Search

In 2001, the safety of drugs purchased from other countries, especially Canada, became a major policy issue in the United States. A political and geographical line was drawn in the sand separating Canadian and American drugs. Canadian drugs were characterized as dangerous-'a maple peril.' This article explores the practice of cross-border drug reimportation and considers the Bush and Clinton administration's policies regarding the necessary balance between drug access, affordability, and safety. This paper suggests continuity rather than change typified these policies. It connects business, economic, and political history with public policy and it aims to furnish an interdisciplinary overview of the legislative and executive branches, as well pharmaceutical firms and consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethics is a relatively new endeavor, emerging as a discourse distinct from considerations of moral responsibility occurring within the professions of medicine and science. This article uses the 'de-centered comparative method' to examine how the emergence and development of bioethics varies across different social and cultural settings. In particular, the article looks at bioethical work in the US and France, exploring these different manifestations of the movement toward external oversight of those working in medicine and the life sciences. Our comparative data demonstrate how pathways of professionalization are shaped by contingent cultural and historical factors. We contrast 'demand' and 'supply' theories of professionalization and suggest that the increasing prominence of the bioethical occupation is the result of both the professional desires of bioethicists and a concern for the public good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to the federal government, some US states have taken an aggressive approach to curbing climate change. They use a variety of policy instruments to reduce greenhouse gases. These instruments can be categorized into two broad categories: economic incentives and command-and-control regulation. While the use of economic incentives has, on average, increased, some states employ them more than others. This article compares the propensity of different US states to employ economic incentives in the area of climate change. For this purpose, it analyses and tests four models: (i) a needs/responsiveness model, (ii) an interest group influence model, (iii) an innovation-and-diffusion model, and (iv) a combined model, Interestingly, this article finds that economic incentives are pushed out of the political agenda when states are confronted with a more severe problem in terms of carbon emissions and dependence on conventional energy. This article also finds support for the traditional, antagonistic view of 'industry versus environmentalists': electric utility companies tend to oppose economic incentives, while environmentalists and renewable energy producers tend to support them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector within a cap-and-trade system poses significant policy questions on where to locate the point of compliance. Electricity markets often cross national or other regulatory boundaries, so that electricity generated within the boundary may comply with expectations but imported electricity may not. The question addressed in this article is where to locate the point of compliance in the electricity sector — where in the supply chain linking fuel suppliers to generators to the transmission system to retail load-serving entities should the obligation for measurement and compliance be placed? This problem is examined in the specific context of California's legislative requirements and particular energy markets, with the implications of the different policy options explored. The conclusion offered is that one particular approach to regulating the electricity sector — the 'first-seller approach' — would be best for California. The alternative 'load-based approach' has had a head start in the policy process but would undermine an economy-wide market-based emissions trading programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]