The subject of this thesis is Poland's first post communist government (September 1989 - December 1990), formed under the premiership of the veteran 'Solidarity' activist Tadousz Mazowiecki. The threat of economic collapse and social disorder had prompted the communist authorities to grant the non-communist elements organised around the 'Solidarity' movement limited access to the Polish parliament through partially free elections. In June 1989 the results of these elections delivered a fatal blow to communist rule in Poland. 'Solidarity' triumphed in practically all the parliamentary seats the communist authorities had permitted it to contest. Bereft of ideological confidence and Soviet support, the Polish Communist Party rapidly disintegrated and the task of forming an administration fell to 'Solidarity'. The new government, led by Mazowiecki and dominated by representatives of Solidarity's intellectual elite, was appointed in September 1989. In the months that followed, the new government took advantage of strong social support and popularity to introduce comprehensive political and economic reforms. The reforms introduced irrevocably dismantled the country's disastrous command economy and introduced a radical shift to market based criteria. Although they entailed austerity for much of Polish society, at least initially, the personal prestige of the new elite and its promise of the future benefits which would flow from the introduction of market rules seemed to guarantee an ongoing state of acquiescence. The political reform process was admittedly slower but the removal of the last vestiges of communist power from the system progressed steadily. Within nine months the government had taken great strides in ending communist control of the police and military and was tackling the continued influence of the nomenklatura in the state bureaucracy. State control of the media and previous prohibitions on freedom of conscience, association and speech were ended. Completely free parliamentary and presidential elections were planned for the near future. It seemed that for the duration of the transition Poland would be led to a 'Western style' liberal-democratic polity and free market economy by a government composed of Solidarity's 'best and brightest'. Apolitical intellectuals would patriotically put the higher needs of the nation before the distractions of everyday political competitiveness. They would be supported in this by the Solidarity movement which would also act as a nursery for fledgling political parties. Over time these organisations would gather the societal support and organisational strength necessary to form a conventional, stable political system.

Law that regulates management of higher education institutions has been increasing in recent years in both Saudi Arabia and England. The Higher Education and Universities Act (HEUA) 1414 A. H. (1993 A. D. ) and the Regulation for Organising the Affairs of Teaching Staff (ROATS) 1418 A. H. (1997 A. D. ) in Saudi Arabia arose as major upheavals in the organisation of Higher Education and Universities. Similar developments have occurred in England in response to the Education Reform Act (1988) and the Further and Higher Education Act (1992). All these developments in both countries have deeply effected the legal position of the university as well as the affairs of the academic staff and other university members. This research seeks to show the laws that now apply to universities in both countries and to provide for all academic and administrative members of the university. In addition, the scope of this thesis is to compare the laws of universities and to show the advantages and disadvantages of such laws in relation to both legal and administrative affairs at these universities. Particular emphasis is placed on the organisation of the academic staff and on how the disciplinary procedures in both countries focus on natural justice.

This dissertation consists of four studies on the role of institutions, education and institutional reform in economic development. Three of the studies examine empirical aspects of the issue and the fourth provides an analysis of policy implications. A key theme of the dissertation is the recognition that institutions, both formal and informal, are important for development. The observation that some developing economies have been unable to substantively improve institutional structures, creates a vital agenda for studying institutional change. The first study empirically investigates the impact of education, both quantitatively and qualitatively, on the informal institution of social capital measured as social trust. Differences in levels of education are considered to find the separate effects of primary, secondary and tertiary education. The relationship between education and social trust levels in countries is found to be positive. The sample is further split into developed and developing countries which also substantiates the main hypothesis. The results can be interpreted as schooling playing a transformative role in the society. The second study develops a framework for studying education inequality and institutional development. A range of economic, political and social measures of institutional quality are used in a cross-country analysis. The study confirms that the cross-country differences in institutional variables are influenced negatively by the education inequality. Several competing hypotheses of institutional improvement are used to test the sensitivity of the results. The sample is further split into OECD and non-OECD countries, with no new results arising from this split. The third study investigates the relationship of education inequality and institutional quality using panel data techniques and an alternative data set of institutional measures, than the one used in the second study. This study initially estimates the relationship using the pooled OLS and fixed effects models. The issue of persistency in institutional variables is then investigated by using a system GMM estimator. The evidence suggests that the impact of reducing education inequality is associated with improvements in institutional quality. The fourth study analyses the implications from the first three studies with reference to the institutional reform agenda. Insight is given for improving the reform process. Areas of context specificity and sequencing of reforms are dealt with, using country examples. The intuition from this essay is that educational equality is a deliberate initiative which needs to be carried out through policy initiatives, although the process adopted would depend on the specific economy. It is suggested that there is a need to change the fundamental focus from emphasis on altering formal rules, to considering the current underlying structures in societies as a constraint, in developing a way forward to improving the reform agenda.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington. / Bibliography: l. [189]-194.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Robert E. Lyons, Dept. of Plant & Soil Sciences. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2000. / Also available online.

Univ., Diss.--Montpellier, 2004. / Literaturverz. S. [805] - 971.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 269-288).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-134).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-130).