A troubled relationship: corruption and reform of the public sector in development

Corruption is an issue of increasing visibility in the academic and policy literature on governance and public policy. Whilst it is often talked about, there appears to be some lack of clarity on both its nature and the nature of its determinants. This has led to some increase in the effort to combat it (in light of its significant costs for society) and it is questionable how effective these attempts have been to date. Corruption has a complex relationship with public sector reform. Reform is often executed which has as one of its objectives the control of corruption, but reform itself may be a cause of corruption according to some evidence from recent rounds of economic and public sector reform. The nature of the relationship is complicated by the fundamental nature of public sector reform. This is often ‘dual’ in nature, combining both destructive and constructive phases that redistribute the relative power of internal and external interest groups, create grievances, and present new opportunities for incumbents when compared to the pre-reform position. This paper presents an analysis of some of the data on corruption in relation to public sector reform, and attempts to clarify the nature of the corruption phenomenon in order to answer the question whether corruption can categorically be said to be a problem of public sector reform, or a consequence of it.Corruption; public administration; reform; transition; institutions

A troubled relationship: corruption and reform of the public sector in development

Corruption is an issue of increasing visibility in the academic and policy literature on governance and public policy. Whilst it is often talked about, there appears to be some lack of clarity on both its nature and the nature of its determinants. This has led to some increase in the effort to combat it (in light of its significant costs for society) and it is questionable how effective these attempts have been to date. Corruption has a complex relationship with public sector reform. Reform is often executed which has as one of its objectives the control of corruption, but reform itself may be a cause of corruption according to some evidence from recent rounds of economic and public sector reform. The nature of the relationship is complicated by the fundamental nature of public sector reform. This is often ‘dual’ in nature, combining both destructive and constructive phases that redistribute the relative power of internal and external interest groups, create grievances, and present new opportunities for incumbents when compared to the pre-reform position. This paper presents an analysis of some of the data on corruption in relation to public sector reform, and attempts to clarify the nature of the corruption phenomenon in order to answer the question whether corruption can categorically be said to be a problem of public sector reform, or a consequence of it

Information society: networks, collective action and the role of institutions

The knowledge economy and knowledge society depend on the development of networks of communications in terms of both physical possibilities of national and international infrastructure, and the inclination of individuals to participate in these. The rapid spread of such technical capacity, and the rise of wireless methods of communications enables many countries that might previously have been prevented from developing such an infrastructure to rapidly develop capacity. This physical development has reduced the costs of communications and consequently information, as well as the freedom to communicate internationally and, implicitly, inter-culturally. It is also recognised, however, that a range of social and economic factors influence the attitudes of individuals towards such communication, and also the possibilities of collective action both within and across nations, depending on the economic and social costs and ‘payoffs’ of such activities. The growth of low-cost information provision and low-cost international communications using the internet has raised the potential benefits of such facilities so that it is changing much of the nature of economic interaction in modern, as well as more traditional societies. Whether or not it will demonstrate a similar significance for the development of an information society remains to be seen, but parallels can be drawn between such changes and the existing analysis of networks, organisations and political ‘collective action’ from the grass roots level. Networks form a significant complement to the existing media that are also seizing on the potential of this modern technology, and constitute a source of general, or more specifically valuable information to individuals in society

Information society: networks, collective action and the role of institutions

The knowledge economy and knowledge society depend on the development of networks of communications in terms of both physical possibilities of national and international infrastructure, and the inclination of individuals to participate in these. The rapid spread of such technical capacity, and the rise of wireless methods of communications enables many countries that might previously have been prevented from developing such an infrastructure to rapidly develop capacity. This physical development has reduced the costs of communications and consequently information, as well as the freedom to communicate internationally and, implicitly, inter-culturally. It is also recognised, however, that a range of social and economic factors influence the attitudes of individuals towards such communication, and also the possibilities of collective action both within and across nations, depending on the economic and social costs and ‘payoffs’ of such activities. The growth of low-cost information provision and low-cost international communications using the internet has raised the potential benefits of such facilities so that it is changing much of the nature of economic interaction in modern, as well as more traditional societies. Whether or not it will demonstrate a similar significance for the development of an information society remains to be seen, but parallels can be drawn between such changes and the existing analysis of networks, organisations and political ‘collective action’ from the grass roots level. Networks form a significant complement to the existing media that are also seizing on the potential of this modern technology, and constitute a source of general, or more specifically valuable information to individuals in society

Abnormal Dosage Compensation of Reporter Genes Driven by the Drosophila Glass Multiple Reporter (GMR) Enhancer-Promoter

In Drosophila melanogaster the male specific lethal (MSL) complex is required for upregulation of expression of most X-linked genes in males, thereby achieving X chromosome dosage compensation. The MSL complex is highly enriched across most active X-linked genes with a bias towards the 3′ end. Previous studies have shown that gene transcription facilitates MSL complex binding but the type of promoter did not appear to be important. We have made the surprising observation that genes driven by the glass multiple reporter (GMR) enhancer-promoter are not dosage compensated at X-linked sites. The GMR promoter is active in all cells in, and posterior to, the morphogenetic furrow of the developing eye disc. Using phiC31 integrase-mediated targeted integration, we measured expression of lacZ reporter genes driven by either the GMR or armadillo (arm) promoters at each of three X-linked sites. At all sites, the arm-lacZ reporter gene was dosage compensated but GMR-lacZ was not. We have investigated why GMR-driven genes are not dosage compensated. Earlier or constitutive expression of GMR-lacZ did not affect the level of compensation. Neither did proximity to a strong MSL binding site. However, replacement of the hsp70 minimal promoter with a minimal promoter from the X-linked 6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase gene did restore partial dosage compensation. Similarly, insertion of binding sites for the GAGA and DREF factors upstream of the GMR promoter led to significantly higher lacZ expression in males than females. GAGA and DREF have been implicated to play a role in dosage compensation. We conclude that the gene promoter can affect MSL complex-mediated upregulation and dosage compensation. Further, it appears that the nature of the basal promoter and the presence of binding sites for specific factors influence the ability of a gene promoter to respond to the MSL complex

2019 ESC/EAS guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias : Lipid modification to reduce cardiovascular risk

Correction: Volume: 292 Pages: 160-162 DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2019.11.020 Published: JAN 2020Peer reviewe

Information society: networks, collective action and the role of institutions

The knowledge economy and knowledge society depend on the development of networks of communications in terms of both physical possibilities of national and international infrastructure, and the inclination of individuals to participate in these. The rapid spread of such technical capacity, and the rise of wireless methods of communications enables many countries that might previously have been prevented from developing such an infrastructure to rapidly develop capacity. This physical development has reduced the costs of communications and consequently information, as well as the freedom to communicate internationally and, implicitly, inter-culturally. It is also recognised, however, that a range of social and economic factors influence the attitudes of individuals towards such communication, and also the possibilities of collective action both within and across nations, depending on the economic and social costs and ‘payoffs’ of such activities. The growth of low-cost information provision and low-cost international communications using the internet has raised the potential benefits of such facilities so that it is changing much of the nature of economic interaction in modern, as well as more traditional societies. Whether or not it will demonstrate a similar significance for the development of an information society remains to be seen, but parallels can be drawn between such changes and the existing analysis of networks, organisations and political ‘collective action’ from the grass roots level. Networks form a significant complement to the existing media that are also seizing on the potential of this modern technology, and constitute a source of general, or more specifically valuable information to individuals in society.institutions; networks; information society