Interstate Comparison Research Articles

Gendered Realities: Reforming Juvenile Justice in India

For the past few decades, the juvenile justice system in India has shifted from a rehabilitative to a retributive paradigm, leading researchers to become increasingly interested in the gendered implications of paradigm change that may exacerbate problems of young offenders, especially females. The current article explores the question of how social attitudes, institutional prejudices, and intersectional identities affect the ways in which female offenders are perceived and treated in India. The framework for the current study includes theoretical concepts of rehabilitation, retribution, and feminist theory. The use of secondary analysis and the description of policy changes and historical context studies are included in the research. Employing a data-driven analysis based on a combination of case studies, quantitative data, and inter-state comparison, the research reveals that female offenders face systemicinstitutional and individual problems, including re-victimization, trauma, and inadequate access to quality rehabilitation services. This article argues for genderresponsive and intersectional juvenile justice policies and redirects attention to rehabilitation available results for future policy and research initiatives

Trends in drug overdose deaths in Mexico (1999–2019). A national descriptive analysis and interstate comparison

BackgroundWe assess trends in overdose mortality rates in Mexico from 1999 to 2019 and identify the states with the highest overdose mortality rates over time. MethodsThe analysis using mortality statistics examined deaths related to drug use. We estimated general overdose mortality rates at the national and state levels and calculated specific mortality rates associated with opioid and stimulant use using central rate estimation. We used joinpoint regression to analyse national and state-specific trends in overdose mortality from 1999 to 2019. FindingsNationally, the general overdose mortality rate increased annually by 10.49 % (p < 0.01, CI=11.4–18.9) from 2015 to 2019. The northern states of Baja California and Chihuahua were the states with the higher annual increases (18.6 %, p < 0.01, CI=4.2–29.6; and 15.6 %, p < 0.01, CI=12.9–19.7, respectively). By substance type, the national opioid-related mortality rate increased by 29.82 % per year from 2014 to 2019 (p < 0.01; CI=20.1–40.3), compared with an annual decrease of 11.43 % in the previous period (2005–2014) (p < 0.01; CI=-14.7- 8.0). Baja California was the state with the highest rise in opioid-related mortality from 2013 to 2019, with an annual increase of 15.84 % (p < 0.01; CI=1.4–32.3). Stimulant-related mortality increased by 21.79 % per year since 2013 (p < 0.01; CI=16.9–26.9), but it was not possible to calculate state-level trends. ConclusionsDrug-related mortality rates have increased in Mexico since 2015, particularly in the northern states of Baja California, Chihuahua, Sonora and Sinaloa. Improving harm reduction programmes and local surveillance of fatal and non-fatal overdoses is essential to address the silent escalation of overdose mortality.

Substantiation of the marketing policy of banks on the basis of statistical analysis of the payment card market

Substantiation of the marketing policy of banks on the basis of statistical analysis of the payment card market

Is India Moving Away from Coarse Cereals? Examining Evidence from Trends in Rice, Wheat and Coarse Cereals

India’s agricultural production of cereals since the 1950s mainly comprises of rice, wheat and coarse cereals. Data shows that coarse cereals despite having maximum area under cultivation post independence and a high growth rate of production, have registered a declining trend in the recent decades. With global warming becoming a threat to monsoon- dependent grains like rice and wheat, India needs to start focusing more on coarse cereals. They are not only climate resilient using one-third the amount of water as compared to rice and wheat, but are also nutritionally superior to these grains. Data analysis for top five rice, wheat and coarse cereal producing states show that the decadal growth rates and yield per hectare have been declining for rice and wheat. Detailed inter-state comparisons are done to evaluate various aspects of these foodgrains. Finally, a fixed effects regression model is estimated to analyze the effect of area, annual rainfall, fertilizer consumption and MSP on the productivity of coarse and fine cereals, results show coarse cereals to be less dependent on rainfall and fertilizer use.

Проблеми малого та середнього бізнесу в умовах пандемії COVID-19: європейський вимір

An important role in the development of economic systems of the world’s leading countries is played by small and medium-sized businesses, which are the basis of the economy, create GDP, are a significant source of budget replenishment, provide the largest number of jobs. In the conditions of open economy it is important to compare the national economy with European and world countries, to define strategies that will set the vector of development of a competitive country and ensure accelerated economic growth. The aim of the proposed study is a comprehensive comparative analysis of the Ukrainian business environment in the field of small and medium enterprises in the European context. Modern challenges have made changes and adjustments to the economic development of the world and Ukraine. Therefore, it is important to summarize the practical experience of Ukrainian and world’s small and medium-sized businesses during the crisis and identify prospects for further development. The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine. What was conducted is a statistical assessment of the overall performance of medium and small businesses in terms of individual countries; the criteria for obstacles to doing business in Ukraine were identified. In order to analyze the positioning of Ukraine in the global space, a study of the essential characteristics of ratings and indices that assess the social, economic and political spheres in Ukraine, highlights the current state of small and medium business, identified its place in interstate comparisons. The key directions of activation of small and medium business in the conditions of economic crisis caused by the world pandemic are generalized and singled out. The research methods: are comparison, explanation, abstraction, empirical analysis and synthesis, a combined method of similarity and divergence. Current situation and negative trends in the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine and institutional constraints on entrepreneurship caused by the economic crisis due to the global pandemic require increased attention to the current problem of business units and use the positive experience of leading European countries. medium business. In the long run, Ukraine must ensure the sustainable development of its own institutional and legal framework for SME policy, expand deregulation measures and ensure a level playing field for SMEs. In addition, promoting the greening and internationalization of SMEs and providing business development services will help increase the competitiveness of the Ukrainian economy. Prospects for further research lie in the field of comparative analysis of government policy research in the field of small and medium-sized businesses in the European dimension in order to identify contradictions.

The interstate development of human capital accounting: Assessment and modeling of the economic effect

The aim of the article is to develop a methodology for determining the effectiveness and accounting of human capital in the context of interstate comparison. The article notes the importance of systematic accounting for the interstate development of human capital. It is emphasized that there is no relevant methodology in the scientific world for determining the effectiveness and human capital accounting in the context of interstate comparison. Taking into account the above, the authors proposed a method of human capital accounting using the information resource of the UN statistical database. In the article, for the first time in the scientific world, the comparative interstate human capital accounting with the use of the modified first principal component analysis is carried out. The method proposed by the authors involves the use of a variety of socio-economic and demographic indicators of 29 countries of the world and the modeling of a single integral indicator of human capital accounting. The integral indicator made it possible to take into account and compare the level of human capital development in different countries in the dynamics. The proposed method will allow interested stakeholders to systematically record, evaluate and compare the state of human resource development with other countries of the world.

ВИКОНАННЯ ЕКСПОРТНОГО ПОТЕНЦІАЛУ СІЛЬСЬКОГОСПОДАРСЬКОГО ВИРОБНИЦТВА В КОНТЕКСТІ ЗАГОСТРЕННЯ СВІТОВОЇ КРИЗИ ПРОДУКТІВ

Анотація. Метою дослідження є вивчення сутності, основних тенденцій і проблемних аспектів реалізації експортного потенціалу сільськогосподарського виробництва в умовах загострення продовольчої кризи. Використовуються теоретичні та емпіричні методи пізнання в їхньому діалектичному поєднанні. Основними методами, що використовуються в цьому дослідженні, є статистичний аналіз, індексні, графічні та аналітичні методи, методи оцінки структурних динамічних зрушень, порівняння і монографічний метод. Дослідження також включало загальні методи економічних досліджень, зокрема: у розкритті змісту експортного потенціалу сільськогосподарського виробництва, формулюванні висновків використовувалися теоретичні узагальнення та порівняння, індукція та дедукція; за допомогою синтезу та економічного аналізу проводиться оцінка сучасного стану та тенденцій розвитку експорту сільськогосподарської продукції; для аналізу експорту сільськогосподарської продукції використовувалися графічні, економічні, статистичні та міждержавні порівняння; для оцінки внутрішнього і зовнішнього експортного потенціалу сільськогосподарської продукції в регіональному контексті були впроваджені статистичні методи (групування). Вплив зовнішнього і внутрішнього експортного потенціалу на експорт пшениці вивчався шляхом регресійного аналізу. Необхідність забезпечення продовольчої безпеки країнами в усьому світі наголошує на важливості аграрного сектору як каталізатора економічного розвитку, джерел валютних надходжень, напрямів інвестицій тощо. Вивчення спеціалізації сільського господарства привело до висновку, що пшениця і цукор — товари з найбільшим експортним потенціалом. Обґрунтовано, що країни Південної Америки, ОЕСР, Північної Америки та Європи мають найвищий рівень реалізації експортного потенціалу сільськогосподарського виробництва, а африканські країни залежать від імпорту. Крім того, низька експортна орієнтація Африки та Азії через особливості їх природних і кліматичних умов установлюється на основі оцінки експортно-імпортних операцій у регіональному контексті. Проаналізовано внутрішній і зовнішній експортний потенціал кожного з регіонів. Було застосовано економіко-математичне моделювання оцінки впливу найважливіших факторів на обсяги експорту пшениці, що дозволило передбачити обсяги експорту пшениці й ухвалити обґрунтовані управлінські рішення щодо реалізації експортного потенціалу агрокомпаній. Обернена пропорційність обсягу експорту споживанню пшениці на душу населення і пряма пропорційність ефективності та площі земель, що використовуються для вирощування пшениці, була встановлена шляхом кореляційного і регресійного аналізу. Наукова новизна результатів дослідження полягає в тому, що вперше проводиться цілісний аналіз потенційних можливостей і можливостей експорту наявної та збільшення експорту сільськогосподарської продукції у світі та за групами продуктів. Визначено сутність та особливості економічного представлення експортного потенціалу сільськогосподарської продукції на міжнародному і національному рівнях. Окреслено основні чинники, що впливають на розвиток експортного потенціалу сільськогосподарської продукції в регіональному контексті та досліджують їхній вплив шляхом проведення відповідного аналізу агресії. Додатковий розвиток отримало дослідження внутрішнього і зовнішнього експортного потенціалу за регіонами світу. Проведено аудит внутрішнього і зовнішнього експортного потенціалу сільськогосподарського виробництва у регіональному контексті, у результаті якого були визначені основні рекомендації щодо підвищення їхнього рівня з метою активізації розвитку агропромислового сектору економіки. Ключові слова: експортний потенціал, сільськогосподарське виробництво, експорт, інтеграція, продовольча безпека. Формул: 1; рис.: 7; табл.: 5; бібл.: 26.

СТАТИСТИЧНЕ ОЦІНЮВАННЯ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ ВІТЧИЗНЯНИХ ЗАКЛАДІВ ЗАГАЛЬНОЇ СЕРЕДНЬОЇ ОСВІТИ ІЗ ЗАСТОСУВАННЯМ ДОСВІДУ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКИХ ДЕРЖАВ

General secondary education is the core of the educational system of any country and the basis for successful education at subsequent levels of lifelong learning. Therefore, in order to address the need to transform education in the context of globalization, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of its state and conditions of development, identify characteristic trends, assess the effectiveness of the national system of secondary education, taking into account the results of interstate comparisons. The article considers the existing international systems of assessment of the state of secondary education and their application in the internal system of education on the example of such European countries as the Czech Republic, Finland and Estonia. The results of the international PISA education quality survey in Ukraine in 2018 are presented. The study of the quality of the activities of the general secondary education institutions was conducted on the example of the territorial communities of the Lviv region. The results of the participants of the external independent evaluation and state final certification for 2016–2021 were analyzed. In our analytical study, we also used financial indicators that allow us to assess the effectiveness of the use of funds from the state and local budgets. For this purpose, the calculation and comparative analysis of the most important indicators used in modern research by domestic and foreign scientists were carried out, in particular, the average salary of pedagogical workers; average costs per student, average costs per class, average class size, average number of students per teacher, etc. Research results show that the highest number of students per class, the highest number of students per teacher and, consequently, the lowest average cost per student are observed in general secondary schools of the urban territorial communities. As evidenced by the results of the external examination, a higher quality of school education is ensured. Thus, for example, local authorities managing the education system should look for ways to further improve national school education at other levels of budget funding. The use of European experience will help Ukrainian educational institutions to find a way to a certain vision and achieve the goals of the development strategy.

NTEGRATION OF LOGISTICS SYSTEMS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES INTO INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS CHANNELS

Modern logistics significantly influences the globalization and internationalization processes. Logistics systems are becoming increasingly important in today’s rapidly changing environment. The aim of the article was to investigate the national logistics systems of developing countries in the context of their integration capabilities. The main methods used in this study are statistical analysis, index, graphical and analytical methods, methods for estimating structural dynamic shifts, comparisons. Commonly used methods of economic research, as well as statistical analysis and interstate comparisons, economic modelling (trend analysis to determine the forecast level of LPI for Ukraine), etc. were also involved. The logistics environment of Poland, Bulgaria, India and Ukraine, as well as the factors of its formation are evaluated. The components of the logistic portrait of the country in the context of integration capabilities of the logistic system are offered. It was found for the studied countries that the destimulator of the national logistics system is infrastructure (for Poland), infrastructure and customs (for Bulgaria and Ukraine), customs (for India). It is these components that need priority attention in the context of increasing the integration capabilities of logistics systems, because the results indicate that they lag far behind international standards. Prospects for further research involve studies of the impact of pandemics, globalization, digitalization on logistics systems, including that of developing countries.

Analysis of export of agricultural products in the context of the global food crisis

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to study the nature, main trends and problematic aspects of realization of the export potential of agricultural production in the countries of South America, OECD, North America and Europe in the context of aggravating food crisis.&#x0D; Methodology / approach. Theoretical and empirical methods of cognition are used in their dialectical combination. The main methods used in this study are statistical analysis, index, graphical and analytical methods, methods for estimating structural dynamic shifts, comparisons and monographic method. The study also involved general methods of economic research, in particular: theoretical generalization and comparison, induction and deduction are used in revealing the content of the export potential of agricultural production, drawing conclusions; the current condition and tendencies of development of export of agricultural products is estimated by means of synthesis and the economic analysis; graphic, economic, statistical and interstate comparisons are used to analyse the export of agricultural products; statistical methods (grouping) are applied to assess the domestic and external export potential of agricultural products in the regional context. The influence of external and domestic export potential on wheat exports is studied by regression analysis.&#x0D; Results. The need to ensure food security by countries around the world urges the importance of the agricultural sector as a catalyst for economic development, sources of foreign exchange earnings, investment direction, etc. The study of agricultural specialization led to the conclusion that wheat and sugar are goods with the highest export potential. It is substantiated that the countries of South America, OECD, North America and Europe have the highest level of fulfilment of export potential of agricultural production, and African countries are import-dependent. Besides, the low export orientation of Africa and Asia due to the peculiarities of their natural and climatic conditions is established based on the assessment of export-import operations in the regional context. The internal and external export potential of each of the regions is analysed. The direct correlation between the exports volume and area of land used for wheat cultivation, as well as with its yield, was established through the correlation and regression analysis.&#x0D; Originality / scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the results of the study is that the authors were the first who carried out a comprehensive analysis of the potential capacity and ability to increase exports of agricultural products in the world and by product groups. The essence and features of economic representation of export potential of agricultural products at the international and national levels are determined. The main factors influencing the development of the export potential of agricultural products in the regional context are outlined and their influence is investigated by carrying out the regression analysis. The study of domestic and foreign export potential by regions of the world is further developed.&#x0D; Practical value / implications. The analysis of the internal and external export potential of agricultural production was carried out in the regional context, which resulted in the identification of the main recommendations for increasing their level in order to enhance the development of the agro-industrial sector of the economy.

Scoping Review: Home and Community-Based Service Waiver Programs and Person-Reported Outcomes

State Medicaid programs are rebalancing their long-term care spending from nursing home to home and community-based services (HCBS). Emphasis on person-centered and person-directed care warrants investigation into models of HCBS delivery that promote quality of life. We performed a scoping review of the literature to catalogue the breadth of the studies describing HCBS waiver programs targeting adults (18+). We identified 757 articles, and after duplicate removal and reconciliation, we excluded articles on children or adolescents, non-peer reviewed reports, international studies, and articles that did not describe HCBS waiver programs. After abstract and title review, 292 articles met our inclusion criteria. Most included articles (22.3%) were single state descriptive evaluations or evaluations of service use patterns among participants. 17.8% of included articles examined multi-state or national variation in program trends, while 17.1% made national program conclusions without a major focus on interstate comparison. Less common were studies examining integrated care or dual-eligibles (7.5%), PACE (3.4%), medication management (3.1%), quality and satisfaction of both consumer and caretaker perspectives (3.8%) and consumer-only perspectives (5.1%). The remaining articles focused on HIV (4.1%), TBI (1.4%) or ID/DD (14.4%) waiver programs. The 8.9% of articles addressing quality and satisfaction consisted mostly of interviews, either with state Medicaid administrators or with care recipients and/or caregivers. Consumer reported satisfaction and unmet care needs were the primary outcomes examined. Given the heightened focus on long-term care as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this review justifies further exploration into the delivery and outcomes of state-directed HCBS waiver programs.

The EU Member States’ national healthcare systems compared using the single synthetic index

Implementation of health protection requires effective quantitative methods of its evaluation. Assessment could be based on usage of synthetic indices which aggregate couple input variables into a single measure. In this paper, the exploitation of a new synthetic index (by the author called HAI—the Healthcare Aggregated Index) was proposed with the aim of the assessment and long-term interstate comparisons of healthcare systems of the EU countries. Using taxonomic methodology, HAI involves three variables: the number of hospital beds, the number of physicians and the public expenditures on healthcare. HAI utilisation includes dynamic interstate comparisons of national healthcare systems of the different exploitations of human, physical and financial resources. The HAI application to assessment of twenty European Union Member States’ healthcare systems revealed an effect of substitution between healthcare resources within the slight international differentiation of the health protection level and the minor dynamic of changes in time series.

Incentives and Firm Migration: An Interstate Comparison Approach

The authors model how state business incentives influence interstate relocation patterns of manufacturers using a panel (2000-2011) of 32 states. The National Establishment Time Series database and the Panel Database on Incentives and Taxes are used to study relocation by manufacturing establishments based on differences between the origin and destination states. The authors find that traditional factors associated with business climate, such as taxation and subsidies, statistically influence manufacturing interstate relocation. Further analysis shows that policy changes (e.g., increasing incentives and reducing taxes) to induce manufacturers to relocate may need to be infeasibly large or used in combination to evoke an economically meaningful increase in relocations.

An analysis of foreign students’ expenses while studying at universities: Interstate comparison

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Theoretical background&lt;/strong&gt;: The focus of this article is to study and compare the indicators that are implemented to evaluate the quality of the educational activities of universities in Poland, Germany and Ukraine. The investigation is exercised, in particular, by the proposed indicator of comparing the annual students’ costs during their studies for a bachelor’s degree with the average annual incomes of these services for consumers in related countries. Because of the differences in remuneration across the regions of each country, the authors used statistical data from these regions. Regarding average annual incomes, the authors used the average wage level in the provinces of Poland, the federal lands of Germany, and the regions of Ukraine.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Purpose of the article&lt;/strong&gt;: The research objective of the article is a substantiation of methodological and applied recommendations for interstate comparisons of foreign students’ expenses while studying at universities based on the experience of Poland, Germany and Ukraine. The object of this paper is the analysis of annual costs of a foreign student while studying at domestic and foreign universities.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Research methods&lt;/strong&gt;: During the research, the following methods were used: the dialectical method and methods of analysis and synthesis – to study the features of the comparison of educational activities of domestic and foreign universities, the characteristics to compare the costs of the training period within universities of different countries; statistical method – to analyse the average annual wage and the costs of international students during the training period at universities in Poland, Germany and Ukraine; structural and logical analysis – to develop theoretical and methodological principles to determine the indicator for "the ratio of the student’s annual expenses while studying at the university to the average wage in the region".&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Main findings&lt;/strong&gt;: The ratio of the annual costs of students during the studying period and average annual wages allows different categories of stakeholders to determine the real level of expenses. For applicants, primarily Ukrainians, such an indicator will allow them to navigate, not only the absolute amount of annual expenses, but also the comparison of costs with the remuneration for possible part-time work that is allowed to students in Germany and Poland. Moreover, the part-time work allowed for students correlates to a certain extent with the level of average wages. For university authorities, the proposed indicator may allow a comparison of the competitiveness of their higher education institutions, taking into account the solvency of educational services users. For business circles and local governments (in the provinces of Poland, the federal lands of Germany and regions of Ukraine), this indicator can be useful in assessing the competitiveness of their territories to attract students. Student youth and local residents act as consumers of goods and services, contribute to the development of local business and, thus, can be a source of filling local budgets.&lt;/p&gt;

Information communication technology diffusion and financial inclusion: an inter-state analysis for India

ABSTRACT The paper investigates the impact of ICT (information communication technology) diffusion on the financial inclusion across 16 Indian states during the time period 2007–2008 to 2014–2015. Tele-density, usage of mobile phones and internet connectivity can improve the accessibility, reduce the transaction cost and travel cost of the commercial banking sector. This increases the access of institutional credit, products and services to marginalized unbanked population of society. Inter-state comparison reveals the fact that there are disparities in the spread of ICTdiffusion and financial inclusion across the regions and these disparities are persistent in nature. ICT diffusion index is consistently high in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, whereas low in Assam, Bihar Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. Dynamic panel data analysis exhibits that ICT index has a strong positive significant impact on financial inclusion index. It also illustrates that lack of education, age composition of population, rural-urban location, poor status of financial literacy play a very vital role in spreading financial inclusion. The elderly people in rural as well as in urban areas are still not that familiar with mobile and internet, they may not be able to get benefited by ICT revolution.

Can Movie Production Incentives Grow the Economy? Evidence from Georgia and North Carolina

Most US states have adopted movie production incentives with the intention to stimulate state economic growth through film industry investment and related economic activity. Previous cross-state studies of film incentives have not identified a stimulus effect; however, the zero-sum nature of interstate competition to attract business through targeted incentives complicates the identification of economic effects. If benefits accrue only to the few states offering the greatest incentives, then the impact might not be evident through interstate comparisons. This study uses the synthetic control method to examine the economic impact of relatively large film tax credit and grant subsidies offered by Georgia and North Carolina. Both states experienced lower per capita income than expected after implementing film incentives, indicating that economic benefits did not accrue to the winners of this economic incentives arms race.

Learning Outcomes in Elementary Education in Rural India: An Inter-state Comparison

An investigation is done on learning outcomes among children in different States of India at elementary level. Here, 24 major States of India are considered. The exercise is done on the basis of different Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) from 2010, whose information is rural-specific. Learning outcome index of the students of each State are calculated both at standard III and standard V level. It is observed that in most of the States, the learning achievement of the children at elementary level is deteriorating, but not rapidly. It has also come out that higher literacy among parents, availability of some school related factors like Mid-day Meal, proper drinking water,sanitation and playground facility can play a positive role to improve the learning achievement of the rural Indian children at elementary level.

Interstate Distribution and Sectoral Composition of FDI Inflows in India

Foreign direct investment (FDI) refers to obtaining the ownership in a foreign business entity. It can also be attributed that FDI circulates capital across national boundaries. It can be defined as an investor based in one country (home country), acquires an asset in another country (host country), with the intention to manage it. It is this dimension of management that distinguishes FDI from portfolio investment in foreign stocks and other financial instruments. For a terribly populated country like India, a good quantum of resource is needed to fund its various developmental needs, which the country does not have. To strengthen its infrastructure, expertise and knowledge base, FDI is inevitable. Realizing these facts, the government is now moulding a robust business environment to smoothen the flow of FDI. An interstate comparison of FDI in India makes it quite apparent that there exists huge variations in the inflow of FDI to different states. While some regions like Delhi, Bombay, etc. receive soaring flow of FDI, it is very stumpy in regions like Patna, Guwahati, etc. An overview on the sectoral distribution of foreign investment discloses the wide disparity in the distribution of foreign capital among various sectors. While some sectors like service, construction, etc. receive elevated flow of foreign capital, others lie fully ignored by the foreign investors. JEL Classification: F21, F23, F63, O10

Environmental Regulatory Efficacy in India: An Inter-State Comparison

In India industrial pollution is regulated at two levels: the centre and the state. This two tier regulatory structure results in a difference in the efficacy of environmental regulation among the Indian states. Literature exploring the policy debate around the inter-state efficacy of the environmental regulation in India, however, is sparse. This paper utilises principal component analysis to construct an environmental regulatory efficacy index to show an inter-state disparity in the efficacy of environmental regulation in India. It develops an environmental regulatory policy model to categorise the existing Indian regulatory strategies to control industrial pollution. Findings of the environmental regulatory efficacy index are matched with the environmental regulatory policy model to show that a proactive regulatory strategy improves the efficacy of environmental regulation. Policy discussion recommends the need to integrate the environmental policy with the economic policy and suggests diligent utilisation of funds to improve the efficacy of environmental regulation.

Public Spending on Technical Education in India:Inter-State Comparison

The paper examines public spending on technical education in India by both the Centre and the States. The rationale for the same becomes relevant when the economy has been undergoing structural changes over a span of time and the demand pattern for skills of different kinds has changed in different sectors, especially in the manufacturing sector. The study aims to make a comparison in public spending on technical education and its proportion to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) among 15 major states from 1991-1992 to 2011-2012 at constant prices. Inter-state comparison perceives that the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, economically and educationally backward, registered a negative growth rate in expenditure on technical education. Empirical results show that per student expenditure has risen appreciably in the 1990s, while after 2001-2002 it declined at both current and real prices. The per student expenditure is lower in the poor states which engrossed consideration toward more public spending in the destitute regions of the nation.