METHODS OF THE SECOND TYPE: COPING WITH THE WILDERNESS OF CONVENTIONAL POLICY ANALYSIS

Policy analysts, like allegorical homesteaders, face the seemingly unmanageable task of coping with the wilderness of ill-structured problems, while concurrently attending to well-structured problems, which can be addressed with conventional methods of policy analysis. What has appeared thus far as an unmanageable task may become manageable once analysts acknowledge the principle of methodological congruence: The appropriateness of a particular type of method is a function of its congruence with the type of problem under investigation.
To be sure, conventional methods of the first type are appropriate and useful for solving first-order problems, which are relatively well-structured. Contexts of practice, however, are pervaded by second-order problems which, variously described as squishy, messy, or ill-structured, are the class of all first-order problems. Just as methods of the first type are congruent with the simple analytic demands of first-order problems, so are methods of the second type congruent with the complex analytic demands of second-order problems. When policy analysts fail to observe this principle of methodological congruence they are likely to solve the wrong problem.
Methods of the second type are not limited to general heuristics, but include specific and readily comprehensible procedures for estimating the boundaries and structure of ill-structured problems. Since these estimation procedures appear to satisfy requirements of inductive estimates in general, policy analysts can assess their own performance in providing approximate answers to the right question, thus coping with the enemies who lurk in the wilderness of conventional policy analysis.     

MANAGING WITH LESS

Managers everywhere are faced always with problems of scarcity, with setting priorities, making trade-offs and allocating short resources. One part of the administrative task is necessarily about getting the most done for the least cost. But is Australian government administration now entering a particularly severe period of restraint, which will place even sharper challenges upon managers in the public service? I think the answer to this question is yes, and that there is general agreement about this within the public service itself. Problems of managing with less are therefore contemporary and pressing; and this paper is a summary of ways in which those problems are being approached. One way issues in calls for improved efficiency in government. This is not, however, a straightforward matter at all. Improvements or so called improvements to efficiency will always meet some resistance for a mixture of reasons. Some managers think that the need for change is not as great as critics maintain, so giving them no cause to do more than continue their normal practices of good management. Others see a renewed emphasis on efficiency as cutting into the resources properly available to the public service, so harming the community which the administration is supposed to serve. Managing with less is not then merely a technical issue. It involves questions about the meaning of efficiency and the role of management, and also judgments about the nature of the period in which we live and about who gains and who loses when we do indeed have to manage with less: that is, political and even moral considerations are mixed up with considerations of good management and efficiency. These matters of value, choice and conflict cannot be avoided.     

THE TROUBLE WITH HEDGE FUNDS

This article examines the impact of hedge funds on the workings of international financial markets and their implications for public policy. In contrast to the neoclassical view of hedge funds, which views them as being‘too‐small‐to‐matter, this article argues that the activities of hedge funds are significant for policymakers because of their ability to become extensively overleveraged and to act as market leaders. I consider the role played by hedge funds in financial crises, market volatility, market manipulation and systemic risk. The article concludes with a critical review of recent proposals for dealing with the public policy issues raised by hedge funds.     

COMMODIFICATION OF HOUSING WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS

In its attempt to reform the housing system, China has rapidly marketized but not privatized the housing production process and system. In contrast, the consumption of housing is privatized quickly but marketized slowly. Yet, the housing allocation process still largely relies on the old system of heavy subsidization. Nonetheless, housing subsidy has been curtailed and the growth in home ownership and the future pegging of rent and price with household income would dwarf the housing provider role of the government. The commodification process necessitated new government roles since government support in infrastructure and superstructure is essential for the healthy functioning of the newly emerged housing market. Overall, retention of the public ownership of the development companies and the housing financiers differentiate the Chinese housing reform process from those of other market and post‐socialist economies.     

ECONOMIC POLICY ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH BEACH RENOURISHMENT

Coastal beaches are a source of considerable recreational activity, but are also eroding at a rapid rate. Since beach resources are common property, there is no organized market to determine economic benefits from recreational use. Through a willingness to pay equation for beach use, this article demonstrates how proposed beach renourishment policy can be evaluated within a benefit-cost analysis framework. Benefits are estimated as the incremental willingness to pay per day for a larger beach width which is translated into annualized benefits. Annualize cost of achieving maximum benefits are calculated from a cost function. Given the existing cost of beach renourishment, it was found that all beaches in Florida that are overcrowded (i.e., had less than 112 square feet per person/day) could be renourished at a benefit-cost ratio greater than unity. In Florida, beach renourishment policy for overcrowded beaches yields more economic benefits than costs. However, this technique does not lend itself to policy analyses of uncrowded beaches that are undergoing considerable erosion.     

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND AUSTRALIAN ENGAGEMENT WITH ASIA

Public Administration in Asia and the Pacific: Survey of Teaching and Research in Twelve Countries. Edited by L edivina C aring
Administrative Reform Towards Productivity in Bureaucratic Performance. Edited by Z hang Z hijian , R aul P. D e G uzman A nd M ila A. R eforma
Politics and Administration in Changing Societies: Essays in Honour of Professor Fred W. Riggs. Edited by R amesh K. A rora     

MANAGING WITH LESS: DIMENSIONS AND ISSUES

Thank you for inviting me to open the Institute's National Conference this year. Your program looks most interesting and relevant to modern public sector administration. I accepted your invitation on the basis that I would make personal observations – comments of a manager turned Minister. Nothing that I say should necessarily be identified with my Department or fellow Ministers. Rather, I speak as a person in government who is interested in and concerned with change, increased efficiency and improved national productivity.     

INTERGOVERNMENTAL IMPLEMENTATION OF BUILDING CODES WITH LATERAL FORCE PROVISIONS

Building-code revisions and land-use planning are recognized as potential solutions to the threat posed by hazardous structures in seismically active regions. Their implementation, however, is problematic and several Impediments to action on building codes are analyzed. The authors recommend a system of incentives to overcome these barriers including federally subsidized insurance, low interest loans, and joint state-local policy ventures with technical assistance provided by federal agencies.     

DEALING EFFECTIVELY WITH CROWDED JAILS: THE JUDGES' ROLE

That there is a jail crowding problem is well documented. The problem of jail crowding must b e acknowledged as one demanding the involvement of all key criminal justice actors. Judges have been identified as key decisionmakers playing a pivotal role in managing case flow and influencing jail population levels. What, then, is or should be the role of judges in dealing specifically with jail crowding? Conventional responses to this question have focused on either the role of the federal judge, who in the course of presiding over a case involving jail conditions is called upon to manage a facility, or the role of a trial judge in making sentencing decisions. Recent research efforts have recognized that a nexus exists between judicial and correctional systems that extends beyond overseeing and sentencing roles. This paper intends to expand the notion o f interdependence to encompass the entire criminal justice system with emphasis on the judge's contribution. Judges' decisions concerning the issuance of summonses, setting and reviewing bail, continuances and sentencing bear directly on the number of offenders in jail and/or length of the ir confinement. In numerous jurisdictions, judges have been instrumental in instituting changes aimed at dealing with the jail crowding problem and resulting in improvements in case processing. Judicial system-wide leadership has resulted in the establishment of guidelines for pretrial services personnel to be used in releasing certain defendants pretrial and in making pretrial release recommendations for others in one jurisdiction and the institution of a policy prohibiting the detention of misdemeanor defendants—a major factor in reducing the jail population–in many other jurisdictions. Increased use of nonfinancial pretrial release options by judicial officers was a key element in achieving a substantial drop in the jail population in several communities. Judges have introduced delay reduction strategies which have served to expedite case processing as well as minimize the number of detainees in jail. Judges have also successfully implemented a full range of sentencing atternatives, including community service, restitution and treatment programs for persons convicted of alcohol or drug-related offenses. This paper provides information on specific policies and procedures which have had a demonstrated impact on jail population levels without detracting from the operations of courts and, in most instances, contributing to improvements in judicial administration.