Government Aid Research Articles

Ideology, financial circumstances, and attitudes toward public and private foreign aid

Does ideology influence voter preferences for foreign aid in the same way it does for domestic redistribution? Economically vulnerable left-leaning citizens, who are normatively strong proponents of government aid, may not be as committed to increasing actual spending. Such citizens may see themselves as competing with the foreign poor for domestic resources. Similarly, while affluent right-leaning citizens may oppose increasing foreign aid due to skepticism about government spending, this might not extend to private donations. Instead, they may view non-governmental organizations and charities as alternatives that leverage private expertise to assist poor countries. Using four years of public opinion data from 15 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development donor countries, I find support for the conditional effect of ideology and economic self-interest on both public and private aid attitudes. By focusing on three different measures—the morality of aid, public aid spending, and private donations—I further explore variations in aid attitudes.

Bridging the Gap: Unveiling the Factors of Government Support Influencing the Success of Vietnamese Agricultural SMEs Post-COVID-19

This study investigates the essential role of government aid in enhancing the resilience and success of small and medium-sized agricultural firms in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research fills a gap in the existing literature by concentrating on strategies for long-term recovery rather than immediate reactions. Using a structured survey and multivariate linear regression analysis, the study engaged 200 proprietors and executives from the Red River and Mekong Delta areas. The results exhibit a favorable association between governmental support and the success of small and medium-sized enterprises, emphasizing the necessity of tailored governmental interventions to enhance sector competitiveness. While offering valuable insights for policymakers, the study’s geographical and sectoral scope is restricted, indicating the need for more extensive research and qualitative evaluations to deepen comprehension of the effects of governmental support in diverse settings. This research has the potential to significantly influence policy formulation and further scholarly investigation in the economic landscape post-pandemic.

The German Business Panel: Firm-Level Data for Accounting and Taxation Research

ABSTRACT The German Business Panel (GBP) periodically surveys key decision-makers via a large sample of companies in Germany. The survey questions investigate managers’ accounting and taxation choices as well as the expected and perceived outcomes of those decisions. To obtain causal evidence, the survey supports the use of randomized survey experiments. The evidence from the GBP can meaningfully advance our understanding of issues that require data on internal processes as well as expectations, perceptions, and objectives behind ex-post reported accounting figures. The target population comprises the universe of legal entities included in the official German Statistical Business Register. We show that the dominance of small and medium-sized entities is a feature that Germany shares with many European countries, implying that GBP findings will be reasonably generalizable to European settings. We illustrate the usefulness of GBP data by presenting evidence from the initial waves of the GBP during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings show how government aid programs contributed unevenly to the solvency of the most negatively affected companies, and how companies, rather than consumers, benefited from a temporary reduction of VAT rates. The paper also demonstrates how the scientific community can use the GBP data.

Is in-kind kinder than cash? The impact of money vs. food aid on social emotions and aid take-up

Over the past decade, there has been a shift in the way charities deliver humanitarian aid. Historically, the most prevalent way to help the global poor was by providing in-kind asset transfers. Recently, alternatives to in-kind aid, such as cash aid, have been increasing in prevalence. Although there has been widespread endorsement from the academic community and the public on the popularizing model of giving cash aid, one perspective remains untouched: the recipient's perspective. Thus, the present research explores how food-insecure individuals feel when receiving money vs. in-kind food aid to help meet their hunger and nutrition needs. Specifically, we explore the degree of positive (e.g., feeling cared for) and negative (e.g., feeling ashamed) social emotions felt when receiving the aid opportunity and how willing recipients are to accept monetary (vs. food) aid. Results from five preregistered experiments (N = 3,110)-a field experiment in Kenya and four online experiments in the United States-find that monetary (vs. food) aid elicits comparatively more of a market-pricing relationship and less of a communal sharing relationship and, hence, makes people feel less positive and more negative social emotions when receiving the help. Subsequently, recipients are less likely to take up monetary (vs. food) aid from a charity. However, we find that this effect does not persist when receiving government aid: Recipients are similarly willing to accept money and in-kind food aid from the government. This research suggests that future scholarship ought to examine ways to improve psychological experiences when receiving money from charity.

Implementing Social Media Management Against Sustainability Business on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

The goal of a sustainable business strategy is to create long-term value for the firm, its stakeholders, and society at large by integrating economic, environmental, and social objectives into corporate goals, actions, and planning. It has long been believed that developing value outside of these parameters is illegitimate. Among the emerging nations that continues to protect micro, small, and medium-sized businesses is Indonesia. MSMEs, or micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, are the foundation of the economy. The government has worked very hard to maintain and grow MSMEs in the community. MSMEs are divided into a number of sectors by the regional administration, including trade, home industry, agriculture, food, fisheries, handicrafts, and other industries. Today's MSMEs face several obstacles, including disorganized data and a dearth of industrial facilities capable of producing commodities with significant added value. The government's financial and aid initiatives are frequently off course due to irregularities and disorganized data. Additionally, the government is currently concentrating on enhancements to facilitate better organization of MSMEs data. One significant initiative that will be carried out in the nation is the strengthening and transformation of the digital ecosystem. The secret to accelerating recovery and boosting the competitiveness of the national economy, particularly raising MSMEs' productivity and performance, is to digitize rural areas faster than cities

Attitudes on Policy and Punishment: Opposition to Inequality-Based Government Aid Predicts Support for Capital Punishment

Objective: There exists a well-developed body of research on the attitudinal correlates of support for capital punishment. Among the most robust of these is racism and racial attributions. The study presented here was designed to explore whether policy prescriptions reflective of racial attitudes can predict support for capital punishment. Method: Data come from the 2018 iteration of the NORC General Social Survey. The dependent variable is a dichotomous measure of support for the death penalty for people convicted of murder. The independent variable is a 5-level Likert-type item of support for government aid to Blacks to help overcome discrimination. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between variables net of standard controls. Results: Over 63 percent of the total sample supported the death penalty. Support among those strongly favored government aid to Blacks was 41 percent. Support among those who strongly rejected aid to Blacks was 78 percent. Results of the regression analysis showed each decrease in the level of support for government aid to Blacks was associated with an 18.6 percent increase in the likelihood of supporting the death penalty. Conclusion: Capital punishment support is not simply a function of abstract, hypothetical racial attitudes. The findings reported here suggest support for the death penalty is associated with concrete policy prescriptions that maintain racial inequalities. Given that capital punishment continues in large part due to public support, it should be recognized that this support is based on a desire to maintain racial inequalities through government action.

The Effect of MSME Credit and Government AID on MSME Growth and Reduction of Poverty Rate in the City of Balikpapan

The Effect of MSME Credit and Government AID on MSME Growth and Reduction of Poverty Rate in the City of Balikpapan

Effect of COVID-19 adaptation strategies on arable crop farmers’ output in the Umuahia agricultural zone of Abia State, Nigeria

This study analyzed the effect of COVID-19 adaptation strategies on arable crop farmers’ production in the Umuahia Agricultural Zone of Abia State, Nigeria. A multistage random sampling procedure was used to select seventy-two (72) arable crop farmers. Data for the study were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics (using multiple regression and Z-test analyses). The results showed that arable crop farmers had a high perceived effect (= 2.5) of COVID-19 on arable crop production and a high utilization (= 2.4) of COVID-19 adaptation strategies. The mean farm output of arable crop farmers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic was 2112.871 kg/ha and 23222.282 kg/ha, respectively. Multiple regression analysis revealed that intensive use of organic manure (1.3898 coefficients), family labor (2.0466 coefficients), less cultivable farm land (0.18189 coefficients), and access to government aid (0.6994) all had an impact on the output of arable crop farmers in the study area. The Z-test result showed that there were no significant differences between the farm output of arable crop farmers during the 2112.87109 (SD = 3158.6590) and post-COVID-19 2322.2920 (1032.5310) pandemics. The study concluded that arable crop farmers had high utilization of COVID-19 adaptation strategies. The study therefore recommended the formulation of important policy as Nigeria moves from lockdown aimed at promoting economic recovery and measures to mitigate further spread to promote access of farmers to land, which can lead to increased farmer output in the study area.

Food insecurity, income loss, healthcare access, and other exacerbated social inequalities among people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil (2021–2023)

BackgroundDuring COVID-19, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased, further exacerbating the violation of basic rights necessary for human survival. Thus, the study aimed to investigate the inequalities associated with income loss and food insecurity among people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in 24 Brazilian state capitals and the Federal District among the homeless population using a validated instrument. Descriptive analyses and binary logistic regressions were performed.ResultsAmong 1512 homeless participants (median age:37, range:18–89), 39.4% had incomplete primary education, 83.7% earned below minimum wage or had no income, 56.5% received government aid, and 87.1% used the Sistema Único de Saúde (Brazilian Public Health System-SUS). During the pandemic, 42.0% faced food difficulties, and 26.3% experienced income loss. Across Brazilian macroregions, lack of employment affected four regions, with high SUS dependency and food scarcity. In the North (72.7%) and Northeast (51.9%), most lacked government aid, while in the Midwest (51.6%), temporary income loss prevailed. In regression analyses, men, black/mixed race, those married or in a stable union, government aid recipients, and SUS users had greater difficulty acquiring food during COVID-19. Men with incomplete high school or higher education and income above minimum wage were less likely to suffer temporary income loss, and black/mixed race individuals and those living on the streets were more likely.ConclusionsThe study showed how socioeconomic factors increased income loss and food acquisition difficulties during COVID-19, exacerbating vulnerability and social inequities for the people experiencing homelessness.

Business groups and the ‘big push’ concept: Rethinking the dynamics of zaibatsu growth in Japan

This study investigates the growth trajectory of the Japanese business group Sumitomo, challenging previous research that used the ‘big push’ concept to explain the expansion of Japanese business groups. Rather than relying on government assistance, as the big push concept suggests, Sumitomo successfully diversified into different business sectors by leveraging its existing resources and financial networks. This led to an unintentional but effective expansion into the finance, warehousing, and real estate sectors. Sumitomo’s case underlines the importance of exploring additional context-specific factors in business growth, moving beyond the conventional application of the big push concept. The findings of this study will prompt future research to re-evaluate the growth patterns of business groups with minimal government aid, particularly in regions distant from government control, to foster a more nuanced understanding of a country’s business landscape.

Reprint of: Profiling the plight of disconnected youth in America

In a successful transition from youth to adulthood, individuals pass through a sequence of roles involving school, work, and family formation that culminate in their becoming self-sufficient adults. However, some “disconnected” youth spend extended periods of time outside of any role that constitutes an element of the pathway towards adult independence. Assisting these youth requires a systematic understanding of what “disconnection” means, how many disconnected youth there are, who these youth are, and how the scale of the problem has evolved over time. Using the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth for 1997 and 1979, we address these issues by creating concrete definitions of “disconnection spells” using rich data on youths’ enrollment, work, and personal histories. We estimate a multi-state duration model to account for right censoring and to understand differences across salient sub-groups. Our estimates imply that in the early 2000s, almost 19% and 25% of young men and young women, respectively, experienced a disconnection spell by age 23 using our basic definition. These rates are substantially higher for certain sub-groups defined by race/ethnicity, parental education, and government aid receipt, rising as high as 30+% by age 23. Approximately 60% of youth with a disconnection spell have it last longer than a year, and close to 10% have it last longer than 4 years. However, once reconnected, a majority of youth go at least three years without a re-disconnection spell. Patterns of initial disconnection changed markedly from the 1980s to the 2000s, as young women saw a 12 percentage point decline over time. Moreover, the Black-White gap in disconnection has fallen for women, but increased for men. Our profile of disconnection experiences provides a starting point for government agencies aiming to understand where, how, and with whom to intervene to prevent lengthy disconnection spells.

Exploring the Causes of Squatting in the Balkhu Corridor of Kathmandu

Squatting persists primarily in urban areas due to fulfil housing needs and lack of viable livelihood options for marginalized people. In Nepal, it is generally seen as a combination of economic and political factors. The study aims to assess the poverty levels among the squatters in the Balkhu Corridor of Kathmandu and to investigate the causes of squatting as a manifestation of urban poverty. The research utilizes a qualitative approach. The results indicate that squatters in the Balkhu Corridor lack options, resources, support, and government aid meant for the homeless. The research shows that landlessness is not the main reason for squatting among migrant families in urban areas. Instead, the financial strain of meeting housing, education, healthcare, and other essential needs exacerbates the difficulties faced by these families, ultimately pushing them towards squatting. Nepal's ruling and opposition parties utilize squatter communities for political gain. The flow of squatting in urban regions of Nepal can be linked to notable historical occurrences such as the People's Movement in the 1990s and the internal armed conflict spanning from 1996 to 2006.

Evolution of Sustainable Finance and its Opportunities: A Bibliometric Analysis

With the worldwide promotion of sustainable development, companies across all sectors strive for high profitability while prioritizing the balance between human activities and the natural environment. Sustainable Finance (SF) is proposed in response to this context. This article retrieves 650 papers on SF and energy policies from the Web of Science and Scopus database. Initially, the research does an analytical, statistical analysis that includes several aspects, such as general growth, publishing sources, research locations, and prominent scientific research institutes. The research uses the clustering method to identify the prevailing areas of study in recent years and forecast future research directions. This research identifies significant publications, esteemed experts, discoveries, and forthcoming SF and energy policy research areas. This study enables a systematic and thorough comprehension of SF and energy policy studies. Future research opportunities lie in sustainable bonds, government aid, and greenhouse gas emissions. Future investigations can be conducted by integrating Fintech, big data, and blockchain technology.

Heterogeneous joint vaccine allocation and quarantine restriction planning under uncertainty: The COVID-19 pandemic

Once effective vaccines are discovered for a pandemic and initial distribution infrastructure, and mechanisms are implemented, the next concern is an optimal vaccination campaign to stop the disease or minimize the casualties. This paper studies the optimization of a Vaccine Distribution Network (VDN) through a single-objective Mixed-Integer Non-Linear Programming (MINLP) model for minimizing the total cost in terms of governmental aid (to maintain the economy), logistics, vaccination, and hospitalization costs. The proposed model develops the optimal joint vaccination-quarantine strategy under equity considerations to (1) determine the optimal allocation of available vaccine stockpiles to different population classes in different regions and (2) seek to impose quarantine restrictions to different regions optimally. The proposed model was applied to a real case study, the vaccine distribution network in France. Through a comprehensive numerical analysis, the optimal vaccine allocation is calculated, and the impact of equity and quarantine on the performance of the distribution network is investigated. Moreover, fractional dosing on the number of infections is examined. The results show that equity considerations, counter-intuitively, lead to an increased number of infections. Furthermore, it is illustrated that fractional dosing helps policymakers to control the pandemic better under a limited supply of vaccines.

Manajemen Pembiayaan Pendidikan di Pondok Pesantren

This study aims to analyze the financial management of education at Bustanul Wildan Islamic Boarding School. The primary focus is on how the boarding school manages its funding sources, budget allocation, and financial sustainability efforts to support educational activities and daily operations. The methodology used is a case study with a qualitative approach, involving in-depth interviews with the school's administrators, direct observation, and financial document analysis. The study reveals that Bustanul Wildan Islamic Boarding School has diverse funding sources, including community donations, student fees, and government aid. Budget management is conducted transparently and accountably, although challenges remain in maintaining a balance between income and expenditures. For financial sustainability, the boarding school has developed self-sustaining businesses such as agriculture and handicrafts involving student participation. The findings indicate that effective and innovative financial management is crucial to ensuring high-quality education continuity at the boarding school. The implications include recommendations for enhancing the financial management capacity of school administrators and diversifying income sources to reduce dependence on external donations.

Equal Opportunities in Rural Tourism Entrepreneurship: Challenges in Malaysia

Summary Malaysia’s rural demography is multi-racial, with a blend of indigenous sub-groups. To advance the socio-economic status of rural communities, the government introduced various incentives and protectionist policies, including targeted measures in tourism development. As rural Malaysia is predominantly home to the Malays, the indigenous Orang Asli and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, these policies are consistent with the government’s constitutional responsibility to safeguard these groups’ welfare. Notwithstanding the equal opportunity premise of the tourism policies, the government’s initiatives to advance rural tourism entrepreneurship arguably benefit some groups more than others. In West Malaysia, this is due to the indigenous Orang Asli’s lack of entrepreneurial readiness, which means that they are less able to capitalize on these opportunities. Consequently, the Malay entrepreneurs reap the benefits of protectionist policies and government aid, while the Orang Asli lag behind in tourism participation. This is arguably the outcome of a broad-brush approach in capacity building, with limited differentiation between the rural communities. Information © The Author 2024

Understanding the role of regional cooperation in mitigating ecological footprint: An empirical analysis of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Confronted with an escalating ecological crisis, regional cooperation has emerged as a recognized strategy for orchestrating collective actions among diverse stakeholders across territories. Nonetheless, the potential of regional cooperation in mitigating ecological footprints remains significantly underexplored. To address this gap, this study employs the case of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to quantitatively scrutinize the impacts of regional cooperation on ecological footprints from 2010 to 2018, while also elucidating its underlying mechanisms. Our investigation into the GBA unveils four pivotal findings. First, the data paints an increasing ecological footprint picture across the GBA, with a discernible spatial pattern of decreasing intensity from coastal to hinterland cities over the past decade. Second, intergovernmental cooperation amplifies the ecological footprint, a phenomenon intricately tied to top-down interventions from upper-level governments. Such highly formalized spatial interventions often overlook local ecological repercussions, thereby intensifying discord. Third, the collaboration between government and market entities aids in reducing the ecological footprint, provided it is contingent on the symbiotic relationship between regional market competition policies provided by the upper-level government and the flexible, informal arrangements offered by local governments to support enterprises. Last, regional cooperation may intensify the ecological footprint in ordinary cities through the transfer of industries from core cities.

Follow the Giver: Is Chinese MNEs’ Investment in Africa Linked to Official Aid?

AbstractDoes Chinese aid to African countries trigger Chinese foreign direct investment? Bridging the literature on the impact of foreign aid on foreign direct investment (FDI) and that on state ownership, we consider FDI by China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) compared with that of its privately owned enterprises (POEs) and find FDI by the former is more likely to follow Chinese governmental aid to Africa. Borrowing from institutional theory, we posit that FDI by SOEs follows political imperatives while FDI by POEs pursues market motives. Using data from multiple sources on 3,760 Chinese FDI projects in Africa between 2001 and 2015, we find a correlation between SOE FDI and government aid than that of POEs; that aid has a greater impact on the probability of FDI when the policies of the host country and those of China are in sync, especially in the case of SOEs; and that in low-investment-risk countries the link between aid and investment is weakened, especially in the case of POEs. The results are robust and consistent across different measures and analyses. We contribute to the literature on the relationship between aid and FDI, as well as to that on varieties of capitalism.

Perbandingan Simple Additive Weighting dan Weighted Product Pada Penerimaan Bantuan Raskin

In an effort to reduce the burden on family budgets, the government implemented the Poor Rice Program (Raskin), a social security program for the poor that offers subsidized rice assistance to low-income households. However, in practice, many households are categorized as poor even though they should not be. On the other hand, poor families should be involved, but are not included, and the process is still seen as less focused. Errors in data processing procedures can occur because Raskin recipients are still determined by human data processing. Data processing is time consuming, especially when it comes to ranking and decision making. In this regard, this research explores ways in which Decision Support Systems (DSS) can encourage faster and more precise decision making. Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) and Weighted Product (WP) are the two main methods covered. To increase the effectiveness and accuracy of government aid programs in Indonesia, the main objective of this research is to compare the use of SAW and WP techniques in making decisions regarding the receipt of Rice Miskin aid. The findings of this research support each other by referring to local residents with the pseudonyms W3, W12, W9 , W11, and W17 as recipients of rice assistance from regional governments who are inadequate in decision-making authority positions. Keywords: Decision Support System(DSS),Raskin, Simple Additive Weighting, Weighted Product.

Army Orientations and Student Handbooks: Two Perspectives on Student Exchange during the US Occupation of Japan

In 1951, the largest cohort of Japanese exchange students in history arrived in the United States. Between 1949 and 1952, around 787 Japanese nationals received Government Aid and Relief in Occupied Areas (GARIOA) scholarships, intended to cultivate a learned group of people to spread American ideas in Japan. The purpose was to provide Japanese university graduates with first-hand experience of US democracy; earning advanced degrees was secondary. The Army produced elaborate orientations and films to explain this goal to GARIOA recipients, who were among the only Japanese able to travel abroad and attend US universities. Because students found Army materials insufficient in preparing them for the challenges of studying and living in the United States and because they wanted to use the GARIOA program to their own ends, they wrote their own handbooks. A prime example is A Handbook for Japanese Students Going to America (Beikoku seikatsu sama zama), 1956, by the Exchange Student Association (Beikoku ryūgakusei kai). This article argues that Army orientations and student handbooks described Occupation-era educational exchange from two different perspectives and helped both groups to achieve their version of success and to engage in a larger conversation about the political role of exchange students in Cold War diplomacy.