov et al. 2004; Wibbels 2006; Aldrich 1995) that pay attention to party politics and policy preferences, but still deal mainly with the relationship between the national and regional governments as a whole (e.g., Constantelos 2010). Finally, analyses of issue prioritization at the sub-national level (and the relations with the national and supranational level of governance) also make a ontribution to the policy [...]

Concept, Design and Implementation of a Cardiovascular Gene-Centric 50 K SNP Array for Large-Scale Genomic Association Studies

A wealth of genetic associations for cardiovascular and metabolic phenotypes in humans has been accumulating over the last decade, in particular a large number of loci derived from recent genome wide association studies (GWAS). True complex disease-associated loci often exert modest effects, so their delineation currently requires integration of diverse phenotypic data from large studies to ensure robust meta-analyses. We have designed a gene-centric 50 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array to assess potentially relevant loci across a range of cardiovascular, metabolic and inflammatory syndromes. The array utilizes a “cosmopolitan” tagging approach to capture the genetic diversity across ∼2,000 loci in populations represented in the HapMap and SeattleSNPs projects. The array content is informed by GWAS of vascular and inflammatory disease, expression quantitative trait loci implicated in atherosclerosis, pathway based approaches and comprehensive literature searching. The custom flexibility of the array platform facilitated interrogation of loci at differing stringencies, according to a gene prioritization strategy that allows saturation of high priority loci with a greater density of markers than the existing GWAS tools, particularly in African HapMap samples. We also demonstrate that the IBC array can be used to complement GWAS, increasing coverage in high priority CVD-related loci across all major HapMap populations. DNA from over 200,000 extensively phenotyped individuals will be genotyped with this array with a significant portion of the generated data being released into the academic domain facilitating in silico replication attempts, analyses of rare variants and cross-cohort meta-analyses in diverse populations. These datasets will also facilitate more robust secondary analyses, such as explorations with alternative genetic models, epistasis and gene-environment interactions

Drivers for Policy Agreement in Nascent Subsystems: An Application of the Advocacy Coalition Framework to Fracking Policy in Switzerland and the UK

The study of public policy deals with subsystems in which actors cooperate or compete to turn their beliefs into policy solutions. Yet, most studies concern mature subsystems in which the main actors and their allies and enemies can easily be identified. This paper tackles the challenge of studying nascent subsystems, in which actors have begun to engage in politics but are uncertain about other actors’ beliefs. Actors therefore find it relatively difficult to identify their allies and opponents. Focusing on the Advocacy Coalition Framework, we examine three main ways in which actors might agree to support the same policy design before they decide whether or not to form long-term relationships within advocacy coalitions: they see the issue through the same lenses, they follow leaders, or they know each other from earlier cooperation. We use the case of fracking policy in Switzerland and the UK as a key example, in which actors have begun to agree with each other, but where final policy outputs were not yet defined, and long-term relationships not yet observable. We find that, when dealing with new issues, actors strongly rely on former contacts rather than shared ideologies or leadership

A Deductive Analysis of Public Private Partnerships for Health Technology

In several countries, consulting firms, think thanks and even government agencies spend a considerable amount of energy trying to expand the scope of public private partnerships (PPPs). Initially confined to the construction and maintenance of public infrastructures, PPPs are currently discussed and experimented with in sectors as diverse as health care provision, crime reduction, immigrants’ integration and even the organization of elections. This paper discusses the way PPPs are likely to transform the adoption of novel medical technology in countries where health care is publicly funded. I believe, however, that several ideas presented here can be useful to consider in applying PPPs to all sectors of state intervention relying on expensive technologies. In the first section, I begin by presenting the economic understanding upon which PPPs rest. I then present the simple and uncontroversial assumption that, in democratic countries, PPPs are negotiated by politicians. Withholding the rationality assumption upon which economic theory rests, I argue that rational politicians are unlikely to prefer a PPP contract appealing to a private partner, unless politicians accept occasional renegotiation of given clauses of PPP contracts. Where this occurs, however, the alleged economic efficiency of PPPs is seriously undermined. In the second section, I present a series of reasons to contest economic theory’s treatment of health technology choices as economic choices. These reasons, I suggest, made significant contributions to health technology assessment and purchase reforms. The economic reasoning behind PPPs, I conclude, poses a serious threat to these reforms.Dans plusieurs pays, des firmes d’experts-conseil, des instituts de recherché privés, ainsi que des agences gouvernementales consacrent temps et énergie à accroître l’étendu des partenariats public-privé (PPP) pour reconfigurer la gouvernance. D’abord limités au renouvellement et à l’entretien des infrastructures publiques, les PPP font maintenant l’objet de discussion dans des secteurs aussi divers que la gestion des soins de santé, la lutte contre la criminalité, l’intégration des immigrants et, même, dans certains cas, l’organisation d’élections générales. Le texte qui suit discute des principales conséquences que risquent d’entraîner les PPP sur le choix et l’adoption des technologies médicales de pointe dans les pays où le secteur de la santé fait l’objet d’un financement essentiellement public. Toutefois, plusieurs des idées avancées dans ce texte sont, à mon avis, pertinentes pour élargir la réflexion sur les PPP au-delà du secteur de la santé, et ainsi inclure les secteurs où l’interventionnisme soutient l’implantation et l’utilisation de technologies dispendieuses. Dans la première section, je présente l’argumentation économique sur laquelle repose traditionnellement les PPP. Par la suite, en faisant l’hypothèse simple et non contestée que les PPP, au sein d’un État démocratique, sont toujours négociés par des politiciens, je développe un argument selon lequel les politiciens rationnels sont peu enclins à privilégier un contrat avec un partenaire privé, à moins que ce contrat ne prévoit des renégociations ponctuelles de certaines de ces clauses. Or, de telles renégociations représentent des facteurs d’amenuisement de l’efficience économique de laquelle se réclament les PPP. Dans la seconde section du texte, je présente un ensemble d’arguments qui rejettent l’idée courante que les technologies de pointe dans le secteur de la santé sont des choix économiques. Ces arguments permettent, à mon avis, d’élargir la réflexion sur l’évaluation des choix technologiques dans le domaine de la santé, ainsi que sur la réforme de leurs modalités d’achat et de financement. En conclusion, j’avance que le raisonnement économique traditionnel sur lequel reposent les PPP représente une menace significative pour cette réforme

Easing Dissatisfaction with Canadian Federalism? The Promise of the Strategy of Disjointed Incrementalism

This paper argues that the greatest threat to Canadian unity is not so much the absence of some of the characteristics that Daniel Kelemen claims are to be found in stable federations but the tendency of political leaders and parties to put forward contradicting “visions” of Canada. When such visions are used as templates for reforming the constitution, failures usually ensue. A strategy of disjointed incrementalism is a more prudent and ultimately more efficient way to proceed. It seems to be the strategy adopted by Prime Minister Harper and it could prove successful in easing some of the dissatisfactions experienced in both Quebec and western Canada

Entre histoire et historiette : le travail ferronien de la citation

This thesis presents our study of Jacques Ferron's work on quotation. Jacques Ferron's goal was to let "history live as a novel". This analysis is based on three little stories (historiettes): "De Loudun a Ville-Marie", "Saint Tartuffe" and "La prise Parmanda".We have divided the work into two complementary objectives. Firstly, to find the sources Ferron quoted in order to put them against the three little stories he has written. The reader can therefore observe the different types of modifications the writer has operated in his sources.The second objective of our research is a detailed analysis of the most important "deviation" cases: the counterfeiting and the copying; two procedures that permit Ferron to erase the first occurrence of a quotation.Our goal is not to accuse Ferron of plagiarism which is of no interest due to the fact that we are not analysing the writings of a historian, but those of a writer. We do however, want to emphasize the importance of "intertextuality" in Ferron's inspiration and composition of three little stories