THE GOVERNANCE OF FINANCIAL REGULATORY REFORM: THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE

The dominant perspective in the literature linking governance, globalization and public policy argues that globalization undercuts state capacity, weakening a government's ability to effectively regulate its domestic affairs. This paper shows otherwise with special reference to the Australian experience in financial regulation. It challenges the conventional wisdom that the Australian state is weak and cannot adopt anticipatory industrial policies. This paper argues that the adoption of the ‘twin peaks' model of financial regulatory arrangements is an example of the existence of government‐led steering in Australia which can adopt a proactive approach to financial regulation by steering and coordinating policy networks. ‘Governance through hierarchy’ in the financial services industry may be a function of the government's political entrepreneurship; its skill in setting and implementing an agenda; and an ability to create new policy communities and networks.     

THE NEW GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS FOR NHS FOUNDATION TRUST HOSPITALS: REFRAMING GOVERNORS AS META‐REGULATORS

New governance arrangements for NHS Foundation Trusts (FTs) aimed to replace centralized state ownership of acute English hospitals with a new form of social ownership. Under this, trusts would exist as independent public interest organizations on the model of mutuals and co‐operative societies. Assessing the impact of the new arrangements on the management structure of four acute hospitals, we demonstrate that FTs have failed to deliver social ownership and local accountability on this model. We suggest that policy‐makers should re‐frame the governance apparatus associated with mutualism and social ownership in terms of the concept of meta‐regulation. By re‐framing governors as meta‐regulators, regulatory institutions would acquire new powers to steer FTs towards sustainable forms of compliance via non‐coercive, non‐intrusive means.     

Central Steering And Local Networks: Old-Age Care In Sweden

Recently, some European social scientists have claimed that the old legal-bureau-cratic model of administration has been replaced by a new paradigm in public administration, characterized by a strong emphasis on collaboration in local inter-organizational networks. The proponents of this policy network approach take a clearly voluntaristic view on policy implementation; network actors build consensus in negotiation processes, and the role of central government is restricted to that of goal-setter, facilitator and mediator. Thereby, phenomena like power and steering are overlooked. This paper gives an account of a major Swedish reform in the area of old-age care, whereby the boundaries between regional and local areas of responsibility for care of the elderly were displaced. By using a variety of control methods, central government was able to structure and steer the old-age implementation networks. The consequences of this central steering were different on different administrative levels: for the county councils, the reform has resulted in a specialization for the core areas of primary health care and hospital treatment, whereas the municipalities have had to diversify their areas of activity. Thus, to understand the effects of the reform, implementation networks must be viewed as both hierarchical and horizontal power structures, where national government, from a hierarchically superior position, can affect formally horizontal relations between actors by creating patterns of interdependence. Central government's steering has taken on less direct forms than the traditional ones, but indirect forms of steering can certainly be efficient, especially when several mutually reinforcing control methods are combined.     

A benchmark analysis of the performance of state owned enterprises in ireland

This paper examines the performance of state owned enterprises (SOEs) in Ireland over the period 1988-92. However, unlike previous studies the performance of Irish public enterprise is examined in terms of the performance of other firms operating in the same sectors albeit based in the UK. While Irish SOEs exhibit lower rates of return on capital employed, it is found that there were significant improvements in labour productivity, relative to UK counterparts. This is attributable to the substantial increase in capital utilisation by Irish public enterprises. Given that average employment was maintained the net effect is a substantial increase in the capital-labour ratio of the sector.     

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.     

THE ROLE OF STATE‐REINFORCED SELF‐GOVERNANCE IN AVERTING THE TRAGEDY OF THE IRRIGATION COMMONS IN JAPAN

The scholarly works on governance alternatives are peppered with arguments suggesting that, to avert the tragedy of the commons, the state should coerce resource users to manage the commons; take authoritarian ownership of it; privatize it; co‐manage it with users, or, since the state may also destroy self‐governing institutions of users, stay away so that users can develop self‐governing institutions for management. This article examines the management of the irrigation commons in post‐war Japan and explores a unique policy alternative termed ‘state‐reinforced self‐governance’. It allows a financially, technologically, statutorily, and politically strong state to assist strategically, rather than coerce, users to self‐govern and avert the tragedy of the commons.     

Organizing Babylon - On the Different Conceptions of Policy Networks

A 'Babylonian' variety of policy network concepts and applications can be found in the literature. Neither is there a common understanding of what policy networks actually are, nor has it been agreed whether policy networks constitute a mere metaphor, a method, an analytical tool or a proper theory. The aim of this article is to review the state of the art in the field of policy networks. Special attention is given to the German conception of policy networks which is different from the one predominant in the Anglo-Saxon literature. While British and American scholars usually conceive policy networks as a model of state/society relations in a given issue area, German works tend to treat policy networks as an alternative form of governance to hierarchy and market. It is argued that this conception of policy networks goes beyond serving as a mere analytical tool box for studying public policy-making. Yet, both the German and the Anglo-Saxon conception of policy networks face a common challenge: first, it still remains to be systematically shown that policy networks do not only exist but are really relevant to policy-making, and second, the problem of the ambiguity of policy networks has to be tackled, as policy networks can both enhance and reduce the efficiency and legitimacy of policy-making.     

Monitoring deliberate self-harm presentations to general hospitals

Monitoring of deliberate self-harm (DSH) presentations to hospitals (and in other settings) is receiving increased attention in many countries. This is due to greater recognition of the size of the problem and awareness of its relevance to suicide prevention policy initiatives, because of the strong association between DSH and suicide. A system for monitoring all DSH presentations has been in place in the general hospital in Oxford for 30 years. Based on our experience, in this paper we describe procedures for monitoring, including case definition and identification, linkage of persons and episodes in order to investigate repetition of DSH and other outcomes (including deaths), and data protection and ethical issues. We also provide details of how to carry out monitoring, including different models of data collection, and what data to collect. Finally we consider the potential uses of the data for both clinical and research purposes, including evaluation of national suicide prevention initiatives.     

The performance of state-owned enterprises in taiwan

This study reviewed the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Taiwan. Focusing on the relationship between SOEs and national economic activities and private enterprises, the study revealed some mixed findings regarding the SOEs’ performance. On the one hand, Taiwan's SOEs have contributed to the state's management of economic activities, including assisting in the continuous economic growth, in the transformation and upgrading of the economic structure, and in the stabilization of the economy during the hard economic times. On the other hand, Taiwan's SOEs are found to be less efficient and less profitable than the similar private enterprises. The Taiwan experience, both positive and negative, provides information to SOEs’ researchers and practitioners to understand the overall phenomenon of SOEs and to consider the future development of them.     

Productivity performance and priorities for the reform of China's state‐owned enterprises

This study reports on the results of a survey of 300 state‐owned, collective and foreign‐funded industrial enterprises conducted in three of China's coastal provinces; Guangdong, Fujian and Shanghai‐shi in 1993.’ Its major focus and policy relevance is to identify which of China's recent enterprise, market and ownership reforms have been most effective in improving the productivity performance of China's state owned enterprises. The study concludes that productivity growth (measured by total factor productivity) has been significantly higher for non‐state‐owned than for state‐owned enterprises and for firms located in the special economic zones of Shenzhen and Xiamen and the open city of Guangzhou than for firms in the more centrally planned Shanghai. Export‐orientated enterprises also had higher total factor productivity growth than non‐export‐orientated ones. At a lower level of significance, enterprises that controlled their own decision‐making produced a lower proportion of output for the plan, procured a higher proportion of their investment finance from loans (rather than budgetary allocations) and achieved higher total factor productivity growth. Finally, labour‐intensive industries in general had higher total factor productivity growth than did capital‐intensive ones. A number of policy conclusions may be drawn from these results.     

Economics of State-Owned Enterprises

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) account for a substantial proportion of gross domestic product, employment, and assets in many countries. Based on a review of the theory and empirical evidence, we develop a novel five-step framework that can guide policymakers and economic advisors in making decisions about maintaining and/or creating SOEs. The framework suggests that the use of SOEs should be limited to circumstances in which a market failure exists, less invasive forms of intervention such as regulation/taxes/subsidies and private-sector contracting are ineffective or not possible, and the welfare loss of the market failure exceeds the costs, distortions, and inefficiencies of SOEs.     

Who is Governing What? Governing Local Technical Systems–an Issue of Accountability

The article discusses accountability in governance of local energy and IT systems. The aim is to focus on accountability of local policy making regarding technical systems by comparing consequences when new forms of governance are developed. Governance steering demands and ensures a clear division of responsibility regarding what a network is responsible for, but not regarding who is accountable for the decision making and implementation. On the other hand, in a steering context characterized by government, it is clear who is responsible and accountable for decisions, but the specific issues for which different actors can be accountable are unclear. We argue that demands for clarifications of accountability emerges from the complex modern governance.     

The Fall and Rise of State Capabilities in the Management of the UK Nuclear Legacy

In 2015 and 2017, two large contracts for nuclear decommissioning were terminated early by the UK Government. Rather than re-tender, Government took direct ownership and control of Sellafield and began an inquiry into other sites’ management. The problems with the contract model for management of the UK’s nuclear legacy stem from an inability to adequately specify contracts in uncertain environments. The embrace of management and operations contracts for all sites after nationalized ownership limited the range of “tools” to manage the nuclear legacy. This highlights the role of state capabilities alongside incentivized private sector relationships in contemporary governance.     

Privatisation in Developing Countries: A Review of the Evidence and the Policy Lessons

Privatisation is widely promoted as a means of improving economic performance in developing countries. However, the policy remains controversial and the relative roles of ownership and other structural changes, such as competition and regulation, in promoting economic performance remain uncertain. This article reviews the main empirical evidence on the impact of privatisation on economic performance in developing economies. The evidence suggests that if privatisation is to improve performance over the longer term, it needs to be complemented by policies that promote competition and effective state regulation, and that privatisation works best in developing countries when it is integrated into a broader process of structural reform.     

National ownership and donor involvement: an aid paradox illustrated by the case of Rwanda

A paradox in current international development cooperation is comprised by the simultaneous insistence on national ownership and far-reaching donor involvement through policy dialogue. In order to better understand this combination of a strong ownership ideal and extensive donor presence, this article explores how national and external actors portray the process of formulating and revising development policies and programmes in an aid recipient country. The study is based on original empirical material from national as well as external actors involved in the aid relation in Rwanda which, despite heavy aid dependence, is known to have achieved relative policy independence. Analysed in relation to three strands of critical thought in previous research, findings show that, in Rwanda, the very top political leadership is actively involved in initiating and formulating policies; that there are instances of negotiation as well as strong disagreements between national and external actors; and that, rather than donors seeking to retain control, Rwanda is depicted as setting its own agenda and effectively managing its donors. The paradox of an ownership ideal combined with donor involvement is thus met by an apparent tendency among national as well as external actors to emphasise national ownership while toning down donor influence.     

Biased Lending and Non-performing Loans in China's Banking Sector

This article uses a panel data set of public listing companies in China empirically to explore the relationship between banks' lending behaviour and non-performing loans. Our results show that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) got more loans than other firms, other things being equal, and SOEs with high default risks were able to borrow more than the low-risk SOEs and non-SOEs. This suggests that Chinese banks had a systemic lending bias in favour of SOEs, particularly those with high default risks, during the period under investigation. The causes and implications of this behaviour are discussed.     

The Autopoiesis of Administrative Systems: Niklas Luhmann on Public Administration and Public Policy

This article offers an introduction to Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems as it pertains to public administration and policy, as a first step towards both a critique and its empirical application to empirical reality. It reconstructs Luhmann's early writings on bureaucracy and policy-making and shows how this early, more empirical work grounded his abstract theory of social systems in general and the political system in particular. The article also introduces some central concepts of Luhmann's more recent work on the autopoietic nature of social systems and considers the latter's consequences for bureaucratic adaptiveness and governmental steering in the welfare state. One of the main benefits of applying Luhmann's theory to public administration, the article concludes, is that it conceptualizes the central concerns of public administration within a complex picture of society as a whole, in which both the agency that issues decisions and the realm affected by these decisions are included.     

The Institutional Settings for the Development of Public Services through State-Owned Enterprises in Brazil

The findings of this study make a timely contribution to the development of public services. Based on the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, this study analyzes under which institutional settings state-owned enterprises (SOEs) can be social and financial options for public service provision in Brazil. Applying a multi-case research design, this study’s findings show that SOEs can be a suitable option for Brazilian social and financial development when: markets are weak or noncompetitive; if few decisional players act; if political interference is minimized regarding operational decisions; and if corporate control is effective to avoid mismanagement and corruption. Brazilian SOEs are effective economic and social tools, but they need to peroxide value improve their corporate control (in the case of Petrobras) and strategic centralization decisions (in the case of Eletrobrás) .