Vol. 34 Nos. 3-4 (July-December 2013)
EROPA Bulletin
15
extreme, Korea was one of the “low-trust societies”
Special Sessions...
(From page 14)
in that period, owing to much frustration towards
the newly-installed democracy after years under
to dynamic governance, from having a closed-career
military dictatorship. To highlight the importance of
system, to one accommodating capabilities from the
citizen participation and involvement in government
private sector. He pointed out that sustainability of
programs, Dr. Choi categorized four different types
reforms amid the change is an imperative as well as a
of citizens’ groups, classifying them according to the
challenge to administrative reform.
following criteria: expectations upon the government,
Professor Shigeru Naiki, faculty at Teikyo University, evaluative perspectives of government behavior,
and willingness to pay (WTP) for basic government
Japan, cited the experiences of towns Oyama and
services, among others. While willingness to pay
Yufuin in Japan, in implementing the “One Village
for public services varies according to the type
One Product Movement” and the “One Hundred
of service, this is also largely affected by trust in
Million Yen Homeland Creation”, amid pressure
government, gender and knowledge on government
and restraint from the central government. The
mechanisms. Thus, Dr. Choi recommended that
former allowed local autonomy on the production
public administration studies should not only focus on
of agricultural commodities over which a town has
internal governmental processes, but also on citizens’
comparative advantage, and the latter permitted
needs and concerns.
financial support from the central government for
local development projects. According to Prof. Naiki,
these programs were dubbed as “pioneers of the
planning for devolution policy”. He pointed out that
Oyama, the pioneer of “One succeeded in securing its
own development policy, particularly in the field of
agriculture; this has allegedly led to the transformation
of the town from being one of the poorest to being
one of the richest municipalities in Japan. Accord