Successful Reform Research Articles

New public sector management (NPM) doctrines and service delivery: the case of Mauritius

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate into the perception of new public sector management (NPM) and service delivery among senior officers of the Mauritian public sector in the context of reforms. Although improved service delivery is one of the salient outcomes of successful reforms of NPM, many governments in the world have not been able to fulfil this promise. While few extant research probe into the factors affecting service delivery, mostly from the customer’s perspective, this study probes into how senior public officers themselves perceive service delivery as part of their duty in government.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative stance was adopted for this study. Interviews were conducted with 23 senior public officers having on average 20 years of service in the Mauritian public sector. Data obtained was transcribed and coded under themes, sub-themes and emergent themes. These were then analysed in the light of the literature review conducted.FindingsThe findings of this study revealed that NPM was being practiced and service delivery was an imbedded factor among senior public sector officers of the Mauritian public sector. Among other factors, officers interviewed were of the opinion that serving the public was a legitimate part of their job, view that they had agreed to serve the government of Mauritius. Such a finding proves to be very encouraging for the Mauritian Government, still struggling to achieve reforms or NPM doctrines.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the scant literature on NPM and service delivery in small island developing states. It explores the perception of experienced senior officers about the practice of NPM and the state of service delivery.Practical implicationsThis study elucidates how senior public servants themselves perceive service delivery and can, thus, serve as an example of public sector best practices in small island developing states.Originality/valueWhile most studies with respect to public sector reforms concentrate on developed countries, this study takes place in the small island state of Mauritius. More so, the perception of public servants themselves have been explored in the context of service delivery improvement and reforms, contrary to other studies which concentrate of the customers’ perceptions.

Concept of Regulating youth Migration Mobility of Ukraine in War Conditions

Problematic aspects of the synergy of youth and migration policy, which acquire additional relevance for Ukraine in the war conditions, in the article were considered. The aim of the article is the scientific substantiation of the conceptual provisions regarding the regulation of youth migration mobility with the detection of modern priorities for Ukraine. The analysis of the legislation of Ukraine in the social sphere made it possible to reveal the importance of the issue of state support for youth among the conceptual-strategic and program-target priorities. At a time when developed countries are actively promoting the idea of «Talent on the Move», youth migration in Ukraine is taking on threatening characteristics due to the lack of systematic regulation of it. The results of a sociological survey of young people with migration experience, based on the example of the Lviv region of Ukraine, proved that youth re-emigration intentions were extremely low even before the Russo-Ukrainian War 2022. The emigration of Ukrainian youth is intellectualizing, changing the previous migration labor wave. The current wave of forced emigration also has the face of children and youth, who are highly likely to successfully integrate into host societies. Taking into account the risks of irreversible demographic losses and the social functionality of the state, it is necessary to implement a new concept of regulating the youth migration mobility, which includes measures to influence migration movements and migration potential, as well as support for the main areas of youth life. The new concept should be developed in accordance with the regulated priorities of national security, human and sustainable development, the expediency of youth policy regionalization in the conditions of a successful decentralization reform. The basis of the migration potential regulation is the organization of migration mobility monitoring in the context of the development and capitalization of human potential, that is, the clarification of the consequences of migration for the person and the region (state) of origin. It is mandatory to support of social ties with diaspora institutions. The new concept of regulating the youth migration mobility should aim to stimulate their re-emigration with a promising transition to ensuring circular migration during the post-war recovery period of Ukraine. The obtained results are the basis for further research in the part of determining the mechanisms of stimulating the re-emigration of young people to Ukraine and attracting their potential during further stay abroad.

The Need to Implement Change in Educational Leadership

Abstract This article is inspired by the practical approach to education reforms, within education for all. These reforms have greatly fueled political dialogue and exchange of experience. Given the number of countries and regions of the world concerned, these reforms take place in a wide variety of contexts that underlie the specificity of each. Consequently, any possibility of classification and typology may encounter theoretical and practical obstacles that are difficult to overcome. Although we do not ignore them, observing certain dominant common features of these reforms allows us to try it through a double input: the expectations and the conduct of change, especially those determined by the globalization of reforms through the frameworks of successive education assessments and international assessments (PISA, TIMSS, PASEC, SAQMEC). The challenge is threefold. It is primarily a matter of categorizing expectations and strategic choices that make it possible to distinguish policies in the field of educational reform. This opens up a deeper understanding of the nature and impact of each of these different types of reform to better inform the analysis of the options that have guided the unfolding of change. The second challenge is to identify the major challenges faced by change management. Such challenges, by their scale and complexity, often explain the discrepancies between expectations for change and the results of reforms. One of the implications is also that addressing these challenges creates the critical conditions for successful reforms. The reflection on the lessons learned then opens the way to new perspectives for the development of reforms to which current and future trends in the evolution of education systems are articulated.

LAND REFORM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - A MARRIAGE OF NECESSITY

In order for land reform to be successful in the agricultural arena, the end-result must promote sustainable development. The question is whether legislation and policy initiatives have been conducive in furthering the partnership between land reform and sustainable development. Although the link between the two seems apparent, after a brief analysis of existing land reform legislation it is clear that legislation generally does not reflect this. Many actors have an impact on the harmonization of land reform and sustainable development, inter alia (a) problems resulting from the former racially-based land control approach and (b) geographical and climatic factors. The problems experienced in the rural areas in especially the former national states and self-governing territories are discussed in more detail. In order to place the current situation in perspective, recent developments that impact on land reform and development are then discussed, namely the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development Plan and the Strategic Plan for SA Agriculture. In light of these developments various shortcomings are further identified that still hamper the closer working partnership between land reform and sustainable development. The conclusion is reached that the mere transfer of land is no guarantee for a successful land reform programme. What is needed, is a balanced approach towards addressing the demand for land on the one hand and maintaining agricultural production on the other.

A Stone in the Other's Hand: Finnish Basic Education Curriculum Reform

Since the 20th century, the success of Finnish basic education has attracted the attention of many countries in the world. Starting from the background and development history of Finland's basic education curriculum reform, we explore the reasons and characteristics of its curriculum reform and summarize the inspiration of its successful reform to China's basic education reform on this basis.

A Stone in the Other's Hand: Finnish Basic Education Curriculum Reform

Since the 20th century, the success of Finnish basic education has attracted the attention of many countries in the world. Starting from the background and development history of Finland's basic education curriculum reform, we explore the reasons and characteristics of its curriculum reform and summarize the inspiration of its successful reform to China's basic education reform on this basis.

Unclogging Courts by Targeting Litigant Incentives: The Case of the Brazilian Labour Justice Reform

Overburdened courts hinder economic and social progress, yet successful court reforms are rare. Instead of boosting judicial resources or adapting procedure, Brazil tackled persistent backlogs and delays in its labour courts by replacing the pre‐existing each‐pays‐their‐own‐costs (American) rule for allocation of litigation expenses with an alternative loser‐pays‐all (English) rule. Using a newly assembled court‐level panel dataset and difference‐in‐differences approach, we show that the reform alleviated the courts' demand pressures and, most importantly, increased court efficacy in both adjudication and enforcement. The Brazilian experience offers valuable policy lessons about viable court reforms for other jurisdictions.

Analysis of European experience in improving public administration mechanisms

No country is capable of building a progressive society without resorting to systematic modification of the model of public management, as the states of the Baltic Sea region have proven by their own example. The relevance of the analysis of the public administration mechanisms of the Baltic countries is explained by the success of the modernized policy of the administration system in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, whose experience is a vivid illustration of successful reform and the desire for permanent socio-economic growth. The purpose of this scientific work is to study the multifaceted components of the functioning of the updated concept of public administration of the Baltic republics through the prism of European integration processes within the countries, in particular. The leading methods of research work were the methods of analysis and generalization, with the help of which the key means of improving the public sector of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia were revealed in combination with the method of comparison, which made it possible to compare the public management models of the three Baltic states. This article reveals the importance of the implementation of innovative decisions by subjects of power in order to realize the civil liberties of the population and ensure the principles of public administration. It was established that the change in the principles of state leadership in the Baltic states was due to the preparation for joining the European Union. In particular, the idea of interaction between state institutions and the civilian population was introduced, the latest information technologies were involved, and an anti-corruption policy was implemented. It was determined that the reformation of the public sector depends on ensuring its smooth functioning. The practical value of the mentioned scientific work lies in the possibility of using its materials in the process of developing reform solutions for the reconstruction of the public administration system

FINANCIAL DECENTRALIZATION IN UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPEAN TRENDS

Decentralization is considered one of the most successful reforms in Ukraine. It has become a decisive factor in the social and economic development of the country. As a result of the reform, a significant amount of powers and sources of financial resources were transferred from the state authorities as close as possible to the people – to territorial communities in the form of local self-government bodies. Decentralization processes are dominant in the developed countries of the world and involve strengthening the financial autonomy of municipalities. However, in contrast to European countries, Ukraine remains a state in which extensive methods of economic development are preserved.The article is devoted to the study of the process of financial decentralization in Ukraine, which was carried out in the context of European trends. It is justified that powers between the levels of power and management should be demarcated according to the principle of subsidiarity. The article analyzes the degree of decentralization of revenues of local budgets of Ukraine and the countries of the European Union. The current system of local taxation in Ukraine has been studied. According to the results of the study, problems related to financial decentralization were identified. The search for ways to increase local communities' own incomes and ways to increase the autonomy of local self-government bodies was carried out. Proposals have been developed to improve the efficiency of tax revenue generation, which aims to help strengthen the financial independence of local budgets at the current stage of development.

The timely administration of justice: using computational simulations to evaluate institutional reforms at the CJEU

ABSTRACT The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) faces a growing backlog of cases and delays in administering justice. Identifying the factors that prolong the resolution of cases is critical for designing successful institutional reforms. In this article, we use a Bayesian model to identify the characteristics of cases, judges, and the Court's internal procedures that affect the duration of cases. Then, we run computational simulations that use our model to estimate the likely effect of potential institutional reforms aimed at reducing the Court's backlog. We offer policy recommendations based on our findings. Our methodology can be tailored to study the efficiency of other domestic and international courts.

Why democratic police reform mostly fails and sometimes succeeds: police reform and low state capacity, authoritarianism and neo-patrimonial politics (in the former Soviet Union)

ABSTRACT Democratic police reform models dominate discussions on police reform in non-Western contexts. Researchers and practitioners often attribute reform failings to personnel and institutional failure within police organisations, the weakness of formal external institutions of control and accountability, lack of inclusion of, or customisation to, hybrid forms of governance or a failure to address social injustice more broadly. Drawing on analysis of political and police transformation in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Russia this paper suggests low state capacity and authoritarian and neo-patrimonial politics present more prominent barriers to DPR. In low capacity states police pay is insufficient and bureaucratic control weak. Formal reforms have little influence over the police who are influenced by organised crime and corrupt police leaders and politicians. Authoritarian and neo-patrimonial elites often stymie reform initiatives which undermine their political and economic interests. Full DPR is thus unlikely without increasing state capacity and political elite will and capacity to democratise control of the police. But contrary to democratisation being key to successful reform the relationship between regime type and reform outcomes is more nuanced. Partial reform is possible where a partially authoritarian/neo-patrimonial regime has the ability to improve police effectiveness and clampdown on corruption and prioritises these.

Inside the Europeanization black box: the evolution of corruption risk in Albania’s public procurement

ABSTRACT The Western Balkans EU candidate countries face rule of law challenges far more serious than Hungary or Poland did at the time of their accessions in 2004. Despite extensive EU conditionality and support, with 16% of EU pre-structural funds dedicated between 2014 and 2020 to rule of law projects, governance indicators show no substantial change. The European Court of Auditors (ECA) also found little impact in advancing the rule of law in the candidate countries in the Western Balkans. The European Commission, however, does report signs of progress. By drawing on public procurement data from the two sectors concentrating most public expenditure, namely health and construction, between the years 2017 and 2019, this paper solves the dilemma of how allegedly successful reforms can happen without much impact. By directly measuring government favouritism in procurement, before and after EU-driven reforms, the paper finds that evolution has so far been limited despite proving the effect of certain interventions. The paradox is explained by providing evidence of versatile behaviour by the main rent owners and the increasing discretionary power of Albania’s governing party.

Contemporary Practices in Teaching 21st Century Skills at Malaysian Primary Schools: Do Environmental Factors and Teacher’s Attitudes Matter?

The implementation of 21st century education is a key factor for successful education reform. Due to a lack of empirical research, practices to develop students’ 21st century skills at the primary school level are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify teachers’ contemporary practices and the influences of environmental factors as well as teachers’ attitudes on these practices. A quantitative research design was used to achieve the objectives of the study. A total of 400 primary school teachers from the state of Penang, Malaysia was sampled. Three instruments were used to collect the required data; the Teachers’ Practices in Teaching 21st Century Skills Questionnaire (37 items), Environmental Factors in Teaching 21st Century Skills Questionnaire (12 items) and the Teacher’ Attitudes in Teaching 21st Century Skills Questionnaire (35 items). The data were analysed with descriptive analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM). The results showed that primary school teachers adopted five contemporary practices in teaching 21st century skills. The inquiry-based instructional approach was the most preferred practice, followed by the communicative language teaching approach, constructivist learning approach and problem-centred instructional approach. The technology-based instructional approach, however, was the least preferred practice. Results of the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach showed that supporting environmental factors had positive influence on both teachers’ practices and attitudes. Additional results indicated positive mediation role of teachers’ attitudes on their practices of teaching 21st century skills. Implications for the research findings were discussed in this study. As supported by the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) Theory, this study found that environmental factors could drive teachers’ adoption of contemporary practices. In addition, teachers’ attitudes have positive effect on their applications of these instructional practices as emphasised by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Educational implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed in this paper.

FISCAL POLICY AND LONG-TERM ECONOMIC GROWTH: LESSONS FROM THE EURO AREA

At the beginning of 2020, the European Union embarked on a process of reviewing its macroeconomic policy strategy and economic governance framework. While the review of the monetary policy framework was approved in July 2021, the review of the fiscal policy framework was put on hold as a result of the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis. The Covid-19 crisis led to a breach of fiscal rules in the European Union and an unprecedented increase in the size of fiscal imbalances. In this context, there is a need for a radical reform of the fiscal rules still in force to allow for a more active role of national fiscal policies and to avoid the serious economic problems resulting from the fiscal austerity policies emanating from the Maastricht Treaty, the Stability and Growth Pact and the successive reforms of the latter.

Democratic police reform, security sector reform, anti-corruption and spoilers: lessons from Georgia

ABSTRACT The Georgian police reforms of 2004–2006 provide a rare case of rapid, large-scale, successful security reform. Lessons from Georgia challenge mainstream approaches to democratic police reform, security-sector reform, and elements of prominent critiques. These often emphasise democratisation of police and security sectors to include multiple actors in policing and reform. By contrast, the Georgian process was top-down and state-led. Failure to democratise the police has meant the reforms have not curtailed political interference in policing and have only partially reduced police impunity but the reforms vastly reduced corruption, improved security and trust in the police and have been sustained. This was achieved by the government strengthening executive power, consolidating its control over the security sector, firing corrupt police, and cracking down on organised crime. The Georgian case indicates that successful democratic police reform and security-sector reform depend on a concentration of state power to tackle such domestic spoilers and institutionalising before democratising control of the police, factors that are largely absent from policy and academic debates on these topics.

Ukrainian Reform of Decentralization Processes Consolidating the Sustainable Development: Environmental and Legal Aspects

The strategic vision of sustainable development for Ukraine is based on ensuring national interests and accomplishing international commitments proceeding to sustainable development. Sustainable development involves decentralization and implementation of regional policy, which is based on a harmonious combination of national and regional interests regarding ecology. This article aims to identify and analyze environmental and legal components of the decentralization of power in Ukraine as a means to sustainable development provisions. The main focus of ecological decentralization is placed on land resources. This is due to the peculiarities of the national system of environmental law (natural resource and environmental regulations) of Ukraine. The article highlights the main and additional areas of environmental decentralization. It analyzes the legislation and the practice of its implementation in the sphere of natural resources reallocation, territorial communities’ demarcation, and their planning process. The roles of cadasters, registers, and electronic databases in maintaining natural resources for the successful decentralization of power are analyzed. The legal perspectives for the decentralization of environmental control are also outlined. The status of financial and ecological resources redistribution in the process of decentralization is highlighted along with the ways of its subsequent improvement. The conclusion suggests the ways for the improvement of legislation and the practice of its implementation to accomplish successful decentralization reform.

ТЕОРЕТИКО-ПРАКТИЧНІ ЗАСАДИ ФОРМУВАННЯ ФІНАНСОВОЇ ГРАМОТНОСТІ НАСЕЛЕННЯ У СФЕРІ ПЕНСІЙНОГО СТРАХУВАННЯ

In modern conditions, there is an urgent need to form a high level of the population's financial literacy. The development of financial technologies, the digitalization of the modern world, and the widespread use of new financial services require an increase in the level of financial education among the population. The aim of our study is to highlight the importance of financial literacy for ensuring a successful pension insurance reform. The dialectical method of cognition, the method of analysis and synthesis as well as online questionnaires used for conducting research madr it possible to determine main problems in the knowledge system regarding the reform of pension insurance. Developed countries, especially those ones experiencing demographic problems, have started the massive development of the multilevel pension insurance system. Consequently, the issue of enhanced financial literacy has arisen not only in the area of personal finance management at the consumption level, but also in the area of pension savings and their investment. Ukraine has initiated a profound reform in the pension provisions field with the transition to insurance principles. Our citizens should form a clear position on the necessity to participate in the supplementary pension insurance system. According to the results of the survey, slightly more than half of the respondents show their interest in pension reform. But their level of knowledge is not sufficient to understand the basic principles of pension reform and take actions aimed at the accumulation of pension funds. This fact necessitates the formation of financial literacy at three levels. The first level is represented by secondary schools. The technical-vocational education institutions, colleges as well as universities of the second level are supposed to deepen the financial literacy which further should be continued as self-education at the third level of adulthood. Improving financial literacy in the field of pension insurance should result in a high level of cooperation with various financial institutions, including insurance companies, private pension funds, and banking institutions in the field of raising funds for future pension provisions through the skillful and systematic personal finance management.

Administrative philosophies in the discourse and decisions of the New Zealand public service: is post-New Public Management still a myth?

New Zealand is frequently cited as the archetypical example of New Public Management (NPM), having gone ‘further and faster’ than other jurisdictions in radically reforming their public service in the late 1980s. These reforms have been credited with significant gains in efficiency and responsiveness, while introducing new challenges. Successive reforms over the past 30 years tinkered with the model without fundamentally altering the underlying paradigm, such that authors refer to the ‘myth of post-NPM in New Zealand’. In 2020, New Zealand repealed and replaced its main public service legislation. By textually analysing government documents, this article explores the different theoretical roots of New Zealand's ongoing administrative reforms and debates the extent of their theoretical coherence. The Act directly dialogues with and draws inspiration from recent academic debates, drawing from a range of sources (such as New Public Governance, Digital Era Governance, and the New Public Service). Points for practitioners New Zealand has long been regarded as the purest example of New Public Management (NPM). Legislation passed in 2020 saw New Zealand adopt a range of reforms described in the literature as ‘post-NPM’, while also reaffirming features associated with Traditional Public Administration (TPA). While New Zealand has moved away from a pure NPM model and adopted features associated with Post-NPM, Post-NPM is not a coherent doctrine and it may only be possible to identify administrative doctrines retrospectively. We may be entering a period of ‘New Public Complexity’, where administrative doctrines are blended and layered.

Debt transparency: the essential starting point for successful reform

Debt transparency: the essential starting point for successful reform

PRE-PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF PUPILS IN THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE LYCEUM

The article presents the results of scientific analysis of the concept of pre-professional training as a system of psychological, pedagogical, informational and organizational activities in primary school, which is designed to fully ensure the realization of interests, inclinations and abilities of students. It is established that pre-professional training is the basis for choosing the profile (future profession) and place of study, creates prerequisites for life and professional self-determination, realization of personal potential, and is the key to successful reform of senior specialized school. The importance of cross-cutting career guidance at all levels of the educational process is emphasized not only by psychologists and class teachers, but also by teachers of biology and basics of health, in the study of higher nervous activity in particular (section "Mental and spiritual component of health" in 8th and 9th grades). The professional inclinations and monitoring of the formation of professional interests of 8th grade students of Zhytomyr City Lyceum № 1 of Zhytomyr City Council was carried out with the help of differential diagnostic questionnaire designed by E. Klimov, methods of diagnosing the professional orientation developed by B. Bass as well as the author's questionnaire for students. It is identified that one third of 8th grade lyceum students are motivated to acquire a future profession, as well as professional development and improvement; the vast majority of students decided on the future profile of study; however, the lack of a unified focus of professional interests and the diversity of professional types of students, especially in groups of future mathematical studies, had its impact on overall statistical results.
 The practical experience of organizing pre-professional training in the educational environment of the lyceum is generalized. The method of conducting research training in biology is described, which contributes to the knowledge of one's own temperament and the ratio of one's abilities, aptitudes with further education and future profession.