Rationale For Reform Research Articles

From Divergence to Integration: The Dilemma and Reform Rationale of Numerical and Intelligent Financial Talent Training in Universities

From Divergence to Integration: The Dilemma and Reform Rationale of Numerical and Intelligent Financial Talent Training in Universities

Health Consequences of Uninsured Adults

The health consequences of uninsurance are real, vary in magnitude in a clinically consistent manner. Health services research conducted over the past 25 years makes a compelling case that having health insurance or using more medical care would improve the health of the uninsured. Uninsured adults have less access to recommended care, receive poorer quality of care, and experience worse health outcomes than insured adults do. Uninsured adults forego preventive care and seek health care at more advanced stages of disease. Society then bears these costs through lower productivity, increased rates of communicable diseases, and higher insurance premiums. Some mortality studies imply that a 4%–5% reduction in the uninsured's mortality is a lower bound; other studies suggest that the reductions could be as high as 20%–25%. The potential health benefits of expanding insurance coverage for these adults may provide a strong rationale for reform. In its review study, we have highlighted the health consequences of uninsurance among adults.

Taming the UK's war prerogative: the rationale for reform

AbstractThis paper assesses the current state of the war prerogative, specifically focusing on deployment decisions. It outlines the constitutional position over troop deployments, scrutinises recent reform efforts and problematises the rationale underpinning those reforms. The paper proceeds along one simple normative claim: that against the backdrop of frequent interventions, the publication of theIraq Inquiryand a series of Bills that have sought to statutorise deployment decisions, less use-of-force is better than more use-of-force, and constitutional arrangements ought to reflect this. The paper begins with an exegesis of the most recent attempt to bring deployment decisions onto a statutory footing, focusing on: (a) the difficulties and concomitant problems in defining ‘conflict decisions’; and (b) whether it could make deployment decisions reviewable. The paper then seeks to examine the rationale for reform, arguing that the main impetus behind the series of efforts has been to democratise the process of troop deployments when instead they should focus on use-of-force reduction.

Conglomerate Unions and Transformations of Union Democracy

AbstractConfronted with membership losses and declining bargaining power, trade unions have engaged in both political and organizational responses. A frequent type of organizational response has involved the creation of conglomerate unions, which bring together workers from various sectors and occupations. Pointing out a number of parallels between organizational developments in trade unions and political parties, this article analyses the emergence of conglomerate unions as a cause and consequence of changing conceptions of union democracy. Drawing on two in‐depth case studies conducted in France and Germany, the article examines how trade unions perceive their situation and how they define a reform rationale based on increasing their organizational ‘efficiency’ and ‘effectiveness’. In accordance with this rationale, unions engage in mergers and create larger conglomerates, thereby centralizing decision‐making bodies and professionalizing their staff. The reform of trade unions’ internal organization, in turn, affects unions’ capacity for interest aggregation and representation.

Initial Teacher Education in Wales – a Rationale for Reform

In March 2015, I published a report, Teaching Tomorrow's Teachers (Furlong, 2015), outlining proposals for the reform of initial teacher education in Wales. The first part of the report examined evidence of the quality of current provision as well as the challenges for the future raised by the recent Donaldson Review of curriculum and assessment (Donaldson, 2015). The second part of the report then outlined a series of 'options for change' concluding with a set of nine specific recommendations. These recommendations included proposals for the revision of the legal 'Standards' that underpin initial teacher education, new procedures for accrediting teacher education courses, changes to the undergraduate primary route into teaching and strategies for development of pedagogical research capacity. This article revisits the key arguments of the report and examines both the rationale and the evidence underlying its key arguments and recommendations.

Infrastructure and Metropolitan Reorganization: An Exploration of the Relationship in Africa and India

ABSTRACT:Despite decades of effort, deficiencies in access and quality of infrastructure persist in cities of the developing world. One common response to the infrastructure problem is to reorganize the structure of metropolitan areas in the hopes that infrastructure provision, management, and quality will improve. What is not clear globally, however, is how the reorganization of metropolitan areas comes to be, and how infrastructure deficiencies function as a rationale for reform in conjunction with other dominant reasons or drivers of metropolitan reorganization. Building on the demand for increased cross-regional comparison in urban studies generally, this article explores and compares the relationship between infrastructure quality and political and social pressures in four cities—two in India and two in East Africa. The comparison is intended to be exploratory; it shows how city and national government efforts to improve infrastructure quality are shaped by political and social pressures. The results provide a foundation for future cross-regional comparison and theory building.

PhD crisis discourse: a critical approach to the framing of the problem and some Australian ‘solutions’

A feature of HE reform discourse is the tendency to construct the rationale for reform in terms of averting calamity and risk. We refer to this risk talk as ‘crisis discourse’. This study examines the formulation of PhD crisis discourse internationally and in Australia. We find that a key feature of PhD crisis discourse is that universities are producing too many graduates for too few academic jobs; and graduates lack skills that enable them to be productive in jobs outside academia. In Australia, the discourse has shifted from one dominated by efficiency concerns from the late 1990s to the present focus on graduate skills and employability. The policy solution to the efficiency crisis in the Australian PhD resulted in system-wide changes in research training funding focused on increased efficiency. The current unemployability discourse has as yet prompted isolated institutional responses, the introduction of new PhD programs or re-badging existing offerings as pro-skills development offerings. Following an examination of three Australian institutional responses, we conclude that the crisis discourse signals tensions surrounding the PhD: should achievement in doctoral education be measured by outcomes in intellectual excellence or the responsiveness of qualification to the current needs and priorities of society?

Building a Record for the Next Court

Prepared for Symposium on Future of Campaign Finance Reform hosted by the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy and Center on Law, Race, and Politics. This article considers the evidence that should be collected and developed to support the next generation of campaign finance reform before the next Supreme Court. It discusses but ultimately sidesteps theoretical debates over rationales for reform, focusing instead on the practical questions likely to be faced by future policymakers, lawyers, and expert witnesses. Drilling down into the ample evidentiary record in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, the article addresses the evidence that should be amassed by supporters of future regulation. This type of evidentiary record will be essential both in formulating the next generation of campaign finance reforms and in defending them in court. The article argues that, regardless of whether one favors an anti-corruption or egalitarian rationale for regulation, the evidentiary record should focus on conflicts of interest – in particular, on whether a reasonable legislator would feel pressure to act in way that is different from the preferences of her constituents or the public interest. This is something more than a showing of unequal access, but something less than a showing of actual influence on policymaking. In the near term, these suggestions are designed to help define a research agenda for qualitative and quantitative empirical researchers. In the long term, they offer a roadmap for legislators shaping and lawyers defending future regulations before a Supreme Court less reflexively antagonistic to reform than the current one.

The Obama Administration's Regulatory Review Initiative: A 21st Century Federal Regulatory Initiative?

On January 18, 2011, President Obama signed Executive Order 13563, Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, which instructs federal regulators to do the following: coordinate their agencies activities to simplify and harmonize rules that may be overlapping, inconsistent, or redundant; determine whether the present and future benefits of a proposed regulation justify its potential costs (including taking into account both quantitative and qualitative factors); increase participation of industry, experts, and the public (“stakeholders”) in the formal rule-making process; encourage the use of warnings, default rules, disclosure requirements, and provisions of information to the public as an alternative to traditional “command-and-control” rule-making restricting consumer choice; and mandate a government-wide review of all existing administrative rules to remove outdated regulations. Executive Order 13563 includes a qualitative “values” provision to be considered in the required cost–benefit analysis, which can potentially counteract the alleged regulatory reform rationale of President Obama. Furthermore, in Executive Order 13563, President Obama established a deadline of May 18, 2011, for all executive branch agencies to submit their plans to streamline their rulemaking operations and repeal those “overlapping, inconsistent, or redundant” rules. These two issues, along with complementary regulatory review proposals being discussed in the U.S. Congress, are evaluated in this essay.

Reforming the NHS: necessary and achievable?

Proposals for radical NHS reform by the UK's Secretary of State for Health provoked such a storm of protest and concern that the prime minister appeared on breakfast television and, on the same day, published an opinion piece in The Times newspaper to defend them.1 By this point, the rationale for reform had mutated into a combination of saving money and simultaneously improving health outcomes – both of which have to be achieved in the context of changing demography and disease epidemiology, rampant technology, rising patient expectations, and shrinking resources. The reforms were needed, the government claims, because we are performing worse than many of our European neighbours. The data used to make this case, however, are a couple of years old and the claims of inferior ‘amenable mortality’2 have since been challenged. Appleby has shown that UK health outcomes for heart disease, for example, have now almost converged with those in France – where outcomes are reckoned to be good – and at lower cost.3 Similar trends are apparent for lung cancer. Cooper et al have documented that waiting times for knee, hip, and cataract surgery have greatly improved, without any evidence of widening health inequities.4 Access to diagnostic and treatment facilities for cancer have also improved, and …

Strategies for Reforming Fossil-Fuel Subsidies: Practical Lessons from Ghana, France and Senegal

To a large extent, subsidies to fossil fuels amount to a waste of precious government resources. In the case of consumer subsidies provided mostly in developing countries, these subsidies are often intended as measures to alleviate poverty. In practice, however, they frequently miss that objective, with benefits largely reaped by higher income groups who can afford motor vehicles and electrical goods. Better-designed and targeted policies can achieve poverty reduction far more cost-effectively.Moreover, reducing the burden of subsidies from the public purse would help relieve fiscal debt during a time of economic recession; free up government resources for other priorities such as education and healthcare; and contribute towards addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing investment barriers for clean and renewable energy technologies and resources.This report looks at three cases where governments - Ghana, France and Senegal - have undertaken fossil-fuel subsidy reform with varying degrees of success. While the specific circumstances of each country is unique, there appear to be elements of successful reform strategies that are consistent across different types of subsidies, fuels and countries. Drawing from these three case studies, this report describes how effective strategies are based on:• a deep understanding of the subsidy, its original objectives, the rationale for reform and the likely impacts;• establishing clear objectives and parameters for reform;• building support by communicating the benefits of reform and consulting stakeholders;• policy measures to reduce negative impacts on affected groups; • ongoing monitoring, and evaluation of reform and the flexibility to adjust policies in changing circumstances; and,• independent pricing mechanisms to prevent the government being drawn back in to subsidization.This paper is published as part of the series Untold Billions: Fossil-fuel subsidies, their impacts and the path to reform.

Reform of water institutions: review of evidences and international experiences

This paper provides an overview of the reform of water institutions in developing countries in the last three decades focusing on the ‘what, why and how’ of institutional reform, and outlines their implications for policy and research. The review covers four areas: (1) water rights and river basin institutions; (2) decentralized irrigation management; (3) private sector participation in urban water supply; and (4) regulation of water infrastructure. The review suggests that (a) the theoretical rationale for reforms is mostly grounded on arguments for efficiency, effectiveness and fiscal sustainability with little considerations for equity; (b) models of institutional design varies from incremental to comprehensive; and (c) implementation experiences among countries are mixed, given the conditional nature of institutional reform; and (d) changes in elite perception holds the key to reform.

Reducing regulatory burden on the upstream petroleum sector

On 30 April 2009, the Productivity Commission released its Review of Regulatory Burden on the Upstream Petroleum Sector. The report identified significant unnecessary costs from delays and uncertainties in obtaining approvals, duplication of compliance requirements and inconsistent administration of regulatory processes. The commission found that these burdens could be reduced through new institutional arrangements—principally the establishment of a national offshore regulator—as well as implementation of best practice regulatory principles in all jurisdictions. On 5 August 2009, the Commonwealth Minister for Resources and Energy, the Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP, announced the Australian Government’s intention to establish a national offshore petroleum regulator in Commonwealth offshore areas, from 1 January 2012. The Council of Australian Governments is scheduled to consider an all-of-governments’ response to the commission’s recommendations in early 2010. The paper will discuss the policy rationale for reform, the proposed reforms and how they will be implemented.

Reform of Water Institutions: Review of Evidences and International Experiences

This article provides an overview of the reform of water institutions in developing countries in the last three decades focusing on the what, why and how of institutional reform and outlines their implications for policy and research. The review covers four areas: 1) water rights and river basin institutions; 2) decentralized irrigation management; 3) private sector participation in urban water supply and 4) regulation of water infrastructure. The review suggests that 1) the theoretical rationale for reforms are mostly grounded on arguments for efficiency, effectiveness and fiscal sustainability with little considerations for equity; 2) models of institutional design varies from incremental to comprehensive; and 3) implementation experiences among countries are mixed given the conditional nature of institutional reform but changes in elite perception holds the key to reform.

Health Consequences of Uninsurance among Adults in the United States: Recent Evidence and Implications

Uninsured adults have less access to recommended care, receive poorer quality of care, and experience worse health outcomes than insured adults do. The potential health benefits of expanding insurance coverage for these adults may provide a strong rationale for reform. However, evidence of the adverse health effects of uninsurance has been largely based on observational studies with designs that do not support causal conclusions. Although recent research using more rigorous methods may offer a better understanding of this important subject, it has not been comprehensively reviewed. The clinical and economic literature since 2002 was systematically searched. New research contributions were reviewed and evaluated based on their methodological strength. Because the effectiveness of medical care varies considerably by clinical risk and across conditions, the consistency of study findings with clinical expectations was considered in their interpretation. Updated conclusions were formulated from the current body of research. The quality of research has improved significantly, as investigators have employed quasi-experimental designs with increasing frequency to address limitations of earlier research. Recent studies have found consistently positive and often significant effects of health insurance coverage on health across a range of outcomes. In particular, significant benefits of coverage have now been robustly demonstrated for adults with acute or chronic conditions for which there are effective treatments. Based on the evidence to date, the health consequences of uninsurance are real, vary in magnitude in a clinically consistent manner, strengthen the argument for universal coverage in the United States, and underscore the importance of evidence-based determinations in providing health care to a diverse population of adults.

Competing Rationales for Corporate Governance in France: Institutional Complementarities between Financial Markets and Innovation Systems

ABSTRACTManuscript Type: ConceptualResearch Question/Issue: This paper identifies the causes and consequences of corporate governance reform with reference to the French case. By disaggregating institutional complementarities into global and domestic dimensions, we analyze the path of institutional change compelled by financial efficiency and cooperative innovation.Research Findings/Results: Our analysis of the French case shows that both converging and diverging forces of institutional change coexist, shaping selective responses to globalization. While the adoption of the shareholder model is necessary for resource acquirement from the global capital markets, resource allocation in the cooperative innovation systems reinforces the stakeholder model. The French case confirms the sustainability of distinctive institutional complementarities, albeit with selective adaptation based on a sense‐making social compromise.Theoretical Implications: The French case reminds us of the importance of distinctive institutional traditions and dominant social rationalities to understand the underlying logic of governance reform. The comparative research on corporate governance needs to address not just the cross‐country variations in institutional arrangements and practices, but also the clash of competing rationales for reform explicitly in comparative terms within a single country context.Practical Implications: For foreign investors, it is vital to understand the unique institutional environment of state‐centred stakeholder economies if they are to negotiate the best terms of return and to avoid unnecessary conflicts. French managers are expected to devise strategic choices responding to the competing rationales of governance. Managerial sense‐making is essential for achieving sound long‐term performance, upon which the legitimacy and sustainability of the constellation of selective governance rests.

State reform in Greece: responding to old and new challenges

PurposeThe paper attempts to assess the impact of reforms of the last 25 years on Greek administration and more specifically on its Napoleonic features. Given that those have been reshaped by country specific socio‐political dynamics, the analysis starts by pointing out the Napoleonic features but also specific features its Greek variant. These form the context of reforms undertaken and determine their trajectories as well as their limitations.Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines four basic reform areas linked to important features of Napoleonic states: centrality of the state, centralised bureaucratic structures, labour relations in the public sector, and citizens‐administration relations. The rationale of reforms is discussed in relation to NPM trends but also to domestic challenges and priorities.FindingsThe significance of reforms undertaken varies. The state's presence in the economy has been significantly reduced and decentralisation reforms are more important politically than administratively. Citizens' rights and service delivery have been conceived rather as forms of democratisation and modernisation than as managerial reforms. Only recently labour relations in the public sector have been partly challenged while other reform aspects such as “agencification”, systematically by‐passing existing bureaucratic structures start to be part of the picture. Change has been incremental and followed pre‐established paths. The “Napoleonic” features of the state have not been seriously affected and reforms have hardly been reshaped by the new managerial paradigm. While the state remains the main reform actor and the law a typical policy instrument, a distinctive reform path emerges in Greece, as defined by the apparently contradictory rationale of a number of initiatives responding to old as much to new challenges.Originality/valueProvides a brief account of important aspects of the Greek variant of the Napoleonic state and the context of recent reforms. Features and limits of reforms are also discussed. Finally, a tentative assessment answers the central question of the paper.

Reforming the Government in Pakistan: Rationale, Principles and Proposed Approach

Though government reforms are viewed as important for most developing countries, the rationale for these reforms must be clearly understood if they are to be correctly designed and implemented. From an international perspective, government reforms in Pakistan must be developed to integrate Pakistan into a larger global economy and should be based on the lessons learned from other developing countries. From the domestic perspective, reforms are necessary for the Pakistani government to adapt to the changing domestic environment. The reforms must focus broadly on the Federal, Provincial and District governments, on civil service reform and on business process re-engineering. This paper details the rationale for government reform in Pakistan, focuses on critical areas of reform, and provides a framework for the proposed reform approach.

Property and Cohabitation: Understanding the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006

A. INTRODUCTION B. THE CONTENT OF THE REFORM (1) Presumption of common property in household goods (2) Financial claim on termination of cohabitation other than by death (3) Financial claim on death of a cohabitant C. THE RATIONALES FOR REFORM (1) Legal certainty and clarity (a) Common property in household goods (b) Financial provision on termination otherwise than by death (c) Financial provision on death (2) Protection of the vulnerable (3) Protection of children (4) Demographic change D. COHABITATION, MARRIAGE AND PARTNERSHIP E. CONCLUSION

Advocacy Coalitions and Health Politics in Korea

Abstract This article analyses the political dynamics underlying health care reform in Korea after the Asian economic crisis. The reform was a significant volte‐face in respect of the social policy paradigm, which now aims to enhance equity in National Health Insurance. The article pays special attention to the evolution of the advocacy coalition for equity in health policy and how it developed the two attributes required for successful policy change: institutional strength and the elaboration of policy rationale for reform. This process was not a simple linear development but a combination of setbacks and advances. The article also takes into consideration the structural conditions that set the policy environment over the course of the advocacy coalition's evolution since the 1960s. In short, the policy reform of 2000 was not a simple policy change in response to the economic crisis, but rather the outcome of the long‐term evolution of the advocacy coalition for equity in health policy.