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Books reviewed in this article: Eliminating World Poverty: Making Governance Work for the Poor – A White Paper on International Development. By the Secretary of State for International Development [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an overview of the research on the implementation of the new public management in developing countries. Purpose of the research; Modes of organizational reform; List of papers published in the research program.

The article discusses the interpretation on the concept of "The White Paper on the Nationalized Industries." The Paper declares the governmental policy of the nationalized industries following the investigation into the role of the nationalized industries and the corresponding relationship with government undertaken at the Government's bid. The Paper also provides the Government's response to the recommendation in the report published on November 18, 1976. The discussion includes the drawing of attention towards the important aspects in the Paper, to remark major departures from the last White Paper and to comment upon the probable effectiveness of the new proposal.

Copyright of Policy & Internet is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article deals with the implementation of the rule by the Advisory Council on Public Records under the provisions of the Public Records Act of 1967 in Great Britain. Most contemporary historians saw the First World War as a historical watershed from which time onwards the activity and potential role of governments in influencing British economic and social development were much enhanced. As a result, particular areas of historical research, such as diplomatic history and historical studies of social and economic policy, were given enormous stimulus. For all historians access to records is essential. New records are almost always welcome and any restriction on access to information is generally deplored or regretted. In the initial euphoria at the release of so much new material comparatively little attention was paid to the status of the public records as research evidence. In 1970, however, doyen of British interwar historians, the late G. L. Mowat, referred to a part of the new material with characteristic shrewdness.

Copyright of Papers in Regional Science is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aims According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the total amount of alcohol consumed in the African region is expected to increase due to the growth of new alcohol consumers, especially young people and women. With the changing alcohol environment, increases in the alcohol-attributable burden of disease are inevitable. To our knowledge, there has not been a comprehensive analysis of the factors that could be driving those increases. The objective of this study was to examine the evidence from peer reviewed literature regarding the factors that could be instrumental in this process, in order to inform strategic policy-related decisions. Method A narrative review was conducted using a thematic analysis approach. We searched papers published between January 2000 and July 2014 in PubMed, the WHO's Global Health Library and African Journals Online. Results Our analysis identified seven factors (demographics, rapid urbanization, economic development, increased availability, corporate targeting, weak policy infrastructure and trade agreements) which are potentially tied to changes in alcohol consumption in Africa. Driven largely by globalization, a potential convergence of these various factors is likely to be associated with continued growth in alcohol consumption and alcohol-related morbidity and mortality. Conclusions To address the emerging risk factors associated with increased alcohol consumption, African governments need to take a more active role in protecting the public's health. In particular, important strategic shifts are needed to increase implementation of intersectoral strategies, community involvement in the policy dialogue, health services re-orientation and better regulation of the alcohol beverage industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article examines the role of the European Commission in non‐legislative policy co‐ordination in the European Union. Using the Open Method of Co‐ordination (OMC) in the oft‐neglected sector of cultural policy as a case study, it argues that rather than a neutral facilitator as it appears on paper, the Commission occupies both a political and administrative leadership role in the operation of the culture OMC. Through analysis of policy documentation, interviews and non‐participant observation material, the article demonstrates how the Commission has operated as a key driver and agenda‐setter in the field, exposing the inter‐institutional dynamics in a competence in which the EU has a supporting role. The findings thus have broader implications for the study of agenda‐setting and European integration in policy sectors where the EU holds a supporting competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of several articles on public administration and development. "Health Services and Space Utilisation in Urban and Rural Communities: A Case Study of Ile-Ife, Nigeria"; "Access to Health Services"; "Urban Design Practical in Socialist China."

Urban areas contribute to nearly two-thirds of India's gross domestic product, but only constitute 31% of the country's population. In this paper, I address the following questions: What are the specializations of Indian cities and towns, and how have these changed over time; and what part of the specialization identified is a result of local advantages versus industry or national economic growth? Answers to these questions are basic to sustaining the competitiveness of India's cities. I used standard Census of India data at city level to compute location quotients for India's cities and towns, and examined changes in their economic base over time. Further, I performed shift-share analyses for selected large cities to disaggregate their employment growth. On average, over 1991-2001, specialization in all sectors, with the exception of trade, decreased. I found evidence of persistence in the sectoral specialization of Indian cities during 1991-2001. Further, in all non-agricultural economic sectors, cities in states know to be backward and lagging are specialized in most sectors. Based on location quotient analyses, I find that Mumbai is the financial capital of the country, Delhi is the seat of public administration, and Bengaluru specializes in transport, storage, and communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine the implication of a simple class of fiscal rules for long-run economic growth and welfare. The Golden Rule of Public Finance that we examine is motivated by institutional arrangements in countries such as Germany and the UK. We find that rules that seek to limit government borrowing to productive investment spending have a clear justification in terms of growth and welfare when government-provided goods are otherwise excessively provided. Even in the case where it is private consumption that is excessive, the Golden Rule of Public Finance is likely to be good from a growth perspective, but the welfare effects are more ambiguous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a considerable rise in discourses concerning trust from a range of academic disciplines and perspectives. Unfortunately, many of these literatures have talked past, rather than to, each other. This paper develops an analysis of trust in economic activity through a dialogue between the disciplines of economics and sociology. It outlines the relationship of trust to economic co-operation and identifies a number of types of trust. The potential benefits of these different types of trust to advanced capitalist economies are identified. Consideration is given to the processes of trust creation and destruction in market economies. Particular emphasis here is on how far trust can be symbiotic with, or contradictory to, power and the market. With an analysis of the key properties of individual agents which make them more or less prone to trusting behaviour, the paper is then able to identify the critical factors likely to underlie high-trust and low-trust economies. This has important public policy implications given the potential benefits which trust can have for advanced economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural development has attracted attention from many quarters. The present administration in Nigeria is particularly anxious to bring it about in the shortest time possible. But most of the discussions of rural development tend to neglect the vital link between it and administrative structure. This paper therefore stresses the role which an appropriate administrative arrangement can play it bringing about rural development. The paper reviews the various efforts that Nigeria has made since 1950 to derive a suitable local administrative structure. It focuses on the 1976 reform and shows how it has failed to provide a suitable spatial framework for rural development. Based on the experiences of the past and realities of the present, some principles are put forward as guidelines for an effective local administrative structure. Finally, an administrative arrangement which is development oriented and comprehensive enough to cater for the interest of all communities is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deficiencies of trust in many Latin American countries significantly impede efforts to attain sufficient levels of sustainable, long-term economic growth. This paper discusses the role of trust as seen through the eyes of small entrepreneurs in Latin America. Three tables are discussed that specifically portray the role of trust in society, how entrepreneurs use trust to sustain their enterprises and socioeconomic networks, and the impacts of low trust in economic development in Latin America. This paper confirms what many leading scholars have claimed over the past two decades, that a cultural legacy of fractious civil societies accompanied with disruptive and often-corrupt polities does matter when measuring human progress and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authors of recent case studies of the political and administrative practices of small developing states continue to disagree about the consequences of 'smallness' in promoting development. This paper reviews these arguments and attempts to clarify the issues surrounding the factor of state size and its impact on the relationship between politics and administration. The most important difficulty with providing any resolution to these arguments is the continued lack of comparative studies of administrative problems and potentials in small developing states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol has not yet materialized, the 2009 Copenhagen meeting underlined the importance of China in international debates on climate and energy. This is based not only on China's current climate emissions, but also on its expected energy use and economic growth. Within China, climate issues have, like environmental pollution more generally, received increasing government and societal attention, but so has energy – topics that relate to one other but also have different priorities and actor interests behind them. However, while climate change has become more prominent, as shown in the targets included in the current five-year plan, its institutional embeddedness in relation to particularly energy issues has received limited attention. This paper aims to help shed some light on how Chinese policies and governance structures on energy, climate and environment have evolved, particularly considering the roles of national and provincial authorities. Administrative structures and policy-making processes turn out to be very complex, with a range of units and bodies at different levels with distinct responsibilities as well as inter-linkages. Moreover, tensions and conflicts can be found regarding climate change and environmental policies on the one hand, and prevailing objectives to further economic development on the other. Energy policies serve the same economic goals, with climate change being most often operationalized in terms of energy conservation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is high interest in economic development efforts involving cooperation or collaboration among metropolitan jurisdictions. To determine why some local governments engage in cooperative agreements while others do not, this paper investigates transaction obstacles, including bargaining, information, agency, enforcement, and division problems. The authors then advance an institutional collective action explanation for intergovernmental cooperation, focusing on the conditions under which these transactions costs are low. This work anticipates that the costs associated with interlocal cooperation are influenced by the demographic characteristics of communities, local political institutions, and the nature of regional government networks. Empirical analysis based on a national survey of local development officials provides support for several predictions from this model and identifies policy variables that, in turn, increase the prospects for cooperation, specifically through the development of informal policy networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the growth effects of government expenditure for a panel of 30 developing countries over the 1970s and 1980s, with a particular focus on disaggregated government expenditures. Our methodology improves on previous research on this topic by explicitly recognizing the role of the government budget constraint and the possible biases arising from omitted variables. Our primary results are twofold. First, the share of government capital expenditure in GDP is positively and significantly correlated with economic growth, but current expenditure is insignificant. Second, at the disaggregated level, government investment in education and total expenditures in education are the only outlays that are significantly associated with growth once the budget constraint and omitted variables are taken into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Public Administration is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To accomplish the objectives and the outcomes of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), African leaders have agreed, among other things, to subject their countries to peer review through the use of a unique and innovative African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). This paper analytically describes and assesses the APRM. It contends that peer review represents a sea of change in the thinking of African leaders as they seek to reverse the trend of lack of accountability, political authoritarianism, state failure, and corruption to embrace and consolidate democracy as well as effect sound and transparent economic management. It is further argued that peer review would provide a number of benefits to those countries that subject themselves to it and that, in turn, would have positive multiplier effects on Africa's development performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of an “informed and alert electorate” is essential for the establishment of democratic governance in Africa and for the continent's future economic growth. This need is particularly evident in Zimbabwe, which is currently in the midst of an acute political and economic crisis. This paper tells the story of a small community-based organization in a remote part of Zimbabwe, which helped to raise political awareness and consciousness among a dis-advantaged rural population. Because of the threat that it posed to the Mugabe government, the organization was forced to close in October 2002. However, its experience has important lessons for the future development of Zimbabwe—and of Africa as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many academics have questioned the thesis (most prominently associated with Osborne and Gaebler’s Re-inventing government ) that there is an inevitable and global convergence towards a particular, new style of public management. Yet, despite the ongoing production of scholarly evidence of global diversity, pronouncements of convergence continue to be made by politicians, civil servants and some academics. In this paper it is suggested that, better to understand this apparent controversy, a more subtle conceptualization of convergence is needed. First, convergence can take place at different stages or levels — for example, there can be convergence in debate, convergence in reform decisions, convergence in actual practices, or, ultimately, convergence in results. There is no automatic succession from one stage to the next: the momentum of convergence can (and frequently does) stall or dwindle at any point. Furthermore, it should be recognized that convergence claims may have a value of their own, whether or not they lead to actual convergence of practice or improvements in outcomes. Convergence, in short, may be a useful myth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is by a member of a district health authority in the London Area, and is stimulated by Haywood's paper in our last issue. It examines the most recent developments in health service management in implementation of the Griffiths Report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolph Lowe's work was dedicated chiefly to developing "political economics" as a foundation for economic theory and instrumental analysis to direct a politically free economy along the path of economic growth. This paper argues that the public management inherent in instrumentalism is not likely to be acceptable in the U S or the U K, except in national economic emergency Yet, the formerly planned economies of central and eastern Europe, whose history is one of stringent control, may have a political preference for a Lowe type of instrumentalism to avoid the results of uncontrolled market processes. The reception accorded Lowe's political economics by economists, as members of a professional community, reflects their methodological preferences and policy views Those who are skeptical of the market clearing capability of the price mechanism, and explain capitalist development as an ongoing historical process, are more likely to be appreciative of instrumental analysis as a policy tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on party government, coalition formation, and links between party and policy tends to assume that parties in government command legislative majorities that can be used to enact desired policies. This assumption, however, does not apply in general. In Scandinavia, and especially in Denmark, the minority type of government is predominant. Minority governments cannot govern by means of their own votes. Two questions for research are therefore obvious. Why do Scandinavian countries deviate from the normal pattern of government formation? And what are the consequences of minority government for policy making? While the first question has been treated in recent research, this paper carries the analysis a step further by exploring the policy consequences of minority government in Denmark during the 1980s. It is shown that the government may in fact not always govern, that the government may actually be the opposition, and, consequently, that the party-policy link can indeed be extremely complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents several abstracts on public administration and development. "Privatization in India--A Case for the Joint Sector," by R. K. Mishra and A. Lateef Syed Mohammed; "Liberalization and Privatization in Tanzania and Zambia," by Jean M. Due; "The Role of Senior and Middle Management in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Public Manufacturing Firms in Tanzania," by Kabossa A. B. Msimangira; "An Industrial Strategy for a Post-Apartheid South Africa," by Avril Joffe, David Kaplan, Raphael Kaplinsky and David Lewis.

Commentators in many poorer countries, examining the political realities of the Third World from within new and interesting micro-economic perspectives, have rediscovered the relevance of dysfunctions in government as pointers to the true nature of state relations and economic development. The result has been the appearance of a literature on two commonly observed phenomena in the least developed countries of Africa, South Asia and Latin America: the enhanced economic role of 'second' or 'informal' economies, and the declining relevance of formal state structures which results partly from economic incapacity. This paper surveys some of the more significant recent examples of this literary output and relates their findings to the problems of public administration in those countries which experience or are likely to experience these phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many works on comparative public administration and development management the arguments put forward are often presented within the framework of comparing developed and less-developed countries. However, within the latter category there are fairly substantial differences, usually categorized within the context of system of government, or degrees of per capita income. Rarely is the question of scale addressed head on. One dimension of this, for instance, is the nature and operation of public administration where the proliferation of traditional ministries, and the impartiality of the administration, become very problematic in terms of the extremely limited resources and the very personal nature of public life--especially in the microstates. In this paper the question of scale is addressed in the context of the relationship between one island state, Fiji, and its bilateral and multilateral partners. This is considered not just in terms of aid and loans, but in terms of such issues as the 'critical mass' of skilled professional people, and the problems of functioning in a system where the rules for such things as overheads seem to have been evolved in the context of the Third-World giants. It is shown that the scale variable is a very powerful one in both the effectiveness and efficiency of governments working in tandem with major external sources of capital assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Public Administration is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Privatization of state government services is commonplace, but our understanding of its effects is limited by data availability. We study the relationship between American state government contracting and public sector wages. Governments have used public sector employment to support a variety of goals, including social equity and economic development, but privatization, as a new public management (NPM) reform, may shift the focus. Our empirical analysis shows that state privatization of service delivery is associated with decreases in the public sector wage premium, but that these effects are not driven by gender, race, or low‐levels of educational attainment. The fidelity of the implementation to NPM values conditions these effects. We also find that contracting service delivery is associated with a lower public sector wage premium for middle‐class workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With growing uncertainty over the value and impact of traditional bilateral foreign aid to advance development in poor countries, there is disquiet about the future of national public agencies and ministries with responsibility for managing and delivering international assistance. Growing reputational damage to foreign aid has triggered a lively discussion in development policy circles about the best structural configuration for organizing and governing international development functions within donor countries. To date, public administration scholars with expertise in questions of bureaucratic design and performance have yet to weigh in on this debate. This article is an attempt to present current controversies about donor governance and offer guidance for resolving current dilemmas by exploring the potential contributions of public administration. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the developmental-state approach as compared with a broader and more flexible developmentalgovernance approach - in relation to economic transformation in a single case country, Taiwan. It argues that both approaches have strong and weak points, and comes down in favour of the view that it is only through a 'thick' study of political forces, processes and circumstances that the reasoning behind developmental policies and institutions can be understood and the processes of economic transformation explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the world, public-private partnerships have become increasingly popular to deliver large-scale transportation infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, railways, subways, seaports and airports. The aim of this article is to provide a framework to understand the global geography of projects built through this market-driven procurement model, which have been predominantly concentrated in a small number of developed countries and emerging markets. As is shown, within many countries, a governance and regulatory environment has been established that supports public-private partnerships over other alternative procurement approaches. Nevertheless, the production of public-private partnerships worldwide has been dominated by a relatively small number of highly globalized construction contractors, engineering firms, financiers, accountancies and consultants from developed countries, who have focused their activities in a narrow set of regions. The article concludes by reflecting on the implications of the high level of industry concentration, and emerging trends showing greater involvement from firms from developing countries. Resumé À travers le monde, les partenariats public-privé sont de plus en plus utilisés pour les projets d'infrastructure de transports de grande envergure, tels que routes, ponts, voies ferrées, métros, ports et aéroports. Cet article définit un cadre permettant de comprendre la géographie planétaire des projets bâtis selon ce modèle orienté par le marché, projets concentrés dans un petit nombre de pays développés et émergents. Les régimes de gouvernance et la réglementation mis en place dans de nombreux pays favorisent les partenariats public-privé au détriment d'autres approches de réalisation de projets. Néanmoins, la production de ces partenariats dans le monde a été dominée par un nombre relativement réduit d'entreprises de bâtiment et d'ingénierie, de bailleurs de fonds, de cabinets de comptabilité et de conseils, acteurs installés dans des pays développés et dont les activités internationalisées s'exercent sur un ensemble restreint de régions. La conclusion aborde les conséquences d'une forte concentration industrielle et l'apparition d'une implication croissante des entreprises des pays en développement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the determinants of domestic investment in Nigeria with a special focus on the role of governance. The estimations are carried out with time series data from 1975 to 2009 using the Johansen estimation techniques. The results conform to the findings of existing literature that real output, user cost of capital and level of financial development are significant determinants of domestic investment in Nigeria. The distinctive feature of the paper is the significant role played by governance in explaining the long-term pattern of domestic investment in Nigeria. The results from the long-run estimation and the impulse responses revealed that a well-structured and stable socio-economic environment will boost domestic investment over the long run. Therefore, in modelling domestic investment for Nigeria, it is imperative to incorporate the significant role played by governance.1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1994, South Africa adopted the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) and emphasised the delivery of services to meet basic needs. Since then great strides have been made to redress past social inequalities. However, analysis of these successes have been limited to national or provincial aggregates, when much of the responsibility for meeting the RDP commitment lies at the local government level. The need for closer investigation is nonetheless clear from continuing protests over poor service delivery. This paper aims to shed more light on delivery at a local level by using data from the 2001 Census and 2007 Community Survey. The analysis involves the construction of a service delivery index for each municipality and analysis of variance to explain the changes in service delivery over the period 2001-2007. The results show that improved service provision may require further urbanisation and densification. Also, local economic growth in itself may not be important, but it would contribute to the ability to pay for services and in that way aid delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degree of fiscal decentralization in Spain is similar to main federal countries and greater than unitary ones. The demand of public sector decentralization is based on a supposed efficiency gains that is far from being obvious. Using a data set for the Spanish regions, we reject the null hypothesis of a significant relationship between growth in per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and expenditure distribution among fiscal administrations. Nonetheless, we find empirical support for a relationship between revenue decentralization, far less advanced than the expenditure one, and growth. In both cases we do reject the null hypothesis of a nonlinear linkage between fiscal decentralization and growth in per capita GDP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thinking on economic policy for development has undergone many shifts in response to the perceived weak results of earlier adjustment reforms. A new donor consensus has emerged based around the central themes of economic growth, good governance and social development. This article examines the logic behind this new aid paradigm, revealing a nuanced story with country circumstances playing a critical role and particular interventions varying in impact. For example, growth does not always lead to gains for the poor that match the national average; public expenditure needs to be targeted to achieve social development, but effective targeting is difficult; governance reform may be critical but there is no simple governance blueprint, and the corruption-growth association need not always be negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent literature on private-sector development emphasises the need to establish a ‘level playing field’ and tends to disregard selective supportive interventions. The most commonly highlighted elements are administrative simplification and effective property rights policies, with business services largely left to private providers - what we call the ‘new minimalist approach’ (NMA). However, the NMA is based on certain unrealistic assumptions and is barely backed by empirical evidence. A range of complementary public policies is needed to create competitive sectors and overcome internal constraints, especially in small-scale economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of various articles related to public administration and economic development. "The Asian Financial Crisis: What Have We Learned?," by T. Lane; "The Environmental Implications of Asia's 1997 Financial Crisis," by P. Dauvergne; "Towards a World Environment Organization," by P. Newell and J. Whalley.

The article discusses the role played by taxation in the growth performance of an economy. For explanation purposes, views on taxation and economic growth have been divided into three by the author: the taxation-is-inimical-to-growth perspective, the diverse perspective on saving, investment and the tax system, and government intervention through the tax system. As to the first view, the author claims that tax reform thus implies base broadening in income and consumption taxation combined with a reduction of marginal tax rates. As to the second view, he says that taxation policies do work through securing a higher after-tax rate of return to saving. Moreover, as to the third view, the author asserts that such intervention may further improve the finances of the government.

The article presents a review of developments that take place in Australia in 1990, specially those developments involving the size and efficiency of its government and the government's intervention in the marketplace. As to the size and efficiency of government, the author claims that the reduction in size or restraint in government expenditure during the 1980s has not resulted in the sort of economic slow-down; instead the process has enhanced the country' national savings rate in the last few years. On the other hand, as to the government's intervention in the marketplace, the author also claims that the country has been one of those progressive countries that reduces barriers in foreign investment.

Recent studies of state assumption of the CDBG-Small Cities program have been limited by two factors. First, they have been single-state case studies or confined to a small number of states. Second, they have adopted a narrow context for examining the likely impacts of community development following state assumption. This paper attempts to expand policy information based upon earlier work by studying a larger cross-section of states and considering the issues of redistribution and decentralization from a broader context. We find some significant policy changes from previous HUD program management but suggest that such may be due to the CDBG economic development amendment and an increase in multipurpose projects in the states. Unlike Morgan and England's (1984) recent article in PAR, we suggest that decentralization may not necessarily lead to decreasing redistributive community development policies in the states. Rather, redistribution may be incorporated within the enlarging proportion of multipurpose projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents abstracts of several articles about public administration and development. "Sustainability--Oriented Appraisals of Agricultural Projects," by Michiel J. F. van Pelt; "The Impact of Environmental Policies on Agricultural Trade," by Dimitris Diakosavvas; "Adjustment Policy and Agricultural Development," by Patrick Guillaumont.

There has been a resurgence of interest in decentralization, but decentralization is now somewhat differently conceived from the way it was in the 1960s. With somewhat different objectives, decentralization also take different forms and this calls into question the value of the well established categories of devolution and deconcentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses a cross‐country data set to empirically investigate the relationship between national culture and the quality of government. Culture has a strong impact on the quality of government that remains stable even after controlling for differences in institutions and economic development. This effect remains significant when the continents are considered separately, with the exception of Asia. The results reveal the importance of culture in understanding the quality of government and open new avenues for research in comparative public administration in a globalized world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public managers serve many sovereigns, work within fiscal constraints, and face competing demands for finite resources. This article applies a strategic management lens to local government sustainability capabilities to examine the conditions under which local governments diversify into new areas of service delivery and when they do not. Building on recent efforts to apply resource‐based theories to the public sector, the authors distinguish between more and less fungible capabilities and posit that local government officials make such commitments to enhance the competitiveness of their communities. Two surveys of U.S. cities provide evidence that governments that rely on tax incentive‐based development approaches may struggle to make sustainable development gains. Such cities are more likely to devote resources disproportionately to delivering benefits to firms at the risk of incurring increasing opportunity costs over time. Prior commitments to traditional, firm‐based economic development capabilities appear to inhibit their ability to pursue broader sustainability policies. However, economic development strategic planning can also positively influence some investments in greenhouse gas reduction efforts. Moreover, cities facing more competition for development are more likely to integrate planning and performance measurement to assess their sustainability commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Politics & Policy is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Motivation: Many countries in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) experience thwarted economic development and corrupt public administration. As the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) focuses on implementation mechanisms in SSA, there is a need to examine the causes of the setbacks affecting these mechanisms, looking at the current trends of corruption and their impact on socioeconomic development. Purpose: This article focuses on assessing setbacks in anti‐corruption strategies to advance economic development in SSA, primarily looking at how and in what conditions UNCAC prevents corruption and manages responses in SSA. Approach: This article adopts a descriptive and an explanatory perspective, using case studies of Kenya and Nigeria to explain and show how far the objectives of anti‐corruption strategies have been met, and assessing the causes of setbacks. In this context, the article also explores the challenges facing the UK's Department for International Development (DFID). Conclusions: Socioeconomic development in SSA is hard to separate from maladministration and large‐scale corruption. The findings reveal the gravity of this impact and its interrelated factors of "active" and "benign" corruption. This article concludes that for SSA to create sustainable economic environments, the causes of the failure to stamp out corruption need to be addressed, and dishonesty, maladministration, illicit activities, nepotism curtailed, along with corrupt influences on anti‐corruption legislation. Policy implications: The article concludes that if governance does not prevent the failures of anti‐corruption strategies, an interventionist response will only weaken national endeavours, making it difficult to reach UNCAC's vision of sustainable and corruption‐free economic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on approaches to urban rapid economic analysis. Establishment of methods of rapid information collection and analysis in rural development; Approach used by the Development Administration Group to urban rapid economic analysis since 1989; Urban rapid economic analysis conducted by the Town and Country Planning Organization of Delhi in India.

This article analyses survey data regarding the impact of supreme audit institutions' (SAIs) performance audit on public administration in four Nordic countries. Regression analysis with pooled data from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden indicates that performance audits have positive impacts on usefulness, changes, improvements and, to some extent, accountability, as perceived by auditees who have experienced the audits. The results show that some of the factors that earlier research found important for the impact of performance audits in some countries were insignificant for all the four Nordic countries, but that SAIs' legitimacy, audit quality and consequences of media attention were important factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]