Trade unions and collective bargaining

The authors assert that changing world markets and new technologies are driving industrial restructuring. The ability of developing countries and the new transitional economies to compete in the global marketplace will depend on their ability to transform industrial relations policies involving trade unions and collective bargaining so that they promote flexibility in the workplace and encourage the formation and effective use of human resources. History has shown, they say, that there are certain key moments of transition in industrial relations systems. After that time, systems get set and are hard to modify. Often these key moments are the result of legislative changes (such as the National Labor Relations Act and the emergence of public sector unions after the burgeoning of public sector legislation in the United States). Sometimes they are the result of key historical or economic junctures (such as the postwar reconstruction in Japan and Germany, and independence movements in the developing world). Recent pressures for structural change in the developing world present an opportunity for major transitions in industrial relations. Drawing on the Japanese and German experiences, as well as experiences in the developing world, the authors focus on lessons that can be applied in guiding this transformation. Workers participation in decisionmaking, they contend, is critical for bringing about the essential popular acceptance of changes that will come with industrial restructuring. It is also important to coordinate and integrate industrial relations policy with other social, legal, economic, and educational policies. The education system, for example, should not be overproducing college graduates when there is an undersupply of unskilled and skilled workers.Labor Management and Relations,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Standards,Politics and Government,Work&Working Conditions

Refining policy with the poor: local consultations on the draft comprehensive poverty reduction and growth strategy in Vietnam

In March 2001, the Government of Vietnam produced an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP), and announced its intention to develop a Comprehensive Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (CPRGS) by the end of April 2002. In the I-PRSP, the Government outlined its commitment to involve a broad range of stakeholders - including poor communities, local government authorities, and the enterprise sector - in drafting the CPRGS. The Ministry of Planning and Investment, who was assigned by the Government of Vietnam to lead the CPRGS drafting process, asked the World Bank, and a group of international nongovernmental organizations to support them in carrying out the local consultations. The consultations took place in six rural, and urban locations across Vietnam, selected to represent a range of poverty situations. About 1,800 people participated in the research. This report, which is the first of three volumes documenting the local consultations, provides an account and reflection on the approach, and methodology used in the consultations. It is intended this may give useful practical experience for future monitoring of the CPRGS, as well as for people who are planning to carry out similar exercises in other countries. The report outlines the process that was followed from the point of developing a research outline from the I-PRSP, through the fieldwork exercises, data compilation, and analysis, leading on to identification of the main policy messages made by the participants. It also describes how the findings were used to influence the final version of the CPRGS.Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Public Health Promotion,ICT Policy and Strategies,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Poverty Reduction Strategies,Poverty Assessment,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Achieving Shared Growth,Urban Partnerships&Poverty

Challenges facing transactional e-government systems

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 17/10/2005.A review of normative literature, in the field of e-government, indicates that the transactional stage of e-government is one of the most important to the implementation of an e-government system as it represents the highest level of interaction within organisations and between customers and government organisations. Due to the importance of the transactional stage of the e-government system and its positive impact, not only in making the delivery of external services quicker, but also in increasing the efficiency of internal government processes, government organisations might seek to reach this stage. In fact, in the literature, there appears to be an absence of theoretical models for the technical and organisational challenges facing transactional e-government systems. Furthermore, there is a lack of studies focusing on identification of the importance, categorisation and presentation of strategies for overcoming technical and organisational challenges. Consequently, this dissertation attempts to fill the information gap based on empirical data derived from two case studies. This work proposes a novel model for the technical and organisational challenges facing transactional e-government systems. In moving from the conceptual to the empirical, the work is based on a qualitative case study approach to examine the proposed model for the technical and organisational challenges facing transactional e-government systems. In doing so, two case studies were conducted, presented and analysed. During the empirical research, additional technical and organisational challenge(s) facing transactional e-government systems emerged, which resulted in modifications being made to the previously presented conceptual model. However, this dissertation proposes the conceptual model, identifies the importance, categorisation, and presentation of the strategies for overcoming, technical and organisational challenges facing a transactional e-government system. This results in the development of a frame of reference that will lead to a model that can be used to enhance decision-making

What do governments buy? The composition of public spending and economic performance

The authors develop a simple analytical framework that shows how the composition of public spending affects economic growth. Distinguishing between productive and unproductive government spending (that which complements private sector productivity and that which does not), they show that increasing the share of productive spending leads to a higher steady-state economic growth rate. They use data from 69 developing countries over 20 years to determine which components of public spending are productive. They find that an increase in the share of current spending has positive and statistically significant effects on growth. Otherwise, the news is mainly negative. The relationship between the capital component of public spending and per capita growth is negative. The same is true of the share of spending on transport and communications. The shares spent on health and education have no significant impact, although parts of those shares - the parts spent on preventative care and"other education"- do. The results raise the question whether public spending actually leads to a flow of public goods and services.National Governance,Achieving Shared Growth,Inequality,Economic Growth,Public Sector Economics&Finance

Money and growth revisited

Monetary Policy;Growth Models

Privatization in competitive sectors : the record to date

The paper reviews recent evidence on the impact of privatization. It focuses on traditional privatization efforts involving firms in competitive markets. It shows that privatization improves firms'financial and operating performance, yields positive fiscal and macroeconomic benefits (proceeds are saved rather than spent, transfers decline, and governments start collecting taxes from privatized firms), and improves overall welfare. The popular view that privatization always leads to layoffs is unfounded. While highly protected firms have seen significant declines in net employment, competitive firms generally experienced slight declines if any. Privatization's effects on wealth and income distribution have only recently been receiving the attention of analysts, and research is just getting underway. The paper highlights the conditions for successful privatization: strong political commitment combined with wider public understanding of and support for the process; creation of competitive markets through removal of entry and exit barriers, financial sector reforms that create commercially oriented banking systems, effective regulatory frameworks that reinforce the benefits of private ownership; transparency in the privatization process; and measures to mitigate adverse social and environmental effects.Banks&Banking Reform,Non Bank Financial Institutions,Municipal Financial Management,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Trade Finance and Investment,Municipal Financial Management,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Non Bank Financial Institutions,Economic Systems,Banks&Banking Reform

Decentralized credtor-led corporate restructuring - cross-country experience

Countries that have experienced banking crises have adopted oneof two distinct approaches toward the resolution of non-performing assets-a centralized or a decentralized solution. A centralized approach entails setting up a government agency-an asset management company-with the full responsibility for acquiring, restructuring, and selling of the assets. A decentralized approach relies on banks and other creditors to manage and resolve non-performing assets. The authors study banking crises where governments adopted a decentralized, creditor-led workout strategy following systemic crises. They use a case study approach and analyze seven banking crises in which governments mainly relied on banks to resolve non-performing assets. The study suggests that out of the seven cases, only Chile, Norway, and Poland successfully restructured their corporate sectors with companies attaining viable financial structures. The analysis underscores that as in the case of a centralized strategy the prerequisites for a successful decentralized restructuring strategy are manifold. The successful countries significantly improved the banking system's capital position, enabling banks to write down loan losses; banks as well as corporations had adequate incentives to engage in corporate restructuring; and ownership links between banks and corporations were limited or severed during crises.Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Banks&Banking Reform,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Financial Intermediation,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Banking Law

The critical factors of e-government adoption: An empirical study in the Saudi Arabia public sectors

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University, 05/01/2007.This thesis draws on electronic government (e-govemment) policy formulation, implementation and execution. IT has been enthused by the perceived lack of a model for e-government in Saudi Arabia public sectors. A model for e-government implementation is developed for Saudi Arabia. It examines critical factors that have impacts on e-government implementation in Saudi public sectors by collecting and analysing data in both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and further presenting an extensive review on literature. This exercise is significant, to avoid the pitfalls of imposing universal approaches to research and policy practices. The conclusions and recommendations of this research are significant for both practitioners, in providing guidelines for e-government implementation, and scholars, in suggesting further research in the new area of e-government

Orphans and other vulnerable children : what role for social protection ?

Recent estimates have provided unprecedented numbers of orphans, and vulnerable children, either brought about because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, or carriers themselves of HIV infections, a relentless growth which has precipitated a multifaceted care burden, that will too, grow for the next twenty years. This report records the proceedings of the Conference"Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children", which sought to promote awareness of the extent of this crisis, and, to probe the role of social protection in implementing a balanced response. The social protection framework for working with orphans, and vulnerable children shaped the conference agenda. Provision of appropriate risk management instruments is crucial for lasting poverty reduction, while programs to reduce the vulnerability of orphans, and other children, should play an integral role in any national development strategy, in the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Building community capacity will constitute the centerpiece of any feasible response. Within a realistic framework, programs must spread, and scale up, to address the vast, and growing need.Street Children,Youth and Governance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Children and Youth,Primary Education