The article under consideration is called Regulatory Reform and Governance: A Survey of Selected Developing and Transition Economies and is written by Zhang and Thomas (2009). The article is mainly focused on the problem of public administration and development in developing countries. In this respect, the researchers have conducted their examination of this issue with regard to this public sector.
The work is an empirical observation and statistical analysis of the surveys examining the results of regulatory reforms in developing countries with a transition economy. Using empirical data, the authors have theoretically and practically approached the problem to take measures on the improvement of the situation in the sphere of public administration.
Discussing the problem of regulatory governance in selected developing economies, the researchers have reached the conclusion that institutional environment should be taken into the deepest consideration to support economical and market growth in transition economies. In this regard, the best way to improve the administration system in the country is to introduce a regulatory reform.
Addressing recent survey results, the article provides an evaluation of governance tools, institutions, and policies. While exploring the data, it has been defined that the regulatory reform fails to change the approaches taking a systemic view on public administration and regulatory governance in particular.
Therefore, in order to contribute to the improvement of the situation, a particular emphasis should put on the three aspects: regulatory tools, policies, and institutions. What is more, the researchers propose to integrate efforts and specific theoretical frameworks to promoting the process of reforms.
The researchers have successfully managed to render the essence of the problem and present a balance between empirical and theoretical information.
In this regard, the main hypothesis of the paper is narrowed to the idea that regulatory governance in developing countries largely depends on the awareness of public administration representatives and their efforts in infusing the shifts into institutional reforms. The hypothesis is based on practical information mainly, which is presented in the form of surveys.
The article style is attached predominantly to a scientific one, but this does not make the content of the research difficult for understanding and capturing the main ideas. In particular, the researchers subtly approach the problems starting with a general consideration of the problem, explaining the basic concepts, such as regulatory governance and regulatory reforms, and proceeding with the analysis of the empirical evidence.
Analyzing the basis information on the developing countries, the article discloses the results of reform implementation in the countries of Asia, Africa, and South America. Finally, the article presents a list of possible solutions to the facilitation of the reform implementation.
In particular, the authors touch upon such issues as rule-making institutions and processes, regulatory policies and tools promoting regulatory reform. It is also worth saying that the article supplemented with several tables revealing important information about the selected countries with regard to the problems studied.
In general, the article under analysis provides a number of issues for further consideration. In particular, the research throws the light on the problems in developing and transition economies in the field of public administration as well as negative aspects of regulatory governance, influencing the overall situation in society.
Therefore, the article is of a great value for the practitioners in this field, as it accurately presents empirical evidence and how it can be applied in solving problems.
Reference List
Zhang, Y.-F., and Thomas, M. (2009). Regulatory reform and governance: A survey of selected developing and transition economies. Public Development and Administration. 29 (4), pp. 330-339.