Browse by: "P"

Management by performance began in Sweden’s public administration in the late 1980s, both as a tool for the government’s budget process and as a way for the government to control its agencies. This article discusses various aspects of the performance system in the Swedish context.

This article discusses the United Kingdom framework for performance budgeting and management and its evolution from 1998 onwards, primarily focused on the period 1998-2007. Public service agreements (PSAs) have moved away from inputs and processes to a focus on the outcomes that matter to public service users.

This article describes the history of performance management in the United States government, including the Budget and Performance Integration initiative (BPI), the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), and the dedicated Internet site www.ExpectMore.gov.

The allocation of funds to public colleges based on performance criteria rather than activity or enrolment criteria is often described as performance funding. In the United States, performance funding policies have become a frequently used instrument of higher education accountability. The history of such policies, however, is a complex one, with some states implementing such policies while others discontinue them. This paper describes and evaluates the first and the longest-standing performance funding policy in the United States, one designed and implemented in 1980 and remaining in effect for over 25 years.

This article looks at the application of performance measurement systems in the health sector across OECD countries. The data comes from the 2017 OECD Survey on Performance Measurement Systems in the Health Sector and Responsibilities across Levels of Government. The results show that the majority of countries have national performance measurement systems in place, covering multiple aspects of the health system. Despite varying objectives, measurement systems are usually aimed at improving performance of the health system, rather than at containing costs.

Liner shipping and container ports have repeatedly made headline news since 2020 as companies across supply chains were hit with price hikes and shipment delays. Predictability became a thing of the past. This report assesses these disruptions to containerised maritime transport and analyses their causes and impacts.

This paper presents findings of an OECD review of managed entry agreements in OECD countries and EU member states conducted in 2018 and 2019. Findings are based on discussions with the OECD Expert Group on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, responses by experts from 12 OECD countries to a survey and semi-structured interviews, and on the literature as well as information published by national authorities responsible for coverage and pricing of medicines.

The research university is a central institution of the 21st century – providing access to global science, producing basic and applied research, and educating key leaders for academe and society. Worldwide, there are very few research universities – they are expensive to develop and support, and the pressures of massification have placed priorities elsewhere. For developing countries, research universities are especially rare, and yet they are especially important as key ingredients for economic and social progress. This article argues for the importance of research universities in developing countries and points out some of the challenges that such institutions face.

This paper argues that, in situations where choices are made between mutually exclusive investment projects and where there are economic rents, free allocation of tradable emission permits in emissions trading systems can weaken incentives for firms to invest in less carbon-intensive technologies compared to the case where permits would be auctioned. The reason is that permit allocation rules affect economic rents differentially when different product benchmarks apply to products that are close substitutes. Examples of permit allocation rules favouring more emission-intensive technologies for outputs that are close substitutes are found in the California Cap and Trade Program and in the European Union Emissions Trading System. This lack of technology-neutrality is exacerbated in the long run as future patterns of substitutability between technologies are uncertain. Free permit allocation can broaden support for carbon pricing, but this paper shows that this carries a cost in terms of environmental effectiveness if it discourages investment in low-carbon assets.

There are basically four means by which to reduce the negative environmental consequences of personal transport: by replacing personal vehicles with more environmentally-friendly ones; by replacing car journeys with public transport, walking or cycling and by car-sharing rather than solo driving; by making fewer journeys (e.g. telecommuting, internet shopping); and by travelling shorter distances.

The system of third party liability for nuclear damage established in the 1960s has been the model for many national legal systems in countries with nuclear power programmes. However, this approach has been criticised. It is argued that, with compensation limited to certain types of damage and with limits set well below the possible consequences of an accident, not all damage arising from an accident might be compensated. Moreover, relatively low levels of operator liability mean that risks associated with nuclear power are borne by the general public and that the generation of nuclear electricity is effectively subsidised. Debate about nuclear liability and compensation arrangements increased markedly after the 1986 Chernobyl accident, which brought into stark relief numerous deficiencies in the existing regimes. The subsequent revision of the international nuclear liability and compensation conventions has sought to address this criticism by establishing higher liability amounts and broadening the range of compensable nuclear damage, whilst leaving much of the original 1960s liability and compensation structure unchanged.

This paper highlights the urban development in India and implications for low income households living in informal settlements or slums. The paper is divided into four sections. Section 1 describes urban development pattern in India. Section 2 presents a summary of policies since 1950 which have been implemented to address the housing needs of low income households in cities. Section 3 presents impacts of various housing and resettlement policies in selected cities in India. Section 4 summarizes key insights from self-planned low income settlements in cities-the slums, and expert planned low income settlements as part of resettlement policies.