Foreword papers in honor of chester I. Barnard

I hope that I will not be regarded as demeaning either myself or my fellow contributors to these papers in honor of Chester Barnard if I suggest that the most valuable product of this exercise may be to cause some readers who have never done so to read The Functions of the Executive, and some others who have done so in the distant past, to read it again.⁽¹⁾ Barnard's book is often referred to as "hard," both in the senses of hard to read and rigorous; no one is likely to recommend if for bedtime or ocean beach reading. But I believe that its "hardness" is closely related to the depth and rigor of its ideas, and that it is written about as clearly and simply as the nature of these ideas will admit. Barnard does not use long words where short words will do, nor many words where few will do. For anyone who devotes thought to organizations, its messages are pretty clear, and refreshingly creative. When read attentively, it can be read with enjoyment.     

Legitimacy‐Building in the Macau special administrative region: Colonial legacies and reform strategies

The retrocession of Macau to Mainland China's sovereignty since December 20, 1999 has initiated an unprecedented process of legitimacy‐building in the new Special Administrative Region. The Chief Executive, Edmund Ho, has implemented a multiplicity of reform strategies for the sake of consolidating his legitimacy. The twilight of the Portuguese colonial era was plagued by a rapid deterioration in law and order and the persistence in public maladministration, thus weakening the departing colonial regime's performance legitimacy seriously. As such, the political environment was conducive to Ho's herculean efforts at establishing his performance legitimacy. While the new Chief Executive's procedure legitimacy was enhanced by his election from an Election Committee composed of political elites, Ho's performance legitimacy has been buttressed by depoliticisation, economic development, civil service reforms, and new constitutional conventions. The abolition of the Municipal Councils in 2000 ran the risk of delegitimising the Ho regime. Yet, such delegitimisation was by no means serious given the relatively weak political opposition. Still, in the face of a more active and assertive citizenry, political reforms will have to be pondered and implemented by the post‐colonial regime in Macau. It will be necessary for the Macau government to utilise democratic reforms in a bid to preempt the increasingly vociferous demands for more participatory channels. The case of Macau corroborates the existence of a dialectical process of legitimisation, which has been strengthened mainly by depoliticisation and economic development, and delegitimisation, which is looming in the midst of a steadily growing political activeness on the part of the Macau people.     

Do Perceptions of Ballot Secrecy Influence Turnout? Results from a Field Experiment

Although the secret ballot has been secured as a legal matter in the United States, formal secrecy protections are not equivalent to convincing citizens that they may vote privately and without fear of reprisal. We present survey evidence that those who have not previously voted are particularly likely to voice doubts about the secrecy of the voting process. We then report results from a field experiment where we mailed information about protections of ballot secrecy to registered voters prior to the 2010 general election. Consistent with our survey data, we find that these letters increased turnout for registered citizens without records of previous turnout, but they did not appear to influence the behavior of citizens who had previously voted. The increase in turnout of more than three percentage points (20%) for those without previous records of voting is notably larger than the effect of a standard get‐out‐the‐vote mailing for this group. Overall, these results suggest that although the secret ballot is a long‐standing institution in the United States, beliefs about this institution may not match the legal reality.     

The ‘private plot’ in Soviet agriculture

The paper examines the main components of Mexican agrarian populism, and the attractions of the populist position in the light of the current crisis within the Mexican agricultural sector. It is suggested that the ‘campesinistas’ (agrarian populists) have incorporated various aspects of marxist analysis, but have nevertheless emphasised ways in which their approach pans company with that of most marxists in Latin America. According to writers like Gustavo Esteva, perhaps the leading ‘campesinista’, the peasant economy in the process of developing can co‐exist with capitalism for a protracted period, and considerable doubt exists as to whether the peasant economy is ‘ultimately’ inconsistent with capitalist development. The agrarian populists look to the peasantry in Mexico as a vehicle for rural development, believing that a better understanding of the internal logic of peasant production might facilitate an alternative series of policy measures. The weaknesses of the ‘campesinista’ position are explored, and doubts expressed about the viability of the populist stance as long as Mexico has the option of importing basic foodcrops.     

Common services in government

Abstract. The provision of supporting services to a number of departments and agencies by one or more common service departments is the application in government administration of the economic principle of the specialization or division of labour. Common service agencies are used widely in the Government of Canada, in provincial and municipal governments, and indeed within most large organizations both in the public and private sectors of the economy. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of common service agencies and considers some of the principles which can contribute to their success. The paper then focuses on four major issues which face both users and suppliers of common services. These are (a) whether the use of common services should be optional or mandatory; (b) whether or not the users of common services should pay for the services they receive; (c) under what circumstances common service agencies should buy their services from the private sector and under what circumstances they should staff to provide those services themselves; and (d) whether common service agency efficiency and effectiveness should be subordinated to other policy objectives. The paper concludes that the use of common services in government has produced many of the advantages inherent in the specialization or division of labour as well as some attendant disadvantages. Whether common services will succeed or fail depends in no small part on what might be called the level of civilization of the organization in which they operate. Sommaire. La prostration de services de soutien à plusieurs ministères et organismes par un on certains ministères désignés est une illustration de l'application clans l'administration publique du principe économique de la spécialisation ou de la division du travail. Les organismes de services communs sont très répandus à tous les paliers de gouvernement et du reste, on les retrouve dans la plupart des grandes entreprises publiques et privées. L'auteur de l'article fait le bilan des avantages et des inconvénients des organismes de services comniuns et examine certains des principes qui pourraient contribuer à leur succès. Il s'attache ensuite à quatre questions importantes que se posent tant la clientèle que les fournisseurs des services communs, à savoir: (a) si le recours aux services communs doit être facultatif ou obligatoire; (b) si les utilisateurs des services communs doivent payer ou non les services; (c) quelles sont les circonstances qui peuvent amener les organismes de services communs à acheter leurs services du secteur privé et celles où ils doivent s'attacher le personnel leur permettant de fournir eux-mêmes ces services; et (d) si le fonctionnement et l'efficacité. des organismes de services communs doivent être subordonnés à d'autres objectifs prioritaires. L'auteur conclut que l'utilisation des services communs au sein du gouvernement comporte un grand nombre des avantages inhérents à la spécialisation ou à la division du travail en même temps que certains inconvénients inévitables. Le succès ou l'échec des services communs tient en grande partie à ce que l'on pourrait appeler le niveau de civilisation de l'organisation qu'ils servent.     

Editors note

As the African Peer Review Mechanism marks its fifth birthday in 2007, the authors take stock of the initiative's successes and challenges. The APRM can claim considerable achievements but the complexity of the process, its slow pace, and problems in some review countries raise questions which are highlighted in this detailed examination.     

European trade policy in Africa

A detailed critique of where aid has got Africa so far and why the ‘big push’ may not be the answer for the continent, particularly if donor agencies do not embark on substantial internal reforms and Africa itself does not act to improve its own lot.