Incentives and their dynamics in public sector performance management systems

We use the principal‐agent model as a focal theoretical frame for synthesizing what we know, both theoretically and empirically, about the design and dynamics of the implementation of performance management systems in the public sector. In this context, we review the growing body of evidence about how performance measurement and incentive systems function in practice and how individuals and organizations respond and adapt to them over time, drawing primarily on examples from performance measurement systems in public education and social welfare programs. We also describe a dynamic framework for performance measurement systems that takes into account strategic behavior of individuals over time, learning about production functions and individual responses, accountability pressures, and the use of information about the relationship of measured performance to value added. Implications are discussed and recommendations derived for improving public sector performance measurement systems. © 2010 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

发展—安全互动中的全球基础设施议题

作为一种兼具公共产品与战略工具双重功能的议题,全球基础设施具有明确的发展与安全含义,因此,该议题在国际政治中呈现出嵌入"发展—安全联结"的基本态势。当前,在大国战略竞争结构之下,全球基础设施建设与国际社会"发展—安全联结"都具备议题拓展的政治动力,两者互动推动着安全与发展两大议题领域在不同层次上展开更为复杂化的聚合,扩展了当前"发展—安全联结"在国际政治中的适用范围,也强化了基础设施对安全与发展的依赖程度。基础设施与"发展—安全联结"互动呈现出螺旋圈层的架构,即主要通过议题维度的立体配置逻辑、制度方面的双重建构逻辑和演变方面的系统嵌合逻辑等方式,更紧密地与"发展—安全联结"发生互动关联。一个"发展—基建—安全联结"正在浮现。全新的联结也在重新塑造安全与发展两大议题,并在议题设定、行为逻辑、国际制度、全球治理和运作环境方面影响着当前的国际秩序。这种正在出现的"发展—基建—安全联结"可能对中国推进"一带一路"基建具有重要启示意义。     

从反核威慑战略到最低核威慑战略:中国核战略演进之路

当前学者们对中国核战略的争论焦点在于,没有任何一种现有核战略定义能够完全涵盖中国核政策的特点。本文认为,正确理解中国核战略,需要摆脱现有核战略理论概念体系的束缚。只有从中国核战略产生和发展的具体时代背景中寻找线索,才能认识到,中国核战略经历了从反核威慑战略到最低核威慑战略的巨大转变,而中国长期大规模备战核战争遗留下来的物质遗产和思想基础,仍然对中国核战略产生着巨大的影响力。中国学者应从中国核战略实践出发,参与构建主流话语体系,为核战略学科建设做出自己的贡献。     

亚非复兴视野下中国与发展中国家关系:历史变迁与世界意义

20世纪以来的世界历史是亚非世界实现民族复兴的历史。在这一进程中,中国与发展中国家关系自始便具有某种特殊的历史意义。南南合作曾使中国赢得了应有的国家尊严与国际尊重。中国借助第三世界的整体力量彰显了自己的国际地位与影响,而中国的发展及其外交影响反过来又加强了第三世界在国际斗争中的整体力量,让西方世界不得不重新思考他们与亚非世界的关系。当前中国与发展中国家关系的全面发展,显著推动了亚非发展中国家的整体复兴进程,由此导致国际关系出现结构性变化的新趋向。中国与发展中国家关系也因此具有全新的世界意义。     

How the West Perceives China＇s Developing Country Status

With the rise of China＇s position in the international political and economic fields, the West began to question China＇s developing country status, the wrong perception of the West lies primarily in the following aspects： first, the vagueness of the concept of ＂developing countries＂ and the tendency towards narrowing the notion; second, the western countries are pressing China to shoulder more international responsibilities in so doing.     

Government and Public Services in Modern Britain: What Happens Next?

This article reflects on the situation and prospects for public services in Great Britain, in the context of the changes in government and governance which have taken place over the last 25 years and in particular of the change of Prime Minister and the reconstruction of the government in the summer of 2007. It argues that government and public servants now need to think afresh about the way in which decisions are taken in government, and about the relationships between government, public services, and the citizens and communities they serve, and suggests the direction which their thinking might take.     

BALANCING AUTONOMY AND CAPACITY IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: THE DILEMMA OF OFFICIAL RECOGNITION AND SUPPORT FOR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS

Community organization helps relatively powerless groups improve their political bargaining position by increasing the stability. persistence, and standing of the group… But… community organizations of relatively powerless groups remain constrained by their need to secure resources and develop incentives to attract constituents. For the most part, those may be acquired only through interactions requiring compromises of group independence and goals.     

Indicators of Democracy in Professional Associations: Elite Recruitment, Turnover, and Decision Making in a Metropolitan Bar Association

This study considers political structure in bar associations with respect to one central problem: the tension between democracy and oligarchy in the internal politics of bar associations. Drawing on both theoretical and empirical material, the authors outline a series of indicators on which the degree of democracy and oligarchy in the organized bar may be measured and then apply these criteria to the Chicago Bar Association from 1950 through 1974. The authors briefly review writings on the political structure of bar associations in the United States and note relevant theoretical perspectives on the politics of voluntary associations. They distinguish several patterns of oligarchy and democracy and explore the consequences of certain trends for the Chicago Bar Association and other bar associations.