The end of the public sector debate

In the first of the special essays, John Quiggin revisits the debate over the appropriate size of the public sector and canvasses the issues associated with the distribution of government responsibilities within the Australian federation, with a sweeping perspective and surprising conclusions.

Commercialisation of agriculture in Kenya: Case study of urban bias on food availability in farm households

This study investigates the effect of cash cropping on food availability and examines the determinants of the proportion of income allocated for food expenditures in the Nyeri district in Kenya. Using a Tobit model, the results suggest that in general food expenditure allocations suffer due to cash cropping in Kenya as the lump-sum income flows from this may be used for purchases other than food. Food expenditure also suffers when remittances are irregular. On the other hand, earnings from outside employment for married women living with husbands are positively associated with food expenditure allocations. Amounts of non-cash food output as well as ownership of livestock are negatively associated with food expenditure allocations. These findings indicate that lump sum income may not lead to improved welfare of women and children. Thus, there may be social reasons for increasing non-cash food production especially by women, instead of over emphasizing cash cropping as now seems to be so in public policy.

Scientists as policy-makers: Towards a new partnership

There is an urgent need to link social science research with policy making to address many key issues confronting countries across the globe. Policy makers need the benefit of social science research which is relevant, timely, transdisciplinary, methodologically capable of capturing global and local trends, swift to respond to fundamental issues, and offering findings which are clearly articulated, effectively disseminated, and oriented to outcomes. For this a new partnership is needed between social scientists and policy makers. We can gain a clearer picture of the nature of this desired partnership by probing the dichotomy between the world of science and the world of policy making. The experience of UNESCO and its programme Management of Social Transformations provides some valuable lessons.

Performance measurement in child protection

The increasing use of performance measurement by government means that child protection services are under pressure to demonstrate effectiveness in protecting children from harm and efficiency in the use of public funds to help children and families. From a policy perspective, the way performance measurement is conceptualised and implemented can have major consequences for service delivery. This paper examines key issues raised in the literature about performance measurement, the context for its introduction in child protection, how the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency are dealt with, how client outcomes are defined, and assumptions about 'good performance'. An overview of performance measurement in child protection in Australia is provided. The paper argues that a critical approach to performance measurement in child protection can contribute to improved service delivery to clients.

The role of the church in developing the law

The church and other community organisations have a legitimate role to play in influencing public policy. However, intervention by the church and other religious bodies in recent litigation in Australia and the United Kingdom raises questions about the appropriateness of such bodies being permitted to intervene directly in the court process as amici curiae. We argue that there are dangers in such bodies insinuating their doctrine under the guise of legal argument in civil proceedings, but find it difficult to enunciate a principled distinction between doctrine and legal argument. We advise that judges should exercise caution in dealing with amicus submissions.

Bringing people back in: Grassroots approach to peace in Bosnia-Nerzegovina

Peacemaking in Bosnia-Herzegovina is a controversial subject that engaged the political energies of the international community for several years without resolution. While international efforts at peacemaking warrant a critique in their own right, the assumptions that lie behind popular perceptions of peacemaking must also be examined. This article explores the proposition that the promotion of multi-ethnic contact between Bosnian people is at least as important as elections or the reconstruction of political institutions. Indeed, the restoration and development of inter-ethnic relationships, especially at grassroots level, is essential for the establishment of sustainable peace. This article thus focuses on the roles of NGOs (Non-governmental organisations) active at the grassroots level in Bosnia, such as the Centre for Drama Education in Mostar, Project Firefly in Brcko, and the CARE Welcome Project in Sarajevo, which represent a grassroots form of peacemaking that incorporates local knowledge and understandings of the conflict within peace projects.

Issues in Australian Foreign Policy: January to June 2002

No abstract

The Limits of Rational Choice: New Institutionalism in the Test Bed of Central Banking Politics in Australia

This paper tests the explanatory capacities of different versions of new institutionalism by examining the Australian case of a general transition in central banking practice and monetary politics: namely, the increased emphasis on low inflation and central bank independence. Standard versions of rational choice institutionalism largely dominate the literature on the politics of central banking, but this approach (here termed RC1) fails to account for Australian empirics. RC1 has a tendency to establish actor preferences exogenously to the analysis; actors' motives are also assumed a priori; actor's preferences are depicted in relatively static, ahistorical terms. And there is the tendency, even a methodological requirement, to assume relatively simple motives and preference sets among actors, in part because of the game theoretic nature of RC1 reasoning. It is possible to build a more accurate rational choice model by re-specifying and essentially updating the context, incentives and choice sets that have driven rational choice in this case. Enter RC2. However, this move subtly introduces methodological shifts and new theoretical challenges. By contrast, historical institutionalism uses an inductive methodology. Compared with deduction, it is arguably better able to deal with complexity and nuance. It also utilises a dynamic, historical approach, and specifies (dynamically) endogenous preference formation by interpretive actors. Historical institutionalism is also able to more easily incorporate a wider set of key explanatory variables and incorporate wider social aggregates. Hence, it is argued that historical institutionalism is the preferred explanatory theory and methodology in this case.