Civil service and public sector Books

Book SynopsisGovernments, Competition and Utility Regulation continues the series of annual books, published in association with the Institute of Economic Affairs and the London Business School, which critically reviews the state of utility regulation and competition policy. The book contains incisive chapters on competition policy and trade, antitrust and consumer welfare, merger control and efficiency, emissions trading, Ofcom and convergence, energy regulation and competition, regulating the London Underground, the future of water regulation and European merger control.Chapters on each topic are followed by comments from regulators, competition authority chairmen and other experts in the relevant fields. The book provides analysis of and commentaries on the most significant developments in regulation and competition policy, drawing on experiences in Britain, the United States and the European Union, as well as in international trade negotiations. It will be of value to practitioners, policymakers and academics who are concerned with regulation, deregulation and policies to promote competition.Trade Review'The book is written by a group of academic researchers and practitioners and, as such, provides insightful analyses from both theoretical as well as practical perspectives. It will be of value to policymakers, industry stakeholders, and regulators who are interested in utility regulation and policies to foster a competitive market environment.' -- International Energy Law and Taxation ReviewTable of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. Competition Policy and Trade: The WTO after the Cancun Meeting – Frédéric Jenny, Comment – Geoffrey Owen 2. Does Antitrust Policy Improve Consumer Welfare? Assessing the Evidence – Robert W. Crandall and Clifford Winston, Comment – David Arculus 3. Efficiencies in Merger Control – Jrissy Motis, Damien Neven and Paul Seabright, Comment – Sir John Vickers 4. Emissions Trading: A Market Instrument for our Times – Charles Nicholson, Comment – Colin Robinson 5. Ofcom: A Converged Regulator? – Annegret Groebel, Comment – Colin Robinson 6. Energy Regulation and Competition after the White Paper – Eileen Marshall, Comment – Stephen Littlechild 7. Regulating London Underground – Chris Bolt, Comment – Tom Winsor 8. Commitment and Control in Regulation: The Future of Regulation in Water – Colin Mayer, Comment – Philip Fletcher 9. Do We Need European Merger Control? – Jacques Steenbergen and Leonard Waverman, Comment – Derek Morris Index

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Book SynopsisThe central purpose of this book is to analyse the optimal allocation of local public goods or services (for example garbage collection, police, fire brigades and medical services) in large urban agglomerations and the allocation consequences of increasing competition in the provision of them. Competition in the Provision of Local Public Goods uses two innovative aspects present in the concept of Functional Overlapping Competing Jurisdictions, which are de-localized membership and uni-functionality of jurisdictions. The book analyses the effect of these two aspects on competition among jurisdictions and the impact this probable increase in competition may have on the achievement of the optimal allocation of local public goods.The primary audience for this work is academics and researchers in the fields of urban and regional economics, location theory and public policy. An important secondary audience will be scholars of industrial organization, who can use the framework developed here for analyzing other problems related with the location of individuals in space.Trade Review'. . . fascinating and thought provoking.' -- Jan-Erik Lane, Public Management ReviewTable of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. Maximum Lot-Size Regulation 2. Competing Jurisdictions for the Provision of Local Public Goods 3. Cooperation Between Competing Jurisdictions General Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisRegulation is on the rise across the world as the state steps back from public ownership. However, as the authors highlight, the style of political delegation to regulatory authorities has not followed a uniform trajectory but rather institutional endowments, administrative traditions, market structure and business culture have all influenced the creation of regulatory authorities and implementation styles. Noting these variances, the focus of this book is to consider the impact of liberalisation and the introduction of new regulatory structures on three utility sectors - telecommunications, energy and the railways - using Germany and the UK as case studies. With regulation seeking to foster competition at the same time as also having to protect essential services, the authors investigate regulatory styles, costs of new regulatory functions and how firms in the new regulatory landscape access and influence regulatory authorities. The authors consider how EU pressures may hinder or help the functioning of new regulatory markets and the establishment of business-regulator relationships, as well as the broader policy implications for these new regulatory environments. The book also determines how regulatory authorities emerge and evolve under different state traditions and assesses, over time, the degree to which there is potential for convergence, divergence and continued differences as regulatory functions mature.This book will be warmly welcomed by researchers and academics of comparative public policy, politics and regulation. It will also appeal to policy makers and the business community in Europe.Trade Review‘Refining Regulatory Regimes is certainly one of the best recent theory-driven empirical research works in the field of European regulatory reforms.' -- Nadine Haase, International Journal of Environmental Studies'The book provides a number of thought provoking conclusions. . . One of the strengths of the book is the way it carefully documents the liberalisation of telecommunications, energy and rail sectors in both countries. . . this book is insightful and likely to be of interest to those wanting to learn more about utility regulation from a variety of perspectives, including the factors which can influence and shape regulatory policy and institutions over time.' -- Stephen Rimmer, Australian Journal of Public Administration'Refining Regulatory Regimes is a fine volume bringing together a set of chapters that despite their different emphases complement each other nicely.' -- Martin Lodge, West European Politics'This major study breaks new ground in bringing together a distinguished international team to offer a comparative and empirical investigation of factors shaping regulatory implementation and business-regulator relations in key European utilities sectors.' -- Colin Scott, London School of Economics and Political Science, UKTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Redefining and Refining Regulation David Coen Part I: Institutional Change and Environment 2. Developments in Regulatory Regimes: Comparison on Telecommunications, Energy and Rail Dominik Böllhoff 3. Administrative Costs of Reforming Utilities Michael W. Bauer Part II: Business–Regulator Relationships 4. Changing Business–Regulator Relations in German and UK Telecommunication and Energy Sectors David Coen 5. Managing Regulatory Developments in Rail: Compliance and Access Regulation in Germany and the UK Adrienne Héritier Part III: Implementation and Refining Policy 6. The Politics for a Sustainable Energy Industry: Renewable Energy Policy in the United Kingdom and in Germany André Suck 7. Public Services: The Role of the European Court of Justice in Correcting the Market Leonor Moral Soriano 8. Conclusion: Refining Regulatory Regimes Adrienne Héritier Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe Economics of Experiences, the Arts and Entertainment serves as a welcome and unique introduction to various economic aspects of the production and consumption of art and entertainment products. The book begins with analyses and discussion of neoclassical production and utility functions, with a focus on art and entertainment as instances of experience goods or services. The authors then go on to present alternative Austrian and institutional approaches which focus on the role of creative entrepreneurs in the market process. Aesthetic and psychological theories are also discussed with a focus on their impact on producers' and consumers' decisions, as well as historical examples of creative centres, such as Renaissance Florence and Post World War II New York.One important conclusion reached in the book is that there is no economically meaningful way to distinguish art from entertainment, if such a distinction is to be based on the inherent qualities of products. Instead, an analysis of the activities of interest groups, politicians and other gatekeepers to the world of the arts serves to illuminate how a designation as art serves to abolish market prices and suppress competition, in contrast to the much less distorted market for entertainment products.David and Ake E. Andersson's path-breaking book will appeal to scholars and researchers at all levels of academe involved in economics, public sector economics and those with a special interest in art and/or entertainment. Public and private sector managers, planners and administrators in various art and entertainment industries will also find much to engage them within this book.Trade Review'The authors successfully achieve a balance of economic theory and application in a wide range of interesting examples.' -- Naomi Kinghorn, Journal of Environmental Planning and ManagementTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. The Economics of Arts and Entertainment 2. Aesthetics and Economics 3. The Demand for Arts and Entertainment Products 4. Production Systems in the Arts and in Entertainment 5. Permanent Ensembles or Festivals? 6. The Markets for Experience Goods and Services 7. The Value of Cultural Heritage 8. The Role of Creativity 9. Cultural Entrepreneurship 10. Creativity and Institutions 11. Internal and External Scale Economies and the Cultural City 12. The Globalization of Culture References Index

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Book SynopsisThis multidisciplinary work explores ways of making environmental policy decisions in managing public goods and natural parks with the goal of maximizing economic benefits to society. The contributors to the volume seek the best strategies for improving the environmental sustainability and quality of a public resource by showing how to develop quantitative information about the natural area and how it interacts with the economy. Such an analysis can be used to define policies that encourage interactions among institutions, local economic agents and park users. At the same time, it provides a measure to account for the implications of those policies on the local economy.A public resource, such as a natural park, has many different functions - the production of marketed goods, ecosystem protection and tourism - and its management requires the knowledge of the physical, biological and ecological characteristics of the functions supplied by the resource, as well as the value of each function and the public resource as a whole. To ensure the implementation of the optimal practice, the contributors adopt a participative approach to establish a credible social contract between the area's public manager and its consumers. Balancing the interests of residents, visitors and local businesses, and coupling the development of both the natural potential of the area and the local economy, are necessary steps for the best strategy to be adopted.Economists and agricultural-environmental economists, forest and resource planners interested in practical guidance, and professors who teach environmental economics or forest planning courses will all find this collection invaluable and instructive.Table of ContentsContents: Introduction Joseph C. Cooper, Federico Perali and Marcella Veronesi Part I: Assessment 1. Estimating the Level of Functions Supplied by a Natural Area Using GIS Information Michele Carta, Nicola Gallinaro and Massimo Bianchi 2. The Supply of Functions by Homogeneous Area Using Cluster Analysis Paola De Agostini, Veronica Cicogna and Federico Perali 3. A Contingent Valuation Method Incorporating Fairness and Citizen Participation Joseph C. Cooper, Federico Perali, Nicola Tommasi and Marcella Veronesi 4. Travel Cost Estimation Conditional on Leisure Consumption Joseph C. Cooper, Federico Perali, Nicola Tommasi and Marcella Veronesi Part II: Management 5. Identifying the Best Combination of Environmental Functions Using Multi-Criteria Analysis Paola De Agostini 6. Simulating the Impact on the Local Economy of Alternative Management Scenarios for Natural Areas Paola De Agostini, Stefania Lovo, Francesco Pecci, Federico Perali and Michele Baggio 7. Resolving Conflicts in a Natural Area Michele Baggio Conclusions Joseph C. Cooper, Federico Perali and Marcella Veronesi Appendix: West Garda Regional Forest Survey – A Platform for Policy Analysis Nicola Tommasi and Marcella Veronesi Index

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Book SynopsisRegulating Development examines the impact that regulation - good or bad - can have on the development of poorer societies. It opens with a succinct review of critical issues, including the implications of the spread of intellectual property rights legislation and the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).The volume examines the regulatory experiences of three important developing economies: Brazil, Ghana and South Africa. Key regulatory themes are analysed, most notably capital markets and corporate governance regulation, the regulation of the telecommunications sector and the use of regulatory reforms to promote the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises. Within each chapter policy lessons are drawn, the relevance of which extend well beyond national or even regional boundaries. The principal aim of the book is to show the extent to which regulation is moving increasingly to centre stage as a driver of development in Africa and Latin America. The book also demonstrates how thoughtful, well-planned regulation can make a real contribution to the emergence of supply-side competitiveness.This book will be invaluable reading for academics, researchers and students with an interest in economics and development studies, as well as for regulators and policymakers in developing countries.Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction Edmund Amann Part I: General Considerations 2. Creating the Conditions for International Business Expansion: The Impact of Regulation on Economic Growth in Developing Countries – A Cross-Country Analysis Hossein Jalilian, Colin Kirkpatrick and David Parker 3. The World Trade Organisation and Domestic Regulation Peter Holmes 4. Learning to Love Patents: Capacity Building, Intellectual Property and the (Re)production of Governance Norms in the ‘Developing World’ Christopher May Part II: The Latin American Experience 5. From the Developmental to the Regulatory State: The Transformation of the Government’s Impact on the Brazilian Economy Edmund Amann and Werner Baer 6. Brazilian Regulatory Agencies: Early Appraisal and Looming Challenges Andrea Goldstein and José Claudio Linhares Pires 7. Corporate Governance, Regulation and the Lingering Role of the State in the Post Privatized Brazilian Steel Industry Edmund Amann, João Carlos Ferraz and Germano Mendes de Paula Part III: The African Experience 8. Privatization and Regulation in South Africa: An Evaluation Afeikhena Jerome 9. A Comparative Analysis of the Performance of Public and Private Water Utilities in Africa Colin Kirkpatrick, David Parker and Yin-Fang Zhang 10. Why Regulations Matter: A Small-Business Perspective Judi Hudson 11. The Changing Regulatory Environment and its Implications for the Performance of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises in Ghana Ernest Aryeetey and Ama Asantewah Ahene 12. Regulating for Competition: The Case of Telkom in South Africa Oludele A. Akinboade and Fungai Sibanda Index

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Book SynopsisThe authors provide a fresh and accessible multi-disciplinary perspective on public management reform in this study. The work includes a broad survey of the paradigms and patterns that have shaped and differentiated the reform process in different countries.The book focuses on two themes not usually considered together. First, the scope and limits of the role economists have played in reform processes, not simply in terms of providing analytical models but in the actual leadership required to advance reform coherently. Secondly, the authors examine the importance of developing leadership at all levels of the public sector to take advantage of the opportunities reforms have generated, and to create new sources of public value. In bringing these themes together they uniquely show how the family of economic theories (public choice, agency theory and new institutional economics) can be adapted to explain why there might be a demand for developing public sector leadership that reflects an 'appreciative' managerial style as opposed to the hard-edged contractualism often associated with public management reform.Trade Review'A "must-read" for students, researchers and practitioners in the areas of public economics, public management and politics. The book provides both a useful reference that highlights links between these fields and an essential stimulus to future cross-disciplinary research in this important area.' -- Andrew C. Worthington, University of Wollongong, Australia'In this new, exciting exposition, Brian Dollery and Joe Wallis (here joined by Linda McLoughlin) continue their unique explorations advancing the frontiers of public administration and political economy with a fresh, challenging, and thought-provoking analysis of the effects and implications of more than two decades of public sector reform.' -- Zane Spindler, Simon Fraser University, CanadaTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. Public Sector Reform: Modernization, Paradigms and Patterns 3. Economic Foundations of Public Sector Reform 4. An Economic Theory of Leadership 5. The Contribution of Economists to Policy Leadership and Public Sector Reform 6. The Role of Leadership Development in Public Sector Reform and Modernization 7. Conclusion References Index

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Book SynopsisWorldwide, postal and delivery economics has attracted considerable interest as the delivery sector undergoes rapid change and the debate on liberalization rages. This compendium of original essays has been selected from papers presented at the Rutgers University CRRI 14th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics, May 31-June 3 2006. It explores the important new trends and issues in this rapidly changing field. The European Union's plan to open postal markets completely in 2009 has raised questions about t he role of regulation, funding for the Universal Service Obligation, the future of national Postal Operators and the principles that should govern the introduction of competition. The contributors - researchers, practitioners, lawyers and senior managers from around the world - address these questions in chapters that cover postal markets, pricing, efficiency and cost analysis, labor relations, and demand drivers. Examples are drawn from around the world. This timely book will be illuminating to practitioners and managers in the postal, express and delivery industry, as well as economists, regulators, competition lawyers, and marketers.Table of ContentsContents: Preface Foreword: Information Revolutions and Modern Postal Service James I. Campbell Jr. 1. Approaches to the USO under Entry Michael A. Crew and Paul R. Kleindorfer 2. Partitioning the Mailstream: Analysis of an Innovative Approach to USO Leon A. Pintsov, Andrei Obrea and Theresa Biasi 3. From the Size of the Box to the Costs of Universal Service Obligation: A Cross-Country Comparison François Boldron, Denis Joram, Lise Martin and Bernard Roy 4. A Welfare Analysis of Price Controls with End-to-End Mail and Access Services Philippe De Donder, Helmuth Cremer, Paul Dudley and Frank Rodriguez 5. Dynamics of Downstream Entry in Postal Markets Axel Gautier 6. Economies of Scale, Density and Scope in Swiss Post’s Mail Delivery Mehdi Farsi, Massimo Filippini and Urs Trinkner 7. Measuring Scale and Scope Economies with a Structural Model of Postal Delivery Michael D. Bradley, Jeff Colvin and Mary K. Perkins 8. Efficient Worksharing Discounts with Mail Heterogeneity John C. Panzar 9. Nonlinear Pricing and Worksharing in the Postal Market Etienne Billette de Villemeur, Helmuth Cremer, François Boldron and Bernard Roy 10. Efficiency Analysis of Delivery Offices in the Postal Sector Using Stochastic Frontier and Data Envelopment Analyses Alan Horncastle, David Jevons, Paul Dudley and Emmanuel Thanassoulis 11. Economic Analysis of the Efficiency of Royal Mail Units and the Implications for Regulatory Policy Richard Moriarty, Sophie Yorke, Greg Harman, John Cubbin, Meloria Meschi and Paul Smith 12. From Theory to Practice: Vertical Relations in the French Postal Market Xavier Ambrosini and Olaf Klargaard 13. Postal Deregulation and Its Impact on Postal Workers: A Canadian Union Perspective Geoff Bickerton 14. First Steps towards New Postal Economics Models for Developing Countries: Learning from the Latin American Experience José Ansón, Rudy Cuadra, Altamir Linhares, Guillermo Ronderos and Joëlle Toledano 15. The Postal Technology Market and Effects on Purchasing Strategy William J. Dowling, Robert J. Curry, Robert A.F. Reisner and Bill Worth 16. Economics of the US Postal Service Alternate Access Retail Channels Janet L. Webster, Dennis E. Stoker, Saadia Bukhari, Stephen Deering and Andrea M. Otis 17. USO Public Financing at the Crossroad between the ‘Monti Package’ and the Forthcoming Reform of the Postal Directive Alessandra Fratini and Fabio Filpo 18. Scenarios of Mail Receipt Patterns Across Generations Luis Jimenez, Anna Owsiany, and Chrystal Szeto 19. Microanalyses of Mail Demand Drivers for Large Business Customers Peter Koppe and Christian Bosch 20. Measuring the Impact of Direct Mail on the Brand Joanne McNeish 21. Consumer Preferences and Last Mile Pricing in the Postal Sector Beat Friedli, Christian Jaag, Daniel Krähenbühl, Ole Bach Nielsen, Søren-Michael Pihl and Urs Trinkner 22. Microeconomic Demand Modelling for Price Elasticities Frédérique Fève, Jean-Pierre Florens and Sophie Richard 23. US Postal Services as Composite Goods with Hedonic Properties Lawrence Fenster, Diane Monaco, Edward S. Pearsall, Charles Robinson and Spyros Xenakis Index

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Book SynopsisWhile there is no universally accepted definition of civil servant and civil service, this authoritative and informative Handbook compares and contrasts various approaches to organizing the structure and activities of different civil service systems. The expert contributors consider the historical and theoretical context of public administration and public sector management, applying relevant theories and frameworks to provide a disciplinary perspective. Recurring topics and themes are explored, and international comparisons are made via case studies from Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North and South America. Issues addressed in each country study include accountability, structure, processes and institutions, as well as the relationship to the broader political systems in a world becoming aware that it exists within a differentiated polity. The Weberian legacy, joined-up government and the hollowed-out state thesis and the debate between Anglo-American influenced systems versus the Continental European approach to organizing the civil service are also discussed in detail. This systematic comparison of civil service systems and their political and theoretical foundations will prove essential reading for academics and students focusing on public policy and public sector management. Public service professionals will also find this book to be a crucial resource. Contributors include: T.E.D. Anagnosen, P. Barberis, E. Borgonovi, F. Buick, M. Desbouvries, M. Duggett, O.P. Dwivedi, M. Evans, A. Ferraro, J. Halligan, S. Horton, J.-M. Kauzya, M. Kikuchi, A. Massey, D.S. Mishra, A. Nakamura, J. O'Flynn, E. Ongaro, R. Parry, R. Pyper, C. SadleirTrade ReviewThis Handbook on civil service systems is truly international and comparative. It covers and compares countries from all continents. It also connects historical (Weberian) legacies to contemporary challenges such as coordination, the hollow state, and trust. Massey's Handbook does not avoid difficult issues for civil service systems such as ruined reforms, fiscal retrenchment, and cultural and political system shocks. Therefore this book is exceptionally rich and stimulating. --- Geert Bouckaert, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, BelgiumTable of ContentsContents: PART I: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES 1. Civil Service Systems: Introduction and Scope of the Book Andrew Massey 2. The Weberian Legacy Peter Barberis 3. Contrasting Anglo-American and Continental European Civil Service Systems Sylvia Horton 4. Decentralization, Devolution and the Hollowing Out of the State Robert Pyper 5. Experiments with Joined-up, Horizontal and Whole-of-Government in Anglophone Countries John Halligan, Fiona Buick and Janine O’Flynn PART II: SYSTEM AND COUNTRY COMPARISONS 6. The Civil Service in Italy Elio Borgonovi and Edoardo Ongaro 7. The United States Civil Service J. Theodore Anagnoson 8. A Splendid Ruined Reform: The Creation and Destruction of a Civil Service in Argentina Agustín E. Ferraro 9. Comparative Perspectives of the Challenges and Prospects of Civil Service Reforms in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda John-Mary Kauzya 10. The Public Service of India: A Mapping Expedition O.P. Dwivedi and D.S. Mishra 11. Towards Public Service-oriented Governance? Administrative Reform with ‘Chinese Characteristics’ Mark Evans 12. Japanese Public Administration at the Crossroads: Declining Trust in Government and Civil Service Reform in the Age of Fiscal Retrenchment Akira Nakamura and Masao Kikuchi 13. The Australian Public Service System John Halligan and Chris Sadleir 14. The Civil Service in France: Contested Complacency? Michael Duggett with Manueline Desbouvries 15. The United Kingdom Civil Service: A Devolving System Richard Parry Index

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Book SynopsisCyberspace is the nervous system of today's advanced economies, linking critical infrastructures across public and private institutions. The authors of this book comprehensively explore the many issues surrounding this unique system, including private sector cyber security investment decisions and implementation strategies, public policy efforts to ensure overall security, and government's role in the process. The authors draw primarily on case-based information and focused survey data to describe and critique the economic strategies and broad technical approaches that private sector organizations adopt to secure their information technology infrastructure. Based on an analysis of these strategies, they propose several public policy responses that go beyond those that have come from recent policy reports. These responses include the construction of a national database of reliable and cost-effective information suitable for benchmarking, and public research and development support for innovations and infrastructures. The authors discuss the goal of such efforts: to shift private investments toward more socially-optimal proactive levels and to develop standards and protocols to ensure a more effective use of cyber security technologies.The first systematic analysis of the economics of cyber security, this insightful book will be of great interest to private and public sector managers and strategists involved in cyber security, as well as academics and researchers in the fields of economics, management, information systems, systems engineering, political science, and public policy.Trade Review'Overall, this book fills a gap in the literature by providing a systematic and thorough analysis of the impacts of cyber threats on the corporate world. Its policy recommendations are sound and well supported by the research. . . The book also managed to weave together computer science, public policy, and economics in such a way that the arguments from each discipline are enhanced by the others. This book would be an excellent text for courses focused on computer technology, business security, cyber security, or those that examine the economic costs associated with high technology. . . Outside of academia, the book would provide valuable insights about the threats, tools to counter them, government regulations, and varying approaches to cyber security to corporate leaders and information technology decision-makers. Finally, members of government who are working in relevant fields would benefit greatly from the information provided and the policy recommendations made by the authors.' -- Alethia H. Cook, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency ManagementTable of ContentsContents: Part I: Technical and Economic Framework 1. The Cyber Security Imperative 2. Cyber Security Trends and Issues 3. Vulnerabilities and Cyber Security Technologies 4. Cyber Security Investment and Implementation Strategies: Theories 5. Cyber Security Investment and Implementation Strategies: Empirical Evidence 6. Industry-Specific Cyber Security Investment Decisions 7. Cyber Security as a Public Good: Toward Public Policy Recommendations Part II: Public Policy: Case Studies and Recommendations 8. Data Encryption Standards 9. Improving Internet Standards 10. Infrastructure for Software Testing 11. Insider Threats and the Case for Role-Based Access Control 12. Public Policy Alternatives References Index

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Book SynopsisThis book provides the reader with the basis for a theoretical understanding of public-sector finance in general - and more specifically, a comprehensive, policy-oriented application of that understanding to Japanese public finance.Particular emphasis is placed upon developing tools which can be used both theoretically and empirically to clarify essential economic concerns in Japan's public sector. These include the macroeconomic incidence of fiscal decentralization, dependence on government bonds for covering fiscal deficits, and social security reform. In analyzing Japan's underperforming public sector, the authors develop and recommend policy solutions aimed at achieving Japan's growth potential, improving the quality of the public sector, and strengthening the sector's contribution to the Japanese economy.Guiding the reader toward an overall understanding of public-sector reforms, decentralization and fiscal policy in Japan, this book will strongly appeal to academics, students and researchers with an interest in modern public finance theory and macroeconomic analysis.Trade Review'. . . covers valuable ground in exploring the complex world of Japan's public finances and public sector operations.' -- Albrecht Rothacher, ASIEN - German Journal for Politics, Economy and CultureTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. History of Postwar Public Finance 3. The Central Government Budget and Fiscal Policy 4. Aging and Intergenerational Conflict: Social Security Benefits and Burdens 5. Restoring Fiscal Balance in an Aging Japan 6. The Tax System and Its Reform 7. Local Public Finance and the Soft-budget Problem 8. Decentralization Reform 9. The Management and Sustainability of Government Debt 10. Reform of the Public Sector References Index

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Book SynopsisRegulating Development examines the impact that regulation - good or bad - can have on the development of poorer societies. It opens with a succinct review of critical issues, including the implications of the spread of intellectual property rights legislation and the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).The volume examines the regulatory experiences of three important developing economies: Brazil, Ghana and South Africa. Key regulatory themes are analysed, most notably capital markets and corporate governance regulation, the regulation of the telecommunications sector and the use of regulatory reforms to promote the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises. Within each chapter policy lessons are drawn, the relevance of which extend well beyond national or even regional boundaries. The principal aim of the book is to show the extent to which regulation is moving increasingly to centre stage as a driver of development in Africa and Latin America. The book also demonstrates how thoughtful, well-planned regulation can make a real contribution to the emergence of supply-side competitiveness.This book will be invaluable reading for academics, researchers and students with an interest in economics and development studies, as well as for regulators and policymakers in developing countries.Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Introduction Edmund Amann Part I: General Considerations 2. Creating the Conditions for International Business Expansion: The Impact of Regulation on Economic Growth in Developing Countries – A Cross-Country Analysis Hossein Jalilian, Colin Kirkpatrick and David Parker 3. The World Trade Organisation and Domestic Regulation Peter Holmes 4. Learning to Love Patents: Capacity Building, Intellectual Property and the (Re)production of Governance Norms in the ‘Developing World’ Christopher May Part II: The Latin American Experience 5. From the Developmental to the Regulatory State: The Transformation of the Government’s Impact on the Brazilian Economy Edmund Amann and Werner Baer 6. Brazilian Regulatory Agencies: Early Appraisal and Looming Challenges Andrea Goldstein and José Claudio Linhares Pires 7. Corporate Governance, Regulation and the Lingering Role of the State in the Post Privatized Brazilian Steel Industry Edmund Amann, João Carlos Ferraz and Germano Mendes de Paula Part III: The African Experience 8. Privatization and Regulation in South Africa: An Evaluation Afeikhena Jerome 9. A Comparative Analysis of the Performance of Public and Private Water Utilities in Africa Colin Kirkpatrick, David Parker and Yin-Fang Zhang 10. Why Regulations Matter: A Small-Business Perspective Judi Hudson 11. The Changing Regulatory Environment and its Implications for the Performance of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises in Ghana Ernest Aryeetey and Ama Asantewah Ahene 12. Regulating for Competition: The Case of Telkom in South Africa Oludele A. Akinboade and Fungai Sibanda Index

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Book SynopsisWhile few economists analyzed criminal behaviour and the criminal justice process before Gary Becker's seminal 1968 paper, an enormous body of economic research on crime has since been produced. This insightful and comprehensive Handbook reviews and extends much of this important resulting research. The Handbook on the Economics of Crime provides cutting-edge and specially commissioned contributions dealing with theoretical and empirical modeling of criminal choice and behavior, including Isaac Ehrlich's exposition of what he labels the `market, or equilibrium, model of crime'. The public production and allocation of various criminal justice services is also examined, as are significant components of the costs and consequences of crime. Finally, current debates and controversies in the economics of crime literature are considered, with the expert contributors offering suggestions and guidance for future research. With a broad set of crime-related topics examined from an economic perspective, this extensive Handbook will be welcomed by academic researchers and graduate students of the economics of crime and criminology as well as legal scholars focusing on criminal law.Trade Review‘’This Handbook is a very stimulating collection of overview essays and new researches on the economics of crime. . . They [the editors] make an excellent selection of the most important issues. . .’ -- Emma Galli, Journal of Public Finance and Public ChoiceTable of ContentsContents: Preface: Background and Overview Bruce L. Benson and Paul R. Zimmerman PART I: THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL DEVELOPMENTS: BECKER, EHRLICH AND BEYOND 1. The Market Model of Crime: A Short Review and New Directions Isaac Ehrlich 2. Estimating the Supply of Crime: Recent Advances Helen Tauchen 3. The Measure of Vice and Sin: A Review of the Uses, Limitations and Implications of Crime Data Alexander Tabarrok, Paul Heaton and Eric Helland 4. Dynamic Perspectives on Crime Justin McCrary PART II: ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE PUBLIC PRODUCTION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE 5. The Historical Development of Public Policing, Prosecution and Punishment Nicholas A. Curott and Edward Peter Stringham 6. Police, Prisons, and Punishment: The Empirical Evidence on Crime Deterrence Jonathan Klick and Alexander Tabarrok 7. Prison Population and Crime Thomas B. Marvell 8. The Allocation of Police Bruce L. Benson 9. The Economic Analysis of Corruption Fred S. McChesney 10. Economics of Crime and Drugs: Prohibition and Public Policies for Illicit Drug Control Edward M. Shepard, and Paul R. Blackely PART III: CRIME AND THE ECONOMY 11. The Economic Costs of Criminal Activity: A Discussion of Methodological Approaches and Empirical Estimates Allen K. Lynch 12. Crime and Housing Prices Keith Ihlanfeldt and Thomas Mayock 13. Corruption, Crime and Economic Growth Benjamin Powell, G.P. Manish and Malavika Nair 14. Labor Markets and Crime: New Evidence on an Old Puzzle David B. Mustard 15. Private Policing: Experiences, Evaluation and Future Direction Erwin A. Blackstone and Simon Hakim PART IV: CONTROVERSIES AND DEBATES IN THE ECONOMICS-OF-CRIME LITERATURE 16. The Economics of Capital Punishment and Deterrence Paul R. Zimmerman 17. Firearms and Homicide Carlisle E. Moody 18. Abortion and Crime: A Review Ted Joyce 19. Casinos and Crime in the USA Douglas M. Walker 20. Conclusion Bruce L. Benson and Paul R. Zimmerman Index

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Book SynopsisChallenging the traditional orthodoxies of public management, this timely and comprehensive book adopts a lively and critical approach to key questions of public policy and management.With state-of-the-art contributions from leading international scholars, Public Management in the Postmodern Era explores a public sector that has moved irreversibly beyond the familiar territory of New Public Management and the exhausted tenets of modernization. Within a global environment where the old explanations and solutions have failed, the book advances a postmodern analysis. It argues strongly its original case that postmodern perspectives are of immediate relevance to issues of practice as well as to enduring problems of theory.The ambitious remit of the book will be of direct value to practitioners, scholars, academic researchers and students in politics, public policy and public management. With an international scope, the book will appeal to a worldwide audience.Trade Review‘A highly challenging set of essays on sense-making in a public sector world that previously contained a dearth of relevant theory. Moving beyond the orthodoxies of policy and management, this work advances the critical position that post modernism must be relevant to practice by building from the narratives of empowered practitioners faced with finding solutions that go beyond traditional boundaries.’ -- Robert Agranoff, Indiana University, Bloomington, US and Instituto Universitario Ortega y Gasset, Madrid, SpainTable of ContentsContents: Preface PART I: CONCEPTUALISING AND THEORISING 1. Public Management in the Postmodern Era: An Introduction John Fenwick and Janice McMillan 2. Modernism Redux: Po-Mo Problems and Hi-Mo Public Policy Wayne Parsons 3. Democracy Without a Centre: Towards a Politics of Difference Paul H.A. Frissen 4. Understanding Policy Transfer in the Competition State Mark Evans PART II: APPLICATIONS AND ACTORS 5. Professions and Professionalism Andrew Massey 6. Working Life in the Public Organisation David Farnham 7. Still the Century of Bureaucracy? The Roles of Public Servants B. Guy Peters PART III: RESOLUTION AND SENSE-MAKING 8. Everyday Makers and Expert Citizens: Active Participants in the Search for a New Governance Henrik P. Bang 9. Public Policy and Management in Postmodern Times John Fenwick and Janice McMillan Index

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Book SynopsisIn 2005 Hurricane Katrina posed an unprecedented set of challenges to formal and informal systems of disaster response and recovery. Informed by the Virginia School of Political Economy, the contributors to this volume critically examine the public policy environment that led to both successes and failures in the post-Katrina disaster response and long-term recovery. Building from this perspective, this volume lends critical insight into the nature of the social coordination problems disasters present, the potential for public policy to play a positive role, and the inherent limitations policymakers face in overcoming the myriad challenges that are a product of catastrophic disaster. Soon after Hurricane Katrina wreaked its havoc, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University launched the Gulf Coast Recovery Project. The project assembled a team of researchers to examine the capacity within political, economic, and civic life to foster robust response and recovery. Building on both quantitative and qualitative analysis, the contributors to this volume seek to understand the recovery process from the ground up - from the perspective of first-responders, residents, business-owners, non-profit directors, musicians, teachers, and school administrators, and how ordinary citizens respond to the formal and informal rules of the post-disaster policy context. Personal, political and poignant, The Political Economy of Hurricane Katrina and Community Rebound will appeal to economists interested in the political economy of disaster and disaster recovery, disaster specialists, and general readers interested in the challenges those affected by Hurricane Katrina have faced, and are facing, and their prospects for recovering from the 2005 disaster.Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Uncertainty and Discovery in a Post-Disaster Context Emily Chamlee-Wright and Virgil Henry Storr PART I: OVERCOMING UNCERTAINTY AND TAPPING THE CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF THE PUBLIC AND COMMERCIAL SECTORS 2. Uncertainty in the Post-Katrina Big Easy Adam Martin 3. The Use of Knowledge in Natural Disaster Relief Management Russell S. Sobel and Peter T. Leeson 4. Making Hurricane Response More Effective: Lessons from the Private Sector and the Coast Guard During Katrina Steven Horwitz 5. Restricting Reconstruction: Occupational Licensing and Natural Disasters David Skarbek PART II: RECOVERY FROM THE BOTTOM UP: PRIVATE CITIZENS LEVERAGING SOCIAL RESOURCES 6. The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in Post-Katrina Community Recovery Emily Chamlee-Wright and Virgil Henry Storr 7. Entrepreneurship and Social Networks in Post-Disaster Environments Petrik Runst 8. Rock Me Like a Hurricane! How Music Communities Promote Social Capital Adept for Recovery Daniel J. D’Amico PART III: DISCOVERY AND RESPONSE IN COMPARATIVE CONTEXTS 9. Lessons from Post-Flood Recovery of New Orleans and Prague Leonid O. Krasnozhon and Daniel M. Rothschild 10. Earth, Wind, and Fire! Federalism and Incentive in Natural Disaster Response Emily C. Schaeffer and Andrew Kashdan PART IV: TAKING STOCK OF POST-KATRINA POLICY INITIATIVES 11. The Road Home: Helping Homeowners in the Gulf After Katrina Eileen Norcross and Anthony Skriba 12. School Choice and Post-Katrina New Orleans: An Analysis Jeb Bleckley and Joshua Hall 13. Improving Academics in the Aftermath: A Case Study of New Orleans’ Experiment with Charter Schools Erin Marie Agemy Index

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Book SynopsisThis authoritative collection presents seminal papers from leading academics charting recent developments in public finance. The two-volume set encompasses numerous sections including the public sector in a market economy, market imperfections, growth implications of public policies and efficiency and distributive implications of public policies. Professor Tanzi and Dr Zee have selected key papers to reflect the scholarly debates and pivotal arguments surrounding this field of study. This indispensable collection, with an original introduction by the editors, will be of immense value to students, scholars and practitioners interested in this topical and relevant subject.Table of ContentsContents: Volume I: Resource Allocation and Distribution Acknowledgements Introduction Vito Tanzi and Howell Zee PART I PUBLIC SECTOR IN A MARKET ECONOMY 1. George J. Stigler (1968), ‘The Government of the Economy’ 2. Kenneth J. Arrow (1977), ‘The Organization of Economic Activity: Issues Pertinent to the Choice of Market Versus Nonmarket Allocation’ 3. Vito Tanzi (2005), ‘The Economic Role of the State in the 21st Century’ PART II MARKET IMPERFECTIONS AND LIMITS TO PUBLIC INTERVENTION 4. George A. Akerlof (1970), ‘The Market for “Lemons”: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism’ 5. Mancur Olson (1982), ‘The Logic’ 6. R.H. Coase (1994), ‘The Institutional Structure of Production’ 7. Avinash Dixit and Mancur Olson (2000), ‘Does Voluntary Participation Undermine the Coase Theorem?’ 8. Avinash Dixit (2009), ‘Governance Institutions and Economic Activity’ PART III INCENTIVES, SOCIAL CHOICES AND PRIVATE PROVISION OF PUBLIC GOODS 9. T. Nicolaus Tideman and Gordon Tullock (1976), ‘A New and Superior Process for Making Social Choices’ 10. James M. Buchanan (1983), ‘The Public Choice Perspective’ 11. Theodore Bergstrom, Lawrence Blume and Hal Varian (1986), ‘On the Private Provision of Public Goods’ 12. Amartya Sen (1999), ‘The Possibility of Social Choice’ 13. Rebecca M. Blank (2000), ‘When Can Public Policy Makers Rely on Private Markets? The Effective Provision of Social Services’ 14. Jean-Jacques Laffont and David Martimort (2002), ‘Incentives in Economic Thought’ PART IV EFFICIENCY AND DISTRIBUTIVE IMPLICATIONS OF PUBLIC POLICIES 15. Edmund S. Phelps (1973), ‘Taxation of Wage Income for Economic Justice’ 16. John Rawls (1974), ‘Some Reasons for the Maximin Criterion’ 17. Arthur M. Okun (1975), ‘Increasing Equality in an Efficient Economy’ 18. A.B. Atkinson and J.E. Stiglitz (1976), ‘The Design of Tax Structure: Direct Versus Indirect Taxation’ 19. J.A. Mirrlees (1982), ‘The Economic Uses of Utilitarianism’ 20. Don Fullerton and Diane Lim Rogers (1991), ‘Lifetime Versus Annual Perspectives on Tax Incidence’ 21. Assar Lindbeck, Sten Nyberg and Jörgen W. Weibull (2003), ‘Social Norms and Welfare State Dynamics’ 22. Yan Chen and Sherry Xin Li (2009), ‘Group Identity and Social Preferences’ PART V INTERJURISDICTIONAL POLICY DIMENSIONS 23. Roger H. Gordon (1983), ‘An Optimal Taxation Approach to Fiscal Federalism’ 24. Martin C. McGuire (1991), ‘Group Composition, Collective Consumption, and Collaborative Production’ 25. Oded Hochman, David Pines and Jacques-François Thisse (1995), ‘On the Optimal Structure of Local Governments’ 26. Wallace E. Oates (1999), ‘An Essay on Fiscal Federalism’ 27. Todd Sandler (2002), ‘Demand and Institutions for Regional Public Goods’ 28. Robin Boadway (2006), ‘Intergovernmental Redistributive Transfers: Efficiency and Equity’ 29. Agnar Sandmo (2003), ‘International Aspects of Public Goods Provision’ Volume II: Stabilization and Growth Acknowledgements An introduction to both volumes by the editors appears in Volume I PART I DEFICITS, GOVERNMENT BUDGET CONSTRAINT, AND INFLATION 1. Alan S. Blinder and Robert M. Solow (1973), ‘Does Fiscal Policy Matter?’ 2. Robert J. Barro (1974), ‘Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?’ 3. Vito Tanzi (1978), ‘Inflation, Real Tax Revenue, and the Case for Inflationary Finance: Theory with an Application to Argentina’ 4. Thomas J. Sargent and Neil Wallace (1981), ‘Some Unpleasant Monetarist Arithmetic’ 5. Olivier J. Blanchard (1985), ‘Debt, Deficits, and Finite Horizons’ 6. Alan J. Auerbach, Jagadeesh Gokhale and Laurence J. Kotlikoff (1991), ‘Generational Accounts: A Meaningful Alternative to Deficit Accounting’ 7. Vito Tanzi, Mario I. Blejer and Mario O. Teijeiro (1993), ‘Effects of Inflation on Measurement of Fiscal Deficits: Conventional Versus Operational Measures’ 8. Hana Polackova Brixi and Ashoka Mody (2002), ‘Dealing with Government Fiscal Risk: An Overview’ PART II CAPITAL MOBILITY, GLOBALIZATION AND INTERDEPENDENCE OF POLICY 9. Jacob A. Frenkel and Assaf Razin (1988), ‘Introduction’, ‘Government Spending Policies’, ‘Tax Policies’, ‘Concluding Remarks’ 10. James Tobin (1996), ‘Prologue’ 11. Peter Birch Sørensen (2004), ‘International Tax Coordination: Regionalism Versus Globalism’ 12. Jeffrey A. Frankel (2006), ‘Twin Deficits and Twin Decades’ 13. James R. Hines Jr. (2007), ‘Corporate Taxation and International Competition’ PART III RULES, DISCRETION AND INTERTEMPORAL CONSISTENCY OF OPTIMAL POLICES 14. Stanley Fischer (1980), ‘Dynamic Inconsistency, Cooperation and the Benevolent Dissembling Government’ 15. Mats Persson, Torsten Persson and Lars E.O. Svensson (1987), ‘Time Consistency of Fiscal and Monetary Policy’ 16. Fabrizio Balassone and Daniele Franco (2000), ‘Public Investment, the Stability Pact and the “Golden Rule”’ 17. George Kopits (2007), ‘Fiscal Responsibility Framework: International Experience and Implications for Hungary’ PART IV GROWTH IMPLICATIONS OF PUBLIC POLICIES 18. David Alan Aschauer (1989), ‘Is Public Expenditure Productive?’ 19. Robert J. Barro (1990), ‘Government Spending in a Simple Model of Endogenous Growth’ 20. William Easterly and Sergio Rebelo (1993), ‘Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth: An Empirical Investigation’ 21. Nancy L. Stokey and Sergio Rebelo (1995), ‘Growth Effects of Flat-Rate Taxes’ 22. Kevin A. Hassett and R. Glenn Hubbard (1997), ‘Tax Policy and Investment’ 23. Alan J. Auerbach (2008), ‘Tax Reform in the Twenty-first Century’

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Book SynopsisPublic-Private Partnerships (PPPs) promise much and present an exciting policy option. Yet as this Handbook reveals there is still much debate about the meaning of partnership, and the degree to which potential advantages are in fact being delivered. In this timely Handbook, leading scholars from around the world explore the challenges presented by infrastructure PPPs, and contemplate what lies ahead as governments balance the need to provide innovative new infrastructure against the requirement for good public governance. This Handbook builds on a range of exciting theoretical lenses that span several disciplinary boundaries. It presents innovative insights and informed perspectives from an international base of empirical evidence. This essential Handbook will prove an invaluable reference work for academics, advanced post-graduate students and commentators of PPPs, as well as professionals, infrastructure regulators and government policy advisors.Trade Review‘. . . the volume is a timely, comprehensive, and valuable addition to the literature, which deserves to be widely read.’ -- Richard Allen, Governance‘. . . the Handbook informs, engages, questions, criticises and educates.’ -- Business Line‘As politicians across the world have loudly debated how best to shrink the size of government, clever entrepreneurs have pushed off in a very different direction: creating complex partnerships between government and the private sector, which have pushed government more deeply into the private sector and pulled private partnerships more deeply into the core of government. In this important new book, the editors have pulled together a fascinating collection of papers that examines how these partnerships are transforming the provision of services and, in fact, the very nature of governance itself.’ -- Donald F. Kettl, University of Maryland, US‘Public–private partnerships are a familiar subject, but this volume makes it clear just how much interesting research is being done on the topic at present. This is an extremely useful collection of papers that will be essential reading for anyone interested in partnerships and public policy more generally.’ -- B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh, USTable of ContentsContents: PART I: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS 1. Introduction: The PPP Phenomenon and its Evaluation Graeme A. Hodge, Carsten Greve and Anthony E. Boardman 2. Mixes and Partnerships through Time Roger Wettenhall 3. A Brief Intellectual History of the Public–Private Partnership Movement Tony Bovaird 4. Public–Private Partnerships: Deciphering Meaning, Message and Phenomenon Erik-Hans Klijn 5. Reviewing Public–Private Partnerships: Some Thoughts on Evaluation Graeme A. Hodge PART II: DISCIPLINARY THEMES IN PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS 6. Splintered Logic and Political Debate Matthew Flinders 7. The Economics of Public–Private Partnerships: Some Theoretical Contributions Jean-Etienne de Bettignies and Thomas W. Ross 8. Assessing the Economic Worth of Public–Private Partnerships Anthony E. Boardman and Aidan R. Vining 9. Different Delivery Models Colin F. Duffield 10. Law and Regulatory Aspects of Public–Private Partnerships: Contract Law and Public Procurement Law Christina D. Tvarnø 11. Accounting for PPPs in a Converging World David Heald and George Georgiou 12. Risk Management Rui Sousa Monteiro 13. Governing Partnerships Chris Skelcher PART III: EMPIRICAL EXPERIENCE IN PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS 14. The UK’s Private Finance Initiative: History, Evaluation, Prospects Mark Hellowell 15. Empirical PPP Experiences in Europe: National Variations of a Global Concept Gerhard Hammerschmid and Tamyko Ysa 16. P3s in North America: Renting the Money (in Canada), Selling the Roads (in the USA) Anthony E. Boardman and Aidan R. Vining 17. The Australian PPP Experience: Observations and Reflections Graeme A. Hodge and Colin F. Duffield 18. Public–Private Partnerships: The Scandinavian Experience Carsten Greve and Ulrika Mörth 19. Empirical Evidence of Infrastructure Public–Private Partnerships: Lessons from the World Bank Experience Paul Noumba-Um 20. Public–Private Partnerships: The United Nations Experience Benedicte Bull PART IV: CRUCIAL ISSUES FOR THE FUTURE 21. The Global Public–Private Partnership Industry Carsten Greve 22. Towards a Process Perspective on Public–Private Partnerships Guðrið Weihe 23. PPPs in Developed and Developing Economies: What Lessons can be Learned? David Parker and Catarina Figueira 24. A Review of Transport Public–Private Partnerships in the UK Jean Shaoul 25. Reviewing Public–Private Partnership Performance in Developing Economies Argentino Pessoa 26. Conclusions: Public–Private Partnerships – International Experiences and Future Challenges Graeme A. Hodge, Carsten Greve and Anthony E. Boardman Index

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Book SynopsisThe last few decades have presented a new set of challenges and opportunities for public finances. Demographic trends have put substantial pressure on non-discretionary public expenditures such as health care, while legal challenges have put pressure on education financing. The author illustrates how these national trends have also impacted state and local finances ? some directly, others indirectly. The economic downturn further constrains state and local governments? options for dealing with national trends. Constituents? sentiment toward the size of government further exacerbates fiscal choices for state and local governments.In this broad and illuminating volume, experts on public finance discuss innovations in state and local tax policy implemented or considered over the course of the last three decades. The authors provide original work that analyzes whether state and local governments have ?gone outside the box? to deal with the strains of current public finances or have gotten along by adhering to the status quo. Well-known scholars in the area of state and local public finance consider actual practices and analyze potential policy changes for the future.Public policy and public finance scholars and students as well as policy makers will find much of interest in this impressive and original collection.Table of ContentsContents: PART I: THE PERFECT STORM? 1. Introduction and Overview Sally Wallace 2. Major State–Local Policy Challenges: Outside-the-Box Solutions Needed Ronald C. Fisher 3. Genesis of State–Local Creativity Robert Tannenwald, Jennifer Weiner and Igor Popov Discussant Comments: Mary Mathewes Kassis Discussant Comments: Jason S. Seligman PART II: HOW STATES COPE WITH ALTERNATIVE STRUCTURES 4. Going Without an Income Tax: How do States do it? David L. Sjoquist 5. California’s State and Local Revenue Structure After Proposition 13: Is Denial the Appropriate Way to Cope? Robert W. Wassmer Discussant Comments: Don Bruce PART III: NEW FORMS OF TAXATION 6. An Exploration of Various Corporate Tax Structures in Georgia: Some Effects of Moving from Three-Factor Apportionment of Corporate Income to a Gross Receipts Tax Jonathan Rork and Laura Wheeler 7. Can Georgia Move from Income Tax to Consumption Tax? Sally Wallace Discussant Comments: William J. Smith PART IV: EVALUATING STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCES AND BUDGETING 8. Reaching and Maintaining Structural Balance: Leaders in the States Katherine Willoughby 9. Fiscal Limitations on Local Choice: The Imposition and Effects of Local Government Tax and Expenditure Limitations Daniel R. Mullins Discussant Comments: Kurt Thurmaier Out-of-the-Box Conference: An Epilogue Bert Waisanen Index

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Book SynopsisThis highly topical book explores key issues in evaluating the long-run implications of population ageing for pensions, taxation, intergenerational equity and social welfare.Societies face long-term phenomena, such as demographic change and climate change that impose costs and benefits far into the future. These present challenges for policymakers in planning intertemporal consumption paths that balance the goals of efficiency and equity. An exploration of these issues, with respect to population ageing in particular, is the primary motivation for this book. John Creedy and Ross Guest evaluate these problems with a particular focus on the role of concepts, assumptions and value judgements.This book will be a fascinating read for researchers interested in the social evaluation of population ageing and climate change. Public policy makers and advisers will find the analysis of practical policy questions such as alternative regimes for taxing public pensions of special interest. Graduate students of macroeconomics and public economics will also find helpful discussions of social discounting, the efficiency and equity effects of tax smoothing, and potential new effects of population ageing on labour productivity.Trade Review'This is a useful book that presents a number of important ideas and results. Creedy and Guest's discussion of the assumptions and value choices required in these models is thoughtful and interesting. Their overall conclusion that population ageing is unlikely to significantly reduce living standards is important for policymakers and the general public, many of whom are still under the sway of "crisis" rhetoric. . . this will likely be a valuable book for economists or economic policy researchers interested in the macroeconomic implications of population ageing. The careful discussion of the models involved will be useful for both graduate students and experienced researchers in this field.' -- Martin Cooke, Canadian Studies in PopulationTable of ContentsContents: Part I: Introduction 1. Introduction Part II: Discounting and Time Preference 2. Discounting and Time Preference 3. The Elasticity of Marginal Valuation 4. Sustainable Preferences 5. Representative Agent and Social Planner Part III: Pensions and Taxation 6. Pension Tax, Savings and Labour Supply 7. Private Pensions and Savings Part IV: Population Ageing 8. Tax Smoothing and Population Ageing 9. Demographic Change in OECD Countries 10. Capital Intensity and Productivity 11. Extensions and Sensitivity Analyses Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis critical book focuses on two dominant reform agendas - managerialism and politicisation - to examine the condition of Anglophone countries after 40 years of reform to public sector management and governance. Comparing four countries using the Westminster system - Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom - John Halligan explores the changes resulting from distinctive reform agendas, exposing performance shortfalls and unintended consequences, such as bureaucratisation. Offering a broad overview of the implementation and outcomes of key administrative developments, Halligan unpacks those traditions and conventions of governance in Anglophone countries that have been disrupted by unrestrained political executives, producing dramatic imbalances in management and governance systems. Judicious and incisive, this book will be crucial reading to postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students of public policy seeking an in-depth understanding of both historic and contemporary reforms to public management and governance. Halligan's comparative approach to public management systems will also benefit government practitioners and specialists working closely with governments.Trade Review'Reforms in Anglophone countries have influenced many countries around the world. This book, by one of the leading researchers in the field, discusses in a deep and comparative way research on the challenges of these reforms related to the long-term impact of managerialism and politicization on public governance.' --Tom Christensen, University of Oslo, Norway'Halligan's book comes at the end of a major cycle of public sector reforms, and announces a possible transformation of our politico-administrative systems as scenarios for the 21st century. His capacity to unpack the complexity of ''managerialism'', and ''politicisation'' is impressive. His focus on four Anglophone countries, as a coherent cluster, makes his analysis stronger than any other comparison. This is a ''must-read'' to understand the new tensions in our fast changing world, and how to handle these.' --Geert Bouckaert, KU Leuven Public Governance Institute, BelgiumTable of ContentsContents: 1. Reforming Anglophone Public Management and Governance 2. Administrative Tradition and Westminster in Reform Era Governance 3. Politicising the Executive Branch: Changing Roles, Resources and Relationships 4. Ministers and Mandarins under Political Management 5. Management Dilemmas 6. Contradictions in Implementing Performance Management 7. Management and Bureaucracy in a Political Milieu 8. Coordination and Collaboration 9. Long Term Reform and Public Management Systems 10. Postscript: Directions for Change Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe Global Urban Competitiveness Report - 2010 is an empirical study of the competitiveness of 500 cities around the world This one-of-a-kind resource draws on a wealth of data sources, all of which are described and assessed Using a sophisticated methodology and a team of 100 researchers from the Chinese Academy of Social Science, the book not only ranks these cities but also presents a wealth of information with regard to the strengths and weaknesses of each city in relation to each other The book includes a full discussion of the factors that create urban competitiveness, what sorts or categories of cities are most competitive, and comments on the policies and initiatives that are adopted by the most competitive cities.Scholars and researchers in the areas of urban economics, planning, geography, and regional economics will find the information invaluable, as will local authorities, decision-makers, and economic planners in cities throughout the world.Table of ContentsContents: 1. The Conceptual Framework and Index System 2. Analytical Methods 3. Econometric Findings 4. The City Rankings 5. Which Cities are the Most Competitive in the World? 6. What are the Characteristics of Global Urban Competitiveness? 7. Which Factors Decide Global Urban Competitiveness? 8. Cities: Everything is Possible in the Future Appendices Bibliography

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Book SynopsisState and Local Retirement Plans in the United States explains how economic and political events have shaped the development of pension plans in the last century, and it argues that changes in the structure and generosity of these plans will continue to shape policy and funding in the future. It also brings to bear a new rationale to the policies behind public sector pension plans. The authors use the history of how early public pension plans were established, how they matured and how they have grown in generosity to analyse what changes may be expected in years to come. Unique in its scope, this comprehensive history of the development of public sector pension plans in the United States during the twentieth century expands upon current ideas relating to the changing economic environment, the passage and evolution of social security and the expansion of the public sector. With the exception of military pension plans, which date from the eighteenth century, the first public sector plans, dating from the late nineteenth century, were established to cover teachers, police officers and firefighters in large cities. Over time, these retirement plans were extended to other public sector workers and the local plans were often merged with plans for state workers; all of these date from the twentieth century. Here, the authors show just how pension coverage for public sector workers expanded steadily, through the first half of the twentieth century, so that by the 1960s the vast majority of public sector workers were covered by a plan. This analysis demonstrates how economic events and shifts in public policy at the federal, state and local levels helped to shape public sector retirement plans. The authors also compare public plans with private sector plans, and the final chapter focuses on recent changes in public pensions in response to the `Great Recession', concurrent sharp declines in equity markets and the aging of the public workforce. Scholars and students of economics, history and public policy, public administrators, policymakers and all those with an interest in policy development will find the analyses discussed and conclusions drawn here of significance.Trade Review‘In their recent book State and Local Retirement Plans in the United States, authors Robert L. Clark, Lee A. Craig and John Sabelhaus have provided a valuable and comprehensive history of the development of public pension plans in the 20th century. . . this book represents an important contribution to economists’ historical understanding of state and local pension plans, and I learned a great deal from reading it.’ -- Joshua Rauh, Journal of Pension Economics and Finance‘This book provides a fine source for further research and public discussions about state and local government pension programs. Highly recommended.’ -- J.L. Mikesell, ChoiceTable of ContentsContents: 1. Public Pension Plans in the Twentieth Century 2. Public Sector Pension Plans on the Eve of the Great Depression 3. State and Local Pension Plans During the Great Depression 4. State and Local Pension Plans and the Evolution of Social Security: 1940–1975 5. Pension Plans for Public School Teachers 6. Maturing State Pension Plans: 1975–2000 7. Maturing Local Pension Plans: 1975–2000 8. Comparing Trends in Public Pensions to Those in the Private Sector 9. Financial Status of Public Sector Retirement Plans 10. Public Pensions in the Twenty-first Century References Index

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Book SynopsisWhile retiree health plans are a dying benefit in the private sector, all US states and many local governments extend health insurance coverage to their retired employees. This book is the first to thoroughly examine public sector health insurance plans. Retiree Health Plans in the Public Sector provides a detailed description of the current plans offered and compares how they vary across states. Health insurance is an important component of compensation in the public sector as it helps governments attract and retain quality workers and encourages timely retirement for career employees. Rapidly rising medical costs, an aging labor force, and an increasing number of retirees have dramatically increased the cost of providing this benefit. A central theme of this analysis is a presentation of the actuarial accrued liabilities, the unfunded liabilities and the annual required contribution of the employers based on the actuarial statements for retiree health plans. The authors also investigate why some states face major funding problems while the costs of other states' plans are much more manageable. Extensively researched and well-suited for classroom and professional use alike, academics in the fields of economics and public policy will find this an unmatched resource. So too will policymakers, economists, legislators, public sector union leaders and those invested in public sector healthcare.Trade Review‘This book is very timely as all governments in the United States have experienced significant financial strains in the past few years and public officials are trying to address the issue in many different ways. . . This book should be read by all who have any responsibility for developing and implementing public retiree health plans.’ -- N. Joseph Cayer, Journal of Pension Economics and FinanceTable of ContentsContents: 1. Retirement Benefits in the Public Sector: The Role of Retiree Health Plans 2. The Economics of Retiree Health Insurance Benefits 3. Descriptions of State Retiree Health Plans 4. Funding and Liabilities of State Retiree Health Plans 5. Explaining the Differences in Financial Status of State Retiree Health Plans 6. Retiree Health Plans for Public School Teachers 7. The Future of Public Sector Retiree Health Insurance References Index

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Book SynopsisThis book brings together research from some of the world?s leading tax economists to discuss appropriate directions for tax reform in small open economies. The eminent contributors (including Altshuler, Creedy, Freebairn, Gravelle, Heady, Kalb, Sørensen and Zodrow) investigate the beneficial directions for medium-term tax reform in the light of global developments and lessons from the latest taxation research. In addressing this issue, they review recent advances in both the theoretical and empirical tax literature and reform evidence from individual countries. Topics covered include the impact of taxes on economic performance; international and corporate taxation; personal tax and welfare systems; environmental taxation; and country-specific tax reform experiences.Bringing together leading international experts to explore specific policy reforms, this book will prove essential reading for academics and researchers of public economics, fiscal policy and tax reform. It will also be warmly welcomed both by undergraduate and graduate students of public economics or the economics of taxation, as well as policymakers and government officials working in the area of tax policy.Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Iris Claus, Norman Gemmell, Michelle Harding and David White PART I: THE IMPACT OF TAXES ON INVESTMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY 2. Taxes and Firm Performance: Evidence from the OECD Åsa Johansson, Christopher Heady, Jens Arnold, Bert Brys and Laura Vartia 3. Economic Effects of Investment Subsidies Jane Gravelle PART II: INTERNATIONAL, CORPORATE AND CAPITAL TAXATION 4. Lessons from the Study of Taxes and the Behaviour of US Multinational Corporations Rosanne Altshuler 5. Dual Income Taxes: A Nordic Tax System Peter Birch Sørensen 6. International Taxation and Company Tax Policy in Small Open Economies George R. Zodrow PART III: PERSONAL TAX AND WELFARE SYSTEMS 7. Personal Income Tax Structure: Theory and Policy John Creedy 8. Modelling Labour Supply Responses in Australia and New Zealand Guyonne Kalb 9. Employment Incentives for Sole Parents: Labour Market Effects of Changes to Financial Incentives and Support Jacinta Dalgety, Richard Dorsett, Steven Johnston and Philip Spier PART IV: TAXING ENVIRONMENTAL EXTERNALITIES 10. Carbon Taxes vs Tradable Permits: Efficiency and Equity Effects for a Small Open Economy John Freebairn 11. Improving Lake Water Quality Through a Nutrient Trading System: The Case of New Zealand’s Lake Rotorua Suzi Kerr and Kelly Lock PART V: LESSONS FROM TAX REFORM EPISODES 12. Australian Tax Reforms: Past and Future Greg Smith 13. Company Tax in New Zealand Matt Benge and David Holland Index

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Book SynopsisThe authors of this comprehensive book provide a detailed rationale and original theory for the study of leadership and institutional factors, including entrepreneurship, in the growth and development of cities and regions. They demonstrate why leadership, institutions and entrepreneurship can - and indeed do - play a crucial enhancing role as key elements in the process of regional endogenous growth. The so-called 'new growth theory' emphasizes endogenous processes. While some of the literature refers to leadership and institutional factors, there has been little analysis of the explicit roles these factors play in the growth and development of cities and regions. This book remedies that gap, beginning with a brief overview of the evolution of the 'new growth theory' in regional economic development, in which the emphasis is on endogenous factors. The book then discusses leadership and institutional factors in that context, creating a new path for understanding regional economic development processes. Multiple case studies from different parts of the world illustrate the theoretical concepts.Students and scholars in regional development, planning and public policy will find this volume invaluable.Table of ContentsContents: Preface 1. A New Perspective on Regional Endogenous Development Part I: Developing a New Conceptual Model Framework for Endogenous Regional Economic Growth and Development: Incorporating Resource Endowments and Market Fit, Leadership, Institutional Factors and Entrepreneurship 2. A New Conceptual Framework for Regional Endogenous Development 3. Resource Endowments and Market Fit 4. Leadership 5. Institutions and Institutional Factors 6. Entrepreneurship Part II: Examples of Regional Development Initiatives Involving Leadership and Institutional Factors: Case Studies from North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim 7. Case Studies from the United States 8. Case Studies from Europe 9. Case Studies from the Pacific Rim 10. Modeling Endogenous Regional Economic Development: Measurement, Operational Issues and Conclusions References Index

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Book SynopsisThis authoritative two-volume set brings together the most important classic and contemporary papers on taxation and tax policy, written by the world's leading scholars and practitioners of taxation.Volume I reviews the effects of taxation, optimal taxation and tax reform. Volume II presents the latest theoretical and empirical work on how taxes affect individual decisions across a range of areas, concluding with studies of the effects of taxes on firm investment and financial structure decisions.The volumes will interest those teaching upper-level and graduate level courses in taxation and tax policy, and individuals who want to be informed on the latest research in taxation.Trade Review‘This collection. . . will give to students of taxation a valuable source of critical writings to aid their studies.’ -- Citizen’s IncomeTable of ContentsContents: Volume I Acknowledgements Introduction James Alm PART I ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF TAXATION A. Notions of Equity 1. Richard A. Musgrave (1976), ‘ET, OT and SBT’ 2. H. Peyton Young (1990), ‘Progressive Taxation and Equal Sacrifice’ 3. Louis Kaplow (1989), ‘Horizontal Equity: Measures in Search of a Principle’ B. Taxes and Income Distribution 4. Charles E. McLure, Jr. (1975), ‘General Equilibrium Incidence Analysis: The Harberger Model After Ten Years’ 5. Michael Katz and Harvey S. Rosen (1985), ‘Tax Analysis in an Oligopoly Model’ 6. Lawrence H. Summers (1983), ‘The Asset Price Approach to the Analysis of Capital Income Taxation’ 7. James Davies, France St-Hilaire and John Whalley (1984), ‘Some Calculations of Lifetime Tax Incidence’ 8. Timothy J. Besley and Harvey S. Rosen (1999), ‘Sales Taxes and Prices: An Empirical Analysis’ 9. John B. Shoven (1976), ‘The Incidence and Efficiency Effects of Taxes on Income from Capital’ 10. David M. Cutler (1988), ‘Tax Reform and the Stock Market: An Asset Price Approach’ C. Taxes and Efficiency 11. Arnold C. Harberger (1964), ‘The Measurement of Waste’ 12. Jerry A. Hausman (1981), ‘Exact Consumer’s Surplus and Deadweight Loss’ 13. Edgar K. Browning (1987), ‘On the Marginal Welfare Cost of Taxation’ 14. Charles L. Ballard, John B. Shoven and John Whalley (1985), ‘The Total Welfare Cost of the United States Tax System: A General Equilibrium Approach’ D. Taxes and Revenues 15. Don Fullerton (1982), ‘On the Possibility of an Inverse Relationship Between Tax Rates and Tax Revenues’ E. Taxes and Growth 16. Larry E. Jones, Rodolfo E. Manuelli and Peter E. Rossi (1993), ‘Optimal Taxation in Models of Endogenous Growth’ F. Taxes and Politics 17. Kevin W.S. Roberts (1977), ‘Voting Over Income Tax Schedules’ 18. Walter Hettich and Stanley L. Winer (1988), ‘Economic and Political Foundations of Tax Structure’ PART II OPTIMAL TAXATION 19. Peter A. Diamond and James A. Mirrlees (1971), ‘Optimal Taxation and Public Production II: Tax Rules’ 20. P.A. Diamond (1975), ‘A Many-Person Ramsey Tax Rule’ 21. J.A. Mirrlees (1971), ‘An Exploration in the Theory of Optimum Income Taxation’ 22. Peter A. Diamond (1998), ‘Optimal Income Taxation: An Example with a U-Shaped Pattern of Optimal Marginal Tax Rates’ 23. A.B. Atkinson and J.E. Stiglitz (1976), ‘The Design of Tax Structure: Direct Versus Indirect Taxations’ 24. N.H. Stern (1976), ‘On the Specification of Models of Optimum Income Taxation’ 25. Emmanuel Saez (2001), ‘Using Elasticities to Derive Optimal Income Tax Rates’ 26. Joel Slemrod (1990), ‘Optimal Taxation and Optimal Tax Systems’ PART III TAX REFORM 27. Martin Feldstein (1976), ‘On the Theory of Tax Reform’ 28. Alan J. Auerbach, Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Jonathan Skinner (1983), ‘The Efficiency Gains from Dynamic Tax Reform’ 29. David Altig, Alan J. Auerbach, Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Kent A. Smetters and Jan Walliser (2001), ‘Simulating Fundamental Tax Reform in the United States’ Volume II Acknowledgements An Introduction by the editors appears in Volume I PART I TAXES AND INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS A. Incentives 1. Joel Slemrod (2001), ‘A General Model of the Behavioral Response to Taxation’ B. Labour Supply 2. Jerry A. Hausman (1981), ‘Labour Supply’ 3. James P. Ziliak and Thomas J. Kniesner (1999), ‘Estimating Life Cycle Labor Supply Tax Effects’ C. Saving 4. Lawrence H. Summers (1981), ‘Capital Taxation and Accumulation in a Life Cycle Growth Model’ 5. William G. Gale and John Karl Scholz (1994), ‘IRAs and Household Saving’ 6. James M. Poterba, Steven F. Venti and David A. Wise (1995), ‘Do 401(k) Contributions Crowd Out Other Personal Saving?’ D. Portfolio Choice 7. Joseph E. Stiglitz (1969), ‘The Effects of Income, Wealth, and Capital Gains Taxation on Risk-Taking’ 8. James M. Poterba and Andrew A. Samwick (2003), ‘Taxation and Household Portfolio Composition: US Evidence from the 1980s and 1990s’ E. Capital Gains 9. Martin S. Feldstein, Joel Slemrod and Shlomo Yitzhaki (1980) ‘The Effects of Taxation on the Selling of Corporate Stock and the Realization of Capital Gains’ 10. Leonard E. Burman and William C. Randolph (1994), ‘Measuring Permanent Responses to Capital-Gains Tax Changes in Panel Data’ F. Estate Taxes 11. James Poterba (2001), ‘Estate and Gift Taxes and Incentives for Inter Vivos Giving in the United States’ G. Tax Avoidance and Evasion 12. Michael G. Allingham and Agnar Sandmo (1972), ‘Income Tax Evasion: A Theoretical Analysis’ 13. Charles T. Clotfelter (1983), ‘Tax Evasion and Tax Rates: An Analysis of Individual Returns’ 14. James Alm, Gary H. McClelland and William D. Schulze (1992), ‘Why Do People Pay Taxes?’ H. Income Reporting 15. Martin Feldstein (1995), ‘The Effect of Marginal Tax Rates on Taxable Income: A Panel Study of the 1986 Tax Reform Act’ 16. Jon Gruber and Emmanuel Saez (2002), ‘The Elasticity of Taxable Income: Evidence and Implications’ PART II TAXES AND BUSINESS DECISIONS A. Why Tax Capital Income? 17. Alan J. Auerbach (1983), ‘Taxation, Corporate Financial Policy and the Cost of Capital’ 18. Joseph E. Stiglitz (1976), ‘The Corporation Tax’ 19. Christophe Chamley (1986), ‘Optimal Taxation of Capital Income in General Equilibrium with Infinite Lives’ B. Investment 20. Robert E. Hall and Dale W. Jorgenson (1967), ‘Tax Policy and Investment Behavior’ 21. Robin W. Boadway (1987), ‘The Theory and Measurement of Effective Tax Rates’ 22. Alan J. Auerbach and Kevin Hassett (1992), ‘Tax Policy and Business Fixed Investment in the United States’ C. Financial Structure 23. George R. Zodrow (1991), ‘On the “Traditional” and “New” Views of Dividend Taxation’ 24. B. Douglas Bernheim (1991), ‘Tax Policy and the Dividend Puzzle’ 25. Raj Chetty and Emmanuel Saez (2005), ‘Dividend Taxes and Corporate Behavior: Evidence from the 2003 Dividend Tax Cut’ 26. Jeffrey K. MacKie-Mason (1990), ‘Do Taxes Affect Corporate Financing Decisions?’ 27. William M. Gentry (1994), ‘Taxes, Financial Decisions and Organizational Form: Evidence from Publicly Traded Partnerships’

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Book SynopsisThis state-of-the-art book examines the development of performance audit, drawing on the experience in a number of different countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The expert contributors identify the trajectory of performance audit, examine how it is conducted and consider what it is contributing to effective government. They conclude that, in the face of new challenges, performance auditors should focus both on their core responsibilities to ensure accountability, and continue to develop more insightful and sophisticated approaches to enable them to assess the growing complexity of the delivery of public services. By doing so, they can continue to play a valuable role in democratic accountability.Providing an up-to-date overview and discussion of performance audit, this highly topical book will appeal to all those working within audit, academics working in the fields of public management and public administration, as well practitioners in and close to state audit institutions. Members of Parliament, evaluators, internal auditors, researchers, policy analysts and consultants will also find this book invaluable. Contributors: E. Bechberger, R. Boyle, M. Funkhouser, J.-E. Furubo, J. Keen, F.L. Leeuw, T. Ling, J. Lonsdale, V. Put, A. Scharaschkin, R. Turksema, P. van der Knaap, E. Van Loocke, K. Weets, P. WilkinsTrade Review‘It is time, 15 years on from the coining of the “Audit Explosion”, to re-appraise the growth of new forms of auditing. As we move into what might be called “Auditing in Austerity” this book gives us that overview. An extremely well-informed team of authors has been assembled to deliver a comparative analysis that successfully mixes “insider” and “outsider” perspectives. This should be required reading, not just for auditors and their academic hangers-on, but for the wider audience of those interested in contemporary developments in democratic accountability and policymaking.’ -- Christopher Pollitt, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium‘This book fills an important gap in the market. At a time when governments around the world face the largest deficits in decades, there is a strong need to reduce public expenditures whilst ensuring greater value for money from public services. This book addresses these concerns and many more. Each of the chapter authors is a senior practitioner and/or an academic who specialises in performance auditing and accountability in modern complex democracies. They explore the nature of the concepts which underlie current practice; set out a variety of institutional structures and processes, and identify the limits of both theory and practice. These make this a book of considerable significance and one which makes an important contribution to our understanding of the democratic process. This is not a narrowly-focused book only of interest to those who specialise in performance auditing. Given the richness of its analysis and the fine-grained understanding of institutions and processes, it has much to say to students of public administration, management and policy analysis. I am confident that this will rapidly become the standard reference for those who are interested in performance auditing.’ -- Peter M. Jackson AcSS, University of Leicester, UK‘What a good read. Insightful and challenging. It is likely to incite a lot of discussion on the wide-ranging views from the very well-informed and qualified contributors, not least from those who actually have to implement the findings and recommendations of performance audit reports. The focus is rightly on accountability for performance not only in achieving government program objectives in an economic, efficient and effective manner, but also on the audit institutions themselves. It should be welcomed by the public sector and particularly by the parliamentary institutions concerned with achieving accountability for government performance.’ -- Pat Barrett AO, Australian National University and former Australian Auditor-General (1995–2005)‘This book is a much welcome tonic for public administration. It is one of the few books that explicitly focus on how audit institutions carry out their performance auditing responsibilities. While auditors will likely read this, the authors have geared the book to a broader readership, including public managers who are often the subject of performance audits.’ -- From the foreword by Paul Posner, George Mason University, USTable of ContentsContents: Foreword Paul L. Posner 1. Introduction Jeremy Lonsdale 2. Performance Auditing: Audit or Misnomer? Jan-Eric Furubo PART I: THE CONDUCT OF PERFORMANCE AUDIT 3. Selection of Topics Vital Put and Rudi Turksema 4. Norms Used: Some Strategic Considerations from The Netherlands and the UK Vital Put 5. The Right Tools for the Job? Methods, Choice and Context Jeremy Lonsdale 6. Evidence and Argument Alex Scharaschkin 7. Forming Judgements: How do VFM Audit Teams Know What They Know? Justin Keen 8. Standards and Quality Peter Wilkins and Richard Boyle PART II: THE CONTRIBUTION OF PERFORMANCE AUDIT 9. The Impact of Performance Audits: A Review of the Existing Evidence Eddy Van Loocke and Vital Put 10. Accountability, Performance and Performance Auditing: Reconciling the Views of Scholars and Auditors Mark Funkhouser 11. On the Effects, Lack of Effects and Perverse Effects of Performance Audit Frans L. Leeuw 12. Impact at Local Government Level: A Multiple Case Study Katrien Weets 13. Learning in an Accountability Setting Jeremy Lonsdale and Elena Bechberger 14. Responsiveness in Performance Auditing: Towards the Best of Both Worlds Peter van der Knaap PART III: CONCLUSIONS 15. Conclusions: Performance Audit – An Effective Force in Difficult Times? Jeremy Lonsdale, Tom Ling and Peter Wilkins Index

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Book SynopsisThis insightful book focuses on the role of fiscal policy in common markets, especially in the context of the supranational constructs in the Gulf Cooperation Council, comprising Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. It draws on the experience of the EU and the importance of VAT, and reflects on the other main common market in Central America. Although oil windfalls have opened a window of opportunity for the Gulf States, at the same time they have created numerous problems. In particular, the uncertainty associated with periods of boom and bust in the oil market has made the formulation and implementation of sound fiscal policies a formidable task. In this study, the distinguished authors present the background to current fiscal reforms and address the critical challenges facing the Gulf States including the choice between consumption and saving (or current needs and future requirements); intra-generational equity issues; the pro-cyclicality of fiscal policy; fiscal sustainability and the prudent management of revenues from finite oil reserves. They examine the case for VAT to substantially replace customs duties, a significant source of non-oil revenue which would be lost as a result of free trade agreements between the GCC and key trading partners. They also demonstrate how an agreed design for VAT would assist in furthering economic integration, and enhance trade and exports. If properly sequenced, VAT would have a negligible impact on both inflation and the poor, and would be progressive in relation to the customs duties replaced.This highly topical book will be of great interest to academics specializing in public sector economics and public finance, and to national and international policymakers involved in fiscal reform.Table of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. Design of a VAT for the GCC Common Market Ehtisham Ahmad PART I: WHAT DOES INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE HAVE TO OFFER? 2. The Value Added Tax in the Context of the Proposed GCC Common Market Vito Tanzi 3. Central and Subnational VATs in Federal Countries Richard M. Bird 4. The Design of a VAT for Multi-Government Jurisdictions: Lessons from Canada Robin Boadway 5. The European VAT and the Common Market Framework: Lessons for the GCC Christophe Waerzeggers 6. The VAT in Common Markets: Lessons from Central America Carlos Silvani 7. VAT, Revenue Sharing, and Intergovernmental Transfer Design: The Australian Experience Bob Searle PART II: INTRODUCING THE VAT IN THE GCC AND UAE 8. Setting a VAT Registration Threshold: GCC Considerations and Evidence from Dubai Ehtisham Ahmad and Giorgio Brosio 9. A VAT in the UAE: Distributional Consequences and Social Sectors Ehtisham Ahmad and Giorgio Brosio 10. Treatment of Financial Services under a UAE VAT Satya Poddar and Jayanta Kalita 11. Institutions, Political Economy, and Timing of a VAT: Options for Dubai and the UAE Ehtisham Ahmad Index

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Book SynopsisDuring the past decade, globalization and democratization have been the major forces that helped transform the structures, functions, and processes of Asian public sectors. Nevertheless, these transformation efforts of Asian countries vary considerably depending on local context, and have met with different degrees of success. Some countries experienced smooth transformations. For others, the reform process has been more volatile. These issues were explored at a conference July 7-9, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand, hosted by the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, and co-sponsored by the International Public Management Network, the Asia-Pacific Governance Institute, and Thailand Democracy Watch. This book presents some of the works contributed by participating scholars and practitioners at the conference. The contents fall into three categories: corruption and anti-corruption initiatives, public financial management reforms, and public management reforms with emphasis on performance and results.Table of ContentsList of Contributors. Chapter 1 Corruption, anti-corruption policy and management reform. Chapter 2 Combating corruption in the Asia-Pacific countries: What do we know and what needs to be done?. Chapter 3 Corruption in India: Can it be controlled?. Chapter 4 The politics of combating corruption when big businessmen are at the helm: Lessons from Thaksin and Berlusconi. Chapter 5 Competition and Transparency in Government Procurement in Southeast Asia. Chapter 6 Why did anticorruption policy fail? Implementation of the anticorruption policy of the authoritarian new order regime in Indonesia, 1971–1998. Chapter 7 Assessing World Bank support for public financial management and procurement. Chapter 8 Unlocking capacity and revisiting political will: Cambodia's public financial management reforms, 2002–2007. Chapter 9 Making Indonesia's budget decentralization work: The challenge of linking planning and budgeting at the local level. Chapter 10 The causal dynamic effects of a performance-based budget on Thai public spending: A reexamination. Chapter 11 Managing performance in a context of political clientelism: The case of Thailand. Chapter 12 Do leadership and management for results matter? A case study of local e-government performance in South Korea. Chapter 13 Could a decentralized human resource management system in Cambodia strengthen performance and accountability?. Chapter 14 Assessing the impact of crises on the performance and governance of Asian countries. Research in public policy analysis and management. The Many Faces of Public Management Reform in the Asia-Pacific Regio. Copyright page.

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Book SynopsisSingapore was ranked first for the competence of its public officials from 1999 to 2002 by "The Global Competitiveness Report". While research has been done on various aspects of public administration in Singapore, there is to date no comprehensive study of the Singapore Civil Service and the statutory boards and their contribution to the attainment of national development goals. The aim of this book is to rectify this gap in the literature by providing a detailed study of public administration Singapore-style. Public administration Singapore-style is characterized by these features: macho-meritocracy; competing with the private sector for talent; low level of corruption; reliance on institutional and attitudinal administrative reforms; reliance on statutory boards to implement socio-economic development programs; effective policy implementation, improving service to the public; and using policy diffusion to solve problems. The book's main thesis is that the nature of public administration in Singapore results from the combined influence of Singapore's policy context and the various policies introduced by the People's Action Party government since it assumed office in June 1959, 50 years ago.Table of ContentsList of Tables. List of Boxes. Abbreviations. Preface. Chapter 1 Introduction. Chapter 2 Singapore's policy context. Chapter 3 The evolution of the Singapore Civil Service (1819–1959). Chapter 4 Statutory boards. Chapter 5 The public service commission. Chapter 6 Compensation: paying for the “Best and Brightest”. Chapter 7 Administrative reform. Chapter 8 Implementing PS21 in the Singapore Civil Service. Chapter 9 Combating corruption. Chapter 10 The PAP government's philosophy of governance. Chapter 11 Public administration Singapore-style. References. Public Administration in Singapore: A Selected Bibliography. About the Author. Subject Index. Research in public policy analysis and management. Research in public policy analysis and management. Copyright page.

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Book SynopsisWhile few economists analyzed criminal behaviour and the criminal justice process before Gary Becker's seminal 1968 paper, an enormous body of economic research on crime has since been produced. This insightful and comprehensive Handbook reviews and extends much of this important resulting research. The Handbook on the Economics of Crime provides cutting-edge and specially commissioned contributions dealing with theoretical and empirical modeling of criminal choice and behavior, including Isaac Ehrlich's exposition of what he labels the `market, or equilibrium, model of crime'. The public production and allocation of various criminal justice services is also examined, as are significant components of the costs and consequences of crime. Finally, current debates and controversies in the economics of crime literature are considered, with the expert contributors offering suggestions and guidance for future research. With a broad set of crime-related topics examined from an economic perspective, this extensive Handbook will be welcomed by academic researchers and graduate students of the economics of crime and criminology as well as legal scholars focusing on criminal law.Trade Review‘’This Handbook is a very stimulating collection of overview essays and new researches on the economics of crime. . . They [the editors] make an excellent selection of the most important issues. . .’ -- Emma Galli, Journal of Public Finance and Public ChoiceTable of ContentsContents: Preface: Background and Overview Bruce L. Benson and Paul R. Zimmerman PART I: THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL DEVELOPMENTS: BECKER, EHRLICH AND BEYOND 1. The Market Model of Crime: A Short Review and New Directions Isaac Ehrlich 2. Estimating the Supply of Crime: Recent Advances Helen Tauchen 3. The Measure of Vice and Sin: A Review of the Uses, Limitations and Implications of Crime Data Alexander Tabarrok, Paul Heaton and Eric Helland 4. Dynamic Perspectives on Crime Justin McCrary PART II: ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE PUBLIC PRODUCTION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE 5. The Historical Development of Public Policing, Prosecution and Punishment Nicholas A. Curott and Edward Peter Stringham 6. Police, Prisons, and Punishment: The Empirical Evidence on Crime Deterrence Jonathan Klick and Alexander Tabarrok 7. Prison Population and Crime Thomas B. Marvell 8. The Allocation of Police Bruce L. Benson 9. The Economic Analysis of Corruption Fred S. McChesney 10. Economics of Crime and Drugs: Prohibition and Public Policies for Illicit Drug Control Edward M. Shepard, and Paul R. Blackely PART III: CRIME AND THE ECONOMY 11. The Economic Costs of Criminal Activity: A Discussion of Methodological Approaches and Empirical Estimates Allen K. Lynch 12. Crime and Housing Prices Keith Ihlanfeldt and Thomas Mayock 13. Corruption, Crime and Economic Growth Benjamin Powell, G.P. Manish and Malavika Nair 14. Labor Markets and Crime: New Evidence on an Old Puzzle David B. Mustard 15. Private Policing: Experiences, Evaluation and Future Direction Erwin A. Blackstone and Simon Hakim PART IV: CONTROVERSIES AND DEBATES IN THE ECONOMICS-OF-CRIME LITERATURE 16. The Economics of Capital Punishment and Deterrence Paul R. Zimmerman 17. Firearms and Homicide Carlisle E. Moody 18. Abortion and Crime: A Review Ted Joyce 19. Casinos and Crime in the USA Douglas M. Walker 20. Conclusion Bruce L. Benson and Paul R. Zimmerman Index

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Book SynopsisThis book makes a unique contribution in advancing understanding of the fiscal condition and growth potential of the New Member States of the European Union. It provides new data, policy evaluation, and offers national and regional perspectives. The core research questions are the effect of public investment in the context of macroeconomic disequilibrium and how it is possible to finance capital accumulation in the present and future conditions of mounting public sector debt. The contributors reveal that there is now a convincing case for public investment as an essential driver of convergence and growth in Europe. However, a new international and inter-generational fiscal pact to frame a more optimistic view of the role of government is needed. This book explores how public investment matters for growth, how fiscal conditions may support investment, and the role EU regional policy can have in terms of structural change and investment needs. Public Investment, Growth and Fiscal Constraints provides new data analyses on the EU New Member States in Central and Eastern Europe making it an essential tool for academics, students and practitioners interested in public finance and European Economics. The structural and public finance issues in these former transition economies raised in this book will also strongly appeal to policymakers, officials and consultants. The book is based on an independent research project of the University of Milan, supported by the European Investment Bank.Trade Review‘This is a valuable work that makes a strong case for public investment as a growth instrument. It is rich in theoretical and empirical analyses, making it relevant for practitioners as well as policy makers’. -- Anil Duman, Eastern Economic JournalTable of ContentsContents: Introduction: Public Investment, Growth and Fiscal Constraints in the EU Massimo Florio PART I: PUBLIC INVESTMENT AND GROWTH: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 1. Budget Deficits, Public Debt and the Level of Public Investment Malcolm Sawyer 2. Recent Advances in Public Investment, Fiscal Policy and Growth Chiara Del Bo 3. Public Investment under Disequilibrium: A Post Keynesian Viewpoint Massimo Cingolani PART II: PUBLIC INVESTMENT AND FISCAL CONDITIONS IN THE EU NEW MEMBER STATES 4. Patterns and Trends of Public Investment in the New Member States of the European Union Ángel Catalina Rubianes 5. EU New Member States: Public Sector Accounts and Convergence Criteria Giuseppe Bognetti and Giorgio Ragazzi 6. Public Investment and Growth in the EU New Member States: An Overview Jan Hanousek and Evžen Kočenda PART III: INVESTMENT, STRUCTURAL CHANGE AND REGIONAL POLICY 7. Structural Change in New Member States (1995–2005): Shift–Share Analysis of Productivity Growth and its Determinants Aleksandra Parteka 8. Structural Funds Business Support and Employment Growth in Manufacturing: Perspectives for the New Member States Luigi Moretti 9. Infrastructure Investment Opportunities in the EU New Member States: The Role of Regional Policies Emanuela Sirtori and Silvia Vignetti Index

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Book SynopsisChallenging the traditional orthodoxies of public management, this timely and comprehensive book adopts a lively and critical approach to key questions of public policy and management.With state-of-the-art contributions from leading international scholars, Public Management in the Postmodern Era explores a public sector that has moved irreversibly beyond the familiar territory of New Public Management and the exhausted tenets of modernization. Within a global environment where the old explanations and solutions have failed, the book advances a postmodern analysis. It argues strongly its original case that postmodern perspectives are of immediate relevance to issues of practice as well as to enduring problems of theory.The ambitious remit of the book will be of direct value to practitioners, scholars, academic researchers and students in politics, public policy and public management. With an international scope, the book will appeal to a worldwide audience.Trade Review‘A highly challenging set of essays on sense-making in a public sector world that previously contained a dearth of relevant theory. Moving beyond the orthodoxies of policy and management, this work advances the critical position that post modernism must be relevant to practice by building from the narratives of empowered practitioners faced with finding solutions that go beyond traditional boundaries.’ -- Robert Agranoff, Indiana University, Bloomington, US and Instituto Universitario Ortega y Gasset, Madrid, SpainTable of ContentsContents: Preface PART I: CONCEPTUALISING AND THEORISING 1. Public Management in the Postmodern Era: An Introduction John Fenwick and Janice McMillan 2. Modernism Redux: Po-Mo Problems and Hi-Mo Public Policy Wayne Parsons 3. Democracy Without a Centre: Towards a Politics of Difference Paul H.A. Frissen 4. Understanding Policy Transfer in the Competition State Mark Evans PART II: APPLICATIONS AND ACTORS 5. Professions and Professionalism Andrew Massey 6. Working Life in the Public Organisation David Farnham 7. Still the Century of Bureaucracy? The Roles of Public Servants B. Guy Peters PART III: RESOLUTION AND SENSE-MAKING 8. Everyday Makers and Expert Citizens: Active Participants in the Search for a New Governance Henrik P. Bang 9. Public Policy and Management in Postmodern Times John Fenwick and Janice McMillan Index

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Book SynopsisThis major book reviews and analyses the changes that have taken place in public administration in Britain and North America over the last ten years and which will continue to have a profound impact on central and local bureaucracies well into the next century.Managing the Public Sector provides a critical introduction and successfully combines a review of the literature with original research. It relates theory to practice and highlights the problem of implementation. It covers all the major issues including privatization, and the importance of the business sector both as a partner and a powerful lobby for efforts to use market mechanisms to devolve power.This thoroughly modern, up-to-date book will be essential reading for all courses on public administration and policy analysis and the management of the public sector.Trade Review'. . . particularly valuable in its treatment of the British and American central bureaucracies and on the impact of the private market on American and British practice. A thoughtful and persuasive account. . .' -- Dilys M. Hill, Parliamentary Affairs'Massey incorporates documentary research, literature reviews, and his own interview data to provide a rich examination of an important phenomenon.' -- A.M. Khademian, Choice'Massey's excellent book should be read by all managers who are beginning to feel uneasy that, by analogy, the private sector helps us manage public services.' -- Andrew Wall, Health Services Management'Andrew Massey has produced a timely comparative analysis of public sector management. His book deals with recent developments, provides a critical commentary, and places them in both an historical and Anglo-American context. To these novel features are added two vital and often overlooked considerations: first that there is a limit to the transferability of private sector techniques into public sector management; and secondly that the administration of public policy cannot be viewed in isolation from the political milieu in which it operates. Managing the Public Sector is to be warmly recommended to teachers and students in political science, management and business studies and applied economics.' -- Trevor Smith, President of the Political Studies Association of the United Kingdom and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ulster'. . . a thorough survey of government reform in two influential Western democracies. The book provides a thorough guide of where the reform movement is at present, and will provide a useful historical marker in relation to future reforms, particularly in the United States.' -- Russell Harding, Public Administration ReviewTable of ContentsThe question of governance - epidemic malady of constitutions; value for money and the British civil service; enforcing bureaucratic change; managing federal bureaucrats; the resurgent market - privatization in the USA; the parvenus' market - liberalization in the UK; managing sub-national government - a check and balance?; not a seamless web - bureaucrats, managers and markets.

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Book SynopsisAt a time when there is growing concern in many countries over the funding of expanding public sectors, this important new book brings together leading specialists in public finance to re-examine the economics of public sector growth. Several chapters document changes in the size of the public sector over recent decades for major OECD and Third World economies. Subsequent chapters then explore prominent explanations including public choice perspectives, bureaucracy models, relative price effects and Wagner's Law, and assess their contribution to current knowledge. The book also provides a number of new case studies of specific government activities - education, health and social security.Trade Review'. . . provides a useful and readable overview of developments in this area . . .' -- Peter Else, The Economic Journal'One leaves this volume with a better understanding of the multifaceted nature of public sector growth'. -- David Schap, The Southern Economic Journal'This important collection offers new insights into the growth of the public sector (especially changes in public expenditure) that has fascinated economists from the time of Adam Smith.' -- Abstracts of Public Administration, Development and Environment'Those working with the development of the public sector should certainly add the book to their library. . .' -- Martin Paldam, The World EconomyTable of ContentsThe public sector - definition and measurement issues, Norman Gemmell; recent trends in the size and growth of government in OECD countries, Peter Saunders; recent trends in the size and growth of government in developing countries, David Lim; the Peacock-Wiseman hypothesis, Magnus Henrekson; public expenditure and political progress, Alan Hamlin; the economics of bureaucracy, John G. Cullis and Philip R. Jones; Wagner's Law and Musgrave's Hypothesis, Norman Gemmell; modelling public expenditure growth - an integrated approach, Peter Jackson; government consumption - effects on productivity, growth and investment, Steve Dowrick; social security expenditure, John Creedy; health care expenditure, David K. Whynes; higher education expenditure, Paul Ryan; the political economy of public sector growth in the United States, Terry L. Anderson and Thomas Stratmann; the public sector in Australia - a quantitative analysis, Franz Hackl, Friedrich Schneider and Glenn Withers.

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Book SynopsisThis important book presents new work by respected scholars in the field of public administration in Europe, and evaluates both American and European approaches to public sector management and administrative reform.The book begins with introductory chapters examining public management in Europe and the United States and explores the paradoxes that exist in administrative reform. Part two presents a wide range of case studies of European management reforms including the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. It offers a balanced view of the managerial trend which appears to be sweeping across Western Europe. This is achieved by presenting the full spectrum of case studies from success to failure. Balance is created by presenting counter-arguments and criticisms of the prevailing trend of reform. The third part considers management, legal state and democracy. Finally, the volume concludes with a North American perspective on the administrative reform in Europe.Public Management and Administrative Reform will be indispensable to academics, policymakers and management practitioners in the public sector, especially those working within Europe.Table of ContentsContents: Preface Part I: Introduction: Public Management and Administrative Reform Part II: Management Reforms in Western Europe: Successes, Nuances and Failures Part III: Management, Rechtsstaat and Democracy Part IV: Epilogue Index

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Book SynopsisIn response to the idea that alternative theories, ideologies and institutions of public economics are unsatisfactory, this important and path-breaking book deals with the principles of economics using a more realistic 'tempered public choice approach'. Opening with an introduction on the development of the economic theory of public finance, Francesco Forte develops a discourse based on a theoretical framework of welfare economics. Here, the assumption of 'homo oeconomicus' is replaced by that of an average man with imperfect rationality and imperfect ethical constraints, and social welfare functions are replaced by equilibrium solutions in 'games' played by contracting parties at constitutional and post-constitutional stages. The positive and normative theory of public goods becomes much more complex, and merit wants are evaluated from an individualistic perspective. Theories of public expenditure, public revenues and the interrelation between various levels of government are also analysed. The public choice approach combined with theoretical welfare economics and institutions will prove a stimulating and engaging read for those with a special interest in public sector economics, public choice and Austrian economics.Trade Review’A long professional and personal association with Francesco Forte accustoms one to the extraordinary breadth of his knowledge, understanding and original thinking not only on economic but also legal and political questions. Principles of Public Economics displays all these estimable qualities to the full, adding for good measure a style and content that must attract both student and savant alike.’Table of ContentsContents: Introduction: Background: Some Aspects of the History of Thought 1. Decision-making Processes and the Structures of Public Finance 2. Individual and Collective Welfare 3. Public Wants and Public Goods 4. Equilibrium and Disequilibrium between Demand and Supply of Public Goods 5. Bureaucracy and Interest Groups 6. The Fiscal Constitution and the Rules Governing the Budget 7. Public Expenditure 8. Public Revenue and the Tax Burden 9. Income Effects and Allocation Effects of Taxes 10. Optimal Taxation in a Public Economy Conforming to the Market Economy 11. Tax Shifting 12. Public Prices 13. Public Debt and Fiscal Policy 14. Supranational, Regional and Local Public Finance Appendix Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis important book provides a state of the art of the study of policy instruments, combining insights taken from European and American experiences, to present a detailed exposition of the nature and use of policy instruments.The book first analyses the background of the instrumental approach and outlines its development in the field of public adminstration. It also includes an exposition of four alternative schools of thought about policy instruments, namely, the instrumentalist, proceduralist, contingentist and constitutivist schools. The criteria for choosing instruments are discussed as is the effectiveness of regulatory, financial and communicative instruments. This volume also addresses the recent efforts by governments to restrict intervention in the market. The final section provides a reassessment of the instruments literature and looks at the questions that will continue to face this perspective on public policy.This book will be of great use to academics and students of public policy and political science as well as policymakers.Table of ContentsContents: Prologue Part I: The State of the Art in the Study of Policy Instruments 1. The Traditional Approach to Policy Instruments 2. The Study of Policy Instruments 3. The Trade-off Between Appropriateness and Fit of Policy Instruments Part II: The Quest for Policy Instruments 4. A Contextual Approach to Policy Instruments 5. The Choice of Policy Instruments in Policy Networks 6. A Public Choice Approach to the Selection of Policy Instruments 7. The Political Circumstances of Instrument Design Part III: The Rhythms and Blues of Policy Instruments 8. The Dynamics of Policy Instruments 9. The Acceptability and Visibility of Policy Instruments Part IV: A Re-examination of the Study of Policy Instruments 10. The Sociogenesis of Policy Tools in the Netherlands 11. On Instruments and Instrumentality Epilogue Index

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisInnovation is a necessity in a changing world. But what kind of innovation? 'Sustaining innovation' props up and temporarily fixes structures and processes that are failing - making them cheaper, faster, safer, more efficient. 'Disruptive innovation' shakes things up. Typically however disruptive initiatives offer only short-term impact or are eventually adapted and 'mainstreamed' to help sustain existing systems. That is particularly true in the public, social, cultural and civic sectors where the natural patterns of renewal that have been developed in market settings (creative destruction, sophisticated financial support etc.) are generally absent. Only 'transformative innovation' can deliver a fundamental shift towards new patterns of viability in tune with our aspirations for the future. This book offers a first stand-alone practical guide to how to realise transformative potential at scale. It offers six elements for policymakers, funders and innovators: Knowing: how to expand our sense of what constitutes valid knowledge to become more comfortable with complexity Imagining: how to conceive, develop and design transformative initiatives to carry a group's longer term aspirations Being: how to organise for action, manage the process, and sustain the people involved over time Doing: how to introduce the new in the presence of the old, enrol others and figure out what to do when you don't know what to do Enabling: how to construct a policy framework for long term transition and provide smart financing to match Supporting: how to develop systems and structures to support a culture of renewal in our public, social and civic systems. It concludes with an invitation to join a growing community of transformative innovators around the world - a network of hope in powerful times.Trade Review"This a quiet and reflective book, and in both length and tone it is a refreshing antidote to the hundreds of over-excitable business books that are at heart vastly padded articles. When reading Transformative Innovation, you have a sense of the depth that sits behind every chapter. You can also pick up the tools and use them in your own practice, especially because the IFF, with its strong commitment to openness, has published much about them both on its own website and through an associated project, H3Uni.org. This rich and humane book should be on the shelf of every practicing futurist. " Andrew Curry writing in APF CompassTable of ContentsIntroduction CHAPTER 1: Transformative Innovation The Practice of Transformative Innovation The Capacity to Innovate Practice and Theory Ten Characteristics of Transformative Innovation Case Study: SHINE ~ Changing the Culture of Care CHAPTER 2: Knowing Complexity Is Your Friend Five Principles Two Loops A Variety of Prompts CHAPTER 3: Imagining Imagining Social Change Three Horizons and Social Change Convening the Future Dilemmas Imaginary Islands CHAPTER 4: Being The Human System Organizing for Action Managing the Process Sustaining the People CHAPTER 5: Doing Frameworks for Action Social Learning The Buddhist and the Broker Taking Action CHAPTER 6: Enabling A Compelling Vision of the Third Horizon Encouragement for Pioneers A Realistic View of the Policy Landscape Evaluation Based on Third Horizon Intentions Financing Transformative Innovation CHAPTER 7: Supporting Everything Flows Patterns of Renewal Cultural Renewal Infrastructure for Transformative Innovation The Permission Slip APPENDIX: The IFF Clan ABOUT IFF

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Book SynopsisGood governance is one of the UK's fundamental values, and citizens are entitled to expect that public officials, both elected and non-elected, behave according to the highest standards of ethical behaviour. However, such lofty aspirations are not enough to root out corruption. If integrity in public life is to be maintained, the core principles behind it must be constantly sustained and strengthened. This new Haus Curiosities volume, published in collaboration with Westminster Abbey Institute, looks at the place and meaning of integrity in the individual public servant, in public service institutions, and in the wider public they purport to serve. It tries to answer the fundamental questions of what integrity means in public life, what lasting value it has, and why it has such a critical part to play in the constitution of Britain. The book also explores how people in public service institutions can cease to behave with humanity when those institutions deny the individual human spirit. On the other hand, the authors argue for the critical importance of institutions in upholding values when fallible humans forget them, as we have witnessed in the Civil Service's steadfast and stabilising response to the Brexit referendum and its uncertain aftermath. Integrity in Public Life provides a critique of and an essential guide to integrity, leaving the reader with some hope for its continued place in public life.Trade ReviewPraise for Haus Curiosities series: `The thinking person's commuting read.'-Independent

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Book SynopsisTruth in Public Life explores the difficulty in defining truth, its critical importance in civilised society and the challenges and threats to telling the truth in different public service settings. Three leading experts reflect on subjects related to truth in public life. Vernon White, in his essay 'Truth Pursued, or Being Pursued by Truth', shows that absolute truth exists and explains why and how it matters morally. In 'Truth Sustained', Stephen Lamport describes why truth is important to sustaining civilised society and argues that truth is central to other essential qualities, such as objectivity, honesty, openness, leadership, selflessness, integrity and accountability. In her essay 'Truth Told', Claire Foster-Gilbert explores the challenge of truth-telling for public servants: for politicians, who are routinely not believed; for civil servants, whose ministers may only want to hear those facts that support their policy ideas; for journalists, tempted to tell the story that is 'too good to check'; for judges, who may suffer from unconscious bias; for police officers, who must win the trust of the public by believing accusers, without jeopardising justice for the alleged perpetrators. This short book is a potent reminder of how important truth is, even as it is threatened afresh.

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Book SynopsisThis book covers more than a hundred years of chess in the Civil Service, with information about the clubs, the individuals, the events they contested, the successes, and the arguments that sometimes resulted. Clubs regularly featured leading players of the day and the Civil Service representative team frequently beat strong counties in 50-board matches, as well as participating in a mammoth 500-board match against the rest of England. Names of chess clubs bring a whiff of nostalgia, with India Office, War Office and Civil Service Rifles no longer in existence. Leading players served their country not only in their departments, but at establishments like Bletchley Park in the Second World War. Several civil servants represented their country in international matches. Over a thousand players participated in the league at one stage.Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements 7 Abbreviations and Acronyms 10 Chapter 1 1845 - 1927 Beginnings 13 Chapter 2 1927 – 1939 CSCA Merger to World War II 60 Chapter 3 1939 – 1946 Espionage, World War II and the Advent of Computers 94 Chapter 4 1946 – 1967 Hitting the Heights 111 Chapter 5 1967 – 1983 Modernization 162 Chapter 6 1983 – 1998 Drama follows Drama 216 Chapter 7 1999 – 2016 Decline and Fall 283 Annex Articles by E C Baker, M.B.E. 333 Club Histories Correspondence Chess 390 Biographies 397 Trophy Winners & Officials 487 Literature Sources etc. 527

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Book SynopsisIn the light of better and more detailed administrative databases, this open access book provides statistical tools for evaluating the effects of public policies advocated by governments and public institutions. Experts from academia, national statistics offices and various research centers present modern econometric methods for an efficient data-driven policy evaluation and monitoring, assess the causal effects of policy measures and report on best practices of successful data management and usage. Topics include data confidentiality, data linkage, and national practices in policy areas such as public health, education and employment. It offers scholars as well as practitioners from public administrations, consultancy firms and nongovernmental organizations insights into counterfactual impact evaluation methods and the potential of data-based policy and program evaluation. Trade Review“This book, edited by Nuno Crato and Paolo Paruolo, provides a thorough analysis of evaluation studies and is a valuable contribution for a reader seeking to gain an understanding of the literature on microdata issues and the use of the results related to policy evaluation. … the book could be very useful to scholars interested in regional development and regional policy effectiveness given the topics and the discussions included.” (Roberto Gabriele, Regional Studies, Vol. 53 (6), 2019)Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Part I: Microdata for Policy Research.- Part II: Microdata Access.- Part III: Counterfactual Studies.- Part IV: Use of Results.

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Book SynopsisThere is a lot of attention for happiness, but there is also a lot of confusion, about the concept and the nature of happiness. This book wants to reduce this confusion, to make the deliberations and discussions about happiness more productive. A reduction of confusion will also make it easier to assess happiness as a possible standard in our personal life and in politics. Acceptance of happiness as a standard will have positive effects. Acceptance in personal life will make individuals more critical, and less vulnerable for adversity and manipulation. Acceptance in politics will contribute to a better detection and analysis of social-economic problems. Such positive effects are important for well-being. Well-being is usually defined as ‘objective well-being’ by experts, like medical specialists or psychologists. They apply their professional standards like blood pressure or personality characteristics. Happiness, on the other hand, is ‘subjective well-being’ as experienced by the people themselves. This happiness is the appreciation of one’s own life as a whole, and this appreciation is based on standards people have adopted themselves, knowingly or unknowingly. Happiness as subjective well-being, and objective well-being as defined by experts, are complementary. It is important to asses objective and subjective well-being simultaneously, and it is incorrect to ignore one of them. Table of Contents1. Introduction: an old discussion but a new challenge!2. The concept of happiness as subjective well-being3. The measurement of happiness as an actual phenomenon 4. Dualism of happiness; the body and the mind again!5. Affective happiness, or the affective component of happiness6. Evaluative happiness, or the evaluative component of happiness7. The explainability of happiness 8. Governments and happiness9. Complications in the interpretation and valuation of happiness10. Happiness as a standard in personal life and in politics11. What if? Some policy-options with happiness as a standard12. Summary of main conclusions and discussion

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Book SynopsisThe notion of quality features prominently in contemporary discourse. Numerous ratings, rankings, metrics, auditing, accreditation, benchmarking, smileys, reviews, and international comparisons are all used regularly to capture quality. This book paves the way in exploring the socio-political implications of evaluative statements, with a specific focus on the contribution of the concept of quality to these processes. Drawing on perspectives from the history of ideas, sociology, political science and public management, Dahler-Larsen asks what is the role of quality, and more specifically quality inscriptions, such as measurement? What do they accomplish? And finally, as a consequence of all this, does the term quality make it possible to deal with public issues in a way that lives up to democratic standards? This cross-disciplinary book will be of interest to scholars and students across various fields, including sociology, social epistemology, political science, public policy, and evaluation. Table of ContentsChapter 1. IntroductionChapter 2: A History of the Concept of QualityChapter 3: Quality PerspectivesChapter 4: Quality Inscriptions: Their Makers and Their ConsequencesChapter 5: Qualitization and Models of QualitizationChapter 6: Quality Without DemocracyChapter 7: Epilogue: What to Do.

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