Governance Capacity Research Articles

Enhancing Government Capacity for Air Quality Management in the Philippines through Geospatial Technologies: A Case of Project AiRMoVE

Abstract. Air quality management is crucial in the Philippines due to its profound implications for public health, ecosystems, and sustainable development. Project AiRMoVE, short for the Ambient Air Remote Sensing, Modeling, and Visualization Environment project, aims to enhance air quality management through engineering solutions and geospatial technologies such as remote sensing (RS), geographic information systems (GIS) and numerical modeling. Implemented by the University of the Philippines Training Center for Applied Geodesy and Photogrammetry (UP TCAGP), Project AiRMoVE collaborates with key stakeholders to identify attainment and non-attainment areas in the National Capital Region (NCR) for air quality monitoring. This paper provides an overview of Project AiRMoVE's objectives, methodologies, and outcomes, emphasizing the significance of RS and GIS in revolutionizing air quality monitoring and management. It underscores a systematic approach adopted in enhancing government capacity for air quality management -- a combination of workshops, technical trainings, and stakeholders' forums.

Under the Perspective of Seeing Party Self-governance Exercised Fully and with Rigor: Research on High-quality Party Building Leading and Guaranteeing High-quality Cadre Team Construction

Abstract: The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC (the Communist Party of China is referred to as CPC in this paper) Central Committee stressed that the focus is on improving the Party's leadership and long-term governance capacity, innovate and improve the mode of leadership and governance, deepen reform of the system for Party building, and optimize the system for seeing party self-governance exercised fully and with rigor. This is a strong response to Xi Jinping's speech on July 1st that "it takes a good blacksmith to make good steel" and the report of The 20th CPC National Congress emphasized "the Party's self-revolution." It highlights the significance of full and rigorous Party self-governance and the value and orientation of building the ranks of party cadres. In the new era, to carry out the Party building in government organs and ensure the construction of cadres, this study focus on the "high-quality" under the "full and rigorous Party self-governance". That is, the historical starting point and the theoretical quality of the guiding ideology of Party building is "high-quality", and the "evaluation criteria" of Party building promotes the responsibility of The Times, the quality and ability.

Digitally Driven Urban Governance: Framework and Evaluation in China

With the rapid development of digital technology, the role of digitalisation in urban governance continues to emerge. Building a theoretical analysis framework and evaluation system of digitally driven urban governance has important theoretical and practical significance for stimulating the efficiency of digital technology tools and improving the energy level of urban digital governance. This paper aims to explore the mechanism of urban governance enabled by digital technology, innovatively change the previous thinking mode that only attaches importance to facility construction and e-government platforms, adopt ecological thinking, and comprehensively consider the role of “soft elements” such as strategic support, industrial support, the security environment, talent support, and the market environment. Then, the extreme value variance method and the coefficient of variation method are used to calculate the overall capacity and secondary index scores of each city, and the standard deviation of secondary index scores is used to represent the sub-environmental balance of the cross-sectional data of China’s provinces. In order to further explore which indicators restrict the improvement of China’s urban digital governance capacity, this study also constructs an obstacle degree model. The results show the following: (1) The overall capability of China’s digitally driven urban governance is low, with a total score of 27.25, indicating that China’s digitally driven urban governance is in its infancy. (2) There is a significant development imbalance among Chinese provinces, with Beijing ranking first with a score of 81.16, and Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, and Ningxia scoring less than 13.30 points, ranking as the bottom 5 among the 31 provinces. (3) The shortcomings of talent support, industrial support, and the security environment restrict the improvement of the entire digital ecological governance ability.

What do the sustainable development goals reveal, and are they sufficient for sustainable development?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015 represent the current perceptions of humans regarding understanding and monitoring development. Achieving all 17 goals simultaneously is unrealistic. Considering the interconnected nature of SDGs, identifying their critical dimensions, goals, indicators, and mutual relationships is necessary. In addition, with increasing reservations about the sustainability of SDGs, it is crucial to explore consistency across different dimensions to ensure policy coherence in maximizing synergies and minimizing trade-offs. Our study employed multiple factor analysis (MFA) and hierarchical clustering on principal components (HCPC) to investigate these issues and analyze the results based on the public value (PV) theory. The results indicated that the Human Development Index (HDI) and gross domestic product per capita (GDPP) constitute the first principal component (PC) and are determinants in differentiating country clusters. However, they contradict environmental indicators such as CO2 emissions per capita and ecological footprint gha per person (EFP) and have low synergy with the Happy Planet Index (HPI). Additionally, the relationships between income level, inequality, and environmental quality correspond to a combined Kuznets curve and an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). Moreover, governance capacity has become increasingly crucial in sustainable development, particularly in the capability to prioritize different PVs in a timely and strategic manner. Finally, despite the novelty of EFP and HPI, they cannot reveal the entire development story. SDGs require embracing more such indicators to enrich the value bases of development and achieve a sustainable future.

Border fortification and legibility: Evidence from Afghanistan

AbstractStates often fortify their borders against militant threats. How do these efforts shape civilian welfare and perceptions in borderland communities? I conceptualize border fortification as a legibility‐building endeavor. By bolstering state reach in areas of weak historical penetration, fortification enhances the government's capacity for monitoring, administration, and control. Yet, expanding state authority also disrupts traditional cross‐border markets. A trade‐off between security and corruption emerges in consequence. I provide evidence for this theory in a difference‐in‐differences framework, combining administrative records on violence and representative data from a NATO‐commissioned survey fielded across Afghanistan. Fortification facilitates government information‐collection, improving security provision and fostering civilian reliance on state forces. Enhanced state capacity is countervailed by negative economic impacts. By disturbing the informal borderland economy, fortification fuels criminalization and local opposition. Civilians rely on illicit economic entrepreneurs to sustain traditional market access. Higher smuggling rents fuel official corruption and bribe‐taking. The findings point to a key dilemma inherent in border fortification strategies.

Intergovernmental networks and local government capacity for disaster management in North Sumatra

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of decentralization on disaster management in North Sumatra Province. Specifically, it will analyze the intergovernmental networks, local government resilience, leadership, and communication within disaster management agencies. The study used a hybrid research approach, integrating qualitative and quantitative methodologies to investigate the connections between these factors and their influence on disaster response and mitigation. The study encompassed 144 personnel from diverse government tiers in North Sumatra and performed a meta-analysis on the implementation of disaster management. Intergovernmental networks were discovered to enhance collaboration in disaster management by eliminating regulatory gaps and efficiently allocating logistics. Nevertheless, local governments have obstacles as a result of limited resources and inadequate expertise, notwithstanding the progress made in infrastructure technology. The F test results reveal that leadership and communication have a substantial impact on the performance of BPBD personnel. The meta-assessment classifies its impact as extraordinarily high, suggesting comprehensive evaluation and successful achievement of goals in disaster management planning. Efficient cooperation among relevant parties is essential in handling calamities in North Sumatra. The government, commercial sector, NGOs, universities, and society have unique responsibilities. To improve effectiveness, governments should encourage private sector involvement, while institutions can increase their research contributions.

Can government digital transformation improve corporate energy efficiency in resource-based cities?

Corporations in resource-based cities have long faced unique challenges in achieving sustainable development. Digital government construction, a critical strategy for enhancing governance capacity through information technology, presents significant potential to improve corporate energy efficiency and foster sustainable growth. This study explores the impact of digital government construction on corporate energy efficiency in China's resource-based cities, utilizing data from listed companies. The findings are as follows: First, digital government construction significantly enhances corporate energy efficiency in resource-based cities, with this effect remaining robust across a series of robustness checks. Second, the extent of this beneficial effect varies with factors such as digital infrastructure level, environmental policy stringency, local financial constraints, and corporate ownership structure. Third, the improvement in energy efficiency is primarily driven by advances in technological innovation and reductions in non-productive expenditures. These findings underscore the pivotal role of digital government construction as an effective tool for enhancing energy efficiency and supporting sustainable development in resource-based cities.

The Political Economy of Industrial Policy

We examine the ways in which political realities shape industrial policy through the lens of modern political economy. We consider two broad “governance constraints”: (1) the political forces that shape how industrial policy is chosen and (2) the ways in which state capacity affects implementation. The framework of modern political economy suggests that government failure is not a necessary feature of industrial policy; rather, it is more likely to fail when countries pursue industrial policies beyond their governance capacity constraints. As such, our political economy of industrial policy is not fatalist. Instead, it enables policymakers to constructively confront challenges.

A review of research literature related to the modernization of social governance

With the emergence of new situations in China's economic development, the overall domestic and international situation has become complex and volatile. The risks and contradictions affecting social harmony and stability are increasing, making the task of social governance more arduous and onerous. The modernization of social governance at the municipal level is not only an inherent part of the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, but also a positive response to economic development and social changes during the social transformation period. This article systematically reviews relevant literature on the modernization of social governance, laying a foundation for in-depth research on the modernization of social governance.

An analytical framework to examine power in sustainable energy decision-making in cities

Urban areas are emerging as “strategic sites” in the ongoing sustainable energy (SE) transitions. This has rekindled the importance of urban governments in initiating this transition urgently, a departure from the actors managing more mainstream centralized energy governance. However, while there is a growing international and academic interest in urban energy transitions, the political presence of cities in the global clean energy landscape remains largely underwhelming. Scholars studying urban energy transitions or governance have often pointed toward the lack of material and knowledge capacities of the urban governments as the key barrier for their muted actions. I argue that decision-making by urban governments with respect to clean energy adoption needs deeper inspection wherein aspects such as capacity, or the lack of it, are symptoms of underlying power contestations and conflicts that are negotiated in multi-level governance systems. The scholarship of power captures the ideas of contestation, control, and acquiescence, going beyond the ideas of cooperation prevalent in multilevel governance. In this article, I juxtapose these with concepts from multi-level governance and socio-technical studies to offer an analytical framework for understanding energy decision-making by city governments. The framework presented in this article attempts to capture both direct and indirect forms of power, their operationalization, and manifestation in constituting identities, actual decisions (and indecisions) as well as the conditions of decision-making. I also use the framework to understand the role of power in sustainable energy decision-making in three cities in India as an illustration of possible application of the framework.

4.Q. Scientific session: Global landscapes of healthcare worker migration: advancing effective and equitable solutions

Abstract Background Healthcare workforce migration not only increased in numbers, the mobility flows and migration patterns are also changing and becoming more diverse. The labour market push-and-pull factors and related risks of ‘brain-drain’ are still relevant and many countries, especially in the western world, heavily rely on foreign-born and foreign-trained healthcare workers to mitigate shortages and respond to the healthcare workforce crisis. However, this migration pattern increasingly co-exists with other patterns, blurring the categories of hosting and sending countries. For instance, some low- and middle-income countries have created the export of skilled healthcare workers as business model, others invest in healthcare worker education without advancing national labour market capacities. There is also an increase in crisis migration caused by wars, climate change, and other conflicts, yet these refugee healthcare workers are often excluded from the formal labour market. These examples illustrate that health policy across countries largely failed to respond to the changing global landscapes of migration and to govern education, recruitment and retention more effectively. The healthcare workforce debate is primarily driven by health labour market needs, while health policy and human rights remain marginal. There is also a lack of comprehensive data and research, that would allow for evidence-based decision-making. Ineffective policy and existing governance gaps exacerbate the global healthcare workforce crisis, increase stress and workload of the healthcare workers, and often ignore worker and human rights. Objectives This workshop looks beyond labour market push-pull factors and highlights the complexity of healthcare worker migration. It makes the diverse needs, stakeholder interests, and institutional frameworks visible that shape mobility patterns of healthcare worker, seeking to identify capacity for more effective governance and good-practice examples. The following major questions will be discussed, among others: What data and research are needed to better understand the global migration landscapes? What can we learn from cross-country knowledge exchange and good practice experiences? How can public health advance more equitable and effective education, recruitment and retention policy, and what role could global contracts and international organisations play? The interactive discussion will be facilitated by a commentary on global capacity building for equitable healthcare worker migration and the action taken by WHO. The presenters and the audience will advance knowledge exchange and critically explore novel solutions to the healthcare workforce crisis that are more sensitive to the needs of both individual migrant healthcare workers and less well-resourced countries, in the global South as well as within Europe. Key messages • Increasingly divers patterns of healthcare worker migration call for novel governance approaches that align labour markets, health policy needs, and human rights. • More effective, equitable and ‘humanised’ governance of healthcare worker migration needs a global public health and human rights approach.

The Governance-Growth Nexus and Its Environmental Implications in South Asia

This research delves into the correlation between economic growth, governance quality, and CO2 emissions within a cohort of seven nations in South Asia: Between 1996 and 2020, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Using dynamic panel data models and fixed effects, this research documents the role of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and the capacity of governance to affect carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. It finds a direct correlation to CO2 emissions and economic growth and hence associate increase GDP per capita to increase in environmental degradation. Yet, enhanced governance is shown to significantly lower CO2 emissions in countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, and contributes to increasing CO2 emissions in others. In addition, economic growth and governance quality interaction led to the finding that good governance can moderate the negative environmental effects of economic growth. The uncovering of these findings underscores the importance of governance in meeting environmental sustainability and economic growth objectives in South Asia. The findings provide important policy guidance on improving governance structures to deal more efficiently with the environmental problems facing the region.

Large scale system transformation: Ukraine

Abstract In the context of the EU-Ukraine Accession agreement, Ukraine started large scale public health systems reform back in 2015. The COVID-19 pandemic tested the response capacity of the national public health system and led to some improvement during the pandemic such as on laboratory capacity. It also generated lessons for strengthening national and subnational health emergency preparedness and response. Multiple interventions, including a Joint External Evaluation led to the adoption of the Public Health System Law in 2022, laying the foundation to bolster health promotion, disease prevention, and health protection. The Ukrainian Public Health Centre was substantially strengthened, partly oriented on models in other European countries. Corresponding centers for diseases control and prevention at the oblast level were reformed and a subnational network of these centers was created. While the war has a significant impact on the public health system, infrastructure, people and more, decision makers and professionals keep working on sustaining and moving forward the achievements on public health reforms, for example with the adoption of the National Health Strategy 2030 and the adoption of the National Health Security Plan. Further legal and strategic preparations are afoot to strengthen public health services governance capacity, financing, institutional innovation and development, and public health workforce development.

The primary healthcare workforce crisis: a comparative assessment of the European region

Abstract Background The healthcare workforce crisis strongly affects the primary healthcare sector, worsening the work conditions of healthcare workers and hampering service delivery and health system resilience. This study introduces a health system and governance approach to identify transformative capacities in health system contexts. Methods A qualitative comparative methodology was employed, and a rapid assessment of the primary healthcare workforce was conducted across nine countries: Denmark, Germany, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom/ England. Results Our findings reveal both convergence and pronounced diversity across the healthcare systems, with none fully aligning with the ideal attributes of primary healthcare suggested by WHO. However, across all categories, Denmark and the Netherlands, and to a lesser extent also Kazakhstan, depict closer alignment to this model than the other countries. Workforce composition and skill-mix vary strongly, while disparities persist in education and data availability, particularly within Social Health Insurance systems. Policy responses and interventions span governance, organisational, and professional realms, although with weaknesses in the implementation of policies and a systematic lack of data and evaluation. The WHO primary healthcare model only marginally informs policy decisions, but it may receive some more attention in Kazakhstan. Conclusions We conclude that aligning primary healthcare and workforce considerations within the broader health system context may help move the debate forward and build governance capacities to improve resilience in both areas. Speakers/Panelists Tiago Correia NOVA IHMT, Lisbon, Portugal Viola Burau Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark Marius-Ionuț Ungureanu Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Anna Sagan WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Enhancing Rwanda's Global Competitiveness: Evaluating the Impact of 'Made in Rwanda' Policies on Local Manufacturing Growth and Innovation

The study aimed at Enhancing Rwanda's Global Competitiveness: Evaluating the Impact of 'Made in Rwanda' Policies on Local Manufacturing Growth and Innovation. The specific objectives of the study were: to establish the impact of ‘Made in Rwanda’ policies on the growth of local manufacturers in Kenya sectors between 2017 and 2023; and to examine the extent to which ‘Made in Rwanda’ policies have improved the competitive advantage of local manufacturers in regional and international markets. Descriptive research, a method of gathering data, was used in this study to address inquiries about the present state of the research participants. The sample size of 246 respondents was proportionally distributed across the different sectors. The main instrument that was used for data collected was a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used to show trends and inferential statistics was used to anlyse the relation between the various variables with multiple regression analysis crowing the hypothesis testing. Crucially insightful results came from the regression study done to investigate the link between the 'Made in Rwanda' policies and local manufacturers' competitive advantage. Here, the regression equation could be shown as Y=2.5+0.7X1+0.5X2+ε. With an intercept (β0) at 2.5, local manufacturers' competitive advantage is expected to be 2.5 units should both independent variables equal zero. With β1=0.7, the coefficient for Growth 'Made in Rwanda' Policies shows a direct link whereby competitive advantage rises by 0.7 units for every unit increase in growth policies. With p < 0.001, this is statistically significant and indicates rather strong evidence on the favorable impact of growth policy on company competitive advantage. With β2=0.5, the coefficient Competitive Advantage "Made in Rwanda" Policies also shows that, alongside every unit increase in competitive advantage policies, each caused a 0.5 unit increase in competitive advantage of manufacturers. This is statistically significant (p = 0.01) and once more shows to be especially crucial for raising competitiveness. For local producers, the correlated independent variables explain 68 percent of the variance in competitive advantage. All things considered, 'Made in Rwanda' policies have greatly helped the local manufacturer to grow over the past few years. According to the study's findings, strategic actions including policy incentivizing, infrastructure access, and capacity-building initiatives have improved production capability and market positioning. Thanks to these policies, local producers will not only develop but also be more suited to compete against foreign players on their path into regional and worldwide markets. This rightly emphasizes the need of a constant and adequate government support as well as an ongoing assessment of these policies to guarantee they remain relevant and efficient in handling the problems encountered in the manufacturing sector Keywords: 'Made in Rwanda' policies, local manufacturers, competitive advantage, production output, employment growth, export volume, product differentiation, policy incentives, infrastructure, government support programs, trade agreements, and capacity building.

Examining the role of national governance capacity in building the global low-carbon agricultural supply chains

The majority of related research has traditionally focused on examining the individual influences of national governance capacity and technological innovation on carbon emissions and economic performance, neglecting the effects and influence mechanisms on carbon efficiency within agricultural supply chains, which is not conducive to advancing a low-carbon transition that includes agricultural concerns. This study addresses these gaps by investigating the correlation between national governance capacity (considering voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence/terrorism, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption control) and agricultural supply chain carbon efficiency and investigating the influence mechanism and mediating role of technological innovation. The relevant findings are twofold. 1) The impact of national governance capacity and its components on agricultural carbon efficiency follows an inverted U-shaped curve. 2) Technological innovation can act as a mediator between national governance capacity and select factors of voice and accountability, government effectiveness and regulatory quality to enhance agricultural supply chain carbon efficiency. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and managers in agricultural supply chain enterprises seeking to transition towards low-carbon agriculture.

Research on Carbon Unlocking Pathway in Sichuan Province under the Background of “Dual Carbon”

In the progress of realizing green development and transformation, many difficulties exist in Sichuan Province, such as low level of ‘carbon unlocking’, unbalanced development of ‘carbon unlocking’ among regions, and insufficient systematic coordination and governance capacity. So, this paper from technology, system and industry and other aspects, based on the ‘double carbon’ goal of Sichuan Province, to construct the ‘carbon unlocking’ mechanism with the characteristics of Sichuan Province, to create a ‘multi-body-multi-path’ synergistic mechanism. This will help to promote green technology innovation and help to achieve the ‘dual-carbon’ goal on schedule.

The accountability system for operation and investment and audit quality of state-owned enterprises

Based on the accountability system for illegal operation and investment of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), this paper uses A-share listed companies in China from 2013 to 2021 as a research sample to empirically test the impact of operation and investment accountability on the audit quality of firms. The results show that after the implementation of the accountability system, the audit quality of SOEs is significantly improved, and the results hold after a series of robustness checks. Mechanism tests suggest that reducing misconducts of managers, inhibiting earnings management and improving the quality of internal control can explain the effects of operation and investment accountability. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that the positive effect of operation and investment accountability on the audit quality of SOEs is more pronounced for firms in poor business environment, with low level of digital transformation and low degree of mixed-ownership reform. Further tests on economic consequence suggest that operation and investment accountability increase economic value added of state-owned assets by improving the effectiveness of auditing supervision. This paper extends the stream of literature on SOEs' auditing from the perspective of accountability, and provides practical implications on improving the quality of government monitoring measures and promoting the update of governance capacity and governance system.

The utility of smart government services apps solutions in the post-pandemic era

Purpose The main purpose of this study is to determine the antecedent factors of smart government service apps intention and its impact on actual use by extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) in the Jordanian context. Design/methodology/approach To achieve the main purpose, a quantitative method was used to test collected data, and hypotheses testing through using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and smart partial least squares software. Findings The findings indicate that social media advertising has a positive effect on both social influence and peer influence. Furthermore, it demonstrated a significant effect of social influence on performance expectancy. In addition, there is a direct correlation between the government capacity, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions and the intention to use e-government services. Lastly, the results mainly show that the actual use of e-government services is significantly and positively influenced by intention and self-isolation. Next, as expected, self-isolation moderated the relationship between intention to use and actual use of e-government services via the Sanad application, and hence the related hypothesis was supported. Originality/value This study provides practical recommendations for the policy-makers in the Jordanian e-government and Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE) in Jordan.

“A Failure. No One to Blame But Themselves”? The Media and the Abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission

ABSTRACT In 2004/5 the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was abolished after 15 years of operation. The longest running and most innovative representative body in the postwar era, its abolition has reverberated to this day. 1 1 ATSIC was one of several elected Indigenous representative bodies of the postwar period. However, it remains the most innovative because it was a statutory body that had both representative and administrative functions and a national commission with a network of regional councils. This model has not been replicated since. This article explores the role of the media in its abolition. It shows how the non-Indigenous media created an image of Indigenous dysfunction such that ATSIC’s abolition was understood as the only viable option. It did so by perpetuating untruths about Indigenous capacity for governance and leadership, suggesting that ATSIC’s alleged failure was self-inflicted. Such representation, including deeply offensive caricatures, worked to support government aims and amounted to institutional bullying. By situating this representation within the wider policy landscape, I show how the media not only created ideational frameworks necessary to project ATSIC as unfit but also helped to deflect attention from the government’s own non-accountability in this space. As a counterpoint to what became a dominant view about ATSIC, I recover the representation of its abolition in the Indigenous media, allowing Indigenous views to be heard for the first time. This case study is of critical importance in the context of today’s concern with both truth-telling and truth-denying.