Public Spending Research Articles

The system of prevention of offences in the field of public procurement during martial law in Ukraine in comparison with the European Union

The issue of public procurement, particularly in the defence sector, has become especially pressing during the period of Russian aggression in Ukraine. The risk of corruption in this area is significant and can have fatal consequences for the state. The purpose of this article was to review the system for countering and preventing violations in the field of public procurement, which was created in response to the challenges of martial law in Ukraine. A comparison of this system with the corresponding mechanisms of the European Union was conducted. The methodological basis of the article was a dialectical approach to analysing the crime prevention system in the field of public procurement in Ukraine and worldwide. The study employed methods of formal logic, as well as systemic-structural, systematisation, generalisation, forecasting, phenomenological, comparative-legal, and comparative analysis. Scientific approaches to preventing offences in the field of public procurement in several foreign countries were examined, as well as the main rules and standards introduced in the European Union in this field. It was substantiated that the system for preventing offences in the field of public procurement under martial law in Ukraine is not optimal, and this also applies to EU countries, despite the collective international and national measures taken. It was argued that public procurement is inextricably linked with politics and is used as a tool for achieving the strategic objectives of a particular state. The issue of preventing corruption offences in the field of public procurement is extremely relevant for researchers, and the results of its thorough study will enable Ukraine to achieve significant progress in combating this phenomenon, in addition to the measures already taken by the state during martial law

Environmental Sustainability in Public Procurement Processes: A Study Guided by The Paradigms of The New Law on Tenders and Contracts

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the incorporation of environmental sustainability criteria in public procurement processes, aiming to assess the impact of these criteria on the effectiveness of procurements under the New Public Procurement and Contracting Law. Theoretical Framework: The research is based on concepts of environmental sustainability and sustainable public procurement. Theories of sustainable development and principles of sustainability in public administration are highlighted, providing a solid foundation for the analysis. Method: The methodology adopted for this research includes a qualitative approach, using the deductive method. Data collection was conducted through a critical analysis of bibliographic materials indexed on platforms evaluated by Capes, as well as legislative documents and relevant doctrines on the subject. Results and Discussion: The results indicate that the New Public Procurement and Contracting Law presents significant advances in integrating sustainability into public procurement processes through the explicit inclusion of environmental sustainability criteria. However, the effective implementation of these criteria faces important challenges, mainly related to the training of public agents and the adaptation of existing structures to new demands. The discussion contextualizes these results in light of the theoretical framework, highlighting the identified implications and relationships. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in the field of public procurement. These implications encompass areas such as public policies, professional training, and sustainable development. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the relevance of the New Public Procurement and Contracting Law in promoting sustainable practices in public procurement. The originality of the research lies in the critical analysis of the challenges and advances provided by the new legislation, highlighting its potential impact on sustainable development.

Indirect Savings from Public Procurement Centralization

Centralization of public procurement can lower prices for the government’s direct purchase of goods and services. This paper focuses on indirect savings. Public administrations that do not procure directly through a central procurement agency might benefit from the availability of centrally procured goods. We exploit the introduction of a central purchasing agency in Italy and find that prices came down by 22 percent among administrations that bought autonomously. These indirect effects appear to be driven by informational externalities, especially for less competent public buyers purchasing technologically more complex goods. Accounting for indirect savings increases the estimate of direct ones. (JEL D83, H57, H83)

Electoral incentives to target investment in roads: Evidence from Italian municipalities

Using a comprehensive dataset on Italian municipalities, we test whether investments in road services are affected by political manipulations motivated by the need of targeting a specific group of voters (construction firms). We show that road services investment in the year before election is 26% higher in municipalities with low density of construction firms and 40% higher in municipalities with high density of construction firms than in the electoral year. This result is confirmed by the fact that in the pre-electoral year the probability that public procurement on road services is assigned to a local firm increases by 52 percentage points with respect to the electoral year, for municipalities with high density of construction firms. Finally, we do not detect any relationship between investments in road services and the local road safety. These findings suggest that politicians manipulate investments in road services for re-electoral purposes.

Voter mobilization with public cultural spending in small communities: evidence from Austria

Voter mobilization with public cultural spending in small communities: evidence from Austria

Public Health Financing and Population Health: What Role Do Institutions Play?

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the multifaceted interactions among public health financing, institutions, and population health. It also sought to determine whether the efficacy of government health interventions to reduce child mortality and improve life expectancy in Africa's most populous country had been hampered by its institutional framework. The research analyzed the links among institutional, socioeconomic, and health variables using the autoregressive distributed lag estimator across a 37‐year period (1984–2020). The findings show that short‐term public health spending in Nigeria has a significant negative effect on health outcomes, whereas long‐term spending has a significant positive effect. Although public health financing significantly impacted long‐run life expectancy, its short‐run impact is statistically insignificant. Moreover, public health financing is positively linked with lower infant mortality in the long run but directly associated with higher rates in the short run. It further discovered that weak institutional framework is responsible for low life expectancy and high infant mortality. Institutions exert an unconditional significant negative impact on short‐ and long‐term health outcomes. Findings also show that both the short‐ and long‐term net effects of government health financing and institutions on the health outcomes are negative and statistically significant. So, institutions and public health financing are substitutes, with institutions unable to adequately improve their role in the public finance–health outcomes relations. Furthermore, the thresholds at which short‐ and long‐term institutional settings will modulate direct links between public finance and health outcomes are 5.01 and 2.62, respectively. Hence, the empirical findings validate the defective nature of the Nigerian institutional settings. Policy prescriptions for improving health outcomes are recommended based on the findings.

Importance of Hospital Performance Indicators in Contracting and Financing Medical Services in Surgical Wards.

In the Romanian healthcare system, public hospitals' contract for the provision of healthcare services with the National Health Insurance Services (NHIS) is the main source of revenue in a hospital's income and expenditure budget. In Romania, for acute diseases, payment is made on a per-case basis for hospitals financed under the diagnostic-related groups (DRG) system, which is calculated according to the indicators achieved. The main objective of the study aimed at the quantitative and comparative analysis of hospital performance indicators used in the calculation of the contracted amount with NHIS, in order to quantify the results and evaluate the effectiveness of the measures taken in the surgical wards of the Emergency Clinical County Hospital of Oradea (ECCHO) compared to the annual average values at the national level, in the period 2012-2022. The indicators, such as the number of beds, number of cases, average length of hospitalization (LOH), and case complexity index (CCI), were analyzed at the level of the ECCHO, a tertiary care hospital in the surgical wards. Rehabilitation and modernization of wards, laboratories, operating theatres, and high-performance equipment have been made possible through efficient management and monthly monitoring of medical and financial activity. The average LOH actually carried out on the surgical wards has been decreasing over the 11 years analyzed, with a lower number of hospital days than at the national level. The CCI achieved by the hospital's surgical wards has had an increasing evolution throughout the period analyzed, higher than the national value. The maximum amount contracted and the amount contracted by the hospital is higher when the LOH and CCI indicators achieved by each section are included in the formula than the indicators established at the national level. A lower LOH and a higher CCI than the national values facilitated the contracting of a higher amount. Optimization of the indicators by hospital performance is correlated with improved funding by the NHIS. Increasing the contracted amount facilitates the contracting of an exponential annual number of cases, resulting in more efficient medical services in the surgical wards.

Организация и обеспечение безопасности судебной деятельности на территории Донбасса, Запорожья и Херсона: вопросы теории и практики

Aleksandr V. Orlov, Presiding Judge of the Commercial Court of the Central District, PhD (Law) The article is devoted to the study of certain theoretical and practical issues of the organization and security of judicial activity in the territory of the DPR, LPR, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. The article discusses the issues of financing courts, public procurement to meet the needs of judicial authorities, and some issues of openness of judicial activity.

Pertanggungjawaban Hukum Peminjaman Nama Perusahaan Untuk Mengikuti Pengadaan Barang Dan Jasa Pemerintah

Introduction: The practice of using another company's name to participate in government procurement contracts is a common occurrence today. Although there are no explicit regulations prohibiting this practice, borrowing another company's name can be done due to affiliations between related companies or as an attempt to deceive the bidding organizers.Purposes of the Research: This research aims to examine and analyze the legitimacy of the practice of borrowing a company's name to participate in government procurement of goods and services, as well as the forms of accountability for breaches of contract in the implementation of such name borrowing in procurement processes.Methods of the Research: This research is a normative juridical research, using a descriptive analytical research type using primary, secondary and tertiary legal sources. The approach used is a statutory approach (Statute Approach), a conceptual approach (conceptual approach) and a case approach (Case Approach). The technique of collecting legal materials uses a literature study which is then analyzed qualitatively in order to answer the problems studied.Results of the Research: The research findings indicate that the practice of using another company's name in government procurement of goods and services violates various legal provisions, including Presidential Regulation No. 16 of 2018, Regulation of the Procurement Policy Agency (LKPP) No. 9 of 2019, as well as the Law on the Prohibition of Monopoly Practices and Unfair Business Competition. This practice also fails to meet the requirements of a valid agreement as it contradicts the law. The winning company of the tender is fully responsible for the contract's implementation, including if it utilizes another company's name, and can be sued by the aggrieved party in case of breach of contract, with legal consequences including compensation, contract termination, administrative sanctions, blacklisting, and criminal penalties.

Being an au pair in London: Young Spanish women’s employment trajectories and strategies in regimes of gender and precariousness

The global economic crisis that began in 2008 led to major cuts to the welfare state in Spain and across Europe (Gambino, 2018), affecting key areas such as health, education, social care and youth employment. This was accompanied by drastic reductions in public spending and welfare benefits, which affected women particularly severely. Through ethnographic fieldwork with a gender and feminist perspective, this paper attempts to cast light on the trajectories of young Spanish women who emigrated to London in the ambiguous ‘au pair’ category. The figure of the au pair is interesting because it is an ad hoc, liminal, ambiguous, transient construction configured in such a way that it is ‘between’ categories, spaces and bounds, responding to the domestic care needs of English families’ offspring as part of a commodification of care brought about by a lack of regulation and resources from the state. The employment trajectories and strategies of young Spanish women are embedded in a context of precarious employment, in which young women with secondary and higher education seek financial and personal autonomy but are compelled to negotiate gender norms in order to overcome structural inequalities that increasingly devalue care work. The naturalisation of care and its attribution to women, as well as the ongoing association of women with the ‘good mother’ model, serves to reinforce gender hierarchies.

Green Public Procurement in Public Administration: Perceptions and Challenges in Practice

ABSTRACT The implementation of green public procurement (GPP) in the Maltese public administration was perceived as an important step that supports the achievement of environmental policies. Institutions are in place for the application of GPP. However, there are difficulties in practice, and more needs to be done in terms of training and capacity development. This study concludes that managerial decisions are taken to legitimize actions, so that the administrator appears to be doing the right thing in the eyes of the stakeholders. Institutions intentionally adopt GPP to adhere to the norms and values of society. Whether GPP has a positive effect on the environment is a secondary objective.

The role of e-procurement in promoting government transparency: Lessons from Surabaya

Background: This study examines accountability and transparency in the public procurement process, focusing on Surabaya, the first city to implement e-procurement reform. E-procurement leverages the latest information technology to improve procurement efficiency and transparency. Methods: A descriptive qualitative approach was used, using purposive sampling to gather in-depth insights from critical informants who thoroughly understood the research focus. Data were collected from various entities, including the Surabaya City Electronic Procurement Service (LPSE), the City Procurement Unit (ULP), and related public works and private auction companies. Findings: The implementation of e-procurement in Surabaya has succeeded in building an accountable and transparent system. This system has improved the procurement committee’s ability to justify and report the entire procurement process vertically to higher authorities and horizontally to the public. Despite this progress, some suppliers still engage in fraudulent practices, highlighting the need for continued vigilance and commitment. Conclusions: Although e-procurement has significantly improved accountability and transparency in the procurement process in Surabaya, the committee and suppliers need to uphold strong ethical standards to prevent fraud. The e-procurement system alone is not enough. This system must be supported by solid law enforcement and a commitment to integrity to fully realize its potential in creating a fair procurement environment. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study comprehensively evaluates e-procurement implementation in Surabaya, revealing improvements in accountability and transparency and remaining challenges. The findings offer an applicable model for other cities in Indonesia and developing countries to optimize public e-procurement systems.

Research on the Legal Regulation of Administrative Monopoly in the Field of Chinese Government Procurement

Research on the Legal Regulation of Administrative Monopoly in the Field of Chinese Government Procurement

On corporate total factor productivity: public procurement

PurposeThis study attempts to uncover the nonlinear relationship between public procurement and corporate total factor productivity (CTFP), and investigates the mediating roles of R&D investment and rent-seeking cost. Additionally, it conducts a heterogeneity analysis for firms with varying levels of political connections and corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approachEmploying Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Olley-Pakes (OP) methods, the authors gauge CTFP and manually identify government customers to quantify public procurement. Leveraging panel data from Chinese listed companies, this study explores the relationship between public procurement and CTFP.FindingsThis study unveils a U-shaped relationship between public procurement and CTFP, highlighting R&D investment and rent-seeking costs as potential mechanisms. Furthermore, it identifies heterogeneous effects among companies with varying levels of political connections and CSR on the relationship between public procurement and CTFP, including their mediating effects.Practical implicationsThis research enhances understanding of demand-side policies and provides crucial insights for the government to further improve public procurement policies.Originality/valueBy offering empirical evidence of how public procurement impacts CTFP, this paper enriches the literature on the behavioral repercussions of public procurement and the determinants of CTFP. It also overcomes the “black box” of the mechanism between public procurement and CTFP, based on the government’s dual role as a pathfinder and customer of enterprises. It broadens the application scenarios of institutional theory and principal-agent theory. Additionally, the heterogeneity analysis of firms with varying political connections and CSR extends the frontiers of related research.

The ten-year anniversary of public procurement reforms: a critical assessment of the European Union public procurement Directives

This article evaluates the objectives of the legal framework on public procurement in the European Union and assesses its contribution to the internal market. The author provides for a critical analysis of the evolution of the public procurement acquis, which reveals an environment occupied with conceptual and regulatory interfaces, exhibiting advanced interoperability with legal systems of Member States and faced with continuous market-driven modality changes in awarding and financing public contracts for the delivery of public services.

GOVERNMENT ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACTS TO STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES TO PROVIDE INFRASTRUCTURE: INDONESIA’S EXPERIENCE

This paper aims to evaluate the peculiarities of a mechanism utilised by the Indonesian government to conduct infrastructure development, that is, the government’s assignment of contracts to state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This mechanism differs from public procurement or public-private partnership. This paper raises three questions: (1) What are the advantages and disadvantages of employing government assignment of contracts to SOEs? (2) What should be done to prevent the disadvantages? and (3) What lessons can be learned by other countries from the Indonesian experience? This paper employs qualitative legal research. It starts by analysing public satisfaction and dissatisfaction as reflected in the news, literature and interviews. The legal causes of dissatisfaction which are basically the problematic regulations, are then analysed. Finally, the legal principles and legal concepts enshrined within the regulations are examined to seek legal solutions. The advantages of the government’s assignment of contracts to SOEs are to simplify the tender process and to enable the government to quickly provide infrastructure. Nonetheless, the private sector feels aggrieved because the regulations that dictate when a project may be contracted to an SOE are unclear, and public funding is predominantly circulated among the SOE groups. To address these problems, the government should adhere to the globally recognised principles of equality and accountability and the concepts of competitive neutrality and the right to development. The bittersweet Indonesian experiences maybe not only the refinement of the Indonesian law and policy, but also their use as food for thought for any country considering infrastructure development.

ENHANCING THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT: A COMPREHENSIVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR INDONESIA

The concept of “sustainable public procurement” has emerged worldwide. It instructs governments to prioritize sustainability throughout the procurement process in the economic, social, and environmental aspects. Such a concept is significant as the government has an enormous purchasing power to stimulate the market. Nonetheless, past empirical research indicates that in the context of Indonesia, the country has not addressed several vital issues on sustainable public procurement despite the worsening environmental degradation. There have been no specific guidelines and capacitybuilding system established for government officers. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss this problem from the perspective of law and suggest the necessary improvements in the legal framework, utilizing normative legal research methods focusing on the applicable laws. Through a comparative approach, using statutes and conceptual frameworks, this study examines the Indonesian current legal instruments governing sustainable public procurement. Several other countries will be used as exemplars of best practices. This research finds that the legal framework of sustainable public procurement in Indonesia is relatively inadequate compared to other countries, particularly regarding guidelines for implementation and institutional cooperation. In addition to its Presidential Regulation Number 12 of 2021, Indonesia should strengthen the planning, monitoring, and enforcement mechanisms through strategic overarching plans and further regulations to foster the effective implementation of a system of sustainable public procurement.

Budget politics in Indonesia

Budget politics in Indonesia is a very complex process, ranging from central to local government. The budget planning process involves planning, approving, executing, and evaluating, all of which require close coordination and cooperation between institutions. The main challenges in Indonesia's budget politics are the misallocation of funds, inequality between regions, growing debt, inflation, and unstable prices. The economic implications of inefficient budget politics are far-reaching. Imbalances between revenues and expenditures can increase the debt burden and interest costs, reducing the space for productive public spending. Inequalities in budget allocations can slow economic growth and increase social inequality. In addition, uneven financial decentralization exacerbates inequality between regions. Inflation rates fuelled by increased public spending without an increase in goods and services can reduce people's purchasing power. Budget policy uncertainty also brings uncertainty for investors, which can reduce private investment and hamper economic growth. Overall, reforms in the budget distribution process, improved financial management capacity, and a commitment to inclusive and data-driven policies are urgently needed. These measures are essential to meet the challenges and ensure sustainable and equitable development for all Indonesians.

Predicting hospital length of stay using machine learning on a large open health dataset

BackgroundGovernments worldwide are facing growing pressure to increase transparency, as citizens demand greater insight into decision-making processes and public spending. An example is the release of open healthcare data to researchers, as healthcare is one of the top economic sectors. Significant information systems development and computational experimentation are required to extract meaning and value from these datasets. We use a large open health dataset provided by the New York State Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) containing 2.3 million de-identified patient records. One of the fields in these records is a patient’s length of stay (LoS) in a hospital, which is crucial in estimating healthcare costs and planning hospital capacity for future needs. Hence it would be very beneficial for hospitals to be able to predict the LoS early. The area of machine learning offers a potential solution, which is the focus of the current paper.MethodsWe investigated multiple machine learning techniques including feature engineering, regression, and classification trees to predict the length of stay (LoS) of all the hospital procedures currently available in the dataset. Whereas many researchers focus on LoS prediction for a specific disease, a unique feature of our model is its ability to simultaneously handle 285 diagnosis codes from the Clinical Classification System (CCS). We focused on the interpretability and explainability of input features and the resulting models. We developed separate models for newborns and non-newborns.ResultsThe study yields promising results, demonstrating the effectiveness of machine learning in predicting LoS. The best R2 scores achieved are noteworthy: 0.82 for newborns using linear regression and 0.43 for non-newborns using catboost regression. Focusing on cardiovascular disease refines the predictive capability, achieving an improved R2 score of 0.62. The models not only demonstrate high performance but also provide understandable insights. For instance, birth-weight is employed for predicting LoS in newborns, while diagnostic-related group classification proves valuable for non-newborns.ConclusionOur study showcases the practical utility of machine learning models in predicting LoS during patient admittance. The emphasis on interpretability ensures that the models can be easily comprehended and replicated by other researchers. Healthcare stakeholders, including providers, administrators, and patients, stand to benefit significantly. The findings offer valuable insights for cost estimation and capacity planning, contributing to the overall enhancement of healthcare management and delivery.

GLAD TIDINGS FOR INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY

Dear Reader, It is indeed heartening to note that the Indian Government has notified Rules for fast-track launch of new, breakthrough drugs including block-buster molecules, waiving or bypassing clinical trials in India under Chapter V of the Rules, where the relevant drug has already been approved in specified countries, such as the European Union, US, UK, Japan, Australia and Canada. This decision was announced through an executive order specifying the list of developed countries under Rule 101 of the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules (NCDT) 2019, issued by the DCGI, Dr. Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi. For the time being, the list of drugs covered under the order for approval of new drugs, under Chapter X are restricted to those for treatment of orphan drugs (rare diseases), new drugs for special defence purposes and those used in pandemic diseases, gene and cellular therapy products. It is further to be noted that drugs having significant therapeutic advances over the standard care, are also covered under this notification waiving domestic clinical trials. Indirectly, this waiver will not only help State Government and other public procurement agencies such as DGHS and Ayushman Bharat to reduce expenditure in their budgets, but also do away with animal trials in India in line with Indian and global initiatives. This initiative to selectively waive clinical trials will be a boon to research-based Indian Pharma companies too, for introducing generic equivalents of these drugs having significant therapeutic benefits to patients.