Blockchain Papers

Fabienne Fecher, Benoît Lévesque

When the Annals of Collective Economy became the Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics in 1974, it incorporated the term ‘social economy’ into its French title (Annales de l'économie publique, sociale et coopérative), even though the social economy had not yet gained recognition in any country, not even France. Although the public enterprise and public services sectors emerged as the principal sector conveying the general interest, the social economy did not yet constitute a recognized ‘third sector’, despite that fact that mutual societies, cooperatives and associations had existed for over a hundred years. Three decades later, the issue of general interest – and that of the State as its principal architect – would be raised in other ways. This long period was marked by crisis and change in various Nation-States, and in geopolitics throughout the world, with the emergence of regional blocs, including the European Union, and more recently with the economic rise of China and India. Thus, to a significant extent, States were re-engineered, both in terms of the division of skills through globalization and decentralization and in their core function, especially their methods for intervening and regulating the economy and society (Lévesque 2003). Many public enterprises had to open up to competition, as did several large cooperatives and mutual societies, while numerous cooperatives and associations emerged – principally in social services, local development, job creation and labour market integration, and fair trade. In addition, there was a growing trend toward privatization, demutualization and even decooperativization. While the State is still one of the principal participants in defining general interest, it is no longer the only one, since other ‘solidarity perimeters’ have now established themselves (Monnier and Thiry 1997). Thus, economic and political entities, have become more complex, more interdependent and more hesitant in confronting global challenges such as global warming, security and, more broadly, sustainable development. With the above factors in mind, we analysed the content of the Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, for the period 1975–2007, in the light of activities that fall within the domain of general interest. To we a of in the that were in period of the we the public enterprises and public enterprises and and the though the of the social economy and the principal and significant in terms of though we were not to of In addition, the of the Annals is the of the content of the various in the not the of the the of interest of and the Annals is not the public the social economy and the their mutual as established through their to the general interest. and the of country, rise to that to that the of general interest. the a of is with a as and as the one is into with public enterprises and public services, while the with the is the of the social economy mutual societies, and associations and for the decades as a of the with the public sector and with the While the public sector the with of the the sector in the with of the we the the the of the by the and the in we be in a to the and the principal raised within the To we to their of in terms of general interest and to the of a in in (Monnier and Thiry 1997). To it with the to the we have to to public enterprises and public Thus, we have with several public sector such as public public and even public the and of the public and especially of public have the a of and public enterprises a as in the of In addition, public sector was to the market and of the of and of the of such as and public the the was State to period the of of and public enterprises were into enterprises and and enterprises the it was to public Thus, enterprises be to general interest of were and especially through of public In the in such as the Annals over it that only a of the public enterprise be a by Thiry we not the be it a with public in we not as a in the be it a a enterprise with a is that of by the and of is by of the of the the general even by in a in the While of a public enterprise it not with public by for enterprises have to a for such as a significant of the Thus, in to public there is a that the public enterprise sector become a the one enterprises that in sectors the public is and, the other it is of the of of that over the decades the sector In the of public enterprises that have a public sector is to market is not in the in terms of the and This is European States to the in the and of public with the by and for and When in the public – even it is a – only a is the while the public be content with a though it have a in the with in the of the and the of the and there is both and the of the of its and and various both public and In and public more not a economic and social and In a of in and In their enterprises more enterprises enterprises to other of Thus, the public in enterprise – in a in market economy would not – there is State while not State is for and (Monnier Many of the to public enterprises in the and that the to as public in and be in in enterprises have by one several market the fact that a of the public and significant to of in a significant and of the long term and In the methods for sectors were were especially by the by of other factors a the in to their more and of were to to activities that were and by to to their of enterprises In the European a rise in the and the by the public enterprise sector a by While the in its over the be to various the and was as to as the French in and as to such as for sectors in as the in the public enterprises and public services, as over the decades in the of the with a in the of public enterprises in and in the other of the of and in and in in the period with of the and significant the period of to the period and had of the their in the for of the that of the with other to public not be analysed in in in the of and the of and of by sector and country, over in to the of the with the public sector over the decades not in and that not in the to public by the and the of and to various public in the of and development, and even for the social including the of public the of public in more one the and the of the general interest and the of public services have analysed in emergence and of not only to of economic – the – to the of European the in the we and of and of enterprise is as the to the to it by its be of the enterprise in large to a of public enterprises more numerous and be as in numerous to in This in the of the enterprise to its with a of and to the to the the et the and the and in that the the of and there public enterprise to its services for the of even a long public enterprises in their and in their of economic and in their of their enterprises with economic and trend since the a for such as public and public and even sector by the European Union, through and Public enterprises in and in the of and in over in sectors the regional with even in In their as enterprises and for social we their of since the for public enterprises a term not would be more to that there was of that had existed the the term more for were and to were were to a that to the core of to was to the of of In was and the of were by privatization, of the more for Thiry as the of enterprise to the the be be of and and the French is since it not to local regional public for their be to term to a of and in State In addition, the that be to in the of public to privatization, though constitute to to and to have the for Thiry and economic and the of public enterprises that be to a of State and especially in public established within the that the European the trend toward In and the of a market economy to and and of the Annals the of in and and privatization, especially in sectors public have to and a for the State Many of the of and and in sectors have the activities the State its in the of to its in the enterprises it its as a that of the and sector have a of the economic activities by within a in as a enterprises a and activities to in the of and market with and to that to more in a is in and their enterprises to that there is no the of general interest and public and in their of and their enterprises in a that of the is the in it was for the State to enterprise a State services with to the general for public services and to that were it to to the general interest. have to in of public be that there public enterprises and economic activities to public enterprises with public no public public services were by enterprises even the of the and in the more of public defining and and their the European the of of general of and public is that of and a by the and in is as a of services of a to and have services not as as general interest public not the such as the services is and the for in the and other the of the sector general interest public and have several economic that market into the that other security of in terms of and and and throughout the for of the large the to even the the of the and of the be social the of the of in have public and a of for the public in the in of the is the one for the a public a to in the sector not public that in of the is that of public services and methods within the of public and of a to to a public enterprise a be is through the to the through a in the principal is not the the of the In is as to the to public services of up to market constitute one for the of the of be in by the of and by and by the State that in and the of a for While we that the Annals have analysed the of and and political have for the numerous This for not only their for the of European the of and in In the period were in the with the public This with the by the Thus, is in numerous While the analysed it was to the public sector of to and to be more in integration, it to is the especially in public its the fact that by and it to various of public is is with and in of the as for within a the the and various and to and the and that to the of with the of the to that the be more in the sector in the public the is to public and Public that in public sector including to their and of of especially is to that the State the general interest. of for its the of that in the for – that the to and the to In that is in public is to a of the of public have no that public be In several to Public there no sector and public sector market to public sector To the public for and several especially as the of and large of have the of public and fall within the of and the of that and methods to numerous and and of a to of to and that with the and that sector to social economy for of the and of the in the to in the the of that with recognition of the social economy and the rise of This in the sector did not the of since the in the to in the a in cooperatives in the social economy as a a of sector did not in the while the the did not we to with a significant the by social economy numerous the ‘social economy’ more as we the of with cooperatives and mutual in the of public the sector a Annals for associations the especially in society had a the associations a social in the decades became economic in for more of the labour Thus, in and the more to in in the any other economic and In the associations and the that a sector that to as that of With the in associations that in became ‘social and the cooperatives over the decades a a period for the of cooperatives and a period of for cooperatives In the the of and with a significant of cooperatives became even trend the of trend was that of and were to the of market While such as and such as the sector and mutual societies, and especially in the and and the of were in sectors that within the of the such as social services, social and local and In addition, to a of social not associations Thus, that the of by the is by its economic its in the not its be by the social and recognition of the social in the of the a of the trend in mutual and to with the that a that of social to a and term of the is not since to no one that cooperatives mutual have in and even that be for trend did not in European country, did it the In there is no of mutual and associations that social and services, the ‘social economy’ and ‘third still the sector be the of social economy the social economy there of defining the its and of mutual societies, the the by including and to various This including the of services to the by its and the of and over to since Thus, its of the is not its of there and the have no have a the associations that in economic activities that have recognized the social have that to political and there is no of the social the of the the Economy a for of in the and since it not not in the to the as by et the to the creation of for to the of to and in to extent, and to the of interest is of of be as of to themselves and with services that not by and in the principal and their services toward have no the is through through to associations the of by other Thus, only associations toward the of a be as the general interest especially in have raised of the of the sector and 1997). While in both it is to to the sector even the social there the the the of their of social economy to the into to the other to the of its in the to the general interest in the one the of of and, in the and the of to to of the the and mutual societies, social economy not in economic the State the fact that associations of the social economy and of especially of the by large and the of cooperatives is in the world, there is that of associations would be in the social economy is the of though of the with and the social we with the social economy and with of When the of the social the of and in the the To the social both its and the In the social economy enterprise is as the of a of and is economic and a of the for Thus, the social economy be analysed more activities that have not have by the market the and to the of the economic with the This up the of the to both and economic with as such as the of the economy and the social have in the in interest services its and the economy a that in to activities with the and of to economic by of the of and and and to political the of the public both the social and political of services and 2003). the social enterprise is as economic and a social in large in defining the social economy and have especially that with and for and methods the social economy and associations and economic activities fall within the not only of the market the the public and the In addition, to their of and associations and more the social economy be a for to the several of and and of In the social economy be analysed such as the and and and and and, of economic and In the of several have to of a issue in the social economy and the various in the as the to and Thus, the for a and the of and the that the of the social the the to with cooperatives and mutual there no to with the social economy and we have is both to the by cooperatives mutual as the in the established by and to its and there the numerous the of cooperatives and mutual that of in and, Thus, the is and and To the of the to market especially for and and to its local its et is to for Thus, to the creation of a by a social by the up the to and even and a especially with that have rise to its and the have the fact that by their especially since the of the sector is by its 1997). that within the by especially the fact that analysed the of the of interest and To is to with the of is in the of a to would to the of economic with a for activities to such as that to the of and into the methods by associations more open to into and In the to economic it to the to the various period to was marked by economic crisis and a into of the of toward the general that to by including demutualization and the of while that to by of with the the market and as as the of of economic crisis more in several its for the it it is with the in the more one of the in the period to the for the of the social economy is analysed in with the public the of a economy a cooperatives in While for of the the be since a of sectors such as and is analysed in terms of enterprises by and With the of the issue and the is In enterprises even though the of enterprises have Thus, several to the of the of cooperatives and the of one of the with enterprises the fact that would themselves in the a general in the of in the of the as the enterprise This several a of the not be as and and the to in several with in the to by local the for the of the social and was to to economic that the numerous in the States in the of and the creation of enterprises by a of in the the economic crisis one to that the social economy in with the by of the in with the that it was with the social and economy’ the mutual and associations in such as and were to a social economy’ In the of economic and social was for that the sector to the of and the of a to the State not that the be the of a the public economy and public the the one the for and and, the other economic not to economic and social we the of the sector with public enterprises and social economy such it a of for public enterprises and cooperatives that was and that for now is the for since there no in is not as as the In to in in the Annals have cooperatives as and as a of de to cooperatives and the that for the for de the of and the for to the there were more the of with the sector enterprises the cooperatives other cooperatives the with and the demutualization other we various with the large of enterprises be in by the of and to for the in economic especially the to and the skills of Thus, to as as the by to have the emergence and of enterprises In the by and would in large the of cooperatives to their especially there was in and public did not in their and of enterprises as a to to the in the and in that were were even and and the cooperatives in with the of cooperatives in various and such as in the and the in and, the of and a cooperatives was toward such as and the social of cooperatives by with were analysed as there were and that had become that it be to were and especially and for and In including cooperatives in would the social of economic This is in the of social cooperatives that with to is with by of to in the – though and to and the the of in especially analysed more the of social economy for of the for the period the issue economic with the and a the with such as the of and not the the to and the of the and in and and and to and to the of activities market and the for and the to the of associations and their of and demutualization is a one that the for a the principal with were in the Annals In the and that In addition, the by mutual to Thus, of demutualization and to demutualization the of the issue of the of mutual societies, was analysed and and of demutualization and more was not the the the social economy and the sector of over the the were more and especially that of cooperatives and mutual by over other and associations the sector and the other sectors within the economy as as and the a for other the and cooperatives especially enterprises and cooperatives in such as fair social et and social and the and of social economy enterprises for the of This though cooperatives and mutual In the for the period was that for In the mutual and with that of by to and 2003). factors were including et and into a and and of and cooperatives of and and and In there was of and In the for of the by the sector no more by the of and by the of and While demutualization the of in more one it the of of especially was not as in issue of and was raised in the of other In the of for the of to to the of cooperatives and of associations was analysed by it to that of other of to their with and to be more in the public and sectors and 2003). associations social economy had such as and social of the with associations be and and and the of the of the of to a and a to and and social and With to the of a with their for is public sector and sector and and of associations and cooperatives is the of the of in the of and and and is in the of and 2003). with social services that the social economy more to social integration, enterprise creation and local and and the of the the sector and the other sectors to the period and and Thiry 1997). that the social economy a sector and a This the of the sector the the sectors have to and rise to the of the et 2003). economy the In the enterprise and public enterprise as a in in and was by a in for were 1997). In the the social especially its services and in a with the public This is a is one of the in the and and Thiry the of – the enterprise and State – in the Annals as a of the economy and the economy and 2003). that social economy enterprises the issue of This is to the growing of their recognition of the the of and and the by in – even in the and as various of enterprise to economic and social services of general interest, the general interest fact that by and even by sector to that there the (Monnier and Thiry and have we the in the Annals general interest and in the public sector and In the since have the that there is a general interest. had that general interest is a social and and that methods for it had the economic crisis of the especially is a in and have the by the for and that emerged in the of and within rise to Thus, there were a growing of of the general interest. the and global did not the a of the general interest that to With to the economic and social services of general interest, the in the to as the enterprises and services, and the methods of Annals that the of public the of their and their toward that the enterprises became the enterprises were as as a growing of public and that there was a sector – the of the public and to to – to the economy sector was by that of the social economy and that of had its of and one the other the the for activities of general interest the that not be while enterprises and to the sectors now for activities the general interest, several that the sectors were to the of sectors This the of a one that with its and was a enterprise and public did not only to the of entities, to the were to the to one was by of in their principal to did not it themselves to the general interest, that the services were and that methods were in While State the of services, and was by a of it up of in and as as in that were for were up to competition, the and the rise of and of with general interest services, especially social services, the to be the to that were one since the general interest was not the that to it toward more of as to be of of and (Lévesque and Thiry the of of the methods for of the general to the the of a with and of in the the general interest, and with their (Monnier and Thiry the of the the the various and rise to as as to and a it is to of a general interest that the the State and In addition, since by it is for a sector to of up of the various of the social and the of be even over the public enterprises and the social economy we that the Annals have the public enterprises and the social This by the of public the demutualization of several social economy and a significant of This trend in in to and for privatization, as in the of and to for social economy trend the of enterprises for their of the of enterprises though the of the is for to that such not and that of the demutualization and in a of of While the public sector of its of the were not to the of social economy the other the of the sector especially in services not be by the public and in social such as social and integration, and fair trade. In sector enterprises had to the of with the though within the of with the even such as social fair and sustainable the of a social and economy that would into not only social and economic as not only for within a the and the and with to of any to be to the and more of the social enterprises and to the of general interest be not yet in the be in the the is still open to and that interest in the and especially economic activities toward the general interest. the of a of the to into that fall within the of market and society and that economic is not it its is a of that now did not to have – its – to such as social social and and In have over the in of to as and other is the of the of that not with This to a to be by in the of general interest, and to the of the by the especially its the general interest, it to a not only to and social economy to the that to of economic and social in a more interdependent and

Demba Niang

Decentralization in Senegal and its most visible pillar, municipalization, give rise to several issues. A<br />strong general sentiment exists that, once political quitus acquired, elected officials seem to content<br />themselves with the representative democracy that brought them to local power. In particular, these<br />issues are manifested by the populations' distrust of local public action and by social divisions, in which<br />underdevelopment remains very visible.<br />Several attempts at reform have been carried out between 1966 and 1996 with the laws on regionalization.<br />Local government authorities have conducted several experiments, often with foreign impetus,<br />particularly as a result of decentralized cooperation. Although it soon becomes clear that a considerable<br />part of this impetus comes from abroad, the experiment carried out in Saint Louis, with the help of<br />decentralized cooperation in the form of the Lille-Saint-Louis Partnership, demonstrated that it is possible<br />for local development to become a reality. Despite constraints faced by the city and its Institution, local<br />politicians expressed a willingness to relay outside impetus.<br />What lessons can be learned from this process?<br />To what extent do the funding and construction of infrastructures, mainly financed by foreign sources,<br />help strengthen the vision and abilities of elected officials to conduct development policy, while taking<br />into account the point of view and expectations of different social groups? On a more general level, how<br />do the systems set up in Saint Louis (Agence de Développement Communal or Municipal Development<br />Agency, and Conseils de Quartier or Neighbourhood Councils) encourage democratic, efficient and<br />transparent management by local government?<br />In examining these questions through a thesis, the goal was, on one hand, to build upon ten-years' field<br />experience in an academic framework and, on the other hand, to gain sufficient perspective in order to<br />problematize the various development practices induced by this experiment, in a context characterized<br />by an exceptionally complex game and system of actors. Working toward these two aims led to further<br />questioning of the transformations which Saint Louis has undergone and their impact on the ability of the<br />municipality to maintain control over communal development projects as contracting owner, which, along<br />with the strengthening of local democracy, seem essential foundations for a municipalization worthy of<br />such a name.

David Gray

Decentralization looms large in any analysis of Canadian economic and social policy. This trend has been especially pronounced in the area of unemployment insurance (UI) and social assistance (SA) programmes. Provinces now manage SA programmes and retain 100% of any cost savings that they achieve, while the Federal government maintains full responsibility for the passive component of UI. Under a series of provincial-federal Labour Market Development Agreements, since 1997 most of Canada's provinces have taken over administrative responsibility for the employment benefit and support measures (EBSMs) targeted on UI beneficiaries. A number of articles have examined the implications for provincial SA systems of restrictive measures in the UI programme. This paper examines the possibility that provinces may shift actual and potential SA clients onto the insurance system (now called employment insurance, EI). It concludes that within the context of EBSMs, any cost-shifting of this ...

Olivier Mériaux

This paper examines the recent changes in collective bargaining in France and the characteristics and conditions of the emergence of a post-Fordist bargaining system. For the last two years, die system of collective bargaining in France has been through an accelerated phase of change. The Aubry laws on 35 hours have revitalized the collective bargaining on working time and work organization by expanding the decentralization movement observed since the early 1980s: the number of enterprise agreements increased from 6,400 in 1987 to 13,300 in 1998 and 31,000 in 1999. The revival of collective bargaining through the government's political agenda has also rekindled the controversy over the respective roles of die agreement and the law in the production of standards governing labour relations. Due to the social partners' reticence about contractual commitment as well as the state's influence, industry-wide collective bargaining has for a long time been confined to a secondary role in relation to die legal provisions on which it could only improve or complement. From the early 1980s onwards, this hierarchy of standards based on me principle of favour was gradually weakened as enterprise agreements that allowed for working time beyond standards were legalized. This radically changed the function of bargaining. As a law- improvement tool, it became an instrument of change and decentralized adaptation to work rules, especially in the firm. Since less than 10 per cent of French employees were unionized, this change gave rise to numerous questions about me unequal distribution of capacities of action between employers and employees' representatives. The greater autonomy of enterprise regulation vis-a-vis die legal standards and industry-wide agreements cardes the risk of a return to employer self-regulation. This risk is all the greater as collective bargaining has become more complex and tends to be more oriented towards job regulation than distributive management of the capital-labour relationship. The social compromise of the Golden Age was based on a scheme of statutory bargaining that entalled a trade-off between wages and contribution to production, the organization of which was left to management by die union actor. With a focus on a compromise between employment and competitiveness — through reduction of working time in the case of France — post-Fordist collective bargaining deals simultaneously with all the parameters of me employment relation: working time, qualifications, quantitative job evolution, reorganization of production, wage policy, and investment strategies. Such an extension of the field of bargaining inevitably leads to a rethinking of the actors' doctrines and strategies, inasmuch as they had strongly incorporated the division between economie and social matters inherent in the Fordist compromise. For employers, this implies sharing, if not only a part of their managerial power, then at least information on the firm's economie strategies. For trade unions, these new contractual dynamics imply greater expertise and a renewal of modes of legitimation, which were previously based mainly on conventional wage demands. The new paradigm of collective bargaining, which is more autonomous, more complex and more demanding for industrial relations actors, undoubtedly calls for a greater consideration of local or regional dynamics. Previously, the decentraHzation of industrial relations was not accompanied by a regional framework sensitive to the negotiated regulation of labour relations. Yet, the growing importance of local forms of coordination in the performance of social Systems of production, as well as in managerial practices, tends to erase the firm's physical borders. The forms of outsourcing of activities that often come with a triangulation of labour relations (dissociation between the worker, the user of the workforce and the person responsible for the employment relationship) make the regulation typical of the Fordist era quite ineffectual. Neither the firm nor the industry is up to the emerging challenges of employment regulation in these new production organizations. Although the legal resources necessary for regionalizing collective bargaining do exist, the hegemony of industry federations and the structural weakness of local inter-industry authorities, both workers' and employers', still constitute a formidable obstacle.

Édith Archambault

Abstract In France, like in other Western European countries, the third sector has been on a steady increase during the last decades. Similar to the situation in Germany, the French Third Sector is predominately financed by public money that is concentrated on those subsections which form the core of the welfare state: education, health and social services. However, public funding is currently being reduced and against this background, government and nonprofit-organizations are looking for new ways of cooperation. In other words, in France the partnership of the Third Sector with government is changing as well as its position and role in the French welfare mix. Introduction In the following the results of the Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Sector Comparative Project for France will be presented, thus outlining: * the overall size of the Third Sector in France in 1995, * its composition, * its revenue sources, and * its recent evolution. Thereafter, the Third Sector's central role in labour market policies will be discussed. In France, many new jobs, new markets and new skills have initially been explored by volunteer work. Combined with a trend towards professionalisation this knowledge served as a blueprint for paid labour. Moreover, the changing role of the nonprofit organizations as partners in a new welfare mix will be analysed. The recent Assises de la Vie Associative - a major event which gathered in February 1999 more than 2,500 nonprofit leaders, many government representatives and eight ministers including the Prime Minister was a kind of celebration of the government nonprofit sector partnership. But beyond this temporary event the relationship is not so clearly defined and in some subfields it includes a newcomer: the for-profit sector. I. Dimension of the French Nonprofit Sector As stated elsewhere (Archambault 1997 a, 1997 b), the French nonprofit sector developed only quite recently, associations - the generic form for most nonprofit organizations - being illegal during the whole 19th Century until a nearly centenarian act legalized them. During the 1960s and the 1970s the French Nonprofit Sector slowly grew in a context of state-provided welfare. More recently the decentralization of 1982 broke with a millenary Jacobin tradition which was a major incentive for the Third Sector to contract with local authorities. Graph 1 shows this recent growth: today between 60,000 and 70,000 associations are created per year, more than three times the average of the 1960s. [GRAPH OMITTED] A. Overall Size of the French Third Sector In 1995 full-time-equivalent employment was 975,000 including religion and 960,000 excluding religion - that is 5 per cent of the total employment or the total agricultural employment or the total employment of all consumption-goods-manufacturing industries in 1995. In addition to this paid employment, millions of volunteers are working in the Third Sector. One French individual out of four declare to be a volunteer. The total operating expenditures of the Third Sector in 1995 was FF 290 billion (44.2 billion Euro), which is the equivalent of the turnover of the public utilities industry or the mechanical engineering industry. These figures do not include the estimated monetary value of volunteering which would raise the sum by some 70 per cent. Therefore, the economic activity of the French Third Sector - which is frequently a by-product of its social role - is significant and sizeable. In a comparative perspective France is a middle weight - graph 2 shows the nonprofit share of total employment by country. The French third sector ranks exactly at the average level among the 22 countries which were included in the statistical part of the project. Germany is in a similar position. Graph 2: Nonprofit share of total employment by country, 1995 Netherlands 12. …

Louis‐André Gérard‐Varet, Frédéric Rychen

Economic evaluation and the funding of infrastructure projects We study the meaning of the economic evaluation of public infrastructure projects. We point out the difficulties that arise when we try to assess the costs and the benefits. We deal also with the impact of the level of decision (centralized, decentralized) on the nature of the evaluation process.

Françoise Chancerelle

Private businesses and local authorities (cities, districts, regions) are linked by many interests. Firms, a source of income for local collectivities have been in ever increasing demand by the local authorities to finance their investment since the new modality of corporation tax in 1980. But with fewer businesses and jobs, companies are an important issue for these local powers and are becoming more important now with new economic responsability given in 1980 by decentralization laws.

Ph. R. Mossé

A bstract . The French health care delivery system is characterized, on the one hand, by a centralized and socialized decision making process as far as financing is concerned, yet on the other hand, the regulation of activities is highly decentralized and governed mainly by individual physicians on a private basis. Today, the health care scene seems to be stuck in a process within which each new reform leads to yet another reform, In this movement, the role played by academic health economists is increasing. The French health care delivery system and its dynamics are described and two major topics which wilt be at stake in the years to come, the remuneration of physicians and the financing of hospitals are considered. The challenge facing health economists who have to consider the system as a system, is examined. The relationships between the political arena and the researcher's ivory tower appears to be is one of the keys for the future of the health care system. It is demonstrated that, in this area too, few barriers have fallen.

Bernard Candiard

Selecting a Communication Service Organization : the Ministry of Finance Determining what type of organization to select is a very central question for a communication service and the success of its activities. Based on an initial assessment, what communication strategy should be adopted, which type of organization should be selected, how can central and decentralized structures be connected ?

Jean-Pierre Belanger

The present article is a critical account of the official report from the Commission of Inquiry on Health and Social Services in Quebec (la Commission Rochon). This report is first examined in light of the socio-political context of Quebec society in the '80s with a particular emphasis on factors which directly influenced the development of the Commission's work. The author then presents the main elements of the report. He stresses the quality and appropriateness of studies bearing on Quebec social evolution during the last 20 years and on the identification of health and social problems in the present time. He reminds us of the radical diagnosis made on the organization of health services. The principal options for more adequate health system orientations are then studied in the context of debates following the report publication, two years ago, particularly concerning issues of regional decentralization and financing. The author finally stresses the new challenges of today in social health management, while showing the profound continuity existing between the Commission's works and those of the Castonguay Commission, at the beginning of the '70s.

Alain Fonteneau, Alain Gubian, Henri Sterdyniak, Christine Verpeaux

What Prospects for French Social Security ? A. Fonteneau, A. Gubian, H. Sterdyniak, C. Verpeaux In the future, the ageing of the population, increases in health expenditures, the rise of unemployment and the necessity to encourage the birth rate will make the problems of the social security more acute. Is it possible to finance spreading social transfers without undermining economic growth ? Could one reform the social welfare system to avoid the extension of transfers ? To get clearer social choices and to aim at macroeconomic balance, social benefits should be financed only by households. Workers would contribute to the insurance role of social security ; income tax would provide for solidarity. Shifting all contributions on to wage earners and raising wages accordingly would have no short-term impact. However, employers would be assured that gross costs were not to be increased and indeed would remain stable. Replacing employers' contributions by a turnover tax or by VAT would not result in better economic performance. Substituting part of the employers' contributions by a tax on machines would stimulate the saving of capital and employment. A solution of liberal obedience that would separate solidarity financed by the Government from privately financed individual insurance seems neither viable nor desirable. As far as health expenditures are concerned, the development of private insurances would deny the principle of equality of all men in respect of medical care. Insurance companies would be tempted to make a select among their potential clients and to exclude those who present too many risks. Two other ways seem to be more promising, even though they include risks. In the first case a centralized control of the care supply is based on an assessment system of medical techniques. In the second one, coordinated networks of care are based on decentralization.

Richard Vengroff, Alan Johnston

Abstract Decentralization efforts in Francophone African countries are both rarer and far less ambitious than those in Anglophone states. The decentralization programme launched by Senegal over a decade ago is an important exception. Since 1972, when the administrative reform law took effect, Senegal has been engaged in an effort to decentralize its administrative structures in order to promote rural development, to escape from the burdens of the remnants of an overly centralized colonial system and to stem the rising tide of rural opposition (malaise paysan). This new initiative, which led to the creation of local elected councils in rural communities (communautés rurales). has thus far achieved only marginal success. The 319 rural councils suffer from serious under‐financing, and often from domination by administrative authorities, especially the sous‐préféts. Based on an examination of the attitudes. perceptions and behaviour of a sample of rural councillors ( n = 144), particularly regarding budgetary matters, it appears that the rural communities in fact provide the possibility for some popular input into local and regional planning.

Richard Carter, Charles Beaudelaire

Abstract: This paper focuses on the degree of financial independence of local governments in the province of Quebec. The author shows that even if the Municipal Finance Reform (Bill 57) succeeded in achieving its goals, the level of financial dependence of local governments in Quebec remains among the highest in North America. Scenarios for further decentralization of financing and spending powers in Quebec are then briefly investigated. Sommaire. Cet essai discute de l'autonomie financière des localités québécoises. L'auteur souligne que m&amp;#x006d;&amp;#x030c; si la réforme de la fiscalitë municipale (Loi 57) a atteint ses objectifs, le degré d'autonomie financière des localités au Qukbec demeure un des plus faibles en Amérique du Nord. Plusieurs scénarios sont présentés dans l'optique d'une plus grande décentralisation des pouvoirs de financement et de dépense au Québec. “… N'est‐ce pas une chose véritablement stupéfiante de voir une nation, plusieurs nations, toute l'humanité bientôt, dire à ses sages, à ses sorciers:” Je vous aime‐rai et je vous ferai grands, si vous me persuadez que nous progressons sans le vouloir, inévitablement ‐ en dormant; débarrassez‐vous de la responsabilité, voilez pour nous l'humiliation des comparaisons, sophistiquez l'histoire, et vous pourrez vous appeler les sages des sages 1 .“

Frank Delmartino

The reform of decentralization in Belgium Recent developments of the Belgian territorial administration reflect the constitutional problems that have arisen in Belgium since the 1970 reform which reorganized the State by setting up three autonomous regions according to the cultural duality of the country, viz Flanders, Wallonia, and the bilingual region of Brussels. The regionalization of the State is followed up by another reform movement which aims at strengthening the local administrative level of municipalities : the association and federation of communes. There are hence at present five administrative levels : State, region, province, association-federation of communes, commune. This reform, which is still provisional, allows for a complex administrative organization, at times rather incoherent, comprising too many levels of decision-making with often rather vague or ill-defined terms of reference. This has brought about a trend towards simplification of institutions leading some critics to advocate an increase in powers, according to relevant matters, either at the central (State or region) or at the local level. Without contesting the good reasons for such a criticism, the author is neverthe-less reluctant to endorse such a position which would imply that the existence of the intermediary administrative level (the traditional provinces) would be open to question, whereas he feels that it has a role to play in that this is the adequate level to handle a number of managerial tasks.