Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Berkeley, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-140).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1993. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [456]-459).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Western Michigan University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-170).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 251-279).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Yale University, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-235).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Uppsala University, 2002.

Rescued from Japanese colonization after 36 years, Korea resumed independence as The Republic of Korea in 1948 grounded on liberal democracy. The democratic institution promised a system of separation of power, democratic rights and freedom for all people. In this context, local autonomy was experimented with but soon ceased due to internal instability and local government was suspended until the 1990s. Institutionally Korean central government undertook a steady shift toward decentralization over the past two decades or so, but that shift has more recently been tempered by the exercise of stronger central controls facing fiscal crises. This thesis argues that centralism is still a predominant ideology in intergovernmental relations despite the implementation of local autonomy. Central controls exhibited democratic change in some cases but the core nature of controlling local government has survived through institutional change appearing in different modes since the introduction of local autonomy. The democratic change in central control is declared to increase local autonomy. From this viewpoint, the democratic change in central control is assumed to improve the performance of local government based on the theory that the growth of local autonomy motivates local government to improve its performance. Financial crises were used to justify the revival of pervasive central controls. So this thesis is concerned with the relationship between central control and local performance in the context of fiscal crisis, whose focus is driven by the experience of fiscal crises over recent years in Korea. An extensive statistical analysis, drawing on a unique data base, reveals that, despite the local autonomy rhetoric, overall current central controls have a negative link with local government performance. Democratic change of central controls has not significantly improved the performance of local government. This evidence supports the view that even after the revival of local autonomy in Korea; central control plays a role of regulator rather than a role of constructive engagement with local government and emphasises institutional stability. Thus central government has not yet developed the creative potential of democratic local government and should more positively make an effort to establish democratic central-local government relations.

Magister Legum - LLM / This study focussed on the transformation of the institutions of local government from deconcentration, delegation to devolution. This transformation can be looked at starting with the institutions inherited from the colonial era, which started after the Berlin Conference of 1884, which divided Africa among the western powers. Then the transformation, which took place immediately after independence; that is the period of 1960s, the changes made in the 1980s and finally the transformation taking place following the multiparty democracy in the 1990s. The study looked at decentralisation during the colonial period; decentralisation after independence, with a particular focus on the institutions under a single party system; transformation of local government under multiparty system. It also examined the challenges facing decentralisation in the SADC region. / South Africa

Policymakers in China and other developing countries grapple with a metropolitan dilemma. Building on the existing advantages of leading cities makes it easier to achieve fast, visible progress in economic development. But further concentrating resources in top urban centers can marginalize other areas, worsen urban congestion, and increase inequality. The degree to which governments favor key metropolitan centers relative to other cities and outlying areas in the distribution of policy support and resources is thus a consequential issue in development politics. Yet, scholars lack a systematic understanding of "metropolitan bias," and existing theories have difficulty explaining wide variation in development approaches over time and across regions in countries like China. This project analyzes variation in development strategies across China's provinces during the 1990s and 2000s to shed light on the nature and sources of metropolitan bias. Existing research generally views favoritism toward large cities as an unintended consequence of rapid industrialization and rent-seeking dynamics. In contrast, I highlight more strategic efforts by higher-level governments to shape the growth of cities and regions, and probe the politics surrounding spatial development policies. First, I argue that metropolitan bias tends to be greater in provinces that have experienced lagging economic performance, where policymakers build up top cities as a means of enhancing regional competitiveness. Second, I argue that metropolitan-oriented development has been driven in large part by provincial governments, and that there is greater metropolitan bias where the provincial level is strong relative to other government tiers. To develop and test these claims, I employ a mixed-method research design and draw on Chinese- and English-language written sources, interview material, and statistical data. Through comparative case studies of Jiangsu, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces and analysis of China's policy institutions, I explore how different explanatory factors influence the formulation and implementation of development strategies. Meanwhile, I use statistical analysis to test how well key claims generalize to a larger sample of units. Beyond contributing in a timely way to our knowledge of the politics behind China's urban boom, the study advances our theoretical understanding of the politics of state-led development and multilevel governance more broadly. / Government

by Pierre Daigneault. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-130). / List of Abbreviations --- p.i / List of Figures --- p.i / INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter1 --- Historical and Administrative Background --- p.7 / Historical background --- p.7 / Administrative Profile (1980) --- p.18 / Summary --- p.20 / Chapter Chapter2 --- Hainan Administrative District Commisionner's Office --- p.23 / The Embryo of the New Strategy --- p.24 / The Integrated Scientific Investigation --- p.28 / "Responses from Provincial, Central and Local Leaders" --- p.38 / The Core of Hainan development strategy --- p.44 / "Centralization, Integration and Administrative Changes" --- p.50 / Summary --- p.52 / Chapter Chapter3 --- Hainan Regional People's Government --- p.57 / "The Car Incident, 1984-85" --- p.57 / "Period of Reeva1uation, 1985-87" --- p.65 / Summary --- p.89 / Chapter Chapter4 --- Hainan Province People's Government --- p.92 / "Setting up the Provincial Government, 1988" --- p.92 / The Spring of 1989 --- p.98 / The Summer of 1989 --- p.109 / The Fal1 of 1989 --- p.112 / Summary --- p.115 / Conclusion --- p.119 / Bibliography --- p.126