Book reviews: Democracy in Latin America, Olsen on institution building, public administration in Singapore
In the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Stephanie L. Smith of the University of New Mexico reviews Participatory Innovation and Representative Democracy in Latin America, edited by Andrew Selee and Enrique Peruzotti. The book “expands our knowledge of how participatory institutions emerge under less than ideal conditions,” says Smith. Read the review. Jozef Bátora of Comenius University considers Governing Through Institution Building, by Governance board member Johan P. Olsen. Olsen’s book “argues persuasively that European integration has not produced any new and substantial theoretical innovation in political science.” Read the review. And John Burns of the University of Hong Kong reviews Public Administration Singapore-Style by Jon S.T. Quah — “a book of immense value not only to the academic community but also those doing business in Singapore.” Read the review.Call for Papers: IPSA Madrid July 8-12, 2012
The IPSA research committee on the Structure and Organization of Government, which sponsors Governance, will organize up to six panels at the next IPSA conference in Madrid on July 8-12, 2012. The call for papers can be downloaded here. The deadline for submitting proposed is October 17, 2011.
How governance reform improved performance of New Zealand’s public sector corporate entities
In the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Krishna Reddy, Stuart Locke and Frank Scrimgeour (University of Waikato) examine the effect of corporate governance practices on the performance of New Zealand’s public sector corporate entities. New Zealand’s reforms of the 1980s emphasized the need for public sector organizations to emulate the practices of private sector companies. “Public sector corporate entities in New Zealand have complied with the Securites Commission’s guidelines for good governance practices,” they conclude, “and that compliance has improved financial performance.” Read the article: The Relationship Between Corporate Governance Practices and Financial Performance in Public Sector Corporate Entities.
How changes in EU legislative procedures change the substance of EU legislation
In the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Christian Jensen (University of Iowa) shows how new processes for adopting legislation in the European Union affected the content of that legislation. The new “codecision” process bolstered the power of the European Parliament, which responded by adopting more legislative amendments designed to give more implementing discretion to member states. On the other hand, the European Council became more aggressive in rejecting parliamentary amendments that limit discretion of the European Commission. “Procedure matters” in explaining why the European Union adopts legislation that locates discretion in different places, Jensen concludes. Changes in legislative procedures have administrative consequences. Read the article: Procedural Change and and the Sources of Ex Ante Constraints in EU Legislation.
Mapping the global networks that drive public sector reform
National public sector reform agendas are increasingly driven by global public policy networks. But how do we describe those networks? Much research has proceeded inductively, starting with organizations like the OECD that have a high-profile role in disseminating ideas. In the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Kathleen McNutt (University of Regina) and Leslie Pal (Carleton University) offer an alternative approach for systematically mapping the “virtual policy networks” focussed on six areas of public sector reform. The results sometimes contradict common understandings about the structure of these policy networks, the authors conclude. In three of the policy networks, “there is an extremely strong US presence,” while in the other three, “international governmental organizations dominate.” Read the article: Mapping Global Public Policy Networks.Book reviews: The privatization of security, and the myth of fiscal control
In the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Renée de Nevers of Syracuse University reviews States, Citizens, and the Privatization of Security by Elke Krahmann. It is “a valuable addition to the study of private military contractors,” says de Nevers. The book examines how domestic ideologies have shaped the expansion of privatization in the security sector in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. Read the review.
And Richard Allen of the World Bank reviews Legislatures and the Budget Process: The Myth of Fiscal Control by Joachim Wehner of the London School of Economics. The book enters into the ongoing debate about proper role of legislatures in fiscal policy and the extent to which they aggravate or moderate problems of budgetary indiscipline. The empirical analysis, says Allen, is “rigorous and thorough.” Read the review.
The Open Budget Index: A tool for measuring and promoting budget transparency
In an open-access research note in the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Paolo de Renzio and Harika Masud of the International Budget Partnership describe a tool for documenting the state of budget transparency — the Open Budget Index. Produced biennially, the Index is beginning to provide interesting comparative evidence on trends in the management of public finances and disclosure of budget information. Although global levels of transparency are “worryingly low”, the Index does suggest that disclosure practices are slowly improving. Open access to this research note for the month of July. To learn more about the International Budget Partnership’s work, subscribe to its bi-monthly electronic newsletter.
Europeanization of welfare systems: No easy path to convergence
In the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Paolo Graziano of Bocconi University examines how two countries — France and Italy — have adapted their welfare systems to European employment policies. His study contributes to our understanding of the evolution of welfare states in the context of Europeanization. Graziano finds that the preferences of key institutional and social actors play a critical role in determining the course of domestic adaptation. He concludes that expectations of a “soft” path to convergence among national employment policies should be lowered. “Europeanization induces policy change only when specific domestic conditions are in place . . . . If such conditions are not available, we should not expect EU pressures to trigger substantive policy change.” Read the article.
The cost of corruption: capacity loss more than monetary loss
In the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Adam Graycar and Diego Villa report on a study of one hundred successfully prosecuted corruption cases in New York City. Although in some cases there was a significant monetary loss to the city because of corrupt activity, the larger difficulty, they find, is the loss of governance capacity — mainly through the undermining of regulatory processes designed to protect health and safety and promote sound planning. Most of the corrupt conduct in these cases involved low risks, and also low rewards. Graycar and Villa find that there are multiple interventions that could discourage corrupt activity by altering the risk-reward calculus. Read the article .
Going to ECPR in Reykjavik? Attend the Governance/Public Administration reception
For those attending the ECPR meetings in Reykjavik, we are pleased to invite Governance authors, reviewers and other friends to a reception hosted jointly by the journals Governance and Public Administration. It will be held on Friday, August 26, from 7-8pm in the HT-200-Háskólatorg 2nd floor. Please save the date now and plan to join us for this celebration. The reception is sponsored by Wiley/Blackwell Publishing.
