The Universality of Administrative Ethics Studies? Key Contrasts Between Korea and the United States

( Im Tobin ) 한국행정학회 2013 한국행정학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.2013 No.-

The research conveyed in this paper aims to contribute indigenization of sub-topics and concepts of administrative ethics in the Korean academic field. Furthermore, it will point out that Western concepts of administrative ethics were brought in carelessly when rules and laws against unethical behaviors in the Korean administrative context are almost nonexistent. This brings out research conclusions that are unfit for the Korean context if we continue to rely on American cases of administrative ethics, just as the indigenization of Korean public administration failed to fully develop by relying only on western cases.

PERFORMANCE TOOLS AND THEIR IMPACT ON POLLUTION REDUCTION : AN ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL TAXATION AND R&D

TOBIN IM,WONHYUK CHO The Korean Association For Public Administration 2010 International Review of Public Administration Vol.15 No.3

<P>Although the theoretical implications of environmental taxation and government’s research and development (R&D) investment have been discussed at length, a link between the effects of such tools and improved environmental performance has not been sufficiently supported by empirical evidence. This paper explores the effects of environmental taxation as well as R&D on environmental pollution. We used cross-country panel data from 26 OECD countries with observations ranging from 1995 to 2005. Our findings have led us to the conclusion that taxation has no significant effect on reducing environmental pollution, while governmental R&D expenditure exhibits a significant and positive impact on the reduction of environmental pollution.</P>

Time Factors in Policy Performance: The Korean Government`s Economic Crisis Management in 2008

( Tobin Im ),( Wonhyuk Cho ) 서울대학교 행정대학원 2010 Journal of Policy Studies Vol.25 No.2

Abstract: This paper assesses the Korean government`s management of the recent economic crisis by focusing on time factors. The events that occurred from March 2008 to October 2009 and the government`s corrective actions are interpreted through a "time lens" that accounts for the temporal constraints in terms of objective time as well as perceptive time. These two time domains have significant effects on the management of public policies, especially economic policies that require government interventions that affect the complex interactions of economic factors from both the fiscal policy and market perspectives. In order to illustrate the importance of long-term strategy, this study reviews the evolution of the economic situation following the onset of the financial crisis. Our retrospective analysis does not find that the Lee Myung-Bak government deployed strategies relevant for the long term, but rather that President Lee`s authoritarian attitude itself may help him fuel the economy for a long time. Regardless of the causes, this case emphasizes the need for consistency in policy making, especially when the policy area`s particularities require it.

Factors Influencing the Success of Participatory Egovernment Applications in Romania and South Korea

( Tobin Im ) 서울대학교 행정대학원 2012 Journal of Policy Studies Vol.27 No.1

Abstract: While participatory e-government is increasingly advocated, few studies have investigated whether it is feasible across all national contexts. This study investigates how certain contextual features influence the success of participatory applications of e-government. In particular, it assesses how the political, economic, and social context in which a particular government operates influence the introduction of participatory e-government, and compares participatory e-government applications in Romania and South Korea. These nations possess important similarities and differences in their political, social, and economic contexts. The study results suggest that the success of participatory e-government projects is to a large extent contingent upon political and economic factors and less related to social factors.

Questionable Reform: The Adoption of the Double-Entry Bookkeeping and Accrual Basis Accounting System in Korea

( Tobin Im ),( Hyunkuk Lee ),( Dongwan Lim ) 서울대학교 행정대학원 2018 Journal of Policy Studies Vol.33 No.1

This study examines the factors that influence human vulnerability to natural disasters by focusing on the seismic evaluation of school buildings in Korea. Since natural disasters such as an earthquake often do not take people’s lives directly, but rather indirectly through the destruction of physical structures, seismic reinforcement of school buildings may reduce the vulnerability of their occupants by strengthening structures to withstand such disasters. Disaster mitigation measures are implemented within a state; however, little is known about how they are distributed when the physical properties of structures are taken into account. This paper analyzes a panel data based on the structural properties of school buildings in eight different provinces between 2011 and 2015 using a logistic regression model. The results show that factors identified in cross-country studies, such as economic capacity and political factors, still have influence on earthquake preparedness at the state level, even when the physical properties of structures or technical factors are considered.

중앙부처조직의 개편에 관한 연구 : 역사적 시각에서

임도빈(Im, Tobin) 한국조직학회 2014 한국조직학회보 Vol.11 No.1

관료제를 위한 변론 : 한국관료제의 성과제고 방안

임도빈(IM Tobin) 한국조직학회 2009 한국조직학회보 Vol.6 No.3

관료제 개혁에 적용한 신공공관리론, 무엇이 문제인가

임도빈(Tobin IM) 서울행정학회 2010 한국사회와 행정연구 Vol.21 No.1

This paper aims to examine the validity of government reform programs introduced to the Korean central government over the last two decades. These reforms can be identified collectively as "New Public Management" which is an imported concept from western countries by many Korean scholars and practioners who tend to extol western theories. Reforms based on marketization, distinction, and incentive systems which are the fundamental principles of NPM resulted in serious negative effects on the Korean bureaucracy. These kinds of reforms are erroneous in understanding correctly the true problems of the bureaucracy, which led to a wrong prescription. This paper proposes the new direction of reforms by elaborating a Korean model of bureaucracy(the "K model") to cure these errors and dysfunction of the bureaucracy.

행정학의 사회과학화를 위한 하나의 도전?

임도빈(Im, Tobin),정지수(Jeong, Ji-Su) 서울행정학회 2014 한국사회와 행정연구 Vol.24 No.4

한국정부의 경쟁력을 올리기 위한 학문으로서 행정학 연구의 이론화를 위한 길은 무엇인가? 한국 행정연구의 이론화는 새로운 이론의 개발을 통해서 이뤄져야 할 것이다. 한국에서 행정학에 대한 인접학문의 인식이 정부용역학이라는 오명을 벗어나지 못하고 있는 것은 공공부문이라는 고유한 연구영역은 존재하지만 나름의 이론을 개발하지 못하고 있다는 점에서 기인한다. 이론화는 분명 쉬운 것이 아니지만 이론화를 위한 시도가 전혀 없지 않았으며, 그 결실(기여)도 존재한다. 이 글은 행정학의 사회과학화에 대한 시도로서 시간적 접근에 초점을 맞추고 있다. 먼저 시간연구가 사회과학의 정상적이 과학으로 도약하는 방법을 논하고, 시간연구의 역사에 대한 고찰을 통해 본격적인 시간연구가 시작된 2002년 이후의 연구의 흐름을 분석할 것이다. 구체적으로 정책과 정책과정, 조직과 관료, 행정환경 및 제도, 행정과 사회로 분류하여 연구를 분석할 것이다. 이러한 과정을 통해서 지금까지 연구된 내용과 결과를 분석하며 시간연구의 기여와 함의를 찾고, 향후 연구 방향의 내용과 조건에 대해서 논의를 진행할 것이다. What is the best way to theorize researches of public administration, a study of enhancing government competitiveness? Public administration researches should go along with solid theories from a science point of view. In Korea, lacking of theoretical foundation on public sector researches, public administration is in the identity crisis. This study shed light on the possibility of upgrading Korean public administration to a normal social science in terms of T. Kuhn’s framework. Specifically, this paper mainly focus on the contribution of time study. Firstly, it will discuss about how time study can be regarded as a social science and analyze trends of time study researches since 2002. Four categories of classification will be explored; policy and policy procedure, organization and bureaucracy, administration environment and institution, public administration and society. Then, this paper will try to find contributions and implications, also indicate the future directions of time study.

성숙한 대의민주주의를 위한 조건 : 행정부-의회의 관계를 중심으로

임도빈 ( Tobin Im ) 한국행정연구원 2018 韓國行政硏究 Vol.27 No.2

최근 전 세계는 기존 정치체제인 대의민주주의에 대한 불신이 높아지고, 이를 대체 혹은 보완하기 위해 ‘성숙한 민주주의’에 대한 요구가 높아지고 있다. 따라서 본 연구는 ‘성숙한 대의민주주의를 위해 현재 우리에게 필요한 의회-행정부 관계는 어떠해야 하는가?’라는 질문에서 출발하였다. 이를 위해 퍼지셋 연구방법론을 활용하여 OECD 내 28개국을 비교·분석하였다. 정부경쟁력과 의회경쟁력을 기준으로 4가지 이념형을 도출하여 28개국을 분류하였으며, 필요충분조건 검정을 통해 성숙한 대의 민주주의를 위해 어떠한 조건이 선행되어야 하는지 살펴보았다. 퍼지셋 분석 결과에 의하면, 한국은 행정부경쟁력에 비해 상대적으로 의회경쟁력이 낮은 국가군에 속하였다. 성숙한 대의민주주의를 위한 조건으로 입법부 효과성을 높이거나, 행정부 통제의 수준을 합리적으로 조정할 필요가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 특히 정치권력이 대의민주주의를 자의적으로 활용하는 것으로부터 의회와 행정부가 스스로 벗어날 필요가 있음을 확인하였다. 이러한 조건이 선행되어야만 관료제가 제 역할을 수행할 수 있으며, 다양한 국민의 요구에 충분히 대응할 수 있다. 결국 정치환경의 변화에 따라 대의민주주의 체제를 새롭게 이해하는 과정을 통해 의회와 행정부 간 관계가 선순환 구조로 전환될 것이다. The world is replete with voice that laments the crisis of representative democracy. Public mistrust towards representative democracy, the default political system of the contemporary era, has been rapidly escalating, and countries have witnessed increasing demands for a more “matured” form of democracy to supplement (or even substitute) the current system. In this sense, the present research originates from the question of “what would be the desired end-state of legislative-administrative relations for enabling the advancement of representative democracy?” In order to address the research question, I conduct a fuzzy-set comparative analysis on 28 OECD member-states through which the countries are categorized into four different ideological dimensions that are based on the criteria of government competitiveness and legislative competitiveness. Aimed at identifying potential antecedents of a more matured form of representative democracy, the result demonstrates that countries may find the aforementioned objective attainable through either enhancing the effectiveness of their legislative bodies or coordinating the level of control over the administrative branches, so that both entities can be ensured of autonomy from governing political power making arbitrary interventions upon their domains. In addition, the analysis of necessary-and-sufficient conditions reveals that the Republic of Korea belongs to the group of countries that have lower levels of legislative competitiveness when compared with those of the government. These are the critical factors only through which the bureaucracy can effectively perform its duties and functions, thereby efficiently responding to the continuously diversifying needs of the public. In sum, we expect that the legislative-administrative relations will undergo a transition to the structure of virtuous cycles when the country is faced with changing political environment, followed by the process of facilitating a new understanding towards representative democracy