Thesis (M. Inst. Agrar.(Agricultural Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

While investment incentives are increasingly employed by the developing economies, the vast amount of literature has failed to reach a consensus on the role of incentive regimes. A fundamental problem with the previous econometric studies is that they assume a mature market condition, under which the government should remain outside FDI competition. However, in reality, most developing countries lack a mature market and market-oriented regulatory institutions. This thesis adds to the conventional wisdom by examining whether and how Chinese investment incentive regimes have been successful in harnessing FDI during the last three decades. Like many developing economies, China is still in the process of building a market economy. The striking ability of China to attract FDI with numerous incentives presents a meaningful laboratory for examining the role of investment incentives. In contrast to most previous economic studies, this thesis does not attempt to examine the economic mechanisms of investment incentives. The basic presumption of this thesis is that incentive measures are instrument of state intervention with designed policy goals. A policy-oriented approach has thus been adopted, under which the role of investment incentives is examined against precisely defined policy objectives in a particular policy context. In China’s case, the efficacy of investment incentives is shown by a strategic and dynamic correlation between the investment incentive regime and its achieved development goals. In the given policy context, their functions cannot be replaced by more desirable instruments due to the political and economic constraints. Besides the economic evaluation, the study adds the legal dimension of evaluation on investment incentives. From a legal perspective, the regulatory space for developing countries is increasingly defined by the international legal regime. Investment incentives should be framed in a way to balance national interests and the level of protection required for foreign investment. The evolution of China’s incentive regime presents a good example to integrate global consensus with domestic imperatives. By unifying its income tax system, China adopted an incentive regime generally consistent with its WTO commitments and could be utilized to its advantages. However, serious problems inherent in the incentive system have already emerged in China, which may hamper its economic development in the long run. The thesis shows that the state’s capacity to channel FDI towards development goals is declining, as its intrusiveness has given way to arbitrariness. A top-down approach deprives foreign investors of their channels to communicate their opinions to the policymakers. The local arbitrariness and corruption in incentive implementation will compound the problem and hinder the inflows of high quality foreign investment. The thesis then proposes that the investment incentive regime in China needs to be upgraded into a more legalized system with non-discrimination, transparency, coherence and an effective monitoring mechanism as its central features. The legalization process would help to alleviate the negative effects of investment incentives. In the absence of a political infrastructure compatible with a rules-based system, the Chinese government needs to start with redefining the government-business relationship with a legal framework and reinforcing an independent judicial system. / published_or_final_version / Law / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Aging population is a worldwide phenomenon and Hong Kong is of no exception. Around 13% of the total population was aged over 65 in mid-2011 and it is projected to follow a remarkable rising trend in the future. In view of this and the increasing housing demand of the elderly people, the Hong Kong Government has adopted the concept of “Aging in Place” and “Community Care” to initiate a serious of housing policies and provisions to cater for the various special needs of the low-income elderly. For those middle-income elderly who are outside the “welfare net” of the government, the Hong Kong Housing Society has implemented the “Senior Citizen Residences Scheme” a decade ago which offers a choice of residence for them to live a safe, comfortable and independent lifestyle with provision of integrated elderly care services. In this paper, the eligibility, scheme features, housing facilities, provision of services, operation arrangements and community supports of Housing for Senior Citizens (HSC) provided by the HKHA and Senior Citizen Residences Scheme (SEN) provided by the HKHS will be studied to evaluate the effectiveness of the housing schemes provided by both organizations. Factors that contribute to life satisfaction and successful aging of the elderly will be further looked into. Based on the comments collected from the questionnaires distributed to the elderly residents of the HKHA and HKHS housing estates under study, recommendations will then be given for future improvement of the housing policies. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

This dissertation examines changes in Hong Kong’s food safety institutions using an historical institutional approach. Hong Kong has faced enormous challenges in food safety over the last two decades. The avian flu crisis in 1997 and the malachite green crisis in 2005 were the two most notable examples. Both crises were recipes for institutional change. There was drastic reform in 2000 to form a unified food safety authority, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, to replace the old legacy of municipal councils and municipal service departments. The established municipal councils failed to sustain themselves and the government replaced them with new institutions. Moreover, in 2005, the government proposed a new Food Safety, Inspection and Quarantine Department to overcome failings in food safety. These changes and reforms developed in variance from what could have been expected using theories of punctuated equilibrium and critical juncture (which emphasize exogenous shocks). My investigation suggests that we should not just focus on critical junctures and exogenous shocks but also study the processes and events outside these events. We cannot take it for granted that a significant exogenous shock will automatically result in institutional change without exploring the role they play and the mechanisms involved. Other endogenous processes or gradual changes may disrupt the mechanisms of institutional reproduction. My research also suggests that the form of institutional change cannot be predicted based on critical junctures and exogenous events. Focusing on the features of political context and institutional properties, we can understand how it is possible to switch between different modes to fit the prevailing institutional and political context. Political appointees and senior civil servants, as change agents, need to focus on political barriers in the legislature before any institutional change in government can eventually succeed. Without major change in Hong Kong’s political system and landscape, there is less likelihood of introducing controversial policy changes, including institutional change. Change agents are more likely to make use of different modes of institutional change, such as layering and conversion, in order to circumvent political barriers and the stickiness of old institutions. / published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy