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122. Financing the Economic Stabilization and Growth Programme (Zambia Plus) in the Shadow of the IMF
- Author:
- Caesar Cheelo
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Hudson Institute
- Abstract:
- In February 2018, the IMF reaffirmed its August 2017 formal withdrawal from negotiations with Zambia over a package of financial support. The strong position to hold negotiations came in the IMF’s Article IV Consultations report of 2017, which concluded that Zambia was at high risk of debt distress, and that whilst financial management and fiscal discipline were improving, the extent of the improvement was not sufficient to mitigate the growing public debt and fiscal deficit. Whilst the IMF deal may be off the table for the time being, the many of problems that drove Zambia to engage the IMF most assuredly remain unresolved. Two to three years after the economic minicrisis of 2015, Zambia continued to accrue sizable new debts, to utilize the proceeds poorly (to fund consumption spending) and to run persistent fiscal deficits – albeit a smaller and seemingly better managed deficit in 2017 compared to 2015 and 2016. These issues remain problematic despite the partial economic rebound, with high copper prices, good rains (leading to good harvests and more reliable power supply), and a stable Kwacha providing a strong platform for improvement. Nonetheless, fiscal performance is lagging behind and Zambia may be missing a window to reestablish prudent public financial management.
- Topic:
- Infrastructure, Governance, Reform, Macroeconomics, IMF, and Public Debt
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Zambia
123. Dual Practice of Public Hospital Physicians in Vietnam
- Author:
- Ngan Do and Young Kyung Do
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
- Abstract:
- Although many public hospital physicians in Vietnam offer private service on the side, little is known about the magnitude and nature of the phenomenon of so-called dual practice, let alone the dynamics between the public and private health sectors. This study investigates how and to what degree public hospital physicians engage in private practice. It also examines the commitment of dual practitioners to the public sector. The analysis is based on a hospital-based survey of 483 physicians at 10 public hospitals in four provinces of Vietnam. Nearly half of the participants in the study sample reported themselves as dual practitioners. Various types of private practice were mentioned. Private practice at health facilities owned by the private sector was the most prevalent, followed by private practice delivered at health facilities owned by the dual practitioners themselves. Private practice inside public hospitals was also noted. Dual practitioners were likely to be senior and hold management positions inside their public hospitals. Substantial income differences were found between dual practitioners and those physicians practicing in only the public sector. The majority of dual practitioners, however, reported the willingness to give up private practice if certain conditions were met, such as a basic salary increase or non-pecuniary benefits. The main reasons dual practitioners gave for not leaving the public sector included a sense of public responsibility and opportunities to gain a broader professional network and more training. This study reiterates the significant challenges associated with dual practice, including its financial implications and possible effects on health care quality and access. The need for a high-quality workforce committed to the public sector is particularly critical, given the possibility of universal insurance coverage. Future research should address the need to improve data collection on physicians’ dual practice and incorporate the topic in policy debates on health reform.
- Topic:
- Health, Health Care Policy, Reform, and Hospitals
- Political Geography:
- Asia and Vietnam
124. Set the Torturers Free: Transitional Justice and Peace vs Justice Dilemma in Burma/Myanmar
- Author:
- Michal Lubina
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Polish Political Science Yearbook
- Institution:
- Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
- Abstract:
- Burma/Myanmar seems to be a perfect ground for transitional justice with both long-failed transitions to democracy that seemed to succeed in 2015 finally and smouldering civil war taking place there since 1948 (since the 1990s limited to Borderlands). Unfortu- nately, the political realities in Burma/Myanmar make it unlikely, if not impossible, for tran- sitional justice to be applicable in Burma/Myanmar. The victorious in 2015 elections demo- cratic opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD) came to power thanks to the political deal with the former military government and is consequently being forced to co- habitate politically with the army that still holds critical political checks over the government. It made NLD’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi to conduct moderate domestic policy without trying to charge the generals for their former crimes. In this circumstances, transitional justice is unwanted by mainstream political actors (NLD, the army) and seen as threatening to peace by many in the Myanmar society. This approach firmly places Burma/Myanmar on one side of the ‘peace vs justice’ dilemma. It answers the “torturer problem”, one of the central problems of transitional justice – how to deal with members of the previous regime which violated human rights – in ‘old fashion’ way, by granting them full amnesty. As such Burma/Myanmar case also falsifies an optimistic claim that transitional justice is necessary for political reforms.
- Topic:
- Torture, Reform, Transitional Justice, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Asia, Burma, and Myanmar
125. The Impact of the European Court of Human Rights on Justice Sector Reform in the Republic of Moldova
- Author:
- Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan
- Publication Date:
- 11-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
- Institution:
- Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
- Abstract:
- For this study, I reviewed the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights against the Republic of Moldova and the corresponding reports of the Committee of Ministers from 1997 through 2014. In addition, I interviewed more than 25 lawyers, judges, and human rights advocates. After analyzing the effectiveness of the Court in terms of compliance with the judgments in specific cases (individual measures), I will assess the broader impact of these decisions (general measures) on legal reforms and public policy in the Republic of Moldova. I will evaluate the effectiveness of the decisions of the ECtHR in the context of the implementation of Moldova’s Justice Sector Reform Strategy (2011-2015), the Council of Europe’s Action Plan to Support Democratic Reforms in the Republic of Moldova (2013-2016), and Moldova’s National Human Rights Action Plan (2011-2014). My findings will offer insights into the constraints faced by the ECtHR in implementing its decisions and the impact of the ECtHR on national legal systems.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Reform, European Union, and Judiciary
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Moldova
126. The European Union as a Reforming Power in the Western Balkans: The Case of Albania
- Author:
- Klodiana Beshku and Orjana Mullisi
- Publication Date:
- 11-2018
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
- Institution:
- Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
- Abstract:
- This paper tries to further elaborate one of the most important external powers of the European Union: Its “reforming power” which goes in parallel with its ability as “normative actor” in the Western Balkans. Through Albania as a case study, it tries to argue that the process of Albania’s integration to the EU has transformed the country in several directions: by introducing a deep juridical reform and by the full alignment of its foreign policy with CFSP and the “regional cooperation”. In fact, under the auspices of the EU integration, the country is making all the efforts to deliver on one of the most transformative reforms undertaken in the region, that of the justice system. This gives to EU the features of a “reforming power”. The term shows the EU as a driving force which makes countries undertake deep reforms they would not have differently realized, if not under the conditionality for the EU integration.
- Topic:
- Regional Cooperation, Reform, and European Union
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Albania
127. Grassroots Reform in the Global South: A Literature Review on Grassroots Reform
- Author:
- Patrick Heller, Andrew Schrank, Anindita Adhikari, Benjamin Bradlow, Rehan Jamil, Kristine Li, Chantel Pheiffer, and Marcus Walton
- Publication Date:
- 09-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Institute of International Education
- Abstract:
- In 2016, USAID’s Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance launched its Learning Agenda—a set of research questions designed to address the issues that confront staff in USAID field offices working on the intersection of development and democracy, human rights, and governance. This literature review—produced by a team of sociologists and political scientists—synthesizes scholarship from diverse research traditions on the following Learning Agenda question: How and when does grassroots reform scale up? When citizen participation has led to local reforms in a particular sector (e.g., health), what processes lead to these reforms’ influencing the regional or national levels of that sector (e.g., citizen groups monitoring medicine supplies in local clinics leads eventually to pharmaceutical procurement reform in the Ministry of Health)? The report itself is divided into four principal sections: Section 1 outlines the context for the report by discussing the importance of grassroots reform, defining key terms, and describing its methodology. Section 2 documents the experiences of different regions with an eye toward intra-regional comparisons. Section 3 distills two types of lessons from the regional experiences: relatively abstract lessons of broad relevance and relatively precise lessons of less general relevance. Section 4 discusses the translation of the authors’ findings into actionable lessons and concludes by discussing the limits to their knowledge base, pending research questions, and methodological impediments to their resolution.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Reform, Democracy, and USAID
- Political Geography:
- United States of America and Global South
128. Prospects of cooperation on restoring stability and institutional reform in Syria
- Author:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy and Omran for Strategic Studies
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- Report on the workshop: “Prospects of cooperation on restoring stability and institutional reform in Syria” Geneva, 21-22 September 2017.
- Topic:
- Reform, Counter-terrorism, Conflict, Syrian War, Institutions, and Transition
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Ukraine, Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Syria
129. Research Project on Reserve System Practices
- Author:
- Philipp H. Fluri and Valentyn Badrack
- Publication Date:
- 05-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Razumkov Centre
- Abstract:
- У цьому виданні пропонується Дослідження 1, виконане Женевським центром демокра- тичного контролю над збройними силами, яке зосереджується на розгляді сучасних варіан- тів обґрунтуваннями доцільності призову. Хоча кожен з них повинен розглядатися окремо, але вони можуть запропонувати корисні уроки для країн, які стикаються зі схожими пробле- мами приймаючи системні рішення щодо реформ у галузі оборони і безпеки.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Governance, Armed Forces, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Ukraine and Global Focus
130. Key Issues and Policy Recommendations, Conference 1
- Author:
- Philipp H. Fluri, Oleksiy Melnyk, and Nazli Yildirim
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Razumkov Centre
- Abstract:
- This publication offers the Key Issues and Policy Recommendations based on the results of the First International Conference “Monitoring Ukraine’s Security Governance Challenges: Status and Needs”. Conference One sought to examine and document challenges to the Ukrainian security sector, while explaining again the notion of the security sector governance and reform, along with such concepts as transparency and accountability, efficient and effective management, and the dangers posed to security by corruption.
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Governance, Reform, Democracy, Media, Institutions, and Oversight
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe