Quasi Market Research Articles

Marketization of Higher Education: A European Perspective

This paper introduces the research and understanding of European higher education experts on the newly raised higher education marketization. Their point of view is that higher education marketization is by introducing market mechanism and making operation with market characteristics of higher education. Higher education market is a "quasi market". higher education institutions under the condition of marketization is "a hybrid institution", in which students are the biggest consumers. Colleges and universities are encouraged to introduce accounting systems of enterprises in marketization competition, etc.

Challenges of maintaining accountability in networks of health and care organisations: A study of developing Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships in the English National Health Service.

The English National Health Service (NHS) constitutes a unique institutional context, which combines elements of hierarchy, markets and networks. This has always raised issues about competing forms of accountability. Recent policy has emphasised a move from quasi market competition towards collaboration in the form of new regional organisational arrangements known as Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs). We explore accountability relationships in STPs, focusing on the challenges of increasing horizontal accountability given existing vertical accountabilities, most notably to national regulators. We utilize a case study approach concentrated on three Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in urban and rural settings in England. We conducted in-person interviews with 22 managers from NHS organisations and local authorities and examined local documents to obtain information on governance and accountability structures. The fieldwork was undertaken between November 2017 and July 2018. We analysed results by considering which actors were accountable to what forums and the nature of the obligation (vertical or horizontal). We found that individual organisations still retained vertical accountabilities and were reluctant to be held accountable for the whole STP, given they were responsible for only part of the joint effort. Moreover, organisations did not feel accountable to STPs and instead highlighted vertical accountabilities upwards to their own boards and to national regulators; and downwards to the public. But while local commissioning organisations, CCGs engaged with their members and the public, STPs failed to engage adequately with the public. Nevertheless, there were indications that horizontal accountability was starting to develop. This could become complementary to vertical accountability by facilitating mutual learning and peer review to anticipate and defer regulatory intervention. While vertical accountability is necessary to provide oversight and apply sanctions, it is not sufficient and should be accompanied by horizontal accountability.

Развитие конкуренции на рынке социальных услуг сельских поселений Свердловской области в методологии регионального стандарта

Abstract. The purpose of this article is to analyze the forms of stimulating competition among social market participants in rural settlements of the Sverdlovsk region. Research methods. The method of studying the factors of development of competition in the market of social services of rural settlements within the framework of the Standard for the Development of Competition in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation involves the decomposition of the general objectives of the Standard in the blocks for assessing the competitive environment by market participants and consumers. The information base of the study is formed on the basis of interrogation methods for obtaining information on the results of the implementation of the Standard and covers rural areas of the Sverdlovsk region. The results of the study. The study confirms the use of infrastructural and institutional stimulation of competition in the social services market in rural areas, based on the methodology of the procedures of the regional Standard for the Development of Competition. The results of using this methodology to stimulate competition show unsatisfactory results for the rural social services market. Scientific novelty. The study confirms the use of the methodology of infrastructural and institutional stimulation of entrepreneurial activity in the procedures of the regional Standard for the Development of Competition. Accordingly, the standard does not take into account the properties of the “quasi market” characteristic of the social services market. At the same time, the features of the distribution process when paying for social services provide additional tools to stimulate competition. The authors of the article give a model of using the properties of the “quasi market” to solve the main barrier for entrepreneurs of rural settlements of the Sverdlovsk region expressed in the need to provide activities with their own premises. The compensation mechanism will create a steady demand for the services of organizations investing in the creation of premises for the implementation of their activities.

The Impact of Competitive Quasi-Market on Service Delivery in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria

This research the impact of competitive quasi market on service delivery in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria. Both primary and secondary source of data and information were used for the study and questionnaire was used to extract information from the purposively selected respondents. The population for this study is one hundred and seventy three (173) administrative staff of Benue State University selected at random. The statistical tools employed was the classical ordinary least square (OLS) and the probability value of the estimates was used to tests hypotheses of the study. The result of the study indicates that a positive relationship exist between Competitive quasi marketing in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (CQM) and Transparency in the service delivery (TRSP) and the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.05). Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) has a negative effect on Observe Competence in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (OBCP) and the relationship is not statistically significant (p>0.05). Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) has a positive effect on Innovation in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (INVO) and the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.05) and in line with a priori expectation. This means that a unit increases in Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) will result to a corresponding increase in innovation in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (INVO) by a margin of 22.5%. It was concluded that government monopoly in the provision of certain types of services has greatly affected the quality of service experience in the institution. It was recommended among others that the stakeholders in the market has to be transparent so that the system will be productive to serve the society effectively

The Impact of Competitive Quasi-Market on Service Delivery in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria

This research the impact of competitive quasi market on service delivery in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria. Both primary and secondary source of data and information were used for the study and questionnaire was used to extract information from the purposively selected respondents. The population for this study is one hundred and seventy three (173) administrative staff of Benue State University selected at random. The statistical tools employed was the classical ordinary least square (OLS) and the probability value of the estimates was used to tests hypotheses of the study. The result of the study indicates that a positive relationship exist between Competitive quasi marketing in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (CQM) and Transparency in the service delivery (TRSP) and the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.05). Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) has a negative effect on Observe Competence in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (OBCP) and the relationship is not statistically significant (p>0.05). Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) has a positive effect on Innovation in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (INVO) and the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.05) and in line with a priori expectation. This means that a unit increases in Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) will result to a corresponding increase in innovation in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (INVO) by a margin of 22.5%. It was concluded that government monopoly in the provision of certain types of services has greatly affected the quality of service experience in the institution. It was recommended among others that the stakeholders in the market has to be transparent so that the system will be productive to serve the society effectively

Educación Superior en Contextos de Cuasi Mercados

La Universidad debe ser comprendida en el marco de los procesos socio-históricos que le dieron origen y las condiciones actuales que la exponen a demandas, presiones y tensiones diversas. Desde esta perspectiva, el presente trabajo pretende poner en debate la relación entre la Educación superior y el mercado, haciendo hincapié en la influencia que esta relación tiene en la configuración y resignificación de las funciones que la Universidad asume: docencia, investigación y extensión. De esta manera, se pretende analizar los efectos que las diversas posturas tienen en relación con estas funciones; las cuales se mueven entre tendencias democratizadoras de los espacios públicos y el acceso al conocimiento y otras que promueven la mercantilización de la educación superior. A partir de este análisis se hace alusión a diferentes modelos, los cuales reflejan diversas formas de apropiación y concreción de las funciones de la Universidad en un contexto de cuasi mercado, que ejerce presiones específicas en la configuración de las mismas. En definitiva, se concluye que la Universidad ha tomado un Modelo esencialmente funcional, que la vincula de manera preferente al mundo laboral y el mercado de una forma lineal, mercantilista y acrítica; alejándola cada vez más de sus funciones clásicas que la relacionan a la transmisión crítica del conocimiento científico y la formación cultural y humana superior.

Marketing accountability e excelência na escola pública portuguesa: A construção da imagem social da escola através da performatividade académica

Os autores procuram refletir sobre a relação entre os resultados obtidos pelos alunos nos exames estandardizados, a excelência académica e a forma correspondente de accountability. Partimos do pressuposto de que os testes estandardizados e a excelência académica sustentam não só um managerial model of accountability mas igualmente um modelo de (quasi) market accountability em educação, que providencia estratégias de marketing escolar. Do ponto de vista metodológico, este estudo é apoiado por um trabalho de campo de longa duração desenvolvido em várias escolas públicas portuguesas, onde se analisaram documentos, observaram os rituais públicos de distinção académica e se entrevistaram diretores escolares, professores e estudantes. Os resultados mostram que os rituais públicos de distinção académica dos melhores alunos constituem uma estratégia de marketingusada para promover a imagem social da escola, essencial para induzir a escolha da escola pelas famílias e para reforçar as decisões da liderança do diretor.

The internationalisation agenda: a critical examination of internationalisation strategies in public universities in Ghana

Recently, various strategies have been adopted and adapted by universities in Ghana to re/position themselves in the international arena. Utilising postcolonial and neoliberal theories, this paper critically examines the internationalisation strategies of three public universities in Ghana. Although all the universities have adopted strategies to position themselves internationally, the rates at which these strategies have been introduced differ from one university to the other. Various factors including location, size, age and infrastructural strength influence the rate of involvement. It is argued that the strategies adopted by the universities appear to be embedded in postcolonialism and economic rationales based mainly on neoliberal economic thinking, which sees higher education as a quasi market place where knowledge is bought and sold. The paper argues that universities need to adopt strategies that are proactive and that promote alternative notions of internationalisation in ways that challenge the status quo.

An economic analysis of the limits of market based reforms in the English NHS.

BackgroundOver the past three decades, a limited range of market like mechanisms have been introduced into the hierarchically structured English National Health Service (‘NHS’), which is a nationally tax funded, budget limited healthcare system, with access to care for all, producing structures known as a quasi market. Recently, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (‘HSCA’) has been enacted, introducing further market elements. The paper examines the theory and effects of these market mechanisms.MethodsUsing neo-classical economics as a primary theoretical framework, as well as new institutional economics and socio-legal theory, the paper first examines the fundamental elements of markets, comparing these with the operation of authority and resource allocation employed in hierarchical structures. Second, the paper examines the application of market concepts to the delivery of healthcare, drawing out the problems which economic and socio-legal theories predict are likely to be encountered. Third, the paper discusses the research evidence concerning the operation of the quasi market in the English NHS. This evidence is provided by research conducted in the UK which uses economic and socio-legal logic to investigate the operation of the economic aspects of the NHS quasi market. Fourth, the paper provides an analysis of the salient elements of the quasi market regime amended by the HSCA 2012.ResultsIt is not possible to construct a market conforming to classical economic principles in respect of healthcare. Moreover, it is not desirable to do so, as goals which markets cannot deliver (such as fairness of access) are crucial in England. Most of the evidence shows that the quasi market mechanisms used in the English NHS do not appear to be effective either. This finding should be seen in the light of the fact that the operation of these mechanisms has been significantly affected by the national political (i.e. continuingly hierarchical) and budgetary context in which they are operating.ConclusionThe organisational structures of a hierarchy are more appropriate for the delivery of healthcare in the English NHS.

Taxation as a Quasi–Market Process: Explanation, Exhortation, and the Choice of Analytical Windows

This paper identifies two broad strands of fiscal theorizing that date back to the late 19th century in the persons of Knut Wicksell (1896) and Francis Edgeworth (1897). From Edgeworth descends the treatment of public finance as a branch of applied statecraft, as conveyed these days largely through notions of optimal taxation. From Wicksell descends the treatment of public finance as offering explanations for observed patterns of collective activity. These two branches are not so much antagonistic as they are non-commensurable. The explanatory branch, moreover, is underdeveloped in comparison with the hortatory branch, and this paper seeks to sketch some contours for an explanatory theory of collective activity, paying particular attention to the American fiscal context.

Governance Arrangement in the Ethiopian Higher Education System- Moving Towards Quasi-Market?

Inspired by ideological shifts and pragmatic reasons, governments around the world are experimenting quasi-market type of higher education governance. Introduction of (quasi) market elements in higher education (HE) is also justified by its presumed benefits in efficiency among others. This study had Ethiopian higher education institutions as its focal area. In the study all the higher education institutions both public and private were considered. The study had the purpose of examining whether higher education governance in Ethiopia is moving towards quasi-market. Data were collected from policy documents, statistical abstracts and secondary sources. The public higher education institutions were also contacted by phone to collect data on their practices on some aspects of quasi markets. The analytical tool used was four dimensions of higher education supplier sovereignty. All the data were analyzed qualitatively. It was found out that even though it has started the journey, higher education governance in Ethiopia is a far cry from quasi-market. Following this way the government can make better use of quasi market governance are recommended.

Quasi-market and cost-containment in Beveridge systems: The Lombardy model of Italy

In the very recent past, the Lombardy health care system – established in 1997 on the quasi market model – has caught the interest of researchers and politicians in different OECD countries 1 1 See for example the Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, April 13, 2010, R2. . Its merits, compared to other Italian regional systems, are the control of health care spending and the balanced budget, in a frame of good quality of services and patient choice. From the theoretical point of view, an appealing aspect of the Lombardy model is its gradual shift from a quasi market (QM) to a “quasi administered” system, which maintains all the typical features of the QM orientation – separation between purchasers and providers, the co-presence of public, not for profit and public providers, and patient free choice – but has deliberately sacrificed competition in order to control health expenditure. Another aspect of the Lombardy model is the sharp presence of private providers: the evidence that private sector is mainly concentrated in the long term care, where risks of complications are lower and financial remuneration is higher, suggests that a closer control should be exerted on hospital activity. Furthermore, possible distortions such as cream skimming and cherry picking by the private providers need more consideration. Another concern is linked to health spending control: equity issues could arise when observing a still relatively high share of private (out of pocket) health care expenditure. The paper stems from a literature review and tries to analyse the evolution of this regional system, the institutional path that brought to the implementation of the model, its theoretical basis, its merits and criticism. The period considered ranges from 1997, when the reform was enacted, to 2010.

School Governance and the Mediation of Engagement

The 1988 Education Reform Act radically transformed the local governance of education, according school governing bodies new delegated powers for budgets and staff as well as responsibility for the strategic direction of the school in a quasi market place of parental choice. To take up these new responsibilities the earlier Education Act 1986 had created over 350,000 volunteer citizens in England and Wales to occupy reformed governing bodies: it was the largest democratic experiment in voluntary public participation. The governing bodies were constituted on the principle of partnership between all the groups with a ‘stakeholder’ interest in the school: parents, teachers and support staff would be elected, while other governors would be appointed by the local authority, and drawn from the local community (including local industry and commerce). All the interests would be regarded as equal, one no more important than another. The underlying principle had been that schools would only work well when the different constituencies were provided with a space to express their voice and reach agreement about the purpose and development of the school. The governing body was to have regard for the overall strategic direction of the school, evaluating its progress, and acting as the trustee of the community, publicly accountable for national and local policies (DfEE, 1998).

Why and How to Design a Contingent Convertible Debt Requirement

We develop a proposal for a contingent capital (CoCo) requirement. A proper CoCo requirement, alongside common equity, would be more effective as a prudential tool and less costly than a pure common equity requirement. CoCos can create strong incentives for the prompt recapitalization of banks after significant losses of equity but before the bank has run out of options to access the equity market. That dynamic incentive feature of a properly designed CoCo requirement would encourage effective risk governance by banks, provide a more effective solution to the “too-big-to-fail” problem, reduce forbearance risk (supervisory reluctance to recognize losses), and address uncertainty about the appropriate amount of capital banks need to hold, and the changes in that amount over time. If a CoCo requirement had been in place in 2007, the disruptive failures of large financial institutions, and the systemic meltdown after September 2008, could have been avoided. To be maximally effective, (a) a large amount of CoCos (relative to common equity) should be required, (b) CoCo conversion should be based on a market value trigger, defined using a moving average of a “quasi market value of equity ratio” (QMVER), (c) all CoCos should convert if conversion is triggered, and (d) the conversion ratio should be dilutive of preexisting equity holders.

AS REDEFINIÇÕES DA RELAÇÃO PÚBLICO/PRIVADO E IMPLICAÇÕES PARA A DEMOCRATIZAÇÃO DA EDUCAÇÃO

This study deals with the concept of Third way democracy and its implications for the democratization of education. In the last decade, studies and researches analyzed this particular period of capitalism, which is now in crisis after a long expansion period in the wake of World War II. Its main strategies for overcoming this crisis – neoliberalism, globalization, productive restructuring and the Third way – redefine the role of the State, mainly with regard to social policies, with deeply felt consequences for the relationship between the public and private sectors. This study, therefore, aims to analyze the changes which have taken place in the role of the State both in terms of the change of ownership (non-state public) and what remains in state ownership but which takes on the logic of the market, reorganizing management processes (quasi market). The text is divided into two parts. First it deals with the democratic proposals of neo-liberal theory and the Third way. Then it analyzes the challenges of democratizing education in the contexts of the Third way and the Tertiary Sector.

Trabalho Docente na Universidade: Tensões e Novos Sentidos

This work focuses teaching in public universities in the state of Parana. At first, the current context marked by productive restructuration and the State reform, as well as the changes which Brazilian Universities have been going through are taken into consideration. Thereafter, the study focuses teachers' routines through interviews made with thirty six professors employed by three public universities in the state. The interviews are analyzed and tendencies in the data are discussed. We postulate the constitution of a new time measurement and the building of a new spatialization in teaching arising from political and economical changes which stress the gradual disobligation of public funding. The commodification of knowledge through privatization of programs and subordinated technological innovation is also discussed. Finally, some results of the objective conditions on academic-scientific and political activities of the faculty, such as their engagement with praxis of the educational quasi market, the lack of time for intellectual work and the emptiness of Unions policies are also approached in this work.

Analyzing Modes of Contracting in the Dutch Private Reintegration Market

Over the last decade many of the Western welfare states have found themselves under pressure to reform due to both exogenous factors, such as globalisation and the aging of society, and endogenous factors, such as a shift in focus from welfare to workfare. An important aspect of these reforms concerns the introduction of processes of privatisation. One of the elements of the welfare state that has been subject to privatisation is the provision of reintegration services. The Dutch reintegration market is regarded as a prototype of this form of privatisation. Since the implementation of the Work and Income Implementation Structure Act (SUWI) in 2002, the Institute for Employee Benefit Schemes (UWV) and the local councils are obliged to purchase reintegration services for their clients on the market through the use of tender procedures. During the last five years, the Dutch reintegration market has been investigated extensively. What we know from this research is that the privatisation of reintegration services has gone hand in hand with quite a few problems such as creaming and parking. Problems regarding the contracting out of activation services have been attributed to several factors, of which the failure of the quasi market structure is one of the most important. However, a clear and more complete understanding of all factors that have contributed to the failure of the market mechanism to live up to its expectations seems to be still lacking. Indeed until now, most research exploring the introduction of the market mechanism in the provision of activation services, has examined possible effects and problems related to this new way of policy delivery on the macro level by examining the functioning of the (quasi) market in relation to factors such as the existence of sufficient competition and the availability of suitable providers. Moreover, the assumptions are that when these aspects are fulfilled and a suitable provider has been selected, that subsequently many of the problems that surround the use of the market mechanism are overcome. However, even when the market functions well and a good provider is contracted there remain plenty of obstacles that can complicate service delivery. We believe that a better understanding of the choices that are made in the process of contracting out and the challenges this brings can contribute to help assess the value of expected improvements in efficiency and flexibility. In our paper, we therefore choose to explore the introduction of market mechanisms in to public bureaucracies in relation to activation policies on a different level, as we focus on the process of contracting out The goal of this paper is to identify some theoretical starting points for examining the process of contracting out in the delivery of activation services.

Service Providers and Supporters: Organised Caritas in Need

Discussions and debates within the German Caritas were already underway in the nineties and have now become extremely heated. These discussions mostly revolve around the role the organisation should play within society, or to be more precise its modus operandi. What is caritas? What should its tasks be? How should it perform them and what exactly should it do? These appear to be the questions that are the most burning internal issues of this huge organisation. Caritas is in search of its role in today’s world, a world which is very materialistic. The expression materialistic world highlights the true essence of these internal disputes: should the main emphasis be on the gospels, focusing on fraternal love, rejecting discrimination, and accepting people living under adverse conditions, even safeguarding their interests, or should it be on professional services? In the second case it would of course face market conditions and competition even within the field of social work. This would not only influence the identity of Caritas, the image it has created of itself, but it would also have a strong impact on the way it is generally perceived, and would expose it to generally existing market risks. Although Caritas currently considers both its market and its socially based profiles to be equally legitimate, it is not irrelevant for its future which path it chooses. While the environment in which it operates faces both recurring and new problems, Caritas needs to be prepared, indeed should be prepared, for the continuous expansion of this quasi market. The employment rate of German women aged 15-65, for example, has reached around 65% today while the traditional family model has all but disappeared. The market is therefore increasing, and Caritas will need to satisfy the new market demands in a variety of ways. Despite recognising these issues earlier, Caritas only specified the guidelines it wishes to take into account and emphasise in the future as late as at the 1999 session of its Executive Committee, in Berlin.1 These principles appear in the statement issued as the final document of the session: ‘These activities are based on the mission that the free and benevolent love of God means in the world and which cannot be equalled by products available on the market. . . . Essential characteristics of Caritas as a service provider are support, mediation, social work and pity.’2

The 'new' politics of education in Britain's changing times

The British Labour Party has continued to make progress on education, following two broad policy paths and adopting a pragmatic approach that does not attempt to force these to cross or converge. One path is that of the quasi market inherited from the previous Conservative administration; the other is characterised as 'intervention' to support those for whom the market remains almost entirely irrelevant. Some observers regard this dual approach as 'opportunism' and Labour's education policy as a 'betrayal' of principle, by which is meant the principle of 'equal opportunity'. Of course, that principle provides equal opportunity to fail as much as to succeed. Rather than leaving education to the market, Labour has focused on the needs of those most likely to be failed by the principle of 'equal' opportunity in a quasi market.

Régulation des systèmes de santé : quelques expériences étrangères de réformes en Europe

Improving the health care system : some European reforms In Europe, since nineties, most countries have been engaged in important reforms to improve their health care system and to control costs. These reforms followed a common inspiration and are mainly articulated around : the introduction of market or quasi market mechanisms between Health insurance Funds (Dekker Reform in Netherlands, Seehofer reform in Germany) and/or providers (Thatcher reform in UK) ; a purchaser/provider split in the introduction of new public management methods inspired by the private sector (Nordic and southern European countries) ; the reinforcement of decentralisation (Nordic and southern European countries). Finally, the rolling back of the State in the financing of health care leads to a more important role of private insurers and could bring about changes in the role and nature of both public and private interventions within the whole health care system. JEL classification : H51, I11, O52