Administrative Capacity Research Articles

Капацітет системи публічного управління та інституціональна спроможність держави: порівняльний аналіз України та США

In the modern world, where rapid changes and global challenges demand not only reactivity but also predictive capacity from the state, the capacity of public administration systems emerges as a key success factor. This article conducts a comparative analysis of the capacities of public administration systems and the institutional capabilities of Ukraine and the USA, highlighting both common tactics and unique approaches of both countries. The study employs a comprehensive approach that includes both qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative methods, such as literature analysis and case studies, allowed for a deeper understanding of public administration and the identification of key factors affecting its effectiveness. Quantitative methods, including statistical and correlational analyses, helped to quantitatively assess these factors and test hypotheses about their interrelationships. The author investigates how professionalism, political neutrality, and effective coordination impact the ability of government agencies to solve problems and achieve strategic goals. It is argued that the stability of legislation and institutions, as well as efforts to combat corruption, are important for ensuring predictability and reliability in management processes. The article also emphasizes the importance of the accessibility and quality of administrative services, which directly affect citizens’ trust in the government. The need for flexibility and innovation in public administration systems to adapt to changing conditions is highlighted, as well as the importance of collaboration with civil society organizations and the private sector to enhance efficiency and transparency. In conclusion, the author stresses the critical importance of institutional capability for the success of public policy, noting that both countries have unique opportunities and challenges in this sphere. The author calls for continued research and dialogue between Ukraine and the USA to exchange best practices and enhance the overall capacity of public administration. The article offers recommendations for improving the capacity of public administration and the institutional capability of the state. Keywords: Public Administration Capacity, State Institutional Capability, Public Policy, Professionalism, Political Neutrality, Coordination, Legislative Stability, Anti-Corruption Efforts, Administrative Services, Management Innovation.

How Do Local Officials Conceptualize Sustainability as Practiced in Their Communities?

Problem, research strategy, and findings Although they play a key role in shaping local efforts, there is limited research on how city officials define sustainability as it is practiced in their communities. To address this limitation and contribute to planning research, we leveraged a unique nationwide data set of sustainability definitions provided by the sustainability lead in more than 400 U.S city governments. Our study’s qualitative analysis of these statements complements existing research by exploring emerging themes on how sustainability is perceived and practiced at the local level. Results indicated that practitioners’ conceptualizations reflected five general orientation categories: action, aspiration, emotion, process and organization, and progress. We evaluated the association of these general orientation categories with cities’ administrative arrangements, political environments, resources, and capacities. Findings suggested that supportive contexts were associated with city sustainability staff defining sustainability in aspirational terms, as opposed to emphasizing progress or discrete actions. Takeaway for practice We examined how city sustainability leaders characterize its practice, using their own words provided in response to an open-ended survey question. We found that organizational context, including the presence of a sustainability budget, staff, and political support, was associated with differences in the fundamental nature of the responses provided. This is important because these local government officials influence how the broad objective of sustainability is practiced in their communities. Overall, our research adds value to the planning profession by assessing how sustainability professionals defined sustainability with greater nuance than previous studies and establishing a departure point for explaining why such differences exist.

The Adoption of Council-Manager Model of Governance in Croatia: An Exploratory Study

The purpose of this study was to explore the receptiveness of Croatian local governmental officials in adopting a council-manager reform model of governance, given the low administrative and fiscal capacities of many Croatian cities. We surveyed all 128 cities in Croatia with a response rate of 48% ( n = 61). Sixty-two percent of top administrators were skeptical that this reform model was feasible. Our data suggest a desire of city administrators for shielding administrative functions from political ones as half of all respondents felt political pressure in budgeting and personnel issues. This was amplified through the qualitative data where respondents cited political parties’ control in city administration and interference in administrative functions. Chief obstacles to implementing reform components focused on concerns about the political influence of politicians.

Informally Governing International Development: G7 Coordination and Orchestration in Aid

Abstracts Informal groupings like the G7 aim to address global development challenges but lack the administrative and budgetary capacity to drive change directly. Instead, the G7 seeks to catalyze international action that reflects its priorities. For example, the G7 attempts to set the international development agenda by publishing annual communiqués with actionable commitments designed to influence the behavior of G7 donor countries, non-G7 donor countries, and international organizations. But questions about the G7’s ultimate impact persist, as critics contend the informal G7 can do little more than pay lip service to development challenges. We provide empirical evidence that the G7 shapes international development in two ways. First, when the G7 emphasizes a policy area in its annual communiqués, donors allocate more aid to that policy area. Second, when the G7 highlights a policy area in its annual communiqués, donors establish more trust funds in that policy area. This suggests the G7 serves simultaneous coordination and orchestration roles in international development: it coordinates its member states’ aid and orchestrates non-G7 bilateral and multilateral aid. The study’s theory, approach, and findings can inform further research on whether and how informal organizations ultimately affect states, formal international organizations, international cooperation, and global governance.

Documenting Decentralization: Empirical Evidence on Administrative Unit Proliferation from Uganda

Abstract Decentralization is an important and commonplace type of reform, yet our understanding of its effects remains limited. This paper documents the effects of the 2009–10 wave of district creation in Uganda, which increased the country’s districts by 42 percent, using rich data on subdistrict units to assess the effects of district creation on a broad range of post-decentralization outcomes in a difference-in-differences framework. The effects of decentralization are concentrated in newly split off—rather than split from—districts, and are heterogeneous across outcome types. Newly split-off districts have more per capita frontline workers, but appear to have worse quality infrastructure and lower economic development. The study also presents suggestive evidence that administrative capacity decreases for newly formed districts post-split. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering a broad range of outcomes when thinking about decentralization.

Assessment of network structure characteristics and factors of corporate flows in Guangdong Province.

With the rapid development of the world city network, the traditional location theory has gradually been disproven, and the advantages of the flow space over the traditional vertical organizational structure are gradually being revealed. Therefore, from corporate branch networks and corporate investment networks, 21 cities in urban agglomerations of Guangdong are taken as case studies for this paper. Furthermore, in this paper, 5 representative types of corporate contact data (catering service, financial service, life service, sports and leisure and accommodation service) are selected, the social network analysis (SNA) method is used to quantitatively analyze the network structure characteristics of urban agglomerations, and a spatial interaction model is constructed to explore the factors influencing. The results indicate that secondary networks have developed in Guangdong. The financial service network is the most complex, followed by the life services, sports and leisure and catering networks. The accommodation service network structure is the simplest. Among all kinds of networks, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have the highest status. The catering and accommodation corporations in Yangjiang in the west have a relatively major external development. Shantou in the east has many branches of various types, while most of the capital exchange in the region is concentrated in Heyuan and Qingyuan in the north. The coefficients of geographical proximity and the urban development level play a significant role in promoting the development of networks. However, administrative capacity limits the attractiveness of origin cities to a certain extent.

A strategy to enhance the quality of public administration services at better Tadulako University

The study aims to explore strategies to enhance public administration capacity at Tadulako University, using a qualitative approach through case studies. This research mainly focuses on understanding how the applied strategies can improve administrative processes and provide better services to students and staff. Researchers collect data by conducting in-depth interviews, live observations, and document analysis with administrative staff, students, and faculty. Researchers conduct thematic analysis to identify key themes and comprehend the effectiveness and impact of implemented strategies. Research results show that integrating information technology, staff training, and revising bureaucratic processes are critical factors in improving the efficiency and quality of administrative services. Data triangulation reinforces these findings, ensuring the validity and reliability of the results. The research provides insights into best organizational practices and offers valuable recommendations for other higher education institutions facing similar challenges. These implications extend beyond operational improvements to enhancing student education experiences, illustrating the connection between effective administration and academic success in higher education institutions.

A matter of trust: Public support for country ownership over aid

AbstractInternational donors emphasize greater recipient-country ownership in the delivery of foreign assistance because it ostensibly promotes the efficient use of resources and strengthens recipient-country administrative capacity. The preferences of citizens in developing countries, however, are not well understood on this matter. Do they prefer that their own governments control foreign aid resources, or are there conditions under which they instead prefer that donors maintain control over how aid is implemented? We explore these questions through parallel survey experiments in Myanmar, Nepal, and Indonesia. Our experimental vignettes include two informational treatments: one about who implements aid (i.e., the donor or the recipient government) and the other about the trustworthiness of the foreign donor. The trust-in-donor treatment, on average, increases levels of support for aid in all three countries. In contrast, we observe heterogenous average treatment effects regarding aid control: control of aid by the donor rather than the government reduces levels of support in Indonesia and Myanmar, whereas it increases support levels in Nepal. We show how the cross-country variation in ATEs originates in consistent individual-level variation in reactions to aid control that is more shaped by respondents’ trust in their own government than their trust in the donor.

Exploring the infeasibility of enforcing mandatory in-prison rehabilitation in Jamaica

ABSTRACT Only about 21% of adult inmates in Jamaica participate in formal rehabilitation programmes. 1 As such, the government has taken steps to make in-prison rehabilitation mandatory. By drawing on interviews with 73 formerly incarcerated persons, this article explores the viability and practicability of mandatory in-prison rehabilitation. The evidence suggests that if made mandatory, in-prison rehabilitation may not support the effective reintegration of inmates who value agency. Coercion could also amplify change-resistant behaviours, and limited administrative capacity might also challenge the effective enforcement of the mandate. Towards achieving the effective reintegration of newly released persons and lowering the recidivism rate, the article proposes some correctional reforms which the Jamaican state can pursue in the absence of adequate capacity to implement mandatory in-prison rehabilitation. Such reforms include the need to bolster and enhance good governance systems.

Enhancing the quality of homestay services in Lembah Oya to support sustainable tourism development in Selopamioro

Homestays provide accommodation for tourists who visit or purchase tour packages offered in tourist villages. The homestay in Selopamioro Village is part of the Oya Valley Homestay Association. Despite the existence of a community association, its governance system, institutions, service standards, and readiness in terms of administration and available facilities still do not meet homestay standards. The aim of this activity is to provide training and assistance to homestay managers to increase governance capacity and the quality of services provided to staying tourists, thereby supporting the sustainable development of green tourism in Selopamioro. The methods used include: 1) Field observations and interviews to identify the problems faced, 2) Program socialization, 3) Training and mentoring, and 4) Providing amenities. The results of this activity include an increase in governance and administration capacity, improved institutions, enhanced ability to serve guests, and provision of facilities such as bed sheets, blankets, and bed runners for each homestay room, as well as name boards and directions to make it easier to locate the homestay.

Administrative Decentralization and the Role of Information: The Case of Intimate Partner Violence During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The U.S. federal government often devolves administrative processes and decision making to state and local governments. Prior studies have found that the success of decentralization and implementation depends on several mediating factors at the subnational level, such as a state's political ideology or administrative capacity. This study focuses on one mechanism—the ability of states to leverage their information advantage about the local context vis-à-vis the federal government. We are interested in whether the information advantage of state-level firearm background checks decreased the rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) involving a firearm compared to states that relied on federally administered background checks. We take advantage of data from the period of state-mandated stay-at-home (SAH) orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, a temporal context with increased IPV rates. Using a Poisson fixed effects regression, we find that rates of IPV involving a firearm did not increase when the SAH orders were in effect. However, using decision-relevant information in state-administered background checks decreased the rates of IPV resulting in injury and murder-suicide, compared to states that relied on federal background checks.

Representation in administrative proceedings: analysis of legislation and judicial practice

The article analyzes the procedural norms of law that regulate the issue of representation in the administrative proceedings of Ukraine. Based on the analysis, it was concluded that the institution of representation in the administrative process has undergone significant changes in connection with the judicial reform. During the administration of justice, courts of administrative jurisdiction decide the issue of participation in the case of a representative in the presence of conflicting legislation, which, in turn, creates ambiguity in judicial practice. Attention was drawn to the fact that the Code of administrative proceedings of Ukraine, in the new version, classified the bodies and persons who have the right to apply to the court in the interests of other persons to the participants of the case. In turn, from «persons participating in the case», «representatives» are included in a separate category of participants in the legal process, which is established in the norms of a special paragraph of the Code. A new term «self-representation» was also introduced, which is inconsistent with the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine. At the same time, self-representation distinguishes representation under the law in the presence of family relations and representation under a contract, which can be carried out by a lawyer or a natural person who has administrative procedural capacity, in cases of minor complexity and in other separate cases defined by law. It is emphasized that the procedural law does not clearly demarcate the powers in the judicial process of bodies and persons who are granted the right to appeal to the court in the interests of other persons, and legal representatives. At the same time, both of them participate in the legal process based on the prescription of the law, and the purpose of their participation is completely the same. At the same time, it is stated that self-representation is a new type of representation, which is different from representation under a contract or law in the generally accepted sense and which needs to be refined at the legislative level. It was noted that legislative changes in the institution of self-representation essentially helped to bypass the norms of the Constitution on exclusive representation by lawyers of individuals and subjects of power in court. As a result, it was concluded that the legal regulation of the participation of the representative, including the self-representative, in the administrative process requires further scientific analysis and legislative improvement. Key words:administrative court, participants in the legal process, representative, self-representative, norms of procedural law.

It’s the state, indeed! How state capacity facilitates social equality in authoritarian regimes

ABSTRACT Empirical evidence suggests that contemporary authoritarian regimes face several incentives to redistribute social policy concessions to their citizens. Yet autocracies differ extensively in their capacity to implement policy decisions. In this article, we identify three distinct but interrelated mechanisms through which state capacity determines a more equal provision of social benefits and services in healthcare and education sectors. Administrative capacity allows the regime to manage the implementation of social policy, extractive capacity ties in with more resources and information to be used for the provision of social benefits and services, and coercive capacity permits the state to effectively enforce policies. Using static and dynamic regression models for over 120 countries from 1960 to 2016, our findings show that state capacity enhances social equality in authoritarian contexts through these three interrelated mechanisms. Further analysis though suggests that the overall effect of state capacity dissipates in the long run.

Sticking plaster support: the Household Support Fund and localised assistance in the UK welfare state

The Household Support Fund is a creature of crises. Initially conceived as a temporary palliative for struggling UK households in 2021 amid the devastating COVID-19 crisis, the local authority administered support is now in its fourth wave. Accounting for over £2.5 billion of funding since its introduction, it is a flagship component of the UK government’s response to the cost-of-living crisis. Drawing on interviews with 12 local authorities, we argue this scheme is part of an ongoing shift towards dependence on localised discretionary funds to mitigate increasingly insufficient central social security support – although the fund provides essential support for struggling households, this is not a role it can fulfil in its current form. The article falls into three parts. The first provides an overview of the origins of this cash-limited HSF scheme and situates it in the shifting role of localised support in the UK social security system. The second provides an overview of the method. The third draws four key themes from the interview data: a lack of funding leading to sticking plaster provision, problematic tensions between supporting those most at need and concerns about dependency on crisis funds, administrative capacity shaping scheme design, and third sector organisations’ increasing role in both mediating and providing support. We conclude that the HSF signifies a significant ongoing shift towards patchwork, localised support in the UK welfare state, subject to unpredictable renewal. Rather than comprehensive centralised provision, funds like the HSF are increasingly being tasked with mitigating insufficient working-age social security.

Hagemann (Christian) – EU Funds in the New Member States. Party Politicization, Administrative Capacities, and Absorption Problems after Accession. – Cham, Palgrave Macmillan (Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics), 2019. XXIV + 324 p. Bibliogr. Index.

Hagemann (Christian) – EU Funds in the New Member States. Party Politicization, Administrative Capacities, and Absorption Problems after Accession. – Cham, Palgrave Macmillan (Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics), 2019. XXIV + 324 p. Bibliogr. Index.

Policy complexity and implementation performance in the European Union

This study examines the relationship between the complexity of EU directives and their successful implementation at the national level. Moving beyond the state‐of‐the‐art, we propose a comprehensive framework considering structural, linguistic, and relational dimensions of policy complexity. We argue that policy complexity entails higher transaction costs, hindering effective implementation. Using a novel dataset covering roughly 1000 directives from 1994 to 2022, we find strong evidence of policy complexity negatively impacting implementation performance. Moreover, we find that states with higher administrative capacity are better able to process high complexity efficiently and that Eurosceptic member states attract fewer infringement proceedings in highly complex policy environments than Europhile member states. This could alternatively point to strategic enforcement behavior of the Commission or to bureaucracies that are less Eurosceptic than their political masters might wish for. Our study thereby contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges of successful implementation of EU directives.

Lack of Administrative Procedural Legal Capacity as a Ground to Recognize an Administrative Claim as not subject to Consideration in the Courts

The paper is devoted to examination of issues of identifying administrative procedural legal capacity of persons named as parties to a dispute in an administrative statement of claim, and the consequences of the lack of administrative legal capacity. The main attention is paid to identifying the administrative procedural legal capacity of someone who is named in the administrative statement of claim as a subject with public authority (meaning a state authority, another state body, a local government body, an official, a state and municipal official). As the author highlights, administrative procedural legal capacity of the bodies of state power specified in Part 1 of Article 5 of the Code on Administrative Procedure (CAP) of the Russian Federation, other state bodies, local self-government bodies, their officials as their ability to be parties and interested parties in an administrative case is predetermined by their administrative capacity and legal capacity, and the administrative capacity and legal capacity of these persons are inseparable and together they represent their competence. This allows the author to conclude that the condition for recognizing administrative procedural legal capacity for these persons is that they have competence in a certain public sphere. Lack of administrative procedural legal capacity should be recognized as one of the instances when an administrative statement of claim is not subject to consideration in courts and as one of the grounds to reject a claim under Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Article 128 of the CAP of the Russian Federation.

The rising authority and agency of public–private partnerships in global health governance

Abstract Global public–private partnerships (PPPs) have become prominent in efforts to address global challenges, particularly in the health field. In the scholarly literature, global PPPs have been conceptualized as arenas for voluntary public–private cooperation rather than agents of global governance. This paper challenges this approach, arguing that a sub-class of highly institutionalized partnerships have developed into transnational bureaucracies that, much like international organizations, can draw from their administrative capacities to exercise agency and gain and consolidate authority over time. To substantiate this argument, I present an in-depth analysis of five global health partnerships that played a leading role in the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), the initiative that sought to coordinate the global response to covid-19. Based on extensive document review and analysis of the ACT-A PPPs —Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, Unitaid, and The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics — I show how these partnerships’ leadership role during the pandemic emerged from a decade long build-up of PPP agency. These organizations gained administrative capacities that enabled them to increase their authority vis-à-vis their donors, boards, and other external actors through three interlinked strategies: (a) developing greater financial autonomy; (b) expanding their mandates (including toward pandemic preparedness and response); and (c) establishing inter-partnership cooperation and mutual representation to other forums. My analysis suggests the need for future research to consider highly institutionalized PPPs as agents of global governance and to explore empirically and theoretically the consequences of their rising authority.

Funds Disbursement and Service Delivery in Uganda Case of Kabale District Local Government

The purpose of this study was to determine how funding distribution impacted the delivery of services in Kabale District Local Government. The study’s end variable was service delivery, while the study’s predictor factors were the allocation of funds. The research was conducted after the cross-sectional survey. The information from 86 respondents was acquired, and both quantitative and qualitative analysis were carried out. Since descriptive analysis called for a single variable and its features to be presented together with the data, frequency tables were used to describe the data. The bivariate correlations between the predictor components and the dependent variable were examined using a Pearson correlation matrix. A linear regression model was used to fit the data. The distribution of money (R=862) has a positive significance on the capacity of the local administration of Kabale District, according to research findings from the regression model. The main conclusion of this study is that the delivery of services is significantly impacted by how money is distributed. The study suggests that more effort should be put into money disbursement in order to ensure that service delivery at Kabale District Local Government is sustainable.

Evaluation of the Administrative, Coordination, and Financing Capacity of the Sub-National Malaria Elimination Programs in Nigeria: A Case Study of Cross River State.

Background: This study appraised the implementers’ perspective of the program’s existing administrative and management; coordination and collaboration; and financing and accountability capacities to deliver its malaria prevention and control mandate. Method: The instrument used was a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire adapted from an already existing National Malaria Programme’s Capacity Assessment tool. Being a widely used open-source program tool, a pretest was done to ascertain its suitability and applicability to the study context and for field assistants to gain familiarity with it. The total population sampling method was used due to the small size of the target population. The target population/sample size was therefore 137, comprising the State Malaria Technical Working Group members, key officers of Cross River State Malaria Elimination Program (CRSMEP), and the Local Government Areas (LGA) Malaria implementing teams. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Each element per section of the questionnaire was weighted using the Likert scale and calculated using simple percentages. Results: Research results showed that the malaria program at the State and LGA level have adequate administrative and management capacity with confirmation by 64% and 82.1% of respondents respectively. 80% of respondents confirmed average coordination and collaboration capacity at the State level while 50% of respondents at the LGA level confirmed that the program has adequate coordination and collaboration capacity. For financing and accountability capacity, 36% of respondents affirmed that there is average capacity at the State level while 37.5% confirmed that there is no capacity at LGA level. Conclusion: The study revealed the program’s capacity gaps at State and LGA in the 3 aforementioned key areas. Therefore, interventions to address the capacity gaps are training/re-training of program staff and health workers on program management, administration, and finance, establishing performance management and accountability mechanisms, conducting evidence-based advocacy visits to policymakers for prioritizing allocating and releasing funds for malaria control activities, especially for intervention areas that are not supported by donor/partner organizations.