Nexus Governance Research Articles

A social network analysis of collaborative governance for the food-energy-water nexus in Phoenix, AZ, USA

Despite the known benefits of integrated policy and planning, traditional governance decisions in the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus are often made without cross-sector collaboration, potentially leading to unintended consequences and decreased resource security. Applying collaborative governance approaches to the FEW nexus provides an opportunity to shift towards integrated policy of food, energy, and water governance; doing so first requires an understanding of the limitations of current governance structures and the opportunities for change. We conduct a social network analysis of stakeholders in Phoenix, AZ using secondary data sources to construct the social network of collaboration and to analyze the ability of the governance landscape to facilitate or hinder collaborative governance. The social network measures indicate potential challenges to collaborative governance of FEW nexus stakeholders, such as limited trust between actors. However, leveraging bridging actors provides opportunities to increase collaborative governance between sectors. This research is important for implementing collaborative FEW nexus governance in practice.

금융쿠즈네츠커브 가설과 거버넌스 연계론

금융쿠즈네츠커브 가설과 거버넌스 연계론

Financial development and governance: A panel data analysis incorporating cross-sectional dependence

This study investigates bidirectional causality between governance and financial development using panel data of 101 countries from 1984 to 2013. The financial development–governance nexus is explored using econometric methods robust to cross-sectional dependence, and the relationship between different levels of development and openness is analyzed. Long-run equation estimates show clear evidence that financial development positively affects governance, and this positive impact is found to be robust to three different measures of governance. Further analysis shows that improving governance quality has a positive effect on financial development, while Granger causality tests demonstrate bidirectional causality between financial development and the governance measures. Finally, the impact of financial development on governance is dependent on a country’s level of development and openness. These findings underscore the crucial role of financial development in bringing about good governance reforms and economic growth that, in turn, can further develop the financial sector. As such, a symbiotic and synergistic relationship can persist between good governance, growth, and financial development. The findings provide significant motivation for policymakers to encourage openness and financial sector development to lift the standard of living, especially in emerging economies.

Nexus of Accounting Profession and Corporate Governance in Nigeria

This study attempts to investigate management bottlenecks in compliance , implementations of accounting principles, regulations and evaluation of accounting activities .The study adopted descriptive research and methodology to inquire on the state of corporate governance and accounting profession in Nigeria. The study reveals that despite the gorgeous principles of corporate governance and accounting professional gatekeepers and, others, corporate governance tends to be stifled. The study used secondary data such a journals and articles to examine the likely causes or drawbacks in achieving good and sustaining corporate governance in Nigeria which include: Management overriding in form of creative accounting , window dressing, nepotism, conflict of interest between the agent and the principal etc. The study highlighted on the core principles of corporate governance such as: Fairness, accountability, transparency, responsibility honesty etc. It also accentuates challenges of corporate governance in Nigeria, and the way-forward based on the investigation on the above subject, the study discovered that: Corporate governance is achievable only on commitments of entity’s directors, professional gate keepers, there association between practice of good governance professional skepticisms, ethic, code of conducts and conformability. Commitments of corporate governance directors and other professional gatekeepers impact greatly on corporate governance, there is often conflicts of interest between the equity owners, executive and management of corporate entities there by denying the equity owners’ right and equitable treatments. The study recommends that: Stock exchange operators should restructure new scheme of assessment of quoted or prospecting entities, adopting suitable policies and maintain strict and prompt compliance on the subject. Accounting bodies should unit and have one voice regarding professional transformation as it applies to ethics, code of conducts, creative accounting, and window -dressing accounting. Entities should base human resources employment on skills, performances and experiences, rather than only on certificates or degrees. Stock exchange operators and professional accountants and other gatekeepers of corporate firms should collaborate to ensure that paper and physical assets and liabilities of quoted and prospecting entities are verified and certified prior their endorsements. Also make provisions for entity’s executive and management to be co-owners to equity owners. Then corporate entities should adopt responsibility reports and reward systems in corporate affairs by reason of functions, performances and activities.

Novel insights into banking risk structure: empirical evidence from nexus of financial, governance, and industrial landscape through nested tested modeling.

The present study brings new insights to investigate the empirical estimation of banking risk behavior through advanced mechanisms. Consistent with the need to comply with the new age of finance, t...

Good Governance Nexus Economic Development: The Case of Sodo Town Administration, Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

The main objective of this study was to assess good governance nexus economic development: The case of Sodo Town Administration, Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia. In order to conduct this research both primary and secondary data like questionnaire, interviews, books and internet source were used and purposive sampling techniques have been applied. The state of good governance versus economic development the case Sodo town Administration has been identified and interpreted. The principal of good governance matter, as government based on the observance of equity, just equity, basic need provision, effectiveness and subsidiary. In the study are good governance enhances considerable participation of community equal without differentiation in their economic affairs. It facilities economic development of community in the study area contributed for peace full existence and coordination of the community for their common goal. The study found that the town provide both financial and technical support for vulnerable section of the society and change their economic status. Thus, good governance could promote economic development of the community by the enabling them to participate in economic activities and protect the properties all individuals and communities by initiating to work hard. Besides the study identified and considered the existence of lack of commitment of the employees, lack of standardized performance, lack of qualified man power and government officials are majority challenges of good governance. It can then be concluded that good governance in the study area was no alright. Thus, I recommended that the town administration should promote accountability, transparency rule of law to enhance economic development of community in particular and nation in general.

Scale-related governance challenges in the water\u2013energy\u2013food nexus: toward a diagnostic approach

The notion of a water–energy–food (WEF) nexus was introduced to encourage a more holistic perspective on the sustainable development of natural resources. Most attention has been directed at identifying potential synergies and trade-offs among sectors that could be addressed with improved technologies and management. The governance of the WEF nexus more broadly has received comparatively little attention, and the importance of scale in space and time has been largely ignored. Inspired by scholarship on multi-level governance in individual sectors, this paper identifies four scale-related governance challenges in the WEF nexus, namely: (1) scalar fit, which arises when planning and operating procedures work at different levels along the scales of space and time in different sectors; (2) scalar strategies, wherever the levels at which actors have influence and in which action takes place are contested and negotiated; (3) institutional interplay, where rules and norms in different sectors influence each other at different levels; (4) scalar uncertainty, arising out of the complexity of multi-level and multi-scale interactions. The relevance of these four challenges is illustrated with case studies from developed and developing countries. These examples show the importance of considering multiple levels and scales when assessing the likely effectiveness of WEF nexus governance mechanisms or proposals. The cases underline the need to pay close attention to issues of power, contestation, and negotiation, in addition to the analysis of institutional design. Thus, this paper recommends that nexus governance efforts and proposals be scrutinized for scale assumptions. The four identified challenges offer a suitable starting point for diagnosis.

The business – government nexus: Impact of government actions and legislation on business responses to climate change

AbstractAustralia has committed to reducing emissions under the Paris Agreement by 2030, in alignment with the United Nations' (UN) Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) climate action. This articleinvestigates the responses of Australian high-emission businesses to Australian government action and legislation in relation to climate change, specifically the carbon tax, and how this knowledge can assist in delineating future carbon legislation.A qualitative study of the responses of 17 high-emission businesses and three industry associations to carbon legislation during the implementation of the carbon tax in Australia identified the use of resistive, reactive or cooperative strategies by the businesses. Issues related to carbon legislation identified by businesses included differences in time orientation, multiple regulations, political uncertainty, international positioning and the need for long-term and consolidated policies. Given these findings, this article argues that well-designed top-down legislative measures are necessary to steer businesses towards a carbon-neutral regime.

Nexus of governance, macroprudential policy and financial risk: cross-country evidence

The quake of the financial crisis has restored macroprudential policy as an apparent policy paradigm to minimize financial risk; however to a great extent, its impact depends on different externalities including country governance. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the joint impact of macroprudential policies (MPPs) and quality of country governance (CG) on financial risk (FR) for a panel of 124 countries covering the period 2000–2017. To attain this objective, we use directed acyclic graph to decide our model, construct indices for FR and governance by principal component analysis, investigate the impact of CG and MPPs at different quantiles of FR and explore their nonlinear relationship by panel threshold model. Besides, we also apply two-stage least squares (2SLS) and system GMM to address the endogeneity of the estimation. Our results show that both CG and MPPs are effective to minimize financial exposures and their effectiveness increases with higher FR, though after certain level, governance moderates the effect of MPPs on FR. Overall, we find MPPs are more effective in emerging economies and in normal time, whereas during crisis they are found less effective. Our findings are robust to alternative measures of risk and control variables and different econometric tests, which could be useful for policy makers to formulate MPPs, minimize financial risk and to maintain financial stability.

THE TURN TO TRADE AGREEMENTS IN GLOBAL PLATFORM GOVERNANCE

In the past few years, a growing number of proposals have been developed to govern major platforms for user-generated content through formalized legislation as well as voluntary self-regulatory initiatives. This paper focusses on the increasingly significant use of trade agreements for the governance of these platforms. While trade agreements have been analysed by academics working on internet governance, copyright, and other issues, they still have underexplored implications for national governments that are trying to craft regulation designed to address a host of perceived democratic externalities posed by dominant technology firms and platform providers like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Presenting the first results of an interdisciplinary project bringing together digital communication scholars, internet governance researchers, and international relations academics to look at the nexus of digital governance and international trade, the paper seeks to understand how different political actors are using trade agreements to ‘lock in’ their preferences on platform governance topics like intermediary liability and competition policy. Building on the analysis of major bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, as well as leaked documents from ongoing negotiations, the paper provides a mapping of the issues related to platform governance included in these instruments. Using this dataset, it then analyses the respective positions of various countries on relevant issues in the negotiations, seeking to create a typology of key issues that will provide a starting point for a deeper analysis of key actor strategies.

Assessing the Level of Inter-Sectoral Policy Integration for Governance in the Water–Energy Nexus: A Comparative Study of Los Angeles and Beijing

As concerns around water scarcity and energy security increase, so too has interest in the connections between these resources, through a concept called the water–energy nexus. Efforts to improve the integration of water and energy management and to understand their cross-sector relevance are growing. In particular, this paper develops a better empirical understanding on the extent to which governance settings hinder and/or enable policy coherence between the water and energy sectors through a comparative analysis of two case studies, namely, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, and the city of Beijing, China. This paper examines the extent to which the institutional context enables policy coordination within (vertically) and between (horizontally) the water and energy sectors in Beijing and Los Angeles. To do so, we propose a framework for analyzing policy integration for the water energy nexus based on environmental policy integration (EPI). The results highlight the multiple and flexible approaches of EPI in nexus governance, not least with regards to horizontal and vertical policy integration, but also in terms of explicit (i.e., intended) and implicit (i.e., unintended) coordination. The level of nexus-focused policy integration is highly dependent on the motivation at the local context and the criteria to evaluate policy success in each sector.

Evidence-based health security: The nexus of governance and pandemic preparedness

Abstract Background Pandemic preparedness continues to be an important focus of the global health security agenda. Many nations in the sub-Saharan African region remain at high risk for a major pandemic due to limited capacity and endemic co-morbid conditions in their populations. While the literature does suggest that state capacity influences health, no studies to date indicate an association between state capacity and pandemic disease distribution, particularly in the presence of other endemic diseases. Methods This mixed methods study will contribute to existing research by examining how economic and sociopolitical attributes of state capacity influence pandemic-prone disease distribution in sub-Saharan Africa. A convergent mixed methods design was used to collect and analyze quantitative state capacity attributes and prevention, and control using correlation in six sub-Saharan countries. Results of the quantitative study were triangulated through the use of an expert panel and results integrated for an overall interpretation and conclusion. Results Variables in the study showed statistically significant relationships between proxies of state capacity and the follow areas: control of pandemics and prevention of pandemics. The Expert Panel interviews illustrated convergence between the correlated results. Conclusions This study brought forward associations with expert confirmation suggestive of areas for national governments in sub-Saharan Africa to further review and improve. While many internal factors limit state capacity in these nations (e.g. human and fiscal resources), external funders may consider adding information from this study and other metrics to test progress. Key messages Evidence is valuable for pandemic preparedness planning. Nation state capacity is a factor in pandemic preparedness.

Fractured fiscal authority and fragmented infrastructures: Financing sustainable urban development in Sub-Saharan Africa

The current global development agendas provide relatively little guidance on how the incredible challenge of sustainable urban development in Africa can and should be financed. This paper makes the case for understanding this development challenge at the nexus of urban governance and city infrastructure. Tracing African urban development trends over the post-colonial period, the paper makes three arguments. First, African cities experience fractured fiscal authority. Decentralization reforms have resulted in contested and complex city governance arrangements. Second, large scale infrastructure investments have been the focus of donors and investors. This has resulted in fragmented networks and systems. Finally, these two processes together have created fertile ground for the emergence of hybrid systems of service delivery in cities. This has implications for both how urban services are governed and their material arrangements. This reality, and the underlying processes which contributed to its production, are under-accounted for within global development discourses. In conclusion, it is crucial that new models of infrastructure finance are developed to respond to the fractured fiscal authority, fragmented infrastructure networks, and hybrid service delivery patterns which characterise African cities.

Water-related challenges in nexus governance for sustainable development: Insights from the city of Arequipa, Peru

Peru has one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America, but there are concerns regarding how long this can be sustained. Negative environmental impacts are increasing due to the pressures of a growing urban population and competition for natural resources. This study explores stakeholder perceptions linked to nexus governance in the context of integrated management of natural resources, particularly water, and the environmental, socio-economic and governance challenges constraining the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our analysis focused on the urban and rural areas associated with the city of Arequipa, an economically dynamic region subject to extreme levels of water stress. Face-to-face interviews with key informants were conducted to identify mechanisms that have enhanced successful multi-sectoral collaboration, and to assess challenges in promoting sustainable economic development. A workshop prioritised the identified challenges and an online survey was then used to assess stakeholder interest in and influence over nexus governance of water with other natural resources. Stakeholder mapping revealed a complex network of actors involved in nexus governance, where successful collaboration could be promoted through formal and informal mechanisms, including exemplar policies and initiatives across sectors and actors. Shared visions between stakeholders were identified as well as contradictory priorities relating to the sustainable management of natural resources. A key finding that emerged was the need to promote adaptation in water and land management (SDG 6) due to perceived impacts of extreme climate events (SDG 13), urban population growth (SDG 11), and increased sectoral water demands. This situation in combination with poor governance and lack of planning has exposed the vulnerability of Arequipa water supply system to future shocks. Urgent action will be needed to raise stakeholder awareness, strengthen governance and enforcement, and agree on a collective vision for integrated land and water planning if the SDGs are to be achieved.

Governing the energy–water nexus in China: An analysis from the perspective of the science–policy interface

China is facing great water and energy pressure due to industrialization, urbanization, population growth and environmental change. China's explosive economic development has come at a steep cost in terms of natural resource exploitation and environmental problems. These unintended negative consequences are partly the result of a narrow single-sector management approach to natural resources, which often caused conflicts and low efficiency of related policies. Although the nexus approach is beneficial for optimization of natural resource utilization and development, the question of whether it can be applied in policy and practice is determined by various factors. The science–policy interface that stresses the political and social contexts provides a useful perspective for understanding the process of the nexus approach, from the scientific domain to policy. Combining criteria of good governance and an effective science–policy interface, suggestions for promoting good energy–water nexus governance are put forward, including popularization of scientific knowledge about the nexus in the political and social fields, collaborative governance of the nexus, and accelerating good governance of the whole of society.

How is ICT shaping the refugee governance landscape in transitional Bangladesh?

The information communication technology (ICT) has a great impact in shaping life and responses. The current century is running with the rampage of cutting edge technologies that compose our everyday life while the expansion of ICT allows us to make our life meaningful. The most significant challenges in transition are to coping with the changes that even happen all of a sudden i.e., about one million refugee influx in Bangladesh in 2018. Nowadays people recognized ICT as a decisive and inseparable part of them that constructs a new fashion of modern democratic governance. Though ICT is crucial in representative governance but now it inflates both the magnitude and persuade. The study tries to treat them embedded in the governance nexus and connected to each other. The present study focuses on the nexus between ICT and refugee management which shaped the refugee governance landscape in transitional Bangladesh. The endeavor of the study is to answer the questions n how ICT and administration act and react with each other on the refugee governance issues and how it indicates the future role of administration in refugee management and resettlement. The study followed the content analysis method and primarily based on secondary sources of data to reach the inferences. The results found ICT as a comprehensive platform that includes the different stakeholders and emphasized the trade-off between them which in our case Rohingya refugees governance. It provides geo-localized support for them and specific aid during the adverse situation. It is also found that it helps the administration to identify the synchronized ideas of people that coordinate their actions to produce services for the people. The study concludes by arguing for the management and wrapping of multidimensional data through the observatory mechanism that could likely develop their life and incentives required for the administration to act in support of the governance and resettlement of refugees in the future.

A Stakeholder Analysis for a Water-Energy-Food Nexus Evaluation in an Atlantic Forest Area: Implications for an Integrated Assessment and a Participatory Approach

A water-energy-food (WEF) nexus assessment supports natural resource management by providing an integrated framework for evaluation and decision-making. The participation of a wide range of stakeholders is essential for achieving environmental, economic, and social sustainability in this framework. This analysis supports the decision-making process of the nexus assessment by facilitating dialogue between stakeholders in order to achieve long term efficiencies, especially in rural landscapes where most of the services connected to WEF securities are provided. We identify the most relevant stakeholders operating in the connection between agricultural practices and the WEF nexus to stimulate their engagement in the nexus governance. The study area was the Atlantic Forest Reserve of Ribeirão das Lajes, Brazil. A stakeholder analysis, generating qualitative data using snowball sampling interviews was applied and, after the identification of stakeholders, an analytical categorization disclosing potential conflicts among them was performed. We obtained a pool of stakeholders from different organizational types, including a large number of public entities at local and state levels. The main threat to the development of the project is considered to be the lack of communication between the parties. We note that the prior identification of this group of stakeholders facilitates this communication, enhancing social representation in the area. Outcomes of this study demonstrate the relevance of stakeholder analysis in nexus governance for integrated natural resource management.

Governance of the water-energy-food nexus: insights from four infrastructure projects in the Lower Mekong Basin

The social relations and biophysical flows that link water, food, and energy systems are said to form a ‘nexus’. Efforts to steer or otherwise exert influence on decisions that impact upon these nexus links, including to ignore them, take place at multiple levels, vary in complexity, and have implications for who benefits and who is burdened by those relations and flows. This paper examines how nexus links have been governed, using four medium- to large-scale water infrastructure projects in Laos and Thailand as probes into problematic issues of coordination, anticipation, inclusion, and attribution. Project documents, media reports, and published analyses were coded to extract information about nexus links, narratives, and decisions. Nexus interactions were summarized using a novel symbolic notation and then classified along a scale of increasing structural complexity as pairs, chains, and loops. The key finding from the analysis of the four projects was that nexus governance was fragmented, reactive, exclusive, and opaque. Coordination among ministries was limited with inter-ministerial bodies, and integrated development plans ineffective at guiding project design or operation decisions in the presence of bureaucratic competition. Anticipation of cross-sectoral concerns was rare, despite scope to identify them early in feasibility studies, and assessment activities; instead they were only acknowledged after public pressure. Inclusion of the needs of vulnerable and affected groups was limited, although poverty alleviation, and other social benefits were a significant element in project justification narratives. Attribution of responsibility was difficult as many key decisions took place behind closed doors, while project information was withheld, raising further governance issues of transparency and accountability. Structural complexity in the nexus links made addressing governance problems even more challenging.

The food-water-energy nexus governance model: A case study for Iran

As the world's population grows, food and energy supply will be one of the most important challenges. Agriculture, as the most important food producer, is not only a consumer of water and energy but also a major supplier of energy. Consequently, a balance must be struck between the harvest and utilization of production resources and the amount of agricultural production. The UN's Third Millennium Goals are on the agenda of achieving sustainable long-term development of human societies and ensuring food, water, and energy availability for future generations. To accomplish these goals, researchers have developed numerous interdisciplinary and specialized frameworks and approaches to achieve a dynamic and optimal balance of production and resource utilization, one of which being water, energy, and food. The water, energy and food Nexus approach is an overall vision of sustainability that strives to balance the various goals, interests, and needs of people and the environment by quantifying water, energy and food relationships through qualitative and quantitative modeling as well as advancing research for Integrate modeling and management to deliver important sustainable development strategies in today's dynamic and complex world. Given the environmental and water crises that threaten the Iranian nation's food and energy security, water, energy, and food, Nexus management can bring about change and balance in different sectors, depending on the needs and participation of all stakeholders. In this paper, a novel model for the Nexus approach governance model using the multi-layer visionary is being developed for the Iranian region for the water and food crisis the country is facing today.

Nexus of poor governance to poverty and insecurity in Africa : the Nigerian experience

Nexus of poor governance to poverty and insecurity in Africa : the Nigerian experience