Globalization, Agency, and Institutional Innovation: The Rise of Public-Private Partnerships in Global Governance

Public and private actors increasingly cooperate in global governance, a realm previously reserved for states and intergovernmental organizations (IOs). This trend raises fascinating theoretical questions. What explains the rise in public-private institutions and their role in international politics? Who leads such institutional innovation and why? To address the questions, this paper develops a theory of the political demand and supply of public-private institutions and specifies the conditions under which IOs and non-state actors would cooperate, and states would support this public-private cooperation. The observable implications of the theoretical argument are evaluated against the broad trends in public-private cooperation and in a statistical analysis of the significance of demand and supply-side incentives in public-private cooperation for sustainable development. The study shows that public-private institutions do not simply fill governance gaps opened by globalization, but cluster in narrower areas of cooperation, where the strategic interests of IOs, states, and transnational actors intersect.

Equity indicators: measures of socio-economic status at an Australian university

After reviewing relevant literature on socio-economic status (SES) and the ways in which it is used for higher education institutional research and policy, a detailed data analysis of Victoria University (Australia) student data was undertaken. Between 10,000 and 15,000 domestic student addresses were ‘geocoded’ to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collection district level. A survey of individual reenrolling 2001 students that included parental occupation and education data was also analysed. The most important findings were: (1) The debate for practical reasons tends to focus on area versus individual measures, but SES is a richer and more complex subject and must be acknowledged as such. (2) It is apparent that VU’s student catchment is on average of lower SES than the Melbourne average, using various area measures of SES, including the DEST-Martin indicators. (3) There is only a very small difference between average area SES measures at the collection district and the postcode level. In practical terms this means that the postcode method is adequate, as well as being cheaper and more efficiently obtained, for analyses at an aggregated (or average) level. (4) Individual surveys of students do not prima facie add to the quality of aggregated institution level SES results delivered by area analyses. This again suggests that the postcode method is best for practical reasons.

Improving access to evidence-based acute stroke services: development and evaluation of a health systems model to address equity of access issues

Level 1 evidence for management of patients with stroke in a dedicated Stroke Care Unit (SCU) demonstrates improved outcomes by about 20%. It has been estimated that 21% of Australian hospitals provide an SCU and that these SCUs are mainly located in either metropolitan sites and/or in hospitals with more than 300 beds. To address equity issues related to access to SCUs, the National Stroke Foundation and the Australian Government undertook the National Stroke Units Program. One program outcome was the development of a conceptual model of acute stroke service delivery. The development process and initial evaluation of the model are described. Use of the model to increase capacity within the health care system to treat stroke is discussed.

Soft money : private foundations of party politics

In the area of campaign financing in federal elections, one of the most controversial issues is that of soft money. Soft money refers to those funds raised by the national party organizations for use on various grassroots and party-building activities. but which are not subject to the restraints of federal campaign finance law. Critics contend that these party-building activitie, such as generic television advertising, voter registration and get-out-the vote drives, provide ancillary benefits to federal candidates and should, therefore, be subject to federal contribution and expenditure limits. Critics further argue that because these funds are not subject to federal law and do benefit federal candidates, the national parties raise monies in amounts and from sources, such as corporations and unions, that are prohibited under federal law. Efforts to gain a better understanding of soft money have been hampered by a lack of data, as the national parties were not required to disclose their soft money receipts and transactions until 1991. The purpose of this study is to analyze data recently made available in an attempt to add the import of empirical evidence to the debate over soft money. The nature, size and timing of soft money contributions are investigated and national party soft money disbursements are examined. The findings suggest that any attempts to reform the soft money system must first consider its compensatory benefits. Most prominently, this includes the extent to which soft money has promoted the resurgence of the national party organizations in the context of election politics.

Government revenue, private welfare, and tax reform in a small open economy

This paper examines the welfare and revenue effects of consumption and income taxes in a general equilibrium model with variable supply of labour and public goods. We derive the optimal consumption and income tax rates for such an economy. It is established that it is better to lower the income tax rate and increase the rate of consumption tax when this economy is in a downturn.

Issues in the implementation of cross-cultural management in Australia-evidence from a study of selected public and private sector organisations

This study examines the current status of cross-cultural management (CCM) in Australia.

The study is based on Reyes' (2004) Ph.D research of a qualitative nature in five organisations in the public and private sectors selected from a sample of organisations which appear to lead the field in Australia in respect of CCM. Literature is also surveyed to present a picture of the current legal and institutional setting of CCM in Australia and provide a context for the study.

Analysis of the findings highlights the gap between cross-cultural rhetoric and action in workplace situations. Problems are identified leading to incomplete and inadequate implementation of CCM in the respondent organisations. The study argues for the need for management to take a systems approach to the formulation and implementation of CCM. Some suggestions are made for improvements in the future.

Equity-focused health impact assessment framework

Background to the Development of the Equity-Focused HIA Framework
The equity focused health impact assessment (EFHIA) framework arises out of a two year research project funded for the most part by the Australian Government’s Public Health Education Research Program (PHERP) Innovations Grants (Round 2) scheme. This project had as its primary objective the development of a framework for health inequalities impact assessment, subsequently renamed equity focused health impact assessment. A partnership between the University of Newcastle, Deakin University and the University of New South Wales (the Project Management Steering Committee) received the funding and the Australasian Collaboration for Health Equity Impact Assessment (ACHEIA) was formed to undertake appropriate background research and to develop, pilot test, modify and disseminate the framework. The work commenced in September 2002 and concluded in October 2004. Part of the funding included a capacity building workshop in August 2004. ACT Health and the Division of Medicine at the John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, also provided financial support for the project. The August 2004 Workshop was supported by NSW Health. All participants and organisations involved in the project gave extensive in-kind support.
The aims of the workshop were to bring together an international collaboration of multidisciplinary investigators, public health experts, and key senior health managers working in national, state and local settings, to inform the further development of the framework and to provide training in its application. The initial goals of the project were to work collaboratively to develop a strategic framework to assess the health inequalities of public health-related policies, plans, strategies, decisions, programs and services. The EFHIA framework as presented at the August workshop was developed through:
1. an extensive review of the relevant literature
2. formal and informal consultation with members of ACHEIA (the international
reference group), members of the Project Management Steering Committee and
other relevant experts; and
3. testing of the draft EFHIA framework with the 5 case study partners – who applied the draft framework in a range of health settings (see
Acknowledgements).
The result of this work has been the development of an equity focused health impact assessment framework that can be used to determine the unanticipated and systemic health inequities that may exist within the decision making processes or activities of a range of organisations and sectors. The EFHIA framework provides one approach that can be used to assist decision makers to put equity and health on their agenda in a more obvious and systematic way. The framework represents a ‘moment in time’ rather than a definitive statement or ‘toolkit’ on the best way to proceed. Further practice, refinement and adjustment will be needed over many years to consolidate both HIA and EFHIA. As well as this guide to the framework, additional outputs from the project team include:
- A literature review
- A position paper
- A report on the five case studies
- An evaluation report.
With the consent of the Australian Government, a monograph will be made available to workshop participants at the end of October which contains the framework and the appropriate background papers.

Principles of equity and trusts

The Principles of Equity and Trusts 3rd edition provides a comprehensive summation of the principles of equity, the law of trusts and equitable remedies. The book is designed to meet the needs of both students and practitioners.

It includes developments in areas such as the relationship between common law and equity, undue influence, tracing, interim injunctions, and resulting trusts. Covering the general principles associated with the equity and trusts jurisprudence, this textbook is useful for undergraduate study of the subject.

Using choice modelling to investigate equity preferences

Benefit cost analysis (BCA) is a widely used method of assessing environmental policies. One of the limitations of BCA is the incorporation of equity considerations into an analysis. While this is theoretically possible through the application of distributional weights, this practice has not been generally adopted due to difficulties in determining appropriate weights. This paper suggests that one way of addressing the equity issue is through the application of a staged preference technique to the estimation of equity preferences. It is demonstrated that using choice modelling enables respondents' equity preferences to be elicited and distributional weights suitable for application in BCA to be estimated.