Public Spending Research Articles

Local Development Based on Non-Timber Forest Products: Evidence from a Mapping of Initiatives in the Brazilian Amazon since Rio 1992

Over recent decades, the sustainable use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has offered the promise of reconciling the dilemma between forest conservation and economic development, generating income for local populations. Accordingly, since the 1990s, manifold initiatives, often supported by international donors, have been investing in developing such NTFP value chains. Specifically in the Brazilian context, initiatives have proliferated as a response to the challenges of the largest remaining tropical forest ecosystem—the Amazon region and its inhabitants. Have they worked? What do we know about their impact? To provide for the first time an adequate basis for a more systematic analysis of the impact of NTFP initiatives in the Brazilian Amazon, this article presents a mapping of current and past initiatives supporting NTFP extractivism. The mapping drew on databases of funding organizations and interviews with key informants. The analysis revealed a large number of initiatives (nearly 200) strongly clustered in some areas, like around Belém, along major roads such as the BR 364, and along the Juruá rivers, concentrated on a few products with relatively high commercial value, mostly implemented by civil society organizations and targeting traditional peoples and communities. As interventions for NTFP development, the initiatives offered capacity building, financial support, and facilitate market access. With regard to the latter, the initiatives varied considerably. The vast majority promoted products, while a much smaller number engaged in company partnerships or government procurement. Despite the large number of initiatives, there is insufficient knowledge to gauge the impacts of different strategies of local resources and their users. A clear understanding of the effects of NTFP-based development initiatives and how impacts are generated is essential to seize the potential of the bioeconomy for achieving sustainable development for the Brazilian Amazon.

Challenges of sustainable public procurement in Chinese higher education institutions: a Delphi study

PurposeThe importance of sustainable public procurement is growing in many countries and industries, including higher education institutions (HEIs) in China. However, in China, the practice of sustainable public procurement is currently limited due to various reasons. This study aims to identify the main challenges faced by Chinese HEIs when it comes to sustainable public procurement. The identification of the challenges encountered by HEIs in sustainable public procurement practices not only has practical significance in terms of improving efficiency, sustainability, competitiveness and guiding policymaking but also has theoretical significance in terms of enriching the knowledge body, facilitating the dissemination of sustainability and supporting international comparative research. To identify these challenges, the study gathered data from a small sample of procurement supervisors, experts and commissioners in HEIs using the Delphi method. The study concludes that Chinese HEIs can address the challenges of sustainable public procurement through measures such as fundraising, technology and equipment upgrading, supply chain optimization, regulatory compliance and raising awareness and providing training.Design/methodology/approachTo pinpoint the challenges of sustainable public procurement faced by HEIs in China, this study began by obtaining data from a small sample of procurement supervisors, experts and commissioners in HEIs who are knowledgeable about the issue through the Delphi method. Secondly, the collected challenge factors were also subjected to a literature review to identify the most common challenges in recent papers published around the world. Thus, it was possible to assess the relationship between the challenges mentioned by researchers in China and other countries.FindingsThe main challenges faced by HEIs in China in implementing sustainable public procurement are the focus on economic efficiency, the experience and awareness of procurement staff, policy ambiguity as well as culture, management mechanisms and leadership attitudes in the organizations. The study concludes that Chinese HEIs can effectively overcome the challenges of implementing sustainable public procurement through a variety of measures, including fundraising, technology and equipment upgrading, supply chain optimization, regulatory compliance and awareness raising and training.Research limitations/implicationsSome limitations should be considered in this study. Judging by the sample size, it is clear that the results of the study are limited. Although the number of experts involved in the study is required, caution should be exercised when generalizing the results, as this may not be representative of the entire population. In future studies, the use of a larger sample size could be considered to overcome this problem. Related to this limitation is the uneven geographical distribution of the sample, and this study only considered the situation of HEIs in Jiangsu Province, China, which is not representative of the national region.Practical implicationsThe practical significance can be seen in two aspects. First, accurately identifying challenges can help HEIs optimize the implementation of their sustainable purchasing policies, leading to more efficient resource allocation and reduced unnecessary resource consumption. Second, by addressing these challenges, HEIs can better fulfill their social role in sustainable development, contributing to the triple bottom line of the economy, environment and society. Implementing sustainable procurement strategies not only enhances the social image of HEIs but also attracts a broader student base and financial support, ultimately improving their competitive position in the education market. A deeper understanding of these challenges provides policymakers with a basis to develop a more operational and targeted policy framework to support sustainable procurement in HEIs.Social implicationsThis study succeeded in answering two research questions that provide practical implications for public procurement practitioners, researchers and policymakers. Although HEIs in China do not practice sustainable public procurement at a high rate, however, with the spread of sustainability and environmental awareness, more and more HEIs are beginning to realize the importance of sustainability and are gradually taking it into account in their procurement.Originality/valueThe findings of the study not only significantly enrich the existing body of knowledge on sustainable public procurement, but also support the selection of challenge variables that must be addressed first to facilitate the application of sustainable procurement in China’s HEIs.

The Effects of E-Procurement Tools on Supply Chain Performance of Procuring Entities in Tanzania: Mediation Effect of Behavioral Intention

The objective of this study was to look into the impact of an e-procurement tools on the supply chain performance of procuring entities in Tanzania. The study examined the direct and indirect effects of e-sourcing, e-tendering, and e-contract management on supply chain performance. The Social Information Processing theory, the Affect Infusion Model, and the original Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology guided the research. This study used an explanatory cross-sectional survey research design. The study used the positivist research paradigm, with a sample size of 322 respondents obtained through stratified sampling. Data were gathered using a questionnaire and a documentary review. Partial Squares Structural Equation Modeling with the help of SmartPLS 4 software was used for inferential statistics analysis, while IBM SPSS Statistics Version 26 was used for descriptive statistics analysis based on respondent profile data. The findings indicate that e-sourcing, e-tendering, and e-contract management have a positive direct and indirect impact on supply chain performance. The study concludes that, e-sourcing, e-tendering, and e-contracting are variables that influence supply chain performance through the behavioral intention to use e-procurement tools. According to the findings of this study, Tanzanian public procurement bodies should look into the effectiveness of e-procurement tools in ensuring effective and efficient supply chain

Green Parties and the Quest for Biodiversity: The Political Economy of Fiscal Commitments in OECD Economies

This study focuses on green parties in government and analyzes the political economy of public spending for biodiversity and landscape protection, comparing it with other environmental and non-environmental spending categories. Using panel data covering 26 OECD economies during the sample period from 1995 to 2021, we employ an error-correction approach that effectively accounts for both the presence of stochastic trends in the data and the structure of public budgets. Our findings highlight significant differences in the political economy of biodiversity and landscape protection spending compared with other environmental expenditures. Firstly, while governments under the participation of green parties generally allocate more funds to other environmental issues, the same does not hold true for biodiversity. Secondly, growth rates of other environmental expenditures increase considerably during election periods, whereas expenditures dedicated to biodiversity and landscape protection tend to shrink. Thirdly, environmental expenditures are more procyclical in comparison with public spending for non-environmental purposes, where, however, under green parties in government the cyclicality of biodiversity and landscape protection expenditure is mitigated during periods of fiscal adjustments. These results underscore the importance of establishing enhanced and counter-cyclical funding mechanisms, bolstered by support from supranational organizations, to ensure continuous and effective preservation of biodiversity.

Analysing the drivers for sustainable public procurement

Sustainable public procurement (SPP) is aimed at using government purchasing power to foster sustainable production and consumption and develop more sustainable business models. The implementation of SPP has been undertaken through several disciplinary approaches, including practical and research efforts based on organisational change management (OCM). Although there is a growing body of literature on OCM for SPP, research on this topic is still limited and mostly focused on a single-country context. This paper aims to fill this research gap by analysing the drivers for changes towards SPP from two different world regions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve Brazilian and ten Swedish SPP professionals. The interviews were analysed using Grounded Theory’s constant comparative method. From the interviews, 46 drivers were collated, then ranked in order of importance, and categorised according to their level (external, connecting, and internal). From the interviews, twenty-two new drivers were identified. The findings show that drivers for SPP are context-specific and can be organised in a continuum of change approaches between praxis-driven and policy-driven. This study highlights the contextual influence on drivers for the SPP process. A holistic approach is needed for changes towards SPP, considering internal, connecting, and external drivers in the spectrum from praxis to policy.

Government spending in the agricultural sector: Optimal ratio with lending and the impact on the agricultural production

An effective government agropolicy should be balanced: To reduce the state budget pressure, it is important to reduce public spending and encourage farmers to use agricultural loans. Reducing public spending should not lead to a shortage in the agricultural market. The paper aims to substantiate the directions of government agropolicy transformation based on the optimal ratio of public expenditures and loans in the agrosector and the dependence of agroproduction dynamics on state financing. The research base is data from 10 countries with different income levels (World Bank), presented in FAOSTAT for 2004–2021. For each country, the optimal (determined by the structural modeling method) and actual proportions between state financing and lending in the agrosector are compared, adjusted for the agroproduction index. The modeling showed that the share of public funds should increase in Germany, Israel, Italy, and the UK and decrease in Azerbaijan and Georgia; the current proportion is optimal in the USA, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Based on a panel regression model with fixed effects, the influence of the actual level of state agrofinancing on the FAO Production Indices of the main types of agroproducts was determined. It is the largest for crops, meat, and milk (a decrease in state funding by USD 1 million threatens to reduce the respective indices by 4.5, 3.47, and 3.79 points), medium for cereals and sugar crops (according to points 2.69 and 2.11), and the smallest for livestock and non-food products (by 1.53 and 0.001 points, respectively).

Effectiveness of public health spending: Investigating the moderating role of governance using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM)

BackgroundThe link between public health spending (PHS) and population health outcomes (PHO) has been extensively studied. However, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the moderating effects of governance in this relationship are little known. Furthermore, studies have focused on mortality as the main health outcome. This study contributes to this literature by investigating the moderating role of governance in the relationship by simultaneously assessing three dimensions of governance (corruption control, government effectiveness and voice accountability) using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) as a measure of outcomes.MethodsThe study applies the two-stage moderation approach using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to panel data from 43 SSA nations from 2013 to 2019. The study also uses domestic general government health expenditure (DGGHE) as an independent variable and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) as the dependent variable in this relationship.ResultsThe analysis reveals that DGGHE affects DALY negatively and that governance improves the effect of DGGHE on DALY, with bigger improvements among countries with worse governance.ConclusionThese findings provide evidence that good governance is crucial to the effectiveness of PHS in SSA nations. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries should improve governance to improve population health.

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUDIT ANALYTICS IN INTERNAL AUDIT PROCESSES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

The impact of digitization on management processes in the public sector has led to changes in their roles, corporate activities, objectives, and corporate requirements. Consequently, as the scope and responsibilities of the public sector have changed and expanded due to digitization, the organization, storage, and processing of the increasing dimension of data resulting from public services have become more complex. This has also accelerated the handling of artificial intelligence in internal audits in the public sector. In the public sector, the large dimension of data related to citizens personal information, public tenders, contracts, and suppliers makes it difficult to control and oversee this data. Therefore, there is a trend in the public sector to handle Public Sector Internal Audit Artificial Intelligence models and audit analytics to facilitate Internal Audit while also automating the monitoring and tracking of corporate activities. From this viewpoint, this study explores the advantages of handling Artificial Intelligence models and audit analytics in internal audit. This study attempts to contribute to the literature by providing policy recommendations for professionals and researchers.

Do Universities Improve Local Economic Resilience?

Abstract We use a novel identification strategy to investigate whether regional universities make their local economies more resilient. Our strategy is based on state governments using similar site-selection criteria to assign normal schools (to train teachers) and insane asylums between 1830 and 1930. Normal schools became larger regional universities while asylum properties mostly continue as small state-owned psychiatric health facilities. We find that a regional university roughly offsets the negative effects of manufacturing exposure. We show the resilience of regional public university spending is an important mechanism, and we show correlations consistent with bachelor’s degree share also playing a mediating role.

Digitalisation in EU Competition Law and the Swedish Principle of Transparency

The procedural and institutional rights granted by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights have an important impact at national level in the application and interpretation of competition law by national courts and national authorities. In Sweden, the situation is particularly fascinating since the principle of openness – which affords a maximum standard of human right protection – may conflict with the procedural and institutional rights of the Charter, i.e. Articles 41, 47 and 53 of the Charter. The application of the Charter by the public procurement authority is also of interest here. Arguably, the principle of openness as defined by Swedish law should be respected in light of the procedural and institutional rights granted by the EU Charter.

Correction: Analyzing concentration in the Greek public procurement market: a network theory approach

Correction: Analyzing concentration in the Greek public procurement market: a network theory approach

The Impact of Public Expenditure on Inflation: An ARDL Approach

The aim of this study is to investigate and evaluate the impact of public spending on inflation in Algeria from 1973 to 2022. The data used are obtained from the official website of world Bank (WDI) and the Finance Ministry of Algeria. This study is conducted by applying the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag model (ARDL)-(bounds testing approach) using eviews13 software. The time series of the data were subjected to statistical tests by applying the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test. The cointegration tests were also applied for a common relationship and the Model Stability: The Bounds Test for confirming the existence of a stable long-term relationship, the Breusch-Godfrey serial correlation LM test to test the absence of serial correlation, Test Breusch-Pagan-Godfrey to test the Heteroskedasticity; and the CUSUM and CUSUM Squares test for the stability of the model as well as the estimation of the model’s short- and long-term parameters. The results obtained confirm the hypothesis posed in the introduction on the existence of a cointegration relationship between public expenditure and inflation the indicate that there exists a cointegration relationship between public expenditure and inflation, such that a 1% increase in public spending leads to a 0.23% rise in the inflation rate. It is important to mention that this percentage is relatively low compared to the short term, having reached 2%. As regards the other control variables, we found a positive and statistically significant correlation between the inflation rate and the percentage of broad money to GDP and the percentage of imports to GDP. However, we found an inverse relationship between the inflation rate and GDP per capita at constant 2015 prices, which serves as a measure of inverse economic growth. Based on these results, we can suggest Moving forward, policymakers in Algeria must prioritize measures aimed at curbing inflation while ensuring sustainable economic growth. This may involve reassessing public spending priorities, implementing effective monetary policies, and enhancing fiscal discipline. Furthermore, fostering economic diversification and promoting investment in sectors with high growth potential can contribute to reducing reliance on public expenditure as a driver of inflation.

The distribution of public service spending

Abstract In 2019–20, a total of £509 billion [22.5% of gross domestic product (GDP)] was spent on providing public services and infrastructure in the UK. Unlike spending on cash benefits, the primary aim of this spending is not redistribution. But spending on this scale does have big distributional effects—even before considering impacts of services on other dimensions of inequality, such as educational, health and labour market outcomes. There has been a long tradition of analysis of how public service spending is distributed across the population in the UK. This commentary has three main aims: first, to explain the key conceptual and methodological issues involved in such analysis, second, to set out what we know about the distribution of spending on major public services and how and why this changed over time, and third, to identify key lessons for policy and avenues for future research.

Fiscal policy and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa: unveiling the role of information and communication technology (ICT)

Purpose The aim of this study is twofold. First, this study examines the effect of fiscal policy on sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Second, this study also investigates the moderating role of information and communication technology (ICT) in fiscal policy–sustainable development nexus in SSA. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a battery of econometric techniques such as the ordinary least square (OLS), the two-step system generalized method of moments, Driscoll and Kraay covariance matrix estimator and the dynamic panel threshold model. Findings This study found that fiscal policy, except for public spending on education do not promote sustainable development in SSA. However, the authors found that ICT promotes sustainable development in SSA, and that when fiscal policy interacts with ICT, the results show that ICT enhances the effectiveness of fiscal policy to promote sustainable development in SSA. Furthermore, this study uncovers the optimal levels of public spending on health and education, and public debts that engenders sustainable development in SSA. The research and policy implications are discussed. Originality/value This study assessed the role of ICT in fiscal policy–sustainable development nexus.

Sustainability and Sustainable Public Procurement: An Assessment of Individual, Organizational, and Political Commitment in Brazilian Public Administration

Sustainability and Sustainable Public Procurement: An Assessment of Individual, Organizational, and Political Commitment in Brazilian Public Administration

Giving individual remedies in social rights litigation their due

As courts enforce socio-economic rights, reliance on individualized relief continues to be controversial. These remedies risk rewarding individuals for their ‘sharp elbows’, while ignoring others who suffer from similar deprivations. They can undermine the integrity of priority-setting schemes for distributing resources, and they can encourage inefficient public spending. Worse still, these orders can have the effect of starving social programs which support the vulnerable. More generally, this form of relief can neglect the need for structural change, and may fail to promote truly transformative constitutionalism. In the face of these criticisms, this article attempts to give individual remedies in socio-economic rights litigation their due. It develops a framework that identifies three spaces in which individualized relief is warranted. First, individual remedies can compensate for implementation gaps in public policy and administrative disfunction. Second, weak-form engagement orders can promote greater rights awareness and special attention for individuals experiencing poverty. Third, individual remedies can provide urgent relief from unreasonable priority-setting schemes. These remedial paths challenge conventional accounts of the judicial role by positioning judges to be more sensitive to their orders’ distributive implications. The article then theorizes the individual remedy’s contributions to the broader project of transformative constitutionalism. It stresses that when coupled with a democratization of legal procedure, individual orders can offer more timely and effective relief than complex, structural remedies. Individualized relief can also catalyze broader policy and administrative reform. Last, individual remedies can set the stage for structural remedies that would otherwise prove too daunting or provocative.

The Contribution of Biogas to the Electricity Supply Chain: An Italian Life Cycle Assessment Database

The transition towards energy efficiency measures and green energy sources is strongly fostered by the European Union. Italy is among the EU countries that have heavily invested in renewable energy sources, more than doubling their share in gross final energy consumption. In particular, biogas has a pivotal role in the generation of electricity and can also be upgraded into biomethane, with a higher and more stable energy content. In this study, the sustainability of the supply chain of electricity from biogas in Italy has been thoroughly analyzed in the broader framework of the ARCADIA (Life Cycle Approach in Public Procurement and Italian LCA Database for Resource Efficiency) project. The environmental assessment, carried out by means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), provides a two-fold perspective. Firstly, it allows us to identify the main hotspots of the investigated system, such as the cultivation of dedicated crops, and to provide useful insights for improving environmental performance. Furthermore, a focus on the modeling of the dataset related to the production of electricity from biogas within the Italian electricity mix represents a step ahead in the LCA research, filling the lack of site-specific databases for reliable LCA results.

Совершенствование системы государственных закупок в целях обеспечения экономической безопасности в условиях внешнего экономического давления

The external impact of unfriendly countries on the Russian economy in order to destabilize it largely determines the strategies for ensuring the economic security of the Russian Federation in the long term. An effective tool for improving economic security can be the public procurement system, provided that the internal competition of Russian producers is maintained, as well as ensuring control over the procurement system by the state and society. The article studies the problem of the need to improve the mechanism of public procurement in order to enhance Russia’s economic security in the conditions of sanctions pressure. The relevance and novelty of the study are determined by the increasing volume of purchases made to meet state and municipal needs, the need to expand the domestic market and stimulate the development of entrepreneurship. The external impact of unfriendly countries on the Russian economy in order to destabilize it largely determines the strategies for ensuring economic security of the Russian Federation in the long term. The system of public procurement can be an effective tool to improve economic security, provided that the internal competition of Russian manufacturers is maintained and the procurement system is controlled by the state and society.

Unfairness in AI Anti-Corruption Tools: Main Drivers and Consequences

This article discusses the potential sources and consequences of unfairness in artificial intelligence (AI) predictive tools used for anti-corruption efforts. Using the examples of three AI-based anti-corruption tools from Brazil—risk estimation of corrupt behaviour in public procurement, among public officials, and of female straw candidates in electoral contests—it illustrates how unfairness can emerge at the infrastructural, individual, and institutional levels. The article draws on interviews with law enforcement officials directly involved in the development of anti-corruption tools, as well as academic and grey literature, including official reports and dissertations on the tools used as examples. Potential sources of unfairness include problematic data, statistical learning issues, the personal values and beliefs of developers and users, and the governance and practices within the organisations in which these tools are created and deployed. The findings suggest that the tools analysed were trained using inputs from past anti-corruption procedures and practices and based on common sense assumptions about corruption, which are not necessarily free from unfair disproportionality and discrimination. In designing the ACTs, the developers did not reflect on the risks of unfairness, nor did they prioritise the use of specific technological solutions to identify and mitigate this type of problem. Although the tools analysed do not make automated decisions and only support human action, their algorithms are not open to external scrutiny.

Forecast of Corruption: From Ethical to Pragmatic Considerations

From an ethical standpoint, combating corruption is crucial for promoting justice and equality. The rule of law and ethical governance involves clear standards of behavior for public servants and mechanisms for ensuring these standards are upheld. Corruption undermines public trust in government and democratic institutions and exacerbates social inequality and injustice (disproportionately affects the poor and marginalized groups, denying them access to essential services and opportunities). The fight against corruption during a full-scale war has ethical and purely pragmatic implications for Ukraine, the data of which formed the basis of this study. The lack of tangible progress in the fight against corruption in general, the lack of transparency of many institutional mechanisms in public administration, the revealed corruption schemes in the distribution of international military and humanitarian aid, as well as in the field of public defence procurement, the lack of punishment for corrupt officials in the highest echelons of power threaten the loyalty of international donors and allies, reduce Ukraine’s authority in the international arena, slows down Ukraine’s movement towards the EU, and significantly affects the decisions of foreign partners. The article demonstrates the results of forecasting the future level of corruption in Ukraine (for 2024‒2027) based on the retrospective dynamics of the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International for 1998‒2023. Two economic and mathematical models are used for forecasting: Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), which better reflects long-term historical trends and fluctuations, and the exponential smoothing method, which is more sensitive to the latest values of the time series. The statistical analysis package STATISTICA was used for the calculations. The forecasting results are disappointing since both methods showed an expected decrease in the level of corruption in 2024-2027, but in critically low volumes: by 1 point according to the ARIMA model and by 3-4 points according to the exponential smoothing method. The results of this study can serve as a basis for public advocacy campaigns as an argument for the need to radically revise the existing format of anti-corruption policy in Ukraine given its European future.