Public Reform Research Articles

Responsive professionalism in post-NPM reforms: the case of the Swedish police

ABSTRACT This article investigates responsive professionalism in local collaboration across organizational boundaries, introduced by public reforms as a means to address the downsides of new public management (NPM) and to foster professionalism ‘closer to the citizens’. The case in point is the Swedish police reform, and the empirical material comprises 39 semi-structured interviews with police officers. Drawing on the work of Noordegraaf (2020. “Protective or Connective Professionalism? How Connected Professionals Can (Still) Act as Autonomous and Authoritative Experts.” Journal of Professions and Organization 7: 205–223. doi:10.1093/jpo/joaa011) and Anteby et al. (2016. “Three Lenses on Occupations and Professions in Organizations: Becoming, Doing, and Relating.” Academy of Management Annals 10 (1): 183–244), indicating that occupations today earn recognition for their professionalism within wider networks of other occupations, this study examines police officers’ occupational awareness of how to maintain responsive professionalism during local collaboration. Findings illustrate how police officers conceive of themselves as moderators, orchestrators, and mediators guided by occupational awareness of different organizational strains and of demands for responsive professionalism. The Swedish police reform was found to promote officers’ independent engagement in formalized or ‘abstract’ modes of professionalism that, nevertheless, continue to be responsive to local demands.

ФАКТОРЫ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ ТРАНСПОРТНОГО ПОВЕДЕНИЯ ГОРОЖАН (НА ПРИМЕРЕ САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГА)

Successful implementation of public transportation reform cannot be achieved without studying transportation behavior of citizens. The results of an empirical analysis of the behavior of St. Petersburg residents presented in this article make it possible to assess what transportation policies will be successful in attracting car users to travel by public transport. The aim of the study was to identify the patterns of transportation behavior in St. Petersburg: attractiveness of various transportation modes, mode choice factors as well as satisfaction with public transport and transportation policies aimed at stimulating the use of public transport. The research methodology includes survey of the population and the analysis of descriptive information from the data obtained. In addition, principal component analysis was applied for travel factors grouping. The results of this study may be used in elaboration of transportation policies aimed at changing transportation behavior of the citizens. The main finding of this study is the relative importance of trip time for public transport in contrast to private car.

Dr Vladimir Kalaydzhiev or the Embodiment of Modernity

The text attempts an experimental “double reading” of a significant figure in the history of Bulgarian health care – Dr. Vladimir Kalaydzhiev, initiator and organiser of a large-scale public health care reform in Bulgaria in the 1960s. The authors' different approaches make it possible, on the one hand, to interpret the specifics of the health reform and the reasons for its (partial) repeal in the context of synchronous developments in Europe and controversial, on the other hand, to contraversially offer a diachronic analysis with basic characteristics of the "Catholic West" and the "Orthodox socialist East".

Institutional Influence of Academics in Argentinean Public Universities in a Context of External Control

The paper studies the institutional influence of academics in Argentina within a context of increasing external control as a consequence of deep public reforms in the Higher Education system. Drawing on data from the Academic Profession in the Knowledge-Based Society (APIKS) survey, the aim is to analyse how much and in what sense the recent changes on the public policy level and the intermediate level of the state agencies have affected the academic profession in Argentina over teaching, research and social engagement activities, and its effects over the perception of institutional influence. Although we assume that academic power has been reduced within the new scenario, we believe that not all academics have responded in the same manner.

‘This is not a case of gender inequality. This is a case of injustice’: Perceptions of online resistance to camera sexual voyeurism

In November 2018, Monica Baey, a student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was recorded by a fellow student while showering in university accommodation. After the perpetrator was issued a formal warning and a one-semester suspension, Baey posted about the case on social media and named the perpetrator. This generated public support, news coverage and institutional reform. In this article, we explore a range of responses to the Monica Baey case through a thematic analysis of publicly available comments about the case on a popular message board forum, Hardwarezone. By contextualising our analysis within the political setting of Singapore, this research demonstrates that public responses to testimony-based resistance require close analysis, as extant tools for citizens to engage in ‘naming and shaming’, were relevant to understanding these responses to this mode of resistance and reflected what Ibrahim (2018) calls ‘everyday authoritarianism’.

Disrupting the Welfare State? Digitalisation and the Retrenchment of Public Sector Capacity

ABSTRACT Welfare state bureaucracies the world over have adopted far-reaching digitalisation reforms in recent years. From the deployment of AI in service management, to the ‘opening up’ of administrative datasets, digitalisation initiatives have uprooted established modes of public sector organisation and administration. And, as this paper suggests, they have also fundamentally transformed the political economy of the welfare state. Through a case study of Danish reforms between 2002 and 2019, the analysis finds that public sector digitalisation has entailed the transfer of responsibility for key infrastructure to private actors. Reforms in Denmark have not only been pursued in the name of public sector improvement and efficiency. A principal objective of public sector digitalisation has rather been the growth of Denmark’s nascent digital technology industries as part of the state’s wider export-led growth strategy, adopted in response to functional pressures on the welfare state model. The attempt to deliver fiscal stability in this way has, paradoxically, produced retrenchment of critical assets and capabilities. The paper’s findings hold important implications for states embarking on public sector digitalisation reforms, as well as possibilities for future research on how states can harness technological progress in the interests of citizens – without hollowing out in the process.

INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF THE USE OF PUBLIC FINANCIAL RESOURCES IN ENSURING EMPLOYMENT OF THE POPULATION

The paper reveals the essence of the system of public financial management (PFM), defines its key elements of the PFM system, and articulates goals and objectives in enhancing employment. The authors definition of PFM is given. A comparative analysis of managerial financial cycles in the public and private sectors of the economy is carried out. The historical aspect of the PFM reforms is also analyzed, and various approaches to financial management (income and expenditure) in the public sector are studied and suggested better ways to improve the busyness of the population. Factors influencing the effectiveness of the PFM reforms are revealed. The challenges faced by financial managers in implementing public finance reforms are analyzed, and the opportunities that can be used to achieve the objectives of the PFM system, some of which are simultaneously challenges are analyzed.

Assessing the development of performance audit methodology in the supreme audit institution: The case of Indonesia

Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan (BPK), or The Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia, has introduced performance audits intensively since public sector audit reforms were initiated in 2001. However, the implementation of performance audits still faces several obstacles. This study examines the development of the performance audit methodology in BPK, which can be divided into three stages: before the revitalization of BPK in 2006, the initial development of performance audits during 2006-2010, and the maturity of the implementation of performance audits since 2011. This study concludes that several key factors have affected the implementation of performance audits at BPK, including the development of audit guidelines, the dynamics of medium-term government planning, the focus of the BPK’s Management, and assistance provided by other supreme audit institutions (SAI). To address new realities and challenges in the future, more sophisticated performance audit methods need to be adopted by BPK, such as big data analytics, the adoption of governance audits, and employing public policy analysis. Without adopting such methods, the institutionalization of ​​effective performance audits might not be achieved in the future.

Reforming the Financial Mechanism of Public Non-Business Units in Vietnam: Research in Lao Cai Province

The content of the administrative reform plan for the period 2011–2020 of the Government of Vietnam on the basis of the overall reform of the national administration, focuses on four main areas, namely institutional reform and organizational reform. structure, building and developing contingent of civil servants and public finance (Government, 2011). Thus, along with the institutional and organizational reform, the public finance reform is also a central task of the administrative reform in the condition that Vietnam continues to strongly transition from the centralized mechanism. The subsidy to a socialist-oriented market economy, in particular, is even more necessary when Vietnam has become an official member of the World Trade Organization. One of the current concerns for good implementation of public finance reform is the implementation of autonomy and self-responsibility for the use of payroll and administrative management funding for administrative agencies. state and financial autonomy mechanism for non-business units. This article focuses on analyzing the current situation of reforming the financial operation mechanism of public non-business units in Lao Cai province, Vietnam, pointing out the achievements, limitations, causes and some recommendations to end. promote the reform of the financial operation mechanism of public non-business units in Lao Cai province, Vietnam in the context of world economic integration.

Improvement of the external municipal financial control system in the context of public authority reform

The subject. The implementation of external municipal financial control cannot be called fully competent in Russia. Many practical problems are currently being addressed mainly through the transfer of powers to implement external financial control to a higher level. Amendment to Art. 131–133 of the Russian Federation's Constitution in terms of clarifying the powers of local self-government and incorporating it into public authority, predetermines subsequent amendments to the legislation on local self-government, which can be aimed, among other things, at improving the system of external municipal financial control. The aim of the article is to confirm or disprove the following hypothesis. The reform of public authority will lead to a change in the system of external municipal financial control. Therefore it is possible to propose ways to improve the activities of municipal auditing and accounting authorities on the basis of constitutional novels and the analysis of the existing problems of implementing external municipal financial control. The methodology. The authors apply general scientific methods of comparative, logical and statistical research. The study is based on the analysis of academic literature, statistical data about the practice of the auditing and accounting bodies of municipalities. Russian judicial practice is also analyzed. The main results, scope of application. The organization of a modern system of external municipal financial control shows that it actually works only at the level of urban districts and municipal regions, and that is not always effective. Municipal control and accounting bodies are not created in settlements and the authority to exercise external financial control is transferred either to the level of the municipal district or to the level of the region of the Russian Federation. Conclusion. The municipal auditing and accounting body should retain the authority to exercise control without transferring it to the level of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation. However, at the same time, its role should be strengthened by increasing its status (for example, fixing at the federal level the criteria for the number of employees of the control and accounting body, financial support guarantees).

From the tax-sharing system to the program system: Institutional evolution and organizational mechanism

Soon after implementing reforms to the tax-sharing system, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) implemented public budgeting reform, and thus formed a new kind of state governance system, the program system (PS). There are three categories of program expenditures available to local governments: “earmarked grants” from higher-level authorities; “non-grant program funds” from higher-level authorities; and program funds from same-level government departments. The convergence and reorganization of these three categories of program expenditure at the local level has, to a great extent, molded the fiscal structure of grassroots government in the PRC. The PS in essence does not mean discarding or surpassing the bureaucratic state system, rather, it is the active improvement and supplementing of the bureaucratic system by the state: a continuation and development of state regime construction. The overt purpose of the PS is to “solidify” budgetary constraints, while the underlying purpose is to enhance the government’s ability to respond to society. The two purposes present some tension in practice, as the rationalized and professionalized forms of governance that result do not necessarily enhance the ability to respond to public needs; in fact the reverse is quite possible.

Socio-spatial inequality and its relationship to thermal (dis)comfort in two major Local Climate Zones in a tropical coastal city.

Brazil is the country with the highest social inequality in South America. This socioeconomic disparity reflects not only on the families' income but also on their spatial localization in the city, as well as on the urban design. These urban environments can alter the urban microclimate, and consequently, interfere in dwellers' thermal comfort. This research investigated the relationship between socio-spatial inequalities and thermal comfort in two different Local Climate Zones (LCZ) using a combination of measurement and modeling. Air temperature (Tair) was obtained by on-site measurements in compact high-rise (LCZ1) and compact low-rise buildings (LCZ3) and Mean radiant temperature (Tmrt) was simulated using SOlar and LongWave Environmental Irradiance Geometry (SOLWEIG). The results indicated that in LCZ1 seafront-localized buildings, in which residents have a higher income, the temperature remains in a range classified as comfortable, mainly due to shading and sea breeze. On the other hand, LCZ3, located in the periphery of the city, in which the low-income population is concentrated and is marked by a precariousness urban environment, presented a higher air temperature and Tmrt values, exposing the dwellers to heat stress throughout the year, especially during the summer season. These observations suggested that public and private actions tend to promote better urban designs in areas with a higher concentration of income. Public reforms aimed at improving the urban environment and promoting thermal comfort should be a priority for the warmest LCZ, where the poorest residents live. Public agents should rethink the distribution of environmental resources to promote equitable urban spaces.

Notes on the ‘Politics’ of EU Politicization

This article proposes an understanding of politicization as the field of contestation about the political. Applied to the contested field of EU governance, the argument is that EU politicization cannot be understood without analysis of its synergy with EU depoliticized governance. We will start with a discussion of some of the dimensions and modalities of (de)politicization and follow with analysis of EU (de)politicization in relation to the political field and public sphere. To understand the ‘politics of politicization’, we demarcate the field of political struggle and locate the wider public and societal resonances of such a struggle over the political. The research programme for the analysis of the ‘politics of EU-politicization’ then refers to the wider processes of how political conflicts are selectively amplified to create public visibility, how attention among relevant publics is unequally distributed, how opinions of these publics are formed and, ultimately as well, how legitimacy (or de-legitimation) is generated. After delineating possible research directions, we finish with some comments on EU (de)politicization as a rupture from national politics and the competitive and multi-level merging of political fields and public spheres through the transnational encounter of agents and publics. This chaotic process has unpredictable outcomes for EU-legitimacy, but nevertheless opens a European field where political contestation meets with societal resonance with possibilities of reflexivity and democratic learning for both institutional agents and publics involved. This working paper thus contributes with insights into the conditions for EU democratization, which is a core concern for EU3D (in particular in Work package 4, which focuses on public opinions, debates and reforms).

PUBLIC FINANCES IN CONDITIONS OF CURRENT TRANSFORMATIONS

Modern transformational changes occurring in the socio-economic life of countries are conditioned by the evolution of information and communication technologies, the deployment of globalization, decentralization, the strengthening of the openness policy and the increase of efficiency of use and hence the transition from a bureaucratic model of government to a consensus model, a built model. implementation of entrepreneurial management mechanisms in providing social services to the population actualize the need for rethinking and justification the structure of public finance in the new environment. On the basis of systematic analysis, the theoretical aspects of «public finances» are revealed in the article, their structure is substantiated and the necessity of application in scientific circulation as an important dominant of civil society is proved. It is emphasized that the essential characteristics of this definition are revealed by the existence of financial and economic relations between the population, the state, other public institutions and economic entities regarding the formation, distribution, and use of public funds to meet the public needs of the population. It is shown that the structure of public finances is formed by state and local finances, finances of communal enterprises and state corporations, finances of enterprises and organizations of communal ownership, extrabudgetary trust funds and public funds. Among the dominant features of public finances in the context of modern transformations are transparency and imperative character. It has been argued that the vector of public finance reform must continue to be decentralization, which, in addition to the redistribution of resources and powers, should promote the extension of the financial powers of local governments, increase the transparency of both public and local finances, and raise public accountability. the public sector and improving the quality of life of the population.

Challenging post-communication: Beyond focus on a ‘few bad apples’ to multi-level public communication reform

ABSTRACT Since declaration of post-truth as Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year in 2016, studies show that ‘fake news’, ‘alternative facts’, and disinformation have continued unabated – and even increased. Fingers have pointed at individuals such as Donald Trump and the activities of Russian ‘troll farms’. Also, global outrage has risen in relation to the deceptive and manipulative practices of organisations such as Cambridge Analytica and social media oligopolies, notably Facebook. However, transdisciplinary research challenges the ‘few bad apples’ argument and proposes that a wide range of culprits are responsible for what this study calls post-communication. Based on a review of reports related to public communication practices, and key informant interviews, this discussion proposes that reforms are required at three levels: top-down, such as updated regulation and legislation; bottom-up, including new approaches to media literacy; and increased attention to ethics and standards by professionals in advertising, marketing, public relations, government and political communication, and journalism.

Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan: a Healthcare Renaissance after the COVID-19 crisis?

Proposed for the first time by European Commission in May 2020, the “NextGenerationEU” (NGEU) program is the European Union’s most important effort to address key issues relating to public health and healthcare, digital and technological innovation, climate change, sustainable mobility, and key sociocultural aspects. In addition, the NGEU represents a response to the COVID-19 crisis through an extremely powerful financial intervention (over 800 billion euros). Italy is one of the main recipients of the NGEU plan’s resources with almost 200 billion euros received in grants and loans. Implementation of the NGEU in Italy will take place through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The NRRP not only describes how the NGEU resources will be used, but it singles out crucial public law reforms in national legislation and organization. Unsurprisingly, public health intervention represents a major component of the NRRP. Here we summarize and discuss the rules, regulations and perspective envisaged by the NRRP to foster effective healthcare and to reshape the Italian National Health System through the redesigning of primary care, enhanced communication between hospital and community healthcare, and stronger implementation of digital technologies in public health. (www.actabiomedica.it)

Internal Audit and Trust of Donors in Developing Countries: The Case of Benin

The main objective of this paper is to determine the impact of internal audit on the trust of Donors (Technical and Financial Partners) of Developing Countries, especially those of Benin. It has two specific objectives: to measure the impact of internal audit on the performance of public administrations; and assess the influence of the performance of public administrations on the confidence of Benin’s donors. The central hypothesis is that internal audit improves the confidence of state donors. It is broken down into two secondary hypotheses which are presented as follows: internal audit positively influences the performance of public administrations in Benin; and the performance of public administrations positively influences the confidence of donors. The double difference model is used to estimate the impact of internal audit. The study reveals that internal audit positively influences the performance of public administration in Benin. It also reveals that the performance of public administrations has a positive impact on the trust of Donors (Technical and Financial Partners) in Benin. Our research work proposes within the framework of the implementation of New Public Management prescriptions and public finance reforms, the generalization of the implementation of internal audit in all public administrations of developing countries. The implementation of internal audit would therefore serve to boost the trust of State donors and thus give them assurance as to the proper management of Public Development Aid (PDA) and External Loans.

Public finance reforms and corporate sector impact: A study of Hungary

The global financial and economic crisis of 2007 and 2008 entailed a sharp deterioration of fiscal positions worldwide; however, fiscal rules soon tightened up in different countries, and parallelly, budgetary discipline improved. A reconsideration of the fiscal policy was necessary as a sovereign debt crisis evolved as a result of the world economic crisis in several countries of the European Union and the eurozone. The study starts at the government debt map of the old member states of the European Union, to which the Hungarian financial positions outside the eurozone are compared. Then, the components of the new Hungarian public finance regulation, major measures, which resulted in an improvement in line with eurozone positions, are presented in full detail. Our study seeks to prove that because of the Hungarian public finance reforms, the fiscal course has also improved, fitting the trends of developed member states of the EU. Although earlier researches have highlighted that it was not only modified fiscal policies that contributed to the post-crisis debt consolidation process in the countries of the eurozone but also the combined effect of the real interest rate and real growth policy. The uniqueness of the study lies in the regulatory instruments, with which the country – positioned in a socialist planned economy, then demonstrating a weak fiscal discipline and sunk in a fiscal crisis even before the global economic crisis of 2007 and 2008 – has consolidated its positions.

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT OF PUBLIC FINANCES

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to study the legal and organizational principles of public finance management. Methodology of research. To achieve this goal, the following tools of research methods were used: dialectical - to determine the initial conditions and content of public finance; analytical - when processing literary and Internet sources; causal - to determine the institutional support of public finances; abstract-logical - to generalize the presented material and draw conclusions. Findings. The issues of the essence, structure and peculiarities of the functioning of public finances in Ukraine are studied; the institutional units that ensure their formation and control over their use are specified. The peculiarities of the content of public finances of Ukraine are considered, the peculiarities of their components are determined in order to achieve not only economic, but also social goals by the state. Under the institutional support of public finances, we understand a purposeful hierarchical system of legal institutions that form, use, redistribute and control the funds of the public sector. Thus, based on this, among the components of institutional support are: state; executive, legislative and judicial powers; VRU, CMU, central executive bodies, higher judicial bodies, National Bank, Accounting Chamber; local councils, local executive bodies, budgetary institutions, subjects of state and communal property; advisory bodies under the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine; scientific, public and professional institutions (organizations) in the field of public finance. The relevance of the study of issues related to improving the efficiency of state bodies on the basis of recommendations of international organizations and the formation of appropriate regulatory and legal support is substantiated. For example, it was noted that an action plan for the respective years should be developed, which includes directions for each area of the Strategy for Reforming the Public Finance Management System (in our opinion, public) and specifies the state bodies responsible for a particular area of public finance. The bodies of state financial control are determined in accordance with the current legislation, in particular: external control carried out by the legislative bodies - the committees of the Verkhovna Rada and the Accounting Chamber; executive authorities and the central bank - the Cabinet of Ministers (through specialized state bodies) and the NBU; and internal (performed by heads of state bodies) and internal audit (performed by the main managers of budget funds). The requirements of the current legislation to ensure openness of their spending and opportunities for free access to this information in order to strengthen public control over the use of public funds are analyzed. The composition and main problems of institutional support of public finances are formulated and practical recommendations for its evaluation are provided, which will allow to increase the efficiency of public finance management. Originality. The scientific novelty lies in the separation of the content of the institutional support of public finances and recommendations for its evaluation according to the established criteria. Practical value. The main provisions of this study in the form of evaluation proposals can be used to monitor the impact of public reform policy on the development of public finances. Key words: public finance; management; institutional support; public authorities; public financial control.

Social Studies in Primary Education: Comparing the Slovak and Czech Republics

This article focuses on Slovak primary school (ISCED1) subjects that represent social and human knowledge and contrasts the Slovak situation with the Czech one. First, it looks briefly at the historical context that gave rise to and continues to shape these subjects. It then considers their content and attempts to explain why these subjects have ceased to evolve. It also shows that, despite the continual re-discovery of teaching methods and the acute need for them when teaching pupils of this age, there has been little research in this area. It concludes by stating that the lack of education research and discussion makes it difficult to influence public policymaking and curricular reform. Keywords: Slovak primary social studies, curriculum of social studies, didactics, teaching methods of social studies