The 'Good Wife': Struggles over Resources in the Kenyan Horticultural Sector

This paper examines how the contracting of French beans has engendered conflict over rights, obligations and resources in Meru District, Kenya. In response to pressure for agricultural diversification and the expanding European market for "gourmet" vegetables, horticulture, the historical domain of women, has been rapidly intensified, commoditized and in many cases, appropriated by men. Women have responded to the erosion of their rights in ways that appear paradoxical -- some undergoing Christian conversion while others poison their husbands -- practices that simultaneously affirm and contest the prevailing norms of the "good wife". In Meru, gender relations are key to the negotiation of household resources and the potential for capital accumulation in the export horticultural sector.     

The Relationship between Delegation and Formalization in the Public Sector

In drawing on adaptive theory, this article discusses the relationship between delegation and formalization in the public sector. While traditional and contemporary views suggest that these concepts are either negatively or positively correlated, or that they should be balanced, this study hypothesized that they are dynamically related to each other, and therefore the relationship would be best described as curvilinear (inverted U-shaped). This hypothesis was supported through hierarchical regression analyses of data collected from a police organization that has traditionally pursued formalization, but lately has been urged to pursue a strategy of delegation. Practical and theoretical implications are provided.     

Private Sector Incentives and the Diffusion of Agricultural Technology: Evidence from Developing Countries

The role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) has been extensively debated in the literature on technology transfers and agricultural productivity growth in developing countries. However, few studies offer cross-country evidence on how IPRs affect yield growth by incentivising private sector investment in cultivar improvement. We address this knowledge gap by testing technology diffusion patterns for six major crops using a unique dataset for the period 1961–2010 and an Arellano–Bond linear dynamic panel-data estimation approach. Findings indicate that biological and legal forms of IPRs promote yield gap convergence between developed and developing countries, although effects vary by crop.     

Small Countries,Big Performers: In Search of Shared Strategic Public Sector HRM Practices in Successful Small Countries

This article compares strategic public sector HRM practices between 10 small countries that have consistently shown extraordinary economic, social, and governance performance. The fact that these small countries, which are traditionally considered to be disadvantaged, have become benchmarks of good government suggests they have uniquely maximized and leveraged their key resource: people. In search of novel lessons, we assess through secondary data how their public sectors have organized and institutionalized four key HRM activities: 1) selection, 2) appraisal, 3) training, and 4) compensation, and whether they engage in strategic, centralized efforts to architect and “bundle” these activities. Our exploratory case study findings show that these high performing countries employ various integrated efforts to attract the best and brightest into their public sectors, and train and reward them well, although they differ in terms of their centralization dynamics. We conclude our article with seven propositions for future research and implications for emerging small countries.     

Exporting,Technical Efficiency and Product Quality: An Empirical Analysis of the Agricultural Sector in the Mediterranean Countries

This paper investigates the association between exporting and agricultural performance in terms of production efficiency and product quality. We test for the learning-by-exporting and self selection effects in a panel of advanced and developing Mediterranean countries involved in global market liberalisation. Product quality measures are inferred from trade data using a discrete choice demand model, and technical efficiency scores are appraised using a stochastic production frontier approach. Based on joint estimation of the performance equations and a dynamic export probit decision, the empirical results lend strong support to the self-selection hypothesis. Exporting appears to help quality upgrading that encourages more efficient use of resources.     

The Relationship between the Leadership Effectiveness and Emotional Competence of Managers in the Public Sector

This article reports on the perceived relationship between leadership effectiveness and the emotional competencies of managers in the public sector, and the impact of this relationship on service delivery. In the light of continual protests over government’s poor service delivery to the public, doubts are raised about the leadership effectiveness of public officials. Research has identified the leadership effectiveness of managers in the public service as crucial for quality service delivery. Industrial psychologists have also identified leadership effectiveness and emotional competencies as important ingredients for success in organizations. This is due to the facts that effectiveness and efficiency can be attained only if an appropriate leadership style and manager’s emotional competencies or abilities are in place. Findings from the research indicate that currently managers in the public sector possess insufficient emotional competencies to subdue emotional outbursts and achieve effective leadership. Based on the findings and the literature, the conclusion is that it is imperative for managers of public entities to acquire effective leadership skills and become emotionally competent. Relevant training and interventions, and a comprehensive management recruitment process, should be put in place.     

Intergenerational Transmission of Convictions for Different Types of Offenses

The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development is a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 London males from age 8 to age 56. This article compares the convictions of 343 adult sons (searched up to the median age of 29) with the convictions of their fathers up to the same age. There was significant intergenerational transmission of convictions, since 43% of the sons of convicted fathers were themselves convicted, compared with 18% of the sons of unconvicted fathers. There was significant intergenerational transmission of burglary, serious and minor theft, violence, threatening behavior, carrying an offensive weapon, and serious motoring offenses. The most important mediators between parental and child convictions were the family renting rather than owning their own home, poor parental supervision, an antiestablishment attitude of the father, parental physical punishment of the child, and separation of the son from his father. Implications for the prevention of intergenerational transmission are drawn.     

Implementing Risk Management in the Italian Public Sector: Hybridization between Old and New Practices

Though Risk Management (RM) entered the public sector, the way RM is introduced within organizations is not empirically explored. Analyzing the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) case study through the theoretical lens of institutional perspective, the paper responds to the call for more organizational studies of RM: nature and dynamics of RM are investigated, offering a valid contribution to the debate on practice of public management related to work practices and knowledge systems. The results show that RM is now embedded in ISTAT activities, processes, culture and individual behaviors, confirming the opportunity to improve both organizational performance and learning.     

The International Harmonization Process of Public Sector Accounting in Portugal: The Perspective of Different Stakeholders

This paper investigates the reform of public accounting in Portugal through the IPSAS adoption highlighting the perception of different stakeholders. Two competing theories (NPM and the institutional theory) are used to understand public accounting changes within the Portuguese context. In general, different stakeholders agree with the favorable moment and the context of the reform. The context of financial crises and the great external pressures to cut public deficits and to improve the quality of financial information seem to be the most important factors to stimulate changes in public accounting. In addition, stakeholders recommend the use of different strategies to ensure success.     

Public Sector Reforms and Service Quality Issues From the Perspective of the Small Island Developing States in the Pacific: A Case of Fiji

The purpose of this article is to compare service quality of the Fiji Islands Maritime Safety Administration (FIMSA) and the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF). Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from 200 Fiji maritime industry stakeholders. Research findings identified FIMSA and MSAF service delivery misalignment with customer expectations; customer’ expectations exceeded perceived customer service experiences of FIMSA and MSAF; and, perceived customer service experiences of MSAF were noticeably better than those of FIMSA.     

Organizational Learning Facilitators in the Canadian Public Sector

An implicit patriarchal bargain between Emirati fathers and daughters is examined from a social constructionist perspective. Using qualitative methodology we found that fathers explicitly encourage their daughters to pursue tertiary education and careers, but hedge this break from tradition with implicit understandings that daughters will observe norms that can only realistically be followed in public sector employment. The persistent public-private imbalance in female employment patterns can thus be construed, as a ‘wicked problem” that cannot be addressed through market incentive-based policies such as Emiratization but rather through behavioral changes on the part of both UAE businesses and Emirati families.     

Using Field Experiments to Elicit Risk and Ambiguity Preferences: Behavioural Factors and the Adoption of New Agricultural Technologies in Rural India

Abstract

We conduct a series of experiments in rural India in order to measure preferences related to risk, loss, and ambiguity. By combining these results with a discrete choice experiment over new and familiar rice seeds, we demonstrate how these behavioural parameters affect decisions to adopt new agricultural technologies, especially when the new technologies are risk reducing. We find that risk averse and loss averse individuals are more likely to switch to new seeds demonstrating risk reducing characteristics, while, contrary to expectations, ambiguity averse individuals are no more willing to retain their status quo than switch to cultivating the new variety.     

Agglomeration Effects: Productivity of the Informal Sector in Vietnam

This paper investigates agglomeration externalities on the productivity of informal household businesses in Vietnam. Although the paper finds heterogeneous impacts of agglomeration on the productivity of informal firms between urban and rural settings and across industries, it is found that technology transfers are not an agglomerative force for the informal sector of Vietnam. The disaggregation of local scale externalities into city types reveals that the highest developed cities in Vietnam may either be low-quality agglomeration or go beyond their optimal scale for the informal sector in some industries.     

Public Sector Reform in Central Asia and the Caucasus

Many developing countries are constantly seeking to reform their public services as part of a wider agenda which supports moves to a market economy and better governance arrangements. Some have embraced public management reforms as the template for their activities with limited success. This paper considers existing research on the impact of public sector reform in developing countries and offers an alternative approach, through case studies of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan, based on two keys elements: an agenda which attempts to shift developing countries to an outcomes based accountability approach operationalized through a “quality of life” framework; and, peer‐to‐peer learning.     

Small-Business Participation in the Informal Sector of an Emerging Economy

We investigate the characteristics of the owners of small businesses that participate in the informal sector of an emerging economy and their perception of the risk of detection by tax authorities while doing so. Data are gathered from a survey covering 1027 small businesses in Trinidad and Tobago. Results suggest that small business owners are motivated to participate in the informal sector when they believe that the risk of detection by the tax authorities is low and that government regulations are burdensome, but there is no evidence that the tax rate itself is an issue. Their perception of the risk of detection by the tax authority is determined largely by the time they spend and the income they earn in the formal sector.     

The Applicability of Best Value in the Nigerian Public Sector

We examine the applicability of Best Value practices in the Nigerian public sector and present a Best Value Model for Nigeria. We find the literature does not extend to the Nigerian context. We make contributions towards understanding stakeholder perceptions of public service delivery best practice. We show Best Value as a significant initiative for improving public service delivery. The mixed methods survey reveals Nigerian Best Value initiatives do not exist significantly, but are applicable. Outcomes are exploration of a new area for Best Value application, incorporation of implementation issues into the model and the seven-stage process for its implementation.