Bringing policy reform to fruition is an enterprise fraught with difficulty; penal policy is no different. This paper argues that the concept of ‘storylines’, developed within policy studies, is ...capable of generating valuable insights into the internal dynamics of penal policy change and particularly the ‘commmunicative miracle’ whereby policy participants sufficiently align to achieve reform. I utilize the part-privatization and part-marketization of probation services in England and Wales (‘Transforming Rehabilitation’) as a pertinent case study: a policy disaster foretold, but nonetheless inaugurated at breakneck speed. Drawing on interviews with policy makers, I demonstrate the means by which the ‘rehabilitation revolution’ storyline resolved (at least temporarily) the tensions and problems inherent in the reform project; without which it would have struggled to succeed. We see that storylines play at least three important roles for policy makers: they enable specific policies to ‘make sense’, to ‘fit’ in line with their pre-existing beliefs. They provide a sense of meaning, moral mission and self-legitimacy. And they deflect contestation. In closing, I consider the implications for scholars of penal policy change.
As an approach to manage power demand-side resources, DSM plays an important role in electric power system. Though DSM was introduced into China in the early 1990s, its benefits have been ...underutilized. Using literature study, interview methods and three data sources, this paper examines the likely impacts of China's on-going power sector reform on its DSM. It finds that the major constraints to DSM in China are the insufficient and improper market-based DSM mechanism, grid companies’ low motivations for DSM due to their traditional business model, the underdeveloped energy service industry, and electricity end-users’ low motivation for DSM. China's on-going power sector reform will change power transmission and distribution pricing and grid companies’ business model and introduce competition into retail-side. Drawing on these findings, it is concluded that the likely impacts of the new reform on DSM are: governments may attach more importance to DSM; grid companies may have more motivations for DSM investment; electricity end-users’ motivations for DSM may be both enhanced and dampened; electricity retailers’ motivations for DSM may be dampened; demand response application may be enhanced, and more DSM business models may be developed. Finally, policy implications are provided.
•Mechanism of and constraints to DSM in China are examined.•China’s on-going power sector reform is overviewed.•DSM is likely to be enhanced under China's on-going power sector reform.•Policy implications are provided.
Since the end of the military period ahead of the Brazilian government in 1985, Brazil has had eight presidents swinging from lefts- and right-wing political orientations. The political direction ...turned from the right (Sarney and Collor 1985-1992) to the centre (Fernando Henrique 1994-2002) to the left (Lula and Dilma 2003-2016), and back to the right (Bolsonaro 2019-). Despite political orientation differences, all of them made (Bolsonaro is still making) some administrative reforms. In this paper, we present a historical line of such changes and the impact upon public management theory.
The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of New Public Management (NPM) reform on customers' perceptions of service quality. This study uses a mixed methods research design. For ...quantitative data, we use a structured questionnaire and for qualitative data a single, longitudinal, explanatory case study. The case study and survey research findings integrate well and suggest that NPM reform under the right circumstances can result in tangible improvements in service quality, even in the short term. However, NPM reform should not be perceived as a silver bullet that can overcome overnight all inculcated Weberian bureaucratic weaknesses of the public sector that have built up over many years. This research provides significant contribution to new knowledge relating to the impact of NPM on customer perception of service quality, and in particular relating to a Small Island Developing states (SIDs).
How does ethnicity influence mass support for radical reforms? Treating ethnicity as a set of cognitively useful categories serving both ethnocentric and inclusive ends, we argue people can strive ...toward civic visions for their state yet interpret obstacles through "ethnic" lenses. We label this phenomenon aspirational identity politics, prominent when external aggressors exploit identity commonalities with home-state subpopulations. Consequently, ethnic cognition can facilitate radical reform support not only through ethnocentrism, but also by connecting prosocial dispositions to support for ingroup favoring reforms. Accordingly, original survey data from Ukraine in 2017 reveal prosocial values better predict support for nine radical reforms - including in-group favoring ones - than does ethnocentrism. Support is also strongest among economically better-off people, indicating backing for radical reform is generally more about aspiration than desperation.
This study examines how business group affiliation moderates the performance (P) consequences of internationalization (I) by firms from advanced emerging economies that have implemented major ...promarket reforms. Our theoretical framework integrates institutional and network perspectives with internationalization research to investigate the effects of institutional change on the role of business groups in supporting the internationalization of their affiliates. Using a dataset of 143 publicly listed Korean manufacturing SMEs over a five-year period, our findings provide statistical evidence that business group affiliation has different moderating effects on the I-P relationship according to the degree of internationalization. Specifically, group-affiliated SMEs exhibit a U-shaped I-P relationship while non-affiliated, independent SMEs present an overall downward S-shaped relationship, where group-affiliated SMEs perform better at any level of internationalization. Besides, we also examine the moderating effect of industry characteristics and found that in the case of SMEs in technology-intensive industries, affiliation to a business group enhances firm performance at low and intermediate levels of internationalization. Overall, we conclude that business groups are able to provide benefits to their internationalizing affiliates in an improved institutional context.
China initiated a new round of science curriculum reform in 2017. Using the tripartite curriculum framework (including policy, programmatic, and classroom curriculum), we introduce and analyse ...China's policy curriculum and programmatic curriculum for science in primary school and senior high school, and describe the potential problems hindering the translation of these curricula into the classroom curriculum. We first identify the multiple aims of different stakeholders in science education, some of which influence the science policy curriculum. Then, we present the major changes in how the programmatic curriculum meets the policy curriculum. However, due to extracurricular factors, the current science curriculum reform may not unfold as expected. We end with a discussion of the three major characteristics of the revision process of science curriculum standards in China, some of which might inform the global community of science education.
National uniform legislation exists in federations to implement national reforms where the central government does not have the direct authority to legislate under the Constitution. The State ...jurisdictions must work together on legislation to address urgent issues of national concern, national uniform legislation. Developing and drafting national uniform legislation are complicated and complex because they require the cooperation of many units with asymmetrical knowledge, competing priorities, limited budgets and timeframes, and at times irreconcilable differences. Empirical data analysis and statistics could provide an aid for decision-making in these circumstances. On examination of a large body of legal information on the 69 most significant Australian national reforms, this article finds factors that inhibit or promote sustainable uniformity of enacted legislation by using ordinal regression for the first time. This work provides significant evidence-based insights into the process of harmonisation in federations. Overall, our findings contradict the general belief that the uniformity is mostly dependent on structures alone (referred, applied, mirror, and hybrid). If sustainable uniformity is the goal,the decision-makers must allow resources for establishing the national regulator, ensure maximum uptake by the majority of the nine Australian jurisdictions, support the development of national uniform legislation through the National Cabinet, and be prepared for the second wave of national reforms through consecutive reforms. These findings have valuable strategic implications for policymakers, law reform agencies, and legislative drafters who intend to rely on evidence for future decision-making in terms of the most important national reforms. This paper provides recommendations for governments intending to ensure the sustainability of uniformity and adaptability of the Australian legislation for any future changes without losing the important consensus that has been achieved. The findings are also important for other federations seeking to implement harmonised legislation.
Equity, efficiency, sustainability, acceptability to clients and providers, and quality are the cornerstones of universal health coverage (UHC). No country has a single way to achieve efficient UHC. ...In this study, we documented the Iranian health insurance reforms, focusing on how and why certain policies were introduced and implemented, and which challenges remain to keep a sustainable UHC.
This retrospective policy analysis used three sources of data: a comprehensive and chronological scoping review of literature, interviews with Iran health insurance policy actors and stakeholders, and a review of published and unpublished official documents and local media. All data were analysed using thematic content analysis.
Health insurance reforms, especially health transformation plan (HTP) in 2014, helped to progress towards UHC and health equity by expanding population coverage, a benefits package, and enhancing financial protection. However, several challenges can jeopardize sustaining this progress. There is a lack of suitable mechanisms to collect contributions from those without a regular income. The compulsory health insurance coverage law is not implemented in full. A substantial gap between private and public medical tariffs leads to high out-of-pocket health expenditure. Moreover, controlling the total health care expenditures is not the main priority to make keeping UHC more sustainable.
To achieve UHC in Iran, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and health insurance schemes should devise and follow the policies to control health care expenditures. Working mechanisms should be implemented to extend free health insurance coverage for those in need. More studies are needed to evaluate the impact of health insurance reforms in terms of health equity, sustainability, coverage, and access.
Why Reforms So Often Disappoint Aberbach, Joel D.; Christensen, Tom
American review of public administration,
01/2014, Letnik:
44, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This article examines why major reforms so often disappoint. It starts with an explication and analysis of perspectives for understanding why reforms often do not work out as hoped—rational ...comprehensive decision making and garbage can decision making, the latter in a “pure” version and in a modified version of the garbage can widely identified with the work of John Kingdon. We present these perspectives in a general way and then discuss how we can understand features of two central aspects of reforms based on these perspectives—the processes leading up to decisions on reforms and reform implementation processes. Some brief case studies are presented to illustrate some of the problems laid out in the theoretical part of the article. We conclude that nonincremental reform is vulnerable at every stage from conception to implementation and that although reforms are certainly not always doomed to failure, they are not often great candidates for success either.
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