Author: Joy Malala
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351728571
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
Over the last ten years mobile payment systems have revolutionised banking in some countries in Africa. In Kenya the introduction of M-Pesa, a new financial services model, has transformed the banking and financial services industry. Giving the unbanked majority access to the financial services market it has attracted over 18 million subscribers which is remarkable given that fewer than 4 million people in Kenya have bank accounts. This book addresses the legal and regulatory issues arising out of the introduction of M-Pesa in Kenya and its drive towards financial inclusion. It considers the interaction between regulation and technological innovation with a particular focus on the regulatory tools, institutional arrangements and government decisional processes through the examination as a whole of its regulatory capacity. This is done with a view to understanding the regulatory capacity of Kenya in addressing the vulnerabilities presented by technological innovation in the financial industry for consumers after financial inclusion. It also examines the way that mobile payments have been regulated by criticising the piecemeal approach that the Central Bank of Kenya has taken in addressing the legal and regulatory issues presented by mobile payments. The book argues there are significant gaps in the regulatory regime of mobile banking in Kenya.
Law and Regulation of Mobile Payment Systems
Author: Joy Malala
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351728571
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
Over the last ten years mobile payment systems have revolutionised banking in some countries in Africa. In Kenya the introduction of M-Pesa, a new financial services model, has transformed the banking and financial services industry. Giving the unbanked majority access to the financial services market it has attracted over 18 million subscribers which is remarkable given that fewer than 4 million people in Kenya have bank accounts. This book addresses the legal and regulatory issues arising out of the introduction of M-Pesa in Kenya and its drive towards financial inclusion. It considers the interaction between regulation and technological innovation with a particular focus on the regulatory tools, institutional arrangements and government decisional processes through the examination as a whole of its regulatory capacity. This is done with a view to understanding the regulatory capacity of Kenya in addressing the vulnerabilities presented by technological innovation in the financial industry for consumers after financial inclusion. It also examines the way that mobile payments have been regulated by criticising the piecemeal approach that the Central Bank of Kenya has taken in addressing the legal and regulatory issues presented by mobile payments. The book argues there are significant gaps in the regulatory regime of mobile banking in Kenya.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351728571
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
Over the last ten years mobile payment systems have revolutionised banking in some countries in Africa. In Kenya the introduction of M-Pesa, a new financial services model, has transformed the banking and financial services industry. Giving the unbanked majority access to the financial services market it has attracted over 18 million subscribers which is remarkable given that fewer than 4 million people in Kenya have bank accounts. This book addresses the legal and regulatory issues arising out of the introduction of M-Pesa in Kenya and its drive towards financial inclusion. It considers the interaction between regulation and technological innovation with a particular focus on the regulatory tools, institutional arrangements and government decisional processes through the examination as a whole of its regulatory capacity. This is done with a view to understanding the regulatory capacity of Kenya in addressing the vulnerabilities presented by technological innovation in the financial industry for consumers after financial inclusion. It also examines the way that mobile payments have been regulated by criticising the piecemeal approach that the Central Bank of Kenya has taken in addressing the legal and regulatory issues presented by mobile payments. The book argues there are significant gaps in the regulatory regime of mobile banking in Kenya.
The Logic of the Market
Author: Weiying Zhang
Publisher: Cato Institute
ISBN: 193970961X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 430
Book Description
The Logic of the Market by Weiying Zhang—considered China’s “leading market liberal”—comprises his most influential essays on economics over the past three decades. First published in China in 2010, this revised edition contains three new essays, which offer those outside China a deeper understanding of the Chinese economy. “Market competition is a really just competition to create value for others... Only through this approach did the Western economy advance over the past 200 years. It is also the reason for China’s economic marvel over the past 30 years,” writes Weiying. Readers will appreciate Weiying’s ability to address both everyday economic issues and the questions that confront a nation’s leaders, not the least a nation seeking to escape mass poverty. The economic reforms and subsequent growth in China may be the most astonishing and hopeful event of our age. Weiying was among the leaders who set China on its path of change. Here he elucidates the pitfalls and the progress of economic reform, celebrating leaders who mixed sustained idealism with judicious compromise. Readers seeking to learn from China’s successes will find much of interest here. Weiying emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurs in the new China. He concludes, “The key for China, as the country with the world’s largest population, to return to being the largest economy lies in allowing the entrepreneurial spirit to develop the potential of the domestic market.” For that to happen, Weiying recommends that China continue to reduce the state-owned economy, lessen government control over the economy, and—over the next 30 years—emphasize political reform to build a constitutional democracy. His thinking is not limited to China. Some of these essays also focus on the global financial crisis—how Keynesian policies can only be effective for the short term and will bring long-term negative consequences. Weiying provides a unique perspective on his country’s market economy, implementation of economic policies, and the potential for Chinese economic development. “I hope that the logic of the market becomes every person’s ideal,” he writes. “That is my reason for writing this book.”
Publisher: Cato Institute
ISBN: 193970961X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 430
Book Description
The Logic of the Market by Weiying Zhang—considered China’s “leading market liberal”—comprises his most influential essays on economics over the past three decades. First published in China in 2010, this revised edition contains three new essays, which offer those outside China a deeper understanding of the Chinese economy. “Market competition is a really just competition to create value for others... Only through this approach did the Western economy advance over the past 200 years. It is also the reason for China’s economic marvel over the past 30 years,” writes Weiying. Readers will appreciate Weiying’s ability to address both everyday economic issues and the questions that confront a nation’s leaders, not the least a nation seeking to escape mass poverty. The economic reforms and subsequent growth in China may be the most astonishing and hopeful event of our age. Weiying was among the leaders who set China on its path of change. Here he elucidates the pitfalls and the progress of economic reform, celebrating leaders who mixed sustained idealism with judicious compromise. Readers seeking to learn from China’s successes will find much of interest here. Weiying emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurs in the new China. He concludes, “The key for China, as the country with the world’s largest population, to return to being the largest economy lies in allowing the entrepreneurial spirit to develop the potential of the domestic market.” For that to happen, Weiying recommends that China continue to reduce the state-owned economy, lessen government control over the economy, and—over the next 30 years—emphasize political reform to build a constitutional democracy. His thinking is not limited to China. Some of these essays also focus on the global financial crisis—how Keynesian policies can only be effective for the short term and will bring long-term negative consequences. Weiying provides a unique perspective on his country’s market economy, implementation of economic policies, and the potential for Chinese economic development. “I hope that the logic of the market becomes every person’s ideal,” he writes. “That is my reason for writing this book.”
The Fundamental Dynamic Effect on Reform and Opening in China
Author: SHAO Binhong
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004417222
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 381
Book Description
The Fundamental Dynamic Effect on Reform and Opening in China is the seventh volume of the series China in the World. The year 2018 marks the fortieth year of China’s reform and opening. China’s reform and opening has involved many areas. This volume focuses on reform and opening’s dynamic mechanisms, but it also touches on how to look at some of the problems that these dynamic mechanisms face today. The articles in this volume explore the driving force of China’s reform and opening up from the perspective of institutional changes, such as the political economy of globalization and China’s options in response to globalization’s retrogression and the (re)construction of world order. What are the strategies for upgrading the competitiveness of an emerging major power? Why does world need a new concept of openness? What are the four major challenges for the world economy? How do Chinese scholars think in an “Anti-Globalization” environment?
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004417222
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 381
Book Description
The Fundamental Dynamic Effect on Reform and Opening in China is the seventh volume of the series China in the World. The year 2018 marks the fortieth year of China’s reform and opening. China’s reform and opening has involved many areas. This volume focuses on reform and opening’s dynamic mechanisms, but it also touches on how to look at some of the problems that these dynamic mechanisms face today. The articles in this volume explore the driving force of China’s reform and opening up from the perspective of institutional changes, such as the political economy of globalization and China’s options in response to globalization’s retrogression and the (re)construction of world order. What are the strategies for upgrading the competitiveness of an emerging major power? Why does world need a new concept of openness? What are the four major challenges for the world economy? How do Chinese scholars think in an “Anti-Globalization” environment?
Reformed Systematic Theology, Volume 4
Author: Joel Beeke
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433559986
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1203
Book Description
Accessible Study of Ecclesiology and Eschatology from a Reformed Perspective Reformed Systematic Theology explores key Scripture topics from biblical, doctrinal, experiential, and practical perspectives, helping readers grow in their understanding and application of the truth presented in God's Word. Written by Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley, each volume presents a comprehensive yet accessible study of the Reformed Christian faith that ministers to the whole person―head, heart, and hands. The final volume, Church and Last Things, unpacks important topics around ecclesiology (the doctrine of the church) and eschatology (the doctrine of last things), including the biblical significance of church membership, Jesus's model for the church, and 7 practical lessons from Revelation. A set of all 4 Reformed Systematic Theology volumes is also available. Biblical and Theological: Explains key passages of the Holy Scriptures and draws extensively from historic Reformed and Puritan sources Easy to Understand: Explores central points of ecclesiology and eschatology from a simple, accessible, comprehensive, and experiential approach Part of the Reformed Systematic Theology Series: Volumes cover the entire scope of systematic theology based on 8 central themes: revelation, God, man, Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, the church, and last things Also Available as Part of the 4-Volume Reformed Systematic Theology Set
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433559986
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 1203
Book Description
Accessible Study of Ecclesiology and Eschatology from a Reformed Perspective Reformed Systematic Theology explores key Scripture topics from biblical, doctrinal, experiential, and practical perspectives, helping readers grow in their understanding and application of the truth presented in God's Word. Written by Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley, each volume presents a comprehensive yet accessible study of the Reformed Christian faith that ministers to the whole person―head, heart, and hands. The final volume, Church and Last Things, unpacks important topics around ecclesiology (the doctrine of the church) and eschatology (the doctrine of last things), including the biblical significance of church membership, Jesus's model for the church, and 7 practical lessons from Revelation. A set of all 4 Reformed Systematic Theology volumes is also available. Biblical and Theological: Explains key passages of the Holy Scriptures and draws extensively from historic Reformed and Puritan sources Easy to Understand: Explores central points of ecclesiology and eschatology from a simple, accessible, comprehensive, and experiential approach Part of the Reformed Systematic Theology Series: Volumes cover the entire scope of systematic theology based on 8 central themes: revelation, God, man, Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, the church, and last things Also Available as Part of the 4-Volume Reformed Systematic Theology Set
Introduction to Social Systems Engineering
Author: Huijiong Wang
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9811070407
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 728
Book Description
This book integrates the basic theories (GST and Parson’s AGIL framework), applying them to the components of social systems, state-run and business firms. China’s development experience offers a valuable case study that can provide readers deeper insights into this comparatively young discipline, and into China. Though the discipline of systems engineering and its application to hardware engineering system are well established, social systems engineering is an emerging discipline still being explored. This book may be the first English-language publication on this promising subject.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9811070407
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 728
Book Description
This book integrates the basic theories (GST and Parson’s AGIL framework), applying them to the components of social systems, state-run and business firms. China’s development experience offers a valuable case study that can provide readers deeper insights into this comparatively young discipline, and into China. Though the discipline of systems engineering and its application to hardware engineering system are well established, social systems engineering is an emerging discipline still being explored. This book may be the first English-language publication on this promising subject.
Transformation of the Fiscal and Taxation Systems
Author: Kang Jia
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811625905
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 397
Book Description
This book elucidates the murky realities of China's taxation system today, and advocates bold plans for change. Theorizing finance and taxation in relation to a national political system, the authors explain the current tangled-up realities of China's creaky, inherited and uneven tax system- and put forward a plan for radical change. This book will be of interest to finance professionals, economists, and scholars of the Chinese economy. The focus is to properly handle the three basic economic and social relations between the government and the market (and the enterprises as the main market entities), between the central and local governments, and between the public power system and the citizens. This book follows the research context of problem orientation – goal orientation - practical operation, and puts forward the ideas, basic goals and paths of fiscal system reform that adapt to the modernization of national governance.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811625905
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 397
Book Description
This book elucidates the murky realities of China's taxation system today, and advocates bold plans for change. Theorizing finance and taxation in relation to a national political system, the authors explain the current tangled-up realities of China's creaky, inherited and uneven tax system- and put forward a plan for radical change. This book will be of interest to finance professionals, economists, and scholars of the Chinese economy. The focus is to properly handle the three basic economic and social relations between the government and the market (and the enterprises as the main market entities), between the central and local governments, and between the public power system and the citizens. This book follows the research context of problem orientation – goal orientation - practical operation, and puts forward the ideas, basic goals and paths of fiscal system reform that adapt to the modernization of national governance.
Rule and Ruin
Author: Geoffrey Kabaservice
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199912904
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 505
Book Description
The chaotic events leading up to Mitt Romney's defeat in the 2012 election indicated how far the Republican Party had rocketed rightward away from the center of public opinion. Republicans in Congress threatened to shut down the government and force a U.S. debt default. Tea Party activists mounted primary challenges against Republican officeholders who appeared to exhibit too much pragmatism or independence. Moderation and compromise were dirty words in the Republican presidential debates. The GOP, it seemed, had suddenly become a party of ideological purity. Except this development is not new at all. In Rule and Ruin, Geoffrey Kabaservice reveals that the moderate Republicans' downfall began not with the rise of the Tea Party but about the time of President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address. Even in the 1960s, when left-wing radicalism and right-wing backlash commanded headlines, Republican moderates and progressives formed a powerful movement, supporting pro-civil rights politicians like Nelson Rockefeller and William Scranton, battling big-government liberals and conservative extremists alike. But the Republican civil war ended with the overthrow of the moderate ideas, heroes, and causes that had comprised the core of the GOP since its formation. In hindsight, it is today's conservatives who are "Republicans in Name Only." Writing with passionate sympathy for a bygone tradition of moderation, Kabaservice recaptures a time when fiscal restraint was matched with social engagement; when a cohort of leading Republicans opposed the Vietnam war; when George Romney--father of Mitt Romney--conducted a nationwide tour of American poverty, from Appalachia to Watts, calling on society to "listen to the voices from the ghetto." Rule and Ruin is an epic, deeply researched history that reorients our understanding of our political past and present. Today, following the Republicans' loss of the popular vote in five of the last six presidential contests, moderates remain marginalized in the GOP and progressives are all but nonexistent. In this insightful and elegantly argued book, Kabaservice contends that their decline has left Republicans less capable of governing responsibly, with dire consequences for all Americans. He has added a new afterword that considers the fallout from the 2012 elections.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199912904
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 505
Book Description
The chaotic events leading up to Mitt Romney's defeat in the 2012 election indicated how far the Republican Party had rocketed rightward away from the center of public opinion. Republicans in Congress threatened to shut down the government and force a U.S. debt default. Tea Party activists mounted primary challenges against Republican officeholders who appeared to exhibit too much pragmatism or independence. Moderation and compromise were dirty words in the Republican presidential debates. The GOP, it seemed, had suddenly become a party of ideological purity. Except this development is not new at all. In Rule and Ruin, Geoffrey Kabaservice reveals that the moderate Republicans' downfall began not with the rise of the Tea Party but about the time of President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address. Even in the 1960s, when left-wing radicalism and right-wing backlash commanded headlines, Republican moderates and progressives formed a powerful movement, supporting pro-civil rights politicians like Nelson Rockefeller and William Scranton, battling big-government liberals and conservative extremists alike. But the Republican civil war ended with the overthrow of the moderate ideas, heroes, and causes that had comprised the core of the GOP since its formation. In hindsight, it is today's conservatives who are "Republicans in Name Only." Writing with passionate sympathy for a bygone tradition of moderation, Kabaservice recaptures a time when fiscal restraint was matched with social engagement; when a cohort of leading Republicans opposed the Vietnam war; when George Romney--father of Mitt Romney--conducted a nationwide tour of American poverty, from Appalachia to Watts, calling on society to "listen to the voices from the ghetto." Rule and Ruin is an epic, deeply researched history that reorients our understanding of our political past and present. Today, following the Republicans' loss of the popular vote in five of the last six presidential contests, moderates remain marginalized in the GOP and progressives are all but nonexistent. In this insightful and elegantly argued book, Kabaservice contends that their decline has left Republicans less capable of governing responsibly, with dire consequences for all Americans. He has added a new afterword that considers the fallout from the 2012 elections.
Ozawa Ichirō and Japanese Politics
Author: Aurelia George Mulgan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317677242
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 341
Book Description
Ozawa Ichirō was the axis on which Japanese politics turned for more than two decades. He helped to reshape the electoral system, political funding rules, the evolution of the party system, the nature of executive government, the roles and powers of bureaucrats, and the conduct of parliamentary and policymaking processes. Admired and reviled in almost equal measure, Ozawa has been the most debated and yet least understood politician in Japan, with little agreement to be found amongst the many who have debated his patent political assets and palpable political flaws. This book examines the political goals, behaviour, methods and practices of Ozawa Ichirō, and in doing so, provides fascinating insights into the inner workings of Japanese politics. It explores Ozawa’s paradoxical and conflicting contributions in terms of two contrasting models of ‘old’ and ‘new’ politics. Indeed, therein lies the problem of understanding the ‘real’ Ozawa: he remained a practitioner of old politics despite his rhetorical agenda of change to bring about new politics. In seeking to unravel the Ozawa enigma, Aurelia George Mulgan reveals his primary motivations, to establish whether he sought power primarily to enact reforms, or, whether his reform goals simply disguised power-seeking objectives. This volume seeks to illuminate Ozawa’s true character as a politician, and untangle the complex elements of old and new politics that he represents. Through an in-depth study of Ozawa and his political activities, this book shows how the Japanese political system works at the micro level of individual politicians, political relationships and systems. As such it will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Japanese politics, Asian politics and political systems.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317677242
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 341
Book Description
Ozawa Ichirō was the axis on which Japanese politics turned for more than two decades. He helped to reshape the electoral system, political funding rules, the evolution of the party system, the nature of executive government, the roles and powers of bureaucrats, and the conduct of parliamentary and policymaking processes. Admired and reviled in almost equal measure, Ozawa has been the most debated and yet least understood politician in Japan, with little agreement to be found amongst the many who have debated his patent political assets and palpable political flaws. This book examines the political goals, behaviour, methods and practices of Ozawa Ichirō, and in doing so, provides fascinating insights into the inner workings of Japanese politics. It explores Ozawa’s paradoxical and conflicting contributions in terms of two contrasting models of ‘old’ and ‘new’ politics. Indeed, therein lies the problem of understanding the ‘real’ Ozawa: he remained a practitioner of old politics despite his rhetorical agenda of change to bring about new politics. In seeking to unravel the Ozawa enigma, Aurelia George Mulgan reveals his primary motivations, to establish whether he sought power primarily to enact reforms, or, whether his reform goals simply disguised power-seeking objectives. This volume seeks to illuminate Ozawa’s true character as a politician, and untangle the complex elements of old and new politics that he represents. Through an in-depth study of Ozawa and his political activities, this book shows how the Japanese political system works at the micro level of individual politicians, political relationships and systems. As such it will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Japanese politics, Asian politics and political systems.
Party Systems and Foreign Policy Change in Liberal Democracies
Author: Angelos Chryssogelos
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000287440
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 189
Book Description
How do political parties affect foreign policy? This book answers this question by exploring the role of party politics as source of foreign policy change in liberal democracies. The book shifts the focus from individual political parties to party systems as the context in which parties’ ideologies receive precise content and their preferences are formed. The central claim is that foreign policy change arises from within transformed discursive contexts of party competition, when a new language of politics that constitutes anew parties’ self-understanding of what they stand for and compete over emerges in a party system. By comparing cases of contested foreign policy change, the book shows how such transformations in party competition determine whether and when international pressures on a state will translate into decisions to institute foreign policy change and what degree of change will be ultimately implemented. With a novel framework which bridges concepts of international relations and comparative politics, the book will be of interest to researchers and students in the areas of international relations theory, foreign policy analysis and comparative politics, and generally to anyone wanting to understand how and when parties, elections and voters contribute to international change.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000287440
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 189
Book Description
How do political parties affect foreign policy? This book answers this question by exploring the role of party politics as source of foreign policy change in liberal democracies. The book shifts the focus from individual political parties to party systems as the context in which parties’ ideologies receive precise content and their preferences are formed. The central claim is that foreign policy change arises from within transformed discursive contexts of party competition, when a new language of politics that constitutes anew parties’ self-understanding of what they stand for and compete over emerges in a party system. By comparing cases of contested foreign policy change, the book shows how such transformations in party competition determine whether and when international pressures on a state will translate into decisions to institute foreign policy change and what degree of change will be ultimately implemented. With a novel framework which bridges concepts of international relations and comparative politics, the book will be of interest to researchers and students in the areas of international relations theory, foreign policy analysis and comparative politics, and generally to anyone wanting to understand how and when parties, elections and voters contribute to international change.
Conflicting Missions?
Author: Tom Loveless
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780815708018
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
Ask people whether teachers unions are good or bad for education and you are likely to receive a wide variety of opinions. A 1998 Gallup Poll asked whether teachers unions helped, hurt, or made no difference in the quality of education in U.S. public schools. Twenty-seven percent responded that unions helped, 26 percent that they hurt, and 37 percent that they made no difference (10 percent of those surveyed said they did not know). Although teachers unions were first organized in the nineteenth century, and collective bargaining has been a fact of life in most communities since the 1960s, the body of literature evaluating the impact of teachers unions on American education is surprisingly small. Conflicting Missions? helps close the knowledge gap by providing a clear, balanced analysis of the role of teachers unions in education reform.The volume emerges from a 1998 conference organized by the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University. The contributors represent a broad array of disciplinary backgrounds and methodological approaches, including some of the unions' harshest critics and most loyal supporters. In examining the relationship of teachers unions and educational reform, the authors approach the subject from several directions. They ask whether unions affect educational productivity, most notably in terms of student achievement. They analyze how teachers unions function as professional organizations concerned with the occupation of teaching, as institutional actors defending interests within a bureaucratic system of education, and as political actors wielding influence on legislation and elections. Reflecting a variety of perspectives and opinions, Conflicting Missions? offers a balanced analysis of a controversial topic. It is a useful starting point for readers who want to discover the complexity of teachers unions and their influence—both positive and negative—on the national effort to improve America's schools.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780815708018
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
Ask people whether teachers unions are good or bad for education and you are likely to receive a wide variety of opinions. A 1998 Gallup Poll asked whether teachers unions helped, hurt, or made no difference in the quality of education in U.S. public schools. Twenty-seven percent responded that unions helped, 26 percent that they hurt, and 37 percent that they made no difference (10 percent of those surveyed said they did not know). Although teachers unions were first organized in the nineteenth century, and collective bargaining has been a fact of life in most communities since the 1960s, the body of literature evaluating the impact of teachers unions on American education is surprisingly small. Conflicting Missions? helps close the knowledge gap by providing a clear, balanced analysis of the role of teachers unions in education reform.The volume emerges from a 1998 conference organized by the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University. The contributors represent a broad array of disciplinary backgrounds and methodological approaches, including some of the unions' harshest critics and most loyal supporters. In examining the relationship of teachers unions and educational reform, the authors approach the subject from several directions. They ask whether unions affect educational productivity, most notably in terms of student achievement. They analyze how teachers unions function as professional organizations concerned with the occupation of teaching, as institutional actors defending interests within a bureaucratic system of education, and as political actors wielding influence on legislation and elections. Reflecting a variety of perspectives and opinions, Conflicting Missions? offers a balanced analysis of a controversial topic. It is a useful starting point for readers who want to discover the complexity of teachers unions and their influence—both positive and negative—on the national effort to improve America's schools.