Public policy and USM : an approach to fit a renewed sense of public purpose

Malaysian Higher educational reform is an important and central aspect of the broader Malaysian public policy focus on excellence, development and national growth. This proposed paper intends to discuss analyze and critique the APEX program for Malaysian Universities. In particular the paper will investigate and discuss the way Universiti Sains Malaysia has interpreted and developed its strategic goals in light of its award of APEX status. Specifically I intend to discuss the strengths and limitations of the Universiti Sains Malaysia agenda, and contextualize it within a broader discussion about the directions of Malaysian Higher Education, in conditions of globalization, network society, and the knowledge economy. The challenges faced by the reform agenda at USM are significant and it is important that any understanding of the USM agenda be informed by deep reflection on the underlying philosophical aims and justifications for its direction. In this way my paper will attempt to show how the USM project is both an important part of Malaysian national development and a critical response to contemporary globalization, while at the same time an innovative and challenging intervention into public policy debate in Higher Education. The values and objectives of USM in regards to its strategic reorientation have implications far beyond the Higher Education sector and these implications will also be discussed.

Social capital and public policy – the current challenge facing the Victorian Government

Social capital, since Putnam’s 1993 work, has captured the imagination of policy-makers the world over, and Australia is no exception. In 2005 the Department of Victorian Communities launched its Actions for Community Strengthening policy statement, which draws heavily on social capital theory. This article explores the theoretical underpinnings of the government’s policy and critiques its failure to deal adequately with the causal relationship between social capital and its supposed community benefits. The article then seeks to isolate the missing factors through a look at recent research on volunteerism and argues that the institution of collaborative/interactive governance needs to be underpinned by sound socio-economic reform.

Marine educators: Linking personal commitment, education and public policy

This thesis reports on a study of the experiences and beliefs of a sample of marine educators from both Canada and Australia. It investigates the educators’ narratives in order to explore their role in regards to their interactions and relationships between and with policy, community and education within the marine education context.

A note on growth, welfare and public policy

In this note the growth anti welfare effects of fiscal anti monetary policies are investigated in three economies where public investment is part of the productive process It is shown that growth is maximized at positive levels of income tax and inflation but that there is no direct relationship between government size, productivity and growth or between inflation and growth. However, unless there are no transfers or public goods in the economy, maximization of growth does not imply welfare maximization and the optimal tax rate and government size are greater than those that maximize growth. Money is not superneutral anti the optimal rate of money creation is below the maximizing rate of growth.

Property rights as a public policy tool: an empirical analysis of the social and economic effects

Secure property rights are considered a key determinant of economic development. However, the evaluation of the causal effects of land titling is a difficult task. The Brazilian government through a program called "Papel Passado" has issued titles, since 2004, to over 85,000 families and has the goal to reach 750,000. Furthermore, another topic in Public Policy that is crucial to developing economies is income generation and child labor force participation. Particularly, in Brazil, about 5.4 million children and teenagers between 5 and 17 years old are still working. This thesis examines the direct impact of securing a property title on income and child labor force participation. In order to isolate the causal role of ownership security, this study uses a comparison between two close and very similar communities in the City of Osasco case (a town with 650,000 people in the São Paulo metropolitan area). One of them, Jardim Canaã, was fortunated to receive the titles in 2007, the other, Jardim DR, given fiscal constraints, only will be part of the program schedule in 2012, and for that reason became the control group. Also, this thesis also aims to test if there is any relationship between land title and happiness. The estimates suggest that titling results in a substantial decrease of child labor force participation, increase of income and happiness for the families that received the title compared to the others.

About DAPP: Meet the Department of Public Policy Analysis

The Department of Public Policy Analysis of Getulio Vargas Foundation (DAPP-FGV) is a research boutique concerned with the innovation of state structures and the relations between these and Civil Society, based on an interdisciplinary approach of applied social science, together with Information and Communication Technologies.

Distributive impact of public policy

Includes bibliography

Latin America and the Caribbean in the transition to a knowledge-based society: an agenda for public policy

Includes bibliography

Public policy for pensions, health and sickness insurance

Includes bibliography

From social innovation to public policy. Success stories in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography