This book sheds new light on the political economy of public management reform. It examines the new forms of economic decentralization and macroeconomic adjustment, and discusses their implications for policy design and regulation.The authors discuss leading-edge research on public management reform, privatization and decentralization in both industrialized and aid-dependent countries, concentrating on the meso-level of institutional response. Combining theory, case studies and institutional analysis, they focus on issues including public/private partnerships, public finance and aid allocation. The authors also present new ideas on the design of a regulatory framework. This book will be welcomed by academics and researchers working in the fields of development studies, development economics, political economy and international public management as well as policymakers working for government agencies and NGOs in developing countries.

This book explores the role of new modes of governance in helping future member states to cope with their accession to the European Union. The authors demonstrate that the accession countries of the Southern and Eastern enlargements have lacked two fundamental preconditions for the emergence and effectiveness of new modes of governance: state and non-state actors with sufficient resources to engage in non-hierarchical coordination to improve the effectiveness of public policy. This 'governance capacity' has been largely taken for granted by the governance literature since it has almost exclusively focused on Western democracies. The double weakness of transition countries results in a serious dilemma for governance research and practice alike - the stronger the need for non-hierarchical modes of governance, the less favourable are the conditions for their emergence and effectiveness.

Written for the motivated non-specialist, this work provides the most clear and thorough coverage available of the causes and consequences of the Great Financial Crisis and the role of the Federal Reserve in preventing it from escalating into a massive depression a la the 1930s. The Great Recession that followed the popping of the dual credit and housing bubbles deprived more than 8 million Americans of their jobs and triggered a per capita loss of income of more $6,000 in 2008 and 2009 alone. This work provides a clear and comprehensive explanation of the myriad forces that combined to create the bubbles that were the source of the economic contraction. It retraces the chain reaction that took place as these bubbles deflated. The channels through which the crisis spilled over to produce the Great Recession are carefully laid out. The book is unique in thoroughly contrasting the Federal Reserve's brilliant implementation of policies that saved us from disaster in the recent crisis with its inept behavior that strongly contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The impact of the environment in general and climate change in particular is now entrenched as a key political concern. The comprehensively revised edition of this popular text provides an accessible, concise and genuinely international introduction to the politics of the environment in theory and practice at both national and global level.

This volume focuses on a case where community organizing, academic research and governmental responsibility were successfully mobilized and synchronized to bring about change in educational policy and practice. The focus of this book is the methodology implemented and the results obtained over the course of a year-long action research project on language and education in St. Eustatius, one of the islands of the Dutch Caribbean, commissioned by the educational authorities in both St. Eustatius and the European Netherlands. On the island, the language of instruction is Dutch, however, outside of the classroom most students only speak English and an English-lexifier Creole. The research project was set up to address the negative impact on school success of this disparity. It included a community-based sociolinguistic study that actively involved all of the stakeholders in the education system on the island. This was complemented by a multi-pronged set of research strategies, including a language attitude and use survey, a narrative proficiency test, in depth interviews, and a review of the relevant literature. The resulting report and recommendations were accepted by the government, which is now in the process of changing the language of instruction.

Alcohol and its consumption is a major topic for public policy-making. Growing awareness of alcohol-related health problems among the general public has led to high levels of interest in alcohol consumption and its impact on society. This innovative collection of new perspectives on this critically important issue is informed by a leading group of international social scientists. Topics covered include alcoholism, the family, minimum pricing, paternalistic controls, and Socially Responsible Investment programs. Together, these essays reveal illuminating new insights into how public policy might be improved. This book was originally published as a special issue of Contemporary Social Science.

How do small states approach their security problems? What types of strategic instruments exist for small states, and when and why are certain strategies chosen rather than others? The security of `weak' states is problematic, demanding trade-offs in the decisions made. Using 19th century Swedish security policy as an example, it is argued here that small states, in their pursuit of security and autonomy, face a dilemma between abandonment and entrapment, leading to a choice between balancing between great powers or making an approach to one of them. This hard choice confronts both non-aligned and allied states. It is also argued that a focus on the images of decision makers is required as a complement to traditional realist theory in order to gain an in-depth understanding of small state security decisions. This book is special in its focus on small, non-aligned states. Most studies on balance-of-power behaviour limit their analysis to alignment decisions. The study also expands the domain of image constructs by introducing perceived regime characteristics into the analysis, besides images of power and intentions. Audience: Scholars and students interested in foreign policy analysis, particularly small-state behaviour. The book points to the importance of beliefs and ideas in security policy.

After more than twenty years of orthodox economic policy in Europe the scourge of unemployment remains. This impressive book goes beyond the neoclassical theory of employment and develops sound policy guidelines to tackle the global problem of unemployment.Employment, Technology and Economic Needs provides the latest thinking on issues of employment, unemployment and economic policy. The book is explicitly interdisciplinary in scope and international in coverage, including European and US country case studies. Its authors include economists, management scientists, sociologists and economic geographers. Together they provide the most comprehensive analysis to date of the problems of unemployment and poor economic performance from a broadly institutional and evolutionary perspective. The book reports the latest academic research, whilst clearly documenting the implications for public policy. The authors discuss the effectiveness of policy prescriptions such as negative income taxes, the International Labour Organization agenda, a fiscal system based on eco-taxation, a reduction of working time, and developing a 'corporatist' system as a means to develop employment opportunities. Written in an accessible style, this book will be vital reading for all those interested in the fields of employment, technology, and macroeconomic and industrial policy. It will also be of interest to anyone concerned with economic policy issues and human welfare.

This book makes significant advances in analysing the relationship between technology and society. It highlights both the policy implications of this relationship and new possibilities for intervention by government, policymakers, managers and the public. Shaping Technology, Guiding Policy examines and utilises a variety of recently emerging concepts which highlight the scope for local discretion and choice in the way that technologies are designed and used as well as the broader structures and systems that may serve to restrict choice. By applying these concepts to an analysis of case studies of various social and technical settings, the book explores their utility for understanding the ways in which contemporary technologies are developed and applied and how they are made to influence society. Academics and researchers from a wide variety of perspectives will find this new book fascinating reading, including scholars from science and technology studies, technology policy and the management of technology. Technology policymakers and practitioners would also find the book of interest.

This book addresses various federal, state, and institutional policies affecting community colleges and speculates about future policy options within the current policy context. While attempting to be comprehensive, the book does not include every policy issue affecting community colleges but rather examines most of the major policy issues considered salient for community college at the onset of the 21st century. Written by various experts on the community college and addressed to those concerned with policies affecting higher education as well as those interested in the future of the community college, the book begins with a macro look at the policy context affecting community colleges, including federal policies, state governance structures, and the impact of globalization on community colleges. At the state level, chapter authors focus on timely and critical issues challenging state policy: links with K-12 education, workforce preparation, dual credit policies, transfer and articulation, remediation, and technology. At the institutional level, policies on general education and student persistence are examined. The book concludes with a plea for a more critical approach to community college policy for the 21st century. This timely work provides an update on the status of policies affecting community colleges and possible future directions for policy decisions.

Hardbound. This book brings together for the first time the most current research about the academic effects and policy implications of the school reform known as parental choice. The topic of choice in education is discussed in terms of why, when, where and how, if at all, it should be implemented. The contents are fourteen original papers written by scholars from Israel, UK, the United States and Canada and brings together the empirical studies of school choice examined in an international context.

On any given night, there are over 643,000 homeless peopleresiding in shelters and on the streets across America. What can we do to help?
"Levy crafts stories of characters who sear the memory: OldMan Ray, the World War II veteran who resents the VA system andregards himself as the de facto night watchman at Port Authority;Ben who claims to be a prophet disowned in his own country, crucifiedby the government and enslaved by poverty finds a bridge tothe mainstream services and a path to housing through the commonlanguage of religious metaphors, including redemption andforgiveness; and Andrew who has been 'mentally murdered' ishelped to understand his own situation and gain disability benefitsthrough the language of trauma; among others.
These stories are deftly interwoven with theory and practice as Levy constructshis developmental model of the engagement and pretreatment process. The outreachworker strives to understand the language and the culture of each homeless individual, builds a bridge to the mainstream services, and helps those providers to understandthe special circumstances of these vulnerable people. Levy bears witness to thecourage of these pilgrims who wander the streets of our cities, and his poignant bookis a testament to the healing power of trusting and enduring relationships."
--Jim O'Connell, MD - President and Street Physician forBoston Health Care for the Homeless Program
The reader will...
Experience moving real life stories that demystify homeless outreach and its centralobjectives and challenges.Learn about effective strategies of outreach & engagement with under-servedpopulations.Understand and be able to utilize the stages of common language construction inyour own practice.Learn about pretreatment principles and their applications with persons experiencinguntreated major mental illness, addiction, and medical issues.Discover new interventions via outreach counseling, advocacy and case managementwith people experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness.Understand how to better integrate policy, programs (e.g. Housing First), and supervisionwith homeless outreach initiatives.
About the Author
Jay S. Levy, LICSW has spent the last 20 years working withindividuals who experience homelessness. He has developed newprograms and provided clinical staff supervision. Jay is one ofthe architects to the Regional Engagement and Assessment forChronically Homeless Housing program (REACH). This wasadopted by the Western Massachusetts Regional Network as aninnovative approach toward reducing chronic homelessness.
Learn more at www.JaySLevy.com
From the New Horizons in Therapy Series at Loving Healing Press www.LovingHealing.com
SOC025000 Social Science: Social Work
PSY010000 Psychology: Psychotherapy - Counseling
POL002000 Political Science: Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.

Although British-born, John Allen lived in South Africa from 1954 to 1990, a 36-year period during which the country experienced its most climactic--and sometimes terrible--events.

Speaking from firsthand knowledge and with an intimate understanding of the situation, the author takes us beyond the media hype that so dominated Western television screens to answer some of the most vital questions concerning the apartheid era:

• Who originated the system of government the world grew to hate so much?
• Was South Africa the only 'apartheid' nation?
• Did economic sanctions have the desired effect?
• How did Washington's domestic agenda affect US foreign policy?
• What was the West's real motive in forcing the country to its knees?
• Why did Nelson Mandela's release from prison exacerbate rather than diminish violence?

Apartheid South Africa addresses these and a host of other issues, bringing to light little-known facts concerning historical detail and providing the reader with eyewitness accounts of day-to-day life in one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

The climate change problem can only be effectively dealt with if global anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be reduced substantially. Since the emission of such gases is closely related to the economic growth of countries, a critical problem to be addressed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) is: how will the permissible emission levels be shared between industrialised (ICs) and developing countries (DCs)? The thesis of this book is that the long-term effectiveness of the FCCC runs the risk of a horizontal negotiation deadlock between countries and the risk of vertical standstill within countries if there is little domestic support for the domestic implementation of measures being announced in international negotiations. The research question is: Can one observe trends towards horizontal deadlock and vertical standstill and if yes, how can the treaty design be improved so as to avoid such potential future bottlenecks? The research focuses on the perspectives of domestic actors on the climate convention and related issues in four developing countries: India, Indonesia, Kenya and Brazil. The following key findings emerge from the research: 1. Handicapped negotiating power: The common theme of the foreign policy of DCs is that ICs are responsible for the bulk of the GHG emissions and need to take appropriate domestic action.

Women's needs are placed at the centre of this collection. The contributors discuss the extent to which the contemporary legal framework on abortion matches the needs of women faced with unwanted pregnancy. The book contains sections on Britain, including an account of the campaign to legalize abortion, written by those centrally involved with that campaign; international comparisons of abortion law, with chapters on France, the United States, Ireland and Poland; and chapters covering contemporary debates, including men's rights in abortion and abortion for foetal abnormality.

This is the fourth volume in a series of studies on advances in educational policy. It is divided into sections which examine: equal opportunities in developing countries; economic gap, racial change and social challenge; and, programme intervention and evaluation.

This book maintains that a full understanding of the problem of European security must include the role of Christian ethics. The contributors argue that moral and theological concerns are a vital part of the politics and mechanics of European security and must be incorporated in any effort to devise new policies for security in Europe and the West.

In this exciting collection, Iain McLean and Colin Jennings bring together some of the most eminent social scientists to have advised British governments since 1964. Successive chapters show what went wrong in UK economic policy making in the 1960s and 1970s, what goes better now, and what still goes wrong. The editors explain how recent developments in economic theory have improved economic policy making. Contributors include two former Chief Economic Advisers at HM Treasury, and the co-designer of the successful '3G spectrum auction'.

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The 10th volume of International Review of Comparative Public Policy, focuses on the Labor Markets in Transition.

Unlike earlier studies of the Marshall Plan, this volume concentrates not on events in Washington, but on those in France and Italy--the second and third largest beneficiaries of the Plan. Using U.S., French, and Italian sources, the author analyzes the impact of the Plan on French and Italian economic policy between 1948 and 1950. Taking neither a "realist" nor "revisionist" stance, the author argues that massive American aid to Western Europe was a perceived political necessity--that American, French, and Italian governments shared with Truman the strategic-ideological goal of Communist containment. Yet, not all of the philosophy embedded in the Plan could be implemented, and American ideology did not, therefore, have a decisive influence in reshaping postwar French or Italian economic policies. The book's introduction discusses the goals of the Marshall Plan and how postwar political circumstances led France and Italy to dissimilar economic recovery paths that would often clash with American goals. The following seven chapters analyze how American officials sought to influence French and Italian economic policies. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 cover the French case; chapters 5, 6, and 7, the Italian. The concluding chapter provides a direct comparison of the French and Italian experiences and suggests implications for current historiographical debates.

Over the past three decades, South Korea's economic performance has bordered on a miracle. Few economies have achieved such spectacular growth in such a short period of time. Korea's development process provides a sharp contrast to the lackluster growth experienced by many other developing economies and represents several unique characteristics even in comparison with its neighbors Japan and Taiwan. At the same time, certain aspects of its development remain minor mysteries requiring further examination and scrutiny. At the very least, the meteoric rise of a small economy and its people to international prominence after centuries of obscurity, disenfranchisement,and privation, deserves careful investigation and worldwide attention. This collection of 24 original essays focuses on the economic policies that led to the rapid transformation of the Korean economy. Among the salient features of the Korean experience dealt with by the contributors are development policies and the record of development; export policies--exchange rate, import liberalization, factor price distortions, and changing comparative advantage; production technology and total factor productivity; macroeconomic perspectives; conglomeration, business concentration and management practices; income distribution and labor issues, and urban and regional policies. Throughout the book, the role of the government in the development process and the dominance of large businesses in the economic sphere are analyzed extensively. In seeking to trace the relationships among various economic factors and to provide some insight into the process of economic development, this volume marshalls a considerable array of statistics and institutional descriptions as a background for analysis. This book will be welcomed by those studying economic development in general and the East Asian economy in particular as well as by those currently engaged in dealing with Korea.