The Use of Contracting in the Public Sector

Around the world and especially in English-speaking countries there has been a wave of contract-based public sector management following on the heels of a wave of corporatisation and privatisation.     

The politics of health care regulation: the case of the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act

This paper examines the political and bureautic dynamics of health regulation under the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act and, to a lesser extent, the Carter Cost Proposal now before Congress. A number of underlying issues that affect the day-to-day exercise of health planning are considered, including the contest between state and local and federal government for program control, jurisdictional conflict between state and local planning agencies, and the unsettled roles to be played by professional planners, consumers, and providers. When we assess regulatory policy in health, these complicating factors must be added to the long list of handicaps that already exist. One important finding is that local planning agencies have embraced the task of health regulation somewhat more fully than had generally been expected. A number of explanations for this are offered. In short, the controlling factors in health planning are political, not technical, and there is more occurring at the state and local levels than many had predicted, although any impact is not likely to be dramatic.     

Official crime rates and victim surveys: An empirical comparison

This paper compares the Uniform Crime Reports (UCRs) to the results of the National Crime Survey (NCS). Six Part I offenses are used to form the basis for comparison across twenty-six large American cities. The two data sources are conceptually comparable. Empirically, the NCS reveals significantly higher rates for all offenses but auto theft. The two sources are compatible in that the UCR revealed the same distributional pattern as the NCS. Thus it was concluded that the UCR provides an accurate indicator of the relative occurrence of criminal acts.