House Budget Research Articles

Review on the Role of Agricultural Extension Service on Increasing Farm Productivity in Ethiopia

Improving farm productivity either through introduction of modern technologies or by increasing agricultural extension services is vital. Agricultural extension is the primary mechanism that increases agricultural production. Therefore, reviewing the role of agricultural extension on increasing farm productivity has been interesting issue. Cognizant of this fact, reviewing the role of agricultural extension in increasing farm productivity is an important issue for policy makers in order to improve productivity. Consequently, this seminar was aimed to provide information on the role of agricultural extension in increasing farm productivity and to review agricultural extension constraints in Ethiopia. The review shows that agricultural extension service had positive and significant role on increasing farm productivity by increasing the farmer’s knowhow on agronomic practices such as pest and disease control and adoption of improved seed varieties as well as soil and water conservation technologies. On the other hand, the review reveals that weak interaction; low participation, lack of technical skills, missed use of services, the weak link of research extension, a lack of incentives, and a lack of suitable adaptation to technologies constrain the extension system across the country. Thus, based on the review the following recommendations are forwarded. Extension services should be increase to farmers by the government agents especially by district agriculture development unit, and NGO’s to assist farmers to have easy access to extension so as to increase farm productivity. In addition, to increase the current working conditions of extension agents, including transportation, housing, and proper budget allocation, the government should adopt a very responsible and practical approach.

White House budget includes push to eliminate hepatitis C

$11.3 billion would go to treatment, testing, and education.

Housing and choice in Iquique and Alto Hospicio, Chile: Possibilities and limitations regarding the 2030 agenda and SDG 11

Access to housing, more than an enforceable right, has become a multidimensional problem in Chile. Faced with the impossibility of obtaining housing through subsidies, informal settlements—camps and land grabs—have expanded through the country's different cities since 2019. Given the evident collision with the Sustainable Development Goals (in particular Goal 11) commitments to sustainable cities, the Chilean State has increased its housing budget since 2020 to reactivate investment during the COVID-19 pandemic and expand the housing access alternatives for lower-class families with few possibilities chances of obtaining a bank mortgage. But is it possible to choose housing in contexts like the one described? In addition to environmental difficulties, cities in northern Chile, wedged between the sea and the desert, need to produce a socially sustainable environment in accordance with the requirements of complex, dynamic systems under permanent pressure to generate wellbeing. This manuscript seeks to explore and analyze these tensions in the cities of Iquique and Alto Hospicio, in Chile's Tarapacá Region. They form a dynamic conurbation, where daily mobility and the dispute over access to housing clash with the choice offered by the different subsidy programs and the expansion of camps on the edges of the desert. So, how far or how close is SDG 11 in places like these? Is there a viable alternative for urban sustainability in precarious spaces?

Energy security of Ukrainian regions in the context of increasing the resilience of their economy in conditions of global fluctuations

The war and its consequences for the Ukrainian economy have significantly increased the security challenges for most regions of our country. Security problems in the energy sector took one of the first places due to the destruction or damage of most energy infrastructure objects as a result of hostilities or artillery fire and missile strikes. The southern and northeastern regions are in the most threatening and difficult situation as their energy facilities are exposed to almost daily shelling. The situation is somewhat better in the central and western regions of Ukraine but there, too, missile strikes have significantly damaged a number of power plants, thermal power plants, transformer substations and other energy infrastructure facilities. All this urges the state authorities and local governments of each region of Ukraine to take urgent measures aimed at strengthening energy security and implementing modern systems for the protection of energy infrastructure objects. Primarily, the expediency of deconcentration and spatial distribution of energy generating and transmission capacities should be noted. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen their physical protection and stimulate the involvement of investments in the technological modernization of the regional energetics. The problem will be partly solved by implementing renewable energy components and increasing the efficiency of heat and power generation based on the use of alternative fuels.The introduction of technological innovations and the spatial distribution of energy facilities within individual regions may lead to an increase in transformational and transactional costs of energy production and its transmission to end users. Because of that magnification the energy efficiency of housing and communal services and budget institutions is very important direction of increasing energy security in almost all regions of Ukraine. To do this, energy-saving technologies should not only be introduced, but social populism, traditional for Ukraine, should be abandoned in the energy and housing and communal spheres in favor of market mechanisms for electricity and thermal energy pricing.

The Housing Financing Policy and Its Impacts on Low-Income Communities and Indonesian Economy

The housing financing policy or the Liquidity Facility of Housing Financing (FLPP) aims to help low-income communities (MBR) access affordable and livable housing. Unfortunately, MBR's housing backlog is still high, affecting their productivity. The housing financing policy also leverages the changes in other sectors' activities, which can increase or contract economic performance. This study aims to analyze the impact of housing financing policies on MBR's welfare and the Indonesian economy's performance. The Recursive-Dynamic Computable General Equilibrium (RDCGE) and the Econometric Model capture economic resources reallocation at MBR and macroeconomic levels due to housing financing policies. The study results indicate that the FLPP can potentially increase the growth and development of housing and improve community welfare. In addition, the FLPP positively impacts economic performance, although it will make specific sectors worse off. The policy recommendations are related to the simultaneous improvement of the demand and supply sides, as well as improvement in housing budget

Construction capital structure; soe and non-soe in the pandemic era

This research aims to actuate the determinants of the capital structure of the state and non-state-owned construction industries during the infrastructure policy and the Covid-19 pandemic periods. Secondary data were collected quarterly from 2013 to 2020 from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), Bank Indonesia, and the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing budget using a dynamic panel data with the Generalized Method of Moments. It was found that speed of adjustment, profitability, tangibility, activity, and infrastructure policies affect the capital structure of state-owned construction companies. Meanwhile, speed of adjustment, profitability, tangibility, and exchange rate affect non-state-owned construction companies. The result showed that state-owned and non-state-owned construction companies have a gap of 27.3% and 17.7% %, respectively. Furthermore, both companies have speed adjustment values of 1.38 period and 1.21 period. This means that non-state-owned construction companies' adjustment speed is faster than their state-owned counterpart. Therefore, the decision-making of debt construction companies needs to consider the financial characteristics and ownership of the company.

DECENTRALIZATION OF HOUSING POLICY FOR LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES IN URBAN AREAS: AN ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL, FISCAL AND, ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY

The purpose of this study is to discuss housing decentralization policies for urban Low-Income Communities based on three decentralization issues, namely politics, fiscal, and administration, and to recommend the concept of housing decentralization as an instrument and housing policy reform. The idea of decentralization of housing policy can’t be separated from various problems such as the debate over the authority of housing policy, the dependence of the regional government's housing budget on the central government, and various other obstacles. This study employed academic literature review related to decentralization studies and housing policies. The results of the study show that the three decentralization issues that are correlated with urban housing policies for Low-Income Communities have not yet fully provided an optimal impact on the realization of the ideal and desirable urban housing policies for Low-Income Communities. However, the very strong relationship between the three issues of decentralization and urban housing policy can be an important idea and recommendation to promote housing decentralization as an instrument and direction of urban housing policy reform for Low-Income Communities in Indonesia in the future.

The Social and Community Consequences of the Opioid Epidemic

We provide a brief orientation to the articles that comprise this volume, which is an effort to understand the consequences of the opioid epidemic in a variety of societal and community domains. These domains include child welfare, living arrangements, education, food insecurity, housing, and public budgets, and they are often paid scant attention compared to research that focuses on the direct effects of opioid use. We give an overview of the articles that comprise this volume and discuss the ways in which they contribute new empirical insights on the consequences of the opioid crisis in the U.S. and Canada. We conclude with thoughts on the challenges inherent in this work, insights about how this volume of research might help us understand the broader reach of the epidemic, and how it helps in the development of prosocial public policies.

Numerical Modeling of Flash Flood Risk Mitigation and Operational Warning in Urban Areas

This paper aims to demonstrate the research-to-application and operational use of numerical hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to (a) quantify potential flash flood risks in small urban communities with high spatial resolution; (b) assess the effectiveness of possible flood mitigation measures appropriate for such communities; and (c) construct an effective operational urban flash flood warning system. The analysis is exemplified through case studies pertaining to a small community with dense housing and steep terrain in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, through numerical simulations with a customized self-contained hydrologic and hydraulic modeling software. Issues associated with limited data and the corresponding modeling are discussed. In order to simulate the extreme scenarios, 24-h design storms with return periods from 1 to 100 years with distinctive temporal and spatial distributions were constructed using both daily and hourly precipitation for each month of the rainy season (May–October). Four flood mitigation plans were examined based on natural channel revegetation and the installation of gabion dams with detention basins. Due to limitations arising from the housing layout and budgets, a feasible plan to implement both measures in selected regions, instead of all regions, is recommended as one of the top candidates from a cost-to-performance ratio perspective. Numerical modeling, customized for the conditions of the case study, is proven to be an effective and robust tool to evaluate urban flood risks and to assess the performance of mitigation measures. The transition from hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to an effective urban flash warning operational system is demonstrated by the regional Urban Flash Flood Warning System (UFFWS) implemented in Istanbul, Turkey. With quality-controlled remotely sensed precipitation observations and forecast data, the system generates forcing in the hydrologic and hydraulic modeling network to generate both historical and forecast flow to assist forecasters in evaluating urban flash flood risks.

President Biden requests $1.1 billion increase for SAPT BG

Last week the White House sent its budget request to Congress, calling for a $1.1 billion increase for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant. The President also requested an addition $475 million for SOR. STR was replaced by SOR and not funded since. The State Opioid Response (SOR) grants going to states received an increase in the final appropriations bill approved by Congress March 11, to $1.525 billion from $1.5 billion. Although called “opioid” grants, this money can be spent on stimulant use disorders as well. The SOR grants go to the state alcohol and drug abuse directors: the Single State Authorities (SSAs) who have jurisdiction over the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) block grant. Last year the White House also requested a similar increase for the SAPT BG for FY 2022, but it was not appropriated by Congress which only added $50 million (see Spending bill: Increases in SAPT block grant, SOR, NIDA, ADAW March 21; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.33379). More details next week on the White House budget request for FY 2023.

Risk analysis in social housing delivery: A public–private partnerships approach

AbstractFaced with fiscal pressure and concerns over bureaucratic inefficiency, policymakers at Australia's state government level are evaluating instruments to improve social housing services. A public–private partnerships (PPPs) procurement approach is one such instrument for increasing housing supply to address housing affordability in Australia. To determine the value of pursuing a project through a PPP delivery versus a traditional procurement approach, public administrators need to determine discount rates for comparing different cash flows streams on a consistent basis. Additionally, they must estimate public sector comparator (PSC) to determine public sector's risk exposure in social housing delivery and allocating constrained housing budgets. This research assesses the discount rates and estimates the risk profile of social housing delivery faced by public agencies. Three case studies were utilised to present project estimate probability distributions for gaining insight into risk exposure in social housing delivery and helping housing budget allocation at the state government level. The findings recommend the use of an estimated 30‐year treasury bond rate (3.14%) as the PSC discount rate for social infrastructure. Additionally, the results suggest the use of a PPP discount rate for social housing of 6.01%, given a risk‐free rate of 3.14% and a systematic risk premium of 2.87%.

The Study ofeffects of Annual Housing Budget Allocation and Housing Provision in Enugu State of Nigeria

The Nigerian construction industry is faced with challenges of inadequate allocation of resources and mismanagement of budget toward housing provision. This has led to an alarming rate of the housing deficit, costly renting, repeated collapse of buildings, high rate of squatting, professional incompetence and increase in crime. This paper examines the problems and effects of annual housing budget allocation and Housing Provision in Enugu State, Nigeria. Secondary data were collected from experts working in state civil servants concerned with budgeting and housing matters in Enugu State. One hundred and forty-six (146) well questionnaires were properly completed, formed the basis of the study and were analyzed by descriptive ranking and factor analysis, SPSS and Relative Importance Index. The result from the study shows that there are problems in housing budget allocation and this affects its provision drastically; Ineffective mechanism for allocation and utilization of housing funds; Lack of citizen participation and professionals; Lack of accurate data on housing needs of the State and undue political influence in approval and award of housing contracts and a factor analysis was used in order to solidify result. The study finally recommended that government should give housing target to the housing agencies or developer in the state; should develop political will; establishment of building materials industries of its own and finally ensure that Quantity surveyors should be involved in the government policies for housing in order to manage and curtail unnecessary waste, cost and time in order to minimize the problems existing between housing budget allocation and its provision in Enugu state.

Mapping the housing needs of the urban middle class in greater Jakarta

The housing affordability discourses have long been focusing on the low income community. However, the middle class in Indonesia are beginning to experience their own brand of affordability problems, fuelled by the skyrocketing house market price and the wage stagnancy issue. This research expects to map the housing needs of the middle class, including the average combined income and desired house price for middle class families in Greater Jakarta. The survey also inquired current residencies and aspirational location of the respondents, which was used to create a mapping as evidence for future housing policies. This data was analysed quantitatively and elaborated descriptively with consideration to the socio-economic condition of the middle class. The result shows that middle class families with combined income of more than seven million rupiah aspire to buy houses out of Jakarta Province with proper surrounding facility, and are willing to allocate housing budget of more than five hundred million rupiah. This research recommends an improvement to the housing development policies in greater Jakarta and reiterates the importance of new regulation on long term rent as a secure tenure alternative.

Konflik Kepentingan Antara Pimpinan Daerah dan DPRD Dalam Penyusunan Anggaran Pendapatan Belanja Daerah

This research aims to explain about conflict between Sikka’s Local Leader and the Local Legislative Assembly (DPRD) in preparation of Local Government Budget (APBD) for term 2019 year. Sikka regencies is one of district that led by candidate from independent line. Fransiskus Roberto Diogo, (Roby Idong) and Romanus Woga won the District Election Head at 2018 without any party nor coalition. Problem arise when Local Leaders and members of Local Legislative Assembly did not reach mutual agreement about house and communication allowance budget. This research uses qualitative methods with primary data sourced from in-depth interviews with all parties in the conflict. This research used Maswadi Rauf's conflict theory, which is classified based on the results of research by Mark and Synder. In addition, it is known that there are conflicting interests between Local Leader and Local Legislative Assembly about budgeting. Meanwhile, Local Leader in Sikka aim to control Local Legislative Assembly with negative issue about marking up budget of house and transportation allowances, but thus assembly obtain to increase the budgeting for their right .

Pursuing Medicaid Block Grants with the Healthy Adult Opportunity Initiative: Dressing Up Old Ideas in New Clothes.

The Trump administration's Healthy Adult Opportunity waiver follows a long history of Republican attempts to retrench the Medicaid program through block grants and to markedly reduce federal spending while providing states with substantially greater flexibility over program structure. Previous block grant proposals were promulgated during the presidential administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush and majorities in Congress led by House Speaker Newt Gingrich and House Budget Committee Chair and then Speaker Paul Ryan. Most recently, Medicaid block grants featured prominently in Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. This essay traces the history of Republican Medicaid block grant proposals, culminating in the Trump administration's Healthy Adult Opportunity initiative. It concludes that the Trump administration's attempt to convert Medicaid into a block grant program through the waiver process is illegal and, if implemented, would leave thousands of people without necessary medical care. This fact, combined with failed legislative efforts to block grant Medicaid during the last forty years, highlights the substantial roadblocks to radically restructuring a popular program that helps millions of Americans.

Biden Administration’s R&D Budget Priorities

The article revealed that J. Biden's program, with which he approached the 2020 elections, was distinguished by increased attention to issues of innovative development. The President of the United States emphasized the focus on a significant increase in federal investments in R&D and advanced manufacturing. J. Biden plans to focus on supporting socially oriented science and technology policy that aims to revive economically disadvantaged regions and provide economic opportunities to socially vulnerable segments of the population, including racial minorities. It has been established that, unlike D. Trump, for whom the priority was increasing defense R&D funding, J. Biden prefers federal funding for nondefense R&D and applied research. This is confirmed by the data presented in the White House budget request for FY 2022. Among the priorities of science and technology policy, J. Biden identifies advanced manufacturing programs, climate research, quantum and advanced communication technology, energy and biotechnology, and health research projects. President Biden’s American Jobs Plan would roughly double the current annual level of federal spending on research infrastructure, including for rural development. It can provide a tangible boost to the development of science and technology and strengthen the growth trend in R&D intensity, which in 2019 for the first time in U.S. history exceeded 3% of GDP. There is a strong possibility that Congress will approve this massive project in terms of investment in science with bipartisan support. But the question of the extent to which this plan will be implemented against the background of budget restrictions and projected budget revenues remains open.

Equity in job accessibility and environmental quality in a segmented housing market: The case of Greater London

Job accessibility and environmental quality are rarely equally distributed in spatial and/or social dimensions within metropolitan regions. Availability of these affects the quality of residential locations, and can be expected to be capitalised into house prices. For prospective house owners, their options will be limited to sub housing markets within certain price bands depending on their available housing budgets. Availability and marginal prices of job accessibility and environmental quality, as well as trade-offs between them, might be different between these submarkets. Using Greater London as the case metropolitan region, this study explored such differences, to shed light on the role of housing market in equity and/or inequity in job accessibility, environmental quality and their interactions. Results of this study show that lower-price submarkets have advantages in job accessibility in terms of marginal price, but are disadvantaged in terms of availability. Differences are more mixed in marginal price and availability between the submarkets for environmental quality. When balancing job accessibility and environmental quality within constrained housing budgets, households in lower-price submarkets would find it relatively easier to gain job accessibility with less sacrifice on environmental quality as compared to those searching in higher-price submarkets, but hard to reach the higher levels of job accessibility that are mainly reserved for the higher-price submarkets.

한국 주택정책의 결정요인 분석: 정부의 주택예산을 중심으로

한국 주택정책의 결정요인 분석: 정부의 주택예산을 중심으로

A Conceptual Model and Medium Term Strategy Templates for Improving Housing Budget Performance in Anambra State, Nigeria

This study advances a conceptual Housing Budget Performance Model (HBPM) and adapts medium term strategy templates to the housing sector of Anambra State for improving her annual housing budget performance and ultimately, housing delivery. This became expedient due to the prevalence of problems facing the budget process of the State. The Anambra State Government is still faced with poor budget performance arising from a myriad of challenges. Lacks of templates to monitor/track performance during housing budget implementation and review implemented budgets have also been attributed as causal factors for poor performance. The basis or platform for constructing the proposed HBPM was anecdotal evidences and in-depth review of salient budgeting models The researchers employed critical thinking in constructing the schematic model and explaining the operationalization of the variables, while the proposed medium term expenditure framework drew largely from the existing medium term framework presently used by the agriculture sector of Anambra State since it played a major role in its revitalization and sustenance. The conceptual HBPM developed is a holistic one; harmonizing the conventional budget process/stages/procedures and the peculiar nature of housing construction tendering, estimating and management, which also makes it unique. The implication of this model is that it will ensure that housing budget activities are focused on objective allocation, rational considerations, efficient preparation procedures, appropriate duration, execution, utilization of funds, monitoring and citizen participation. The medium term housing budget monitoring and review templates incorporates variables for checking housing targets, outputs, user impact, variance analysis of work done and remedial measures, which should be done every 3 or 4 years to give ample time for the housing program to make progress. The study recommends the HBPM and templates for further validation and possible adoption by the Anambra State Government, ministries, departments and agencies of housing, budget and economic planning.

Primary drug prevention — stopping use before it starts — under budget threat

The White House budget request for fiscal year 2021 for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) proposes to zero out a major prevention program — the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant — Partnerships for Success program. This is a cut of $109 million. It recommends using the prevention set‐aside (20%) from the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant instead. But it doesn't give any more money to the block grant.