tled...Public management was generally regarded as a process through which policies were formulated, resources allocated, and programs implemented rather than as a policy issue in its own right" (3).
PA is responsible, along with government agencies and elected assemblies at the national level, for developing policies that address social, economic, political, cultural, educational and other issues that are of significance within a unit of government (Chandler 4). Such policies range from those that support economic development to those that address infrastructure needs, focus on quality of rights issues, or focus on human rights. Economic activities are often the focus of such policies, especially in countries where substantial differentials between socioeconomic groups can be identified or where income distribution curves are skewed dramatically, creating small groups of wealthy elites and larger groups of the poor or working class (Laubscher 1).
One set of policy initiatives, to be examined herein, consists of wage subsidies, which are often linked by the need to augment wages for workers and to facilitate their ability to travel to and from work sites. The purposes of wage subsidies are defined as follows:
"Wage subsidies provide a financial incentive to eligible employers when considering the employment of job seekers with disability or with other barriers to employment. Wage subsidies are payments made to employers to help cover the costs of paying wages in the first few months of employment of a person with disability or a person experiencing other barriers to employment. They also aim to increase the competitiveness of job seekers, including those with disability" (Australian Government 1).
Wage subsidies are generally not provided in the form of direct financial assistance to workers; they are directed instead to employers to facilitate improvements in hiring, retention and compensation of worke...