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"Ascher, William"
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The legacy of Harold D. Lasswell’s commitment to the policy sciences of democracy: observations on Douglas Torgerson’s the policy sciences of Harold Lasswell
The continuity of Harold D. Lasswell’s legacy as a champion of democratic policysciences is demonstrated.
Journal Article
Development strategies and inter-group violence : insights on conflict-sensitive development
\"Throughout the world, development has been affected by armed violence - from civil wars and separatist struggles to explosions of religious and communal violence and terrorism. Ethnolinguistic and religious diversity, rivalries among regional groups and clans, and competing economic interests create a potential for acrimonious intergroup divisions. Yet some nations remain stable, while others, earlier touted as pillars of peaceful growth, have foundered badly. Development Strategies and Inter-Group Violence argues that economic development strategies, though embedded within a complex matrix of social and political conditions, have often shaped such different outcomes. Drawing on economic, political, and psychological theory, policy experiences, and case studies of the three regional volumes in the series (Economic Development Strategies and the Evolution of Violence in Latin America; Development Strategies, Identities, and Conflict in Asia; and The Economic Roots of Conflict and Cooperation in Africa), this book assesses the risks and opportunities of development strategies regarding the likelihood of inter-group violence. Policymakers and development practitioners will greatly benefit from this detailed and comprehensive analysis of how development initiatives may affect group identities, influence multiple disparities among groups, create \"conflict-opportunity structures,\" and change the dynamics of state-society relations\"-- Provided by publisher.
BOOK
Coping with the ambiguities of poverty-alleviation programs and policies: a policy sciences approach
The many varieties of ambiguity shape the prospects in lower-income countries to establish viable poverty-alleviation programs, appropriately target the poor, and reduce deprivations of families applying for or participating in such programs. Ambiguity can be both a problem and an asset, potentially serving pro-poor purposes but often manipulable to drain benefits away from the poor. The distinctive functions of the decision process, as outlined in the classic policy sciences framework, are applied to cash transfers, pro-poor price subsidies, guaranteed unconditional employment, affirmative action, and resource access for the poor. The guidance for adapting these programs depends heavily on the appraisal function. This article contributes both the diagnosis of how ambiguity can undermine or contribute to the soundness of the poverty-alleviation program selection processes, and how to address these issues. It also demonstrates the utility of the classic policy sciences framework in identifying an extremely broad range of relevant considerations.
Journal Article
Coping with intelligence deficits in poverty-alleviation policies in low-income countries
Poverty-alleviation initiatives in lower-income countries are challenged by intelligence deficits that cause suboptimal designs that threaten their effectiveness, targeting, and sustainability. The uncertainty of theory and information, the adverse consequences of conventional family-level “means testing,” and unpredictable future events and conditions call for auto-targeting and auto-correcting policy designs with built-in adaptive capacity. Numerous categories and examples of these designs from multiple countries are presented.
Journal Article
Renewable Energy on Tribal Lands: A Feasibility Study for a Biomass-to-Energy Plant on the Cocopah Reservation in Arizona
Native American reservations are among the most economically disadvantaged regions in the United States; lacking access to economic and educational opportunities that are exacerbated by “energy insecurity” due to insufficient connectivity to the electric grid and power outages. Local renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass offer energy alternatives but their implementation encounters barriers such as lack of financing, infrastructure, and expertise, as well as divergent attitudes among tribal leaders. Biomass, in particular, could be a source of stable base-load power that is abundant and scalable in many rural communities. This case study examines the feasibility of a biomass energy plant on the Cocopah reservation in southwestern Arizona. It considers feedstock availability, cost and energy content, technology options, nameplate capacity, discount and interest rates, construction, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and alternative investment options. This study finds that at current electricity prices and based on typical costs for fuel, O&M over 30 years, none of the tested scenarios is presently cost-effective on a net present value (NPV) basis when compared with an alternative investment yielding annual returns of 3% or higher. The technology most likely to be economically viable and suitable for remote, rural contexts—a combustion stoker—resulted in a levelized costs of energy (LCOE) ranging from US $0.056 to 0.147/kWh. The most favorable scenario is a combustion stoker with an estimated NPV of US$ 4,791,243. The NPV of the corresponding alternative investment is US$7,123,380. However, if the tribes were able to secure a zero-interest loan to finance the plant’s installation cost, the project would be on par with the alternative investment. Even if this were the case, the scenario still relies on some of the most optimistic assumptions for the biomass-to-power plant and excludes abatement costs for air emissions. The study thus concludes that at present small-scale, biomass-to-energy projects require a mix of favorable market and local conditions as well as appropriate policy support to make biomass energy projects a cost-competitive source of stable, alternative energy for remote rural tribal communities that can provide greater tribal sovereignty and economic opportunities.
Journal Article
Keeping the faith
Thirty years ago, I wrote the customary editorial expected of the new editor-in-chief of policy sciences. Looking back at the assumptions, projections, and hopes is useful for accomplishments and disappointments. I begin with two excerpts concerning the public policy field in general: ...the battle to reassert the importance of contextual, interdisciplinary, problem-oriented inquiry has been quite successful (Ascher 1987). We...need no further exercises in naming the various facets of the policy process, if that new nomenclature is simply an equivalent language map of existing vocabularies. This does not reflect any slavish adherence to the Lasswellian vocabulary, but rather a belief that various sound vocabularies exist, and can be improved upon only by introducing new concepts rather than by relabeling the old ones (Ascher 1987). So how did these expectations/aspirations fare? Not very well, in terms of the overall public policy field, but the journal has held fast to its principles in the face of the continued expansion of non-contextual, narrow analyses that are not terribly useful for developing sound policy.
Journal Article