Administrative Reform Research Articles

Assessing national land administration reform in Mongolia: A mixed method evaluation using bank loan and historical land administration data

This study presents the findings from a rigorous performance evaluation of a land registry strengthening project in Mongolia. The paper contributes to a small but growing body of systematic evaluations on land administration interventions—and particularly on efforts to build the national capacity of state agencies through institutional strengthening initiatives. The research highlights a methodological approach that utilizes mixed method data sources to explore outcomes in a more rigorous way and through a gendered lens. We rely on a unique set of primary quantitative data sources, including extensive land administration and bank loan data. In addition to ex- ploring outcomes associated with credit access and lending, our extensive data sources enable us to delve into transaction cost, efficiency, and volume. We complement the quantitative data with comprehensive qualitative data from interviews and focus group discussions. This study finds that the project improved Mongolia’s registration process and land administration system. There are notable increases in transaction efficiency; digitization and strengthening of information systems; and improved transparency and access to land records. In contrast, there is more limited evidence about the program’s effect on facilitating improvements in the accuracy of land records, land markets, access to credit, and gender equality in land rights. While the project helped to reduce some instances of corruption, there remain broad challenges to land governance reform.

ЭТНОКОНФЕССИОНАЛЬНЫЙ АСПЕКТ РЕФОРМЫ МОНТЭГЮ-ЧЕЛМСФОРДА В БРИТАНСКОЙ ИНДИИ.

The article examines the main aspects of administrative and political transformations in British India at the turn of the 1910s - 1920s in the context of the processes of development of the national liberation movement, as well as ethno-political consolidation in certain Indian regions. The interwar period was marked by a significant transformation of the British colonial system, which affected, among other things, the management mechanisms of Indian possessions. Implemented on the basis of the law adopted in December 1919 . By a special legislative act of the British Parliament, the administrative and political reform, which went down in history as the Montague-Chelmsford reforms, was an attempt to modernize the management system in a key colony. At the same time, this reform, as well as the subsequent transformations carried out by the colonial administration, contributed to the formation of elements of the political culture of Indian society, and also, to a certain extent, laid the foundations of the future federal system of independent India.

Reformation Public Administration in Ukraine in the Context of European Integration: Current State, Problems and Priorities

"The research is focused on the problem of reforming public management in Ukraine. An analysis of the current state of reforming public management in Ukraine has been carried out. It has been substantiated that the reformation of public administration and local self-government should be carried out in accordance with European standards and democratic governance principles. The legal framework for reforming public administration and local self-government has been analyzed. It has been emphasized that the current state of development of Ukrainian legislation in this area requires a critical rethinking of the existing norms, overcoming contradictions and inconsistencies between them and indicates the need to adopt a number of new legislative acts. The analysis of the current state of reforming public management in Ukraine has shown that most public authorities have been formed in independent Ukraine; there were changes in organizing the work of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, central and local executive authorities, and the system of local self-government bodies; the processes of modernizing the public service are underway; a number of positive steps have been taken towards reforming public administration and local selfgovernment, and the decentralization reform was actively implemented in 2014-2021. The necessity of further optimization of the central executive authorities’ system, modernization of the public service and human resource management, and completion of decentralization processes was emphasized. The main provisions of the Strategy for Public Administration Reform of Ukraine for 2022-2025 and the Concept for Reforming Local Self-Government and Territorial Organization of Power in Ukraine were analyzed, as well as other strategic and conceptual documents adopted in Ukraine for the purpose of implementing public management reform. The theoretical construction of a new model of public management based on European principles and standards has been substantiated. Strategic priorities for reforming public management in Ukraine in the context of European integration have been identified."

Methods of the “New Division of the Empire”: The Reforms of Administrative Division in Vyatka Rеgion from Catherine the Great to Paul I

This article examines the territorial transformations carried out in Vyatka Region in the 1780s–1810s. As is known, before the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the system of administrative-territorial division of the country was based on the historically established system of uyezds. However, in 1775–1802, two major reforms were carried out, which rebuilt the administrative-territorial division following qualitatively new principles – approximate equality of the population of provinces and uyezds and transport accessibility of administrative centres for the population. These changes largely determined the outlines of the social structure of the Russian Empire over the next century, and changes in the management system and social structure naturally attract researchers’ attention today. With the help of a detailed reconstruction (based on maps of the time, both printed, from national atlases of 1792 and 1800, and handprinted, from the collections of several archives) and comparison of the boundaries of provinces in the middle of the eighteenth century, in 1792, in 1792, 1800 and 1805–1806, the author reveals the redistribution of territories between urban centres. It transpires that the system of territorial relations in this region during the reform of Catherine II changed more decisively than in the central regions of the country, and the new borders were initially drawn without a survey of the situation on the ground, in some cases – in the form of straight lines on the map. The correction of inconveniences caused by such a manner of reform was delayed and was completed already during the administrative reforms of Paul I, which, unlike most regions, were not cancelled there in the first decade of the nineteenth century.

M. M. Speransky’s Administrative Reform Projects in a Comparative Retrospective of the Reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I

This article studies the reforms and reformist searches in the sphere of public administration during the reign of Alexander I and the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I, the successive and distinctive features of the government reform policy in the context of the project activity of M. M. Speransky. The author focuses on determining the reasons for the actualization of transformations in the system of the higher and central apparatus between 1802 and the early 1830s, analysing the specifics of the modernization process in different periods of the institutional development of Russia, identifying similarities and differences in the “administrative structure” of Alexander I and Nicholas I. It has been established that, in general, the official reformation in the field of public administration in the first third of the nineteenth century, based on the theoretical and conceptual framework developed by M. M. Speransky, was consistent, systemic, and interconnected and was an integral part of the modernization of Russian statehood. The author demonstrates that the transformational searches of the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I reflected in the activities of the Committee on December 6, 1826, and being a logical continuation of the reforms of Alexander I, were aimed at creating an effective, unified, and rationalized management system of absolutism of the New Age. The administrative transformations of the two epochs were subject to legislative reform and were an integral part of two models of relations between the government and society, Alexander and Nicholas, respectively.

Regarding the theory of demarcation of competences of local executive bodies and local self-government bodies

The article is devoted to the coverage of certain theoretical issues regarding the delimitation of the competences of local public authorities. Attention is focused on revealing the terminological features of the category’s «competence», «powers», «functions» of executive power bodies and local self-government bodies. The author focuses attention on certain features of the demarcation of competences of local executive bodies and local self government bodies.It is stated that the development of local self-government as a direct form of manifestation of public activity of the population and a free, democratic way of organizing public power is an integral part of administrative reform in Ukraine and state building in general. It was determined that the very question of delimitation of competences is quite problematic, because it is practically impossible to delimit the functions of bodies that carry out a single administrative activity (public authority) on the ground. First of all, because local state administrations and local self government bodies perform a kind of general management function, they face a common task - the implementation of the most effective management of territories. The implementation of this task requires both management centers to have such functions as regulatory and managerial, communicative, control, informational, normative, organizational and institutional and a number of others.It is argued to take as a basis the principle of control, which should be carried out in such a way that the degree of intervention of the controlling body is proportionate to the importance of the interests that this intervention should protect when delineating the competences of local self-government bodies and local state authorities.It was determined that the current state of demarcation of competences between local executive bodies and local self-government bodies in Ukraine is not in a very good condition, which is due to some problems, namely: the incompleteness of the administrative reform; inheritance of a centralized model of public administration; the imperfection of the current legislation in the field of local public authorities, which leads to numerous conflicts in the delimitation of competence between local executive bodies and local self-government bodies. It is emphasized that the current stage of administrative reform and local self-government reform is aimed at legislative improvement and strengthening of the legislative framework in the sphere of public authority in Ukraine.

Constraints and stimuli in the implementation of public accounting reform: systematic literature review and future research agenda

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to discuss the most relevant literature related to the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in the public sector in developed and developing countries, identifying the constraints and stimuli they represent in the implementation of the public accounting reform. It also presents future research proposals on the factors identified.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology is based on a systematic review of the literature described by Moher et al. (2009). The final sample includes 90 academic papers published from 2000 to 2022.FindingsThe main findings indicate that there are differences between constraints and stimuli in the implementation of accounting standards between developed and developing countries. In terms of constraints, the main factor in developed countries is the lack of training, whereas in developing countries it is the limitation on financial resources. In addition, the results demonstrate that in developed countries the factors that most encourage the implementation of accounting standards are modernization and improvement of accounting, while in developing countries, encouragement comes mainly from external and internal pressure.Practical implicationsThis study helps countries and institutions to learn from experience and better prepare for the accounting reforms of public administration that they will undertake. Managers of public organizations may be willing to make decisions in the adoption of IPSAS if they take into account the factors established herein.Social implicationsThis study helps countries and institutions to learn from the experience, better prepare for the public administration accounting reforms that they will undertake and add greater transparency in the accountability of public accounts to citizens.Originality/valueIn addition to previous studies, this study addresses a number of factors perceived by those involved in the implementation of IPSAS in developed and developing countries and provides a robust research agenda to pursue during the coming years, as there are several important unexplored questions that invite further research.

The Origins of Collaborative Governance in South Korea: An Analysis of the First Ten Years after Democratisation

South Korea’s transition to democracy in 1987 was driven by social movements. The grand democracy coalition included the opposition party and various civic associations, including student groups, labour unions, and religious organisations. Civil society continued to pressure the post-transitional governments to dismantle authoritarian structures and remove undemocratic practices. Political authoritarianism in South Korea in 1961–1987 was inseparable from the developmental state that delivered the country’s impressive economic development. Government reform after the democratisation entailed the weakening, if not dismantling, of the developmental state, to make public governance and policymaking more transparent, responsive, and participatory. In this paper we examine government reform in South Korea, focusing on the first ten years following democratisation. The Roh Tae Woo government created the Administrative Reform Committee in 1988, and the Kim Young Sam government launched the Presidential Commission for Administrative Reform in 1993. Although both agencies engaged civilians in the reform process, it was the Ministry of Government Administration and the Ministry of Finance and Economy that dominated the designing and implementing of the reforms, which demonstrates that the introduction and implementation of collaborative governance in South Korea was state led. Comparative implications are drawn from the South Korean case.

Improving public services delivery: Economists’ perspective

Improving public services delivery is one of the central tasks of public administration reforms, which substantiates the high importance of analysing approaches to tackling it. The paper discusses avenues for enhancing the quality of public services delivery in the light of the findings of the latest economic research. Methodologically, the study rests on the principles of public administration. The research methods of content analysis and systematization were applied. The results of the study show that today’s approaches to improving public services do not take into account the important aspects of their production and delivery, which are revealed by the principal-agent model and the concept of search, experience and credence goods that has over half a century of history. The article shows that the empirically established negative consequences of new public management applied in the areas, such as health care and education, are direct consequences of this neglect. We formulate a number of proposals concerning the improvement of public services delivery, namely to consider the type of service, to distinguish between the quality of service and the quality of servicing, and to produce credence goods and high-quality services in non-profit organizations while involving workers oriented towards serving the society.

Identification of Dynamic Capability and Personal Competency to Develop Innovative Performance

The New Public Management Paradigm required the management of public sector organizations to transform by prioritizing the principles of competition, performance, and responsiveness in every bureaucratic behavior so that it could stimulate an increase in organizational performance results to become more effective and efficient. Seeing the demands for public administration reform, of course, the desires and demands of the community for the creation of public sector organizations that had high governance performance was increasing where this indicated the low performance of public sector management as an effort to achieve increased flexibility of public sector organizations in facing global challenges. This study aimed to identify dynamic management capability and personal competency to develop innovative performance. This study used a qualitative approach with a literature study method, a literature study consisting of detailed investigations, data collection of certain period of time, phenomena, and contexts to analyze the context and processes related to the theoretical issues being studied intrinsically from the literature used. This study concluded that there were cognitive dynamic capability and personal competence that must be possessed by public organizations to increase innovative performance in effective governance, namely thinking again, thinking ahead, and thinking across. These three factors encouraged transformational changes in governance that led to the formation of dynamic capabilities of Government/public sector organizations facing global challenges.

The main vectors of reforms in Ukraine and their administrative and legal support

The main directions of reforms in various spheres of state policy of Ukraine with the declaration of its independence are analyzed. The main directions of the Concept of Administrative Reform in Ukraine (1998) and their legal support and their further implementation in the State Administration Reform Strategies of Ukraine for 2016–2020 were and 2022–2025 were considered, attention was drawn to the need to improve legislation and its compliance with modern processes and challenges, which appear before the country. Attention is drawn to the need for a detailed analysis and new views on the continuation of public administration reform, rethinking previous developments and taking into account the fundamental changes that have occurred in recent years regarding the tasks of public administration, which should result in a reorientation of its subjects from direct power and administrative influence to regulatory activities and active public participation. The participation of civil society representatives, international experts, key stakeholders, and legislative changes bring certain positive elements to the further course of reform in Ukraine, which will definitely continue after our victory in the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine and the entire democratic world. Key words: reforms, main vectors of reforms, administrative reform, administrative and legal support, State Administration Reform Strategy.

Cải cách thủ tục hành chính tại Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam hiện nay

In order to clarify the basic issues of administrative procedure reform at the State Bank of Vietnam in the recent years- the period in which the digital transformation has been strongly carried out, the article will analyze the basic theoretical issues of administrative procedure reform and simultaneously point out the difficulties and challenges in practice of this activity. On that basis, the article proposes some recommendations for the State Bank of Vietnam to reform administrative procedures associated with digital transformation to serve people and businesses in this context.

Analysis of the legal regulation of administrative conflict proceedings in European countries for the development of domestic legislation

The work proves that Ukraine’s integration into the European legal space requires a full-scale legal system reform based on the principles and standards formed at the pan-European level. It is extremely necessary to take into account international and European standards when carrying out reforms in public administration in Ukraine, as well as take into account theoretical provisions, doctrines, and positive practical experience of foreign states in the field of administrative conflict proceedings. The administrative-judicial reform announced by the President of Ukraine and the development of the normative framework for the regulation of administrative proceedings is taking place while considering international and European standards of administrative justice aimed at the settlement of conflict proceedings. The analysis of foreign doctrine and legislation in the field of administrative responsibility indicates the absence of a single model of legal regulation of this institution in foreign countries, where in some countries, it is part of criminal legislation, while in others, it is an entirely different sphere of legal regulation. In order to improve conflict legal proceedings, it is expedient to pay more attention to the international experience of regulating administrative proceedings. Despite the different attitudes to administrative and tort legislation in various countries, each country has its own important experience in conducting cases. It is possible to describe the following features of the systematization of legislation on administrative responsibility: some countries are focused on decodification, while others are moving toward adopting a single codified act. Also, quite often, we can observe differences in jurisdictional administrative procedures in foreign countries. However, the implementation of the experience of European countries in conflict proceedings will not only contribute to the improvement of domestic legislation but will also ensure close cooperation with the EU. The author proposes to use the experience of foreign countries regarding the expansion of the range of subjects of proceedings in cases of administrative offenses since, in most countries, legal entities can be brought to administrative responsibility on an equal basis with individuals. In this way, administrative justice would contribute to the strengthening of law and order in the state of Ukraine. Administrative justice is an integral feature of the rule of law state, and its creation is the task of every democratic state. Key words: administrative law, administrative process, administrative proceedings, conflicting administrative proceedings, simplified proceedings, administrative law of foreign countries, administrative law of EU countries, administrative tort law

Empowering local response and community-based disaster mitigation through legislative policies: Lessons from the Kerala floods of 2018-19.

The present paper draws on a series of qualitative studies exploring civic response and community resilience post the 2018-19 floods in Kerala, India. Data were triangulated from multiple sources and -perspectives-community leaders and key informants, rescue and relief volunteers, and survivors. This viewpoint paper aims to highlight the critical role of local volunteerism in disaster mitigation and preparedness, the cost of gaps in emboldening community response, and to suggest actionable means of maximizing civilian potential through legislative policies. The local populace are the first responders at disaster sites and play a vital role in disaster mitigation. Knowledge about local geography, community, and readily accessible resources enables community members to respond efficiently, unlike state deployed disaster task forces who need to be scaffolded into these sites. Liaisons between the state and civilian responders are necessary for informed and time-e-fficient response. Insights gleaned from interviews with the participants offer several suggestions for streamlining administrative channels and structural reforms in governance. Community response can be emboldened by adopting policies that formalize civilian participation in the state's disaster mitigation systems. Decentralization of authority to local self-governance bodies and acknowledgment of local expertise is key to fostering disaster resilient communities. This paper argues that empowering local stakeholders through legislative reforms can bridge existing gaps between community-action focused research recommendations and policy in practice. It provides a framework and actionable measures toward actualizing the call for society-inclusive disaster risk reduction practices.

The law-making process in the Ukrainian lands of the ХVth-XVIIth centuries: institutions and procedures

Legal formation is one of the basic categories of both historical and legal science and legal science in general. The law-making process is a concentrated reflection of legal values, legal interests, legal mentality and mentality, ultimately the sense of right of society. His analysis is important for the reproduction of the historical and legal reality, particularly in the Ukrainian lands of the 15th-17th centuries, when legal practices and strategies were established and the legal canons of Ukrainian society were established. In this connection, the study of the organization of Diets and Diets and their functioning has significant cognitive potential. The purpose of this article is to highlight some features of the law-making process on Ukrainian lands in the relevant period, which manifested itself in the phenomenon of seymikation – participation in Sejms and sejmiks. The appearance of noble self-government bodies was a consequence of the spread of the crown system of administrative-territorial and judicial system to the territory of Ukraine. As a result of the administrative reform carried out on the eve of the Union of Lublin and the division of lands into voivodeships and counties, Ukrainian lands became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as part of 8 voivodeships, with all the rights of the ancient crown voivodships and at the same time with «their own rights». Such «own right» was primarily the Lithuanian Statute of 1566 (Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) or the so-called Volyn statute. It was he who introduced the two-tier system of state organization: the general Sejm – the place of state representation of regional elites at the national level, and the poviat sejmiks – representative bodies of the nobility. Participation in seyms became the main mechanism for the participation of the nobility in the political and legal life of the state. Despite all the specifics of sejmik (vassal-clan dependencies, tycoon lobby, etc.), it can be argued that it, as well as the institutions of the Sejm and sejmiks, ensuring the involvement of a significant nobility and communication between the lord and the nobility, was an effective way of organizing, in particular, rightful life, the main component of which is law-making. Key words: legal formation, Sejm, sejmiks, sejmіkаtion, Lithuanian statute, nobility, crown law, selfgovernment, law.

Exploring service‐providing non‐governmental organization perceptions of shifting civic space in Ghana: Impacts of government and international actors

AbstractCivil society space is constantly shifting, either negatively (e.g., shrinking, narrowing) or positively (e.g., expanding). These shifts are predominantly attributed to actions by central government actors, such as the implementation and enforcement of laws. Emergent work, however, also recognizes that in the context of the Global South, the international community can take actions to shrink or expand civil society space. Recently, Ghana in West Africa—known for its democratic stability—has introduced significant legislative and administrative reforms aimed at regulating the NGO sector. We interview 20 Ghanaian service‐providing NGOs to explore perceived shifts in civil society space and the impacts of these shifts, as well as strategies service‐providing NGOs are employing in response to shifting civic space. Findings identify perceived shifts in civic space caused by international actors and the Ghanaian government, as well as strategies for combating and mitigating shifting space.

Increase Foreign Direct Investment Attraction in Thanh Hoa Province

In recent years, more and more large projects have been invested in Thanh Hoa, showing that the province has made strong changes to improve the business investment environment. The Resolution of the 19th Party Congress of Thanh Hoa province has determined that continuing to promote administrative reform, creating an open and attractive investment environment is one of the three breakthroughs in the 2020-2025 term. , localities in the province are making efforts to implement many specific solutions to improve the business investment environment, focusing on improving governance quality and administrative reform. Thanh Hoa is still the leading locality in the Central region in terms of attracting FDI, but in recent years, Thanh Hoa province is showing signs of slowing down. The article studies the current status of FDI investment in Thanh Hoa province in the period of 2020 - 2022, from which to propose some solutions to increase FDI.

GENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE BANGLADESH CIVIL SERVICE - A REFORM PERSPECTIVE

This paper focuses on the historical context of Civil Service Reform (CSR) in Bangladesh. Specifically, it explores the genesis and development of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) Administration cadre, with reference to different reform programs that have been undertaken since independence. This paper will place an emphasison civil service reform in contextual perspective. In Bangladesh it has been a practice for every new political regime to initiate reform planning through commissions and committees. Nevertheless, most of their recommendations have remained unimplemented for several reasons. As many as 20 committees and commissions on public administration (PA) reform were formed since 1971. International donor agencies have also conducted several inquiries and studies. Both government and donor agency recommendations have called for reforming public sector management, in general, and for reforming different CSR issues, in particular— such as recruitment, training, career management, performance management and retirement. These are the main focal areas in the BCS HRM structure that are within the scope of this paper.

Review of the textbook "Special administrative law" edited by B. Wieser, Y. Lazura, T. Karabin, O. Bilash

For today's Ukraine, in connection with the objective need to continue the transformation of society under the influence of globalization processes and war, the need to continue administrative reform, the harmonization of national legislation with European legislation and other challenges of today, there is a demand to review the subject of legal regulation of administrative law, and in in this context, the use of foreign administrative-legal doctrine acquires special importance. Regarding the scope of this use, the majority of domestic scientists are inclined to the approach according to which the borrowing of foreign experience should be creative, that is, ideas and models should be applied taking into account national characteristics. The content of the special part of administrative law, taking into account the tasks that are entrusted to this part of administrative law among the scientific community, currently differ significantly. This phenomenon arises as a result of the multifaceted and complex nature of administrative law as a science. Representatives of the scientific community have different approaches to understanding the subfields and institutions that form the basis of a special part of administrative law. This may be related to the specifics of legal systems, historical, political or socio-cultural factors affecting the development of this branch of law.

İZOMORFİK DEĞİŞİME HAPSOLMAK MI? KAMERUN'UN TARİHSEL EŞİKLERİNE OLAN PATİKA BAĞIMLILIĞI

Abstract
 This paper makes the case for the causal relation between national historical thresholds, isomorphic change, path dependency and the policy transfer of governance systems in a developing country emerging from a long ‘western domination.’ The study used the isomorphic change to trace back the trajectory of administrative reform in a developing country like Cameroon. The theory of path dependency has provided the needed tools to decipher the hidden dynamics of administrative models loosely adopted through the lenses of the multi-level account of policy transfer. Finally, the systematic analysis of the German protectorate from 1884 to 1916, the France and British mandate and trusteeship from 1916 to 1945 and from 1945 to 1956/57 respectively, laid out the policy transfer’s dynamics and the lock-in frame binding the Cameroonian administrative reform into an atypical furrow of largely ritualistic/ceremonial changes. The said changes are hiding long-lasting conformity to mores of neo-patrimonialism, strategic conformity to international standards and the increasing returns’ outcomes ascribing the country into a path dependent ‘trap’ since. By looking for causal assessment of historical sequences on today’s administrative outcomes in Cameroon, associated with a systematic and contextualised comparison of similar and contrasting cases, this research is conducted from the standpoint of comparative historical analysis. The core finding is that after several decades, Cameroon has adopted trajectories that remain fundamentally disconnected from domestic cultural and anthropological realities, producing hybrid, decoupled systems of governance. The study concludes that the historical cornerstones of Cameroon have promoted and served as fertile ground for the isomorphic reproduction and policy transfer of administrative models from former resident foreign countries (Germany, Great Britain and France).