Discretionary Decisions Research Articles

Artificial Intelligence and Administrative Discretion: Exploring Adaptations and Boundaries

Abstract This paper explores the necessary adaptations to the theory of administrative discretion when using AI systems. Regulatory frameworks in the EU, US, and Spain do not prohibit the application of AI in discretionary decision-making. Particularly, AI systems can be used when discretionary power involves correlations. However, to meet Rule of Law conditions, it is essential to establish adaptations and boundaries in areas such as duty of care, reason-giving, and judicial review. These conditions should focus on the impact of decisions on the affected individuals.

Law Enforcement of Police Discretion to Resolve Traffic Accidents at the Investigation Level

Traffic accidents are one of the serious problems that are often faced in the context of law enforcement, especially in countries with high traffic density such as Indonesia. This study aims to evaluate how discretionary decisions taken by police investigators can affect the case settlement process, taking into account aspects of justice and public interest. The study utilized policy documents as the primary data source, focusing on analyzing these documents through a systematic document analysis and content analysis approach. The document analysis technique will help in organizing and summarizing these documents to identify relevant information and protocols regarding the application of discretion. The content analysis will then be employed to examine the specifics of how discretion is framed and regulated within these policies, revealing the underlying principles and standards guiding police decision-making in traffic accident cases. This research would contribute to refining policies and practices related to police discretion, ensuring they effectively balance flexibility with adherence to legal and ethical standards.

Impact of being taken into out-of-home care: a longitudinal cohort study of First Nations and other child welfare agencies in Manitoba, Canada

Across Canada, Child Protection Services (CPS) disrupt Indigenous families by apprehending their children at alarmingly high rates. The harms borne by children in out-of-home care (OoHC) have been extensively documented. We examined the impact of OoHC on Manitoba children's health and legal system outcomes to provide rigorous evidence on how discretionary decision-making by CPS agencies can affect these outcomes. In partnership with First Nations researchers, we used linked administrative data to identify Manitoba children (born 2007-2018) served by First Nations and other Manitoba CPS agencies. We compared those taken into OoHC (n=19,324) with those never in care but with an open CPS file due to child protection concerns (n=27,290). We used instrumental variable analysis (CPS agency rates of OoHC as the instrument) to obtain odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals adjusted for child, maternal, and family factors. Mean age (yrs±standard deviation) at first CPS contact for children taken into OoHC was 2.8±3.7 (First Nations) and 3.0±3.8 (other), and for children never in care was 4.5±4.5 (First Nations) and 5.1±4.7 (other). Among children served by a First Nations agency, males made up 50.6% (n=5496) in OoHC and 51.0% (n=6579) never in care. Among children served by other agencies, males made up 51.0% (n=4324) in OoHC and 51.0% (n=7428) never in care. Odds of teen pregnancy (First Nations aOR 3.69, 1.40-9.77; other aOR 5.10, 1.83-14.25), teen birth (First Nations aOR 3.23, 1.10-9.49; other aOR 5.06, 1.70-15.03), and sexually transmitted infections (other aOR 7.21, 3.63-14.32) were higher for children in care than children never in care, as were odds of being accused (other aOR 2.71, 1.27-5.75), a victim (other aOR 1.68, 1.10-2.56), charged with a crime (other aOR 2.68, 1.21-5.96), or incarcerated (First Nations aOR 3.64, 1.95-6.80; other aOR 1.19, 1.19-8.04). Being in OoHC worsened children's health and legal system outcomes. The importance of reducing the number of children taken into care was emphasized in briefings to provincial and First Nations governments. The government response will be monitored. Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (no. 890-2018-0029).

Unpacking platform governance through meaningful human agency: How Chinese moderators make discretionary decisions in a dynamic network

Unpacking platform governance through meaningful human agency: How Chinese moderators make discretionary decisions in a dynamic network

Performance of Law Enforcement Officials in the Application of Article 33 of Law No. 11 of 2012 in the Vina Cirebon Case

This study examines the performance of law enforcement officials in applying Article 33 of Law No. 11 of 2012 within the context of the Vina Cirebon case. Utilizing a qualitative approach, the research employs juridical normative analysis to explore the effectiveness and challenges faced by officials in enforcing the law. The findings reveal varying levels of understanding and awareness of Article 33 among law enforcement officials, impacting the consistency and effectiveness of its application. Key challenges identified include insufficient training and resources, discretionary decision-making, and difficulties in victim participation. Despite the potential benefits of diversionary measures, inconsistencies in their application and a lack of follow-up mechanisms hindered their effectiveness. The study concludes with recommendations for enhancing training programs, standardizing procedures, improving victim engagement, and increasing resources to support the successful implementation of diversion measures. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the practical implications of legal provisions and offers recommendations for strengthening the juvenile justice system in Indonesia.

The Effect of Bottom-Up Approach in Development Planning on Regional Economic Development in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

Development planning is a continuous process, including the discretion of decision-makers based on resource availability managed systematically. The combination of bottom-up approach and this process is becoming mainstream in Indonesia to promote the achievement of outcomes. Therefore, this research aims to determine the influence of development planning with bottom-up approach on economic development in North Sumatra region. The data analysis used is multiple linear regression with a backward approach to identify factors, influencing regional economic development. A total of 6 endogenous variables are used for aspects of regional economic development and the implementation of the approach. The results show that there are only four exogenous variables with significant influence on regional economic development, namely Village Development Planning Conference (Musrenbang), Regency/City Musrenbang, Provincial Musrenbang, and Community Aspiration Channel. These four forms of bottom-up approach should be intensified to increase the effectiveness of regional development. Meanwhile, additional variables necessitate thorough evaluation and integration into the model to enhance effectiveness and make substantive contributions to regional economic development.

Discretionary Decisions in Public Administration Based on Machine Analytics: Challenges and Risks

The article is devoted to the problems and risks of machine analytics and other digital technological resources in making managerial decisions in public administration. The author raises the difficult question of the fact that against the background of loud victory speeches about mass measures of digital transformation in public administration, some timid and sensible voices have been lost, asking: can everything be perfect and without flaws? No technological nodes and solutions today work with 100 per cent reliability. The same is true of human organisations. No one and nothing is perfect. Therefore, defects, dysfunctions, imbalances, and errors in public administration have been in the past, are now, and will be in the future. The problem is that digital technologies, while helping to combat some of these defects, dysfunctions, imbalances, and errors in public administration, drive other defects, imbalances, and errors in public administration very deeply into the ground and create third ones. And we have not yet learnt how to diagnose all this. The article gives some eloquent examples of great harm caused by failures of machine analytics to support public administration decision-making. The author shows typical problems of digitalisation in public administration, but concludes that these problems are solvable.

Juridical Analysis of Legal Protection On Charges Due To Discretionary Authority For Regional Officials

This article reviews the roles and responsibilities of local officials in the use of discretionary powers and the legal repercussions that may arise from their decisions. Through a juridical approach, it investigates the legal protections available to local officials when they face indictments or lawsuits as a result of their discretionary actions. Taking into account the existing legal framework, this article analyzes various factors that may influence whether local officials will be held legally responsible for their discretionary decisions, including ethical, public policy and fairness considerations. In addition, it explores the legal safeguards that local officials can take, including enforceability of laws, liability insurance, and dispute resolution mechanisms. As such, this article aims to provide a better understanding of the complexities of legal protection for local officials in the context of the use of discretionary authority. The results showed that legal protection for regional officials related to the use of discretionary authority can be seen from various aspects, including the principle of legality, the principle of legal certainty and accountability. The juridical analysis of legal protection against charges due to discretionary authority for regional officials shows the importance of a deep understanding of the limits and responsibilities attached to the use of such authority. By paying attention to aspects of legality, legal certainty, and accountability, it is hoped that legal protection for regional officials can be guaranteed in the context of the use of discretionary authority.

Data Discretion: Screen-Level Bureaucrats and Municipal Decision-Making

Public servants tasked with implementing rules or policies on the street level often make discretionary decisions based on local context. Lipsky has labeled them street-level bureaucrats. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as most face-to-face interactions facilitated by local government moved online, many street-level decisions were moved to screens, representing the actions of whom Bouvins and Zouridis refer to as screen-level bureaucrats. Discretionary decision making among public servants continued, but much of it centered on the collection, analysis, and use of data. This article reports on research conducted in 2021 with municipal employees in a large northeastern city in the United States, and examines their changing relationship with data in determining how and to whom they deliver services. In the context of a public health crisis, public servants exercised “data discretion” to rapidly alter services and to internally advocate for underserved populations. The specific practices of discretionary decision making are explored through candid interviews with public servants. The discussion explores how these emergent practices might persist post crisis, how discretion is counterintuitively used to build trust in government, and how data discretion is not limited only to the progressive values manifested in the example of a northeastern city.

Thoughts on and Proposal for the Education, Training, and Recruitment of Infectious Disease Specialists.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has underscored the significance of establishing and sustaining a practical and efficient infection control system for the benefit and welfare of society. Infectious disease (ID) specialists are expected to take on leadership roles in enhancing organizational infrastructures for infection prevention and control (IPC) at the hospital, community, and national levels. However, due to an absolute shortage and an uneven distribution, many core hospitals currently lack the ID specialists. Given the escalating global risk of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases as well as antimicrobial resistance pathogens, the education and training of ID specialists constitutes an imperative concern. As demonstrated by historical changes in the healthcare reimbursement system, the establishment and enhancement of IPC measures is pivotal to ensuring medical safety. The existing structure of academic society-driven certification and training initiatives for ID specialists, contingent upon the discretionary decisions of individual physicians, possesses both quantitative and qualitative shortcomings. In this article, I first address the present situations and challenges related to ID specialists and then introduce my idea of securing ID specialists based on the new concepts and platforms; (i) ID Specialists as National Credentials, (ii) Establishment of the Department of Infectious Diseases in Medical and Graduate Schools, (iii) Endowed ID Educative Courses Funded by Local Government and Pharmaceutical Companies, and (iv) Recruitment of Young Physicians Engaged in Healthcare Services in Remote Areas. As clarified by the COVID-19 pandemic, ID specialists play a crucial role in safeguarding public health. Hopefully, this article will advance the discussion and organizational reform for the education and training of ID specialists.

Foreign investments of Japanese life insurance companies

We investigate Japanese life insurance companies’ investment returns or volatilities and their discretionary decisions on foreign portfolio investments. These decisions include the proportion of foreign investments in the companies’ proprietary investments and the currency risk hedge. We consider the “carry trade” scenario when the market favors investing in high-yield currencies by borrowing the Japanese yen. We establish three results. First, the currency hedge relates positively to the investment returns under the carry trade scenario but negatively otherwise. Second, the proportion of foreign investments relates positively to the investment returns. Third, the investment returns significantly decrease under the carry trade scenario.

County Sheriffs and Immigration and Customs Enforcement: The Will of the People or a Lack of Accountability?

County sheriffs hold a great deal of discretionary power at the county level; however, little is known about the decision-making of sheriffs. One key role they hold is overseeing county jails. In this role, county sheriffs choose how often to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when they make a detainer request of the county. This study investigates the factors influencing sheriffs’ decision making, specifically whether sheriffs make discretionary decisions based on the will of the people. Using ICE data about cooperation with county jails, and Cooperative Congregational Election Study (CCES) data, we assess if sheriff cooperation with ICE is politically motivated, in congruence with preferences of the voters countywide, or are other factors potentially influencing sheriffs. We find that sheriffs’ decision to cooperate with ICE is influenced by the demographics and economy of their county rather than their own political affiliation or their county’s ideological stance on immigration.

Framing and prosecutorial discretion: evidence from Brazil

AbstractPrior studies in the United States argue that the discretionary decisions of federal prosecutors regarding which issues to prioritize are shaped by the politicians who appoint them, while studies on state prosecutors emphasize the role of press coverage and public opinion. However, these studies leave untheorized whether prosecutors’ discretionary decisions are also affected by how their peers frame issues within and beyond prosecution offices. Building on the scholarship of collective action frames, this study develops a framework to explain how prosecutors’ framing work affects their colleagues’ decisions about which issues to focus on. I draw on the case of Brazil, where federal prosecutors focused on crime-fighting and human rights, but in the mid-2010s switched focus to corruption following a large-scale investigation called Lava Jato. I compare Lava Jato with two similarly large investigations that failed to transform corruption into the dominant issue within the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Drawing on 131 original interviews, I show how federal prosecutors’ framing work can persuade their colleagues to focus on the same issue through two stages: (1) conceptualization of versatile frames that speak to problems a variety of issues prosecutors care about and (2) diffusion of frames through professional meetings – providing roadmaps for how other prosecutors can implement the new frame – and to the press, increasing public attention.

Investigating the impact of employee empowerment and autonomy on job satisfaction and organizational commitment Shubhangi Roy

The potential of employee empowerment and autonomy to improve job satisfaction and organizational commitment has drawn attention from scholars and practitioners alike, leading to a focus on these topics in current organizational management literature. To methodically investigate the relationship between employee empowerment, autonomy, work happiness, and organizational commitment, this meta-analysis synthesizes findings from previous empirical investigations. This study aims to offer insights into the degree to which giving employees autonomy and empowerment affects their job satisfaction and commitment to the company through an extensive analysis of pertinent literature.The meta-analysis incorporates a broad spectrum of research that spans different industries, organizational sizes, and geographic regions. With the use of rigorous statistical methods such as moderator analyses and effect size calculations, this study seeks to clarify the complex dynamics that underlie the relationship between work satisfaction, employee autonomy, empowerment, and organizational commitment. To further understand their influence on the observed connections, potential modifiers including personality differences, leadership styles, and corporate culture will be investigated. It is anticipated that the results of this meta-analysis will have significant ramifications for theory and practice. This research aims to provide a thorough knowledge of the mechanisms via which employee autonomy and empowerment affect work satisfaction and organizational commitment by synthesizing empirical evidence from several studies. These perceptions have the potential to promote employee well-being and organizational effectiveness by informing management strategies and policies that strive to develop a more dedicated and engaged workforce. The results indicate that a substantial correlation exists between increased levels of job satisfaction and organizational commitment and employee empowerment, which is defined as the transfer of authority, discretion in decision-making, and access to resources. Similarly, autonomy—that is, giving workers the freedom and flexibility to carry out duties and make decisions—correlates favourably with organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Moreover, the examination pinpoints mediating factors including job engagement, psychological empowerment, and perceived control that elucidate the connections between employee outcomes, autonomy, and empowerment. The significance of cultivating a culture of trust, communication, and support for employee empowerment initiatives is one of the implications for organizational practice. Supervisors must acknowledge the significance of autonomy in augmenting worker motivation, contentment, and dedication, while simultaneously taking into account the situational elements that impact the efficacy of employee empowerment tactics. upcoming

Discretionary Trees: Understanding Street-Level Bureaucracy via Machine Learning

Street-level bureaucrats interact directly with people on behalf of government agencies to perform a wide range of functions, including, for example, administering social services and policing. A key feature of street-level bureaucracy is that the civil servants, while tasked with implementing agency policy, are also granted significant discretion in how they choose to apply that policy in individual cases. Using that discretion could be beneficial, as it allows for exceptions to policies based on human interactions and evaluations, but it could also allow biases and inequities to seep into important domains of societal resource allocation. In this paper, we use machine learning techniques to understand street-level bureaucrats' behavior. We leverage a rich dataset that combines demographic and other information on households with information on which homelessness interventions they were assigned during a period when assignments were not formulaic. We find that caseworker decisions in this time are highly predictable overall, and some, but not all of this predictivity can be captured by simple decision rules. We theorize that the decisions not captured by the simple decision rules can be considered applications of caseworker discretion. These discretionary decisions are far from random in both the characteristics of such households and in terms of the outcomes of the decisions. Caseworkers typically only apply discretion to households that would be considered less vulnerable. When they do apply discretion to assign households to more intensive interventions, the marginal benefits to those households are significantly higher than would be expected if the households were chosen at random; there is no similar reduction in marginal benefit to households that are discretionarily allocated less intensive interventions, suggesting that caseworkers are using their knowledge and experience to improve outcomes for households experiencing homelessness.

Presentation of Budgetary Balance as an Argument Justifying Granting Tax Payment Relief: Scope of Control of Discretionary Decisions by an Administrative Court

The author analyzes a ruling of the Voivodship Administrative Court in Lublin concerning the application of Article 67a of the Tax Ordinance. The judgment in question raises the issue of the extent to which an administrative court can review the actions of a tax authority when exercising administrative discretion. The author agrees with the court in Lublin that the authority’s decision in this regard should consider criteria that align with the recognized constitutional values in tax collection. In this regard, one hopes that the court’s ruling will be the prevailing line of jurisprudence that will significantly improve the taxpayer’s procedural position within the framework of the procedure for granting tax payment relief. Furthermore, the author examines the practical implications of arguments related to the preservation of budgetary balance for both the municipality (which applied for relief from the payment of a tax liability) and the State Treasury. In this respect, the author’s basic thesis is that the argument of the preservation of budgetary balance should be taken into account when reviewing the legality of the tax authority’s decision at hand. However, this cannot be an argument that once provided will exclude the possibility of granting of tax payment relief in every instance.

Into the Unknown: Conceptualizing the Experience of Uncertainty in Citizen–State Interactions

Abstract It is often argued that uncertainty is an inherent characteristic of citizen–state interactions. It is therefore hardly surprising that many scholars of street-level bureaucracy have studied how frontline workers cope with and make discretionary decisions under uncertain conditions. However, citizens’ experiences of uncertainty have received limited attention in the street-level bureaucracy literature. This article argues that understanding citizens’ experiences of uncertainty is highly relevant because experiences of uncertainty are likely to affect mental well-being of individuals negatively. The article seeks to address this gap by building a conceptual framework for understanding and analyzing citizens’ experiences with uncertainty in state–citizen interactions based on theoretical insights from the existing literature and in-depth qualitative analysis of 20 narrative interviews with former coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and their relatives concerning their encounter with health authorities. The article proposes a conceptual framework that distinguishes between epistemic uncertainty and moral uncertainty. Epistemic uncertainty concerns uncertainty about empirical facts or knowledge. Moral uncertainty concerns uncertainty about values due to conflicting or competing norms and values. The article illustrates how these forms of uncertainty may arise before, during, and after citizens’ interaction with frontline workers.

Do you have a choice?: Implications for belief updating and the disposition effect

The present paper evaluates the importance of belief updating for the prevalence of the disposition effect – the reluctance to sell assets at losses as compared to gains. In particular, the present paper studies whether restricting choices in investment risk taking decisions motivates different learning from the decision outcomes and whether such differences in learning cause differences in the emergence of the disposition effect. The results show that investors learn from negative outcomes more like Bayesians if their risk-taking decisions are restricted. Causal mediation analysis reveals that such differences in learning increases the probability to sell after losses, which improves the overall investment performance. Compared to gains, the differences in learning after losses explain also why investors making active risk-taking choices are less likely to sell after losses as compared to gains, while the effect is reversed when choices are restricted. These findings suggest that restricting the discretion in decisions influences the way investors learn from decision outcomes and these differences in learning can explain puzzling differences in the risk-taking behavior of individual investors.

"I don´t put people into boxes, but…" A free-listing exercise exploring social categorisation of asylum seekers by professionals in two German reception centres.

Newly arriving asylum seekers in Germany mostly live in large reception centres, depending on professionals in most aspects of their daily lives. The legal basis for the provision of goods and services allows for discretionary decisions. Given the potential impact of social categorisation on professionals' decisions, and ultimately access to health and social services, we explore the categories used by professionals. We ask of what nature these categorisations are, and weather they align with the public discourse on forced migration. Within an ethnographic study in outpatient clinics of two refugee accommodation centres in Germany, we conducted a modified free-listing with 40 professionals (physicians, nurses, security-personnel, social workers, translators) to explore their categorisation of asylum seekers. Data were qualitatively analysed, and categories were quantitatively mapped using Excel and the Macro "Flame" to show frequencies, ranks, and salience. The four most relevant social categorisations of asylum seekers referred to "demanding and expectant," "polite and friendly" behaviour, "economic refugees," and "integration efforts". In general, sociodemographic variables like gender, age, family status, including countries and regions of origin, were the most significant basis for categorisations (31%), those were often presented combined with other categories. Observations of behaviour and attitudes also influenced categorisations (24%). Professional considerations, e.g., on health, education, adaption or status ranked third (20%). Social categorisation was influenced by public discourses, with evaluations of flight motives, prospects of staying in Germany, and integration potential being thematised in 12% of the categorisations. Professionals therefore might be in danger of being instrumentalised for internal border work. Identifying social categories is important since they structure perception, along their lines deservingness is negotiated, so they potentially influence interaction and decision-making, can trigger empathy and support as well as rejection and discrimination. Larger studies should investigate this further. Free-listing provides a suitable tool for such investigations.

Predicting and assessing bankruptcy risk: the role of accounting conservatism and business strategies

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of accounting conservatism and business strategies as mitigating tools for bankruptcy risk. It determines the association among these factors and provides insights into the effectiveness of accounting discretion and business strategies in decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a sample of 83 nonfinancial listed firms in ASE for the period from 2013 to 2019. Bankruptcy risk is measured using the Altman Z-score (1968). Accounting conservatism is measured using the accrual-based approach, and optimal business strategies are identified through cluster analysis. Findings The results indicate that accounting conservatism has a significant negative effect on bankruptcy risk. Increased application of accounting conservatism practices leads to a decrease in the level of bankruptcy risk. However, the type of business strategy adopted by firms does not have a significant impact on bankruptcy risk, suggesting that firms are not effectively implementing their strategies to mitigate this risk. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on nonfinancial listed firms in the ASE, limiting the generalizability of the findings to other contexts. The study's findings contribute to the understanding of the role of accounting conservatism in reducing bankruptcy risk but highlight the need for further research on the effectiveness of business strategies in mitigating this risk. Originality/value This study lies in understanding of the role of accounting discretion in financial evaluations and emphasizes the importance of accounting conservatism as a tool for mitigating bankruptcy risk. The study's insights provide valuable guidance to practitioners, regulators and researchers in this field.