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This paper addresses the degree to which new public management (NPM) has continued to be an influential model for central government reform in Australia and New Zealand, two early adopters and exemplars of NPM. We analyse recent reform agendas and their impact on NPM in both countries. Several institutional and other types of explanations are provided for why NPM is retained, modified, or revived. NPM systems may resist or be diluted by new layers, or the incorporation of techniques and approaches from reform menus, producing revival, discontinuity and forms of hybridization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legally protected individual private property rights and a constrained state are doctrines of neoclassical economics-derived development theory. But what about China? It lacks strong rule of law, property rights can be collective, contested and ambiguous, and the state is relatively unconstrained and maintains a central role in the economy; yet it has seen impressive economic growth to take it to the world's second largest economy. I argue that in the absence of legal/rational protections of individual property rights, political and social networks can provide alternative methods of property protection, allowing for economic development - with political protection substituting for legal. The novel claim I make is that ambiguity of property rights can provide opportunities and spaces for development and innovation, with the building of meaning and institutions found in a transitional state, where rules are unclear and contested, and where formal rules can "catch up" if apparent success can be demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores state stability using various governance and development indicators. We find stability is associated with state capacity and public goods, the legal--rational state, legitimacy, good governance and corruption, income/capita and democracy and human rights. In particular, we show the importance of democracy, legitimacy, rule of law and secularity. Environmental degradation and debt dependency undermine stability. Revenue collection, corruption, rule of law, independent judiciary and exports can be important to stability even in the face of incomplete democracy and lower GDP per capita. These factors are relatively more important in low-income states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A primary leadership challenge facing central budget agencies is sustaining the respect of finance ministers. Lessons are drawn in this article from the corrosive effect that missed opportunities to take the lead on economic strategy and public service modernization had on the long-term respect commanded by the Irish Department of Finance, and from the strategic re-orientation the New Zealand Treasury undertook to correct its tendency to ‘over-reach’ itself in these areas following a process of capacity-building and cultural transformation in the 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on 240 completed web surveys from six New Zealand core government agencies, and using qualitative and quantitative measures, we investigate public servants' views on three aspects of e-government, situated within an overarching rhetoric of ‘transformation’. First, the degree to which e-government is supporting ‘joined-up’ government is assessed. Second, we canvas views as to what degree e-government measures are promoting new ways of working for public servants such as flexible work. Third, we seek public servant views on whether e-government measures are allowing greater ‘e-participation’ from the public. We find that public servants exhibit considerable nuance in their views on e-government, including some scepticism towards its role in increasing flexible work, in ‘joining-up’ government, and in increasing citizen participation in policy making. The vagueness of transformational rhetoric is highlighted. We suggest the more considered views of public servants on the costs, as well as the benefits, of e-government, provide a useful antidote to much heated rhetoric and ‘dangerous enthusiasms’ exhibited towards e-government across the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines article citation rates and productivity of Australasian political science units, from 1995 to 2002. Limitations of citations has direct measure of research quality; Importance of quantitative measures of research productivity and quality in Australasia; Article citations in British-influenced Performance Based Research Fund.

In future a portion of tertiary education funding in New Zealand will be progressively directed towards rewarding research performance. This will have implications for the management of departments and the reorientation of New Zealand universities. These implications are considered in this article, with special reference to the consequences for political science departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After 1984 New Zealand abandoned an economic policy paradigm based on a broadly social democratic Keynesianism and rapidly and comprehensively liberalised its economy. Drawing on interviews with eighty-seven members of institutional elites thought potentially influential on economic policy and individuals nominated as influential, this paper shows economic policy change was highly derivative of neoclassical and related schools of economics. Key policy entrepreneurs′, sometimes educated in graduate programmes in American economics departments in the late 1970s, were important in convincing their respective institutions and other policy makers to support the new policy directions. Economic theories, sometimes of a controversial nature, were often adopted quite self-consciously and their dominance in decision making and their relative lack of modification in the policy process reflected the simplicity of institutional and policy making structures and the paucity of intellectual debate in New Zealand. Once established, the broadly neoclassical paradigm became highly dominant, extending its reach from macro- and micro-economic policy to gradually taking over public sector management and ownership issues, the labour market and social policy issues such as health and welfare policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author offers a response to the comment of Claire Donovan in relation to her paper "Measuring Research and Citation Analyses in Australasian Political Science Units." She stresses that Donovan has misrepresented her paper, which she wrote along with Tony Dale, regarding the use of citation analysis. She contests Donovan's statements implying that they opposed to scientific and quantitative articles. In relation to this, she also emphasizes that the study retains its value as a resource on article publication and citation rates of Australasian political science departments despite Donovan's arguments.