Government Costs Research Articles

A study on the actual conditions of basic services and maintenance costs of local governments' urban parks and their awareness of reorganization

A study on the actual conditions of basic services and maintenance costs of local governments' urban parks and their awareness of reorganization

An assessment of the governance efficiency of agricultural farms

Despite the fundamental progression of the theory of economic organizations, Farm continues to be studied as a "production function" and its efficiency is assessed with "factors productivity". The report incorporates the New Institutional Economics and adequately defines and assesses the economic efficiency of Bulgarian farms. If inputs supply and marketing transactions of a farm are governed effectively (equal or fewer costs compared to another farm/organization), it is considered to be efficient, and vice versa. First in kind quantitative evaluation of governance efficiency of Bulgarian farms is made on the basis of assessments of managers of typical farms. "Nature of the problems in effective organization for major type farm transactions for securing needed factors of production and output realization" is used as an indicator for the comparative transaction costs. The study has found that the governance efficiency of farms is at a Good level but 60 % of all farms are with a Low efficiency and will likely cease to exist in near future. Major factors for inferior governance efficiency of farms are unsatisfactory efficiency in Supply of Necessary Labour, Innovations and Know-how, and Funding. There is a huge variation in governance efficiency of farms with different specializations as holdings in Field crops, Vegetables, Flowers and Mushrooms, and Mix livestock demonstrate the lowest levels. There is a big discrepancy between the new assessment and the dominating traditional approach to farm efficiency. The suggested framework has to be improved and widely applied in economic analysis at various levels, which require the collection of a novel type of micro-data on farms governance and transaction costs

How can public participation improve environmental governance in China? A policy simulation approach with multi-player evolutionary game

This study explores how public participation can help reshape environmental governance in China. As China is committed to constructing an ecological civilization, a new participatory mechanism has become necessary for promoting environmental democracy. A non-cooperative tripartite evolutionary game is employed to model the dynamic strategy interactions among local governments, polluting enterprises, and the public for participatory governance. A new mechanism design for public participation is proposed to accomplish cooperative evolutionary equilibrium. Simulations show that with adequate support, public monitoring and activism can help release local governments' supervision burden while still being able to reach the desired outcome. Public participation benefits cooperative equilibrium by reducing governance costs and improving policy flexibility, especially when long-term aspirations of reputational effects and environmental tax reform are embraced. Strong support and ensured independence are crucial for unleashing the full power of public participation in environmental governance. From a methodology perspective, policy simulation in an evolutionary game framework represents a novel addition to the research toolbox for policy studies.

The legacy of the reformasi: the role of local government spending on industrial development in a decentralized Indonesia

Starting in 2001 the Government of Indonesia employed the Regional Autonomy Law, providing larger fiscal role to the province and district governments. However, our understanding of its impacts on development in Indonesia is still limited. This paper seeks to find the relationship between increasing local governments’ capital expenditure and industrial development with focus in the non-oil and gas sector. Capital spending is thought to have moderation effect on investment, the main channel for industrialization, that should contribute to industrial growth. Our System GMM results suggest that there are positive and significant correlations between capital spending and industrial growth, presenting evidence of local governments’ role. However, we fail to find significant moderation effect between local capital spending and industrial investment towards the sector’s growth. This poses problem for industrialization at the local level. Decentralization progress in Indonesia has been institutionally anchored by the central government, particularly with the introduction of concurrent affairs in 2004 that allowed Jakarta to take a major developmental role in districts and provinces at the cost of lesser local governments’ role. Our study proposes a new institutional model that promote better central–local collaboration.

A taxonomy of back-shoring initiatives in the US

The study develops an empirical taxonomy of manufacturing back-shoring initiatives to the US, based on the drivers the location decision. Results identify six patterns of back-shoring, which highlight the importance of concurrently considering different theoretical lenses to interpret the phenomenon. Back-shoring initiatives are significantly driven by non-price related costs, which include the costs of governance. Institutional pressures coming from customers demanding country-of-origin branding and from political bodies are also important drivers, while the exploitation of distinctive resources that allow firms to compete in high-segment markets is less relevant. The study also highlights that back-shoring patterns are significantly related to within-border location advantages, such as state-level median wages, productivity, and innovation capacity.

Manajemen Laba, Tata Kelola Perusahaan, Persaingan Pasar Produk Terhadap Perilaku Sticky Cost Di Moderasi Kebijakan Insentif Pajak

Abstract This purpose of this study was to determine the effect of earnings management, corporate governance, product market competition on sticky cost behavior by tax incentive policies. This research method uses a quantitative approach. The data collection technique is secondary data of annual financial reports on retail sub-sector companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for 2016-2020 a total of 28 companies. The samples were determined using purposive sampling. The data analysis method uses moderated regression analysis (MRA). The results of the study are earnings management, corporate governance have a positive and significant effect on sticky cost, and The tax incentive policy is able to moderate the relationship between corporate governance and sticky cost behavior. In this study, it helps to understand the cost behavior of retail sector companies, so it is expected that company management can more accurately estimate the value of the company in the future. The next research is expected to use a qualitative approach to expand studies related to research linking sticky cost behavior.

REDD+: analysis of its components through a systematic review of scientific literature from Brazil and Indonesia

REDD+ is a payments mechanism through environmental services that proposes the reduction of greenhouse gas emission caused by change in use of tropical forest lands. The present study aimed to identify the REDD+ dimensions in tropical forests in the world, approaching a broader discussion about themes by focusing on Brazil and Indonesia. A systematic review of scientific literature relating to Brazil and Indonesia was used as an analysis method. A total of 102 scientific articles with themes related to REDD+ development were selected. Through analysis of the selected articles, REDD+ dimensions with frequent mentions in the scientific literature were identified, such as governance, implementation, beneficiaries, land use, monitoring, biodiversity, financing, forest management, deforestation, conservation, safeguard, and opportunity cost. The analysis identified the existence of political barriers the implementation of REDD+ and recommends dialogue in order to maintain the balance of beneficiaries and the environment. Both beneficiary countries and payers should invest in longer-term and more efficient REDD+ practices, such as long-term programs and more defined criteria for project evaluation.

Green merger and acquisition and export expansion: Evidence from China's polluting enterprises

Under the influence of international green trade barriers, export scale of China's heavily polluting enterprises is reduced. How to improve the export vitality and corporate image of polluting enterprises? Different from the existing studies, this paper focuses on green merger and acquisition (green M&A) of polluting enterprises which can quickly obtain clean enterprise resources, and compares the impact of different green M&A modes on export performance and export margin by refining the frequency, scale and geographical characteristics of green M&A. First, based on propensity score matching - double difference (PSM-DID) method, this paper finds that green M&A can increase export performance. The frequency and scale of green M&A are positively correlated with export performance. Geographic distance of green M&A enterprises is negatively correlated with export performance. Second, green M&A can increase export performance by promoting green innovation, government subsidies and bank financing capacity, and reduce export performance by increasing environmental governance costs. Third, by comparing different green M&A, this paper finds that horizontal green M&A can increase more exports than vertical green M&A. Forth, further compare the impact of green M&A on export binary margin, it is found that green M&A can promote export-expansion margin and has a U-shaped relationship on export-intensive margin. The conclusion is of great significance to improve export performance of polluting enterprises, and provides an empirical basis for adjusting green M&A strategy.

Social Network, Cognition and Participation in Rural Health Governance.

Rural health governance is an important part of low-carbon green life, which is also related to the sustainable development and population health project in rural areas. Based on the survey data of 2343 rural residents in China, this study adopted a binary logistic regression model to explore the effects of rural residents’ social network and cognition on their participation in rural health governance. The research results show that only less than 30% of the respondents participated in rural health governance, and the proportion of rural resident participating is not high. Both their social network and cognition have a significant impact on their participation in rural health governance. Introverted communication helps strengthen the connection between rural residents, form the network and structure of rural social communication, build emotional links and common interests, and form a common cultural understanding paradigm and action framework. The extraverted communication means that rural residents gradually break away from the social network of acquaintances, which is not conducive to building a rural community. Rural residents’ understanding of behavior begins to deviate from rural culture, customs and emotional values, and the binding force of traditional culture is reduced, making it difficult to motivate them to participate in rural public life. Policy cognition can improve rural residents’ recognition of the value and significance of health governance. Responsibility awareness is the internal driving force for rural residents to participate in health governance, which can also reduce the governance cost of rural managers. Based on this, increasing rural residents’ introverted communication and cultivating their sense of responsibility are key to promoting their participation in rural health governance.

Fiscal Behaviour of Subnational Governments in Nigeria: An Augmented Autoregressive Distributed LAG (ARDL) Approach

Purpose: The paper examined the determinants of fiscal behavior of subnational governments in Nigeria between 1981 and 2020. Approach/Methodology/Design: An Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds test for cointegration which involves an extra F-test on the lagged level variables in the ARDL equation was employed. Findings: The results reveal that finances of the lower level of governments in Nigeria have not been managed optimally as there appeared a misplaced priority in terms of government outlay. Practical Implications: The implication presented in this paper is meant for the concerned authorities. The results indicate the need for the subnational governments in Nigeria to cut the overhead costs of governance by reducing the frivolous expenditures in order to curtail the incessant borrowing habit of these tiers of government locally and internationally. Originality/value: Despite the fact that factors determining subnational fiscal behavior have been approached from diverse ideological and methodological perspectives, yet, the challenges linger on, the paper, therefore, employed sophisticated econometric technique to examine why the finances of the lower level of governments in Nigeria have not been managed optimally.

Game Analysis of the Evolution of Local Government's River Chief System Implementation Strategy.

As the executor of the River Chief System (RCS), local governments’ choice of implementation strategies directly affects the quality of regional water environment. The implementation of the RCS involves many interest subjects, and has gradually formed a game between enterprises’ sewage management and local governments’ RCS implementation strategies, and a game between the RCS implementation strategies of different local governments. The game behavior between the interested parties is long-term and dynamic in nature. Strategies such as reducing the cost of local governments’ implementation of the RCS and increasing the rate of sewage charges will lead to the evolution of the strategy set between enterprises’ treatment of sewage and local governments’ RCS implementation in the direction of {complete treatment of sewage, strictly enforcing the RCS}. Analysis of the evolutionary game model between the local governments reveals that strategies such as reducing the weight of economic indicators in local governments’ assessment, and increasing the material and spiritual rewards for implementing the RCS, will lead to the evolutionary game outcome of implementing the RCS between the local governments in the direction of {strictly enforcing the RCS, strictly enforcing the RCS}. The external effects of sewage discharge do not affect the evolution of the game system between the local governments.

Optimal bond issuance with cost and liquidity constraints for Chinese local governments: a multi-period stochastic programming approach.

In recent years, China’s local governments have issued numerous bonds to support the country’s economic development. However, as total debt accumulates, the pressure on debt repayments is gradually increasing. To increase the sustainability of local government debt, we propose a multi-period stochastic optimization-based approach to determining the portfolio composition of issued bonds, with the goal of minimizing the expected cost under the constraints of liquidity risk and cost deviation risk. Liquidity risk is measured by conditional payment-at-risk (CPaR), and cost deviation risk is measured by conditional value-at-risk (CVaR). By bounding CVaR and CPaR, local governments can control the levels of cost deviation risk and liquidity risk. To alleviate future liquidity risk, which is caused by the issuance of a large number of long-term bonds to deliberately reduce repayment pressure within a debt planning horizon, we consider an extended liquidity planning horizon to manage both current and future liquidity risk. Based on this, we analyze the efficient frontier and portfolio compositions of issued bond under the constraints of different CVaR and CPaR levels. Compared with actual Chinese local government bond portfolios, the efficient frontier performs better for different issuance strategies.

A Cost Allocation Decision Model for Air Pollution Control.

Air pollution control as the background of a cost allocation method is based on the Shapley value to determine the core stakeholder, so fair pollution control projects and the establishment of the atmospheric pollution of governance cost allocation model are put forward for the solution of air pollution coordinated by the government supervision and the atmospheric pollution control collaborative group. The results show that the cost allocation model of air pollution control based on Shapley value is more reasonable, and the cost of stakeholders is reduced to a certain extent, and the risk of the participants is reduced so that it maximizes social benefits.

The role of e-Government in overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria

Abstract: Purpose: The article aims at identifying the challenges of e-government amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria and proffered recommendations to arrest the identified challenges. This paper also examined e-Governance in selected countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada and how it has fared including Nigeria revealing its implications for Nigeria as a developing nation. Research Methodology: The article adopts a review study approach in analyzing the subject. Results: Some of the challenges identified by the study include but are not limited to inadequate technical know-how and ICT skills to drive and sustain e-government. Recommendations from the study include, the Ministry of Communications Technology and Digital Economy to build a backbone that will connect all States of the country and the upskilling of the workforce through the Ministry of Labour and Employment amongst others. Limitations: Insufficient quantitative data based on the subject under discourse Contributions: Identified possible areas that the Nigerian government could look into to improve e-government in order to promote inclusivity, awareness, and most importantly reduce the cost of governance. Keywords: 1. COVID-19 2. Digital Solutions 3. e-Governance 4. ICT

Interest groups, local politics, and police unions

Police unions raise issues of great importance for political scientists. Yet, the field has neglected them. This essay argues that political scientists should see police unions as important interest groups, empowered by state collective bargaining laws, that are important players in local politics and shapers of the criminal justice system in America. The organizational properties that make police unions important interest groups are described. The important political questions that arise once we consider police union as interest groups are examined. The existing research on police unions—especially their impact on government costs and police behavior—is detailed. Ultimately, the study of collective bargaining in law enforcement and police union political activity in local politics has been overlooked because it lies at the intersection of three different streams of scholarly research—interest groups, local politics, and policing.

The interest premium for left government: Regression‐discontinuity estimates

AbstractThis paper employs a regression‐discontinuity design (RDD) to ascertain the effects of left government on the interest‐rate premium that markets build into government‐bond prices. One advantage of this approach is that RDD does not require, as have some previously employed strategies, strong assumptions about how market actors form political expectations, about the quality and dissemination of political information, or about functional forms or explanatory‐variable selection. We expand from previous RDD studies in exploring effect heterogeneity, namely, whether particular political‐economic conditions produce larger or smaller interest costs of left government. Our findings suggest no or very small and insignificant partisan‐government effects except under specific circumstances: sharp governing alternatives (low fragmentation and high polarization), in certain eras (around the 1950s–1970s), and for a short term (about 1 year). Under these conditions of stark differences between alternative left/right governments and relatively great domestic policy autonomy, however, there is a statistically discernible and substantively notable government‐bond yield increase after left parties enter government following close elections.

Reducing the Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia: WHO Recommendations.

With population ageing worldwide, dementia poses one of the greatest global challenges for health and social care in the 21st century. In 2019, around 55 million people were affected by dementia, with the majority living in low- and middle-income countries. Dementia leads to increased costs for governments, communities, families and individuals. Dementia is overwhelming for the family and caregivers of the person with dementia, who are the cornerstone of care and support systems throughout the world. To assist countries in addressing the global burden of dementia, the World Health Organisation (WHO) developed the Global Action Plan on the Public Health Response to Dementia 2017–2025. It proposes actions to be taken by governments, civil society, and other global and regional partners across seven action areas, one of which is dementia risk reduction. This paper is based on WHO Guidelines on risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia and presents recommendations on evidence-based, multisectoral interventions for reducing dementia risks, considerations for their implementation and policy actions. These global evidence-informed recommendations were developed by WHO, following a rigorous guideline development methodology and involved a panel of academicians and clinicians with multidisciplinary expertise and representing geographical diversity. The recommendations are considered under three broad headings: lifestyle and behaviour interventions, interventions for physical health conditions and specific interventions. By supporting health and social care professionals, particularly by improving their capacity to provide gender and culturally appropriate interventions to the general population, the risk of developing dementia can be potentially reduced, or its progression delayed.

Performance Evaluation of Watershed Environment Governance—A Case Study of Taihu Basin

The rapid development of urbanization and industrialization brings a series of problems of environment governance, and several basins are facing huge pressure. This paper selects the Taihu basin in the Yangtze River Delta of China as the study area, establishes the DPSIR model to measure the water environment governance performance of the region (Cj), analyzes the causes of changes in the five subsystems (the governance performance of the subsystems is recorded as C1j,C2j,C3j,C4j,C5j), and uses the diagnostic model to identify the barrier factors that restrict the improvement of Cj in the last 5 years. The results show that during the study period, C1j of the driving force subsystem generally tends to increase and maintains a steady growth, which is closely linked to economic growth in the basin; C2j of the pressure subsystem increases with a small fluctuation, and the pollution generation still needs attention; in the state subsystem, C3j shows a large fluctuation, and varies significantly in a cyclical manner, corresponding to the short maintenance time and repeated treatment of pollution in the watershed; C4j of the impact subsystem shows an overall upward but a slightly slower trend, and it is related to the fact that the industrial structure of the basin still needs to be improved; and C5j of the response subsystem shows an overall upward trend and a slightly larger increase, and the multi-actor collaborative management has helped a lot. The main barrier factors include key cross-sections’ water quality compliance rate, the water quality compliance rate of key water function areas, water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value, and the lake trophic status index. Based on the results of the study, the article gives recommendations for watershed governance, such as controlling pollution generation, optimising industrial structure, using technological tools to help governance, sharing the cost of governance among multiple parties and strengthening supervision The findings help to make scientific environmental protection planning and policies of the study region. The research can also provide experience for other countries and regions in watershed governance.

Community support for policy interventions targeting unhealthy food environments in public institutions.

Understanding community support for obesity prevention policy is important for developing effective preventive health action. This study assessed support for a range of obesity prevention interventions, including food environment policies designed to improve healthy food and drink availability and promotion within public institutions. An online cross-sectional survey was completed by 2006 NSW adults. Questions explored attitudes and beliefs about obesity, the importance of government-led prevention and support for eight obesity prevention interventions. Regression analyses examined associations between intervention support and sociodemographic, attitudinal and behavioural characteristics. Most respondents (80%) believed obesity was a large problem and that poor individual choices (86%) and the widespread availability of unhealthy food and drink (78%) contributed to the issue. There was moderate to high support for most (n=7) initiatives. Support for food environment policies was highest for schools (76%-82%) and hospitals (67%-79%). Supporters and opponents rationalised opinions based on perceived effectiveness, the government's role and cost benefits. Opponents were a minority, but principles of autonomy were predominant. Attributing obesity to environment-related factors, and personal lower SSB consumption strongly predicted support. There is a significant recognition of the obesity issue and strong support for policies designed to improve the availability and promotion of healthy food and drink in public institutions, particularly in schools and hospitals. SO WHAT?: Substantial community support for healthy food environment policies in schools and hospitals warrants continued implementation in NSW. This may foster further acceptance for wider implementation. Our findings could inform the framing of policy advocacy messages.

Epidemiological Analysis of 12 Years of Open Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair in the Brazilian Public Health System.

Although endovascular correction is a promising perspective, the gold-standard treatment for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurisms and type-B dissections with visceral involvement remains open surgery, particularly due to its well-established long-term durability. This study aims to describe and evaluate public data from patients treated for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurism in the Brazilian public health system in a 12-year interval. Data from procedures performed between 2008 and 2019 were extracted from the national public database (Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde, or DATASUS) using web scraping techniques. Procedures were evaluated regarding the yearly frequency of elective or urgency surgeries, in-hospital mortality, and governmental costs. All tests were done with a level of significance P<0.05. A total of 812 procedures were analyzed. Of all surgeries, 67.98% were elective cases. There were 328 in-hospital deaths (mortality of 40.39%). In-hospital mortality was lower in elective procedures (26.92%) than in urgency procedures (46.74%) (P=0.008). Total governmental expenditure was $3.127.051,56 - an average of $3.774,22 for elective surgery and $3.791,93 for emergency surgery (P=0.999). The proportion of urgency procedures is higher than that recommended by international literature. Mortality was higher for urgent admissions, although governmental costs were equal for elective and urgent procedures; specialized referral centers should be considered by health policy makers.