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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]

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]

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]

In the past few decades, many sector‐specific case studies have been conducted on the use of consultants in the public sector. However, the overall picture of the qualitative changes facilitated by consultants remains fragmented, and a comprehensive framework on how "consultocracy" affects governance is lacking. This article shows how the increased use of consultants has impacted the operational logics of public administration and governance at large. Drawing from a large multisectoral case study from Finland as well as existing studies, a fourfold typology of how consultocracy shapes public administration is introduced. We argue that increased reliance on consultants contributes to the monopolization and privatization of public knowledge and ensuing dependencies, erosion of tacit knowledge, weakening of accountability, and strengthening of instrumental rationality. This research emphasizes the importance of understanding the links between these developments and the need to implement a comprehensive research agenda on consultocracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of resilience is rapidly gaining influence in public administration practice and research, but a more comprehensive resilience research agenda in public administration is yet to emerge. This article aims to clarify how experiences and potential contributions from social-ecological resilience research can inform resilience studies in public administration. By contrasting key components of the resilience paradigm and its policy prescriptions with established findings from public administration research, a set of key shortcomings of social-ecological resilience thinking are identified: (1) deterministic systems models; (2) simplified accounts of politics and policy; and (3) a lack of systematic and generalizable empirical studies. To avoid these shortcomings, it is suggested that public administration resilience studies should explore multiple and competing models for how resilience can be generated; analyse trade-offs between resilience and other values of public administration; avoid systems theoretical resilience models; and apply the notion of resilience in areas beyond crisis management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Multi-function Polis proposal has aroused a mixture of interest, enthusiasm, controversy and opposition. The nomination of Adelaide as the site for the polis represents an important threshold in the process of the city's development. A feasibility and consultation program is now under way to examine the proposal's practicality, viability and degree of support. This article examines why the Adelaide submission of May 1990 took the form it did. It places that account within constructs of planning and policy development processes dealing with strategic choices in conditions of considerable uncertainty. These are particularly appropriate where complex, iterative and interacting discussions take place between governments and other participants in such a forward-looking and ambiguous concept as the MFP. The Adelaide submission used the choice of a location suitable and sufficient for the MFP, together with the definition of some of the characteristics of the MFP settlement to focus its argument for the project. These were associated with the functions contained in the MFP concepts, and the developmental work that was going on in various areas concerning the future economy of Adelaide. In this way, the whole of Adelaide, a medium-sized metropolis characterised by easy access and communication, has been seen as the location within which a distinctive new suburb would be developed to focus the activities associated with the MFP. The South Australian government is now involved in a program to assess the physical, economic, social, and environmental impacts and associations of this new polis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the role of government in securing economic growth and national development through the education industry. The education industry is claimed to have been performing an important part in one country's growth because it provides the government with an additional avenue, and that of human resources. Because of this important part, the government is nevertheless obliged to increase the education industry's competitiveness, productivity and cost efficiency. It must introduce technology-related government policies and large-scale programs that are effective enough for the improvement of education. Better financial allocation for the said industry is also hinted.

An overview of the literature on the party-policy link suggests a weak, non-existent or even perverse relationship between parties in government and governmental policies in Belgium. It is argued that this weak relationship could be due to the methodology applied in this type of research, i.e. the treatment of the party variable on a much too high level of aggregation. The relative strength of the coalition parties, the parties' general ideological profile on a specific moment, the relative strength of the factions within the parliamentary party and in the Cabinet are not taken into account. On the other hand, several organisational factors with regard to the relation between parties, parliamentary groups, ministers and the administration tend to facilitate the impact of parties on policies in Belgium. Interview data with ministers suggest that the policy variable also needs further disaggregation. In particular, the qualitative aspects of policies should be more closely investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most contemporary states ethnic conflict provides the context in which public administration (PA) must operate, the intermediary between the state and economic development. These relationships -- hitherto neglected in most PA and economic development literature -- are manifested both in the internal structures of PA (recruitment practices to government and government-related positions) and by government policies and programs that allocate resources and services differentially among members of competing ethnic communities. As PA tends to reflect the interests of the dominant ethnic community, aggrieved communities mobilize to demand redress, in the form of self-determination or more equitable treatment, by civil or violent means. Inter-ethnic or ethnic-state relationships may be regulated through PA by systematic preferences, individual market-merit processes, or power sharing arrangements. These alternatives are complicated by differential perceptions of what constitutes fairness and by intra-ethnic tensions and divisions. How PA in pursuit of economic development influences and is influenced by ethnic politics calls for enhanced attention by scholars and analysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pressing public policy question, particularly since the advent of intense international economic competition from Asian countries in the 1980's, has been whether the institutions of government play a necessary and special role in industrial development and technological innovation. This question has been debated at length since the early 1970's. The debate has grown more heated in recent years, with prominent economists arguing for and against government involvement and the creation of an industrial policy. It has also received increased attention in theoretical and empirical research by various scholars. In particular, empirical studies of the remarkable progress of Japan and other Pacific Rim countries have cited government policy as a major factor in that success. These arguments are compelling, but much remains to be done before the empirical case incontrovertibly linking industrial policy to economic growth is established. The article focuses on the question of economic development, government policy and technological innovation in a particular technological domain — computing technology — and in a particular region-the Asia-Pacific region. INSET: Variables and framework.;Data and analysis..

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.)

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.)