The Many Faces of Public Management Reform in Asia-Pacific: Moving Ahead Amidst Challenges and Opportunities in Emerging Markets

Bangkok Conference report, July 2008

A conference took place July 7-9, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand, focused on diverse approaches in the Asia-Pacific region to performance management, decentralization, and combating corruption.


A conference took place July 7-9, 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand, hosted by the Department of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, and co-sponsored by the International Public Management Network, the Asia-Pacific Governance Institute, and Thailand Democracy Watch. The purpose of this conference was to understand the
diverse approaches to public management reform in Asian countries. During the past decade, globalization and democratization have been the major forces that helped transform the structures, functions, and processes of Asian public sectors. Nevertheless, these transformation efforts of Asian countries vary considerably depending on local context, and have met with different degrees of success. Some countries experienced smooth transformations. For others, the reform process has been more volatile. Papers presented and discussed focused on performance management, decentralization, and combating corruption.They will be published in a symposium issue of the International Public Management Review. We will also give consideration to publishing a subsequent book bringing together these and possibly other related papers.

Final Program
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
Pathumwan Princess Hotel, Bangkok, 7 – 9 July, 2008

Monday, 7 July, 2008

15:00         Arrival and check-in, for most participants, the Pathumwan Princess
 Hotel,444 Phayathai Road, Wangmai, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand.

17:00 – 17:15         Welcome and Introduction to Workshop
 Bidhya Bowornwathana, Associate Professor, Department of Public 
 Administration Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University and L.R.  Jones, Naval Postgraduate School

17:15 – 19:00    "Corruption: the Indian Saga"
Presenter: Krishna K. Tummala, Professor & Director, Graduate Program in Public Administration, Kansas State University
Moderator: Clay Wescott, Director, AGPI
Discussants:  Lawrence R. Jones, Kuno Schedler

19:00 – 20:00     Reception and Thai welcome dance performance
20:00 – 21:30     Thai musical evening with dinner, followed by dinner talk on "Democratic Consolidation in Thailand"; Presenter: Suchit Bungongkarn, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
   
Tuesday, 8 July, 2008

09:00-13:00
"Combating corruption"
Presenter:
1. Jon S.T. Quah, Combating Corruption in the Asia-Pacific Countries: What  do We Know and What Needs to be Done?
2. David S Jones, Competition and Transparency in Government Procurement in Southeast Asia.
3. Roby Arya Brata, Why did an Anticorruption Policy Fail? A Study of the Implementation Failure of Anticorruption Policies of the Authoritarian New Order Regime and the Transitional Democratic Reform Order Regime of Indonesia, 1971-2007.
4. Bidhya Bowornwathana, The Politics of Combating Corruption in Thailand.
Moderator: Krishna K. Tummala
Discussants: Richard Norman,  Geoff Dixon

13:00-14:00    Lunch
14:00-17:00
"Managing Performance-1"
Presenter:
1. Soonhee Kim, After the Asian Financial Crisis: Government Performance, Democratic Governance, and Trust in Government in Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand.
2. Suchitra Punyarathabandhu and Daniel Unger, Managing Performance in a Context of Political Clientelism: Thailand.
3. Clay G. Wescott, World Bank Support for Public Financial Management: Conceptual Roots and Evidence of Impact.
Moderator:  Lawrence R. Jones
Discussants:  Alexander Kotchegura, Robert Taliercio 

17:00 – 18:00    International Public Management Journal and Review editorial board meeting (for editorial board members). Convener: Larry Jones
18:00-21:00    Conference dinner

Wednesday, 9 July, 2008

09:00-12:00
"Managing Performance-2"
Presenter:
1. Robert Taliercio, Cambodia's Public Financial Management Reforms, 2004-2007: Explaining a Case of 'Turnaround.
2. Richard Norman and Tom Bentley, At the centre or in control? Central agencies in search of new identities.
 3. Arwiphawee Srithongrung, Does Result-Oriented Management Make any   Differences?
Moderator:  Kuno Schedler
Discussants: Jon S. T. Quah, Daniel Unger

12:00 - 13:00    Lunch
13:00 – 16:00
"Decentralization"
Presenter:
1. Eng Netra and David Craig summarized three papers: Pak Kimchoeun and David Craig, Accountability and Public Expenditure Management in Decentralised Cambodia; Horng Vuthy and David Craig, Accountability and Planning in Decentralised Cambodia; and Eng Netra and David Craig, Human Resource Management in Decentralised Cambodia.
2. Geoff Dixon and Danya Hakim, Budget Decentralisation Experience in Indonesia.
3. Charas Suwanmala, Fiscal Decentralization in Thailand.
Moderator and Discussant: Clay Wescott
                           
16:00 - 16:30    Concluding Remarks
Clay Wescott
Bidhya Bowornwathana
18:30 - 21:00    Conference dinner

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Clay Wescott
Clay Wescott
International Development at Asia Pacific Governance Institute
Washington, DC
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