Valerie Braithwaite

This innovative book presents a theory of tax defiance, integrating five years of research on people's hopes, fears and expectations of the tax system and the authority that administers it. Valerie Braithwaite makes a major contribution to regulatory theory by mapping the psychological processes of defiance. At the heart of the analysis is the concept of motivational posturing - signals sent to indicate how favourably an authority is viewed and readiness to defer to an authority's demands. The author explains how resistant defiance expresses disapproval of the way an authority operates and signals to government the need to improve performance to win back public confidence. Resistance weakens as the authority claws back its institutional integrity. Dismissive defiance, on the other hand, is challenging and undermining, and is not so responsive. The book argues for institutional reforms that are both mindful of grievance and of alternative authorities that challenge power. It illustrates that in delivering institutional reform, commitment to democratic principles and integrity of government will enable authorities to argue their case for community co-operation where appropriate. Finally, the book goes on to show that power sharing is likely to be a more apt remedy when dismissive defiance is entrenched. Safeguarding these deliberations in mature democracies are moral obligation and social capital, both of which are likely to erode when authorities show neither justice nor wisdom in handling defiance. This unique and innovative example of how psychology can be integrated into new institutional theory and public policy practice will prove an interesting read for scholars, students and researchers in the fields of regulatory studies, economics, public policy and public finance, politics and psychology.

This book is a major contribution to regulatory theory from three members of the world-class regulatory research group based in Australia. It marks a new development in responsive regulatory theory in which a strengths-based pyramid complements the regulatory pyramid. The authors compare the accomplishments of nursing home regulation in the US, the UK and Australia during the last 20 years and in a longer historical perspective. They find that gaming and ritualism, rather than defiance of regulators, are the greatest challenges for improving safety and quality of life for the elderly in care homes. Regulating Aged Care shows how good regulation and caring professionalism can transcend ritualism. Better regulation is found to be as much about encouragement to expand strengths as incentives to fix problems. The book is underpinned by one of the most ambitious, sustained qualitative and quantitative data collections in both the regulatory literature and the aged care literature. This study provides an impressive evidence base for both theory development and reassessment of policy and practitioner responses in the field. The book will find its readership amongst regulatory scholars in political science, law, socio-legal studies, sociology, economics and public policy. Gerontology and health care scholars and professionals will also find much to reflect upon in the book.

Tax evasion is a complex phenomenon which is influenced not just by economic motives but by psychological factors as well. Economic-psychological research focuses on individual and social representations of taxation as well as decision-making. In this 2007 book, Erich Kirchler assembles research on tax compliance, with a focus on tax evasion, and integrates the findings into a model based on the interaction climate between tax authorities and taxpayers. The interaction climate is defined by citizens' trust in authorities and the power of authorities to control taxpayers effectively; depending on trust and power, either voluntary compliance, enforced compliance or no compliance are likely outcomes. Featuring chapters on the social representations of taxation, decision-making and self-employed income tax behaviour, this book will appeal to researchers in economic psychology, behavioural economics and public administration.

This 2001 book is a follow-on to John Braithwaite's best-selling and influential Crime, Shame and Reintegration. Shame management is becoming a central concept, in theoretical and practical terms. This book makes a major contribution to the advancement of shame in a theoretical sense. For criminology, as well as for psychology, sociology and other areas, this accessible book serves as an introduction to the concepts of shame, guilt and embarrassment. Presenting research by the Restorative Justice Centre at the Australian National University, the book contributes immeasurably to the development of practical alternatives to common sanctions in an effort to reduce crime and other social problems. Written by the key exponents of restorative justice, the book is an important re-statement of the theory and practice of shaming. It will develop important and often controversial debates about punishment, shaming and restorative justice to a new level.

This 2001 book is a follow-on to John Braithwaite's best-selling and influential Crime, Shame and Reintegration. Shame management is becoming a central concept, in theoretical and practical terms. This book makes a major contribution to the advancement of shame in a theoretical sense. For criminology, as well as for psychology, sociology and other areas, this accessible book serves as an introduction to the concepts of shame, guilt and embarrassment. Presenting research by the Restorative Justice Centre at the Australian National University, the book contributes immeasurably to the development of practical alternatives to common sanctions in an effort to reduce crime and other social problems. Written by the key exponents of restorative justice, the book is an important re-statement of the theory and practice of shaming. It will develop important and often controversial debates about punishment, shaming and restorative justice to a new level.