National Investment Planning and equity policy in developing countries: The challenge of decentralized administration

The impact of national economic planning in developing countries over the past three decades has been severely limited. Little evidence supports the contention that it has either directly improved investment decisions for stimulating economic growth or significantly affected development policymaking. Constraints on implementing national planning in Asia include weaknesses of political and administrative support for national plans, deficiencies in their content, difficulties of relating plan priorities to investment decisionmaking, ineffectiveness or inappropriateness of comprehensive planning methods and techniques, and inadequate administrative capacity to implement and evaluate multisectoral investment strategies. Changes in Asian development policy toward growth with equity imply the need for more decentralized methods and arrangements for planning, creation of a stronger relationship between policy planning and program implementation, and diffusion of administrative capacity among a wide variety of public and private institutions to generate, formulate and implement investment policies and projects.     

Democracy,creeping socialism,and ideological socialism in rent-seeking societies

Rent-seeking societies suffer from a serious distortion of incentives. Incentives to engage in distributional struggles, to seek contrived transfers are strong, but incentives to engage in productive work are too weak. Stagnation and some unemployment should be expected. Long lasting democracies within unchanged borders create a permissive environment for rent-seeking. The provision of rents very much depends on government. The stronger the governmental involvement in the economy, the higher social security spending, the more rents the government is likely to generate. Therefore, creeping socialism understood as increased government control of the economy should reinforce the rent-seeking society and the corresponding negative effects on growth and employment. Whether such creeping socialism is backed by ideological socialism or not should make little difference for growth or employment. These ideas have been tested and partially supported by a 19 nation sample of industrial democracies, using data from the sixties and seventies. By and large, the rent-seeking approach is fairly successful in explaining national differences in economic growth rates, but receives ambiguous support or less for unemployment. Olson's (1982, 1983) proposition about the negative impact of long lasting democracy within unchanged borders on economic growth is much better supported than the growth-retarding effects of government revenues or social security spending are.     

NEW DIRECTIONS IN AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING: SOME POINTERS FROM THE UK STRUCTURE PLANNING EXPERIENCE

Abstract: Environmental planning legislation in Australia has been primarily concerned with the formulation of detailed land-use allocation plans. Changing circumstances are leading to a more broadly-based view of the planning process centred around the delineation of development principles and the broad structure of land uses. The United Kingdom's experience with structure plans during the past decade is of value in reshaping environmental planning in Australia. Within the United Kingdom both the slow speed of structure plan preparation and its very broad scope have posed problems. By merging land-use issues with the development plans of other government instrumentalities structure plans have exceeded the responsibility of the central planning agency. Simultaneously they have been seized upon by the public as the only formal means of dissent against governmental decisions in such areas as social service and housing. Reactions have been twofold. In Scotland regional reports have imposed an additional corporate plan which provides guidelines for subsequent control of land use. In England and Wales structure plans have become increasingly general, long-term and land-use orientated, thereby side-stepping the problems their introduction created. To be effective in Australia, structure plans must achieve corporate liaison with other government departments and statutory undertakings. This will be achieved not by copying the English structure planning model, but by working towards regional reports prepared by a combination of State government agencies and reconciled through decisions at parliamentary level. Local, detailed land-use plans, based upon written reports as in the United Kingdom, can fit readily into such a framework, supplemented where necessary by State-wide guidelines pertaining to critical land-use considerations. The coordination of development will be facilitated by the liberalization and increased availability of professionally recognized qualifications.     

Performance of the new rural development management system in thailand: A view from the korat development pilot project

Development management in national rural development has been the subject of much discussion as old-style integrated rural development planning met with increasing criticism. The Royal Government of Thailand is currently attempting to arrive at comprehensive reform of the development management system within the framework of implementation of its national five-year plans. This article highlights the reforms and the analysis of past failures. It introduces the new management organization and some procedural highlights. A first experiment with the new system which is currently being carried out in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima is documented, and the opinion of government officials on its performance is reported. The overall reaction is positive: the system does provide a more coordinated implementation. Two bottlenecks remain, however: project monitoring and evaluation should be strengthened; and additional technical training in development planning is needed.     

Administration in a small capitalist state: The Hong Kong experience

This article is primarily concerned with the functions of bureaucracy in a minimal state and with how those functions might change in response to economic growth. It is predicated on the assumption that bureaucracy is necessary for economic growth even in those countries which seek to achieve such growth through the relatively free operation of the economy within the rubric of a capitalist state. Hong Kong is a case in point. Although it has often been taken as the epitome of the benefits which can be derived from keeping government out of the economy, the bureaucracy has in fact played a critical role in support of economic development. Aside from the functions which must be performed by any state, such as the maintenance of law and order, the administration of justice, and the provision of public works, three features of Hong Kong bureaucratic practice appear to have been important in the definition of the bureaucracy's tasks in the economic growth process. These are ‘value for money’ and the constant need to justify government expenditure; effective line implementation; and the ability to manage crises. If these constitute minimal essential requirements for such governments, they may provide useful criteria which small or micro-states, following capital growth models but not yet experiencing rapid economic development, can apply in assessing the capabilities of their own bureaucracies.     

Responses to the Clean Power Plan: Factors Influencing State Decision‐Making

In 2015, President Obama introduced the Clean Power Plan (CPP), a federal plan aimed at reducing the production of carbon pollution from power plants. In response, some used legal action to try and stop the plan, while others supported the plan and proceeded with plans for its implementation. This research investigates responses taken by state government in terms of legal remedies and planning for implementation, and what explains those responses. Findings suggest that partisanship plays a key role. Specifically, the partisanship of the attorney general is correlated with the legal response, and the governor with implementation planning. Coals, and perhaps renewables, also seem to play a role, even controlling for partisanship. There is only weak evidence for the effect of policy experience and none for the estimated cost of the policy. The article concludes by discussing the implications of these results for the future of climate policy in the United States.     

Community welfare services in Urban China: A public-private experiment

The social welfare system in China has been undergoing transition since the economic reform in 1978 when the Chinese government began introducing a series of welfare changes aimed at shifting responsibility from the government to a combination of government, communities, enterprises and individuals. Consequently, many cities in China have been experimenting with community-based welfare services — a state-sanctioned practice based on socialist ideology, but at the same time market driven and incorporating the private sector. This new welfare approach started an ongoing dialogue in China regarding the role of the public and private sectors in social welfare, the balance between socialist and capitalist values, and the input of the free market and political democracy. This paper presents a case study of an urban community in Beijing. It examines the policy of community-based services and discusses its implementation in urban communities. The research suggests that the public-private coordination is, within limits, effective in meeting people’s needs in the community. However, further attention should be given to the sharing of responsibility for welfare between the public and private sectors so as to protect vulnerable populations. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Denver. Her major interests of research focus on social development and community service, law and social work, and comparative welfare policies. He was also chair professor of Social Work Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and founding Dean of the School of Social Development at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He has written extensively on international social development and human security.     

URBAN GOVERNMENT, URBAN POLITICS AND THE FABRICATION OF URBAN ISSUES: THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF URBAN POLICY

An "urban" definition of public policy problems raises great difficulties for the policy maker. If we emphasize implementation as a primary factor in evaluating public policy, we have good grounds for questioning the wisdom of an urban perspective. But urban questions have been and still are major areas of concern in public policy formulation. The ALP federal platform contains a long section on urban policies, reiterating what the Department of Urban and Regional Development (DURD) was striving to achieve under the Whitlam Government. At state level, urban problems have been tackled with varying degrees of success and seriousness, although at this level overall urban perspectives tend to be ignored, for reasons we shall indicate. However urban planning authorities have been tried in most capital cities, and metropolitan plans have been drawn up for all of them. They have concentrated mainly on land use and urban form. By the 1970s a common criticism of such planning was that it left aside many social and economic aspects of urban growth. For example, one (admittedly partisan) government source—the N.S.W. Department of Decentralization and Development—noted "a massive and increasing trend towards socio-economic segregation":
…the remoteness of central city facilities …the cost of commuter transport and the inadequacy of community facilities in low-income outer suburbs are operating to perpetuate economic under-privilege.     

Outcome‐focussed planning in Australian local government: How council plans and cultural development plans measure up

Contemporary public policy increasingly emphasises a focus on outcomes, the difference that occurs in the lives of citizens from policy and activity of government. Other contemporary imperatives for effective planning include: recognition of the values of the community whom plans serve, direction towards goals and objectives, utilisation of evidence, articulation of theories of change that underpin planning and responsiveness to evaluation. This article reports a desk‐based research project to assess how local government planning documents meet these imperatives. Two documents are examined for 67 councils across Australia: the major strategic document, council plan or other‐named document and the cultural development plan (CDP) or other‐named document that directs staff and investment aimed at cultural enrichment of the LGA. Findings indicate that the majority of councils’ documents appeared only concordant with one or two of these planning imperatives. No plan addressed more than three. Overall, council plans and cultural development plans did not clearly indicate their responsiveness to values of their communities, nor include objectives that formed measurable steps towards goals or formally refer to the use of evidence in decision‐making. No plans included theories of change to underpin decision‐making. This analysis indicates clear areas of improvement for planning for local governance.     

The evolution of employment in Mexico: 1895-1980

Employment figures from the Mexican national census are the basis for this analysis of employment changes in Mexico between 1895-1980. The work identifies longterm trends in the volume and composition of employment and distinguishes 3 main periods in the evolution of employment. The first period, from 1895-1930, marked the end of a stage of development lasting until about 1907 in which sufficient internal stability was achieved to support Mexico's entrance into the world market. Export of agricultural products and metals was the principal focus of economic growth. Construction of roads and railroads was a central element of progress. But economic and social problems manifested in regional disparities, concentration of wealth, conflicts between economic sectors, low pay for agricultural workers, and fierce social and political control characterized the period and culminated in the Mexican Revolution. After the first decade of the 20th century the ability of the economy to absorb new workers began to decline, and the falling of crude activity rates was not reversed until the 1940s. During the 1920s, total employment increased less than 6%, reflecting a net increase of 403,000 male workers and a decrease of 110,000 female workers. The second major period of employment from 1930-1970 saw the change from an economy based on export of primary products to one based on manufacturing for the internal market. There were 2 subperiods, a stage of transition from 1930-50, the economy registered marked fluctuations, but by the 1940s the consolidation of state power and important reforms permitting expansion of the internal market were factors in an accelerated growth of employment relative to the preceding intercensal period. Despite considerable increases in agricultural employment, the relative share of the agricultural sector in total employment was beginning a decline. Employment registered the highest growth rates of the century in the 1940s and exceeded population growth. The increased employment was explained by accelerated growth and accumulation in manufacturing along with increases in commerce, services, construction, and agriculture. From 1950-70, industrial development was consolidated, and there was a generalized expansion in employment in manufacturing as well as in the secondary and tertiary sectors. The economy was less able to absorb new labor, primarily because the agricultural sector had reached the limits of expansion in both the commercial and peasant sector by 1965, at just the time that population growth was most rapid. During the 1970s, manufacturing employment grew less rapidly because of modernization, almost exclusive orientation to the internal market which limited expansion, and scarcity of funds for importing capital goods. A new model of growth will be needed if Mexico is to escape its present stagnation, and a significant share of economic activity will need to be oriented to export. Until this process is consolidated, the national economy is unlikely to show signs of sustained recuperation.     

The Political Implications of American Concerns About Economic Inequality

This article presents a national measure of Americans’ level of concern about economic inequality from 1966 to 2015, and analyzes the relationship between this construct and public support for government intervention in the economy. Current research argues that concerns about economic inequality are associated with a desire for increased government action, but this relationship has only been formally tested using cross-sectional analyses. I first use a form of dynamic factor analysis to develop a measure of national concern over time. Using an error correction model I then show that an increase in national concern about economic inequality does not lead to a subsequent increase in support for government intervention in the economy. Instead there is some evidence that, once confounding factors are accounted for, an increase in concern could lead to reduced support for government intervention.     

The Australian way of government and public sector commercial reform: from a lucky to a clever country?

In recent years, Australia has struggled to remain in the top twenty developed countries, globally. The reality is that Australia's natural resource and agricultural bases no longer serve to provide sustainable national competitive advantage. In the past decade, therefore, government initiatives have aimed to produce a range of industry policies, apparently designed to strengthen the economic base, enhance government and industry responsiveness and productivity, and to attract increased overseas investment. The modernization of Australian public sectors and the adoption of private sector business principles, especially commercialization and privatization, have been critical aspects of competitive reform. This article examines several of the key strategies adopted by Australian governments, especially those designed to enhance national competitive advantage, to determine which strategies may be working, or not working, and why. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of governments as corporate business managers and their ability to respond to commercial realities on a business management, as distinct from an ideological, basis. (© 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)     

An innovative approach to metropolitan management in the philippines

The paper describes the historical development of metropolitan planning and administration in Metro Manila, and identifies five major problems: the sectoral isolation of planning; the inadequate involvement of local government; inadequacies in planning methods; weaknesses in the system of resource management; and institutional fragmentation. The development of the Capital Investment Folio process, its institutional framework and the main characteristics and results of applying the approach are described. The benefits and lessons which have emerged are then set out and their possible application elsewhere discussed. The main achievements of CIF are progress towards a rational system of urban planning; the generation of consensus within government about Manila's investment strategy; a more widespread appreciation of opportunity costs; and a new understanding of how to plan under conditions of uncertainty. It remains for CIF to be integrated into the national resource allocation process, and to be fully accepted by national government agencies. Local government still needs to be positively involved in the planning process.     

论中国社会主义市场经济制度下的发展计划

“用市场经济手段来提高效率,用社会主义制度来保障公平”是社会主义市场经济这一概念的实质。由此可见,社会主义市场经济制度下的计划在相当长的时期内还会起着重要的作用,应当认真研究改进计划的制定及管理方法。着重分析了长期计划、中期计划、专项计划及年度计划四种发展计划的主要内容、制定方法与关键技术,强调了POSMEP法在编制发展计划时的重要作用。最后,建议设立负责全面策划和统筹协调的总体计划部门以便更好地促进建设中国特色社会主义事业的发展。     

THE GROWNING INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES OF THE AMERICAN STATES1

This article examines state responses to the changing global economy, by exploring the growth of state international economic activities, variations in these activities, factors promoting and limiting state involvement in international affairs, and implications of these trends for the implementation of state economic development policies. Global economic competition, a changing domestic political and economic landscape, the modernization of state government, and increasingly open international markets have inspired states to increase their international activities. Consequently, dramatic growth in state international activities has occurred in the fields of trade promotion and economic development. Yet, state and local involvement in international affairs has not been universally accepted nor consistently funded.     

The gender politics of economic competitiveness in Malaysia's transition to a knowledge economy

Abstract

Many academic commentators have pointed to how the widening and deepening of a neoliberal reform agenda in Southeast Asia has brought about the end of developmental forms of state governance and the emergence of less directly market interventionist states pursuing economic ‘competitiveness’. In this paper, I note how notions of competitiveness are increasingly fused with ideas regarding the contribution of gender equity and women's empowerment to national economic success. However, drawing upon a case study of Malaysia, this paper highlights how government policies stressing both the marketisation of social reproduction and the need to expand women's productive roles are constantly brought into tension with embedded social structures. Such an emphasis is essential to any understanding of the role of the Malaysian state in economic development – a role that has been fundamentally shaped by a localised politics of ethnicity. The paper draws upon examples from government policy-making that conceptualise women as key workers in the emerging knowledge-driven economy and as microentrepreneurs driving pro-poor economic growth and illustrates how such policies are brought into tension with traditionalist discourses concerning the appropriate role of women in society.     

Vanuatu: The evolution of the administrative and political context of decentralization

Local government came late to Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides) and even then was more a response to external events than a reflection of community interests. The first local council experiment, from 1957 to 1958, failed because of rivalry between the colonial powers, Britain and France. Subsequently national political developments set up additional obstacles to the successful functioning of local government. Political conflicts at the national level, reflecting the divisions created by the Anglo-French condominium, delayed implementation and undermined the administrative viability and democratic quality of local councils. Popular support for and trust in local government has not developed. A system created in haste and altered to serve the interests of competing national elites has not been able to adapt to the needs of local communities. A viable system of decentralization requires a degree of national consensus to be combined with local involvement in planning and implementation.     

Barriers and Opportunities for Primary Care Delivery Systems: A Case Study from the County Council of Uppsala, Sweden

Reallocation of resources from hospital care to primary care outside the hospitals is one of the leading ideas in Swedish health policy. Since the middle of the 1970's a system of long-term planning at the county level has been the main instrument of realizing this aim. In this case-study of the implementation of a current long-term plan in the county of Uppsala, the problems of health policy planning in a situation of economic crisis are illustrated. The attempt at planning according to the rational model is shown to have been impeded by, among other things, the incremental strategy of budgeting, which was natural in the days of affluence. In the present situation of low economic growth and strong political demands for restrictions on the growth of the health care sector, particularly as regards the hospitals, incremental budgeting will probably have to give way to a more comprehensive form of planning, such as the mixed-scanning strategy.     

Economic Progress, Social Disquiet: The Modern Paradox

Surveys of social attitudes are revealing a perhaps unprecedented paradox: a booming economy but persistent community disquiet. The puzzling coincidence is fuelling interest in what is perhaps the ultimate public policy question: is life getting better ‐ or worse? The relationship between economic growth and human development is not as clear‐cut as conventional wisdom and government policy assume. Public opinion surveys suggest that the driving dynamic in Australia and other Western societies in the early decades of the new century will be a growing tension between values and lifestyles. How this tension is resolved will fundamentally determine national and global futures.     

Social capital formation: The role of NGO rural development programs in Bangladesh

Social capital can be generated by the expectations of the rural poor who are victimized by government and market failures. The demands of the rural poor of Bangladesh for economic and social goods and services, for example, have been instrumental to their economic and social well-being. Cooperation based on mutual trust and norms of reciprocity contributes to the creation of other kinds of capital, especially economic and human capital, that are mutually reinforcing. Both governments and the NGOs make use of social capital as a tool for implementing poverty policies.