Recent reforms in Singapore's administrative elite: Responding to the challenges of a rapidly changing economy and society

The article examines the recent changes made to the elite corps of the Singapore Civil Service, the Administrative Service, in response to the challenges it faces as a result of the rapid economic and social transformation of the country over the last 30 years. One challenge is to overcome the shortfall of personnel in the Administrative Service resulting from the availability of more attractive and lucrative careers in the burgeoning private sector. A second challenge facing the Administrative Service is to remain attuned to the new needs and circumstances of the economy and the society at large. For this reason, Administrative Service officers are required to work in commercial or community‐based organisations for part of their careers.     

State approaches to debt capacity assessment: a further evaluation

The simultaneous effects of an aging infrastructure, the retreat of the federal government from assisting state and local governments finance capital acquisitions, and an expansion of the public's perception of what constitutes legitimate public infrastructure and capital investments has created a need for different approaches to financing state and local government debt capital needs. This has led t o an increasing use of debt financing to meet growing capital and/or infrastructure needs. This paper reviews the concept of a debt capacity index measure for state governments. Results of a survey of state debt capacity methodologies are reported. The results of the survey are then incorporated into a statistical model for calculating the debt capacity of one state. The results of this analyses are reported and discussed for this one state issuer.     

Varieties of capitalism and the Estonian economy: Institutions,growth and crisis in a liberal market economy

This article examines Estonia's economic institutions, performance and vulnerability to the global economic crisis in the context of the varieties of capitalism framework. It shows that Estonia shares many characteristics of a liberal market economy, but that there are also some features which do not fit the classical model, notably its corporate governance institutions. It also suggests that the varieties of capitalism framework can account for key features of Estonia's economic performance, including its growth trajectory and adjustment to the global financial crisis. The article also reflects on the broader significance of these findings for understanding post-communist capitalism.     

The Chinese peasant economy: Paradigm and myth

The Chinese Peasant Economy: Agricultural Development in Hopei and Shantung. 1890–1914. By Ramon H. Myers. Harvard: Harvard University Press and London: Oxford University Press, 1971. Pp. xix, 394. Index. £6.75.     

The labour market in a dual economy: Another look at colonial Rhodesia

A labour market model is developed for the formal sector of a labour surplus economy, allowing for monopsony power by firm owners and an inelastic supply of labour with respect to the wage rate. This inelasticity arises even though the wage rate in the traditional sector may be ‘fixed’ due to surplus land, and the supply of labour to the traditional sector responds quite positively to an exogenous increase in the (implicit) wage rate there. This labour supply function is derived from a simple utility maximisation model incorporating the spatial aspects of temporary migration to the formal sector.     

The human side of managing organizations at a time of change: the russian perspective

Theories concerning social developments are considered to be only partially universal. To a degree, they are culture-specific. Nevertheless, experience and theoretical knowledge gained from exploring social phenomena in one society can provide valuable insights for the analysis of a different formation. This paper outlines the major changes that make up the present-day Russian reality, and discusses the resulting situation in the area of the management of Russian public organizations. Certain possible strategies of revising the old practices are formulated in the light of existing American theories of management and administration. The paper analyzes two alternative policies for improving the performance of Russian public organizations through restructuring the general mode of organizing and through enhanced supervisor-employee relations.     

The influence of institutions and culture on health policies: different approaches to integrated care in England and The Netherlands

The concept of integrated care has assumed growing importance on the policy agendas both in England and The Netherlands and elsewhere. It is characterized as health and health care-related social care needed by patients with multi-faceted needs. This article compares policy approaches to integrated care in England and The Netherlands. Differing political strategies and conditions for integrated care correspond to the dissimilarities in the institutional structure and culture of their health care systems. Health care systems are understood as specific national and historical configurations. We review the last decade's relevant policy processes, using the concepts of hierarchy, market and network. The state health care system in England relies mainly on hierarchical steering, thus creating tight network structures for integrated care on the local level. The Netherlands, with its health care system in a public-private mix, has set incentives for voluntary, loosely coupled and partly market-driven cooperation on the local level. Implications for success or failure are mixed in both configurations. Policy recommendations have to be tailored to each systems' characteristics.     

Surplus labour and economic efficiency in the traditional sector of a dual economy: The Guatemalan case

In this paper we present empirical evidence on two closely related and widely discussed theoretical issues in development economics:

(A) the sign and the magnitude of the marginal productivity of labour—as they relate to the existence of surplus labour in the traditional sector of dual economies, and

(B) the economic efficiency of farmers in traditional agriculture. With regard to (A) we found the marginal productivity of labour in the traditional sector of Guatemalan agriculture to be positive, but considerably lower than the average wage rate that prevails in the area. Regarding (B) our estimated indexes of efficiency indicate that farmers in the traditional sector of Guatemalan agriculture make inefficient use of their economic resources.