|
CONTENTS
ARTICLES
REVIEW ARTICLES
The Changing Functions
of Public Budgeting in Hong Kong
NEWMAN M.K. LAM
ABSTRACT
The budgetary practice of
the Hong Kong government has been changing since the end of
World War II. Prior to the War, budgetary concerns were focused
on maintaining a low-tax system and providing essential public
goods. After the War, the government has expanded its provision
function and increased its involvement in the economy. Laissez-faire
had ceased to be an accurate term to describe Hong Kong's
economic approach. Philip Haddon-Cave, a former Financial
Secretary of Hong Kong, defined his budgetary approach in
the 1970s as "positive non-interventionism", which lays down
the conditions under which government intervention is justifiable.
Hamish Macleod, another former Financial Secretary, preferred
to call his policy in the 1990s "consensus capitalism" which
emphasizes balancing market forces with social equity. Since
the 1997 Asian economic crisis, government intervention has
been used for strategic economic restructuring. Furthermore,
the Keynsian approach of counter-cyclical spending has been
used for the first time to stimulate economic growth in time
of recession. Evidence suggests that these changes have been
caused by political and economic factors.
The Competition State
in China: Does it fit the Global Trend?
RICHARD COMMON
ABSTRACT
Conceptually, the Competition
State challenges more orthodox accounts of economic globalization
concerned with analyzing the external structural constraints
to state actors. By contrast, the Competition State focuses
on the internal retreat of the state. However, the net result
of both global and internal economic pressures is the production
of public policy by individual states being aimed at developing
an open global economy. As a consequence, in the West it is
argued that "welfare states' are becoming "competition states',
but if we are analyzing a global phenomenon, we should expect
to observe similar developments in the Asia-Pacific. The People's
Republic of China offers a potentially useful example, as
it appears to be displaying some of the features of the Competition
State as a result of economic reforms initiated after 1978.
Many observers have seized upon the reforms in China, particularly
of the state-owned enterprise sector, as evidence of China
coming into "line' with global trends. However, the brief
review of welfare reform in this article suggests that the
"marketisation' of social policy can only be understood within
China's unique political context, and not as a shift to the
Competition State which assumes the relinquishment of state
power in addition to restructuring.
Developing a Strategic
Framework for Sustainable Development in Hong Kong: Is an
Earth Charter the Answer?
TERRI MOTTERSHEAD & ADRIENNE LA GRANGE
ABSTRACT
The Earth Charter (EC) is
a global initiative which seeks through the process of consensus
building to provide a global framework and tool to enable
countries to educate, raise awareness and engage their local
populations in the implementation of sustainable development
so that these populations can evolve into sustainable communities.
The EC envisages that implementation will take place through
business and professional codes of conduct as well as national
development plans and/or Local Agenda 21. In 1997 Hong Kong
belatedly engaged in the sustainable development discourse
through the Sustainable Development for the 21st Century Study
(SUSDEV21). SUSDEV21 should conclude by the end of 2000. This
paper reviews and compares the extent and level of discourse
on sustainable development globally and in Hong Kong as it
relates to the EC initiative. It proposes that a strong if
not compelling argument can be made for the Hong Kong Government
to draw on the outcomes of SUSDEV21 and other studies, remain
steadfast in its commitment to sustainable development and
use the EC and/or other global initiatives as a strategic
framework to develop the capacity to engage in the international
and regional dialogue on sustainable development and guide
the evolution of a local sustainable community and world class
city.
Exploring the East Asian
Welfare Model
PAUL WILDING
The East Asian Welfare Model,
edited by R. Goodman, G. White and H. J. Kwon (London: Routledge,
1998)
Beyond Documents and Rhetoric:
The Really Key Issues in Public Management Reform
BRIAN BREWER
Public Management Reform:
A Comparative Analysis, edited by Christopher Pollitt and
Geert Bouckaert (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, xiv-314
pp.)
|
