Achievements of the British Colonial Service: A Retrospective View

This article looks back on the record of the British Colonial Service in Africa, with a particular focus on how it ran Zambia immediately prior to its independence in 1964. The author, a member of that service, argues that, for all their faults, British colonial administrators discharged their duties with dedication, skill and the welfare of the general population in mind. There is, he notes, a need for a better understanding of the positive effects of contact between cultures that British colonial rule engendered in societies such as Zambia.     

No Accounting for Tax Avoidance

In the 2010–15 Parliaments, the UK House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts held hearings and investigated some of the operations of the tax avoidance industry. Its reports have been highly critical of the role of big accountancy firms in designing, marketing and implementing tax avoidance schemes which have enabled their clients to avoid taxes. The Committee's recommendations set a reform agenda but drew a lukewarm response from the government. An examination of the Committee's reports provides an indication of the trajectories of future debates and policies.     

Organizing a wildcat: the United States postal strike of 1970

This article, part of a larger work in progress, uses archives, key secondary sources, and oral histories from participants in the 1970 United States postal wildcat strike for better pay and working conditions to argue that this was a monumental event both unique and representative of the times. It was a rank-and-file effort that began in New York City – with a history of labor militancy – and rapidly spread across the country. The strike defied federal statute outlawing federal employee strikes, and also union leaders who opposed striking. A spike in 1960s hiring of blacks, veterans, women, and young people, combined with established labor unity tradition, a nationwide workplace and long-simmering frustrations produced the strike. But its dual character (both spontaneous and organized by local union officials and activists) allowed it to grow and maintain for eight days with no central coordination. Besides winning a living wage, the strike triggered the transformation of the US Post Office Department into the US Postal Service (USPS) with full collective bargaining rights for postal unions representing its employees. Moreover, it brought rank-and-file politics into postal unions while contributing to the increased strength of postal unions, public union organizing, and the labor movement in general.     

Does Public Spending Improve Citizens’ Quality of Life? An Analysis of Municipalities’ Leisure Supply

This paper offers new evidence regarding the impact of public spending on the supply of leisure services on citizens’ spare-time quality of life. Using data from 103 Italian capital municipalities covering the period 2007–2010, the analysis revealed that public spending on leisure impacted spare-time quality of life in various ways, depending on the category of spending. Spending for tourism essentially followed an upward path, linearly enhancing citizens’ spare-time quality of life. Surprisingly, municipalities’ spending on sport- and culture-related services had a non-linear impact. Hence, spending on sports within a maximum threshold reveals a positive impact on spare-time quality of life, whereas passing over a minimum level of public spending for culture-related projects had a positive effect. This paper provides helpful suggestions for policymakers who approach decisions that address whether it is worth spending on leisure, which is typically a non-basic need but one that must be properly satisfied by municipalities in today’s service-based society.     

Attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy in Asia and the Pacific: a quantitative assessment of current theoretical models beyond western countries

This article empirically assesses the validity of current theoretical models of attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy in the Asia-Pacific region. This paper takes representative data from the World Values Survey and implements a multilevel model to test five of the main theories in the literature: the human capital theory, the social capital theory, the political orientation theory, the contact/group threat theory and the economic competition theory. The results from the analysis lend credence to the important effects of human capital, social capital and political-ideological variables on respondents’ attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy. However, the results provide mixed and weak evidence for the contact/group threat theory and the role of economic determinants. Importantly, economic determinants tend to be more powerful in shaping people's attitudes toward immigration policy than shaping attitudes toward immigrants as people. Altogether, this article sheds new light on the validity of current theoretical models based on western countries for other areas of the world. Finally, the results from the paper also support the usefulness of non-economic, as opposed to purely economic, models in the understanding of individuals’ attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy in the Asia-Pacific region.     

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) in local services: risk-sharing and private delivery of water services in Spain

Local governments are increasingly utilising the public–private partnership (PPP) model as a means of organising service delivery in the public–private domain. This article examines the experiences with construction and operation of 131 PPP wastewater treatment plants in the region of Aragon, Spain. The study highlights how an inadequate management of construction risk and unsuitable transfer of demand and revenue risk resulted in significant time delays in execution of the PPP projects. The research also shows how the involvement of public bodies at local, regional and national level further added to the complexity of implementing the projects. The findings contribute to the literature on local service delivery and provide insights regarding risk transfer in long-term PPP contracts for the delivery of local services in general and water services in particular.     

关于预防和处置群体性治安事件的几点反思

随着改革的深化和利益格局的调整 ,社会矛盾和热点问题增多 ,由此引发的群体性治安事件也必然增多 ,如何预防和妥善处置群体性治安事件必然是公安机关当前和今后一个时期维护稳定的一项艰巨而重要的任务 ,因此 ,有必要对所存在的问题进行深刻的反思。     

关于事业单位机构改革的思考

作为我国四大法人之一的事业单位,类别众多、分布广泛、情况复杂,其机构改革是我国行政改革的配套要求,也是事业单位自身面向社会、进入市场的客观需要.目前我国事业单位兴办主体结构单一,布局不合理,内部机制不活,效率不高,机构人员庞杂,财政负担沉重,事业发展水平较低.改革应坚持多元化、社会化、现代化和法制化原则.而且,不同类型的事业单位应结合行业特点和体改要求,确定各具特色的机构改革思路.     

全面实施素质教育 推动公安教育改革

大力开展素质教育是跨入21世纪公安工作的客观要求,而德育是公安素质教育的核心,创新能力与实践能力的培养是其重点,课程、教材、教法和考试配套改革是其基础工作,师资队伍建设是其成败的关键。只有全面实施素质教育,推动公安教育改革,才能使公安教育适应公安工作的需要,培养出高素质的人才。     

关于人大常委会对公安机关实施个案监督的探讨

监督公安工作是各级人大常委会的职能之一,实施个案监督是一种行之有效的办法。人大常委会通过个案询问、听取汇报、专案调查、提出意见等方式,对公安机关办理的违法犯罪案件和公安执法人员职务违法案件行使监督职权,对加强公安队伍建设,推进依法治国有着重要的现实意义。