Publications

Baum, Jeeyang Rhee. 2011. Responsive Democracy: Increasing State Accountability in East Asia. The University of Michigan Press. Visit Publisher's Site Abstract

Jeeyang Rhee Baum, The University of Michigan Press, 2011

Under what conditions is a newly democratic government likely to increase transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to its citizens? What incentives might there be for bureaucrats, including those appointed by a previously authoritarian government, to carry out the wishes of an emerging democratic regime? Responsive Democracy addresses an important problem in democratic transition and consolidation: the ability of the chief executive to control the state bureaucracy. Using three well-chosen case studies—the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan—Jeeyang Rhee Baum explores the causes and consequences of codifying rules and procedures in a newly democratic government.

Dapice, David O., Mike Montesano, Thomas J. Vallely, and Ben Wilkinson. 2010. “Revitalizing Agriculture in Myanmar: Breaking Down Barriers, Building a Framework for Growth”. Read Full Paper Abstract

David O. Dapice, Mike Montesano, Thomas J. Vallely, and Ben Wilkinson, July 2010

This is a study of the rice economy in Myanmar (Burma). It seeks to identify barriers and bottlenecks that are hindering growth and depressing value in a sector that must play a central role in alleviating the extreme poverty that currently afflicts an expanding proportion of rural households. The issues that this paper addresses are of importance to the entire Myanmar economy and its prospects for achieving a higher level of growth and delivering prosperity to the Myanmar people. This is because many of the barriers to greater productivity in the rice economy are also obstacles to growth of the economy as a whole.

Leonard, Herman B. ”Dutch”, and Arnold M. Howitt. 2010. “Leading in Crises: Observations on the Political and Decision-Making Dimensions of Response”. Read the full report Abstract

Herman B. ”Dutch” Leonard and Arnold M. Howitt – August 2012 

Emergency response organizations must deal with both ”routine emergencies” (dangerous events, perhaps extremely severe, that are routine because they can be anticipated and prepared for) and ”true crises” (which, because of significant novelty, cannot be dealt with exclusively by pre-determined emergency plans and capabilities). These types of emergencies therefore require emergency response organizations to adopt very different leadership strategies, if they are effectively to cope with the differential demands of these events. This paper develops ideas about leadership under crisis conditions, concentrating on the political leadership and decision making functions that are thrust to the center of concern during such crisis events.

Ho, Dang Hoa, and Malcolm McPherson. 2010. “Land Policy for Socioeconomic Development in Vietnam”. Read Full Paper Abstract

Dang Hoa Ho and Malcolm McPherson, May 2010

This paper is part of a study ”Policy Analysis for the Development of Land Policy for Socio-Economic Development.” Land policy relates to the institutional arrangements through which the Government of Vietnam defines which individuals and groups have access to rights in land and the circumstances that apply to gaining and retaining that access. The overall goal is to ensure that land in Vietnam is used efficiently and equitably so as to achieve the government's objectives of rapid economic growth, poverty reduction, food security, international competitiveness, social harmony, and environmental sustainability.

Goldsmith, Stephen, Gigi Georges, and Tim Glynn Burke. 2010. The Power of Social Innovation: How Civic Entrepreneurs Ignite Community Networks for Good. Jossey-Bass. Visit Publisher's Site Abstract

Stephen Goldsmith with Gigi Georges and Tim Glynn Burke, Jossey-Bass, 2010

Civic leaders across the U.S. and throughout the world are discovering creative ways to overcome the obstacles that seal the doors of opportunity for too many. These inspiring individuals believe that within our communities lies the entrepreneurial spirit, compassion, and resources to make progress in such critical areas as education, housing, and economic self-reliance. Real progress requires that we take bold action and leverage our strengths for the greater good. The Power of Social Innovation offers public officials, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and individual citizens the insights and skills to create healthier communities and promote innovative solutions to public and social problems. This seminal work is based on Stephen Goldsmith's decades of experience, extensive ongoing research, and interviews with 100+ top leaders from a wide variety of sectors. Goldsmith shows that everyday citizens can themselves produce extraordinary social change.

Read the first chapter of the book 

Borins, Sandford. 2010. “Innovation as Narrative”. Read the full report Abstract

Sandford Borins, February 2010

This paper begins by outlining a number of key narratological concepts, such as the distinction between narrative – the events represented – and one or more narrators’ presentations of the events, implied author and implied reader, and structural analysis of narrative genres. It then applies these concepts to the three narrations of the 31 finalists of the 2008 and 2009 Innovations in American Government Awards. The paper concludes with suggestions for how public management scholars could incorporate narratological insights into their analysis, how innovation awards could ask applicants to develop more explicit narratives, and how innovators could make more effective use of narrative in communicating their achievements.

Fung, Archon, and David Weil. 2010. “Open Government and Open Society”. Read Full Paper Abstract

Archon Fung and David Weil, February 2010

Enthusiasts of transparency should be aware of two major pitfalls that may mar this achievement. The first is that government transparency, though driven by progressive impulses, may draw excessive attention to government's mistakes and so have the consequence of reinforcing a conservative image of government as incompetent and corrupt. The second is that all this energy devoted to making open government comes at the expense of leaving the operations of large private sector organizations – banks, manufacturers, health providers, food producers, drug companies, and the like – opaque and secret. In the major industrialized democracies (but not in many developing countries or in authoritarian regimes), these private sector organizations threaten the health and well-being of citizens at least as much as government.

Dix, Sarah, Diego Miranda, and Charles H. Norchi. 2010. “Innovations in Post-Conflict Transitions: The United Nations Development Program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo”. Read Full Paper Abstract

Sarah Dix, Diego Miranda, and Charles H. Norchi, February 2010

Between January and September of 2007, a team composed of Dr. Sarah Dix, Mr. Diego Miranda, and Dr. Charles H. Norchi appraised the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) country office programs, procedures, and management as implemented from 2003 to 2007. During the 2003 to 2007 period, the country program cycle focused on promoting good governance, conflict prevention, community recovery, and fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Overall, the office managed more than $500 million for all programs, becoming among the three largest UNDP country operations in the world. This report examines the organizational dimensions of the UNDP office in the DRC, and analyzes its most important program innovations.

Dix, Sarah, Diego Miranda, and Charles H. Norchi. 2010. “Innovations in Post-Conflict Transitions: The United Nations Development Program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo”. Read Full Paper Abstract

Sarah Dix, Diego Miranda, and Charles H. Norchi, February 2010

Between January and September of 2007, a team composed of Dr. Sarah Dix, Mr. Diego Miranda, and Dr. Charles H. Norchi appraised the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) country office programs, procedures, and management as implemented from 2003 to 2007. During the 2003 to 2007 period, the country program cycle focused on promoting good governance, conflict prevention, community recovery, and fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Overall, the office managed more than $500 million for all programs, becoming among the three largest UNDP country operations in the world. This report examines the organizational dimensions of the UNDP office in the DRC, and analyzes its most important program innovations.



Saich, Anthony. 2010. Governance and Politics of China (Third). Third. Palgrave Macmillan,. Visit Publisher's Site Abstract

Anthony Saich, Third Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010

Lavish spectacles such as the Beijing Olympics and Expo 2010 have raised China's global profile and echoed predictions of a rise to the position of a major world actor. Yet moves towards a market-based economy, together with the global recession, have exacerbated a number of political and social challenges for the Chinese government. The tensions between communist and capitalist identities continue to divide society. The People's Republic is now over sixty years old – an appropriate juncture at which to reassess the state of contemporary Chinese politics. In this substantially revised third edition, Saich delivers a thorough introduction to all aspects of politics and governance in post-Mao China, taking full account of the changes of the Seventeenth Party Congress and Eleventh National People's Congress.



Alford, William P, William Kirby, and Kenneth Winston, ed. 2010. Prospects for the Professions in China. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Visit Publisher's Site Abstract

William P Alford, William Kirby, and Kenneth Winston, editors, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2010

Professionals are a growing group in China and increasingly make their presence felt in governance and civil society. At the same time, however, professionals in the West are under increasing pressure from commercialism or scepticism about their ability to rise above self-interest. This book focuses on professionals in China and asks whether developing countries have a fateful choice: to embrace Western models of professional organization as they now exist, or to set off on an independent path, adapting elements of Western practices to their own historical and cultural situation. In doing so, the authors in this volume discuss a wealth of issues, including: the historic antecedents of modern Chinese professionalism; the implications of professionalism as an import in China; the impact of socialism, the developmental state, and rampant commercialism on the professions in China; and the feasibility of liberal professions in an illiberal state.

2010. “1926.0 Creating and Managing Economic Competitiveness: The Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority”. Abstract
The Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA) is an agency established in 2000 to improve the business environment and encourage foreign investment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This agency was created out of the Kingdom's landmark Foreign Investment Law of 2000 with the mandate to diversify the economy and provide jobs for its burgeoning young population. The fledgling agency was expected to enlist the aid of other government ministries and agencies in reducing barriers to investment – including the politically sensitive “Saudization“ policy, which gave employment preference to Saudis over foreign workers – and in marketing Saudi Arabia as a welcoming location for foreign investors. However, the law that had formed SAGIA gave it few tools to work with. Therefore, it had to find a way to cooperate with the rest of the government to effect change. The case should be used for class discussions of several important themes: the difficulty of collaboration across government bureaucracy with little authority or resources; effecting change in an unfavorable political climate – both external and internal; human capital development with the skill for strategic planning and communications; and the impact of an individual dynamic leader on an organization.
2010. “1940.0 On the Frontlines of a Pandemic: Texas Responds to 2009 Novel H1N1 Influenza A”. Abstract
In the spring of 2009, cases of a previously unidentified strain of influenza began appearing in Mexico and the southwestern U.S. Within just a few months, outbreaks of 2009 Novel H1N1 (commonly referred to as Swine Flu) were so widespread that the World Health Organization declared its first influenza pandemic in over 40 years. This case focuses on how state health officials in Texas, which experienced some of the first cases of H1N1, organized a response to the disease in the face of considerable uncertainty regarding its contagiousness, lethality, and geographic spread. The case prompts readers to contemplate the challenges of responding to a rapidly unfolding event featuring a high degree of novelty, the benefits and limitations of pre-event preparedness efforts, and the difficulties of coordinating an effective response among a number of partners and across multiple levels of government.
2010. “Beyond the Apex: Toward a System Level Approach to Higher Education Reform in Vietnam”. Read Full Paper Abstract

Vietnam Program, July 2010

A broad consensus has emerged in Vietnam that higher education is in need of deep and wide-reaching reform. This consensus extends from students and their families to public intellectuals and educators to policymakers at the highest levels of government. Vietnam‘s national competitiveness increasingly depends on skilled human capital, which its higher education system is not delivering. Ever growing numbers of families are choosing to send their children abroad for undergraduate and even high school education in order for them to acquire the skills and credentials needed to succeed in the global economy.



Saich, Anthony, Tarek Masoud, Thomas Vallely, Ben Wilkinson, and Jeffrey Williams. 2010. From Reformasi to Institutional Transformation: A Strategic Assessment of Indonesia's Prospects for Growth, Equity, and Democratic Governance. Visit Publisher's Site Abstract

Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia, Kompas Gramedia Group, 2010

Rates of economic growth in Indonesia have returned to the levels experienced before the global economic crisis of 2007-08. And yet other countries in Asia, such as China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and The Philippines have been growing even faster. Compared to these countries, Indonesia is quickly being left behind in terms of foreign direct investment, manufacturing growth, infrastructure investments, and educational attainment. Like a marathoner carrying a twenty kilogram pack, Indonesia can see the competition pulling away but is powerless to pick up the pace. Indonesia must engage in a thorough process of institutional transformation if it is to shed the legacy of Guided Democracy and the New Order and learn to compete in an ever globalizing economy.



Griffin, Charles, Stephen Kosack, and Courtney Tolmie. 2010. From the Ground Up: Improving Government Performance with Independent Monitoring Organizations. Brookings Institution Press. Visit Publisher's Site Abstract

Charles Griffin, Stephen Kosack, and Courtney Tolmie, Brookings Institution Press, 2010

From the Ground Up proposes that the international community’s efforts to improve public expenditure and budget execution decisions would be more effective if done in collaboration with local independent monitoring organizations. The authors track the work of 16 independent monitoring organizations from across the developing world, demonstrating how these relatively small groups of local researchers produce both thoughtful analysis and workable solutions. They achieve these results because their vantage point allows them to more effectively discern problems with governance and to communicate with their fellow citizens about the ideals and methods of good governance.



Griffin, Charles, Stephen Kosack, and Courtney Tolmie. 2010. From the Ground Up: Improving Government Performance with Independent Monitoring Organizations. Brookings Institution Press. Visit Publisher's Site Abstract

Charles Griffin, Stephen Kosack, and Courtney Tolmie, Brookings Institution Press, 2010

From the Ground Up proposes that the international community's efforts to improve public expenditure and budget execution decisions would be more effective if done in collaboration with local independent monitoring organizations. The authors track the work of 16 independent monitoring organizations from across the developing world, demonstrating how these relatively small groups of local researchers produce both thoughtful analysis and workable solutions. They achieve these results because their vantage point allows them to more effectively discern problems with governance and to communicate with their fellow citizens about the ideals and methods of good governance.

Leonard, Herman B., and Arnold M. Howitt. 2009. “Organising Response to Extreme Emergencies: The Victorian Bushfires of 2009”. Read Full Paper Abstract

Herman B. Leonard and Arnold M. Howitt, September 2010

The horrific events of Black Saturday (February 7, 2009) in Victoria, Australia, constitute an extreme event. In January and February of 2009, Victoria experienced unprecedented climatic conditions of drought and heat that brought the state to a literally explosive fire condition, with tinder-dry fuels across the state needing only a combination of wind and an ignition source to touch off potentially devastating fires. Over the course of January and early February, firefighters responded to literally hundreds of fires. In the first week of February, historically high temperatures prevailed across the state, with new records set in many locations. Melbourne experienced temperatures for three consecutive days above 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit), further exacerbating already historically-threatening fire conditions.

2009. “The Intangibles of Excellence: Governance and the Quest to Build a Vietnamese Apex Research University”. Read Full Paper Abstract

The New School, June 2009

Knowledge and human capital are now the main drivers of economic development and the key determinants of national competitiveness. The role of research universities in the development process has changed as a result of the emergence of the knowledge economy. Research universities educate a country's most talented students, irrespective of socioeconomic status; their graduates serve society in important ways, as innovators, entrepreneurs, managers, civil servants, and political and civic leaders. In developing countries, apex research universities often play a critical role in adapting advancements in global knowledge to conditions in their own countries. The knowledge generated by research universities contributes to social well being and prosperity. Research universities are increasingly viewed as symbols of national prestige. Having a handful of research universities benefits the entire national education system by producing highly qualified professors and teachers. For all of these reasons, countries have expended vast sums of money in an effort to build world-class research universities. However, the results of these efforts have been mixed.

Program, Vietnam. 2009. “Assessment of the Myanmar Agricultural Economy”. Read Full Paper Abstract

Vietnam Program, March 2009

During two weeks in January 2009 a team from the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia, International Development Enterprises (IDE), and the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation of the Union of Myanmar conducted a humanitarian assessment of food production and the agricultural economy in Myanmar. This report summarizing the team's findings and focuses on paddy production, because rice is the country's staple crop. Based on field work in cyclone-affected areas of the Ayeyarwady River Delta and in Upper Myanmar, the report concludes that paddy output is likely to drop in 2009, potentially creating a food shortage by the third quarter. Estimates are based on imperfect data, and this scenario may not materialize, but the avoidance of a food shortage this year would represent a temporary reprieve, not a recovery.

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