Effective Regional Policy Research Articles

Impact of regulatory policies on job creation in developing countries

The objective of this paper is to study the effects of labor market regulation policies on the allocation of labor. Specifically, it aims to highlight the effects of regulatory policies on the choice of kind of job, taking into account market segmentation and barriers to entry into the formal sector. To do so, we used the fourth Cameroon Household Survey (ECAM 4) and a self-selection model. The results show that individual and institutional factors are responsible for the misallocation of labor between the formal and informal sectors. Thus, we find that women and youth preference for informal jobs is involuntary because it is constrained by the existence of barriers to entry to the labor market. These results suggest that there is a certain amount of regulatory flexibility to increase the level of formal employment, even to transform informal jobs into formal jobs.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Regional Ecological Civilization Policy: Evidence from Jiangsu Province, China.

Evaluating the effectiveness of ecological civilization policies is the basis from which policymakers can optimize policies. From the perspective of the overall effectiveness of regional policies, and taking Jiangsu Province as an example, this study constructed a quantitative evaluation model of eco-civilization policy text and an eco-civilization evaluation index system. Using these tools, this paper evaluates the effectiveness of 53 ecological civilization policies issued by Jiangsu Province during 2004–2019 to promote the construction of ecological civilization in the four fields of resource utilization, environmental protection, economic development, and social life. There are three key findings. (1) During the period of 2004–2019, the effectiveness of the textual content of ecological civilization policies in Jiangsu Province generally showed a fluctuating upward trend. (2) The construction effectiveness indexes of the four fields of eco-civilization all showed a growth trend, but the construction effect varied greatly. The index of economic development had grown rapidly, while environmental protection had grown slowly. (3) Ecological civilization policies in Jiangsu Province were effective in promoting the construction of ecological civilization. However, the effects of different policy dimensions on ecological civilization development in the four fields were significantly different. Finally, based on these results, powerful recommendations are provided for the optimization of eco-civilization policies in Jiangsu Province. Moreover, Jiangsu is the first province in China to launch a provincial-level ecological civilization construction plan. Its policy optimization to promote ecological civilization construction can also provide an example and realistic basis for reference for the construction of eco-civilization in other provinces in China.

The impact of telecommunication regulatory policy on mobile retail price in Sub-Saharan African countries

This paper examines the effect of regulatory policies on mobile retail prices. Using quarterly data for 8 African countries for the period 2010:Q4 to 2014:Q4 we estimate structural demand and supply equations. We find that mobile termination rates (MTR) have significant positive impact on mobile retail prices. A decline in average MTR of 10% decreases average mobile retail prices by 2.5%. On the other hand, mobile number portability (MNP) has an insignificant effect on price and subscriptions in selected African countries. This may be due to inadequate implementation of MNP and consecutively low demand for porting numbers. The average market conduct in mobile telecommunications industry for selected African countries can be approximated by Cournot Nash equilibrium, while price elasticity of demand is on average −0.27.

Concepts of assessing the effectiveness of regional policy in modern conditions of development

Concepts of assessing the effectiveness of regional policy in modern conditions of development

CONCEPTING PROVISIONS OF THE REGIONAL PROGRAM FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE POPULATION OF THE CARPATHIAN REGION OF UKRAINE: ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS

The article focuses on the relevance of identification and combination of environmental and social determinants of improving the quality of life of the population of the region. Peculiarities of the state of the natural environment, functioning of the social sphere and ensuring the quality of life of the population of the Carpathian region of Ukraine are identified. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the conceptual provisions of the regional program to improve the quality of life of the population of the Carpathian region of Ukraine and identify its environmental and social determinants. The system of target guidelines of the policy of improving the quality of life of the population of the Carpathian region of Ukraine in the socio-ecological aspect is determined by areas: external institutions, priorities of sustainable development of Ukraine’s economy, priorities of regional strategies of regional development, priorities of Ivano-Frankivsk and Zakarpattia. Lviv and Chernivtsi regions. The system of strategic and basic strategic priorities of the state policy of improving the quality of life of the population of the Carpathian region of the country is substantiated. The applied significance of the research results is to determine the elements of the Comprehensive Regional Program for Improving the Quality of Life of the Carpathian Region of Ukraine, the implementation of which allows to increase the effectiveness of regional policy to ensure sustainable development of territories. The scientific novelty of the research results lies in the further development of theoretical and applied principles of state quality of life policy by identifying priority areas for the implementation of environmental and social determinants of improving the quality of life of the population of the region.

DIAGNOSIS AND RESEARCH OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PECULIARITIES OF REGIONS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

Significant differentiation of regions, territorial disparities both in the structure of the economy and in the development of social infrastructure and income levels, determine not only different baselines for the formation of strategies for socio-economic development of Ukraine, but, despite national goals and priorities, they define different priorities for regional policy at the national level. Thus, in the presence of positive trends in Ukraine's development, there are still many unresolved issues related to the need to ensure further growth of social and economic indicators of the country's development, as well as reducing interregional disparities. The current situation with the economic and social development of the regions proves the need for investment attractiveness of regional systems as an important component of public policy at the national level. The purpose of the article is to form a methodology for diagnosing and studying the features of socio-economic development of regions at the national level, which will allow to explore regional differentiation. The results of the analysis can be used by public authorities in the practice of developing and implementing regional socio-economic programs and projects to adjust the level of regional development at the state level. Therefore, the main task of regional socio-economic policy is to increase the competitiveness of regions, strengthen and use their resource potential effectively and increase investment attractiveness. To do this, first of all, it is necessary to restructure and diversify the economy of most regions, pursue sound and consistent regional innovation policy, build and modernize regional infrastructure, introduce effective mechanisms to promote small and medium enterprises in the regions. Implementation of effective regional socio-economic policy will be possible only if joint and coordinated activities of central, regional and local authorities, which can be achieved through the introduction of an algorithm that reflects the general methodology for diagnosing and researching socio-economic development of regions at the national level. Keywords: socio-economic development, regions, national level.

Assessment of industrial potential in terms of area’s economic security ensuring

Subject. This article discusses the risk-contributing factors and threats that affect the competitiveness of the area and its economic security in terms of industrial potential. Objectives. Defining the concept of Industrial Potential and its role in ensuring economic security, the article aims to substantiate indicators and threshold values for assessing the industrial potential of the area and testing the methodology using the Rosstat data to identify threats in the industrial sphere of the Republic of Mordovia. Methods. For the study, I used the systems approach, analysis and synthesis, deduction, a combination of historical and logical methods, normalizing constant method, and the indicative analysis. Results. The article describes an approach to assessing the state of the industrial potential of the area based on a system of indicators and their threshold values. This approach helps determine the level and depth of threats to economic security that have arisen or may arise under the influence of corrosive factors. The downward trend in the index of industrial production is a key threat to the economy of the Republic of Mordovia. Conclusions. The development of an area’s industrial complex in the conditions of shortage of capital resources is possible only due to an effective regional industrial policy.

An agent-based model of financial market efficiency dynamics

We build a parsimonious agent-based model under the adaptive market hypothesis (AMH), which can explain the formation of equilibrium prices and market efficiency dynamics. Our model combines heterogeneous interacting agents, switching behavior, and investor feedback on past realized returns, with realistic assumptions on the market microstructure. Numerical simulations show that our model is empirically robust to the facts observed in returns of developed and emerging financial markets (leptokurtic distribution, excess volatility, time-varying linear and nonlinear autocorrelations in returns, and time-varying degree of market efficiency). These results reveal that the elements in the model are necessary for generating these empirical facts. They also confirm the AMH. The model can be used as an artificial laboratory to assess the effectiveness of regulatory policies and the profitability of trading strategies.

WHAT IS NEW IN THE EU COHESION POLICY?

Based on the review of regulations and press releases of EU institutions, the content of changes in the cohesion policy in 2021–2027 was revealed in comparison with the period 2014– 2020. The conclusion is made about the preservation of a significant role of the cohesion policy in the EU’s activities and high volume of its allocations from the EU Budget. The author sees an element of novelty in the synthesis of well-known methods and principles of supranational regulation of the socio-economic development of the EU territories – the budget method, the principle of financial conditionality and the open method of coordination. Particular attention is paid to the decision to reorient a third of the allocations of European regional policy funds for programs of transition to a circular and climate-neutral economy in 2021–2027. The explanation of such strong link between the goals of regional policy and the ecological and climatic goals of the EU is proposed. Namely, the success of the «Europe 2020» Strategy only in terms of climate benchmarks, according to the author, gives to the official Brussels a reason to see the potential to increase the effectiveness of regional policy.

THEORETICAL PREREQUISITES FOR THE STUDY OF URBOECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS IN MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENTS OF RECREATIONAL DIRECTION

The influence of urban ecological factors on the formation of the planning structure of recreational mountain settlements in the Ukrainian Carpathians, the peculiarities of settlement in mountain conditions in terms of its compatibility with the natural environment, the importance of urban ecological interactions in terms of sustainable development of Carpathian region. It is proved that urban ecological factors of mountain settlements significantly affect the state of resource provision, architectural and spatial structure, features of recreational potential, development of tourist infrastructure, and the structure of recreational economy of the mountain region in general. 
 The purpose of the article is to find out the features of the spatial structure of mountain settlements of recreational profile under the influence of urban environmental factors and their role in solving urgent ecological, spatial and architectural problems of settlements of recreational profile on the way to sustainable development. The study of urban-ecological interactions in mountain settlements of recreational profile is quite a difficult task, given the variability of environmental factors, tense ecological situation in the region, lack of effective environmental management mechanisms, imperfect legal framework in environmental legislation, lack of strategic spatial planning and unification of environmental approaches. phenomena and processes. The urgency of the work is primarily due to the need to find effective ways to solve environmental problems in the mountain settlements of the Ukrainian Carpathians, to increase the recreational and tourist potential of the region.
 Based on the theoretical generalization of the studied literature sources, we can assume that the planning structure of mountain settlements in the Ukrainian Carpathians directly depends on the ecological situation in the region and on urban-ecological interactions between various factors of natural and man-made environment. Regarding environmental factors that have or may have an impact on the development of mountain areas, the most significant, in our opinion, are or may be: landslides, excessive devastating floods, forest fires, anthropogenic pressure, environmental pollution, biodiversity loss. Especially dangerous for not only the mountain population, but also the surrounding plains is the degradation of mountain areas in the areas of water intake. That is why, in our opinion, one of the priority and strategically important tasks is to conduct effective local and regional policy in the field of efficient and rational use of nature, aimed primarily at solving urban environmental problems in the region, which in the long run can be a key to successful mountain development.

Improving the school-to-work transition for young people by closing the digital divide: evidence from the EU regions

PurposeThe paper aims to provide comparative empirical evidence on young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET-youth) under the influence of the digital divide, education and sectoral growth across the EU regions, with a focus on the transition patterns followed over time by EU regions in bridging the digital divide and their specific implications on school-to-work transition (STWT).Design/methodology/approachFirstly, five variables on Internet usage activities are aggregated into an index of E-skills. Secondly, linear dynamic panel data regression models are used to explain the influence of various factors on regional rates of NEET-youth, with or without grouping regions upon the digital divide in relative terms.FindingsAdvanced digital literary skills are found to have a stronger effect on the STWT than the basic ones. The growth of employment in specific economic activities like “Information and Communication” enhances STWT, but only when considering regional differences in the digital divide and E-skills as well. However, the negative effect of deprivation and low educational attainments on STWT is offset by a low level of the regional digital divide. In addition, more R&D expenditure in higher education is necessary to compensate for the effect of the digital divide on the STWT.Practical implicationsOn brief, the policy implications are twofold. Firstly, regions will need to focus more on reducing the digital divide, because it will not only generate positive effects for STWT but will also enhance the positive impact of education and sectoral growth on STWT and even compensate for their low progress. Secondly, in the context of the EU single market, to better address the situation of young people, regions should monitor the relative progress in bridging the digital divide and improving E-skills, with respect to the other EU regions. Improving the relative position on the EU map of E-skills increases the effectiveness of regional policies targeting the STWT.Originality/valueThe originality of the paper lies in the regional approach to the relationship between STWT and the digital divide, which allows us to derive new policy measures for the EU regions. Other innovative contributions rely on the identification of (1) transition patterns that region follow over time in improving STWT while bridging the digital divide and (2) policy measures addressing the NEETs in the context of the regional digital divide.

Levels and Hierarchy of Goals of the Modern Regional Socio-Economic Policy of Russia

The complexity of the implementation of regional policy in federal states, due, on the one hand, to the diversity of regions and their features, on the other – the presence of several levels of its implementation, determines the relevance of research devoted to the study of this instrument of public administration. The article suggests an approach that allows differentiating the goals of regional socio-economic policy by its levels. The composition is specified, and the hierarchy of goals of the regional socio-economic policy of Russia is developed. It is proved that in current conditions, the priority goal of the regional policy of the federal center should be to ensure the integrity and economic security of the state in terms of regional development, the regional policy of the subjects of the Federation – to achieve positive dynamics of the quality of life of the population of the region. It is shown that in the foreseeable future, the problem of smoothing interregional inequality and ensuring balanced socio-economic development of the country and regions on this basis will retain the status of a strategic goal of the state regional socio-economic policy in the Russian Federation. The implementation of the presented approach to goal-setting in the practice of public administration will contribute to the formation of an effective regional policy as the most essential condition for the balanced spatial development of the Russian Federation.

DECOMPOSITION OF FINANCIAL CAPACITY OF UKRAINIAN HOUSEHOLDS IN THE CONDITIONS OF CHANGING ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT: REGIONAL SECTION

Challenges of economic instability update the study of their impact on the architecture of economic and consumer behavior of Ukrainian households, which determines their financial capacity. The purpose of the article is to carry out a comparative analysis of the financial capacity of Ukrainian households at the regional level and to identify applied features of consumer behavior in the economic crisis. The object is the financial capacity of Ukrainian households in terms of regions. The subject of research: analysis of different models of behavior of households in Ukraine (consumer, investment, and savings), which will determine the financial orientation of families by region. Research methodology. The methodological tools for assessing the economic behavior of households with the definition of its leading models - consumer, investment, savings, the correlation of which allows to determine the decomposition of the financial capacity of the territory (country, region, community). The methodological approach has been tested, which can serve as a basis for structuring management tasks in terms of strengthening the investment activities of households, ensuring the optimal structure of consumer spending to form the territory's resilience to financial shocks. An analysis of the economic behavior of households, based on the assessment of reflections – consumer, investment, and savings - as a result of the subject's understanding of its financial capacity, expressed in terms of costs and financial resources. The study results can help reflect the state of providing the entity with financial resources. These other tangible and intangible assets may be capitalized shortly and reoriented from consumption and savings to investment purposes of financial capacity of households in Ukraine. Improving the financial condition of households is closely linked to the resumption of economic activity of enterprises, as families are one of the most critical economic categories. An essential tool is an effective regional policy to level interregional disparities and effective long-term strategies for household financial behavior. Particular attention should be paid to financial planning, which is a prerequisite for effective management and control over the financial condition of households, which will balance the structure of income and expenditure, avoid unplanned expenses, rational use of available resources. When it comes to making financial decisions, they are always sensible, planned based on the real needs of household members or the adequacy of financial resources. Prospects for further research will be problem-solving, which is possible only at the state level and requires effective management decisions and the identification of different macroeconomic trends in the national economy.

Regional education and wealth-related inequalities in malnutrition among women in Bangladesh.

This paper examines the associations of socio-economic and demographic correlates with malnutrition among women and investigates education and wealth-related inequalities in malnutrition among women by region. We utilise a two-level mixed-effects logistic regression model to evaluate the associations and employ the concentration, Wagstaff and Erreygers's correction indices to measure socio-economic inequalities in malnutrition among women. Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data. Non-pregnant women aged 15-49 years. We find evidence of a significant cluster effect in the data. Women's age, marital status, total children ever born, education level, husband's/partner's education level, residence and wealth index appear to be significantly associated with women underweight and overweight/obesity status. Underweight status is higher among less-educated women and women from poor households, whereas overweight/obesity is more concentrated among higher educated women and women from wealthy households. The southwestern region of the country demonstrates lower education and wealth-related inequalities in malnutrition among women. In contrast, the central and the northeastern areas apparently experience the highest education and wealth-related inequalities in malnutrition among women. The regional differences in predicted probabilities of being underweight shrink at higher education level and the richest quintile, whereas the differences in overweight/obese diminish at the primary education level and lower quintile households. Our findings strengthen the evidence base for effective regional policy interventions to mitigate education and wealth-related inequalities in malnutrition among women. There is a need for developing regional awareness programmes and establishing regional monitoring cells to ensure proper health and nutrition facilities in underprivileged regions.

Food safety and government regulation in rural China

Due to the negative impact of China's food scandal and people's awareness of food safety, consumers and the government are constantly looking for healthier and safer food. This paper finds that rural agricultural products (RAP) have an absolute competitive advantage in public consumption choice. However, after an in-depth investigation, there are many potential safety risks in the RAP. Serious information asymmetry exists in the consumption choices and production processes of RAP. Furthermore, there are many regulatory gaps in RAP. Consequently, it is necessary to strengthen government regulation to correct market failure and current ineffective regulation. Game theory analysis shows that increasing incentives and penalties for large family farms may be an effective regulatory policy. The findings of this paper are beneficial to the formulation of reasonable government regulation policies to ensure the safety of RAP. • The rural agricultural products have absolute competitive advantage in public consumption choice in China. • Serious information asymmetry exists in the consumption choices and production processes of rural agricultural products. • It is necessary to strengthen government regulation to correct market failure and current ineffective regulation. • Game theory analysis shows that increasing incentives and penalties for large family farms may be an effective regulatory policy.

Modeling the parameters of the sustainable development policy of territorial natural and economic systems

Modeling the parameters of the sustainable development policy of territorial natural and economic systems

On the issue of formation of the institutional environment of environmentally safe agricultural land use

The article is devoted to the formation of the institutional environment of ecologically safe agricultural land use through the model of harmonization of ecological and economic interests of the subjects of agricultural land use. The structure of agricultural land use is based on criteria, the content of which represents both economic and environmental interests of society. For example, the landowner (land user) is interested in converting his land into the most economically attractive - arable land, which reflects his private economic interests, and on the other - society is interested in maintaining the optimal state of agricultural landscapes, which in turn provides the optimal ratio of destabilizing, stabilizing and stabilizing reflecting the public environmental interests [7]. Usually such differentiation of interests of subjects of agrarian land use causes situations of impossibility to agree them voluntarily. Therefore, there is an urgent problem in effective regulatory policy in the field of land use, in particular through the formation of the institutional environment of environmentally friendly agricultural land use through the model of harmonization of environmental and economic interests of agricultural land users. In the article, it is clarified that the institutional model of harmonization of ecological and economic interests of subjects of agrarian land use provides for the introduction of tools to eliminate the conflict of ecological and economic interests, which includes a number of tools, levers and techniques, in particular: -adaptation paradigm; formation of ecological consciousness of land users, ecological morality and ethics; development of the organizational and economic mechanism of formation of ecologically safe agrarian land tenures and land uses optimum through a combination of market and state levers of influence; regulatory and legal support of ecological safety of agricultural land use; optimization of the organizational structure of land use management. Keywords. Institutional environment, institutions, ecologically safe agricultural land use, land relations, economic development, ecology.

Getting to the root of the problem: the international and domestic politics of junk food industry regulation in Latin America.

In response to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Latin America, governments have introduced impressive prevention programmes However, the purpose of this article is to better explain why several governments have yet to address arguably the ‘root of the problem’: i.e. implementing effective regulatory policies restricting the food industries’ ability to market and sale their products. Introducing a political science analytical framework merging international relations and domestic politics theory, this article claims that most governments have failed to achieve this process because of their reluctance to transfer their beliefs in human rights to health from the area of NCD prevention to regulation, thus achieving what the author refer to as ‘normative transferability’. The research design for this study entailed a documentary analysis of 44 qualitative primary and secondary documentary data sources (combined), i.e. articles, books, policy reports and the usage of these data sources for a comparative case study analysis of Chile, Brazil and Mexico. These qualitative data sources were also used to illustrate the potential efficacy of the author’s proposed analytical framework, developed from the political science and public policy literature. Quantitative epidemiological data from the World Health Organization global health observatory were used to provide a contextual backdrop of the obesity and diabetes situation in these countries. Comparing these three countries, Chile was the only one capable of achieving ‘normative transferability’ due to a strong linkage between activists, supportive institutions and policy advocates within government viewing regulatory policy as a human right to protection from aggressive industry marketing and sales tactics. To better understand differences between nations in achieving normative transferability processes and effective NCD regulatory policy outcomes, political scientists and public health scholars should work together to develop alternative analytical frameworks in the commercial determinants of health.

Infrastructure investment projects: financing and management mechanisms

PurposeThis paper analyses the modern market for project finance, its sectorial structure and main development trends. This study aims to form a constructive diagnostic toolkit for investment support of infrastructure design in regions, taking into account spatial asymmetry in the context of an integrated management approach.Design/methodology/approachWhen analyzing the public–private partnership (PPP) project performance, it is reasonable to distinguish the following two levels of discount rates: state and private. To achieve a high level of development of the general infrastructure of a region, a conceptual approach to the formation of investment support for the development of regional infrastructure has been developed.FindingsThe scientific contribution of this study is to improve the approach to modeling investment support for regional infrastructure design in the context of spatial asymmetry. Implementation of infrastructure projects creates prerequisites for sustainable economic growth, improvement in business and investment and social attractiveness of the national economy and its regions.Practical implicationsThe practical significance of this study is that its main provisions allow for an effective regional socio-economic policy, based on the systemic development of regional infrastructure and aim at boosting competitiveness.Originality/valueRecommendations can be used by regional and local authorities to formulate a socio-economic strategy for regional development as well as by representatives of private business who intend to engage in regional PPP projects.

The (In)effectiveness of regulatory policies in higher education—The case of access policy in Portugal

In recent years there has been a tendency to deregulate higher education systems, allowing them to follow the interplay of the supply and demand forces instead of shaping it through strong government regulation. One of the areas where these regulatory changes may have a more significant impact is that of access policies. In this article, we analyse a policy change in Portugal aimed at steering students’ behaviour and promoting greater institutional and geographical dispersion. This study discusses the effectiveness of this approach, namely by comparing its actual results with a simulation of what would have happened if there were no changes in the access system. We discuss to what extent the policy has had the impact it was expected or if students have reacted in a way that has undermined the intended policy objectives and draw some conclusions about the complexities of regulating students’ demand.