Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
By Rorden Wilkinson Filed Under: All posts Posted:
Reports that Russia is threatening to take the United States to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over sanctions imposed because of the Ukraine crisis throws the global trade body into a more geopolitical light than we have grown accustomed to in recent times. More commonly, the WTO is associated with what are rather wearisome disagreements […]
By David French Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
The public believes that television alcohol adverts breach their regulatory controls. There is a clear need to strengthen the rules, argues Professor David French. Television advertising of alcohol is subject to what should be strong content controls. Regulations ban advertisements from implying that alcohol can contribute to popularity or confidence, or that it is capable […]
By Helen Gunter Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
Four years on from the bonfire of the quangos, non-elected consultants are still playing a significant role within government, says Prof Helen Gunter. The focus on leadership as the solution for improving public services continues to dominate reform. And aligned to this is the whole concept of ‘consultocracy’, a term first coined by Hood and Jackson to underline the […]
By Sue Llewellyn Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
Sharing information on the cost of treatment could help achieve better patient outcomes at a lower cost, says Professor Sue Llewellyn. But, given the current tensions between collaboration and competition in the NHS, some trusts seem unwilling to provide the ‘commercially sensitive’ information to commissioners that would help make this happen. A recent Parliamentary health select committee report urged […]
By Stephen De Wijze Filed Under: All posts, Featured Posted:
As recent events in Northern Ireland have shown, sometimes it is necessary to do wrong in order to do right and we need to understand better this moral paradox when judging politicians, says Dr Stephen de Wijze. The debate about how Northern Ireland deals with its dreadful past has been building for many months. Indeed […]
By Adam Leaver Filed Under: All posts Posted:
The debate is raging on whether London disproportionately creates or consumes the UK’s revenues. Dr Adam Leaver chips in. Ever since Evan Davis presented Mind the Gap, a debate has raged about whether London’s dominance of the UK economy is a positive or a negative. While my colleagues Iain Deas, Graham Haughton and Stephen Hincks have put forward the […]
Japan has announced it is spending millions of pounds on state-sponsored dating events to boost its slumping birth rate. But as Dr Aya Homei argues, this overly simplistic approach is a diversion from the consequences of a fiercely male work culture that makes little allowance for women and their childcare needs. The Telegraph recently reported on […]
By Kathryn Oliver Filed Under: All posts Posted:
Ignore middle managers at your peril. They may be central to development and implementation of policy, explains Dr Kathryn Oliver Middle managers are more important than people often think – and that is very true when it comes to influencing and implementing public health policy. In fact, middle managers without a professional training in public […]
By Nicholas Lord Filed Under: All posts Posted:
It’s been a difficult few years for the UK’s beleaguered Serious Fraud Office (SFO), writes Dr Nicholas Lord. As the authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of corporate corruption in international business, it’s been blighted by a lack of prosecutions, collapsed cases, failed investigations and data loss. But while the introduction of Deferred Prosecution […]
By Laura McLeod Filed Under: All posts Posted:
The protests in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have not taken any observers of the country by surprise, writes Dr Laura McLeod. But, she argues, amid all the early analyses and demands, it’s vital to make sure a gender perspective is included. Resentment about ongoing corruption encouraged and perpetuated by many politicians and political parties has […]
