The chief financial officers act of 1990: a new approach to solving federal financial management problems

The Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-576) promises to be a new era not only in federal management and accountability, but also in efforts to gain financial control of government operations. The CFO Act provides for broad reforms that will (1) properly organize the financial management function in government agencies, (2) provide the necessary systems and control to manage government programs, and (3) measure performance through financial statements, cost information, and other data, so that prompt corrective actions can be taken.

The CFO Act is expected to bring fundamental change to the federal government's weak, outdated, and inefficient financial systems. Meeting the CFO Act's challenge will be difficult, but should result in (1) improved financial systems and information with which to manage government operations, (2) better ability to foresee problems, and thus deal with them, and (3) greater accountability by those managing government programs.     

Lessons learned from the reinvention of training in two federal agencies

This paper describes the efforts of two federal agency training divisions to reinvent themselves, and provides experiences and insights which will help other training divisions facing the sometimes frightening prospect of reinvention. The paper also suggests that a strategic, customer, performance improvement, and accountability orientation is key to reinventing training in government.     

The impact of the financial sector on economic development: Some cross-section evidence

Conclusion This paper has attempted to analyze the effect of the development of the financial sector, as reflected by the extent of financial deepening, in the economic development of countries. The Theoretical framework integrating financial growth to real growth is basically an adaptation of the Gurley-Shaw theory of finance in the development context, but with emphasis placed upon the supply-leading role of the financial sector. The empirical results of this study although not conclusive, indicate that financial deepening leads to a higher rate of capital accumulation and a higher level of per capita income. The lack of definitiveness of our evidence in support of the financial theory of economic development is due to a lack of comparable data on financial institutions, other than banks, for the different countries. Thus, although our study lends support to the supply-leading thesis, further judgement of the thesis must await more detailed empirical analyses.     

Modernising local government: The impact of new political arrangements on chief officers for leisure and recreation in Wales

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the effects of new forms of executive government on local authority chief officers for leisure and recreation in Wales. Based on a new institutionalist approach to research (Lowndes, 2002 Lowndes, V. 2002. “Institutionalism”. In Theories and Methods in Political Science, 2nd edition, Edited by: Marsh, D. and Stoker, G. Basingstoke: Palgrave.  [Google Scholar]), survey and interview data were gathered during 2004–05. There are four principal findings: (i) effects of changes to the officer structure; (ii) changing emphasis between the centre and services; (iii) changing roles for chief officers; and (iv) impact and changes as a result of the new arrangements. Political modernisation of local government and the narratives of elite actors are highlighted and theoretical implications are advanced in conceptual models.     

Toward the year 2000: Issues and strategies for federal labor-management relations

The 1990s are bringing new challenges to the federal labor-management relations process. Unions and management alike are being forced to confront changes in the demographics of the workforce, fiscal constraints and a conservative political climate. This article reports the results of a survey of federal labor relations professionals. The survey was designed to gauge their perceptions of the strategies and structures of the labor relations program in the 1990s. It revealed marked agreement about the issues that are emerging, and optimism about the program's ability to adapt, but showed some disagreement in strategies needed to meet these challenges.     

Assessing the impact of financial liberalisation on stock market volatility in selected developing countries

This article argues for the importance of measuring stock market volatility following financial liberalisation in developing countries. Three alternative indices for measuring volatility are developed; these are used to examine the view that financial liberalisation induces increased asset price volatility. Based on the limited data available, this view is corroborated in the majority of countries investigated.     

Designing a fiscal federal mechanism for the transition period: the case of the Russian federation

In countries undergoing economic transition, economic factors have caused discord between central and regional authorities. This paper explores the causes and consequences of fiscal conflicts between the federal and regional governments and discusses what elements in an optimal fiscal management would best preserve federal integrity. It provides a plausible game-theoretic representation of the power struggle between the center and regional governments in the Russian Federation. This representation describes the rules and political environment that served as a background for the budgetary wars of 1992 to 1994, the objectives of both the regional and federal players, and a history of game play during the transitional period.     

The financial management initiative in the u.k. public sector: the symbolic role of performance reporting

The emerging principles of performance reporting are explored in the context of urban policy and inner city regeneration programmes in the UK, upon which a great deal of evaluative research has been carried out in the last decade. The paper questions the extent that performance management principles as embodied by the FMI are necessary for public accountability. It illustrates that implementation of performance reporting in the urban regeneration programme has had a symbolic role in generating myths and images about practice which imply that the “rational model” of decision making is in operation. The imposition of performance reporting cannot per se guarantee improvements, in the sense of learning, in the organising approaches adopted by public sector organisations.     

Improved budgeting and financial management as a tool for enhancing the performance of local government in developing countries

Rapid economic and social changes in developing countries are impacting on their governments' ability to manage those changes, and local governments in these countries are becoming the core of decentralization experiments. This article examines the problems local governments face in meeting the challenges of rapid transformation and change. This paper suggests that budgeting be used as a means for strengthening local governments' abilities to deal with such changes. Until now, budgeting has not been used as a key intervention tool for strengthening local governments. A working model to assess the state of financial and related management conditions of local governments is provided. This model can serve as a useful point of reference for change agents involved in the strengthening of local governments.     

The Anti-Politics of Development: donor agencies and the political economy of governance

This article discusses the attempt undertaken by several development aid agencies since the turn of the century to integrate political economy assessments into their decision making on development assistance. The article discusses three such attempts: the Drivers of Change adopted by the UK's Department for International Development, the Strategic Governance and Corruption Analysis (sgaca) developed by the Dutch Directorate General for International Cooperation and the new thinking on political economy analysis, policy reform and political risk advanced by the World Bank. On the basis of a political-economic interpretation of development agencies, two main factors are found to hinder the successful application of political economy assessment. In the first place, the agencies' professional outlook leads them to see development in primarily technical terms. In the second place, the nature of incentives for development professionals leads them to resist the implementation of political economy analyses.     

Computer simulation of humanitarian scenarios: tools for training and field management in relief agencies

Computer simulation, a technology well advanced in military strategies and tactics, has been used for response to natural disasters. The authors argue that it should also be applied to the field of humanitarian action in armed conflict. Projected uses are: the management and planning of relief actions, public resource mobilization for humanitarian actions, and training personnel for violent work environments. How that can happen is shown with the example of a real relief management problem in the Sudan.

Simulation can be introduced in ways that are compatible with agencies’ needs, communication styles, and staff abilities. Several factors speak for it: many agencies routinely use computer applications that are flexible enough for simulation to be added seamlessly. Simulation will help agencies to add the power of analysis to the images that prompt humanitarian actions. And with violence and chaos continuing, simulation offers a technique around which to share expertise and training in new, networked partnerships.     

National administrative agencies in transition: A comparison of sweden and the united states

The abilities of national administrative agencies in Sweden and the United States to function effectively are influenced by their responses to three major phenomena: 1) growth in the responsibilities of government; 2) decentralization; and, 3) privatization. This paper delineates how these phenomena have affected the development of national administrative organizations in these two countries. Implications for administering national agencies in increasingly complex interorganizational environments are discussed.     

Barriers to information sharing in state agencies: the case of the texas general land office

This paper explores barriers to information sharing and how they might be overcome. Through a case study of the Texas General Land Office, computer-based information sharing is explored in the organizational setting. In particular, the State Real Property Inventory information system is examined in terms of utilization of hardware, software, and local area networks. In addition, managerial and user attitudes towards computer use are explored. We find a number of technological and organizational factors that need to be addressed in order to improve computer- based information sharing. These technological and organizational barriers combine to create an inefficient environment for adoption and use. Finally, we suggest some improvements on how management and users can utilize information sharing technologies in more effective ways in the context of structural integration of information technology.     

Parties,ideology and elections: the politics of federal revenues and expenditures forecasting

Some scholars view problems in the accuracy of federal fiscal forecasts as being largely technical in nature .Others intimate that there may be a political component as well. This paper exlpores the relative merits of these two perspectives finding some support for each. Executive forecasts were found to be random with respect to direction of errors , error magnitudes increased in absolute terms over time , and revenues estimate error s tended to cluster in short bursts. Executive forecasting errors were also linked to presidential party , ideology and year in the election cycle.     

The emergence of regulatory regionalism: transnational networks and the diffusion of regulatory agencies within regions

The regulatory regionalism approach has increasingly claimed that a new mode of regional governance is emerging globally. Regional policy regimes, developed in broad social and economic territorial areas, affect the internal transformation of the state. The authors plan to provide comprehensive empirical evidence about the emergence of worldwide regulatory regionalism by identifying how regulatory agencies have diffused very successfully within the regional level in recent decades. The paper aims to identify, using an original methodological design, the ways in which such diffusion of agencies occurred, as this may have theoretical relevance for the study of regulatory regionalism. The authors' hypothesis suggests that transnational political interactions in each regional cluster triggered agency diffusion, contributing to the development of the regulatory state within the countries of each region. To test this hypothesis, the authors employed a data set of regulatory agencies including the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), and most Asian and Latin American countries (+59) from 1950 to 2007, for 15 sectors related to finance, risks, utility and competition. Bayesian data analysis was used to estimate the parameters of interest.     

Recrganizing fiscal assistance for criminal justice the justice system improvement act of 1979

Although reorganizing the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration had been repeatedly proposed in the past seven years, it was not until January 29,1979 that Senator Edward Kenndy (D-Mass.) introduced the "Justice System Improvement Act" designed to do just that. An examination of this bill, and a comparison of the present LEAA structure and function with that proposed in the Act illustrates that the legislation will serve to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of criminal justice fiscal assistance pro- grams. The suggested course is to separate the research and statistics components from purely assistance functions and giving LEAA the latter responsibility on an exclusive basis. Research and Statistics would be housed in their own individual organizational structures, but within the perview of the Department of Justice.

Two shortcomings, however, could serve to defeat the proposed bill. Although the legislation gives priority to fiscal assistance to state/local jurisdictions, there is no corresponding increase in financial commitment on the part of the Federal Government. In fact, the FY 1980 budget allocates LEAA its lowest funding level since 1972. At a time of growing concern over crime rates, this would certainly serve to soften the impact of the reorganization effort. In addition, maintaining the research function within the,Department of Justice could well prove prejudi- cial to research findings. The recommended course of action is to adopt the proposal which calls for an indepen-dent "National Institute of Justice, to be organized along similar lines as the National Science Foundation.