Quality Of Local Governance Research Articles

Reconciling global aspirations and local realities: Challenges facing the Sustainable Development Goals for water and sanitation

Abstract The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is ambitious and inclusive, but how well are these global aspirations likely to result in implementable policy change for water and sanitation? This article assesses governance challenges at the local level associated with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which pledges to ensure sustainable water and sanitation for all. The majority of developing countries manage services at the subnational level, making the quality of local governance the key ingredient for improvements in the sector. This article first reviews prior shortcomings in global monitoring efforts and how SDG 6 was formulated to address them. The analysis then examines local governance challenges facing SDG 6 and potential barriers to implementation. These barriers manifest as both contradictions within SDG 6 itself as well as contradictions between SDG 6 and the Sustainable Development Agenda more broadly. As SDG monitoring rubrics undergo further reformulations, it may be necessary to prioritize between goals and targets, or otherwise stagger the timing of their promotion and implementation.

Higher pay, worse outcomes? The impact of mayoral wages on local government quality in Peru

In this paper, I study how wages earned by local politicians affect local government quality. To identify the effects, I use caps imposed by the Peruvian central government on mayoral wages as an excluded instrument. The results show that mayoral wages do not improve government performance. In particular, there is a negative impact on public investment implementation and on performance goals set by the central government. Moreover, there is no evidence of a positive effect on politician selection, municipal bureaucratic capacity, and political effort. Wages do strongly affect the local political landscape, increasing political competition and reducing political support for the mayor. These changes may help explain the drop in performance as local authorities may face more political obstacles when implementing their policy agenda. Overall, the results show that higher politician wages need not improve local government quality.

PENGARUH PENERAPAN STANDAR AKUNTANSI PEMERINTAH, PEMANFAATAN TEKNOLOGI INFORMASI, KOMPETENSI SUMBER DAYA MANUSIA, PENERAPAN SISTEM PENGENDALIAN INTERN PEMERINTAH, DAN SISTEM AKUNTANSI KEUANGAN DAERAH TERHADAP KUALITAS LAPORAN KEUANGAN PEMERINTAH DAERAH

The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of several factors toward quality of local government’s financial statement. The factors consist of governmental accounting standards, utilization of information technology, competencies of human resource, government’s internal control system, and local financial accounting system. The samples of this research were the employees at Satuan Kerja Perangkat Daerah (SKPD) or regional work unit in Tangerang regency with several characteristic. The characteristics are, 1) using SIMDA as a financial accounting system and 2) involved during preparation of financial statements. The data used was primary data. This research used questionnaire for collecting data. The sampling technique is non-probability samping which is convenience sampling. The results of this research are: (1) governmental accounting standards has significant effect toward the quality of local government’s financial statement, (2) utilization of information technology has significant effect toward the quality of local government’s financial statement, (3) competencies of human resource has significant effect toward the quality of local government’s financial statement, (4) government’s internal control system does not affect toward the quality of local government’s financial statement, (5) local financial accounting system does not affect toward the quality of local government’s financial statement.

Pengaruh Implementasi Sistem Informasi Manajemen Daerah Terhadap Kualitas Laporan Keuangan pada Satuan Kerja Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten Nias Selatan

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the implementation of Sistem Informasi Manajemen Daerah (SIMDA) toward financial report quality of local government in Nias Selatan. The Indonesian government has encouraged each region to implement Sistem Informasi Manajemen Daerah (SIMDA). SIMDA is an e-government system developed by the Deputi Pengawasan Bidang Penyelenggaraan Keuangan Daerah in order to improve internal control in regional reporting, including local government financial reports. 
 The study was conducted using a survey method to provide the questionnaries to Kepala Sub Bagian Keuangan, Kepala Sub Bagian Program, and Bendahara in 63 Satuan Kerja Perangkat Daerah (SKPD) Nias Selatan. The data used in this study was primary data. There were 154 questionnaries distributed for this research, but only 140 questionnaries returned and used in this research. Data processing using SPSS 24 application with simple regression method.
 The result of this study was implementation of Sistem Informasi Manajemen Daerah (SIMDA) has significant impact toward financial report quality of local government in Nias Selatan.
 
 Keywords : financial report quality, local government financial statements, SIMDA

Composite Indicator of Social Responsiveness of Local Governments: An Empirical Mapping of the Networked Community Governance Paradigm

Various local stakeholders with diverse needs seek different treatment and actions by their local governments. From the modern perspective of local governance, this article examines whether local governments are sufficiently responsive in meeting not only the mandatory responsibilities, but also the rapidly expanding range of societal expectations. This study enriches the existing local governance literature with a novel methodology and a set of indicators for measuring the quality of networked community local governance. The primary goal is to enlighten the local governance theory with a newly designed perspective and to offer our own innovative quantitative representation. The conclusions are based on theoretical refinements and our own innovative methodology supported by an empirical investigation. Finally, a composite indicator of social responsiveness of local governments is constructed, elaborated and illustrated through a case study.

The Accessibility, Usability, Quality and Readability of Turkish State and Local Government Websites an Exploratory Study

With significant development in Internet technology contributing to daily lives in nearly every aspect, it is important that government websites and e-government services offered through them are used effectively, efficiently, and satisfactorily. Achieving accessible, usable, qualified, and readable e-government services that enable citizens to fulfill different users' requirements by everyone involved in the target group, implying a lack of equality between disabled and non-disabled people in benefiting from online governmental services regardless of time and location constraints, has become a global aim. This study investigated whether the websites of the state and local level e-government in the Turkish Republic comply with prevailing standards of accessibility, heuristic usability, mobile readiness, performance and, the readability of website content with six different indices and whether these qualities depend on the type of the government websites. After examining 77 state and 247 local e-government sites, the results indicate that the Turkish government websites have made many of the accessibility, usability, quality, and readability mistakes as predicted. In light of the study findings, this paper will present some recommendations for improving Turkish government websites, as well as discuss future implications.

Moderating Effect of Administrative Role in the Relationship Between the SERVQUAL dimensions and Quality Service Provisions of Local Government in Dhaka City

The present study aims at investigating the moderating effect of administrative role in the relationships between the service quality dimensions, logistic support and perceived quality service of local government (Dhaka City Corporation) in the context of Bangladesh. For the purpose of the study, data were collected from 222 slum dwellers of Dhaka City living in the six big slums which are Shampur, Tejgaon, Bhasantak, Korail, Kamalapur and Zurain slums to examine the moderating effect. The responses were gathered with 5 point Likert scale with response options ranging from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1) through a structured questionnaire survey. Collected data were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling technique (PLS-SEM) with the support of the software Smart PLS 2.0 M3. The findings reveal that administrative role positively moderates the relationship between assurance dimension and perceived service quality of local government; logistic support and perceived quality service and finally, the findings reveal that administrative role has significant moderating effect in the relationship between responsiveness and perceived service equality of local government. Hence, the findings give an indication that local government should play positive administrative role to improve the services quality and make their services effective for slum dwellers. The policy makers, local government and other related stakeholders might find this study as an essential tool in designing, developing and implementing their activities directed to the slum dwellers.

Decentralization, Executive Selection, and Citizen Views on the Quality of Local Governance in African Countries

Decentralization, Executive Selection, and Citizen Views on the Quality of Local Governance in African Countries

The Effect of Internal Auditor Competency on Internal Audit Quality and Its Implication on the Accountability of Local Government

Accountability is one of the fundamental elements of good governance manifestation that currently is strived in Indonesia. Transparency and accountability of regional financial management requires a supervisory agency of local government, an internal Auditor (inspectorate) to improve the accounting quality. The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidence on how the internal auditor’s competency can affect internal audit quality in local government, and how its implication toward accountability of local government will be beneficial. The study is done with the population of all inspectorates in regency/city of Lampung Province, by using path analysis of Partial Least Square (PLS). The result of this study gives empirical evidence that internal auditor (inspectorate) competency positively and significantly affects internal audit quality. Likewise, internal audit quality positively and significantly affects financial accountability of regency/city of Lampung. The higher the internal auditor competency, the better audit quality that is proxied by the number of findings by internal audit. Based on descriptive and verificative approach in all Province/City/Regency Inspectorates in Lampung, it shows that internal auditors (inspectorate) have been adequately competent, but there are some regions that have not been competent (have not had adequate education level and skill). Accountability of local government of regency/city of Lampung is quite accountable, but not all regions of regency/city produce maximal opinion (WTP).

The Effect of Governance Quality on Economic Growth: Based on China’s Provincial Panel Data

This paper investigates the impact of governance quality on economic growth in China. After developing a theoretical framework for the effect of governance quality on local economic growth, this article studies the panel data in provincial regions over the period 2001–2015 by constructing a new comprehensive index of provincial governance, and checks the robustness of the empirical findings from four aspects. The results show that governance quality has a positive effect on economic growth, due to good governance strengthening the “helping hand” or weakening the “grabbing hand” of power. Governance quality presents diminishing marginal returns, which means that the high-speed economic growth effect becomes less and less, while the high-quality economic development effect becomes more and more. Higher governance quality could bring a high-speed economic growth effect in the western region, while higher governance quality could bring a high-quality economic development effect in the eastern region. Compared with fixed-asset investment, human capital has played a more important role in economic growth. In order to promote the sustainable development of China’s economy, policy makers should improve local governance quality, strengthen the capacity of independent innovation, and promote the accumulation of high-quality human capital.

The Moderating Effect of Disclosure Quality on Changes in the Cost of Debt: Evidence from Municipal Credit Rating Downgrades

We examine whether municipal market participants' sensitivity to changes in local home values varies with the quality of local governments' financial reports. We find the credit ratings and bond yields of governments that are required to comply with GAAP are less sensitive to changes in local home values than similarly-affected governments that are not required to comply with GAAP. These governments do not experience different changes in net revenues ex post. The results are pronounced when the change in home values generates the most uncertainty (i.e., the change is adverse). The results are also stronger after GASB 34 increased the quality of GAAP-compliant issuers' financial reports. We conclude that market participants are less sensitive to signals about the local economy when local governments are required to provide high-quality disclosures.

Understanding Poverty in Cash-crop Agro-forestry Systems: Evidence from Ghana and Ethiopia

This paper examines the linkages between cash-crop income and other dimensions of poverty to interrogate assumptions regarding the relationship between agricultural income and poverty alleviation. The analysis treats poverty as a multi-dimensional and socially disaggregated phenomenon. The paper employs a mixed methods approach to case studies of Ghana and Ethiopia to explore two critical issues. First, how income from cash crops is linked with other dimensions of poverty. Second, how income and land are socially disaggregated. The paper then draws on qualitative data to critically reflect on how poverty is understood within studied communities. The results show that some, but not all, indicators of poverty vary across income quartiles and that significant differences exist across social groups. The analysis suggests that although cash crops are essential, focusing on increasing income from cash crops will not necessarily have a predictable or progressive impact on wellbeing. Furthermore, the analysis highlights how contextual factors, such as the provision of communal services, the nature of land holdings and the quality of local governance mediate the potential poverty alleviating outcomes of income increases. Future development of sustainable intensification strategies should focus on the prevalence of trade-offs and the fundamental social relations underpinning poverty dynamics.

Entrepreneurial Reinvestment: Local Governance, Ownership, and Financing Matter

This study investigates the relative importance of local governance and external financing on small firm reinvestment. Using a set of more than 300,000 Vietnamese firm-level observations from 2006 to 2015, we find that local governance quality is positively associated with firm reinvestment. However, regarding external funds, only informal finance is positively associated with reinvestment while government loans and bank loans serve as substitutes to reinvestment. Also, we suggest that there is a significant heterogeneity among ownership sectors and of micro-enterprises in the way they value the relative importance of local governance arrangements and financing sources. This study augments the works of Johnson, McMillan, and Woodruff (2002) and Cull and Xu (2005), and suggests that the effects of local governance and financial systems are more complicated than a simple comparison that either governance or financing is more important than the other.

Does Human Rights Protection Matter for Emerging Market Multinationals' Ownership Strategy?

As emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) have been increasing their global presence at a rapidly increasing pace. As they go abroad, EMNEs are faced with considerable uncertainty, especially as they seek to escape instability and underdeveloped institutional environment at home. Discrepancy between codified rules and actual practices in host countries constitutes one of the sources of such uncertainty. We propose that government respect for human rights can signal the quality of local governance to EMNE managers. We therefore examine the relationship between EMNEs’ ownership strategy, host-home country formal institutional distance and host country’s human rights issues as an example of such deviation. We find that formal institutional distance necessitates lower EMNEs’ stakes, yet clarity in human rights issues in the host country will encourage EMNEs’ to establish dominant ownership despite the institutional distance.

Assessment system and empirical study on China’s local governance quality

Assessment system and empirical study on China’s local governance quality

Land financing and economic growth: Evidence from Chinese counties

How does land institution affect economic growth? This paper proposes a simple model showing that, in an institution that land is owned and supplied by the state, local governments tend to increase investment in infrastructure when holding a larger share of land conveyance revenue in the total revenue. The main channel is that land conveyance revenue serves as a signal of credit quality of local governments. To test the model of land financing, this paper employs an exogenous event of the deregulation of local government debt in China in 2009. Using county-level data in China, empirical results suggest that counties with a higher initial share of land conveyance revenue were growing faster after 2009. The land-financing effect was persistent and even stronger during 2009 to 2014. Results are robust using geographic plainness as the instrumental variable measuring the amount of developable land resources. There is also consistent evidence on the growth of night light intensity.

PENGARUH KUALITAS LAPORAN KEUANGAN, KOMPLEKSITAS PEMERINTAHAN, DAN TINGKAT KESEJAHTERAAN DAERAH TERHADAP TINGKAT PENGUNGKAPAN SUKARELA INFORMASI KEUANGAN PADAWEBSITE PEMERINTAH DAERAH (STUDI KASUS PEMERINTAH DAERAH TINGKAT PROVINSI SE – INDONESIA)

This study aims to examine the Quality of Regional Government, Government Complexity, and Regional Welfare Levels affecting the Level of Voluntary Disclosure of Financial Information on Local Government Websites. The testing of the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable used multiple linear regression equations and using cross section data. The results of testing the hypotheses provide evidence that the variable quality of local government does not affect the level of voluntary disclosure of financial information on local government websites, other than that for government complexity variables have a significant effect on the level of voluntary disclosure of financial information on local government websites, while for variable welfare level Regions do not influence the Level of Voluntary Disclosure of Financial Information on Local Government Websites.

The potential of ICT‐supported participatory communication interventions to challenge local power dynamics: Lessons from the case of Togo

AbstractThis paper adds to the debate on the contribution of ICT towards improving the quality of local governance. The data presented were collected during the scoping phase of an ICT‐based participation platform aimed at improving local governance in Togo. We combine original data from a social network analysis and a representative household survey. Based on these data, we conclude that the success of ICT interventions to transform local power structures depends on their adequate adaption to the political and technical environment. Decisions about the stage of the public policy cycle at which ICT projects intervene must be informed by the nature of local power relations and the distribution of access to ICT and participation opportunities across the intervention's target population.

Style of leadership and organizational culture as moderator of influence of competence and internal control system towards report quality

The study was intended to obtain an empirical evidence of competence influence of Human Resources and Internal Control System on quality of Local Government Financial Statements (LKPD) with leadership style and organizational culture as moderating variables. There was 39 local structure organization in Denpasar city became a research population. Data were collected through survey method and questionnaire technique. The sample was taken using the non-probability method and purposive sampling technique. There were 152 respondents. Data analysis is used Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA).The result was obtained that the leadership style weakens the influence of human resource competence on LKPD quality in Denpasar. Organizational culture strengthens the influence of human resources competencies in LKPD Denpasar. The leadership style did not moderate the influence of Internal Control System on LKPD quality in Denpasar. Organizational culture strengthens the influence of internal control system on quality in LKPD Denpasar.

Determinan penerapan basis akrual secara penuh pada pemerintah daerah

This research meant to obtain a description on how much was the influence of the Indonesian’s Local Governments forwardness on the accrual-based Government Accounting System implementation to the quality of Local Government Financial Statements at the early stage of accrual basis execution in 2015. This research develops data from the Indonesian State Audit Institution’s Performance Audit Report on the Local Governments' Efforts in Implementing the Accrual-Based Government Accounting System by using three variables namely the commitment on regulation and policy; the Human Resource Management (HRM) in financial, assets, and Information Technology (IT); and the IT governance. Subsequently, examines the influence of those variables on the quality of 2015 Local Governments' Financial Statements. The results of this study indicate that the human resources on financial, asset and IT management have a positive influence on the quality of the accrual-based Local Governments' Financial Statements. Conversely, the commitment to regulation and policies and the IT management did not have a sufficient effect on the improvement of the accrual-based Local Governments' Financial Statements quality. Thus, this research provides a recommendation for Local Governments, especially for those who have not achieved unqualified opinion, to improve their HRM in financial, asset and IT management in the benefit of escalating their accrual-based financial statements quality.