FROM SOCIAL DOCTRINE TO IMPLEMENTATION: AGENDA SETTING IN COMPARABLE WORTH

Comparable worth is a policy issue with twofaces. It is both a social doctrine proposing equal pay for work of comparable value and a methodology in personnel administration, called "objective job evaluation," that introduces new evaluative criteria to assess job worth. It has achieved policy status on the subnational level through the use of multiple agenda setting and implementation strategies by coalitions of women's advocacy groups and unions. The shifting use of comparable worth as a social doctrine or as a methodology to assess jobs has varied with the distribution of power resources of the sponsors and the receptiveness of the policy setting. The paper explores how comparable worth developed as a general policy issue on the subnational level. It offers a policy framework to interpret i t s transformation into policies and programs and assesses i t s probable impact on personnel administration.     

FROM SOCIALISM TO FASCISM: THE RELATION BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE IN THE WORK OF ROBERT MICHELS II.

Abstract This article concludes a study tracing the role of élite theory in Michels' development from revolutionary socialist to Fascist ideologue. It argues, first that the laws of oligarchy and elite circulation as expounded by Mosca and Pareto made the Fascist seizure of power appear historically necessary. It then examines the contribution which the experience of Fascist rule made to the further development of élite theory in Michels' work; his use of the theory to give scientific status to the self-image of the Fascist élite and the charismatic claims of its leader; his legitimation of authoritarian government and nationalist policies through the theories of mass psychology. The conclusion argues that what distinguished Michels from other Fascist ideologues was his use of scientific categories, and locates the origin of these categories in the historical experience of pre-world war Europe.     

THE OPERATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF RESULTS‐BASED FINANCING

As part of a growing focus on the effectiveness of development assistance from the World Bank and other agencies, new efforts are being made to relate development finance more closely to outcomes achieved rather than to inputs used, through the results‐based financing approach. We provide a framework for analyzing the operational dimensions of results‐based financing, including the conditions that suit this approach, and how best to define, measure, and report results. We review some of the early World Bank experience with this approach. Noting that this approach is as yet not fully tested, we suggest evaluative issues for future research while highlighting strengths and challenges in the range of techniques adopted so far. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

UNDERSTANDING DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: AN ACTOR‐NETWORK PERSPECTIVE

Development projects are central to international development, yet the actual practice of their implementation is under‐researched. In particular, we know little about how practice affects project performance and about how politics is enacted within such projects. This paper investigates these knowledge gaps through analysis, using actor‐network theory (ANT), of a donor‐funded reform project in the Sri Lankan public sector. By analysing, using mobilisation, interaction and disintegration of the local and global actor‐networks that typically surround such development projects, the paper explains the project's trajectory. These actions represent the practice of politics that must, in turn, be understood in relation to network actor power: not through a static conception of ‘capacitive power’ but through the dynamic enacted concept of ‘associative power’. The paper concludes by reflecting on the contribution and limitations of ANT's local/global networks component in analysing development projects, and in providing insights for development project practice. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

EVALUATING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY: LESSONS FROM DETROIT'S CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL PARK PROJECT

Success in implementing the Central Industrial Park project required clearing a 500-acre site for a new General Motors assembly plant, at a public sector cost of more than $200 million, in less than two years, to meet a deadline set by the corporation; clearance involved relocation of 3.500 people and more than 100 businesses, and demolition of 1,500 structures. Despite the complexity of the project and the need for approvals from multiple decision makers at the local, state, and national level, timely implementation was possible because of consensus on the project and i t s importance, formulation of special organizational structures and procedures, the actions and influence of the mayor and his development director as I'fixers, and redefinition and expansion of the statutory authority of officials responsible for project implementation. The crisis atmosphere in which project decisions were made, a consequence of corporate deadlines and the city's desperate economic situation, was essential to the effective combination of these forces. The price for success was steep, however, including higher acquisition and relocation costs, reduction of property tax revenues from the project to minimal levels for 30 years, and transfer of control over the formation and implementation of economic development policy to the private sector.     

IMPACT OF DECENTRALIZATION REFORMS IN PAKISTAN ON SERVICE DELIVERY—AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

By bringing decision making closer to people, decentralization is expected to improve governance and service delivery outcomes. Yet, the empirical evidence on the impact of decentralization on macroeconomic performance and public sector size presents a mixed picture. However, the findings of cross‐country studies in the literature are sensitive to the way decentralization is defined, and how its extent and impact are measured. This article avoids the unwanted effects of incomparability and aggregation in cross‐country analysis. We use a unique panel data set from 183 villages in Pakistan to analyze the impact of decentralization reforms implemented in 2001 on the provision of services—street paving, construction of water canals, sanitation sewer lines, and school facilities. Our results show that the magnitude of provision of all services increased significantly following decentralization reforms. We further show that the four services are impacted differently and service delivery improvement is not uniform, but not in ways that conform to the hypotheses of patronage theory. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

EXPLAINING HYBRIDITY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: AN EMPIRICAL CASE OF BHUTAN'S CIVIL SERVICE

Public administrations are mostly hybrid in nature with a combination of characteristics of different paradigms and models. In the first part of the paper, I use the notion of paradigms to explain a form of hybridity in public administration. The concept of paradigms in public administration is helpful in identifying a typology of the ideal types and their characteristics based on the main paradigms and models of public administration: the patronage system, the traditional public administration, the new public administration, and other emerging models such as public value management, responsive governance, and new public service. In the second part of the paper, through the trajectory of Bhutan's public administration history, we observe that its public administration exhibits characteristics that sit across the various paradigms and models of public administration. Thus, in doing so, the paper makes a significant contribution in applying the ideal type typology to explain how hybridity in public administration occurs in practice. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

WORK MEASUREMENT IN PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGEMENT – A REVIEW OF AUSTRALIAN AND OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENTS

The theme of the 1979 Annual Conference, "Managing with Less", reflects prevailing opinion that the rate of growth of public sector resources will continue to be restrained for the foreseeable future, and that tough times are still ahead for public sector managers. This paper explores the developments in one management tool for coping with less – work measurement (WM). The paper is one outcome of a 3-months study, undertaken within the Auditor-General's Office in early 1979, of the state of the art of WM in public service environments.     

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN POST‐CONFLICT SOCIETIES: LESSONS FROM ACEH,INDONESIA

Post‐conflict reconstruction programs increasingly include components designed to strengthen the performance of the public service and to support public sector reform. Although there is a growing body of literature on the relationship between public administration, and peace and development, there have been few case studies of donor efforts to strengthen public administration as part of post‐conflict reconstruction. This study examines efforts to strengthen the civil service in Aceh, Indonesia, following the province's first post‐conflict elections in 2006. It examines the impact of a donor‐funded program designed to assist Aceh's first post‐conflict administration (2007–2012) to reform its personnel management practices. The case study sheds light on weaknesses in current donor approaches to public administration reform in post‐conflict situations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.