AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY MODEL IN THE REFORM OF INDONESIA'S BANKING SECTOR

Lack of satisfactory progress with reform of the banking sector may imply that the chosen remedies were unworkable in the Indonesian context. These remedies, suggested by the international community, appear not to have taken proper account of the commercial and political ramifications of the new institutions and mechanisms that were to be put in place. Of key importance is the practical difficulty of finding suitable buyers for banks and assets taken over by the new bank restructuring agency. Almost the entire corporate sector was in distress as a result of the crisis, while foreign buyers were reluctant to commit themselves given an inadequate legal system as well as significant nationalistic opposition to the sale of corporate assets to foreign entities. This article discusses reasons for the failure to achieve several principal objectives of the reforms, and canvasses alternative approaches that might be more successful.     

OBSTACLES TO PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING REFORM IN INDONESIA

This paper draws attention to the importance of improving the quality of public sector accounting in Indonesia, in line with the aims of reformasi (reform) and demokratisasi (democratisation), and in the context of decentralisation. It highlights a continuing lack of progress in reform of government accounting. This is attributable partly to a lack of interest in and understanding of the issues among newly empowered electors. Successive governments have been reluctant to push hard for accounting reform, not least because improved accountability poses a significant threat to politicians’ and bureaucrats’ overall income levels. In addition, current human resource management practices in the public sector have resulted in a shortage of accounting skills, and without these there is little prospect of successful reform in this area. A possible solution may be to establish a parallel civil service specifically to undertake the accounting functions of government.     

THE FOUNDATION OF THE MEXICAN WELFARE STATE AND SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM IN THE 1990s

Before 1982 Mexico's welfare state regime was a limited conservative one that put priority on the social security of organized labor. But following the country's debt crisis in 1982, this regime changed to a hybrid liberal model. The Ernest Zedillo government (1995–2000) in particular pushed ahead with liberal reform of the social security system. This paper examines the characteristics and the policy making of the social security reforms in the 1990s. The results suggest that underlying these reforms was the restructuring of the economy and the need to cope with the cost of this restructuring. The paper also points out that one of the main factors making possible the rapid execution of the reforms were the weakened political clout of the officialist labor unions due to their steady breakdown during the 1990s and the increase in the monopolistic power of the state vis‐à‐vis the position of labor during the negotiations on social security reforms.     

THE FOOD SECURITY PROBLEM IN ETHIOPIA – A SUPPLY SIDE ANALYSIS

Since 1961 Ethiopia has been ruled by a Monarchy, a Marxist military dictatorship, and presently by a coalition of political parties that came to power in 1991after a protracted civil war. These three governments have pursued different ideologies in formulating policies to guide agricultural development. However, to date Ethiopia remains food insecure. Ethiopian agriculture is dominated by peasant farmers and 85 per cent of the population is rural. Rural poverty and, hence, food insecurity is intricately related to insufficient land and a lack of long‐term tenure security. The aggregate country level food security was assessed using various indicators for the periods of the three governments. The growth rates and the variability in the indicators suggest that Ethiopia is suffering from both chronic and transitory food insecurity.     

FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WELFARE STATE IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA: PROCESS OF REFORM OF THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE SYSTEM

The legal framework for social security in the Republic of Korea began to be formed in the early 1960s (the first period) and further progress was made during the process of democratization in the 1980s (the second period). However, it remained a “top‐down” residual system, preserving conservative elements. With the constitutional lawsuit over the right to life in 1994 as a turning point, however, there was a major shift to a universal system, supported by “bottom‐up” efforts through petitions to the National Assembly and legislation by Assembly members. This led to the enactment of the Framework Act on Social Security (1995), the National Basic Livelihood Security Act (1999) and other measures (the third period). This paper attempts to analyze the Korean‐style welfare state by tracking these institutional changes as well as the main actors.     

保持持续发展态势的大望股份合作公司

大望股份合作公司及大望社区居委会在1992年前统称为大望行政村村民委员会,1992年12月农村城市化后分置为大望股份合作公司及大望社区居委会。分置后两个单位仍然同在一栋楼办公,所有资源仍然共享。同时,党团组织亦分置为大望股份公司和大望社区党、团支部。     

ECONOMIC REFORM WHEN THE CONSTITUTION MATTERS: INDONESIA'S CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AND ARTICLE 33

Article 33 of Indonesia's Constitution requires the state to ‘control’ important branches of production and natural resources. The meaning of ‘control’ has been a matter of significant debate since Indonesia's independence: does it require the state to manage directly, or is regulation enough? The government has recently sought to break down government monopolies and attract private investment in key sectors. To this end it has enacted a raft of new statutes, but they have been challenged in Indonesia's new Constitutional Court. The Court has opted for the ‘direct manage ment’ interpretation of article 33, striking down statutes that implicitly interpret it as requiring government regulation only. This paper discusses these decisions and, more broadly, problems arising from judicial intervention in economic policy formation. It also considers how the government has sought to circumvent the decisions, and the possible consequences of state non-compliance for the Court's future.     

FORESTRY SECTOR REFORM AND DISTRIBUTIONAL CHANGE OF NATURAL RESOURCE RENT IN INDONESIA

After the collapse of the centralized Soeharto regime, deforestation caused by over‐logging accelerated. To tackle this problem, an IMF/World Bank‐led forestry sector reform program adopted a market‐friendly approach involving the resumption of round wood exports and raising of the resource rent fee, with the aim to stop rent accumulation by plywood companies, which had enjoyed a supply of round wood at privileged prices. The Indonesian government, for its part, decentralized the forest concession management system to provide incentives for local governments and communities to carry out sustainable forest management. However, neither policy reform worked effectively. The round wood export ban was reimposed and the forest management system centralized again with cooperation from a newly funded industry‐led institution. In the midst of the confusion surrounding the policy reversal, the gap between the price of round wood in international and domestic markets failed to contract, although rent allocations to plywood companies were reduced during 1998–2003. The rents were not collected properly by the government, but accumulated unexpectedly in the hands of players in the black market for round wood.     

COLONIALISM AND LONG‐RUN GROWTH IN AUSTRALIA: AN EXAMINATION OF INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE IN VICTORIA'S WATER SECTOR DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Institutional change in water rights in the nineteenth century Australian colony of Victoria raised institutional efficiency, which contributed to long‐run economic growth. High‐quality human capital and the extension of voting rights (franchise) were crucial for efficient institutional change in the water sector. Quality human capital (literacy) appeared to increase the rural population's awareness of the economic impact of the existing structure of water rights that may have constrained growth in the agricultural sector and reduced investment incentives. Extension of the franchise allowed the rural population to exert political pressure for enactment of change in water rights, which resulted in efficiency‐enhancing policies and efficient institutions. The findings show these two factors were more important than Victoria's British colonial heritage in determining whether growth‐enhancing institutional change took place.     

美食之都满城飘香

三月,八方来宾,渝州云集。号称“天下第一会”的第76届全国糖酒会在重庆国际会展中心举行。与此同进,中华特色小吃展、第三届中国(重庆)火锅美食文化节相继拉开帷幕。美食美味交相辉映,巴渝美食文化风韵纷呈。