The previous communal system in Yugoslavia (since 1955) did not prove viable. Owing to its great size (nearly 500 km 2 and more than 40,000 inhabitants), municipality in this period didn't affirm itself as a real community. Having many abilities in developmental planning, it was at the same time dependent on the state in the spheres of finance and normative regulations. The difference between the sphere of local government (LG) and state politics was substantially blurred. Given the changing social conditions (introduction of market economy, political pluralism and the forms of parliamentarian democracy), the need for repeated establishment of the system of local government based on the altered position of citizens in the political system becomes evident. In this environment it is necessary to reestimate the experiences of LG in particular Yugoslav regions (republics) before World War II, and simultaneously, take selectively into account the experiences and development in other developed European countries. This article compares the constitutional regulations of LG among particular Yugoslav republics, and between them and the characteristic orientations in other European countries, enlightening it with the aspect of actual processes and demands of centralization and decentralization, regionalism, moving the regulation of communal and other everyday needs closer to the people in LG, all in the sense of postâbehavioristic trends of the âbottomâupâ approach to the processes of decisionâmaking.
Changes in public policy with respect to governance structures require complementary changes in public policy concerning the financing of educational services. Drawing on their findings from studies in Australia, England and the USA, the authors present a framework to clarify what is happening in the restructuring of school governance and to project the implications for public policy concerning the finance of schooling. The political system is represented by a decision matrix which arrays the decisions that have to be made about financing schools (who gets what, when and how) with the primary decision makers (society, the educating profession and families). The decisionâmaking process is shown to be a dynamic one, causing the nature of acceptable decisions to change along with politicalâeconomic environments and with priorities given to policy objectives. Using the model, the implications of alternative centralization/decentralization strategies for school finance policy are examined under varying circumstances.
Bangladesh has a population of 115 million people, and the economic growth rate of 3.7% during the 1980s was undermined by rapid population growth. The annual population growth rate was 3% in the 1960s and early 1970s, 2.5% between 1981-91 decreasing to 2.3% in 1991. The average of number of children is 4.6/woman compared with 7 in the 1960s. Infant mortality dropped from 150/1000 births in 1976 to 118/1000 in 1991. Life expectancy rose from 47 to 54 years. The 1991 Contraceptive Prevalence Survey showed that 39.9% of married women under 50 use contraceptives in 1991 vs. 18.6% in 1981. The use of modern methods increased from 10.9% in 1981 to 31.2% in 1991, while traditional methods rose from 7.7% to 8.7%. Sterilization was most prevalent in 1981. 29,000 female family planning (FP) workers were aggressively engaged in dispensing FP services in 1990. The Social Marketing Company sells pills, condoms, and oral rehydration salts through 130,000 retail outlets. The 1989 Contraceptive Prevalence Survey showed that 40% of pill and condom users obtained them from this network, and 95.4% of women knew about 4 methods of contraception. In 1990 there were 120 private organizations providing contraceptive services. Some of the components of the government FP program include field worker distribution door-to-door of injectable contraceptives (50% injectable usage rate in the Matlab project); recordkeeping activities; a satellite clinic network with access to contraceptive services; and decentralization through the Upazila (subdistrict) approach. The logistics system of FP has improved the warehousing, transportation, and management information system. Foreign aid (mainly USAID) financing of contraceptives helped avert 14.4 million births between 1974-90. The increase of contraceptive prevalence to 50% by 1997 would avert another 21.9 million births during 1991-96 (replacement fertility requires 70% prevalence.
The article first proposes a framework within which to assess the potential of health sector reforms in Latin America for primary health care (PHC). Two dimensions are recognized: the scope of the reforms, content, and the means of participation that are put into play. This framework is then complemented through a critique of the often-sought but little-analyzed PHC reform strategies of decentralization and health sector integration. The analytical framework is next directed to the financing of health services, a chief aspect of any reform aiming toward PHC. Two facets of health service finance are first distinguished: its formal aspect as a means for economic subsistence and growth, and its substantive aspect as a means to promote the rational use of services and thus improvement of health. Once finance is understood in this microeconomic perspective, the focus shifts to the analysis of health care reforms at the macro, health policy level. The article concludes by positing that PHC is in essence a new health care paradigm, oriented by the values of universality, redistribution, integration, plurality, quality, and efficiency.
The case is strong for declaring an inadequacy of export finance for small business. In 1988â90, the documentation has expanded beyond that of academic research and claims by the Small Business Administration to Congressional testimony by exporters and bankers, surveys by trade associations of manufacturers and bankers, and investigations by the Government's export finance agency as well as our central bank. Nonetheless, small business is exhorted to look abroad in its marketing efforts and so to participate in reducing the U.S. trade deficit. As one means of alleviating this international marketing challenge, the ExportâImport Bank of the United States (Eximbank) has moved to convert a pilot program of 1988â89 into a fallâfledged decentralized effort to deliver export finance to qualified small firms. The intention is that carefully trained administrators in selected states will be able to match qualified exporters with financial institutions and thereby assure that the small firms receive working capital in adequate quantity to meet terms and conditions of an export contract. While Eximbank's staff is poised to support the marketing and credit analysis work of the state/local administrators, this paper examines the need for a fully cooperative effort among four parties or groups in the face of a national retrenchment by many banks in the provision of export finance for small firms.
The aim of the paper is to conduct a research on an impact of blockchain technology platform on the financial sector through cryptocurrency, and an impact on other industries.. The subject of research is not only this technology but also its commercial exploitation. In order to understand the platform, the starting point of this research is an analysis of how the technology functions, after that the advantages for business and economic transaction are identified, and finally the paper deals with an impact of new technology on business, above all on financial operations. The basic hypothesis is that blockchain has achieved a great impact on financial sector, also it has the potential to radically change only the financial sector but also the way we buy and sell, our interaction with the authorities as a way of verifying the ownership from the authorship and the organic food production. Using the available data and synthesis of knowledge from the fields of technology, economics, finance, and politics, 4 scenarios were set up for the future of underlying technology. The scenario approach combined with trend analysis in order to prove the starting hypothesis with high reliability. The research results show that the technology being investigated already has a profound impact on the financial sector, that it is in the initial phase of changing many industries, with the likelihood that they will change them significantly in the next five to ten years. Businesses increasingly discover the power of this technology to exploit the benefits of the Fourth Technological Revolution.
Foreword ix Sergio C. Trindade, Executive Director, United Nations Centre for Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD) Introduction 1 A. S. Bhalla Part I: Favorable Policies and Programs 13 1. Centralized versus Decentralized Policy Toward Small and Medium Enterprises 17 John Marcum 2. Technological Policy for Small and Medium Enterprises: The Canadian Experience 29 Paul Dufour 3. Technology Policy for Small and Medium Enterprises in The Netherlands 47 Walter Zegveld 4. Technological Transformation of Small and Medium Enterprises in China 55 Guan Ze-wen et al. 5. Technology Promotion Programs for Small Enterprises: The Philippine Experience 67 Quintin G. Tan vi Contents Part II: Building Technological Capabilities 79 6. Innovations and Small Producers in Developing Countries 83 A. S. Bhalla 7. Building Indigenous Technological Capability Through Foreign Assistance to Small/Medium Enterprises 101 J. M. Hekland 8. A New Approach to Innovation in Traditional Industries: The Italian Experience 109 Danielle Mazzonis and Mario Pianta 9. Building Technological Capability of Finnish Small Industry Through Risk-financing 127 Veikko O. Vuorikari 10. Technological Transformation of Small Enterprises in Zhejiang Province, China 139 Wu Tianzu 11. Technological Characteristics and Change in Small Industrial Enterprises in Guangdong Province, China 153 Guan Ze-wen et al. 12. Management and Technological Capabilities of Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises: Constraints and Potential 167 Ahmad Zahdi Bin Jamil and Rahimah Bt. Md. Said 13. Development of Design and Manufacturing Capabilities in a Small Nigerian Company 175 Sam Chukwujekwu Part III: Institutions and Infrastructure 183 14. Nurturing Microenterprises and Technological Innovation through Business Incubation Process 187 Rustam Lalkaka and Hu Ping 15. Institutions for Promoting Technological Modernization of Indian Small Enterprises 203 C. V: S. Ratnam 16. Technical and Managerial Extension Services for Korean Small and Medium Enterprises 213 Kyung Tae Lee Contents vii 17. Cooperation between Research and Educational Institutions and Small Enterprises in China 221 Cai Liyi 18. Infrastructural Requirements of Information Technology and Small and Medium Enterprises 233 Karl Ganzhorn The Seminar Report 247 Select Bibliography 271 Index 275 Notes on the Contributors 283
Abstract Since Zimbabwe won its independence in 1980, the country's leaders have embarked on an ambitious programme of decentralization and local government reform. At the same time, urban conditions in the country have become increasingly difficult. This paper examines major aspects of urban local government finances in this environment of reform and growing fiscal pressures, with special reference to the experience of Harare City Council. It is argued that some relative successes have been recorded, although a number of undesirable elements of colonial practices and various fiscal problem persist.
Decentralization policies are at the heart of education reform efforts in many countries internationally. Two important types of policies are those that: (a) remove barriers to private education; and (b) devolve authority and responsibility for schools from central level administrations to intermediate level organizations and ultimately to schools, relying more on local communities for financing, with an overall goal of improving effectiveness. While both types of policies are largely uninformed by empirical evidence regarding their impact on such education outcomes as student learning, in developing countries the evidence regarding the effects of local control is much weaker than that regarding private schools. This paper extends the literature on the impact of private education on achievement, while providing the first evidence on the impact of local control on achievement in a developing county. It analyzes data from 214 secondary schools in the Philippines to answer questions regarding: (a) the relative effectiveness of local, government and private secondary schools; and (b) the factors that account for observed differences.
Abstract In modern cryptologic theory, the design of cryptographic protocols is often based on the assumed difficulty of number theoretic problems. Especially, in order to prove the security of a cryptographic protocol based upon the assumed difficulty of a problem, a very important role is played by the legitimacy (as concerns the security of the cryptographic protocol) of that cryptographic assumption. Recently, Kurosawa, Ogata, and Tsujii proposed a new cryptographic assumption, the Chosen Discrete Logarithm Assumption (CDLA), and showed that any language in NP has a fourâmove, zeroâknowledge interactive proof (ZKIP) under the CDLA. In this paper, we define the modified CDLA and consider its legitimacy. Our principal result (that the modified CDLA is not a legitimate cryptographic assumption) follows from a theoretical analysis of expected polynomialâtime algorithms and the concrete construction of an algorithm based on the Artin conjecture.
Participatory development activities at local level in a sub-district located in the Central Plain of Thailand were studied employing the theoretical concept of the "linking loops" to analyze the related interactions among target group members and between the local level and superordinated organizations.The participatory development planning approach was first introduced in Thailand through her Fourth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1977-1981) as a strategy to apply the bottom-up concept.The qualitative, in-depth study covers nine projects at different stages of the planned development process alternatively covering the stages of initiation, implementation and completion. Despite the variety of projects involving different groups of the local population within the three case study villages in close vicinity, all these are set in the same socio-cultural context which allows direct comparison.Drawing on selected theoretical sociological explanations of the dimensions and determinants of people's participation, the conceptual and analytical framework is focussed on an actor-oriented approach using the theoretical concept of the "linking loops" to explicate the complex dynamics evolving in Thai rural society when engaged in local-level planning.By their mechanism of initiation, as explained in terms of the "linking loops" concept, three categories of projects are distinguished including village initiated projects (VIP) and government initiated projects (GIP) as well as projects initiated by villagers with a view to securing government support (V/GP). The comparison of hypothesis test results by project category leads to their classification as explanations of narrow range pertaining to one project category only, of medium range covering two out of the three categories, or of wide range rendering explanations valid for all three project categories.Six general hypotheses and their sub-hypotheses addressing as many stages of the project cycle are tested. The results of hypothesis testing vary by project category as summarized hereunder.VIP were effective owing to people's involvement in setting the project objectives, despite differences and conflicts; utilization of local knowledge in data collection and analysis; broad formal consensus on project design; active involvement in project approval; active involvement in implementation; and involvement in project evaluation through participatory monitoring and evaluation.V/GP differ substantially because the test results show that local-level projects initiated by villagers and obtaining resources from on-going government programmes were of limited effectiveness. The constraints include lack of people's involvement in the formulation of objectives, thus reinforcing dissent and conflict; differences in perception between local people and government agents with regard to data collection and analysis; lack of people's involvement and formal consensus on project design; lack of local interest in project approval due to complicated procedure followed by several government organizations involved; lack of people's participation in on- going project implementation due to changed circumstances and reassessment of the erstwhile situation; and lack of involvement in project evaluation, in the absence of participatory monitoring and evaluation.GIP implemented at local-level were found ineffective as a consequence of lack of local people's involvement in the specification of objectives and formulation of projects, aggravated by conflicting priorities among local people; differences in perception between local people and government agents regarding data collection and analysis; limited extent of people's participation in designing activities and weak consensus; lack of interest among local people not involved in project approval; discontinuation of people's participation in on-going implementation due to new perception after reassessment of the erstwhile situation, poor organizational set-up by the implementing agency, disagreement between local people and government agent, and conflict among local people; and lack of people's involvement in project evaluation, in the absence of participatory monitoring and evaluation.Overall, it is concluded that local-level plans are, indeed, of interest to local people. They tend to become ineffective, however, at any of the various stages of the planned development process, if people's participation is lacking in the formulation of project objectives, complicated by differing and conflicting objectives among local people; if differences in perception prevail between local people and government agents with regard to data collection and analysis; if deficiencies in project design are aggravated by the exclusion of local people from endorsing projects and procedure is complicated engaging several government organizations at the approval stage; if discontinuation of people's participation jeopardizes on-going implementation; and if project performance and outcome are assessed without participatory monitoring and evaluation.Recognizing certain existing deficiencies with a view to people's participation in the planned development process of local-level projects, policy recommendations are made focussing on suitability, design and intervention, taking into account local socio-economic, cultural and political factors. Moreover, the necessity of decentralization is stressed so as to strengthen people's participation in the planned development process. This means that wholesome delegation of responsibility in terms of decision-making power and budget allocation as well as finance control to the local level of development administration is essential to facilitate and foster participatory planning.
The aim of this report is to discuss appropriate planning philosophy for road development. The paper analyses the fundamental economic characteristic of road and transport service supply and demand. Two alternatives are considered: (1) that the citizens, in the political process, should be able to choose the main direction of the development of the structure of society including the transport infrastructure, and (2) that decentralized decision-making should be encouraged and facilitated by clear economic principles of pricing as well as investment criteria.
Postmodernism is beginning to enter organization studies. After introducing the contours of the debate, some of the early contributions are critically reviewed and then subjected to sympathetic scrutiny. A distinction between the periodization 'post-modern' and a 'postmodern' epistemology is explored in terms of its conse quences for writing about organizations. Each position is shown to have diffi culties attached to it and the political ramifications of these are explored. Some tentative suggestions are made to explain the rising popularity of the 'post' within organizational writing.
The paper presents a more efficient noninteractive zero knowledge proof system (NIZK) for 3 colorability. The length of the proof is 1/3 and the length of the reference string is 1/4 of those of Blum et al. (1988) respectively. The proposed NIZK is based on the quadratic residuosity assumption.>
The final tensile fracture of any composite structure is primarily due to the failure of its constituents, namely fibers and matrix in the present case. To date, no experimental data exists, to the authorâs knowledge, to define the behavior of constitutive fibers of a composite structure throughout its life span. The prime candidate for a fiber-based investigation is unidirectional zero-degree composite coupons. But unidirectional coupons do not demonstrate any significant loss of stiffness during fatigue cycling compared to other lay-ups. Even if stiffness degradation was significant, due to the nature of damage in this material system it would be impossible, practically, to monitor that change using conventional techniques (e.g. an extensometer) because the damage and failure process destroys the integrity of the contact between those devices and the material, under cyclic conditions. This investigation presents the findings of a fiber-based investigation of unidirectional composite material systems. In particular, a unidirectional graphite/epoxy system was studied, and the influence of applied load level on fiber fractures, and their influence on damage growth documented. A damage monitoring technique (patent pending) was developed to accurately record the state of damage in this material system without the usage of extensometers or strain gages. Following this method, two new damage norms were introduced, namely, âpercent phase damageâ and âpercent gain damageâ. Fiber fracture, strength degradation, and the life of unidirectional specimens were investigated and recorded as a function of various load levels. Fiber fracture, in general, showed no definitive growth pattern during fatigue cycling. It appears that the majority of the broken fibers that occur over nearly 90% of the life are due to the initial applied load cycle. This is one of the key findings of this investigation. âProof testingâ which is a common practice in industry for âverifyingâ the integrity of a structure, could very well be causing significant subsequent reductions in life. With these findings as a base, it is now possible to postulate the first well-founded mechanistic model of fiber-dominated fatigue degradation under tensile loading.
Over successive fiveâyear development plans, Indonesia has channeled large sums of foreign loans and domestic funds into water supply projects with the aim of providing clean water for a majority of households. Most projects have been planned and financed through the central government's public works ministry, though a growing share of rural water projects are being funded through earmarked grants provided to local governments. This paper examines how these central government transfers, in the aggregate, have responded to various indicators of expenditure needs. Overall, past allocations have matched existing demand and supply levels closelyâfunding has generally favored provinces with large populations, large numbers of water enterprises, extensive distribution networks in place, and high production capacity. They have not, however, worked in favor of either equalization or economic productivity objectives, as reflected by per capita income or GRDP growth rates. This analysis suggests that equity would be promoted either by including incomeârelated factors in future block grant allocation formulas or by shifting funding emphasis in the water supply sector from grantsâinâkind controlled by the central government to sectoral grants controlled mainly at the local level. Such policy reforms would also further promote the nation's professed goal of decentralizing infrastructure development.
Ten years after the decentralization laws were adopted by the French Parliament, the once-and-for-all effects of the changes introduced have had time to work themselves out and the observed evolutions can safely be assumed to reflect the permanent functioning of the French system of local goverments in their new institutional environment. The present paper reviews some of the major consequences of the reforms, mostly on local public finance. It stresses the potential dangers of a system in which, due to the disproportionate share of some taxes and to the important role of central government in financing, locally elected authorities may well not be «accountable» enough. In addition, the equalization properties of existing inter-governmental grants seem much too limited compared to the tendencies, inherent in the current system of local finance, to strong polarization of economic development and to geographic segregation of population according to income levels.
This article presents a conceptual framework for analyzing societal responses to women battering in Israel. The model of policy analysis consisted of three specific dimensions namely: 1) descriptive-operational; 2) analytic interpretive; and 3) chronological. Allocation provision delivery and financing of interventions with the abused Israeli women and their families were conducted from 1986 to 1988 through telephone surveys. Data indicate that due to strong religious influences on family life and political factors poor services were provided to abused women. The influence of social welfare in response to women battering were as follows: 1) intervention in woman battering was specific rather than universal; 2) services have been decentralized since their inception; and 3) intervention has been influenced by a collectivist residential orientation to welfare services. Furthermore government agencies and nongovernmental agencies provide only limited services for physically abused women.
With almost 27% of land in Costa Rica protected to some extent the country is at the forefront of national conservation efforts. National parks and biological reserves constitute fully 12% of the country. Efforts began in 1969 to create parks and protected areas. Lands were expropriated and preserved accordingly over the next decade. State financial resources were scarce however and many landowners were forced to wait years before receiving full compensation for lands expropriated through these government initiatives. Economic conditions worsened in the first half of the 1980s impacting adversely upon protected areas. Populations in buffer zones encroached and protected areas were left to deteriorate. The conservation environment grew green however following the election of President Oscar Arias in 1986. His administration consolidated conservation efforts and made institutional reforms. President Arias met the multiple challenges of slowing the nationwide deforestation rate improving park management and providing survival alternatives to populations in buffer areas in the following manner; he consolidated conservation power under one ministry; developed a decentralized system to link and manage protected and buffer areas; created new financing mechanisms; and developed technical capacity to describe and catalog species and their potential uses in Costa Rica. If Costa Rica realizes its objectives as set forth in its National Conservation Strategy almost 95% of the flora and fauna in the country will be preserved. These represent 5% of all plant and animal species known to exist. Costa Ricas experience demonstrates how sustainable development requires creativity innovation and a capacity to implement new programs and policies. Other countries might call upon lessons learned in Costa Rica as they develop their respective institutional structures for conservation and link conservation and development across national regional and local levels.
This article examines the mechanics and attributes of concerted debt reduction agreements that offer creditors a choice between exit and relending options. The menu approach sets prices for different choices that implement a decentralized equilibrium. When banks can commit to choose from the menu and are not allowed to free ride, a menu can be designed that assures that the price paid for debt repurchased is equal to the marginal value of the debt claims. This can be achieved by taxing the gains that accrue to nonexiters with a request for new money. The equilibrium amount of debt reduction rises when the new money request is increased. The importance of banks' heterogeneity for menus to dominate simple concerted buybacks and the case in which debt reduction can be financed by loans from international financial institutions are discussed.