Public Good Governance Research Articles

Court of Auditors' performance auditing as a tool to enhance economy, efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in the public administration, an Italian perspective: strengths and weaknesses

This paper is aimed to analyse the functions of the European Court of Auditors and of a domestic Court of Auditors, the Italian one, to underline how performance auditing is important in fighting corruption and mismanagement in the public administration. Indeed, performance auditing is an important instrument in order to improve transparency, efficiency and accountability in public administration. This is an important issue when domestic public administrations are managing EU funds. Performance auditing is a cornerstone to ensure good public sector governance. The establishment of institutions aimed at providing accountability is an important step in order to guarantee transparency and, consequently, democracy but, more important, is to ensure their efficiency. An efficient public administration is necessary in order to guarantee prosperity in a country.

Leadership in Public Sector: A Discussion from Theoretical and Practical Aspects

Leadership is a critical component of good public governance (OECD, 2001). Effective leadership can bring greater efficiency and quality of service for the organization as well as the increase in personal satisfaction at work. Moreover, it can develop innovation and ability to adapt to the external environment for government. Therefore, there is a great need to improve the quality of leaders. Effective leadership is determined by both heredity and environment. This paper goes on to prove leadership in public sector can be learned from theoretical and practical aspects. As for the theoretical aspects, some innate traits, such as personality can only explain 30% of the leadership effectiveness, and even some personal traits, such as problem solving skill, expertise can be learned. Environment plays the most important role in the leadership of public sector. Emergence and leadership behaviors can contribute to leadership effectiveness. So a lot of leadership development programs, such as formal training, mentoring and feedback can be used to cultivate leadership.

The role of Veterinary Services in animal health and food safety surveillance, and coordination with other services

The control of animal health and food safety has undergone profound changes and is now seen in terms of a global approach, 'from the stable to the table'. The risks themselves have also evolved, principally due to changing practices, and this, coupled with increased knowledge and changes in consumer demands, has led to a more global conception of production chains. In terms of official controls, targeted control of the final food product has gradually been replaced by control of the production processes and an integrated approach to hazards throughout the production chain. This, in turn, has resulted in a new division of responsibilities among the producers (farmers), the manufacturers and the administration; namely, Veterinary Services. The areas in which veterinarians are involved have gradually been extended from animal production to all levels of the food production chain. Animal health interventions on farms are comparable to interventions in agri-food companies. Both are, or should be, included in veterinary training and education. To meet new challenges, the current trend is for Veterinary Services to be responsible for, or coordinate, sanitary interventions from the stable to the table. Coordination between Veterinary Services and other relevant authorities is a key component of good public governance, especially for effective action and optimal management of the resources available.

Coordination between Veterinary Services and other relevant authorities: a key component of good public governance

Coordination between Veterinary Services and other relevant authorities is a key component of good public governance, especially for effective action and optimal management of available resources. The importance of good coordination is reflected in the World Organisation for Animal Health'Tool forthe Evaluation of Performance of Veterinary Services', which includes a critical competency on coordination. Many partners from technical, administrative and legal fields are involved. The degree of formalisation of coordination tends to depend on a country's level of organisation and development. Contingency plans against avian influenza led to breakthroughs in many countries in the mid-2000s. While interpersonal relationships remain vital, not everything should hinge on them. Organisation and management are critical to operational efficiency. The distribution of responsibilities needs to be defined clearly, avoiding duplication and areas of conflict. Lead authorities should be designated according to subject (Veterinary Services in animal health areas) and endowed with the necessary legitimacy. Lead authorities will be responsible for coordinating the drafting and updating of the relevant documents: agreements between authorities, contingency plans, standard operating procedures, etc.

New forms of local collective governance linked to the agricultural landscape: identifying the scope and possibilities for hybrid institutions

Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the focus on rural development and public goods within the common agricultural policy (CAP). Many researchers emphasise how this implies a need for new ways of implementing policy and innovative collaboration between various actors. Policymakers also acknowledge such needs. Local action groups and organisations have a significant potential in this new rural development context. Such local groups can form the basis for a hybrid governance of public goods and sustainable rural development. We identify the potential benefits of such governance in terms of reduced costs, better results and synergies in rural development. With their own agendas, such groups already exist and reflect a potential for hybrid governance. This paper investigates the occurrence of such groups in Sweden and their potential in Europe and elsewhere.

Does Public Governance Always Matter? How Experience of Poor Institutional Quality Influences FDI to the South

This paper investigates whether the higher prevalence of South multinational enterprises (MNEs) in risky developing countries may be explained by the experience that they have acquired of poor institutional quality at home. We confirm the intuition provided by our analytical model by empirically showing that the positive impact of good public governance on foreign direct investment (FDI) in a given host country is moderated significantly, and even in some cases eliminated, when MNEs have been faced with poor institutional quality at home.

'Democracy Building' in Serbia: The NGO Effect

AbstractThis article analyzes the construction of 'civil society' in Serbia as a development project in itself within the wider democracy assistance frame targeting post-communist countries. The goal is to problematize universal templates used for the creation of a politically neutral NGO sector and to document the new social realities created locally by their direct intervention in everyday life. The introduction of the 'NGO model' of civic engagement has created a new space for existing and new local elites to consolidate their position while at the same time it has served as an incubator for political leadership. In parallel, ethnographic data can shed light on the dynamic of multilayer power relations between donors, NGOs, and state institutions competing over a state-building project. Both NGOs and state institutions, far from being passive recipients of developmental aid, deploy their own flexible strategies in order to negotiate and re-appropriate donors' directions of good governance and New Public Governance. At the same time, more sophisticated, bottom-up democratization approaches are contested by local constructions of power and legitimacy, calling thus into question the highly technical and moral character attributed to democracy itself by its promoters.

Portfolio Flows to Emerging Capital Markets: Do Corporate Transparency and Public Governance Matter?

AbstractThis paper focuses on flows to emerging capital markets (ECMs) and examines the importance of corporate transparency and public governance in attracting portfolio flows to ECMs. This paper's empirical investigation centers on the hypothesis that ceteris paribus, ECMs with better quality accounting standards and good governance attract higher levels of portfolio equity and bond flows. To assess the incremental impact of each of these factors, a pooled time series, cross‐sectional model was econometrically tested for 17 ECMS over the 1998–2002 time period. Our empirical analysis demonstrates a positive association between public governance, corporate transparency, and portfolio flows after controlling for other macroeconomic factors. The results suggest that good public governance and high accounting quality are important determinants of portfolio flows to ECMs. Finally, the paper establishes that while portfolio equity flows are significantly attracted to ECMs with strong democratic institutions, there is no significant association between portfolio bond flows and the presence of democratic institutions.

Organisational Structures Do Matter for Good Governance and Good Performance

The article explains why good public sector corporate governance is important for an economy's economic performance. Two contrasting case studies are then used, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH), to illustrate key elements that have engendered good governance and performance: a good statute, with clear objectives and accountability mechanisms; clearly stated roles for all participants; operational and financial independence; sound internal decision-making processes; formal plans and budgets; effective senior management and board monitoring. The article also discusses why the CBBH is one of the few successful state-level institutions in Bosnia.

Does Regulatory Governance Matter for Financial System Stability? An Empirical Analysis

This paper provides empirical evidence that the quality of regulatory governancegovernance practices adopted by financial system regulators and supervisorsmatters for financial system soundness. The paper constructs indices of financial system soundness and regulatory governance, based on country data collected from the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). Regression results indicate that regulatory governance has a significant influence on financial system soundness, along with variables reflecting macroeconomic conditions, the structure of the banking system, and the quality of political institutions and public sector governance. The results also indicate that good public sector governance amplifies the impact of regulatory governance on financial system soundness.

Does Regulatory Governance Matter for Financial System Stability? An Empirical Analysis

This paper provides empirical evidence that the quality of regulatory governance-governance practices adopted by financial system regulators and supervisors-matters for financial system soundness. The paper constructs indices of financial system soundness and regulatory governance, based on country data collected from the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP). Regression results indicate that regulatory governance has a significant influence on financial system soundness, along with variables reflecting macroeconomic conditions, the structure of the banking system, and the quality of political institutions and public sector governance. The results also indicate that good public sector governance amplifies the impact of regulatory governance on financial system soundness.

Evaluating the Quality of Public Governance: Indicators, Models and Methodologies

This article provides an overview for this special issue on the evaluation of the quality of public governance. It charts the move in the public sector during the 1990s from concern largely with excellence in service delivery to a concern for good governance. It examines what we mean by governance and ‘good governance’ and the dimensions of ‘good public governance’. It demonstrates that there is now widespread interest in measuring not only the quality of services but also improvements in quality of life and improvements in governance processes. It discusses how measures of good governance are being used in different contexts around the world. Finally, it considers how the measurement of good governance can be encouraged, e.g. through awards, inspections, setting funding conditions and empowering stakeholders to demand better evidence.

How Effective Are Second-Generation Road Funds? A Preliminary Appraisal

Underfunded, inefficient road maintenance is a perennial problem in many developing economies. To address it, some countries have created “second‐generation” road funds that are financed by fuel levies and managed by boards representing the interests of road users. Macroeconomists often oppose such funds, arguing that this earmarking of revenue reduces fiscal flexibility. Some argue that such road funds should be seen as an interim step toward fully commercialized road maintenance or good public sector governance—and hence subject to sunset provisions. Decisions on whether to retain (or create) such funds should then be based on their effects on resource allocation, operational efficiency, and rent seeking. Using evidence on new road funds in Africa, this article finds that they have not undermined fiscal flexibility. Moreover, they have improved the administration of road funding (in terms of execution capability) and its outputs (in terms of road conditions). So, although criteria for assessing road funds remain relevant, the funds should not automatically be considered temporary mechanisms. But when establishing new funds, government's continued role in approving spending on road maintenance should be explicitly recognized.

The Creation, Maintenance and Governance of Public Goods and Free Goods

The theory of public goods is largely irrelevant to their management and governance. It is highly normative but is unused in the policy area. It remains centred on highly idealized and dichotomized characteristics (non-rivalrousness and non-excludability) of public goods despite important theoretical progress in the last twenty years. It is suggested that public goods are as much social as technological constructions, but there is no explanation of how such goods come into existence. It is argued that they are often subject to evolution that changes the balance of their characteristics between being public or private goods. Present theory bears little relationship to the governmental budgetary processes assumed necessary to finance such goods, yet all management and maintenance costs, often high enough to deter such funding, are ignored. While there is recognition that the intensive use of a public good often imposes costs directly upon users, there is no corresponding recognition either that inappropriate and intensive usage can erode public goods as assets or that such usage is difficult to control. Free goods are described and mooted as specific and important types of public goods. Illustrative examples of public and free goods, mainly from Australia and the Pacific, are cited.