NEW LABOUR, PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND RAIL TRANSPORT POLICY

The New Labour government has favoured the deployment of Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) to provide investment in transport infrastructure. The results of this policy on the railways have, however, been disappointing in terms of cost and efficiency. Public transport PPPs require complex contracts underpinned by regulatory mechanisms in order to maintain performance and safety standards. Moreover, risk transfer is difficult to achieve, as essential infrastructure cannot be left to the ultimate market discipline of bankruptcy.     

PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN THE NETHERLANDS: POLICY, PROJECTS AND LESSONS

This article examines the re-emergence of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in the Netherlands since the 1980s, summarising the policy discussions that have taken place, and analysing the projects that have been implemented or planned. Several policy conclusions are drawn from the Dutch experience with PPPs.     

Patient and Public Participation in the English NHS: An assessment of experimental implementation processes

This article analyses the impact of the implementation of a set of policies introduced after 1997 in the English National Health Service aimed at increasing patient and public involvement in organizational decision-making processes. Adopting the ambiguity/conflict policy implementation model and based on a year-long research project, it shows that patient and public engagement can be more effectively achieved when there is room for interpretation and discretion in selecting the means for involvement. Local initiatives, based on effective leadership governance mechanisms and organizational learning processes, are more likely to generate inclusiveness, shared ownership, and user-centredness than a top-down framework for involvement.     

THE ECONOMICS OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK: AN INTERDICIPLINARY REVIEW OF THE THEORY AND POLICY

Abstract This paper engages in an interdisciplinary survey of the current state of knowledge related to the theory, determinants and consequences of occupational safety and health (OSH). It first describes the fundamental theoretical construct of compensating wage differentials, which is used by economists to understand the optimal provision of OSH in a perfectly competitive labour market. The plethora of incentives faced by workers and firms in job and insurance markets that determine the ultimate level of OSH are discussed in detail. The extensive empirical evidence from the hedonic wage and stated choice approaches used to assess the value of OSH is reviewed. The causes of inefficiency and inequity in the market for OSH, such as externalities, moral hazard in compensation insurance, systematic biases in individual risk perception/well‐being and labour market segregation are subsequently examined. The implications of government intervention and regulation for tackling the aforementioned inefficiencies in OSH are then considered. Finally, the survey identifies areas of future research interests and suggests indicators and priorities for policy initiatives that can improve the health and safety of workers in modern job markets.     

THE RISE AND DECLINE OF ECONOMIC POLICY AS AN AUTONOMOUS DISCIPLINE: A CRITICAL SURVEY

After Adam Smith's statement of market virtues, the process of gestation of economic policy as a rational set of rules for public agenda has been rather slow. Until not so long ago, economic policy as a discipline was often confined to prescribing practical rules intended to explain technical procedures of government intervention. Economic policy– as a coherent and to some extent autonomous discipline–only emerged in the late 1950s in Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Italy, when solid foundations indicating not only microeconomic but also macroeconomic market failures and a theory about the conditions for policy effectiveness and design were consistently developed. This paper intends to explain the reasons for the emergence of the discipline, the circumstances that favoured its diffusion, the reasons for its apparent setback and some factors that could facilitate its diffusion in the next years     

A REVIEW OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY REPORT,PUNCHING OUR WEIGHT: THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES IN PUBLIC POLICY MAKING1

The report argues that policy‐makers fail to make effective use of the high quality research of UK academics in the humanities and social sciences. Yet greater co‐operation between the government and academia could undermine the independence of the latter by increasing the role of the state in the funding and direction of university research.     

CONTRACTS,ENTREPRENEURS, MARKET CREATION AND JUDGEMENT: THE CONTEMPORARY MAINSTREAM THEORY OF THE FIRM IN PERSPECTIVE

This survey gives an overview of the theory of the firm as it is formulated within the contemporary ‘mainstream’ of economics. Two groupings of theories are briefly discussed: principal–agent and incomplete contract models. Next, three of the most recent contributions regarding firms are considered. The reference point approach is looked at first followed by a discussion of Spulber's book The Theory of the Firm. Last, we consider the entrepreneurial judgement perspective.     

ON THE DELIBERATE CENTRALITY OF AN INVISIBLE HAND: REPLY TO GAVIN KENNEDY,RYAN HANLEY AND CRAIG SMITH

We previously showed that ‘led by an invisible hand’ was physically central in original editions of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and The Wealth of Nations. We suggested that Adam Smith did that deliberately. Three authors commented on our paper, Gavin Kennedy, Ryan Hanley and Craig Smith. In this article we reply to their comments.