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42. Pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 (pH1N1) in Hong Kong: Anatomy of a Response
- Author:
- Richard Fielding
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- Pandemic influenza A/H1N1 (pH1N1) spread rapidly from its origins in Mexico to affect Hong Kong as its first point of entry into Asia. In this paper, the different stages of government response from prevention to mitigation to vaccination and stand down are described and discussed from the perspectives of feasibility, pragmatism, effectiveness and population responses to offer insights into future influenza pandemic preparedness.
- Topic:
- Globalization, Government, and Health
- Political Geography:
- Israel, Asia, Mexico, and Hong Kong
43. Quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy:16 May - 15 August 2010
- Author:
- Michele K. Esposito
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- The Quarterly Update is a summary of bilateral, multilateral, regional, and international events affecting the Palestinians and the future of the peace process. More than 100 print, wire, television, and online sources providing U.S., Israeli, Arab, and international independent and government coverage of unfolding events are surveyed to compile the Quarterly Update. The most relevant sources are cited in JPS's Chronology section, which tracks events day by day.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- United States, Israel, and Arabia
44. Striking the Right Balance: Economic Concentration and Local Government Performance in Indonesia and the Philippines
- Author:
- Christian von Luebke
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- The relationship between economic concentration and governance remains controversial. While some studies find that high economic concentration strengthens collective action and reform cooperation, others stress dangers of rent-seeking and state capture. In this paper I argue that effects are neither strictly positive nor negative: they are best described as an inverted-u-shaped relationship, where better governance performance emerges with moderate economic concentration. Decentralization reforms in Indonesia and the Philippines Q unprecedented in scope and scale Q provide a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis. Subnational case studies and cross-sections, from both countries, indicate that moderately concentrated polities are accompanied by better service and lower corruption. The presence of Scontested oligarchiesT Q small circles of multi-sectoral interest groupsQ creates a situation where economic elites are strong enough to influence policymakers and, at the same time, diverse enough to keep each other in check. The results of this paper suggest that contested oligarchies compensate for weakly-developed societal and juridical forces and can become a stepping stone to good governance.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia, Israel, Asia, and Philippines
45. Wanted: A War on Terrorist Media
- Author:
- Mark Dubowitz
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of International Security Affairs
- Institution:
- Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
- Abstract:
- No abstract is available.
- Topic:
- Government and War
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Europe, and Israel
46. Japanese governance reform: Daybreak in the land of the rising sun?
- Author:
- Alexandru Luta
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The recent elections for the lower house of Japan's Diet herald the end of the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) domination of Japanese politics. The winner, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), aims to thoroughly reform the way the country is governed. The strategic goals of the DPJ's reform agenda are to shift the locus of policy-drafting away from civil servants to the legislature, and to bring the latter firmly under the control of the Prime Minister's Cabinet. In order to be able to work towards its strategic goal, the DPJ needs tactical victories to maintain its popularity with the electorate. The climate negotiations' high profile makes domestic climate policy a natural area for the DPJ to differentiate its political brand from that of the LDP. Just as with governance reform, the DPJ has time and again asserted its commitment to pro-active climate goals both in pre-and post-electoral speeches, at home and abroad. Therefore it is very likely to continue pouring political capital into this policy area. The division between major ministries about how to formulate Japanese climate policy presents a willing Cabinet with structural advantages to assert its leadership successfully. The wider reforms currently being implemented further strengthen the new government's position. There are some factors that might limit the ability of Japan's new leadership to fight climate change. These include how their relationship with domestic media outlets shapes their approval ratings, how the positions of other stakeholders develop, how other electoral promises conflict with the new climate platform, and how the climate negotiations progress on the international level.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Government, Politics, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Japan, Israel, and Asia
47. China-Russia Relations
- Author:
- Yu Bin
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- In contrast to the hectic third quarter of the Beijing Olympics and South Ossetia, the last quarter of 2008 was calmer for Russia and China. Their bilateral relations, nonetheless, seemed to become more substantive. The 13th annual Prime Ministerial Meeting in Moscow in late October and the 13th session of the Russian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation in Moscow in early December provided some fresh impetus for the impasse in two important areas of bilateral relations: the long-awaited oil pipeline to China and military relations. Separately, the quarter also witnessed the final, albeit low-key, ceremony for settling the last territorial issue when Russia officially transferred to China control of one and a half islands of the disputed territory near Khabarovsk. However, the world around Russia and China was in turmoil not only because of the financial tsunami that was leaving no nation behind, but also because of regional crises between India and Pakistan as well as Israel and Palestine, and the stagnation in the Korea denuclearization process.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Government
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Russia, United States, China, India, Israel, Beijing, Palestine, and South Ossetia
48. Comparing Public and Private Hospitals in China: Evidence from Guangdong
- Author:
- Karen Eggleston, Mingshan Lu, Congdong Li, Jian Wang, Zhe Yang, and Jing Zhang
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- Government and private roles in this segment of health service delivery remain controversial in China, as in many countries. Using 2004 data from over 360 government-owned and private hospitals in Guangdong Province, we find that non-government hospitals serve an overlapping but distinct market. They are smaller, newer market entrants, more likely to specialize, and less likely to be included in urban social insurance networks. We also document differences in staffing and financial performance, but no systematic ownership differences in simple measures of quality, controlling for size, location, case-mix and other confounding factors.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Government, Health, and Privatization
- Political Geography:
- China, Israel, and Guangdong
49. Accountability and Inequality in Single-Party Regimes: A Comparative Analysis of Vietnam and China
- Author:
- Regina Abrami, Edmund Malesky, and Yu Zheng
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Over the past two decades, no two economies have averaged more rapid economic growth than China and Vietnam. But while China's income inequality has risen rapidly over that same time frame, Vietnam's has only grown moderately. Structural and socio-cultural determinants fail to account for these divergent pathways. Existing political variables are also unhelpful. China and Vietnam are coded in exactly the same way, even in the path-breaking work on authoritarian regimes. In this paper, we take a deeper look at political institutions in the two countries, demonstrating that profound differences between the polities directly impact distributional choices. In particular, we find that Vietnamese elite institutions require construction of broader coalitions of policymakers, place more constraints on executive decision making, and have more competitive selection processes. As a result, there are stronger political motivations for Vietnamese leaders to provide equalizing transfers that limit inequality growth.
- Topic:
- Government
- Political Geography:
- China, Israel, Asia, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia
50. Incentives in China's Healthcare Delivery System
- Author:
- Karen Eggleston
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- The economic approach of comparative and historical institutional analysis (Aoki 2001, Greif 2006) has virtually never been used in theoretical studies of healthcare incentives. This paper seeks to help fill this gap by exploring the explanatory power of such an approach for understanding incentives in China's healthcare delivery system. It focuses on positive analysis of why China's health system incentives evolved the way they did. The first section analyzes the institution of physician dispensing (MDD) and reforms toward separation of prescribing from dispensing (SPD), in historical and comparative perspective. It shows, for example, how MDD was a self-reinforcing institution; the longer a society remains under MDD, the higher the associated costs of supplier-induced demand can be before implementing SPD becomes the efficient self-enforcing social institution. Rapid technological change and adoption of universal coverage are likely to trigger SPD reforms. The second section seeks to explain the pattern and impact of price regulation and hospital payment reforms in contemporary China, which also reflect the legacy of MDD.
- Topic:
- Government, Health, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- China, Israel, and Asia