Business Commons^™

From Data To Decisions In Local Government, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

In The Shadows Of The Government: Relationship Building During Political Turnovers, Hanming Fang, Zhe Li, Nianhang Xu, Hongjun Yan

Hongjun Yan

We document that following a turnover of the Party Secretary or mayor of a city in China, firms (especially private firms) headquartered in that city significantly increase their “perk spending.” Both the instrumental-variable-based results and heterogeneity analysis are consistent with the interpretation that the perk spending is used to build relations with local governments. Moreover, local political turnover in a city tends to be followed by changes of Chairmen or CEOs of state-owned firms that are controlled by the local government. However, the Chairmen or CEOs who have connections with local government officials are less likely to be replaced.

The "Review Of Australia's Future Tax System": Implications For Local Government In Australia And Recommendations, John Passant, John Mclaren

John Passant

The report on Australia's Future Tax System (Henry Tax Review) was delivered in December 2009 and it contained a number of recommendations that specifically effected local government in Australia. Other recommendations on road user charges and land tax indirectly effected local government. This article analyses those specific recommendations that concern local government and makes recommendations as to what may be required by local government in the future. The article also discusses road user charges and the potential for land tax to increase the revenue for local government. Within this context, the fact that Australia is facing an ageing population and …

What Does The Future Hold For Pacific Tax Havens: A Critical Review Of The Campaign Being Mounted Against These Small Nations By The Australian Government And The Oecd?, John Mclaren

John McLaren

No abstract provided.

The "Review Of Australia's Future Tax System": Implications For Local Government In Australia And Recommendations, John Passant, John Mclaren

John McLaren

The report on Australia's Future Tax System (Henry Tax Review) was delivered in December 2009 and it contained a number of recommendations that specifically effected local government in Australia. Other recommendations on road user charges and land tax indirectly effected local government. This article analyses those specific recommendations that concern local government and makes recommendations as to what may be required by local government in the future. The article also discusses road user charges and the potential for land tax to increase the revenue for local government. Within this context, the fact that Australia is facing an ageing population and …

What Does The Future Hold For Pacific Tax Havens: A Critical Review Of The Campaign Being Mounted Against These Small Nations By The Australian Government And The Oecd, John Mclaren

John McLaren

No abstract provided.

China's Regulatory Framework For Outward Foreign Direct Investment, Karl P. Sauvant, Victor Zitian Chen

Karl P. Sauvant

Governance Of The Governing: Accountability And Motivation At The Top Of Public Organizations, Donald Nordberg

Donald Nordberg

Developments in the governance practices in UK public organizations show how ideas from the governance of listed companies have translated into public sectors bodies, government departments and the governance of parliament itself. The use of independent, non-executives directors in public bodies encapsulates the tension in the private sector between the service role of directors and how they control the executives who manage the business. This paper gives a preliminary examination of three public bodies, comparing how reform of their governance mechanisms has affected tensions in accountability and director motivation. What is evident is that the changes involve greater emphasis on …

Evaluation Research And National Social Policy: An Academic Practitioner's Perspective, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] Society has limited resources and many competing uses for them. I therefore take it as being an almost obvious proposition that at any point in time policy makers should strive to maximize the social benefits produced by the available funds they have to spend. This proposition implies that evaluation research should be undertaken either by or for government agencies. Policy makers need to know what benefits are being produced by each social program and the resource costs involved. They need to know which aspects of which programs are working and which programs need to be replaced.

Financial Sustainability And The Imperative For Reform In Investment Organisation In Australia's Local Government , Martin Gold

Martin L Gold

The losses reported from the so-called sub-prime category, and the collateral damage suffered by some councils, has brought renewed scrutiny of their financial viability and the investment practices which are employed across the local government sector. The diversity of prudential investment standards which currently apply in Australia also suggests that the investment policies expected to deliver optimal economic outcomes for ratepayers require reform. In conjunction with the moves to address the financial sustainability of the sector, this paper argues that reforms are needed to standardise investment powers, empower councils to develop appropriate investment objectives, and to centralise funds management.- 2

Interative Discussion Leader (Idt) @ Futuregov Forum Queensland On The Theme Of "Mobile Government", Katina Michael, Erica Fensom

Professor Katina Michael

Mobile Government Briefing: Provide services anywhere any time: - Transact to enable in-field data collection, request processing, order management, approvals, edits, updates and execute actions. - What are the implications for the incorporation of rich multimedia content on devices to better serve staff and citizens? - Addressing the security challenges of various risks around data access, data transmission, and data storage for BI architecture and mobile devices

Performance Auditing And Performance Improvement In Government: Public Sector Management Reform, Changing Accountabilities And The Role Of Performance Audit, John Glynn

John J Glynn

Public expenditure crises of the 1970s and 1980s led many governments to: - firstly, enforce stricter financial climates that included the use of cash limits and cash planning to motivate public servants towards greater economy and efficiency; and - secondly, to introduce a series of other reforms that gave pre-eminence to what has become colloquially termed the “new public management” (NPM). Key to many of these reforms was the belief that NPM would lead to more publicly accountable management and that limited resources would not only be used more efficiently but also more effectively in terms of intended policy objectives. …

Human Resource Management Audit In Government, John Glynn, Andrew Gray, Michael Murphy, Sarah Vickerstaff

John J Glynn

In the spring of 1988 the authors were engaged by the National Audit Office to act as external advisers to its newly established human resources unit. The functions of the advisers during a ninemonth period were threefold: • to advise on an audit methodology suitable for examining manpower planning processes within the Civil Service; • to consider the audit evidence collected by the National Audit Office team from the Treasury and four line departments; • to comment on the drafting of this, the first, National Audit Office human resource management audit report. Under the terms of this engagement we shall …

Migrant Remittances, Financial Sector Development And The Government Ownership Of Banks, Arusha V. Cooray

Arusha Cooray

This study investigates the influence of migrant remittances on twodimensions of the financial sector, namely, size and efficiency. Evidence suggests thatmigrant remittances contribute to increasing the size and efficiency of the financialsector. The study, in addition, examines the impact of remittances on financial sectorsize and efficiency through the government ownership of banks channel. While theresults suggest that remittances lead to larger increases in financial sector size incountries in which the government ownership of banks is lower and increases inefficiency in countries in which the government ownership of banks is higher, thegovernment is found to play an important role in promoting …

Evolution Of Australian Government Industry Statement: Building A Competitive Australia, Robert Castle

Robert G. Castle

No abstract provided.

The Australian Labour Government And The Price Accord, Robert Castle

Robert G. Castle

No abstract provided.

Government Sector And The Private Sector: An Input-Output Analysis For Australia, Robert Castle, J Guest

Robert G. Castle

No abstract provided.

Government Expenditure And The Economy, Robert Castle

Robert G. Castle

No abstract provided.

Productivity Wage Bargaining In Local Government : A Report For Shoalhaven City Council, Ann Hodgkinson, Robert Castle

Robert G. Castle

No abstract provided.

Trade Unions And An Australian Labour Government: A Social Contract For The 80s?, Robert Castle

Robert G. Castle

No abstract provided.

Reducing Government Expenditure, Robert Castle

Robert G. Castle

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Government Policies On Urban Employment In Small Economies, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] Most of the policies intended to affect urban employment are not specifically employment policies nor are they specifically urban. Rather, the amount of urban employment, the composition of that employment, and the returns from it are determined by a whole host of policies. To review them all in a short paper is an impossible undertaking. The criterion by which I decided which policies to consider is policy-relevance, asking which set of policies is apt to have the largest impact on employment.

Waldo In The Light Of Austerity And Federal Debt Crisis, Part 2, Jan Kallberg

Jan Kallberg

Waldo’s predictions about the future for public administration describe five areas that would be problematic in the future: legitimacy, authority, knowledge, control, and confidence. Legitimacy includes not only that the government is legally legitimized but capable and focused on an intention to deliver the “good society.” Authority, according to Waldo, is the ability to implement policy with the acceptance of the people based on rationalism, expectations of public good, ethics, superior knowledge, and institutional contexts. Knowledge is institutional knowledge, the ability to arrange and utilize knowledge within the bureaucracy since coordination is the major challenge in knowledge management. Government has …

Waldo In The Light Of Austerity And Federal Debt Crisis, Part 1, Jan Kallberg

Jan Kallberg

Dwight Waldo wrote The Enterprise of Public Administration in 1979 looking back on a long and fruitful academic career, but also as a reflection about the future for public administration. Can a 30 year old book still be relevant? You bet. Today, the public sector is increasingly facing fiscal challenges. Federal, state, and local governments throughout the country have major budget deficits followed by austerity measures that undermine the ability to deliver the good life of the future. In this day and age rereading Dwight Waldo’s The Enterprise of Public Administration is an intellectual exercise worth pursuing. Several of Dwight …

International Labor Standards, Soft Regulation, And National Government Roles, Sarosh C. Kuruvilla, Anil Verma

Sarosh Kuruvilla

[Excerpt] In this article, we briefly describe the different approaches to the regulation of international labor standards, and then argue for a new role for national governments based on soft rather than hard regulation approaches. We argue that this new role shows potential for significantly enhancing progress in international labor standards, since it enables governments to articulate a position without having to deal with the enforcement issues that hard regulation mandates. We justify this new role for governments based on the increasing use of soft regulation in the international arena. Of course, this approach is not without its own problems, …