Political Turbulence Research Articles

How different cost behaviour is in emerging economies? Evidence from Argentina

PurposeCost behaviour literature is expanding its reach beyond developed economies; however, there is limited knowledge about its causes in emerging economies. This is an exploratory study of sticky costs behaviour determinants in Argentina, a country with periodic political and economic turbulence. The purpose of this paper is to test the effect of GDP, asset intensity, industry and cost type in an inflationary context.Design/methodology/approachAnderson et al. (2003) empirical regression (ABJ model) is replicated in Argentina with 667 observations from 96 firms between the years 2004 and 2012. It uses panel data and variables are defined as change rates between two periods. The sample excludes financial and insurance firms. It tests if sticky cost behaviour changes in periods of macroeconomic deceleration, or in firms belonging to industries with different asset intensity levels, or among different cost types.FindingsThe analysis shows that costs are sticky in Argentina, where a superb economic outlook is required to delay cutting resources or increasing costs. Cost behaviour is affected by social and cultural factors, such as labour inflexibility driven by powerful unions and not by protective employment laws, asset intensity (industry) and macroeconomic environment. Results suggest that costs are sticky for aggregate samples, but not for all subsamples.Practical implicationsAdministrative costs are sticky when GDP grows; but when growth declines, managers or firms do not delay cost cutting actions. Some subsamples are extreme cases of stickiness while others are anti-sticky, casting some doubt on the usefulness of sticky costs empirical tests applied to country-wide samples. Careful selection of observations for sticky costs studies in emerging economies is critical.Originality/valueEvidence from previous studies show that on average costs are remarkably sticky in Argentina; this study shows that cost reduction activities occur faster but are not persistent enough to change the aggregated long-term results of cost stickiness in the presence of moderate to high inflation. The study contributes to the literature by suggesting that observations used in sticky costs studies from emerging economies might be mainly from positive macroeconomic environments, might have skewed results due to extreme cases of stickiness or might be distorted by inflation.

Democratic governance in turbulent times

The article reflects upon the opportunities raised by current societal challenges for public administration theory and practice. Two possible directions include making the currently existing academic expertise available to the public and to the public administration professionals, and reconceptualizing the meaningful involvement of citizen in the policy process. The article pleads for a reassessment of the political and administrative reform trajectories in transition countries. Recent reform experiences took place in relatively turbulent political and economical environments can provide insights towards building resilient governments serving resilient societies.

The Canada-US Relationship: An Updated Evaluation of Public Opinion

ABSTRACT Despite the political turbulence of the Trump-Trudeau era, the US-Canada relationship remains workable on many policy fronts. Against this backdrop, this article explores this relationship by first focusing on public opinion toward “the other,” including general sentiments as well as political leadership specifically, before turning to public opinion in specific policy fields, such as bilateral trade, security, energy, and diplomacy. We broadly find that Canadians are more likely than Americans to draw distinctions between Canada and the US and view the relationship in more cautious terms. By contrast, opinion in the US appears to be much more positive about the relationship.

Tackling COVID-19 in informal tented settlements (Lebanon): An assessment of preparedness and response plans and their impact on the health vulnerabilities of Syrian refugees

sThis paper is exploring and critically accessing the nature and mechanisms of preparedness and response plans to COVID-19 in Syrian ITSs in Lebanon along with their immediate health impacts on refugees and their abilities to survive. Little is known to date about how such plans have been set up and how they have immediately impacted refugees, particularly those in countries affected by severe economic and political turbulences along with fragile health systems. This qualitative study has been conducted during the pandemic and hence is providing important and novel insights into a time-limited research window during which not only refugees’ mobility was restricted but also research capabilities severely constrained. We are focusing on the relationships between refugees, health and the COVID-19 pandemic and unwrapping how very strict and control-led preventive mechanisms have emerged as a consequence of already stretched and problematic health and socio-economic systems. We are also demonstrating how the multi-level strategy and local responses have led to significant challenges to local municipalities, local NGOs and international aid agencies in order to reduce transmission risks in very unhealthy settings as they try to address wider needs. This paper concludes that the impact of the constraining preventive measures implemented to date means that refugee communities will suffer consequences for months and years to come, with their ability to survive being threatened and an expected long-term health impact for a population already at high risk of NCDs. We argue that more research will be needed into deconstructing further refugees’ reactions to encampment mechanisms and mobility restrictions, particularly if survival becomes even more problematic; similarly relationships and tensions with local municipalities, as well as measures and support provided by local and international NGOs, will deserve attention. A key question remains about the likely scenario if cases start to spread widely in ITSs and, hence, what will happen to both refugees and host communities in a country with a health system on the edge of collapse.

Политическая турублентность в Латинской Америке: причины и последствия (обзор выступлений)

Политическая турублентность в Латинской Америке: причины и последствия (обзор выступлений)

Contribution of advisers of the ministry of health of the Mongolian people’s republic to the development of healthcare (1920s – 1940s)

Based on archival documents, the article traces the history of creating the institute of advisors of the Ministry of Health of the Mongolian People’s Republic. The activity of Soviet doctors I.L. Baevsky, Y.L. Grossman, and M.A. Ibragimov is analyzed. The analysis allows judging about the declared and hidden goals of the Soviet government, that understood what specialists could provide the development of the Mongolian healthcare according to the Soviet model in the conditions of political and social turbulence. The personal files and documents of the advisors preserved in the archives showed their preparedness for possible challenges and problems in building a new health care system for Mongolia. The problems that the advisors of the Ministry of Health of Mongolia encountered in the course of their work are highlighted.

САУДОВСКАЯ АРАВИЯ В ЖЕРНОВАХ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ ТУРБУЛЕНТНОСТИ

The States of Arabian Peninsula are now going through a challenging period of their history. The history of Arab states have never been easy. The current period of political turbulence is associated with military and political conflicts in the Middle Eastern region, especially in Syria and Yemen. The current situation takes an extremely serious turn. At the beginning of the 21st century, Riyadh’s political confronted a set of conditions that encompasses the Arab people's existential problems. There is an obvious trend that can hardly be assessed as advantageous due to the fact that this problem will naturally create background for the essential convergence of the interests of the Arab regional space’s different segments that will exist in the new political realm. In the early 21st century rapid changes and important events occurred in the world politics, and in the Eastern part of the Arab-Muslim world alike. The Saudi monarchy has no doubt that the foreign policy schemes are fragile and for this reason it looks toward diversifying its foreign policy.

ВЕНЕСУЭЛА КАК КЛЮЧЕВОЙ ПУНКТ ВЛИЯНИЯ РОССИИ В ЛАТИНСКОЙ АМЕРИКЕ: КРАТКОСРОЧНЫЕ РИСКИ

Nowadays Latin America is passing the political turbulence period that inevitably results in the change of the regional balance of power. While the right-wing and American backed governments are taking the power in the regional countries, Russia is to search for more tight contact with the traditional regional partners. This article is devoted to outline the possible challenges (related with severe political crisis in Venezuela, the main regional ally) the regional Russian policy may face with

Politically Motivated Internet Addiction: Relationships among Online Information Exposure, Internet Addiction, FOMO, Psychological Well-being, and Radicalism in Massive Political Turbulence.

This research examines the mediating role of the tendency for Internet addiction, fear of missing out (FOMO), and psychological well-being in the relationship between online exposure to movement-related information and support for radical actions. A questionnaire survey that targets tertiary students was conducted during the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (Anti-ELAB) Movement (N = 290). The findings reveal the mediating effect of Internet addiction and depression as the main relationship. These findings enrich the literature of political communication by addressing the political impact of Internet use beyond digital architecture. From the perspective of psychology, this research echoes the literature that concerns depression symptoms driven by a protest environment. Radical political attitudes driven by depression during protests should also be concerned based on the findings of this survey.

The Existential Experiences of Double-Minority Talents in Post 2017’s Governor Election: A Phenomenological Study

The political career of Basuki Tjahaya Purnama (BTP) affects various groups of people in different ways. One of the groups that were deeply affected by the series of events before and after 2017’s Jakarta Governor election are double minorities talents who aspire to contribute to Indonesia inspired by BTP’s leadership. This paper explores the experience of specific group of double minority talents in the aftermath of political turbulence in Jakarta. The qualitative findings show that many talents were affected by the situation in relation to their aspiration to contribute, their decision to stay in Indonesia and their thinking about the future of Chinese-Christian talents in Indonesia. In the long run the situation and similar incidents may result in the loss of talents leaving Indonesia for other countries.

Following the Paths of the Civil War’s Refugees from Slavery

Following the Paths of the Civil War’s Refugees from Slavery Amy Murrell Taylor (bio) Thank you for the kind introduction. And thank you to everyone for being here today for what is an enormously humbling and gratifying moment for me.1 As some of you know, I worked on this book for quite some time. For many years. And what happens when one takes time on a book is that things change in the meantime—not just the historiographical currents but, in my case, the turbulent politics of the twenty-first century that made the subject of my book increasingly (and eerily) relevant to our lives today. At times I felt like the years between myself and this subject—between the twenty-first and the nineteenth centuries—were closing up. And I’m talking about more than the deeply contentious debates over memorialization and Confederate iconography. I’m talking about migration. Refugees. Citizenship. National belonging. The politics of “borders.” And humanitarian aid. Migrant caravans. White supremacy. And the children who have been ever-present for all of it. The history of the over half a million men, women, and children who risked everything to flee slavery and enter Union lines during the Civil War is no discrete, self-contained topic that can be filed away as “the past.” It is, at its essence, a deeply American and timeless story of how people have moved and migrated and risked their lives, over and over again, to realize [End Page 148] the promise of freedom and enjoy the fruits of American citizenship—one that continues to play out today, with efforts to constrain (and stop) that movement present too. Maybe even more so. It’s a history that reminds us that the Civil War was no exceptional moment in our past but an event that exposed some enduring truths about this nation and its people.2 What I write about in Embattled Freedom is what is sometimes called “hard” history. Anything to do with slavery and emancipation can be hard to comprehend and hard to discuss.3 But maybe it wouldn’t be so hard had Americans been more honest about what happened during the war from the start and not softened our view of war with narratives that put romance and heroism first—and “whitened” our view of the range of actors involved in this war. Had there been a more truthful reckoning with this history, it would not be a notable thing still, in 2019, to write a history of the Civil War with African American subjects at the center. But here we are.4 In my book, I write about people like Edward and Emma Whitehurst, a husband and wife enslaved near Hampton, Virginia, who, with a trunk full of hard-earned savings and a determination to build a new and free livelihood, escaped into Union lines and opened a store, only to find themselves continually defending, over and over again, their right to own property and to keep the earnings from their labor. I write about Eliza Bogan, from Phillips County, Arkansas, a woman who had experienced brutal violence and loss while enslaved on a cotton plantation but who migrated down and up the Mississippi valley as a regimental laundress, thrusting herself into a war zone, in order to find (ironically) the security for herself and her family long denied them while enslaved. And I write about Gabriel Burdett, a talented minister who resisted the surveillance of white church elders in Garrard County, Kentucky, and who set off into Union lines in order to find a place to worship freely and independently. He found it at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, where he became a teacher and an assistant superintendent of colored refugees, before losing it all again amid unrelenting postwar racial violence. I felt a profound responsibility to their stories. As a white, middle-class, highly educated professional writing in the twenty-first century, not having served in the military and only seeing war play out on CNN, I often wondered: how could I ever possibly understand what it was like to flee slavery in a war? I couldn’t really. But I had the time and resources...

Dynamic persistence in UK policy making: the evolution of social investment ideas and policy instruments

ABSTRACT Proponents of policy instruments often have to justify them to shifting political masters. This article explores the evolution of social investment, both as a policy solution and a set of policy instruments, during a period characterized by political turbulence. Discourse analysis of texts produced by an instrument constituency shows how a constant set of policy instruments are framed as a changing solution to different political problems. This helps us develop the concept of dynamic persistence, which elaborates how the instrument constituency was able to maintain support for their policy instruments by realigning them to different ideological principles.

Medical Imaging in Guyana, development and status

Medical imaging services have been rapidly advancing in Guyana over the last decade. It is time to look back, and state the todays’ situation.With a population, under 1 million, Guyana, according to the World Factbook (1), is the third smallest country in South America. Guyana was originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 had become a British possession. The abolition of slavery led to settlement of urban areas by former slaves and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. Tropical rainforests cover over 80 percent, and its agricultural lands are fertile. A resulting ethno-cultural divide has persisted and has led to turbulent politics. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966. In 1992, the country is first free and fair election since independence. The economy is growing; still at a high unemployment. According to the World Factbook, it is (per 2018) a young population; mean age for both females and males are 28 years, and life expectancy 68y. Compared with other neighboring countries, Guyana ranks poorly concerning basic health indicators (2), basic health services in the interior are primitive to non-existent.

Demand management: the role of cross-functional integration in a context of political turbulence

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate how cross-functional integration supports the execution of the demand-side processes and its effects on both the demand and supply-side processes.Design/methodology/approachA case study was conducted including a Brazilian multinational manufacturer in the automobile industry and some of its suppliers and dealers. 17 interviews were conducted. A theoretical framework is proposed containing five basic elements, they are: characteristics of the demand/supply processes; involved functions; integration factors; context influencers and impacts of integration on demand and supply processes.FindingsThe findings present three demand-side processes (Product Launch, Marketing and Sales and Demand Planning) that demonstrated a greater need for cross-functional integration in the studied case, mainly through informal integration factors.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical results of this study have methodological limitations due to the use of the case study method. Future research should analyze the effects of other context influencers (e.g. natural catastrophes, civil wars and low level of unemployment) on cross-functional integration.Practical implicationsThe results highlight that joint planning, willingness to work together, team spirit, adequate communication and cross-functional meetings helped the studied organizations to achieve competitive advantages and improve their performance.Originality/valueThis study provides a theoretical framework that helped to improve the understanding of the interrelationships between demand management constructs and cross-functional integration factors. There are indications that a political–economic crisis has stimulated the existence of a willingness to work together and group spirit among employees who remain in the organization after mass dismissals. This climate of cooperation helped to increase the agility and resilience of the studied supply chain, which is currently affected by a changing market.

Sustaining Business-State Symbiosis in Times of Political Turmoil: the Case of Ukraine 2007-2018

Abstract How was the business-state symbiosis in Ukraine sustained throughout the political turbulences of the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity? Using the method of social network analysis (SNA), we demonstrate how the political – formal and informal – ties of Ukrainian big business to the different branches of state power evolved and what models of state-business relations developed during each presidency. The analysis covers the period of 2007-2018 and focuses on the comparison of the relational structures between political and business elites in Ukraine over a decade. We trace the visibility of various business cliques within political institutions during the last 10 years, and track changes in business-state relations through influential persons, positions, groups and network structures.

Thomas Wyatt among the Florentines

Abstract The article considers how Thomas Wyatt—courtier, ambassador and poet maker—became Italianate. It discovers a youthful Wyatt, with other members of Henry VIII’s court, at the company of Giovanni di Lorenzo Cavalcanti and Pierfrancesco di Piero de’ Bardi in London in the 1520s. These Florentine merchant princes were international bankers and traders, and notable cultural brokers between England and Italy. Pierfrancesco was a scholar, a collector and donor of books. Wyatt bought fine Florentine fabrics from the company. They allowed his growing indebtedness, partly through friendship, but also because of their need for the patronage of his father, Sir Henry Wyatt, Treasurer of the Chamber. Wyatt was also part of the gambling fraternity in which Francesco di Bernardo de’ Bardi was a principal player. Leaving Florence for London, the merchants did not remove themselves from the turbulent politics of their city, for their wealth and prominence ensured their continuing involvement, especially once Medici popes ruled Christendom. When Rome was sacked, and Florence established a republic, London’s Florentines were called to their city’s defence. Before he ever travelled to Italy, Thomas Wyatt encountered Italians of wealth and culture living in the grandest style in London, between the worlds of the court and the city. Perhaps with them he began to learn Italian. The story of Wyatt among the Florentines leads to life in London and the court, to the defence of Italy, to the revolutionary politics of Florence, and to Henry VIII’s ‘Great Matter’. Wyatt was precursor, and inspiration, of the Italianate Englishmen and women gathered at the humanist court of Edward VI who were fascinated by Italian culture and won to reform.

Economic factors of food market development for school-age children

The purpose of the research is to determine the solvency of the population as an economic factor of the macromarketing environment which influences the development of the food market for school children and financial availability of food for children in Ukraine. Methods. General scientific methods and approaches, systematic approach, general research methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison), statistical methods and correlation analysis were used in the research. Results. The article examines the key trends in changing of the population solvency as an economic factor of marketing environment, which influences the development of the food market for school-age children and producers’ choice of the appropriate marketing strategy. The analysis of gross domestic product per capita and experts' forecasts on the change in the indicator are presented. Factors affecting the state of the Ukrainian economy and positive developments caused by reforms in the justice system, law enforcement agencies and anti-corruption structures are outlined. Attention is paid to the fact that high level of intervention by law enforcement and anti-corruption bodies, political turbulence, limited capacity of the authorities and high risks of the situation destabilization hinder economic transformations, while stabilization of economic development of Ukraine from 2021 predicted by the experts. The dynamics of changes in the solvency of the population, household incomes, ratio of the minimum subsistence level and the minimum wage have been determined. Changes in the subsistence minimum over the last 10 years have been analyzed. It has been proved that the growth rates of the statutory subsistence level and the minimum wage have positive dynamics and are correlated with each other. Practical meaning. Economic factors of the macromarketing environment of the food market for schoolchildren has been determined, based on the analysis, considering favourable opportunities and negative tendencies that can be taken into account by food producers in formulating a marketing strategy for the development of food market. Prospects for further research. The findings determine the need for further assessment of other categories’ impact in order to carry out a comprehensive analysis of market threats and opportunities for food manufacturers for school-age children.

‘Original Sin’ in Latin America (2000-2015): Theory, Empirical Assessment and Alternatives.

The matter of the ‘original sin’, the inability to borrow abroad in domestic currency, came to the centre of the academic discussion after the dramatic episodes in Asia, Russia and Latin America. According to this international framework, this paper is an empirical analysis of ‘original sin’ for six Latin American countries based on the index (OSIN3) developed by Haussmann and Panizza (2003). This paper finds that the situation for some countries have been improving reflecting a reduction of the index. This fact could be related to recent economic policies policies related to an ‘abstinence’ rather than ‘redemption’, an attitude seen as a response to the debt crisis. Finally, the paper focuses on possible policy alternatives that could be adopted to overcome the ‘original sin’ phenomenon, it includes North-South and South-South cooperation and a multilateral arrangement. However, such alternatives are limited to feasibility mainly due to the turbulent political and economic scenario in the region.

Competence analysis for promoting energy efficiency projects in developing countries: The case of OPEC

Enhancing energy efficiency is an important goal of climate change mitigation policies. Promoting energy efficiency projects in developing countries has faced several barriers, preventing optimal investments. One of the main barriers has been the lack of internationally recognized indices to compare projects across countries. In this era of global political turbulence and a looming trade-war that will likely lead to unjustified tariffs, it is critical to provide publicly available robust indices for investors. We construct the Energy Efficiency Country Attractiveness Index to evaluate countries' competitiveness in terms of energy efficiency potentials and related investment risks to aid investment decision-making in the oil and gas sector. Our index includes 30 indicators congregated in four pillars covering political, economic, social and technological factors, combined by means of Fuzzy measures and Choquet integral according to the preferences of a panel of experts. Although experts consider the economic and technological factors as the most important elements affecting investment in the energy related projects and they are moderately tolerant following disjunctive behaviour in dealing with the political, economic, social, and technological criteria, squared correlation analysis shows that, at least for OPEC countries, the political pillar is the crucial one in shaping the composite index.

‘Newmarket, that Infamous Seminary of Iniquity and Ill Manners’: Horses and Courts in the Early Years of George III’s Reign

This article explores the role played by different types of equine culture — haute école and horse racing — in the turbulent politics of the early years of George III’s reign. It suggests that opponents to Lord Bute politicised the racecourse, and in particular Newmarket, in order to challenge the men and measures of the court of St James’s. Whilst Newmarket can be understood as a significant alternative to London as a site of aristocratic politicking, those eager to court favour with Lord Bute also tried to share his love of Spanish-bred horses.