How politicians use performance information in a budgetary context: New insights from the central government level

This article looks at performance information use by legislators at the central level in a budgetary context. The multi‐method approach (interviews, quantitative and qualitative analysis of plenary speeches given during budget readings) allows us to draw a broader picture of the use of performance information. The findings provide new insights into different purposes of performance information use. We identify four general use types, that is, de‐legitimizing, legitimizing, improving and understanding, and deflecting, which together with the subjects addressed blend into different use purposes. Second, the study sheds light onto different factors affecting performance information use, that is, the attributes of users of performance information, the properties of performance, and the role of institutional support.     

Unemployment and suicidal behavior in a New Zealand birth cohort: a fixed effects regression analysis

This study examined the association between exposure to unemployment and suicidal behaviors (suicidal ideation and attempted suicide) in a birth cohort of New Zealand young adults using fixed-effects logistic and Poisson regression models. Data were gathered on unemployment and suicidal behaviors at annual periods from ages 16-25 years. At all ages increasing exposure to unemployment was associated with increased risks of suicidal ideation (p < .0001) and number of suicide attempts (p < .0001). Following adjustment for fixed effects and time-dynamic covariates, associations between unemployment and suicidal ideation reduced to marginal significance (p < .10), while the association between unemployment and suicide attempts was not statistically significant (p > .10). After adjustment, those experiencing 6 or more months of unemployment in a given year had odds of suicidal ideation that were 1.43 (95% CI: .96 to 2.16) times higher, and rates of suicide attempts that were 1.72 (95% CI: .89 to 3.32) times higher, than those who were not exposed to unemployment. Although unemployment was associated with moderate increases in risks of suicidal behaviors, much of this association was explained by confounding factors.     

Looking for peace in national curriculum: the PECA Project in New Zealand

This is the pilot study for the Peace Education Curricular Analysis Project – a project that seeks to become a longitudinal and global analysis of national curriculum statements for pro-peace values. National education as a system of organized learning can act as a transmission belt – a cultural institution that assigns communal ideals and values and uses pedagogy to echo social standards. As this analysis considers that it is possible to assess non-peace education for peace education qualities, this study analyzed New Zealand’s early childhood, primary, and secondary education curricular statements to ascertain the presence or absence of three elements common in peace education programs: recognition of violence; addressing conflict nonviolently; and creating the conditions of positive peace. The methodologies used in this mixed methods study include directive and summative content analysis. This analysis finds that the curricular statements (2) of New Zealand have made progress to educate students toward peace and non-violence and that in general, the early childhood curricular statement incorporates a greater amount of pro-peace content than the primary and secondary curriculum statement. Opportunities exist to strengthen peace education content in future New Zealand curricular statements.     

Community involvement: a function of local government innovation

This paper discusses the implications of community involvement for the delivery of public services. It discusses exemplary case studies of community involvement in government, and provides an in-depth discussion of community participation in the affairs of the Engineering Traffic Division in San Diego, California. It finds a positive relationship between community involvement, and responsiveness, customer satisfaction, efficiency and effectiveness.     

Terrorism Where Terror Is Not: Australian and New Zealand Terrorism Compared

Despite many commonalities in national security priorities, Australia and New Zealand approach the threat of terrorism quite differently. Both had twentieth-century manifestations of domestic terrorism which were generally downplayed. The emergence of jihadist-inspired threats globally have affected Australia much more than New Zealand, and Australian counterterrorism strategy has developed significantly since 9/11. New Zealand has watched global events so far untouched by any jihadist threat, and has implemented few effective counterterrorism measures. The reasons for the differing experience, it is contended here, are the varying historical perceptions of threat, and consequent differing approaches each country has taken to mitigate perceived threat.     

A note on interregional trade in New Zealand

This paper attempts to test the hypothesis that given the presence of economies of scale which enable regions with larger firms to export more to regions with smaller firms, it is possible to rank a regions's exports according to the extent to which the scale of their production exceeds the national average. Data are utilized covering New Zealand's highly protected manufacturing sector. A rank correlation, significant at the 5 per cent level of probability, emerges between x_i and s_i in twelve of the thirteen regions considered; x_i being per capita value added in the i‐th industry divided by per capita value added in the nation for the i‐th industry and s_i being the average size of firm in the i‐th industry divided by the average size of firm in the nation for the i‐th industry. Such a result suggests that Heckscher‐Ohlin theorizing is of limited use in explaining regional trade flows.     

冷战后澳大利亚工党和新西兰工党的新变化

自20世纪90年代以来,澳大利亚工党和新西兰工党在思想理论和纲领方面进行了一系列调整。对全球化、市场经济和国家等问题也有了新的见解,同时对各自国家的经济和社会政策进行了调整并取得了一定的成果。     

Educating local government managers: a national survey of MPA programs

This article reports the findings of a national survey of masters degree programs in public administration. The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of efforts to educate local government managers. The findings suggest that programs with an overall focus on local government management or a specialized concentration are distinctly different from generalist programs. Furthermore, they indicate that internship programs may suffer from some serious shortcomings and that they may not offer an effective content supplement for generalist programs.     

Privatization morphs into 'publicization': businesses look a lot like government

Private companies become like public agencies because competition for contracts is keen and they must be perceived by the contacting agent, government, as being agreeable with the government's demands in order to be contracted with again. Government makes suggestions, sets requirements, and provides recommendations to private companies which, over time, cause the private companies/facilities to look more and more like government agencies – and company managers are left pressed between their need to re-contract and the business instincts and acumen for which they've presumably been contracted with in the first place.
This paper will briefly visit the common arguments for and against privatization. Additionally, the results of a limited study of the effect of publicization on private prison companies operating nationally in the US will be examined.     

Analysing contractual environments: lessons from Indigenous health in Canada, Australia and New Zealand

Contracting in health care is a mechanism used by the governments of Canada, Australia and New Zealand to improve the participation of marginalized populations in primary health care and improve responsiveness to local needs. As a result, complex contractual environments have emerged. The literature on contracting in health has tended to focus on the pros and cons of classical versus relational contracts from the funder's perspective. This article proposes an analytical framework to explore the strengths and weaknesses of contractual environments that depend on a number of classical contracts, a single relational contract or a mix of the two. Examples from indigenous contracting environments are used to inform the elaboration of the framework. Results show that contractual environments that rely on a multiplicity of specific contracts are administratively onerous, while constraining opportunities for local responsiveness. Contractual environments dominated by a single relational contract produce a more flexible and administratively streamlined system.     

Radical Reform in New Zealand: Crisis, Windows of Opportunity, and Rational Actors

This article uses three perspectives to explain the radical economic and state sector reforms undertaken in New Zealand starting in 1984. We interpret the reforms using a rational-comprehensive perspective, a garbage can perspective and a modified garbage can perspective identified in the work of John Kingdon. With New Zealand as an illustrative case, we explore the conditions under which radical reform is possible, the factors governing the adoption of reforms, and the impact on the reform process of a country's historical and cultural traditions. Our analysis emphasizes the import of a package of ready-made solutions, strong advocates (particularly a well-placed policy entrepreneur) who attach the solutions to a problem, and the existence of a 'window of opportunity' for adoption of the reforms. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of adopting reforms that run counter to a nation's long-established traditions.     

Radical Reform in New Zealand: Crisis,Windows of Opportunity,and Rational Actors

This article uses three perspectives to explain the radical economic and state sector reforms undertaken in New Zealand starting in 1984. We interpret the reforms using a rational‐comprehensive perspective, a garbage can perspective and a modified garbage can perspective identified in the work of John Kingdon. With New Zealand as an illustrative case, we explore the conditions under which radical reform is possible, the factors governing the adoption of reforms, and the impact on the reform process of a country's historical and cultural traditions. Our analysis emphasizes the import of a package of ready‐made solutions, strong advocates (particularly a well‐placed policy entrepreneur) who attach the solutions to a problem, and the existence of a ‘window of opportunity’ for adoption of the reforms. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of adopting reforms that run counter to a nation's long‐established traditions.     

Latin american municipal government:the rise of metagovernment

Metagovernment, the extra-legal and informal government that has developed in the squatter settlements and informal economic sectors of Latin American nations is rapidly becoming the most relevent form of government for many Latin Americans. The roots of this phenomenon can be found in the early history of Latin American municipal governments and the persistence of an exclusionist and elitist set of institutions and va:ues from colonial times to the present The social and economic forces contributing to the rise of metagovernment emanate from the rural regions ane the high levels of population growth in the reglor toqether with the unbalanced patterns of regional development in the region. Metagovernment is a response to the exclusionist and elitist political cutture, and :he prcduct of new social forces and groups arising in urban Latin Amerlca.     

继往开来谱写新篇--李长春访问古巴、阿根廷、新西兰纪行

应古巴共产党、阿根廷和新西兰政府的邀请,中共中央政治局常委李长春同志于7月51日至20日,带着中国人民的美好情谊,对三国进行了为期两周的正式友好访问,在与三国多年来业已建立的友好关系基础上,续写了深化交流、扩大合作,增进友谊的新篇章。     

A Comparative Approach to Performance Management: Contrasting the Experience of Australia,New Zealand,and the United States

Abstract

Despite the use of the same vocabulary and seemingly similar agendas, the experience of these three countries cannot be comprehended without attention to the different contexts in which the countries operate. This paper focuses on the experience in these three English speaking countries dealing with the structure or context of the institutional arrangements, the process of defining outcomes, issues related to timing, availability and investment in data systems, predominant values that are at play, experience with gaming, and accountability arrangements. It provides thumbnail sketches of the framework and experience of these three countries and compares their experience in performance management. While there are significant differences that emerge from contextual variety, there are some shared dynamics in the three systems. I call these “normal tensions” in the system. Yet these tensions have been largely ignored in the performance management movement.