Behavioral Public Administration:Combining Insights from Public Administration and Psychology

Behavioral public administration is the analysis of public administration from the micro-perspective of individual behavior and attitudes by drawing upon insights from psychology on behavior of individuals and groups. We discuss how scholars in public administration currently draw on theories and methods from psychology, and related fields, and point to research in public administration that could benefit from further integration. An analysis of public administration topics through a psychological lens can be useful to confirm, nuance or extend classical public administration theories. As such, behavioral public administration complements traditional public administration. Furthermore, it could be a two-way street for psychologists who want to test the external validity of their theories in a political-administrative setting. Finally, we propose four principles to narrow the gap between public administration and psychology

Bankers Håndtering av Søknader om Boliglån : Med særlig hensyn til endringer i forskriftene under koronapandemien

Master's thesis in Business administration (BE501)Denne studien tar for seg bankers håndtering av søknader om boliglån i Norge, med formål om å identifisere vurderingene bankansatte gjør i forkant av godkjennelse av boliglån. Videre undersøkes det hvilke erfaringer bankansatte hadde til endringene i boliglånsforskriftene som ble innført i 2. og 3. kvartal2020. Det overordnede forskningsspørsmålet er «Hvordan har bankansatte håndtert boliglån under koronapandemien?». Med en stadig økende gjeldsgrad og endringer i boliglånsforskriftene i Norge, er banker sporadisk nødt til å tilpasse seg for å samsvare med bankenes og Finansdepartementets økonomiske og samfunnsetiske mål. Derfor vil en analyse av utlånshåndteringen og utfordringer sett fra bankansattes perspektiv, gjennom en kvalitativ tilnærming være relevant for Finanstilsynet ved eventuelle senere behov for reguleringer i forskriftene. Jeg startet studien med en systematisk teorigjennomgang for å få en oversikt over boligmarkedet og bankvirksomheten. Deretter gjennomførte jeg en semistrukturert intervjuform med fem praktiserende fagpersoner som operer med boligutlån daglig og en banksjef. Informantene jobbet i sparebanker og forretningsbanker. Informantene hadde variert ansiennitet og erfaringer. Med dette utvalget av informanter, fikk jeg innsyn i bankhåndtering og kunnskap fra ulike perspektiver. Intervjuene ble transkribert og analysert. De viktigste funnene ble oppsummert og tatt med i studien

A Formal Model of Corruption, Dishonesty and Selection into Public Service

Recent empirical studies have found that in high corruption countries, inherently more dishonest individuals are more likely to want to enter into public service, while the reverse is true in low corruption countries. In this note, we provide a simple formal model that rationalizes this empirical pattern as the result of countries being stuck in different self-sustaining equilibria where high levels of corruption and negative selection into public service are mutually reinforcing. Experiences with corruption vary widely across countries. In some places, high levels of corruption have seemingly always been a fixture of the public sector. In other places, corruption has been practically nonexistent for many decades. A set of recent empirical studies, Hanna and Wang (2013), Banerjee, Baul, and Rosenblat (2015) and Barfort et al. (2015), have suggested that these differences may be related to cross-country differences in the propensity for dishonesty among public sector employees, as more dishonest individuals are more likely to want to enter into public service in high-corruption countries, while the converse holds in low-corruption countries. In this note, we provide a simple formal model that rationalizes this empirical pattern. The model shows how the endogenous self-selection of more or less dishonest individuals into the public sector creates multiple, self-sustaining equilibria. When the level of corruptio

Emotion regulation difficulties, distress tolerance and psychopathological symptoms

Emotion Regulation (ER) has been identified as a factor that may be related to psychopathological symptoms. However, evidence about the relationship between ER and psychopathological symptoms is still unspecific. Moreover, although the ability of distress tolerance (DT) has gained increasing attention, it has not yet been sufficiently explored in relation to specific psychopathological symptoms. The aim of the study was to analyze the role of different specific ER mechanisms on various psychopathological symptoms, with particular emphasis on the role of DT. To do so, a correlational study was carried out. A total of 128 university students between 18 and 44 years old (mean age = 26.7, SD = 6.14) answered the Distress Tolerance Scale, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and the Symptom Check List 90-Revised. For each psychopathological symptom (and for general distress), linear regression were applied. All models were statistically significant with differences in the amount of explained variance and in the predictors. DT predicted symptoms of depression, anxiety, obsessions and compulsions and general distress. The study highlights the importance of the different mechanisms of ER in each specific psychopathological symptom and their implications for mental health.Fil: del Valle, Macarena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología.; ArgentinaFil: Zamora, Eliana Vanesa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología.; ArgentinaFil: Urquijo, Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología.; ArgentinaFil: Olsen, Cintia Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología.; ArgentinaFil: López Morales, Hernán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología.; ArgentinaFil: Andrés, María Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Psicología Básica, Aplicada y Tecnología.; Argentin

Dynamic triggering of earthquakes is promoted by crustal heterogeneities and bimaterial faults

Remotely triggered earthquakes and aftershocks constitute a great challenge in assessing seismic risk. A growing body of observations indicates that significant earthquakes can be triggered by moderate to great earthquakes occurring at distances of up to thousands of kilometres. Currently we lack the knowledge to predict the location of triggered events. We present numerical simulations showing that dynamic interactions between material heterogeneities (e.g. compliant fault zones, sedimentary basins) and seismic waves focus and enhance stresses sufficiently to remotely trigger earthquakes. Numerical simulations indicate that even at great distances (>100 km), the amplified transient dynamic stress near heterogeneities is equivalent to stress levels near the source rupture tip