Policy Review Section
报告了英国数据共享小组的调查结果，分析其计算系统、常见问题及在规划中的应用；同时评估新加坡通过税收优惠吸引区域总部以多元化经济基础的政策效果。
In this Policy Review Section, Paul Foley of the Department of Town and Regional Planning, University of Sheffield, reports the findings of a survey of data pooling groups. In recent years, local authorities and other organizations have become increasingly unhapy about the lack of adequate official statistics on which to build labour market intelligence and policy decisions. One way to overcome the problem of duplication is for organizations to collaborate together to collect, process and analyse information. Data pooling groups, as they have become known, are increasing throughout Great Britain. The survey of twenty such groups funded by the Department of Employment highlights the types of computing systems which have been developed, the common problems which have been encountered and how information has been used in the planning and policy development process. In the second article, Martin Perry of the Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, examines the attempt of the Singapore Government to diversify its economic base by attracting regional office headquarters through the device of tax allowances. Based on a survey of recipient companies, Perry argues that the so-called operational headquarters incentive has largely proved ineffective and he seeks to draw out lessons for policy makers.