Involvement of Ministries of Health in Health Service Coverage Decisions: Is England an Aberrant Case?

This article examines the involvement of ministries of health in making health service coverage decisions in Denmark, England, France and Germany. The study aims to inform debate in England about the feasibility of reducing perceived ministerial and bureaucratic ‘interference’ in decisions affecting the National Health Service, based on interviews with senior government officials and other health system stakeholders. Ministries of health differ in their involvement in health system governance and coverage decisions (‘the benefits package’), reflecting differences in institutional arrangements. In all four countries, organizations at arm's length or independent from government are either involved in providing technical advice to the ministry of health or have been mandated to take these decisions themselves. However, ministries of health occasionally intervene in the decision‐making process or ignore the advice of these organizations. The Department of Health in England is not an aberrant case, at least in relation to coverage decisions. Indeed, ministries of health in Denmark and France play a larger role in making these decisions. Public pressure, often amplified by the media, is a shared reason for ministerial and ministry involvement in all four countries. This dynamic may thus limit the feasibility of attempts to further separate the NHS from both the Department of Health and wider political pressures.     

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U. S. National Income Series Revised—Congress Votes No on Censuses of Business and Manufactures—Britain Revises Living Cost Index-U. S. and U. K. Surveys Uncover Lacks in Statistical Training-Forthcoming Statistical Conferences     

Beyond the CPI: An Augmented Cost-of-Living Index

This note examines an augmented cost-of-living index (ACOLI) for the purpose of accounting for “augmented consumption” in real-income measures. Well-being includes not only conventional consumer purchases but also goods and services provided by employers, by mandated social regulations, and by tax-financed public goods. Because augmented consumption is often provided in ways that raise prices but not market incomes, deflating with conventional price indexes may understate real income growth. An exploratory application of the ACOLI approach to the United States during the 1960–1997 period suggests that the Consumer Price Index has grown about 19% faster than the ACOLI. This correction would reduce the estimated cost-of-living increase by .47% per year over the last 37 years.     

Rhetorical Theory and the Critique of National Identity Construction

A striking feature of scholarship on national identity is the relative absence of rhetorical theory, or theory related to the persuasive dimensions of discourse, especially given the fact that rhetorical theorists have been concerned with the manufacturing of public opinion and collective identity for over two millennia. To address this absence, this article discusses how rhetorical theories dealing with narrative theory, the social construction of publics, rhetorical constraints, ideology critique, public memory, political history and post-national identity help both to illuminate and critique emergent patterns of national identification.     

我国公共定价管制研究——以输配电价管制为例

尽管公共定价不涉及政府对经济的直接调控,但科学管制公共定价同样关系到资源配置效率、收入分配公平以及财政收支规模等重要问题,因此对公共定价管制进行研究,对于推进我国现阶段市场经济体制中的公共企业改革、政府职能转变及经济结构调整有着重要意义。在此背景下,以输配电价管制为例对我国公共定价管制进行研究,尝试为政府管制放松浪潮背景下我国公共定价管制机制改革提出可行的改革思路、路径及政策建议。     

作为本土知识的仪式空间--以大理喜洲为例

社会人类学家提出,行政、市场、仪式是三种形成空间的力量.笔者根据在大理喜洲的田野工作提出,虽然三种力量造成了三种社会空间,但只有仪式空间才是当地人的本土知识.行政和市场力量形成的空间因变动不定而脱离了本土社会分类,只能用客位的视角观察到.因此,在探讨空间形成力量之前,研究者应该在主位与客位的视角之间做出选择.     

论新疆地方政府公共服务建设

党的十七大提出,在推进经济社会发展的同时必须着力改善民生。而改善民生的重要途径之一,是地方政府加强公共服务建设。我们认为,新疆各级地方政府都应从当地实际出发,研究公共服务的特点和制约因素,强化公共服务职能,创新公共服务机制,通过提升公共服务的水平和质量,为改善民生做出主导性贡献。     

服务型政府视野中的公共服务分工

建设服务型政府要求强化政府的公共服务能力.公共服务分工是指政府在强化公共服务职能和财政责任的同时,还要充分发挥市场在配置资源和社会在整合资源方面的特有作用,发展公共服务规划者和生产者的专业优势.尽管公共服务分工有利于弥补政府直接生产的局限性,但也不可避免地存在交易成本,需要进行有效的合同治理.对于公共服务分工而言,选择能够节省交易成本和具备激励机制的制度安排至关重要.公共服务的分工还有助于防止政府、市场与社会组织之间的相互对抗,重建新的权利和责任体系,有效地促进社会和谐.     

从大众文化视角解读新武侠小说的崛起

20世纪50年代以来,新武侠小说逐渐在整个华文世界流行,历经50余年而不衰。这主要是因为它站在大众文化的立场,符合了现代读者的阅读期待,在一定程度上体现了民族的集体无意识。     

公共危机管理中的公民参与:价值、困境与路径选择——基于社会资本范式的研究

公民参与是公共危机管理的一个重要问题。社会资本理论是分析社会发展的一种重要理论,对公民参与具有较强的解释力。本文梳理了公民参与、公共危机管理和社会资本的相关概念和内涵,以社会资本为中介和基础分析了公共危机管理中公民参与的价值;在社会资本缺失和负外部性下讨论了公民参与公共危机管理的困境;并通过社会资本的投资和自我完善分析了公民参与公共危机管理的路径选择。