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Distributed for Hong Kong University Press

The Public Sector in Hong Kong

Second Edition

An essential resource that outlines the impact of public administration and public policy in Hong Kong.

Since the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the often-charged political atmosphere of the region has impacted its public sector, resulting in jurisdictional quandaries and public distrust. In this updated edition of The Public Sector in Hong Kong, Ian Scott explores public sector accountability in terms of Hong Kong’s constitutional framework and the structure, functions, and personnel policies of its civil service system. This book examines critical issues facing the administration of the public sector and the formulation and implementation of public policy with particular attention to the political challenges confronting the Hong Kong government over the past decade. This second edition incorporates the latest statistics and research, including Scott’s work in integrity management, corruption prevention, and policing, with a concluding chapter that assesses how contested values in a changing political environment have affected the public sector in recent years.

464 pages | 10 halftones, 18 tables | 6 x 9 | © 2022

Asian Studies: East Asia

Political Science: Comparative Politics, Public Policy


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Table of Contents

List of Figures viii
List of Tables ix
Abbreviations and Acronyms x
Preface to the Second Edition xii
Preface to the First Edition xiv
1. The Public Sector: An Overview 1
Part I: Accountability
2. The Constitutional Framework 35
3. Accountability and Organisational Change 69
Part II: The Public Sector and Its Problems
4. The Civil Service: Structure and Functions 97
5. The Civil Service: Personnel Policies and Integrity Management 130
6. Government and Public Bodies 159
Part III: Policy Formulation and Implementation
7. Policy and the Budgetary Cycle 193
8. The Policy Process 225
9. Policy Implementation 256
10. The Chinese Government’s Influence on Policy 286
Part IV: The Government and the People
11. Efficiency, Responsiveness, and Transparency 315
12. Rights, Complaints, and Redress 344
13. The Public Sector in Its Political Setting 377
Selected Bibliography 399
Index 422

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