Government Action Research Articles

Abuse of Power Prohibition in Government Actions

Abuse of Power Prohibition in Government Actions

ESG and firm performance: do stakeholder engagement, financial constraints and religiosity matter?

PurposeThis study revisits the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities and firm performance. More importantly, it tests whether this relationship is moderated by critical yet underexplored factors such as stakeholder engagement, financial constraints, and religiosity.Design/methodology/approachA wide range of estimation techniques, including pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects, system generalized method of moments (GMM) and propensity score matching-difference-in-differences (PSM-DiD), are employed to investigate such issues in a large sample of firms from 31 countries.FindingsESG performance has a positive and significant impact on firm performance. While stakeholder engagement positively moderates this relationship, financial constraints and religiosity negatively moderate it. Interestingly, this positive linkage is driven by environmental and social performance rather than governance performance.Practical implicationsFirms should proactively engage in ESG initiatives and consider the intervening influences of stakeholder engagement, financial constraints and religiosity in making decisions to invest in ESG activities. Furthermore, our findings can help policymakers understand the financial consequences of ESG practices, which can be helpful in designing new policies to further promote corporate engagement in ESG practices.Originality/valueFirst, our research findings help reconcile the long-standing debate about the value impact of ESG. Second, our paper investigates relatively new aspects of the ESG-firm performance relationship. Third, our study offers more insight into the ESG literature by showing that not all ESG dimensions equally impact firm performance.

Compartmentalization strategy for coastal flooding mitigation with application to a Northern Adriatic site

A method of compartmentalization has been developed to address the safety concerns of urban areas from coastal flooding, especially in situations where reinforcing the first line of defence (dunes, levees, etc.) is challenging due to, for instance, environmental limitations. Various compartmentalization options can be considered and evaluated in order to govern the flooding. Each option should be modelled with a suited numerical tool to better define the alternatives, determine the minimum height of the elements that bound the compartments and verify their effectiveness for the preliminary design, e.g. for the environmental screening stage. The methodology is demonstrated for a real case study, the flooding of Lido di Volano that occurred on November 22, 2022, using a simplified shallow water equations model designed for GPU computing to simulate large-scale flooding scenarios. Two compartmentalization schemes have been identified, both of which involve raising the existing road level. The maximum water levels in different zones of the study area are assessed as a function of crest height. These schemes have proven to be effective in protecting the urban settlement from flooding. Overall, the proposed method of compartmentalization, supported by a real case study analysis, offers a systematic approach to enhance the safety and the resilience of urban coastal areas. This type of solution capitalises on the experience of the local managers and technicians and may represent a shared solution among the coastal governance actors.

Valeant pharmaceuticals fraud

Purpose The aim of this study is to examine the patterns of fraud present in Valeant’s 2014 and 2015 financial statements and determine through a risk management analysis whether these frauds could have been prevented. This analysis provides the opportunity to more effectively prevent financial statement fraud. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from Valeant pharmaceuticals annual reports, financial statements reports and financial authority documentation. Based on these documents, this paper analyzes the different fraud schemes and investigate whether fraud could have been detected earlier by governance actors. In particular, this paper examines the firm’s financial statements three years before the fraud was detected by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Findings The analysis of financial statements reveals few clues and no alarming red flags three years before detection of the fraud. However, financial statement analyses were complex because of the many acquisitions the firm made in the years before. Originality/value This paper aims to contribute to the literature on fraud by investigating a case of financial statement fraud.

Tweeting climate change: analyzing actor diversity and influence in climate-change discourse post-Paris agreement

The Paris Agreement represents the notable characteristics of global environmental governance, namely multi-actor and multi-level governance. Despite these changes, limited empirical studies have investigated the actors in global environmental governance who participate in political discourse on climate change. To comprehend whether or not the Paris Agreement’s actors represent the transformation of global environmental governance, we adopted a big-data approach to analyze Twitter’s climate-change discourse. The classification of actors provided an understanding of the diversity of the actors involved in providing public information. We also calculated the closeness centrality and identified the changes in the actors’ influence, comparing the changes in the 5 years since the Agreement was adopted. The results showed an increased diversity of actor types. Non-state actors are not homogeneous in their changes, and Intergovernmental Organizations exhibited an increased influence. The findings indicated that the actors participating in the climate-change discourse post-Paris Agreement partially reflect the changes in global environmental governance.

Trends in the healthiness and nutrient composition of packaged products sold by major food and beverage companies in New Zealand 2015 to 2019

BackgroundDietary risk factors are the leading cause of death globally and in New Zealand (NZ). Processed packaged foods are prevalent in the food supply and contribute excess amounts of sodium, saturated fat, and sugar in diets. Improving the nutritional quality of these foods has the potential to reduce population chronic disease risk. We aimed to evaluate the healthiness using the Australasian Health Star Rating (HSR, from 0.5 to 5 stars, with 5 being the healthiest) and nutrient composition (sodium, saturated fat, and total sugar) of packaged products manufactured by the largest NZ-based food and beverage companies in NZ 2015–2019. This analysis relates to a larger study evaluating structured engagement with food companies to improve nutrition-related policies and actions.MethodsData was sourced from Nutritrack, a NZ-branded supermarket-sourced food composition database. The largest NZ-based companies from annual retail sales revenue (n = 35) were identified using 2019 Euromonitor data. All relevant products of the selected companies were extracted for analysis. Products included totalled 17,795 with a yearly range of 3462–3672 products. The primary outcome was a nutrient profile score estimated using HSR. Healthiness was defined as ≥ 3.5 stars. Secondary outcomes were sodium, total sugar, and saturated fat per 100 g/100 mL. All outcomes were assessed overall, by food company, and food category. Change over time was tested using linear mixed models, adjusting for major food categories and cluster effects of food companies controlling for multiple comparisons. Model-adjusted mean differences between years were estimated with 95% confidence intervals.ResultsThere was a small statistically significant increase in mean HSR between 2015 and 2019 (0.08 [0.15,0.01], p = 0.024). Mean total sugar content decreased over the same period (0.78 g/100 g [0.08,1.47], p = 0.020), but there were no significant changes in mean sodium or saturated fat contents. Seven of the 13 categories showed small increases in mean HSR (0.1–0.2). Most categories (9/13) exhibited a reduction in mean total sugar content.ConclusionsBetween 2015 and 2019, there were slight improvements in the nutritional quality of selected packaged foods and drinks in NZ. Much more substantive changes are needed to address the health-related burden of unhealthy diets, supported by stronger government action and less reliance on voluntary industry initiatives.

Homeless or refugee? Civil Society Actors and the (un)making of internal borders in an Italian frontier town

ABSTRACT Migrants’ access to the national territory is filtered through categorisation processes that entangle the legal–administrative statuses produced by immigration controls with stratified access to social and political rights, representing a form of internal bordering. Drawing upon qualitative data on Civil Society Actors (CSAs) who provide services to homeless migrants in an Italian frontier town, this article identifies two main types of practices that can be used by CSAs to reshape internal borders: either de-institutionalising internal borders through the circulation of non-state resources or engaging with institutionalised internal borders by expanding or ensuring migrants’ access to state resources through a mix of cooperation and conflict with governmental actors. The article contributes to the broader debate on the role of CSAs in drawing internal borders in frontier towns and discusses the policy implications of CSAs’ actions at the local level and beyond.

Shades of Resistance: Factors Influencing Populist Mobilization Against the EU Budgetary Conditionality Regime

Although the past decade has shown how populist governments may challenge the EU’s budgetary framework, we still lack an understanding of the circumstances under which populists are more likely to mobilize against EU-level decision-making in this field, and what this mobilization may look like. Combining the literature on populism as an ideology and EU decision-making, the article zooms in on the negotiations regarding the general regime of conditionality in EU budgetary politics and argues that economic and political factors have influenced populist mobilization. A qualitative comparison of the nine cases where populist parties feature in the government highlights that only two countries, Poland and Hungary, have actively opposed the introduction of the so-called rule-of-law conditionality. A closer look indicates that a combination of Euroscepticism, European Parliamentary affiliation, membership in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the political power that populist parties possess at home, along with key macroeconomic indicators, have influenced populists in government to mobilize against the conditionality mechanism. In the second part of the analysis, the article showcases the actions of the Hungarian government, highlighting it as a specific example of populist mobilization. Viktor Orbán’s government has built a populist narrative around the issue, questioned the norm of the decision-making process, exerted a veto to block the agreement temporarily, and later challenged the regulation in court—in short, it engaged in unpolitics.

How to decipher the environmental resilience performance? A case study of Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration

Improving environmental resilience performance (ERP) is a significant support for achieving sustainable development goals. This study introduces the three-dimensional analysis framework of "object-process-actor", capable of addressing multidimensional and multilevel issues. This framework systematically addresses the "three key questions" of what, how, and who to improve ERP. Results indicate that from 2011 to 2020, the ERP of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA) was between 0.42 and 3.30. The violin plot and visualization analysis showed that its probability density and distribution status were stable, with significant regional differences. The ERP of economically developed cities such as Hangzhou and Shanghai is high, while the ERP of cities in the Yancheng-Chuzhou line is low, and the number of high-performing cities increases to 40.7% in 2020, which is a constantly improving development trend. Factors related to market actors have the greatest impact on ERP, with the explanatory power of FDI, green invention patents, and population concentration all exceeding 0.6, and the importance of government and social actors is also supported. The explanatory power of factor interactions was stronger than that of single factors, and land development degree ranked third in terms of its interaction power with other factors and was also a key factor influencing ERP. These findings provide new explanations and knowledge for improving ERP, which can provide references for policymakers and urban planners.

Blurring the Lines Between Public and Nonprofit Sectors: Local Efforts to Create Inclusive Communities

Local governments and nonprofits share the common goal of enhancing local community well-being, despite variations in funding sources, governance structure, and authority. Their joint efforts in responding to increasing immigrant concerns shed light on their motivations to address emerging challenges. Through interviews, original surveys, and secondary datasets, this study unveils that both sectors respond to rising foreign-born populations, shifting local racial demographics, and an aging populace. While political context significantly shapes local government actions, nonprofits are propelled by grant opportunities. These findings underscore sector commonalities and disparities and how the two sectors can continue to work together or independently to address community issues.

Does corporate ESG, an essential factor for overcoming the climate crisis, affect sustainability: The effects of psychological distance and purchase intention

AbstractThis study investigates the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices on consumer behavior, focusing on the role of psychological distance in shaping purchase intentions. Using construal level theory as the theoretical framework, primary survey data from South Korean consumers were analyzed. The findings reveal that social and governance activities within ESG positively influence consumers' psychological distance, enhancing purchase intentions. However, environmental activities do not show a similar effect. These results underscore the importance of clear and transparent communication regarding environmental efforts. This research expands the academic discourse on ESG by incorporating psychological distance and offers practical insights for businesses to develop effective ESG strategies tailored to consumer preferences.

Evaluating mangrove community forestry outcomes: a mixed synthetic control and field-based approach

Abstract Contemporary evaluations of outcomes in human-managed systems have been constrained by a lack of counterfactual analysis. Community forestry (CF), a widely adopted strategy to achieve both conservation and management in coupled human-environment systems, is no exception, and counterfactual analysis would greatly enhance CF research. We used a mixed method approach incorporating quantification of deforestation and forest regrowth rates, synthetic control analysis, and focus groups discussions to evaluate mangrove CF outcomes in the Ayeyarwady Delta, Myanmar, from to 1990–2021. CF resulted in an overall increase in net forest gain and reduction in net forest loss across sites. More than two-thirds of CF sites had superior outcomes relative to synthetic controls for at least one metric (deforestation or forest regrowth); however, CF tended to perform better for only one outcome while avoiding underperformance in the other. The annual rate of forest regrowth in CFs accelerated beginning three years prior to certification and peaked two years after certification, likely related to pre-certification engagement with the Forest Department or non-government organizations. Moreover, control sites near CFs experienced more rapid forest regrowth than controls further from CFs, suggesting spillover effects. The predominant challenge facing successful CF management was illegal extraction and overharvesting, and poor performing CFs experienced a complex array of challenges facing forest regrowth, likely related to the private nature of individual land claims within the CFs. Most supporting factors for CF were related to community management capacity, strongly indicating a need for extended close engagement with competent government and non-government actors to develop long-term management and governance capacities, which are sustainably funded. Our mixed-method approach can be replicated in other human-managed systems to evaluate the biophysical impacts of policies and gain insights into the underlying drivers of outcomes.

Crisis Management In Public Health: Responding To Emergencies And Disasters

The government has a lot of chances and challenges in the twenty-first century to improve public health and provide citizens with higher-quality services. Generally speaking, administrative officers oversee and carry out a variety of government activities at the local level. They are exposed to a variety of citizen-facing issues as well as the difficulties in carrying out ground-level project execution. They regularly handle a variety of crises. Pandemics, natural disasters, and any other scenario involving law and order present a serious challenge for the government. Officers in charge of public health services handle emergencies on the front lines. Communication, scenario assessment, and teamwork are essential for crisis management to be effective. Team procedures improve crisis management's responsiveness, velocity, and effectiveness. The brief duration of crisis situations means that little time remains for planning. Therefore, public servants need to be proactive and flexible enough to handle the situation. According to this work, an effort will be made to investigate the variables and how they interact to affect the government sector's ability to manage crises effectively as well as the interactions between the variables affecting the quality of e-governance services in public health administration.

POTENSI UMKM BATIK PARIJOTO KUDUS SEBAGAI PENDUKUNG EKONOMI GUNA MEWUJUDKAN SDGS MENUJU MEGATREND 2045

Indonesia is a country where UMKM are experiencing significant changes and it is estimated that in the next twenty years there will be major changes. This is proven by the number of global middle income classes which is predicted to increase by 4.9 billion by 2045. One area with a number of MSMEs that have entered the product projection stage is Kudus Regency, where out of thousands of MSMEs, 15 business actors can export abroad. According to the KBBI, megatrend means a big trend in style. In other words, a megatrend is a trend that has an impact on a large scale. Megatrend can also be interpreted as a major change in social, economic, political and technological aspects that is slow to form and after this change occurs, it can have an influence over a long period of time. The aim is to be able to prioritize digital economic transformation and be a reference for further research. This paper uses a qualitative method by taking a descriptive approach. At the data collection stage, the author collects various types of information related to the topics discussed through online platforms such as journals, books and papers, as well as other supporting data so that it is optimal if used as material for consideration. Then, the results of this research are as economic support, namely the Kudus Parijoto batik MSMEs trying to be present in building a quality next generation of the nation, especially preserving the sustainable local wisdom of the Kudus community. The following are several government actors who participate in supporting the economy of the Kudus community through Parijoto batik MSMEs, including the Ministry of Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Industry. The hope is that it will be able to improve the quality of human resources, thus helping them be more independent with the knowledge they have acquired and participate in boosting the economy of each family. Keywords: UMKM, Networking Management, SDG's

Not always as advertised: Different effects from viewing safer gambling (harm prevention) adverts on gambling urges

Public concern around gambling advertising in the UK has been met not by government action but by industry self-regulations, such as a forthcoming voluntary ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsorship in Premier League soccer. “Safer gambling” (harm prevention) adverts are one recent example, and are TV commercials which inform viewers about gambling-related harm. The present work is the first independent evaluation of safer gambling adverts by both gambling operators and a charity called GambleAware. In an online experiment, we observed the change in participants’ (N = 2,741) Gambling Urge Scale (GUS) scores after viewing either: a conventional financial inducement gambling advert, a gambling operator’s safer gambling advert, an advert from the GambleAware “bet regret” campaign, an advert from the GambleAware “stigma reduction” campaign, or a control advert that was not about gambling. Relative to a neutral control advert, GUS scores increased after viewing a financial inducement or an operator’s safer gambling advert. In comparison to the neutral control condition, GUS score changes were similar after viewing a bet regret advert, but showed a significant decrease after viewing a stigma reduction advert. Those at higher risk of harm reported larger decreases in GUS after watching a bet regret or stigma reduction advert. Overall, this study introduced a novel experimental paradigm for evaluating safer gambling adverts, uncovered a potential downside from gambling operators’ safer gambling adverts, and revealed variation in the potential effectiveness of charity-delivered safer gambling adverts.

The Relationship between Sovereign Debt and Politics

ABSTRACT: With the rise of bonded private debt over the past 15 years, there is an increased dependency on private creditors for sovereign nations that borrow to finance their government activities. The power of private creditors gained through increased sovereign debt burdens is affecting the internal political dynamics of these borrower countries, especially in the Global South, including Latin America. A larger external debt burden creates internal political conflict around the distribution of benefits, so debt is intimately linked with politics. Standard economics literature ignores this problem by hypothesizing markets based on perfect competition. We outline a set of hypotheses regarding the relationship between creditors' political preferences in sovereign debt markets that feature "power rents," when relatively powerful foreign investors can obtain significantly higher returns by lending to smaller, weaker nations. Bringing power asymmetries into the debt discussion, we also present a research agenda for economics and political science.

On the Origins of Invalidation of British Colonial Legislation by Colonial Courts – the Van Diemen’s Land Dog Act Controversy of the 1840s – Part Two

ABSTRACT The first part of this paper examined the background to and conduct of a case called Symons v Morgan before the Supreme Court of Van Diemen’s Land. Symons appears to be the first case in which a colonial court asserted jurisdiction to invalidate a colonial ‘statute’ on the basis that the legislation concerned contravened the colony’s constitution. The Supreme Court claimed the jurisdiction as a matter of inference. There was no imperial or colonial legislation expressly granting such a power, nor any judicial authority – whether colonial or imperial in origin – supporting the Supreme Court’s conclusion. The second part of this paper analyses the responses of the colonial government to the Symons judgment, and consequently the responses of the imperial government and Parliament to those colonial initiatives. The actions of the imperial government and Parliament show acceptance of the principle that colonial courts could review the validity of colonial legislation.

Introduction: Future‐proofing policies – How foresight shapes European Union governance

AbstractIntroducing this issue, the present article notes how the growing political importance given to foresight in EU governance has so far only sparked limited interest among scholars of EU law and policy‐making. To address this gap, the article starts by clarifying concepts and defining the key terminology at the intersection between (strategic) foresight and EU governance ‘in the law’ (involving societal actors in law‐making processes) and ‘through law’ (governmental actors steering society via law). It then offers a comparative discussion of the main insights of the contributions to the issue, highlighting how and why foresight has become institutionalised and how it operates across EU institutions today. In the concluding section, the article turns to the future and calls for more research into how foresight shapes EU governance, setting a research agenda for the study of foresight as a practice informing law‐ and policy‐making in the European Union.

Unexpected social change: The transformation of the Pati Regency’s coastal community due to the Indonesian government’s trawl restriction policy

Abstract Indonesia’s developmental endeavors, with a focal point on Java Island, presented an overarching concern for the excessive depletion of its coastal and maritime reservoirs. This fundamental notion laid the groundwork for Indonesian governmental actions in 2015 under the stewardship of Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pujiastuti. During this period, a proactive measure was introduced, entailing the imposition of fishing limitations within the Northern Java Sea vicinity. Embodied within the Ministerial Regulation of Marine Affairs and Fisheries No. 2 of 2015, the restriction of Deploying Trawl and Seine Nets within Indonesian Fishery Management Zones became a tangible manifestation aimed at upholding the preservation of coastal and maritime resources. After an approximate span of eight years since the enforcement of this policy, noteworthy transformations have transpired within the northern Java capture fisheries sector. Comprehensive interviews, meticulous observations, and scrutiny of documents within the Pati Regency (particularly in the Juwana sub-district) within the Central Java province revealed discernible shifts within coastal communities in a relatively brief span. Employing the social-ecological system framework, an analytical lens was cast upon the repercussions of this governmental restriction policy on the circumstances of the Juwana sub-district’s coastal communities, notably the fishermen. The curtailment imposed on fishing apparatus compelled fishermen to modernize and enhance the efficiency of their equipment. The evolving working ethos of the community trended toward collective endeavors and opportunistic pursuit of commercial prospects. Nevertheless, simultaneous challenges surfaced, including societal disparities amidst coastal communities, the marginal involvement of local governance, and the plausible peril of ecosystem detriment beyond the initial boundaries.

How the Resist-Accept-Direct framework is being used by communities for socio-economic climate adaptation: a case study in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin

Globally, water governance struggles to reconcile increased demands on water resources with climate change–induced reductions in supply, making climate adaptation in water governance a pressing concern. The Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework has emerged as a climate adaptation tool designed to help make adaptation decisions. However, there is limited understanding of social and political factors, which are critical in driving RAD decisions. This paper explores how communities are employing RAD to make climate adaptation decisions, using a case study of the Goulburn-Murray Resilience Strategy (the Strategy); a community-led strategy that uses a version of the RAD framework to build regional resilience in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District (GMID) in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). The Strategy focuses on building socio-economic, rather than ecological, resilience, making this research a valuable contribution to RAD literature. To apply the RAD framework to socio-economic adaptation, we adapted the framework to include IPCC language around incremental, transformational, planned, and autonomous adaptation. With the GMID considered a leader of resilience thinking in Australia, the Strategy may help decision-makers address water overallocation and contested governance in the MDB, and provide lessons for water governance globally. Data analysed from 20 semi-structured interviews with people involved with the Strategy revealed two main findings: (1) Communities and governments prioritise different actions under the RAD framework. Governments, particularly at the state level, preference incremental planned adaptation to maintain the status quo (resist), over incremental autonomous adaptation to changing conditions (accept), and transformational planned adaptation at various scales (direct). (2) Community and government actors perceive that factors driving governments’ preference for incremental-resist adaptation include electoral short-termism, linear planning, and conservative government culture.