Innovative Governance and Development in the New Ireland: Social Partnership and the Integrated Approach

Since the mid‐1980s, the economy of the Republic of Ireland has displayed a remarkable turnaround. Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown at a faster rate than any developed country in the world. The government's deficit has been cut severely and the debt‐to‐GDP ration sharply reduced. Average incomes have risen significantly, and the unemployment rate reduced dramatically. This article documents these changes. Its main purpose, however, is to provide a plausible explanation for the “Irish miracle.” While many factors have been important—support for the Economic Union's regional development programs, a favorable tax structure, locational and language advantages for attracting multinational corporations, strong education and training programs—these factors in themselves do not explain the emergence of the “Celtic tiger.” They were in place before the mid‐1980s when Ireland was suffering from a fiscal, economic, and political crisis. Instead, the article argues, it was the creative and innovative response of Irish leaders in government, industry, and labor movement and community organizations to the crisis, and the subsequent institutionalization of this response in a new form of governance, that has been the catalyst for the Irish success story. Based on the thorough background research of the Economic and Social Research Council, a farsighted group of leaders developed a strategic plan in 1987 that provided a blueprint for constructive economic and social change. This was then formally instituted for wage restraint on the part of labor in return for income tax and social supposed provisions by government. Irish social Partnership is modeled to some extent on Northern European corporatism. The article reviews corporatism as an early form of innovative governance, using classical corporatism in Sweden and competitive corporatism in the Netherlands to illustrate how this approach has evolved over the years. Dutch economic success in recent years is due in part to its new form of corporatism that has helped it become globally competitive. It is argued, however, that Irish social partnership goes beyond continental corporatism in several important ways. It is more inclusive, covering a large array of social interests; it is more strategic, with a well‐articulated integrated approach to social and economic development that is self‐corrective and articulated in a new national agreement every three years; and it is more firmly institutionalized in both government and nongovernment agencies in the country. Social partnership and the integrated approach have become part of the culture of the new Ireland. This innovative form of governance underlies the Irish turnaround and augurs well for the future. It can also serve as a model, with appropriate modification tailor‐made to each case, for other jurisdictions hoping to emulate Ireland's success.     

Hair analysis for driving licence in cocaine and heroin users. An epidemiological study

Diagnosis of drug exposure is strongly supported by analysis of hair samples. In the province of Brescia, Italy, for regranting driving license to drug addicts or occasional abusers, a control programme was adopted including analysis of illicit drugs in two hair segments (0-3 and 3-6 cm) and in urine. From January 1998 to April 1999, upon request of the Local Medical Commission, 697 hair samples were tested in our laboratory. One hundred and eighty subjects resulted positive in hair for one or two of the controlled drug classes (73.3% for cocaine, 10% for opiates, 16.7% for both). Positive subjects were classified by residence, age, sex and license category. Seventy-two subjects were called back after 6-12 months and submitted to a second hair and urine analysis: in 34 cases the result of the first analysis was confirmed (19 negatives, 15 positives for one or both drug classes). Another 37 cases tested positive at the first control and negative at the second, suggesting the hypothesis that a strict control may have a significant deterrent function. The high percentage of negative results at the second control may be explained by the prevalence of cocaine users in the examined population. Our results allow us to conclude that the strict application of control rules lead to a decrease of social risk behaviours.     

Beijing＇s Olympic Venues

AS at the end of November 2007, construction of 26 of the Beijing 2008 Olympiad venues, along with others in Hong Kong （equestrian events）, Qingdao （sailing events）, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao （soccer） were completed. The work includes 12 new constructions and eight temporary venues and the refurbishment of 11 existing stadiums. Of the 31 venues in Beijing, 10 are scattered around the Olympic Green in northern Beijing; the remainder are in the western and eastern districts, university area and northern suburbs. Construction of the National Stadium, also known as the Bird＇s Nest, will be finished in March 2008. Test events will be held there in April.     

UNEXPECTED ADVANTAGES OF LESS ACCURATE PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS. HOW SIMPLE PRESCRIPTION DATA WORKS IN A COMPLEX SETTING REGARDING THE USE OF MEDICATIONS

In this paper we argue that performance measurement can be done better by general, less accurate measurements than by complex – and possible more accurate – ones. The conclusions of this study are drawn from a case study of the Dutch Foundation for Effective Use of Medication. While most studies about performance measurements focus on the management of public service organizations, this case study – informed by the literature from Science and Technology Studies – focuses on the active role of the measurements themselves. In the paper we show that indicators do not have to be as complex as the practices they represent – as long as they are part of a chain of intermediary data that allow travelling from the general or simple indicators to detailed data in day‐to‐day practices and vice versa. Furthermore, general indicators enable stakeholders to obtain distance from each other. Rather than the involvement of stakeholders, it is this reflexive distancing that explains the degree of compliance to performance measurement and thereby the prospect for effective co‐governance.     

RESPONSES TO MANAGERIALISM: HOW MANAGEMENT PRESSURES AFFECT MANAGERIAL RELATIONS AND LOYALTIES IN EDUCATION

Management pressures in fields like education force managers to control professionals. This generates friction. Professionals will not easily comply with control objectives; they feel responsible for clients and quality. Researchers have studied how professionals are affected and how they resist managerial interference. How managers themselves are affected by managerialism, whether they adopt control logics and are ‘driven away’ from work floors, is hardly studied. This paper studies how school managers relate to managerialism and whether they are primarily loyal to managerial agendas, or to professional workers and clients. On the basis of a qualitative study, we conclude that school managers are important mediators of managerialism. They feel loyal to performance pressures, but also to teachers and pupils. How they act in specific situations depends on how they deal with this friction within managerial work.