Career Public Service 2000: Road to renewal or impractical vision?

Abstract: Historically, the concept of career public service has received remarkably little attention in Canada. Career public service is, however, a central theme in the recent Public Service 2000 white paper on renewal of the federal public service. The challenge is to decide the extent to which the public service should adhere to the major principles of career public service relating to political neutrality, merit, open versus closed competitions, and career planning. There are significant barriers to achieving these principles, including conflict between some of the principles themselves. The extent to which career service will be achieved depends largely on the degree to which the vision of Public Service 2000 is realized. It is a vision of a new public service culture that is results-oriented and client-oriented and that is based on the precepts of service, innovation, people, and accountability. Among the obstacles to successful implementation of this vision are resistance by public service unions, lack of understanding about the magnitude of the commitment required to create a new public service culture, and the possible lack of political will to implement the white paper's proposals. Among the means by which the federal government can enhance the prospects for career service are a renewal of commitment to career service, including the allocation of more resources to career planning and development, and greater sensitivity to the threat of undue politicization of the public service. Sommaire: Historiquement, au Canada, le concept d'une fonction publique de carrière a bien peu retenu I'attention. Mais récemment, un livre blanc consacré au renouveau de la fonction publique, intituléFonction publique 2000, en a fait son thème central. L'enjeu, c'est de décider dans quelle mesure la fonction publique devrait adhérer aux principes fondamentaux d'une fonction publique axée sur des fonctionnaires de carrière, en ce qui concerne la neutralité politique, le mérite, les nominations en système ouvert ou fermé, et la planification de carriÈre.     

Antitrust in China: The Problem of Incentive Compatibility

This paper reviews China's recent efforts to enact a competitionpolicy (antitrust) law. We focus on three issues: (1) What isthe substance of the proposed law, and how does it differ fromexisting antitrust law in other countries, (2) How will thelaw be implemented or enforced, and how will those who mustimplement this law interpret their mandate, and (3) What willbe the likely effects of this law given China's unique historyand cultural heritage. We emphasize China's economic, legaland regulatory contexts in which an antitrust law may be enforced.Our central focus is the problem of establishing a substantiveand procedural legal framework that is incentive-compatiblewith economic efficiency and growth. The draft law could beimproved, both to increase its clarity and to make its enforcementmore consistent with the goal of achieving improvements in economicefficiency. Nevertheless, there is much merit in the draft,especially its strong focus on reducing anticompetitive practicesof state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and other government bodies.However, our major difficulty with the new law is that, in theabsence of a tradition of reliance on the rule of law, Chineseand foreign enterprises will find it very difficult to relyon the antitrust statute or the actions of the courts in Chinaas a basis for predicting the antitrust liability that mightresult from various business practices. Therefore, the principalvector by which antitrust law (or indeed any law) affects economicbehavior is absent from the Chinese scene. Unless the bureaucracythat enforces the new antitrust law actively pursues a policyof consistent enforcement based on written guidelines, staredecisis, or other sources of predictability, the substance ofthe statute itself will have little significance. That outcomewould represent a significant loss for the economic welfareof the Chinese people.     

Fertility and migration in the heart of the industrial revolution.

This study examines demographic growth and change in Tilleur in the valley of Meuse in Belgium during 1807-80 during the process of industrialization and urbanization. The proportion of immigrants (foreigners and Flemings) increased from 15% in 1807 to 65% in 1856. After 1856, population and industrial growth stabilized. During 1856-66 the proportion of natives stabilized, and the proportion of Flemings increased. It is argued that in Tilleur there were two phases: a foundation phase of industrial and population growth and a phase of maturation with decreased non-native population and greater similarity between groups. Immigrants contributed to the birth rate in greater proportions than their proportion in the population of Tilleur. During 1847-66 native population increased annually from 2.4% to 3.8%. Migrants' annual increases were diminished by the effects of mortality but expanded by the influence of in-migration. During 1857-66 the proportion of foreigners declined and marked the transition to a new phase. During 1830-66 the sex ratio grew from 93 to 119. During the Industrial Revolution in Tilleur, women shifted from outnumbering to undernumbering men. The iron and coal in the region attracted men. The sex ratio among the Flemish was 214 in 1866. In 1830 the proportion of fertile women was higher among immigrants and declined thereafter. Age at marriage rose for natives and declined for immigrants. The native population structure by sex, age, and marriage did not favor the birth rate. During 1866-80 the birth rate of foreign immigrants and rural natives declined, the birth rate of natives doubled, and the gap between these two groups narrowed. The changes among immigrants during the foundation phase led to fertility decline in the maturation phase. Marriage and migration interactions linked the industrial revolution with the demographic transition.     

Social justice as a Holy Grail: The endless quest

This paper gives the author's impressions on the following aspects of justice: desert, equity, equality, need, and intergenerational equity. The author concludes that these different aspects cannot be reconciled but instead must be compromised. An example of such a compromise is provided by a discussion of welfare reform. The author claims that rights are correlative with duties, and that asserting the former has little meaning without specifying the latter. He then discusses justice toward groups rather than individuals. He proposes that maintaining cultural variety in the presence of a homogeneous superculture is a major problem of the contemporary world. The paper concludes with a discussion of various forms of power, particularly the integrative power that people acquire over each other by virtue of ties of loyalty and identity.