Coercive Policy Diffusion in a Developing Country: The Case of Public-Private Partnerships in Sri Lanka

Over the last two decades, public-private partnership policy has been adopted in developing countries to a lesser degree than in industrialised countries. This paper argues that this policy has been diffused to developing countries like Sri Lanka with coercion from international aid-granting organisations through conditionalities attached to financial assistance. It details the country-specific challenges faced by Sri Lanka in responding to conditionalities as it has sought to implement this policy. Drawing on policy diffusion theory the paper develops a framework to be used in analysing the issues under investigation.     

Rich doctors and poor patients: Market failure and health care systems in developing countries

This article argues that, in developing countries, health care systems (HCS) have been facing the problem of market failure, implying that the fair rules of market principles do not apply and patients often become losers. Explaining the theoretical issues involved, the article examines various causes of market failures in HCS, including: rent-seeking activities by doctors, asymmetric information between doctors and patients, between patients and insurance companies, and the oligopolistic behaviour of health care practitioners. The policy implications of the study suggest that, in many cases, government intervention is essential to eliminate market failures in the HCS in developing countries.     

东盟国家国际商事仲裁协议制度比较研究

仲裁协议是国际商事仲裁的基石。文章以国际商事仲裁的一般理论为基础,详细地比较分析了东盟主要国家有关国际商事仲裁协议的形式与内容、仲裁协议的当事人、可约定提交仲裁解决的争议事项以及仲裁协议的效力等方面的法律制度。     

THE DESIGN AND USE OF PERFORMANCE INFORMATION IN INDONESIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS UNDER DIVERGING STAKEHOLDER PRESSURES

Public sector managers in less developed countries are confronted with opposing forces. A lack of sufficient resources along with a tradition of corruption are obstacles for developing and using performance measurement systems. However, recent public sector reforms in less developed countries, including decentralisation and anti‐corruption programmes, stimulate the development and use of such systems. On the basis of a framework, which distinguishes different types of stakeholders, each with particular performance interests, we analyse how public sector managers are coping with the two opposing forces, given the relative power positions and the interests of their stakeholders. On the basis of four cases studies of local government agencies in Bali (Indonesia), we found that with respect to the annual performance reports, managers in these agencies focus more on fulfilling the formal requirements regarding the format of these reports and on their timely submission than on their contents, which are all symptoms of a symbolic rather than functional use of performance information. However, the reports include information on inputs that is linked to similar information in short‐term reports, which the managers use in a functional manner. These managers show a kind of juggling behaviour, in the sense that they partially try to serve conflicting performance interests. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The world bank,health policy reforms and the poor

Over the years, since the mid-1990s, World Bank-prescribed health policy reforms have successfully introduced market-based private-managed healthcare model in the developing world. This article presents a portrait of the private healthcare model, explores the factors that facilitated the introduction of this model in developing countries and examines the impact of the model on the health rights and health conditions of the poor. It argues that health reforms designed to promote private-managed care in developing countries affect the poor severely and violate their basic health rights, the rights to stay disease-free and lead a healthy life. A host of factors produced by the private-managed care model, most notably reduced social spending on public health, dismantling of public health systems and the ever expansionary grip of private sector health services have effectively diminished the health rights of the poor.     

The language that unites and the language that divides us: Why was Arabic kept and Serbo-Croatian abolished?

This article explores why the Arabs chose to keep a common language, while the Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks and Montenegrins chose not to. The study argues that the main reason for this can be found in the ideological constrains resulting out of the salience and interaction between different religious and ethnic group building projects in former Yugoslavia and the Arab states. Political elites in both regions favored the ethnic and religious category to different extents. Language planning reflected and implemented the respective ideological imperatives resulting out of these processes. This led to different approaches in defining the common language and its subsequent standardization.     

Is it none of their business? Business and democratization,the case of Turkey

This article explains how the Turkish business' regime preferences have evolved from pro-authoritarian to pro-democratic in the context of dual transitions, in response to changes in incentive structures shaped by domestic, regional and international parameters. It particularly focuses on big business and highlights the central role that greater exposure to international competition during the course of opening up and liberalization played in the evolution of its regime preferences. The article suggests that the central mechanism which has led to the regime preference change is socialization by strategic calculation facilitated by business' increasing incorporation into transnational networks. It asserts that the Turkish big business' experience is particularly interesting because international exposure not only created new opportunities for big business, but also new divisions and rivalries within the business community. These new rivals formed flourishing alliances with the government, with their accompanying claims to power that challenged the big business' previous hegemony in accessing state resources. In the process, big business' fear of losing its privileged status to rival business groups and the resulting uncertainties led big business to associate democratization with higher benefits, as they became increasingly aware of the link between democratization and diminished uncertainties, through their interaction with transnational business networks. Consequently, big business consolidated its pro-democratic stance as shifting domestic alliances enhanced the need for diminishing uncertainties, while internationalization along with the prospect of EU membership increased the cost of status quo.     

西方发达国家基本公共服务均等化路径选择的经验与启示

基本公共服务均等化是一项复杂的社会系统工程,如何借鉴西方发达国家基本公共服务均等化的成功经验,并与我国的具体社会经济环境相结合,探索出我国基本公共服务均等化的有效路径,是社会面临的重要课题。本文在分析西方发达国家基本公共服务均等化的成功经验的基础上,结合我国客观实际,提出了我国城乡基本公共服务均等化的路径选择,包括确定基本公共服务均等化标准、建立基本公共服务体系、健全公共服务体制、完善基本公共服务均等化的财政保障、实施基本公共服务均等化的绩效评估与监督。     

美欧发达国家“再工业化”对中国跨境资金流动的影响及对策

金融危机后,为了重振本土工业,美欧等发达国家将“再工业化”作为重塑竞争优势的重要战略,推出了大力发展新兴产业、鼓励科技创新、支持中小企业发展等政策和措施,使得贸易保护主义进一步抬头,国际贸易摩擦进一步加剧,贸易壁垒进一步抬高。关注“再工业化”背景下国际贸易以及政策的发展变化对跨境资金流动的可能影响,把握其趋势变化,对指导外汇管理工作,具有十分重要的意义。该文简要介绍了美国提出“再工业化”的背景,收集整理了美欧发达国家“再工业化”措施,分析了美欧发达国家“再工业化”对中国跨境资金流动的影响,提出了强化中国跨境资金流动管理的对策建议。     

郊区城市化: 从发达国家的发展模式论中国的发展选择

郊区城市化就是城市化进程中,城市发展在越过了聚集发展阶段后,出现的分散发展状态,在这一阶段大城市开始对更广大的腹地产生辐射作用,郊区和更广泛的农村地区进入城市化阶段。发达国家在经历了城市集中发展阶段后都经历过郊区城市化阶段,在这一阶段城市化率达到较高水平,人口、工业、商业等先后从城市中心区向郊区迁移,德国、美国、澳大利亚、英国以及日本等发达国家城市发展的郊区化模式表明,交通条件、工业化进程、郊区的基础设施以及规划政策等是城市化进程后期阶段郊区化的主要驱动因素。中国郊区化的驱动因素与发达国家有所不同。中国从20世纪80年代就进入了郊区城市化阶段,自此郊区小城镇进入快速发展阶段。中国在郊区城市化进程中要充分借鉴发达国家成功经验,协调好各种因素发挥聚合整合作用。