Chinese state land ownership speeds up development

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Land Ownership ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Property Development ◽  
Fiscal Stimulus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Land User ◽  
Perverse Incentives ◽  
Near Term ◽  
The Government

Subject State land ownership and the implications for development in China. Significance The government owns all land in China -- one of the reasons that the country claims still to be a 'socialist' state, despite the role of markets in most areas of the economy. A de facto land lease system has emerged in which land 'use rights' are traded. However, the rights of the owner -- the state or local government -- take precedence over the rights of the land user. As a result, requisitioning land for infrastructure or property development is much faster than in countries with a genuine land market. Impacts In the near term, local authorities' easy access to land will make infrastructure-based fiscal stimulus measures faster to execute. The tight timeframes of China's urbanisation goals are more plausible given the government's powers over land. Local governments' power to expropriate land creates perverse incentives and opportunities for corruption. Reforms to make the system more market-oriented are likely in the long term, but will be gradual.

Perceived effectiveness of e-governance as an underlying mechanism between good governance and public trust: a case of Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dadang Hartanto ◽  
Juhriyansyah Dalle ◽  
A. Akrim ◽  
Hastin Umi Anisah
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
The Body ◽  
Perceived Effectiveness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Governance Effectiveness ◽  
The Government

Purpose This study aims to investigate the association of perceived accountability, perceived responsiveness and perceived transparency, and public trust in local government. Additionally, mediation of the perceived effectiveness of e-governance was also tested between these relationships. Design/methodology/approach Using a quantitative cross-sectional field survey, primary data was collected at local administration levels from two cities in Indonesia. The final data set of 355 respondents was then analyzed using SmartPls3 and the measurement and structural models were tested. Findings Positive results were obtained for all the hypothesized links (direct and indirect relationships). The study’s findings revealed useful insights for policymakers and researchers regarding the public’s perception of good governance and their expectations from the government, which further lead toward trust in local governments. Practical implications The study concluded that good governance practices develop and enhance the public’s trust in the government, thus provided key policy directions. Originality/value This study contributes to the body of knowledge related to good governance elements and their impact on public trust in the local government via the underlying mechanism of perceived e-governance effectiveness in developing countries in general and particularly the Indonesian context. Moreover, it is a unique study in the good governance domain while considering three good governance elements into a single theoretical framework. Previous studies have explored these elements individually with public trust, so this combined framework advances the body of knowledge. This research’s findings also contributed toward validating good governance theory with e-governance effectiveness and public trust integration in a single comprehensive framework. This research also helped answer the questions arising from past literature about declining public trust trends in local governments.

Stakeholders’ relevance in sustainable residential property development

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markson Opeyemi Komolafe ◽  
Matthew Oluwole Oyewole ◽  
Job Taiwo Gbadegesin
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Regulatory Agencies ◽  
Residential Property ◽  
Property Development ◽  
Item Score ◽  
Sustainable Buildings ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
The Government ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative awareness and influence of stakeholders on sustainable residential property development in Lagos, Nigeria. This is with a view to identifying the key stakeholders pertinent to enhancing sustainable residential property development in the country. Design/methodology/approach Data on awareness and influence of stakeholders on decisions to adopt sustainable residential property were elicited from residential property users, building contractors, property investors, estate surveyors and valuers and government regulatory agencies in Lagos residential property sector. The data were collected by using a questionnaire and analysed using mean item score and analysis of variance. Findings The result showed that the government regulatory agencies and the building professionals were aware of sustainable buildings, as mean scores measuring their awareness were higher than 2.5 on a scale of 1–5. The level of awareness of users was, however, low (mean score of 2.39). The users and the government regulatory agencies were identified by the stakeholders as being most influential on their decisions to adopt sustainable residential property. Practical implications Findings from this study indicate that there is need to promote the users and government regulatory agencies’ activities on sustainable residential property development as the activities of these stakeholders have higher influence on sustainable residential property development decisions in the study area. Originality/value This study particularly examines the interrelationships between the activities of stakeholders in sustainable residential property development in Nigeria. This has not been adequately studied in extant literature.

A decision model for municipal resources management

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (11) ◽  
pp. 3015-3034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Suellen Thesari ◽  
Flavio Trojan ◽  
Dayse Regina Batistus
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Historical Data ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Public Budget ◽  
City Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Government Management ◽  
The Government ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a model to support governmental local managers in public budget optimization, based on an integration of methods. It was constructed to fill the gap related to weights definition in problematic, commonly performed subjective assessments. This model supports the decision making in budget distribution identifying the importance of sectors in local governments, captured by historical data. Design/methodology/approach The model was developed following three steps: the first step included the exploitation of the characteristics of local sectors represented by city departments and the data collection procedure using time series (TS). In the second one, the weights regarding the importance of each city department were calculated by the UTASTAR method and based on historical data from the first step. Finally, an objective function was formulated using linear programming and constraints based on law specifications, and as a result, an optimized projection for public budget distribution was performed. Findings The results demonstrated that the model can be more efficient to weights definition, considering the behavior of preferences by historical data and supporting local public resources optimization, also to comply with the legislation, being able to predict or project future values available on the budget. Research limitations/implications The theoretical and practical implications are related with a novelty in recognizing the weights for criteria by a historical behavior of preferences. It can be bringing important directions for budget distribution. The main limitation detected in this study was the difficulty to formulate an assessment involving an integrated opinion from local managers and the population. Practical implications First of all, with the correct allocation of resources, the government has a greater advantage to capture investments from the negotiation with development entities and banks. Second, an efficient local government management can promote compliance with legislation and more transparent public policies. Social implications The correct distribution of resources affects the life quality for citizens, since the government acts as a provider of essential services for the population like education, safety, health, particularly for citizens who depend exclusively on the services offered by the local government. Moreover, it can also affect the environment as resources for garbage collection, disposal services and sanitation and, finally, affect the city development such as infrastructure, taxes, etc. Originality/value It might be considered an original contribution mainly by the development of a procedure to capture values for weights by TS and meeting the manager’s requirements, based on analytical, statistical and mathematical tools integrated.

German shift on austerity would risk 'wrong' lessons

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Euro Area ◽  
Credit Rating ◽  
Bond Yields ◽  
Trade Surplus ◽  
Fiscal Stimulus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Black Spots ◽  
Angela Merkel ◽  
Deficit Financing ◽  
The Government

Significance Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a rising tide of euro-area members in favour of a policy shift away from austerity and possibly towards more favourable debt deals for euro-area black spots. Adding to the pressure for change, her own voters may prefer a slower pace of debt reduction: German government debt has already been falling as a percentage of GDP -- from over 80% in 2010 to under 77% at the end of 2014 -- and debt is starting to fall in absolute terms as well. The government has delivered enough stabilisation (ie, austerity) and growth to tame the 2009-10 debt surge and maintain its AAA credit rating, but is now over-achieving in terms of its own tough targets because the greater-than-expected fall in debt interest costs is pushing the budget into surplus. Some modest spending adjustments look likely to curb this windfall surplus, yet many will argue that more could be done to re-energise the sluggish economy -- and boost the euro-area. Impacts The plummeting euro will provoke another rise in German exports (already near 50% of GDP) and tensions over Germany's bulging trade surplus. While a fiscal stimulus and/or higher wage payments could address these tensions and raise imports, there is no sign of such action. Germany's critics are gathering support to end austerity, to the point of ignoring the risks of deficit financing and reneging on debts. Ultra-low German bond yields, encouraged by the prospective supply fall, are dragging down euro-area yields, delivering wider benefits.

Political pressure mounts on Japanese media

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Press Freedom ◽  
Political Pressure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Media ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
Near Term ◽  
The Government

Significance The issue of media independence has become a fraught one under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration, with perceptions rising among journalists and the public that the government is subjecting the media to political pressure. Critics of the administration speak of censorship and threats to freedom of expression. Japan's ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has fallen from 22nd in 2011-12, before Abe took office, to 61st in 2015. Impacts The government seems likely to try to marginalise the criticisms of constitutional scholars, like it marginalises its other critics. International media as well as domestic journalists are likely to feel some pressure from the authorities. In the near term, the issue is unlikely to destabilise the government, or derail passage of security legislation.

Uruguay's economy will avoid recession, narrowly

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Near Term ◽  
The Government ◽  
Foreign Ministers ◽  
Cellulose Plant ◽  
Economic Outlook

Subject The near-term economic outlook. Significance The statist model preferred by the governing Frente Amplio (FA) coalition clashes with the plan designed by President Tabare Vazquez and his economy and foreign ministers, Danilo Astori and Rodolfo Nin Novoa respectively, to try to attract greater inward investment. This adds to intra-coalition tensions after the defection of a centre-left legislator caused the government to lose its congressional majority. Impacts The fear of losing support may help to concentrate FA minds on smoothing over party splits. A new cellulose plant would boost economic growth but not diversification. The economy will avoid recession, but growth will not pick up strongly in the near term.

How to strengthen the social media interactivity of e-government

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
xiaoling Hao ◽  
Daqing Zheng ◽  
Qingfeng Zeng ◽  
Weiguo Fan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Popular Government ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Government

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how to use social media in e-government to strengthen interactivity between government and the general public. Design/methodology/approach – Categorizing the determinants to interactivity covering depth and breadth into two aspects that are the structural features and the content features, this study employs general linear model and ANOVA method to analyse 14,910 posts belonged to the top list of the 96 most popular government accounts of Sina, one of the largest social media platforms in China. Findings – The main findings of the research are that both variables of the ratio of multimedia elements, and the ratio of external links have positive effects on the breadth of interactivity, while the ratio of multimedia features, and the ratio of originality have significant effects on the depth of interactivity. Originality/value – The contributions are as follows. First, the authors analyse the properties and the topics of government posts to draw a rich picture of how local governments use the micro-blog as a communications channel to interact with the public. Second, the authors conceptualize the government online interactivity in terms of the breadth and depth. Third, the authors identify factors that will enhance the interactivity from two aspects: structural features and content features. Lastly, the authors offer suggestions to local governments on how to strengthen the e-government interactivity in social media.

scholarly journals THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SMART CITY IN CREATING INNOVATIONS OF PUBLIC SERVICES BY REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS (CASE STUDY OF BANDUNG CITY AND MAKASSAR CITY)

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-68
Author(s):  
Widuri Wulandari ◽  
Siti Munawaroh
Keyword(s):  
Smart City ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
City Government ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Community Activities ◽  
The Government

In order to make improvements in public services, the City Government of Bandung and Kota Makassar implement Smart City, and it is also in accordance with the directions of the Kementerian Pendayagunaan Aparatur Negara & Reformasi Birokrasi provide quality services that satisfy the needs of society in the fields of education, health, housing, and so forth. Local governments must also work creatively and innovatively to improve accountability, transparency, and responsiveness by utilizing information technology. The focus of this study is to compare the Government of Bandung with Makassar City in running Smart City in order to implement the innovation of public services. As a method for this research, a qualitative analysis is used, so that the phenomena or situations in the field can be realistically and systematically explained in detail while using the review literature from previous research. The Governments of Bandung City and Makassar City have shown to be successful areas with the implementation of Smart City. Both cities have received many awards for providing innovative services of high quality in spite of the fact that Makassar city started relatively late with implementing Smart City. Although they have been successful so far, the innovation of public services in these two cities will still have to be improved, so that a larger part of society will be able to profit from them. It takes a deep commitment on the part of the local authorities in order to be able to implement Smart City that creates an innovative programme. Smart City's implementation is a solution for creating good governance and makes improvements across multiple sectors of society. Moreover, Smart City sustains community activities and also provides easy access to information made by local governments. Keywords: Smart City, Innovation, Public Service

Renzi may shift EU macroeconomic narrative

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Monetary Policy ◽  
Member State ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Policy Coordination ◽  
State Governments ◽  
European Policy ◽  
Fiscal Stimulus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Strategy ◽  
The Government

Subject Renzi's bid for more growth-friendly policies. Significance In its paper, 'A shared European policy strategy for growth, jobs, and stability', the Ministry of the Economy and Finance (MEF) sketches a plan to create more flexibility in EU macroeconomic policy coordination. The immediate goal is to enable member-state governments to use more fiscal stimulus and public investment to boost growth. Impacts If Renzi's constitutional reforms do not go through in October, the government will be in disarray. The ECB is likely to ease policy further tomorrow, while reminding markets that monetary policy accommodation is insufficient on its own. The March 17 European Council summit will be Renzi's chance to reframe the macroeconomic conversation.

Middle East regimes will survive lasting instability

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Status ◽  
Near Term ◽  
The Government ◽  
Regime Resilience

Subject Regime resilience in the Middle East. Significance The Middle East's political order has been shaken at the start of the 21st century by the sudden and violent removal of long-standing authoritarian rulers in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Iraq and Yemen; mass protests against the government in Tehran; and the collapse of regime authority in large parts of Syria. Far from paving the way to an era of more democratic and stable rule in the Middle East, most countries have instead experienced increasingly dysfunctional governance, reinforced authoritarianism, sectarian tensions, or civil wars. This raises questions about the sustainability of the status quo and the long-term direction of political systems across the region. Impacts Some countries may yet transition to more representative and accountable forms of government over the next ten years (Tunisia, Morocco). Deteriorating economic conditions and escalating proxy conflicts will see volatility rise across the region. The United States will resist pressure to step up its intervention in the region to help restore stability. Political Islam is unlikely to make a serious comeback in the near term, but will be active in Morocco, Tunisia, Bahrain and Kuwait. Regime repression and security force brutality will radicalise political opposition and increase recruitment to jihadist groups.

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