Public Sector Added Value: Can Bureaucracy Deliver?

This paper takes stock of our understanding of the 'architecture' of public sector resource allocation mechanisms. It is a speculative venture and provides a framework for thinking about issues rather than a completed theoretical model. The concept of architecture is borrowed from the design sciences and is used to explore the conditions of performativity within networks of relational contracts. The age-old question of markets versus hierarchy is too simplistic. Instead, the search is for optimal complex network relationships that are based upon co-operation and participation rather than competition and control. Within these networks the public sector, it is argued, has a new role of acting as a broker in the creation of value. Judging the public sector's relative effectiveness in the creation of value also requires closer attention to be given to the context within which public sector managers take decisions. In particular it is necessary to acknowledge that they confront the 'wicked' problems of society that the electorate demand to be solved. This gives renewed interest in the notion of market failure.     

Can Democratic Governance Be Achieved in Egypt?

This article contributes to our understanding of whether democratic governance can be achieved in post-revolution Egypt. It explores the status of three key pillars of democratic governance in the context of the January 2011 People’s Revolution and subsequent political developments through August 2013: (1) inclusive participation, (2) responsive institutions, and (3) adherence to international practices and principles. Available evidence suggests that none of the democratic governance pillars has been realized so far as a result of political instability in Egypt. The article argues that the current political environment is not favorable to achieving democratic governance in Egypt.     

Globalisation with Growth and Equity: can we really have it all?

The purpose of US foreign assistance has shifted in the wake of 2001, and Washington has resurrected practices previously associated with police aid during the Cold War. In particular, the Bush administration has broadened the remit of the United States Agency for International Development (usaid) in such a way as to make it a quasi-security agency. The consequences of this could be significant for both usaid and democratic-style police assistance programmes more generally, for today's threat-driven policies are part of a trend which in the past has had worrying consequences. Using the critical variable of public policing (which is illustrated by reference to developments in Kenya), I argue that using usaid to improve the counter-terrorist capacity of Africa's police in the pursuit of US national security objectives is a seriously flawed strategy.     

Can India Learn from China?

Going through a protracted period of transition since the end of the Cold War, the world order in the making is neither what was nor what it is yet to become. It is in “the middle of the future.” To get our bearings in this uncertain transition, we explore the two grand post‐Cold War narratives—“The End of History” as posited by Francis Fukuyama and “The Clash of Civilizations” posited by the late Samuel Huntington. Mikhail Gorbachev looks back at his policies that brought the old order to collapse. The British philosopher John Gray critiques the supposed “universality” of liberalism and, with Homi Bhabha, sees a world of hybrid identities and localized cultures. The Singaporean theorist Kishore Mahbubani peels away the “veneer” of Western dominance. Amartya Sen, the economist and Nobel laureate, assesses whether democratic India or autocratic China is better at building “human capacity” in their societies.     

Assessing Performance in Shelters for Abused Women: Can “Caring Citizenship” Be Measured in “Value for Money” Accountability Regimes?

Results are reported from a study of shelters for abused women in Ontario, Canada, suggesting that what clients, managers, and frontline workers value most in shelter services is based on a care perspective in which ongoing relational support is seen as essential to effective service delivery. Presently, government-required metrics used to assess shelter services not only reflect a narrow, justice perspective where “fairness” is defined as equal access to publicly supported services, but reveal a New Public Management emphasis on efficiency in which the focus is more on the “what” than the “how” of practice. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the design of accountability systems for evaluating government-contracted social services.     

Globalisation and Developing Countries – a Shrinking Tax Base?

This paper evaluates the impact of globalisation on tax bases of countries at varying stages of development. We see globalisation as a process that induces countries to embrace greater trade and financial integration. This in turn should shift their tax revenue from ‘easy to collect’ taxes (tariffs and seigniorage) towards ‘hard to collect’ taxes (value added and income taxes). We find that trade and financial openness have a positive association with the ‘hard to collect’ taxes, and a negative association with the easy to collect taxes.     

Competition and Contracting in the Transition from CCT to Best Value: Towards a More Reflexive Regulation?

Following publication of the government’s proposals for a statutory framework of Best Value, and the introduction of regulations increasing the flexibility of CCT pending its abolition, this paper examines the relationship between the compulsory regime and its likely successor. First, the paper suggests that the Best Value frame-work is likely to impose a range of regulatory, monitoring and enforcement constraints similar in effect to the formal requirements that operate under CCT. Continuity with Conservative policy will be reinforced practically through transitional arrangements for the gradual abolition of CCT and the phased introduction of its replacement. Second, the paper argues that contracting is likely to continue to have a significant role under the new regime as the natural adjunct to the voluntary competitive processes that will be the preferred management tools for securing improvements in service performance. Open tendering and public-private sector partnership arrangements, both of which imply contractual governance, are given explicit priority in the consultation document over benchmarking, performance indicators and other comparative public management mechanisms. Third, the paper argues that local authorities are likely to want to retain and develop contracting arrangements that potentially permit a degree of control over service provision that might not be available were more radical service-providing alternatives to be adopted, involving the complete transfer of functions outside the public sector and/or their vesting in independent companies. Finally, the paper assesses the transition from CCT to Best Value from the theoretical perspective of responsive and reflexive regulation. Following a brief account of the reflexive failures of CCT, the paper argues that, although the Best Value framework is characterized by inherently reflexive processes involving self-review, consultation and standard-setting, its relative success is likely to depend ultimately both on the tightness with which legislation is drafted and on the manner of its practical interpretation, implementation and enforcement.     

Food Price Changes and Household Welfare: What Do We Learn from Two Different Approaches?

The use of a marginal approach can significantly distort the predicted effects of large price variations on monetary welfare over the medium- to longer-term. This paper aims at shedding some light on the differences between a marginal approach and a non-separable agricultural household model with behavioural responses. When behavioural adjustments are allowed, households can adapt their consumption and production patterns by resulting in lower deteriorations in household welfare. The second-order effects introduced in the approach with responses reduce the negative effects due to the first-order consumption effects, with significant differences across quintiles. On average, the second-order effects represent up to roughly 40 per cent of total first-order effects.     

What Works and Why? Lessons from Public Management Reform in Malaysia

This article examines the Malaysian experience with public management reform to verify arguments about various reform models. Drawing on empirical data, it investigates reforms that have worked and those that have had limited impacts on public service improvements. It identifies critical success factors that determine reform outcomes and concludes that for reforms to succeed a combined top–down and bottom–up approach is crucial. It argues that while diagnostic and problem-oriented reforms have a better chance of being successful, the value of best-practice reforms should not be discounted. The cumulative impact of such reforms can be significant, as the Malaysian case demonstrates.     

Integration or Building Resilience: What Should the Goal Be in Refugee Resettlement?

The article presents a qualitative study of 110 providers and administrators of refugee services from four countries: United States, Switzerland, Germany, and Iceland. Of the total participants, 28 were male and 82 were female. The sample consisted of 83 social workers who provided direct services to refugees and 27 administrators who managed the programs. The interviews occurred over a period of 3 years from January 2014 to January 2017. The participants described what they perceived to be the goals of resettlement and the successful outcomes of their work with refugees. Findings show that providers and administrators varied in what they believed to be the goals and outcomes, with three main differences emerging: (1) lessening the transition burden; (2) acquisition of language and securing self-sufficient employment; and (3) enhancing the integration of resilience within the refugee. These differences are discussed in terms of how they differ in resources required and in outcomes. The implications of these differences are addressed.     

Financial Crisis Management and the Rise of Authoritarian Populism: What Makes Hungary Different from Latvia and Romania?

Abstract

Within the context of the debates on the worldwide rise of populism, this article aims to uncover factors that may reduce the vulnerability of a system to populist challenges. Based on existing theories, Hungary, Latvia and Romania are all susceptible to populism but authoritarian populism has emerged only in Hungary. This puzzle is addressed through examining the process of financial crisis management in the three cases and its impact on the political system. Comparative analysis shows that paternalistic expectations of the state and the government’s willingness to accept Russian support distinguish Hungary from Latvia and Romania.     

The Gender Gap in Educational Attainment in India: How Much Can Be Explained?

Differential treatment of sons and daughters by parents is a potential explanation of the gender gap in education in developing countries. This study empirically tests this explanation for India using household survey data collected in urban Uttar Pradesh in 1995. We estimate educational enrolment functions and selectivity-corrected educational attainment functions, conditional on enrolment. The gender difference in educational attainment is decomposed into the part that is explained by men and women's differential characteristics and the part that is not so explained (the conventional 'discrimination' component). The analysis suggests that girls face significantly different treatment in the intra-household allocation of education - there is a large unexplained component in the gender gap in schooling attainment. A detailed decomposition exercise attempts to discover the individual factors most responsible for the differential treatment.     

How Does Globalisation Affect Regional Inequality within A Developing Country? Evidence from China

Developing countries are increasingly concerned about effects of globalisation on regional inequality. This paper develops an empirical method for decomposing the contributions of two major driving forces of globalisation, foreign trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), on regional inequality and applies it to China. Even after controlling for many other factors, globalisation is still found to be an important factor contributing to the widening regional inequality. The paper ends by investigating the role of factor market segmentations in aggravating the distributional effect of changing regional comparative advantages in the process of globalisation.     

Can agricultural intensification help attain Sustainable Development Goals? Evidence from Africa and Asia

Market-oriented agricultural intensification is a major development strategy, yet its alignment with sustainable development goals (SDGs) is unclear. We apply indicators for SDG 2 (eradicate hunger) regarding income, food production, food security and land tenure to recent intensifications in Rwanda and Laos to reveal their disaggregated impacts. We find while market-oriented intensification may generate poverty reduction, it also exacerbated marginalisation and poverty through various forms of land tenure insecurity. Ethnicity and gender were influential factors in Rwanda, and post-conflict resettlement policies in Laos. We discuss implications for development practice and selection of suitable indicators to reflect the ambition of the SDGs.     

The Role of Competition in Best Value: How Far Does it Differ from CCT?

This article investigates the role of ‘competition’ within Best Value (BV) and compares it with that of Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT). Utilising results of a survey of BV lead officers, the article reveals that ‘competition’ is not being used as widely as may have been expected. However, in terms of outcomes, services subject to BV seem to be at least as likely to be provided externally as would have been the case under CCT. Further analysis also considers the impact that party political control and service type have on the use and outcomes of competition.     

‘High Value’ Migration and Complicity in Underdevelopment and Corruption in the Global South: receiving from the attic

Through a focus on the UK's ‘High Value Migrants’ programme, this article directs attention to how commercial migration laws and policies of developed countries could negatively affect the global South. Drawing mainly on insights from criminology and development studies, it investigates how the commercial migration laws and policies, specifically the aspects that deal with encouraging or attracting ‘high-value’ foreign entrepreneurs and investors, make the state potentially complicit in corruption and underdevelopment in the global South. There is an important need to address the implicated migration laws and policies as a critical and integral part of international efforts to combat corruption and promote peace and development in the global South. Reform of such laws and policies is in the long-term interest of all stakeholders.     

Can a developing democracy benefit from labour repression? Evidence from Sri Lanka

While a growing body of academic literature casts doubt on the wisdom of authoritarian responses to labour in developing democracies, few empirical studies demonstrate the adverse effects of excluding organised labour from the policy arena or repressing trade unions in the industrial relations arena. This paper draws on the recent history of state–labour relations in Sri Lanka to help fill this gap. Beginning in the late 1970s, the Sri Lankan government adopted a labour-repressive export-oriented strategy of development. The author shows how the repression of private sector unions during this period destroyed the legitimacy of traditional left unions and the structure of institutionalised bargaining that was in place prior to Sri Lanka's authoritarian period. This erosion of the system of institutionalised bargaining eventually led workers to shift their support to more radical, ‘new left’ unions and culminated in a wave of extreme and violent forms of protest that chased away much needed foreign direct investment. The chaotic consequences of the labour repression suggest two primary conclusions: (a) that prior democratic mobilisation may make labour repression untenable over the long term; and (b) that repression may backfire, creating bursts of highly visible and destabilising protest that undermine the developmental objectives of neoliberal reforms.