Beyond Reforms

'Beyond Reforms' argues that economic growth in developing countries is intrinsically tied to the dynamics of production structures, to the specific policies and institutions created to support it, and the creation of linkages among domestic firms and sectors. Avoiding macroeconomic instability is also essential. However, macroeconomic stability is not a sufficient condition for growth. The broader institutional context and the adequate provision of education and infrastructure are essential 'framework conditions,' but generally do not play a direct role in bringing about changes in the momentum of economic growth.

There is a secret inside healthcare, and it‘s this: We can do healthcare for a lot less money. The only way to do that is to do it a lot better. We know it‘s possible because it is happening now. In pockets and branches across healthcare, people are receiving better healthcare for a lot less. Some employers, states, tribes, and health systems are d

This collection of essays analyses the reform experiences of the 30 OECD countries in nine major policy domains in order to identify lessons, pitfalls and strategies that may help foster policy reform in the future.

Since Gorbachev came to power much has happened in the Soviet Union. This book provides a comprehensive and composite analysis of the reforms that have taken place in the Soviet Union since 1985.

Our status quo-the pyramid of wealth and power dominated by the few at the top-has failed and is beyond reform. This failure is not rooted in superficial issues such as politics or governmental regulations; the failure is structural. The very foundation of the status quo has rotted away, and brushing on another coat of reformist paint will not save our societal house from collapse. Yet those who benefit from our status quo naturally deny it has failed, for the reason that it has yet to fail them personally-either pretending to not understand all unsustainable systems eventually collapse, or hoping to postpone it. The writing is on the wall for us to read: We are doing more of what has failed spectacularly. We are implementing emergency measures as permanent policies. We receive diminishing returns on status quo solutions. We suffer declining social mobility. We have a loss of social cohesion/shared purpose. Our status quo is not only failing to solve humanity's six core problems-it has become the problem. Since this failure is now inevitable, something is coming to replace it. It is urgent that each of us understand why our status quo has failed, and why the usual menu of reforms can't stop this failure, so we can prepare ourselves for the radical transformations ahead.

This book deals with the question how institutional reform can contribute to peacebuilding in post-war and divided societies. In the context of armed conflict and widespread violence, two important questions shape political agendas inside and outside the affected societies: How can we stop the violence? And how can we prevent its recurrence? Comprehensive negotiated war terminations and peace accords recommend a set of mechanisms to bring an end to war and establish peace, including institutional reforms that promote democratization and state building. Although the role of institutions is widely recognized, their specific effects are highly contested in research as well as in practice. This book highlights the necessity to include path-dependency, pre-conflict institutions and societal divisions to understand the patterns of institutional change in post-war societies and the ongoing risk of civil war recurrence. It focuses on the general question of how institutional reform contributes to the establishment of peace in post-war societies. This book comprises three separate but interrelated parts on the relation between institutions and societal divisions, on institutional reform and on security sector reform. The chapters contribute to the understanding of the relationship between societal cleavages, pre-conflict institutions, path dependency, and institutional reform. This book will be of much interest to students of peacebuilding, conflict resolution, development studies, security studies and IR.

Traditional education in statistics that emphasises significance testing leaves researchers and students ill prepared to understand what their results really mean. Specifically, most researchers and students who do not have strong quantitative backgrounds have difficulty understanding outcomes of statistical tests. As more and more people become aware of this problem, the emphasis on statistical significance in the reporting of results is declining. Increasingly, researchers are expected to describe the magnitudes and precisions of their findings and also their practical, theoretical, or clinical significance. This accessibly written book reviews the controversy about significance testing, which has now crossed various disciplines as diverse as psychology, ecology, commerce, education, and biology, among others. It also introduces readers to alternative methods, especially effect size estimation (at both the group and case levels) and interval estimation (confidence intervals) in comparative studies. Basics of bootstrapping and Bayesian estimation are also considered. Research examples from substance abuse, education, learning, and other areas illustrate how to apply these methods. A companion website promotes learning by providing chapter exercises and sample answers, downloadable raw data files for many research examples, and links to other useful websites. New to this edition is coverage of robust statistical methods for parameter estimation, effect size estimation, and interval estimation. A new chapter covers the logic and illogic of significance testing. This edition also addresses recent developments such as the new requirements of some journals for the reporting of effect sizes.

Since 2001 The Democratic Republic of Congo has been engaged in a three-fold transition process towards liberalisation, democratisation, and peace. Throughout this process, external actors (donors, international financial institutions, the UN system, aid agencies) have played a leading role, effectively setting the orientations and modalities of this transition, including their institutional dimension. Congolese actors have not been passively subjected to this process, however, but have potently shaped it in various ways. This book investigates the relationship between international aid partners and various Congolese actors since 2001. It examines this relationship as an aspect of the state reform process, with particular reference to the administration. Stylianos Moshonas argues that the pace and nature of reform has been compromised by the contradictions inherent within the process itself, as advocated by international partners, and by the ability of Congolese power holders to accommodate and co-opt such reforms in line with their own political strategies. Rather than framing aid relations as the outcome of the oppositional points of view of donors and Congolese actors, this book presents a systematic focus on the compromises and accommodative characteristics that aid politics have coalesced around, as well as the contradictory positions donors have found themselves in.