That public health policy and practice should be evidence based is a seemingly uncontroversial claim. Yet governments and citizens routinely reject the best available evidence and prefer policies that reflect other considerations and concerns. The most common explanations of this paradox emphasise scientific disagreement, the power of 'politics', or the belief that scientists and policymakers l...

Recent public health crises have revealed the extent to which coordinated government activity is crucial for ensuring the efficacy of public policies aimed at protecting, maintaining and improving the health of the population. The need for coherent and effective interventions in many areas of human activity always comes up against the challenges related to the division of responsibilities, powe...

The 'Race to the Bottom' theory suggests that local governments might be reluctant to adopt policies that are helpful towards poorer citizens out of fear of attracting poorer residents from nearby municipalities. Likewise, policies that are helpful to the poor may be costly and can lead to an increase in taxes that may drive away wealthier residents. Municipalities in which a majority of citize...

The blockage in implementing transfer of prison health care to regional governments is a problematic social and health care issue, and also brings to light major institutional and political weaknesses. This article considers the power dynamics between administrations and levels, highlighting the subordinate nature of the health care agendas with regard to political and economic ones, as well as...

This paper analyzes the growth impact of fiscal and institutional policies for alternative sizes of regions. The local government provides a public input that may be subject to relative congestion thus reducing its individual availability. Then private capital productivity is affected by the number of firms utilizing the governmental input. Institutional policies include the decision about the ...

In this paper, we will explore the way in which an e-Government policy takes shape. First, we will analyse the three core ingredients of e-Government: technology, back-office reforms and front-office applications. Second, we will look at two theoretical models of policy development (the rational policy model and the incremental policy model) and we will discuss the consequences of these policy ...

3.1 The challenges outlined in chapter 2 may seem daunting. But a growing number of countries are making significant improvements to their investment climates—and are being richly rewarded in faster growth and steeper poverty reductions. China, India, and Uganda, mentioned for their achievements in chapter 1, are hardly alone. Many countries have made progress in improving particular areas of t...