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Measuring how much judges matter for case outcomes
No full textA large empirical literature examines how judges’ traits affect how cases get resolved. This literature has led many to conclude that judges matter for case outcomes. But how much do they matter? Existing empirical findings understate the true extent of judicial influence over case outcomes since standard estimation techniques hide some disagreement among judges. We devise a machine learning method to reveal additional sources of disagreement. Applying this method to the Ninth Circuit, we estimate that at least 38% of cases could be decided differently based solely on the panel they were assigned to
The world is your office: how work from anywhere boosts talent, productivity, and innovation
No full textA research-based deep dive into a growing phenomenon--companies allowing employees to work from anywhere--and how those who adopt this model can boost talent, innovation, and productivity. As the debate around remote versus in-office work rages on, leaders in a wide range of industries continue to implement radically flexible work practices, allowing most, if not all, of their employees to work from anywhere. Why? They understand that geographic flexibility offers a competitive advantage: the ability to attract and retain top talent globally. In The World Is Your Office, Harvard Business School professor Prithwiraj Choudhury, who has been studying this phenomenon for over a decade, takes readers inside the trailblazing companies that are going all-in on work-from-anywhere (WFA) policies. From startups and nonprofits to government agencies and large corporations, Choudhury’s research shows why and how these organizations--and their employees--are benefiting
Estimating inequalities in excess mortality and years of potential life lost by health conditions across ethnic minorities in Colombia: a population-based study, 2018-2022
No full textOBJECTIVES: This study aims to compare the burden of excess mortality and years of potential life lost by cause of death and geography for minority groups to inform targeted policy development. DESIGN: Population-based study using information from the National Administrative Department of Statistics. SETTING: National and subnational level (departments, urban and rural areas). PARTICIPANTS: Individuals of all age groups classified as Indigenous, Romani, Raizal, Afro-Colombian and Mestizo in Colombia between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2022. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Excess mortality and years of potential life lost were calculated for all ethnic-racial groups by cause of death and subnational level expressed per 100 000 population. RESULTS: Our study included 1 420 258 total deaths and we observed significant variation across ethnic-racial groups. Excess mortality and years of potential life lost were most pronounced in Raizal (total of 145 more deaths and 11 769 more years of life lost per 100 000 population) and Romani (total of 7059 more deaths and 85 832 more years of life lost per 100 000 population) populations, when compared with Mestizo populations. Higher mortality rates were driven by suicide, pregnancy, childbirth and accidents. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that Colombia requires effective strategies to address the unique challenges causing these disparities, ranging from improving access to health services and addressing broader social determinants of health
Africa’s bilateral food trade
No full textThis chapter on Africa’s bilateral food trade (i.e. trade with non-African partner countries) turns the spotlight onto the changing pattern of trade with traditional partners and the growing relationship with emerging partners. It complements the discussion in Chapter 2 (on Africa’s global trade flows and its decomposition into agricultural trade flows, food trade flows and agricultural inputs trade flows), in Chapter 5 (on formal and informal intra-African food trade) and in Chapter 9 (on the World Trade Organization (WTO) legal framework as it pertains to food trade and food security). In this chapter, bilateral food trade flows and the trade regimes underpinning them are brought into sharper focus. The chapter begins by examining the changing patterns in Africa’s food and agricultural imports and exports before going on to discuss the trade policy aspects of these flows
The frenemy within: populism’s dual role in democratization
No full textDifferent approaches to democracy and populism lead to varied conclusions about their relationship. Some see populism as a threat to democracy, while others argue that it can contribute to democratization by giving a voice to excluded groups. This article provides a multifaceted view and regards populism as a “frenemy” of democracy based on theoretical discussions and historical evidence from around the world. As a friend, populist parties and leaders help integrate underprivileged classes into the political system in authoritarian settings and revitalize politics in liberal democracies that have become unresponsive to ordinary citizens. However, as an enemy, populist actors in power undermine liberal institutions in already unstable contexts, especially when they remain in government for extended periods. We argue that the importance of competitive elections for populism underscores democracy’s normative resilience over the past 50 years. Given the evidence of global populist governance so far, the danger of populism is potentially exaggerated compared to totalitarian ideologies in the First Reverse Wave. Perceiving populism only as an enemy stems partly from its conflation with far-right ideology, which obscures another danger: the erosion of political freedoms by non-populist incumbents through illiberal means in the name of protecting democracy itself
Kant’s early followers in political philosophy
No full textImmanuel Kant influenced a large and productive group of political philosophers in the 1790s. This volume argues that they brought out more fully the egalitarian principles of Kantian republicanism. “The Kantian school” featured young philosophers including Saul Ascher, Johann Adam Bergk, Johann Benjamin Erhard, Johann Ludwig Ewald, the early Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Schlegel, and Johann Heinrich Tieftrunk. The chapters in this volume analyze their work in relation to Kant and their wider philosophical and political context. They advance three main theses. First, the Kantians defended popular sovereignty and several of them supported the extension of the right to vote to workers and women. Second, several of them developed a political perfectionism, the view that equal political rights are justified for their effects on cultivating moral character. Third, they developed sophisticated theories of state legitimacy and collective action, defending a people’s right to change their constitution, either through reform or through revolution. Kant’s Early Followers in Political Philosophy offers a systematic view into a neglected group of thinkers at a foundational moment for modern political thought. It will be of interest to scholars and graduate students working on Kant, eighteenth- century philosophy, political philosophy, and the history of early modern German political thought
The microfoundations of organizational risk
No full textOrganizational risk is the possibility of events preventing the achievement of objectives and disrupting organizational viability. Developing understanding of organizational risk is necessary to allow realization of opportunities and protection from harm. However, much existing theorizing focuses on either a higher level of analysis, for example, studies of organizational risk culture, or a lower level of analysis, such as studies of individual perception, personality, and risk‐taking. One way to advance theorizing involves connecting both levels of analysis. These connections are central to a microfoundations perspective that suggests organizational phenomena can be understood by linking macrolevel contexts with microlevel contexts and actions. I draw on this perspective to develop a model of organizational risk and explain how cross‐level processes connect macro‐ and microlevel concepts. I focus on the organizational psychology literature that encompasses higher and lower levels of analysis to select and examine relevant concepts. I explain how organizational cultures create contexts for individual risk‐taking that are homogeneous when constraints are strong and directional or variable when constraints are weak and ambiguous. These behaviors aggregate within and across units to influence organizational risk. Individual risk‐taking also influences organizational risk via autonomy and discretion. In developing the model, I show how theories of cross‐level processes extend understanding of organizational risk. I discuss implications for advancing theorizing about organizational risk by encompassing its microfoundations and linking them with managerial actions and objectives. Future research could examine these mechanisms through empirical studies and shed light on how leaders influence processes and change organizational risk
New cancer drug approvals: less than half of important clinical trial uncertainties reported by the FDA to clinicians, 2019–22
No full textUncertainties about the benefits and harms of new drugs are common at the time of drugs’ approval. It is unclear to what extent the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) communicates these uncertainties in the FDA-approved prescribing information (the drug label), which is the primary channel of communication between the FDA and physicians. Although physicians might not regularly consult the drug label for prescribing decisions, other information sources used by physicians either index or incorporate information from the label. We searched FDA review documents for uncertainties identified by FDA reviewers with new cancer drugs. We considered the subset of uncertainties highlighted in the FDA’s Benefit-Risk Framework as important to the FDA’s approval decision. During the period 2019–22, the FDA approved fifty-two new cancer drugs. In review documents, FDA reviewers identified a total of 213 clinical trial uncertainties with new cancer drugs, 50 percent of which were considered to be important uncertainties to the FDA’s approval decision. Labels for physicians reported information on 26 percent of all uncertainties and 48 percent of uncertainties that were important to the FDA’s approval decision. Communicating uncertainties about the evidence of drugs in the label is essential for informing physicians about drugs’ safe and effective use
Are there gender differences in performance in competition in China? An empirical investigation
No full textEvidence from the lab suggests that women perform less well than men under competitive conditions, but the majority of this evidence relates to Western countries. Our study explores gender differences in performance in competitive environments among Chinese individuals. Using a five-round online experimental design, we recruited undergraduate and postgraduate students from a Shanghai university. Participants completed a series of word memory games under varying incentive schemes, including baseline, piece-rate, risk-based, and tournament-style competition. The results of this study suggest that there are no differences in performance under competitive conditions between Chinese men and women. However, women perform slightly better than men when the element of risk is added in a competitive environment. This study underscores the importance of examining cultural nuances when evaluating gender dynamics in competition and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of these dynamics in the Chinese context
Making sense of the invisible police in Catalonia/ La policía invisible: tecnologías de vigilancia en Cataluña
No full textIn 2022, Dr. Patrick Williams (Metropolitan Manchester University) and Eric Kind (AWO) proposed that the Justice, Equity, and Technology (JET) Project mentor Barcelona, London, and Paris-based organizations who were starting to question new police technologies in their locales. This initiative, called Black Data Excavator or BDX, aims to equip groups on the ground with the resources they need to connect their ongoing racial justice work to emerging technological developments in the world of policing. Why JET? We are a collaborative network-building effort that addresses the impacts of data-driven policing on racialized communities throughout Europe. We embrace a bottom-up approach to demystifying discriminatory technologies, surfacing community actions in the face of such technologies, and strengthening the collaborative capacity of justice and equity organizers working at the intersection of technology governance. So, it made sense to accept the invitation, listen, learn, and build with the BDX cohort in each city. This report—a survey of police technologies in the Catalan region—is one artifact from our engagements in Barcelona that we wish to share for two reasons. First, the report reflects a process that we think can and should inform how community-oriented tech research is carried out across Europe and elsewhere. BDX was originally conceived as a participatory, collaborative research and organizing effort and had ambitions to emulate the work done by Our Data Bodies in Charlotte, Detroit, and Los Angeles. Typically, participatory research calls on those usually excluded from debate, dialogue, and information gathering to define questions for themselves. But when the object of concern is inherently opaque like high-tech policing, we need a division of labor to help discover problems and define questions whose answers illuminate a path forward. This report exemplifies this division of labor. When the group in Barcelona said it wanted the vocabulary and know-how to be able to respond to questions arising in meetings or interviews about invisible policing, writing a report made sense for JET to do. What we produced and what follows below details the broad landscape of police technologies and invisible policing practices in the Catalan region. Reviewing drafts between JET and the group, contributing feedback, and posing questions helped us identify and discuss not just how the technology “worked” and who was involved, but also—and more importantly—what mattered to the group and what they could bring back to residents in conversations about policing. Second, the report contains useful information about the complex configuration of decision making and control over different police technologies. Both the process and the substance of desk research were important, generative, and instructive. The different parts of the police tech governance and the features of the technologies themselves—all of this is insightful for advocates, organizers, journalists, or researchers in Catalunya as well as for others elsewhere wishing to better understand and anticipate political opportunities in the space. In the spirit of BDX, we hope this report will help raise new questions and germinate new political possibilities for action