Commentary: In Response to the Paper by Oran R. Young, How Can International Regimes Solve Environmental Problems? (see pp. 9–29)
The terrain, wonderfully covered by Oran Young, is a dichotomized world consisting of stories wishing to be theories. On the one side we find the economizers – disembedded consequentialists acting according to something called ‘collective action theory.’ On the other side we have the socially embedded citizens of the world intent on practicing what is good (or right). Young helps us to see that both ‘theories’ (and I use that term with great resistance) are ample enough to accommodate almost anything that might appear threatening. We have, in other words, accommodating metaphors whose adherents can pick and choose among confirming signals (assiduously watched for), and can fail to notice disconfirming signals with alacrity. Philosophers would mumble something about verificationist tendencies. As Shackle would put it, ‘what is seen is built upon what is thought (Shackle 1992, p. 66).’ To be fair here, economists have perfected the craft of seeing only what is thought so my comment should not be considered a criticism of political scientists and others who worry about international regimes.
The Philosophical Bases of Institutionalist Economics
The precise nature of the relationship between the disciplines of economics and philosophy has yet to be explicated in detail. Certain family resemblances can be readily verified, and traced to a common lineage. Many of the precursors of Western economic theory, such as John Locke and Adam Smith, were self-identified moral philosophers; many other inhabitants of the pantheon of economic theory, such as Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes, are recognized as having made substantial contributions to philosophy. Nevertheless, in the modem era, ontogeny does not recapitulate phylogeny; and the average economist in the late twentieth century would deny any necessary or close links between the two fields. In economics, the facade of the repudiation of philosophical preconceptions is propped up by the widespread conviction that modem economics has successfully adopted the character and attributes of a science. This invocation of science is intended to settle all arguments once and for all and to expiate all sins. Of course, this has been a vain hope. Disputes over method, epistemology, and ontology have not been banished because an invocation of science merely impounds controversy under the rubric of "the philosophy of science," without really
An assessment of the Impact of Devolution on Women Empowerment in Nakuru County
-Women have been grossly marginalized in organs of decision-making and governance structures. The Constitution of Kenya has sought to bridge this gap by providing both women and men the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. However, gender equality has not been achieved and women are still lagging in terms of decision making processes. The main objective of the study was to detemine the impact of devolution on women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study found that substantive women representation, development of programs and accessibility of services had a positive effect on the women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study also found out that increased accessibility of Services by women influenced women empowerment, this study also concludes that the introduction of development programs had the greatest impact on women empowerment in Nakuru County. The study recommends that more programs targeting women should be introduced as these have the greatest impact on women empowerment. The findings may be used to make conclusions and recommendations.