Governance Instruments Research Articles

The Impact of Heterogeneous Market Sentiments on Corporate Risk-Taking and Governance

This research focuses on how market sentiment affects corporate governance in the Chinese market. The sample covers the years from 2014 to 2023. Market sentiment is estimated using a cross-sectional absolute deviation (CSAD) model, and earnings quality is used as an indicator of the consequences of corporate governance. Both mutual fund shareholding and the number of firm visits by mutual fund analysts are verified as effective corporate governance instruments that work well in a regular market but become ineffective when the market sentiment is high. The reason for this is that managers’ expectations change, and they may believe that disclosing good news during high-sentiment market periods significantly increases the share prices and helps them meet their performance requirements. In a high-sentiment market, an incentive contract encourages managers to take on projects with inappropriate risk or even manipulate earnings. One potential solution is to adopt venture capital firms’ high-water mark and clawback clauses to prevent managers from focusing on short-term goals rather than seeking long-term business sustainability.

How Living Heritage relates to Alpine Food? Evidence from the Entremont Region (Switzerland)

Recently, the Alps have been experiencing new social phenomena, as a return to agriculture. In this context, the alpine food heritage has been reconsidered after a period of neglection, and is now under application to UNESCO Register of good safeguarding practices in the frame of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. This paper reflects on a specific case study, the cultivation of red berries in the Entremont region (Switzerland), in the light of an action-research at the Centre régional d'études des populations alpines (CREPA) in Sembrancher (Switzerland), also financed by the Interreg project Living ICH - Cross-border governance instruments for the safeguarding and valorization of the Living Intangible Heritage. The extent of the red berries from the 1930s to the 1990s shows the importance of this cultivation for the local economy in the last century. Nowadays, there are few evidences of the red berries, due to the preponderance of the meadows used for mowing but, after several decades of abandonment, a reconsideration of the cultural, social and economic values of these berries seems to be in order.

The OECD’s construction of future imaginaries for curriculum reform

ABSTRACT Offering imaginaries of the future is a significant part of the work of documents produced by national policymakers, interest groups and international organisations. In this article, we examine thematic reports on the redesign of the curriculum published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as part of its Education 2030 project. Our analysis is grounded in the understanding that documents transform issues through storytelling, data and visualisations. We show how thematic reports context a complex and unpredictable future by forecasting different futures based on current issues that need solutions. The storytelling that contexts the imaginaries of futures gains authority through datafication of national curricula enabled by Curriculum Content Mapping. The Curriculum Content Mapping reveals a lack of alignment with the OECD’s Learning Compass for 2030 transforming the issue of a complex future into an issue of curriculum as an instrument to potentialise the future. Hence, datafication of curriculum content serves as an instrument of governance towards specific curriculum transformations based on the OECD’s education politics towards economic growth rather than informing about future needs.

Water-Energy-Food Communities in South Africa: Exploring Multi-Actor Governance Instruments Contributing to Social Justice

Abstract South Africa faces significant challenges concerning the scarcity and unequal distribution of water, energy and food resources. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 underscores the importance of social justice and mandates collaboration among all levels of government and state entities. To effectively address the interconnected nature of these resources, a collaborative governance approach is necessary. This article introduces the concept of ‘Water-Energy-Food (wef) communities’, a concept not currently recognised in South African law, drawing inspiration from the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (res-Directive) of 2018 and the Electricity Market Directive (E-Directive) of 2019 that introduced the concept of ‘energy communities’. wef communities, operating at the local level, could integrate improved governance and decision-making in the water, energy, and food sectors, thereby advancing social justice in local communities. The article compares existing multi-actor governance instruments in South African law and uses the EU law as learning points for the establishment of wef communities as opposed to energy communities that focus on one determinant only. Although the current South African multi-actor governance instruments do not explicitly address an integrated wef governance approach, they may serve as a basis for proposing framework rules to establish wef communities, highlighting their potential to achieve social justice goals in relation to their access to water, energy and food. The article proposes rules for the potential establishment of wef communities, taking learning points from the EU directives as well as existing South African instruments.

Crafting Combinations to Govern Groundwater: Knowledge, Motivation, and Agency

Groundwater is a vital common pool resource for water supply, irrigation, and ecosystems, but can be difficult to govern due to invisibility, conflicting interests, and limitations of available institutions. While there are many policy and technical instruments (tools) available, efforts to apply them are often ineffective. This special issue of the International Journal of the Commons presents a set of papers with insights into policy instruments and other methods for groundwater governance. The relevance and effectiveness of tools and combinations of tools (toolboxes) in addressing problems that emerge from groundwater use is related to how they fit with diverse physical and social contexts. Drawing on research and applied experience, including that presented in this issue, we outline a conceptual framework for groundwater governance that emphasizes attention not just to knowledge, but also to motivations, and to agency for effective coordination among key actors. Articles in the special issue analyze groundwater governance in areas of Africa (east, south, and north), Central Asia, India, and the United States. The articles cover a range of scales from small groups playing experiential games to international agreements about transboundary aquifers. Several papers illustrate the crucial role of knowledge about groundwater, and the need for governance instruments and interventions to go beyond only changing knowledge. Three papers focus on groundwater games and their use to understand and change behavior, especially when combined with other tools that facilitate collective deliberation and action. Several papers illustrate how understanding of the ways people care about and practice care for groundwater illuminates examples and capabilities for groundwater governance. Highlights There are many institutional tools for governing groundwater, but no panaceas, and successes are rare Effective groundwater governance requires that key stakeholders have combinations of knowledge, motivation, and agency to act together effectively Groundwater co-management can combine stakeholders’ knowledge, values, and collective action with external science, resources, and authority Participatory processes can craft combinations of tools to fit contexts and pursue shared gains

СОЦІАЛЬНО-ЕКОНОМІЧНІ ЦИКЛИ: ТЕОРЕТИЧНА ІНТЕРПРЕТАЦІЯ ТА СТАТИСТИЧНЕ ОЦІНЮВАННЯ

Sustainable national economic development requires a balance of aggregate demand and aggregate supply. The country's government is working out economic and legal mechanisms to achieve macroeconomic balance against factors that can disrupt it. The preconditions of macroeconomic instability include exogenous (natural and military-political) and endogenous (macroeconomic cyclical development). Due to the combination of these factors, achieving national macroeconomic balance is an urgent scientific and practical task for economists, scientists who study macroeconomics, as well as politicians and government officials. The key questions that need to be answered are the length of the cycle, the pace of the recession, and most importantly, the development of effective mechanisms for restoring macroeconomic balance and its long-term maintenance. The study of sustainable national economic development assumes cyclicality. It can be considered an independent process from the point of view of the manifestation of self-regulation of the market economy, when the equilibrium will be restored after a certain period of time by the action of market mechanisms, and also as a process of decline in business activity, which can be scientifically and practically studied as a phenomenon and, accordingly, an effective macroeconomic strategy of government policy can be identified. With the aim of accelerated and controlled passage of the economic cycle and development of effective government instruments, scientists study the essence and causes of macroeconomic instability, manifestations of unemployment and inflation. Cyclicality should be considered as a movement of the national economy, a form of its development and improvement. The socio-economic cycle involves fluctuations in the macroeconomic situation (level of employment, production and prices) from recession to upswing against the background of the general trend of the dynamics of the gross domestic product. The success of the government's macroeconomic policy is determined by the cause of the crisis, the degree of state regulation of the economy, opportunities to use the results of scientific and technical development, and the ratio of the shares of the real and non-productive sectors of the economy. This approach involves theoretical interpretation and statistical evaluation of socio-economic cycles. The article considers the main aspects of the theoretical interpretation of socio-economic cycles. A review of the scientific works of leading macroeconomists regarding the study of the essence and manifestations of cyclicality in the economy, social life of society was carried out, and attention was also paid to the issues of the interrelationship of the development of the economies of different countries in the conditions of globalization. The main factors of cyclical fluctuations and their periodicity are highlighted, the main theoretical provisions of economic cyclicality are given. The article provides a methodology for statistical evaluation of socio-economic cycles and the selection of its individual phases (recession, boom) based on the application of the method of statistical equations of dependencies and the method of complex statistical coefficients. Using the method of statistical equations of dependence, the existence of a relationship between the result indicator (GDP, billion US dollars, y) and two factors: "External debt, billion US dollars, x", "Number of registered unemployed, thousands of people, z" was established . It was determined that the factor "External debt, billion US dollars, x" plays the main role in the formation of the output indicator (GDP). It is substantiated that when the value of "GDP, billion US dollars" increases by 1 billion dollars. In the USA, the factor "External debt, billion US dollars" is expected to increase by 0.63 billion US dollars, and with an increase in the value of "GDP, billion US dollars" by 1 billion dollars. In the USA, the value of the factor "Number of registered unemployed, thousands of persons" is expected to decrease. for 5.43 thousand persons. Cyclicality was studied on the basis of the two mentioned methods and two phases of the economic development cycle of Ukraine were identified: 2008-2009 and 2013-2015. A generalization was obtained regarding the existence of a phase of the seven-year economic cycle.

Cooperative Intelligence Platform for Primary Health Care (Picaps): techno-scientific solutions in digital health to confront COVID-19 and other crises

The arrival of COVID-19 in Brazil had a marked impact on the health network as well as on the professionals involved, due to the significant number of cases and constantly updated information. In this context, the Cooperative Intelligence Platform for Primary Health Care - Picaps - is set up as a technological platform that assists by systematizing the communication and negotiation processes among actors, with a focus on science and technology. This article sets out to describe the processes of Picaps, which consist of a collaborative system conceived of as a public solution capable of generating innovations in the areas of Science, Technology and Health, in order to tackle COVID-19 in territories with populations in socially vulnerable situations in the Federal District (DF). It integrates data collection and processing, as well as the dissemination of information for its use, both at the governmental and societal levels. Picaps can be seen as a powerful government instrument to help societies across the country, especially those in vulnerable situations, capable of assisting in the use of cooperative intelligence in primary care and health surveillance actions to build innovative solutions such as rapid responses to face health crises in modern times.

Does Supply Concentration Encourage Cooperation? Evidence from Airlines

One of a firm’s key strategic decisions is whether to concentrate its input purchases in a small number of suppliers versus spreading them among many suppliers. We propose that supplier concentration solves an interfirm free-riding problem: By internalizing externalities between suppliers, it incentivizes buyer-supplier cooperation. Guided by a simple theoretical model, we investigate this hypothesis on slot exchanges between major airlines and their outsourced regional airline partners during inclement weather, a setting where externalities between suppliers are ubiquitous. We find robust evidence that a regional airline engages in more frequent slot exchanges with its major airline partner when it operates a larger share of the major’s outsourced flights. We also find that this positive effect of concentration on mutual cooperation increases in the size of the externalities between regionals. Our results suggest that, in contrast with Porter’s classic five forces framework, supplier concentration can serve as a governance instrument for buyer-supplier collaborations. More broadly, our paper provides novel evidence on task concentration as a tool to solve free-riding problems in multiagent settings. This paper was accepted by Joshua Gans, business strategy. Funding: This paper received financial support from the Spanish Research Agency (MICIU/AEI) [Grants PID2022-136983NB-I00, MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.03455 .

Extractivism triggering new forms of governance for the rights of nature: The case of Northwest Ecuador

The intensification of resource extractivism around the world poses multiple challenges and fosters the development of new governance structures, especially among communities on the frontlines of resource extraction. Through a narrative inquiry based on narrative interviews with local actors and experts, this article centres on governance as a resistance strategy of local, frontline, communities in the Ecuadorian Northwest Pichincha and Imbabura provinces. The narratives give insights into: a) How new processes of governance are triggered by mining conflict and, in particular, how governance is shaped and manifested; b) Governance challenges faced by local governments and communities; and c) Lessons and recommendations for governance and how these contribute to the discussion of post-extractivism alternatives. New governance processes are shaped through socio-organisational processes and the strengthening of associations and civil society organisations; the institutionalisation of private, civil society, and community conservation initiatives; as well as the actions of the organised community to successfully invoke the Rights of Nature (RoN) through legal litigation. Institutional gaps that reflect competing visions of development are seen as governance challenges by local government and community members. Overall, this study highlights the critical role of governance structures and instruments rooted in frontline community perspectives, offering pathways for the development of post-extractivism alternatives.

Soils and ecosystem services: policy narratives and instruments for soil health in the EU

European soils and their status is a matter of concern that has entered the policy arena and the objective to restore soil health is part of the Soil strategy to 2030. Aim of this study is to explore the integration of the concept of soil health and the provision of soil ecosystem service by conducting i) a content analysis of EU policies and ii) a scoping review of literature over policy instruments for soil governance. Results show a focus on soil fertility, mainly soil organic matter, while services such as conservation of biodiversity or cultural heritage still appear underrepresented. Findings are reinforced by the gap in literature, providing little evidence of policy instruments contributing to soil health. A more coordinated effort among policy sectors is required to prioritize soil health in the EU; invesitgating the role of market-based instruments could complement what public policies are lacking.

Public Administration and National Security in Nigeria

The paper assessed public administration issues and challenges to national security in Nigeria. This is to know how public administration can be strengthened to curb threats to national security in Nigeria. It is a theoretical paper hence, it relied on data obtained from relevant published textbooks, journals, newspapers, and conference papers. The data collected were analysed through the descriptive method. Using the structural functionalism theory, public administration was identified as a critical instrument of government to achieve its national security goal of Nigeria. It found that public administration has not been able to provide the expected national security in Nigeria. The unfriendly and paralysing situations of the political and socio-economic environment, the collapsing conditions of good governance, and the leadership crisis were found as issues and challenges facing public administration on national security in Nigeria. The paper concluded that public administration is what the government uses to maintain national security but could not provide the expected results due to issues of poor political environment and crisis of leadership. It recommended, among others, the redefinition of political structure and rebirth of leadership in Nigeria to promote a better and more friendly political environment that is conducive for public administration to discharge its function of national security in Nigeria.

How does digital tax administration affect R&D manipulation? Evidence from dual machine learning

Governing firms' R&D manipulation is crucial amid the prevalent opportunism during innovation in emerging economies. This study employs data on listed companies in China from 2010 to 2021 and uses the Golden Tax Project III as a quasi-natural experiment to estimate the effect of digital tax administration (DTA) on R&D manipulation via a dual machine learning model. Based on the capability, opportunity, and motivation-behavior (COM-B) theoretical framework, we explore the key pathways and identify the heterogeneous effects of DTA on various R&D manipulation motivations and directions. The results indicate the following: (1) DTA can regulate firms' R&D manipulation behavior and incentivize innovation quality and diversity. (2) DTA reduces R&D manipulation by enhancing accounting information quality and transmission efficiency in capital markets (internal and external information channels), strengthening tax audits (external monitoring channels), and curbing managerial self-interest and tax avoidance motives (internal motivation channels). (3) The DTA primarily functions as a governance instrument to address manipulation in various directions driven by tax avoidance and executive self-interest motives. These findings offer valuable insights for exploring governance models to address R&D manipulation in emerging economies.

Standardizing “green” extractivism: Chinese & Western environmental, social, and governance instruments in the critical mineral sector

As societies attempt to transition to low-carbon energy and reduce fossil fuel dependencies, mineral extractivism is reaching new heights globally. This trend is accompanied by a surge of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) standards used to justify a perceived just transition. Through an analysis of 13 widely used international instruments and the ways mining companies adopt them, this article develops a comparative examination of Western and Chinese ESG practices, with a focus on guidelines and standards aimed at mitigating the socio-environmental impacts of extractivism. Despite conventional portrayals of Western and Chinese governance standards as disparate or in competition, we find their standards evolve in tandem and conversation in the context of the rush for critical minerals, underscoring the need to move beyond a Western-Chinese binary. This research also challenges the notion of China attempting to set global standards. Chinese companies increasingly embrace ESG principles due to reputational risks, national standardization efforts, and international partnerships. They, however, focus more on downstream stakeholders, while Western counterparts lean towards upstream considerations. Notably, guidelines are employed similarly by Western and Chinese companies, albeit influenced by geographical, material, and political considerations. We conclude with future directions for critical and social science research on climate-related extraction.

Pricing effects of extreme high temperature: Evidence from municipal corporate bonds in China

Climate change and the escalation of extreme weather events jeopardize every corner of the globe. This paper investigates the impact of extreme high temperatures on the spread of newly issued municipal corporate bonds (MCBs) in China, which serves as a crucial instrument for local governments to meet the financial demands. We find that relative to the reference temperature range of 16 °C–20 °C, the issuing spread of MCBs increases by 2.48 basis points for each extra day where the mean temperature surpasses 32 °C. The findings highlight the risk-increasing effects of extreme temperatures in financial markets.

Statistics as politics: a methodology for the critical approach of tourism quantification

ABSTRACT Quantification is a central instrument of tourism governance, as numbers are perceived as a solid factual basis for action. However, critical studies of quantification reveal the political, performative and constructed nature of statistics. Adopting this perspective, we offer an original methodological and conceptual framework for the analysis of tourism quantification systems. The framework includes the mapping of actors and datasets, ethnomethodological observation applied to statistical work, and discourse and controversy analysis. Such an investigation illuminates how the production of quantitative knowledge reflects and is embedded in power structures and power shifts in the tourism sector. It also allows to study quantitative observation as part of the sector's response to contemporary challenges, such as overtourism, the rise of big data, or sustainability.

Global governance and the promissory visions of education: challenges and agendas

ABSTRACT This article – and the special issue it introduces – contributes to the expanding scholarly literature on the global governance of education, with a particular focus on its future-oriented and ‘promissory’ dimension. Inspired by Beckert’s (2020) concept of ‘promissory’ legitimacy, a key contribution of this special issue is to critically analyse past and contemporary promissory narratives of the major international organisations and other global actors concerning the future of education. We focus on three overarching themes that emerge from the contributions to this special issue: Problems of legitimacy in the global governance of education; a shift towards multistakeholderism, which we explore through the lens of ‘the neuro-affective turn’; the use of crisis narratives as an instrument of global governance, and geopolitical shifts and the decline of the liberal world order.

Global governance through voluntary sustainability standards: Developments, trends and challenges

AbstractVoluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are transnational governance instruments that can be leveraged to pursue sustainable development in global value chains. They have proliferated since the 1990s in terms of their number and the share of global production they govern. This paper shares some key insights arising from the considerable body of literature that has analysed the role of these instruments for sustainable production and trade. First, it introduces VSS, traces the evolution of their adoption and takes stock of the research on their sustainability impacts. Next, some major developments in the VSS realm are discussed, related to public policy and the emergence of national sustainability standards. The paper then zooms in on the challenges and limitations of VSS in transforming value chains towards sustainability, focusing on the shortcomings related to inclusiveness and the problems arising from their proliferation. The paper concludes by distilling recommendations on overcoming these challenges, especially in light of recent policy developments, and outlines what different stakeholders can do to make VSS more effective and inclusive instruments for sustainable value chains.

Who Gets Water? Governance Failures & Persistent Drinking Water and Sanitation Issues

he sustainable provision of potable water and sanitation services presents a multitude of fundamental challenges concerning access and allocation. These challenges extend beyond water resources themselves, encompassing the allocation of rights, responsibilities, and associated risks. Disparities in water supply and sanitation services are stark, both geographically and socioeconomically. A thorough analysis requires examining the international governance instruments that guide access, the property rights frameworks that dictate allocation, and the scales at which these rights and frameworks operate. Additionally, the responsibilities vested in various authorities and stakeholders must be scrutinized. Water insecurity, particularly with respect to drinking water and sanitation, is not solely attributable to natural phenomena. This paper presents a literature review (2008-2023) encompassing research from the Earth Systems Governance community and beyond, focusing on water supply services and sanitation. Access and allocation were interpreted broadly, encompassing issues of inclusive development, justice, sustainability, and additional themes identified through the review process. The findings suggest a significant role for governments in facilitating access and allocation, with failures in these areas leading to long-term consequences. This will necessitate a holistic approach that considers water access and allocation alongside interconnected issues like sanitation, development, climate change, energy, and food security, all within a multi-level governance framework.

Характерные особенности современных информационных войн политической направленности

The article analyzes the characteristic features of information wars of a political orientation. Today, information wars are an integral element of the political system, acting as an instrument of political governance. The specificity of information warfare lies primarily in the fact that the fighting takes place in the plane of virtual space. It was revealed that the worldwide information computer network has brought information warfare to a new level, becoming a powerful tool for implementing information attacks. This trend is reflected in the political conflicts that occur within the boundaries of the information field.

PERAN BADAN USAHA MILIK DAERAH SEBAGAI INSTRUMEN INVESTASI PEMERINTAH DAERAH: STUDI KASUS DIVESTASI SAHAM NEWMONT

The investments made by Local Governments in Regional Owned Enterprises (ROEs) have not yielded satisfactory returns. One potential investment opportunity for Local Governments is participating in the divestment of foreign shareholders in mining companies. This study analyzes the role of ROEs in divesting mining company shares, including the legality of ROE establishment, the position of ROEs in mining company divestment, and their role as investment instruments for Local Governments, using PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara as a case study. Using a normative method and analyzing secondary data descriptively, the study finds that Local Governments must ensure the administrative process of establishing ROEs complies with applicable laws and regulations. ROEs can partner with investors to address funding difficulties in foreign divestment transactions. Additionally, the priority position of Local Governments in divesting foreign shares in mining companies should provide a strong bargaining position in negotiating the establishment of ROEs and subsidiaries used as vehicles in these transactions.