National Administrative Traditions Research Articles

Comparative Analysis of Financial Bureaucracies of Europe: The Influence of Policy Sector vs Administrative Tradition on the Attitudes of Finance Officials

The broader goal of the paper is to explore one of the core questions in comparative research on public policy and administration: What is more important in influencing public officials’ attitudes towards policymaking − the distinctive administrative style of the country or the specific features of a policy sector? This article is particularly concerned with the attitudes of the public officials working in the field of finance regarding their policymaking roles. Overall, the results indicate that the national administrative traditions play a stronger role in influencing the policymaking attitudes of officials than their specific sector.

Scientific Advice and Administrative Traditions: The Role of Chief Scientists in Climate Change Adaptation

The role of the chief scientist (CS), a key administrative position in various Israeli ministries, is to fund policy‐oriented research and support evidence‐based decision‐making. Has the CS's role promoted or constrained incorporation of scientific advice regarding climate change adaptation into governmental policy? Have administrative traditions affected the adaptation planning process in Israel? Analysis of documents and 26 in‐depth interviews with key stakeholders sheds light on the ongoing climate change adaptation policy formulation process. Our study reveals that the CS of the Ministry of Environmental Protection functions as a bridge at different interfaces and can be characterized as a boundary worker between institutions. The inherent independence of this position facilitates the CS's ability to initiate, foster, and prioritize complex issues such as adaptation. Our findings further suggest that the perception that Israel has already adapted, or will easily adapt, has negatively affected the adaptation process. 科学建议和行政传统：首席科学家在气候变化适应工作中的作用 首席科学家是以色列各部门的一个关键行政职务, 其具体作用是为政策性研究提供资金, 并支持循证决策。对于有关气候变化适应的科学建议, 首席科学家的作用是促进还是限制了其被纳入到政府政策中？行政传统是否影响了以色列的气候适应规划进程？通过文件分析及与关键利益相关者的26次深入访谈, 笔者揭示了正在进行的适应气候变化政策的制定过程。研究表明, 环保部门的首席科学家在不同的层面上起着桥梁作用, 在不同机构的分界线上工作以彼此连接。该职位的内在独立性能促进首席科学家在发起问题、培养和优先考虑包括适应气候等复杂问题的能力。研究进一步表明, 以色列已经适应了或即将轻易适应某些观点, 而这已经对气候适应过程产生了负面影响。 Asesoria cientifica y tradiciones administrativas: el papel que juegan los cientificos principales en la adaptacion al cambio climatico El papel que juegan los cientificos principales, un puesto administrativo clave en varios ministerios israelies, esta especificamente designado para el financiamiento de investigacion orientada hacia la politica y el apoyo a decisiones basadas en evidencia. ?El papel que juegan los cientificos principales ha promovido o limitado la incorporacion de asesoria cientifica en lo que concierne a la adaptacion al cambio climatico dentro de las politicas del gobierno? ?Las tradiciones administrativas han afectado el proceso de planeacion para la adaptacion en Israel? El analisis de los documentos en 26 entrevistas exhaustivas con partes afectadas clave ilustra el proceso de formulacion de las politicas de adaptacion al cambio climatico actual. Nuestro estudio revela que el Cientifico Principal del Ministerio de Proteccion Ambiental funciona como un puente para diferentes interfaces y puede ser caracterizado como un trabajador limitrofe entre las instituciones. La independencia inherente de esta posicion facilita la habilidad del cientifico principal para iniciar, fomentar y darle prioridad a complejos problemas como la adaptacion. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que la percepcion de Israel ya se ha adaptado, o se adaptara facilmente, y ha afectado negativamente el proceso de adaptacion.

Administrative Traditions – and the Problem of the “Trilemma”

The purpose of this paper is to show that the administration of a modern welfare state is a complex thing. The statemeets the challenge of the “trilemma”. Social policy formation does fundamentally relay on the outcome of the debateabout the future of the European welfare state. From the perspective of the political-economic approach, social policyformation is a dependent variable to both European integration policy and national administrative traditions. However,the national state does not act in a sovereign manner neither in relation to the European Union (EU) nor to domesticmember actors. All of them confronted with a so-called “trilemma” aspect, a term first introduced by the US socialscientist Torben Iversen (2005). In this paper, I follow up his analysis and shows the difficult choices that confrontspolicy-makers on the different administrative levels because of this trilemma and its trade-offs. New PublicManagement ideas are dominant and for the time being confront the other ruling administrative social traditions ofWestern Europe. In this paper, I conclude that a European agreement on a social choice, related to the overcome oftrilemma, must be accomplished to save the welfare state model as we know it. The traditional Nordic welfare statemodel gives an example.

Revisiting the Governance of Privacy

In the early 2000s, we surveyed and analyzed the global repertoire of policy instruments deployed to protect personal data in “The Governance of Privacy: Policy Instruments in Global Perspective.” In this article, we explore how those instruments have changed as a result of 15 years of fundamental transformations in information technologies, and the new digital economy that they have brought in their wake. We review the contemporary range of transnational, regulatory, self-regulatory and technical instruments according to the same framework, and conclude that the types of policy instrument have remained relatively stable, even though they are now deployed on a global scale, rather than in association with particular national legal and administrative traditions. While the labels remain the same, however, the conceptual foundations for their legitimation and justification are shifting as a greater emphasis on accountability, risk, ethics and the social/political value of privacy have gained purchase in the policy community. Our exercise in self-reflection demonstrates both continuity and change within the governance of privacy, and displays how we would have tackled the same research project today. As a broader case study of regulation, it also highlights the importance of going beyond the technical and instrumental labels. The change or stability of policy instruments do not take place in isolation from the wider conceptualizations that shape their meaning, purpose and effect.

Exploring the co-ordination of economic regulation

ABSTRACTThe literature on power dispersion in the regulatory state emphasizes the interdependence of regulatory agencies. However, this may conflict with their independence and specialization. Given this potential conflict, what provisions exist to facilitate co-ordination? And do these reflect national administrative traditions? This study explores these questions in the context of the formalization of co-ordination in economic regulation. First, we develop a new analytical framework for the analysis of co-ordination. Second, we set out how national administrative traditions may affect the formalization of co-ordination. Third, we explore the variation in co-ordination by analysing the formal relations among regulators in four countries with distinct administrative traditions – Germany, Denmark, Italy and the United Kingdom (UK). Our findings suggest that the variation may at least partially be traced back to the independence of agencies. They also stress the importance of competition authorities as focal organizations in shaping relations in the area of economic regulation.

Quality assurance for public higher education: context, strategies and challenges in Kenya

Quality assurance (QA) mechanisms used to be highly dependent on national administrative traditions but nowadays there is a convergence of mechanisms. Compared to more developed higher education (HE) systems in the world, QA systems in Africa are still at an infant stage and thus confronted by many challenges. The purpose of this article is to present some of the findings derived from a study analysing the crucial issues and unique challenges facing Kenya's public HE as it struggles to develop QA mechanisms. Using purposive sampling, the researcher chose two public universities who indicated their willingness to participate and a national QA Agency (QAA). The study was done through in-depth interviews and a review of historical materials and records. Overall, respondents strongly emphasised the need for Kenyan universities to have compulsory and effective external and internal QA mechanisms. They indicated that the trends facing HE make it necessary for HE in Kenya to review their traditional QA structures and to create new systems of external QA. The numerous comments in this research indicate deficiency not only in the QAA focus and work but also in the internal QA frameworks within public universities.

Stakeholders involvement by HTA Organisations: Why is so different?

ObjectiveTo investigate stakeholder involvement by Health Technology Assessment Organisations (HTAOs) in France, Spain, England and Wales, Germany, Sweden, and The Netherlands and to examine whether this involvement depends on (i) the administrative tradition and the relevant conception of the relationship between state and society (contractarian and corporative vs. organic), (ii) the general structure of the healthcare system (HCS) (Bismarckian vs. Beveridgian system), and (iii) the role of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and HTAOs in the HCS. MethodsGiven the exploratory nature of the study, we considered interviews based on semi-structured questionnaires the most appropriate data-gathering technique. The interviews were administered to 16 key personnel in the HTAOs concerned. We have also carried out a literature review on HTAOs and stakeholders (1999–2011) using PubMed, Ebsco, JSTOR and Wiley Science. ResultsIn contractarian and (to a lesser extent) Bismarckian models, stakeholders are more involved. The administrative tradition and the HCS appear less important when the HTA is binding and used for regulatory purposes. In such situations, stakeholders are more intensively involved because their participation provides an opportunity for HTAOs to achieve consensus and legitimacy in advance. ConclusionsDespite the limitations of the research (we did not conduct multiple interviews for each HTAO, and key informants were not always available) and its exploratory nature, we can conclude that models of stakeholders involvement cannot easily be transferred from one country to another due to the importance of national administrative traditions and the characteristics of HCSs.

European experiences as guidelines for public, private and civil sector role redefinition in spatial policy formulation process in Serbia

The period of post-socialist transition in Serbia brings more complex actors environment compared to socialistic period, while institutional arrangements are not enough developed to actively involve different groups of actors in spatial policy formulation process. In order to gather certain knowledge as guidelines for redefining institutional practices in Serbia, institutional framework of Serbia was compared in this paper with institutional framework of three developed European countries, especially in relation to the roles of public, private and civil sector in spatial policy formulation process. The European countries selected for the analysis are United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany because of diverse national administrative traditions, so different institutional arrangements could be researched. By comparing institutional framework in Serbia with the ones in developed European countries following questions are researched: which actors are missing in Serbia, what are the ways institutional arrangements for different groups inclusion into spatial policy formulation process are formed, what are the differences between the roles of certain groups of actors in decision-making process. Current roles of actors in spatial policy formulation process in Serbia are reviewed and possible directions for public, private and civil sector role redefinition in Serbia are discussed in accordance with experiences of developed European countries.

THE DEGREE OF DECENTRALIZATION AND INDIVIDUAL DECISION MAKING IN CENTRAL GOVERNMENT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: A EUROPEAN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

This article reports a comparative study of human resource management (HRM) practices in Europe. We focus on the extent to which decision-making authority is decentralized, that is, passed down to management, and individualized in the sense of being in the discretion of a single decision maker. Using these two dimensions, this paper gives a picture of the distinct way HR decision-making practices are organized in Europe: although decentralization has been a common goal of modernization initiatives, we still find a rather high degree of centralization. Moreover, we find that decentralized decision making frequently goes hand in hand with a higher degree of shared decision making. In addition, we examine the influence of several cultural and institutional factors to address the question of embeddedness in more detail. Our results show that national culture, administrative traditions and institutional arrangements play an important role as explanatory factors for the organization of HR decision-making in Europe.

Institutional Design and Formal Autonomy: Political versus Historical and Cultural Explanations

This article tests two competing hypotheses in the study of the institutional design of regulatory agencies. Political explanations consider the degree of institutional design of regulatory agencies as a function of political factors, such as the degree of policy conflict and political uncertainty. By contrast, historical-cultural explanations of institutional design claim that the design of regulatory agencies is a function of path dependency and national administrative traditions. In this article, we test these hypotheses on a data set of 293 regulatory agencies that were created between 1945 and 2000 in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark. We find strong support for historical-cultural explanations, while our findings suggest that political factors play almost no role in the institutional design of regulatory agencies within parliamentary regimes.

Convergence without diffusion? A comparative analysis of the choice of performance indicators in tax administration and social security

This article cross-nationally compares the choice of performance indicators in two core fields of state activity, tax administration and social security. Exploring the selection of performance indicators in six countries (Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and the US), the article analyses the driving forces for the choice of particular indicators in the context of national administrative traditions and more recent reform agendas on the one hand and the trend towards international exchange and `benchmarking' on the other hand. The article explores the relative significance and interaction of different driving forces of choice and how this shapes the development and application of performance indicators. To that end, it combines instutionalist approaches with the literature on the mechanisms and effects of international exchange and policy diffusion. Our analysis suggests that existing broad similarities are linked to similarities in core activities and values underlying contemporary public service reforms. Variation in the choice of performance indicators (PIs) reflects domestic factors such as governance arrangements through which broad reform trends are filtered. These arrangements also mediate any direct international learning.Points for practitioners This article aims to contribute to the debate around how organizations could learn from the experience of others in designing performance indicators and management systems. Potential for cross-national and cross-sectional learning is particularly high in categories where a particular organization has not yet developed performance indicators but others have done so already. But any cross-reading from other countries' choices should take into account that the definition and use of performance indicators is to a substantial extent driven by domestic institutional traditions, governance arrangements and wider national approaches to performance management. The design of performance indicators should in particular take into account the accountability relations in which agencies are embedded.

EUROPEANIZATION IN MANAGING EU AFFAIRS: BETWEEN DIVERGENCE AND CONVERGENCE, A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ESTONIA, HUNGARY AND SLOVENIA

Scholarly research into Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia has shown that the idiosyncrasies of the new EU countries (especially with respect to institutionalizing and centralizing the co‐ordination of core executives in managing EU affairs at home) persist. They are complemented by trends toward convergence (such as growing co‐ordination efforts and a common tendency: that of the prime minister to be the centre of co‐ordination). In this article external Europeanization pressures, national administrative traditions (the legacies of both pre‐communist and communist systems), and the patterns of party competition that cause variations in politico‐administrative relations, are tested as possible explanatory variables of differences seen in the three countries when managing EU affairs. While national administrative traditions play similar roles to those seen in old(er) member states by filtering the EU‘s impacts, the effect of patterns of party competition on politico‐administrative relations when managing EU affairs has been filtered by the accession states’ national priorities of integrating with the EU.

Transfer and transformation in processes of Europeanization

Abstract. There is a missing link between studies that investigate how regulation is becoming more similar, on the one hand, and studies that focus on how national policy styles and administrative traditions create patterns of stable diversity on the other. This article attempts to bridge these views in an analysis of how ideas transform as they transfer. The article shows that the idea of creating independent regulatory authorities (IRAs) has become institutionalized as a ‘script’ regarding how the regulation of liberalized electricity markets ought to be organized. This script has transferred to the European Union 15 Member States (EU‐15) in processes moving from mimetic and normative to more coercive isomorphism, but the transformation is influenced by the way the need for credibility is mediated by contextual factors. Thus IRAs have more formal independence in countries formerly dominated by state ownership, where policy makers are perceived as corrupt and where decentralization is low. In this way, the analysis reveals how impulses of institutional change from the international arena are mediated by more stable and robust institutional factors at the domestic level.

Coping with Europe: the impact of British and German administrations on the implementation of EU environmental policy

ABSTRACT A central problem for improving the implementation effectiveness of European legislation lies in the impact of national administrative traditions. The dependence on national administrations for implementing European policies implies that the formal transposition and practical application of supranational policies are crucially influenced by administrative traditions prevalent in a certain policy field, which may differ substantially from country to country. Focusing on the implementation of EU environmental policy in Britain and Germany, it is the objective of this article to investigate the interplay of national administrative traditions and European policy implementation in closer detail. The main argument is that the extent to which administrative traditions affect implementation effectiveness is less dependent on the ‘real’ costs of adaptation than on the level of embeddedness of existing structures.

European Policies: The Impact of National Administrative Traditions

This article assumes that a central problem for effective implementation of European legislation is the impact of national administrative traditions, since the formal and practical transformation of EU law rests mainly at the national level. The article investigates the interplay of national administrative traditions and European policy implementation. National administrative traditions prevalent in a policy field may differ from country to country. It is argued, that implementation effectiveness depends on the scope of European adaptation pressure, which is not only affected by European requirements, but also by the embeddedness of the respective administrative traditions and national capacities for administrative reform. According to the degrees of adaptation pressure, different paths are distinguished, suggesting more or less effective implementation. I Introduction In recent years effective implementation of Community legislation has gained importance on the Commission's agenda. Indeed, increasing attention revealed a widespread implementation deficit in many areas (Commission 1996). Besides the limited resources of the Commission to enforce the implementation of EU policy in the member states, the main difficulty lies in the fact that, apart from competition and antidumping policy, effective implementation of EU legislation is highly dependent on the cooperation of member states, who decide on the necessary organisational, legal and institutional arrangements (Rehbinder and Stewart 1985, 137). This reliance on national administrations implies that the formal transposition and practical application of supranational policies is influenced by administrative traditions