Changing Governance and Public Policy in East Asia: (Comparative Development and Policy in Asia)

The search for good governance has become an increasingly important element of public policy and public management and is high on the political agenda of East Asian countries. The need for robust governance structures and institutions was brought into sharp focus by the Asian Financial Crisis which adversely affected most East Asian societies. Since then they have begun to look for ways to restructure their public administration and political systems in order to develop new mechanisms and structures to promote good governance. This book focuses on how selected Asian states have responded to the growing impact of "liberalizing and marketizing trends" in public policy formulation and public management. To what extent is the "state-guided" regime in Asia still relevant to governing public policy / public management? What are the policy implications for a growing number of Asian states which are pursuing more pro-competition policy instruments? The book is a timely and important collection that offers critical analysis of the search for new governance in Asia and compares and contrasts experiences in selected Asian societies such as China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and other parts of South East Asia. Chapters are written by leading scholars in the fields of comparative development, policy and governance studies from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Search for Good Governance in Asia Ka Ho Mok and Ray Forrest Part 1: Changing Policy Paradigms 1. Interpreting East Asian Social Policy Development: Paradigm Shifts or Policy Steadiness Anthony Cheung 2. Redefining Development in China: Towards A New Policy Paradigm for the New Century? Kinglun Ngok 3. Public Empowerment and Policy Science of Democracy: Chinese Perspective Weiqing Guo 4. The Changing Map in Japan’s Domestic Governance and its Impact on Public Policy Reforms Go Ito Part 2: Changing Policy Instruments and Regulatory Regimes 5. Public Management Reforms in Hong Kong and Singapore: The Case of Public Hospitals M Ramesh 6. When Asian States Adopt Western Public Policy Instruments: Incorporation of National Universities in Asia Ka Ho Mok 7. Comparative Welfare Policy Instruments in East Asia: Embedding Trust in Policy Yeun Wen Ku 8. Regulatory Reform and Private Sector Development in China: A Case Study of Downsizing Administrative Licenses Bill Chou Part 3: The Changing Role of the Private Sector in Public Policy 9. One Country, Two Capitalisms: The Challenge of Accommodating Capitalists’ Interests in Hong Kong and China Ray Yep 10. Business Structure and Power in Pension Development in Japan, Korea and Taiwan Young Jun Choi 11. Social Development or Social Inequality: Comparing Private Education Policies in Hong Kong and Singapore Michael H. Lee 12. Struggling among Economic Efficiency, Social Equality and Social Stability: Housing Monetarization Reform in China Yapeng Zhu Part 4: The Challenge for Urban Governance 13. Managing the Chaotic City? New Forms of Urban Governance and Challenge for East Asia Ray Forrest 14. The Governance of Urban Renaissance in Tokyo: Post-Urbanization and Enhanced Competitiveness Yosuke Hirayama 15. Urbanization, Low-Income Housing, and Urban Governance in South Korea Seong Kyu Ha

About the Author :
Ka Ho Mok is Associate Dean and Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong. He has researched and published in the fields of comparative education, public policy and governance and social development in East Asia. Most recently, he has been appointed as Visiting Professor of University of Bristol, Distinguished Professor of National Chiao-Tung University, Taiwan and International Advisor of the National Taiwan University. Ray Forrest is Professor of Urban Studies and Associate Director of CEAS. He is also co-director (with Professor Ade Kearns, University of Glasgow) of the ESRC Centre for Neighbourhood Research. Ray is currently a Visiting Professor at the Department of Urban Studies at Glasgow University and Adjunct Professor at the City University of Hong Kong. He has published extensively on urban and housing issues and his current research interests focus on the role and meaning of neighbourhood in the contemporary city; housing markets, the macro economy and globalization; housing policy and social inequalities.