Greek GDP will plunge despite latest stimulus package

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Budget Deficit ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Military Spending ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Defence Expenditure ◽  
National Defence ◽  
Stimulus Package

Significance The speech set out the government’s economic policy guidelines for the remainder of 2020 and 2021, largely extending the package of fiscal measures in place since April 2020. Mitsotakis also announced the start of a new investment cycle in national defence, in response to rapidly deteriorating relations with Turkey. Impacts The latest stimulus package will widen the 2020 primary budget deficit to about 3.5% of GDP. The announced increase in military spending is fuelling fears among the public of an arms race with Turkey. The rise in defence expenditure will divert public investment into economically unproductive ends.

Trump defence spending plans will hit US fiscal limits

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Military Spending ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Nuclear Arsenal ◽  
Defence Spending ◽  
President Elect

Significance President-elect Donald Trump plans to expand military spending as part of his "America First" foreign policy but has so far offered few details of how this expansion will be financed. The new budget will have significant commercial implications for private entities involved in US defence procurements and for Washington’s force posture abroad. Impacts Trump may focus on increasing US-based missile defence capabilities instead of regionally focused systems based overseas. Political complications over NATO deployments may ensue if US spending outstrips that of its allies. Expansion of the nuclear arsenal beyond current modernisation plans could spark an arms race with Washington’s rivals.

Saudi Aramco signals fresh momentum behind IPO plans

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Investment Fund ◽  
Minority Shareholders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Original Plan ◽  
Dominant State ◽  
Market Capitalisation

Significance Reports last month that Aramco had selected Lazard for a contract to work as adviser on the IPO breathed new life into a deal that has been marking time since mid-2018. Prospective investors have also been encouraged by Aramco’s recent announcement of interim results, marking a further development in public disclosure following the successful 12-billion-dollar bond issue in April. The original plan was to offer a 5% stake to generate 100 billion dollars for the Public Investment Fund (PIF), based on a 2-trillion-dollar valuation. Impacts The new advisory team may recommend modifying the planned IPO terms, especially given Aramco’s acquisition of 70% of SABIC. The IPO will give Aramco an opportunity to elaborate further its long-term strategy to adapt to the global shift away from fossil fuels. A listing of Aramco’s shares would boost Saudi market capitalisation and attract additional investment inflows. The interests of new minority shareholders and the dominant state shareholder could diverge, including over dividend policy.

President will keep Chadian opposition in check

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Budget Deficit ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Lake Chad ◽  
The Public ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Government ◽  
Economic Outlook

Subject Chad's political and economic outlook. Significance President Idris Deby came to power in a 1990 military takeover and has now ruled the country for 27 years. In an election in April, Deby won a new five-year term as president. However, there is considerable resentment among opposition politicians and the public about his lengthening rule. In October, the government introduced new austerity measures, citing the need to reduce the budget deficit. This has provoked new strikes and protests. Impacts The government will maintain its combative approach to foreign oil companies. Low-level insecurity will persist in the Lake Chad border region. Chad will remain near the bottom of international development indices in 2017.

Delhi’s key think tank will urge state intervention

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Interest Rates ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Think Tank ◽  
Fiscal Stimulus ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reserve Bank ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
Reserve Bank Of India ◽  
Stimulus Package

Subject Economic policy of the Indian government's key policy think tank. Significance The resignation last month of Arvind Panagariya as vice chairman of the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, and his replacement by Rajiv Kumar, signals a shift in the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic policy. Panagariya is a strong advocate of globalisation and ‘liberal’ economic reform. Kumar has spent most of his career in India and supports a greater role for the state in the economy. Impacts Delhi will soon announce a new fiscal stimulus package. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will come under increasing pressure to lower interest rates further. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch lobby group, which promotes the economic ideals of Hindu nationalism, may become more influential.

Successful Aramco sale may squeeze Saudi finances

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Initial Public Offering ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Investment Fund ◽  
Economic Diversification ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Price Range ◽  
High Valuation ◽  
Crown Prince ◽  
Public Offering

Significance The initial public offering (IPO) of a 1.5% stake in Saudi Aramco on December 6 reached the top end of the recommended price range, giving the company a relatively high valuation of 1.7 trillion dollars and netting a record 25.6 billion dollars for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) -- a vindication for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The shares were sold mainly to Saudi and regional investors. Impacts The PIF will deploy sale proceeds as part of a drive for economic diversification, both domestically and in acquiring global assets. Aramco’s commitment to generous dividends could pose problems if oil prices weaken. PIF spending of the domestic sale proceeds will lead to a foreign exchange outflow, either directly or through new imports.

Risk management practices and trade facilitation as influenced by public sector reforms: institutional isomorphism

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nizar Mohammad Alsharari
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Budget Deficit ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Institutional Isomorphism ◽  
Institutional Pressures ◽  
Trade Facilitation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
State Revenues

Purpose This paper aims to explain the implementation process of risk management (RM) practices as a trade facilitation initiative in a public organization undergoing public sector reform and modernization processes in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on the institutional theory and presents a qualitative case study of Jordan Customs (JC). It synthesizes an institutional isomorphism framework to interpret the interplay between the JC institutional environment and the JC RM practices. The data were collected and analyzed by using the triangulation of interviews, observations and documents. Findings The study findings reveal that JC has experienced institutional pressures that mobilize the emerging of RM as a managerial tool that contributes to facilitating international trade, improving state revenues and reducing the public budget deficit. To be internationally recognized, JC benchmark its RM practices with international practices recommended by International Agencies such as World Customs Organizations (WCO). The study concludes that RM practices have been tailored and aligned with the JC’s external and internal context and role and RM has been embedded as an integral part of all organizational processes including strategic and business planning, as well as all accounting change and management activities. The study finds that coercive, normative and mimetic pressures are the driving forces with coercive mechanisms being the most influential. Research limitations/implications This paper has important implications for practitioners, academics and students, as well as international donors especially U.S. Agency for International Development. It mainly depends on the analysis of documents and records to elucidate the development of RM, yet corroborated by interviews. It also uses a retrospective approach with interviewees being asked to describe, explain and reflect upon the events they had experienced during the JC change processes. Practical implications This paper significantly contributes to the scarce of knowledge that currently exists about RM in the public sector of developing countries and in particular “customs administrations.” It recognizes how the public sector in Jordan responded to the international community and WCO’s recommendation in implementing RM. Originality/value This study shows that JC’s experience of institutional pressures mobilized by the enactment of RM as a managerial tool that enabled a higher quality of custom services, trade facilitation, improvement of state revenues and a reduction of the state’s budget deficit.

The investment turn

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney J. Dormer
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Accounting Profession ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Operational Activities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the recently increased use of the word “investment” in the public management discourse. In particular, it examines the implications of this for accounting and public governance. It asks, is that discourse simply concerned to account for “investment” in the efficient provision of public goods and services? Or does it also seek to hold governments, and government agencies, to account for the results they achieve and, more broadly, for their investment in, and stewardship of, the capacity to do so in the future? Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on a range of literature as well as speeches made by both New Zealand politicians and officials to track the emergence and evolution of a discourse in respect of “an investment approach”. As such, the analysis represents a diachronic approach for, as Jäger and Meyer (2009) note: “To identify the knowledge of a society on a topic, the analyst has to reconstruct the genesis of this topic” (p. 46). Findings The initial adoption of “an investment approach” occurred in the context of attempts to gain a clearer focus on, and accountability for, the results of government interventions. Subsequently, a broader, and arguably more classic, conception of public investment has involved a developing focus on changes to the nation’s economic, social and environmental capitals. Both approaches provide significant practical challenges for accounting and the continued relevance of the accounting profession. Research limitations/implications The paper points to an urgent need to engage the accounting profession in debates that extend beyond the adoption of accrual accounting for the control of inputs and the provision of outputs. It is suggested that a future research agenda should focus on how models of well-being, and the public capitals that enable well-being, might be better accounted for and monitored. Originality/value This paper provides an insight into the emergence, spread and ultimate fading of the use of the word “investment” in the public policy discourse in New Zealand. However, it also places that process in a wider development that is focusing on citizens’ well-being. In so doing, it also highlights the challenges for the accounting profession created by the investment turn – whether relating to investment in operational activities or in public capitals.

Corporate social responsibility and financial performance nexus

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Dery Nyeadi ◽  
Muazu Ibrahim ◽  
Yakubu Awudu Sare
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Firm Financial Performance ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The paper aims to investigate empirically the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on financial performance in South African listed firms. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses panel corrected standard errors to estimate the effect of CSR on firm financial performance and thus addresses contemporaneous cross-correlations across the panel cross sections. The study uses a broad base measure of CSR created by the Public Investment Corporation data set and the combination of accounting and economic means of measuring firm financial performance. Findings CSR is found to have a strong positive impact on firm financial performance in South Africa. When CSR is decomposed further into its major components, governance performance positively impacts a firm’s financial performance with no evidence of any relationship between social components and firm performance and between environmental components and firm performance. The positive impact of CSR on firm performance is greater in big firms. At the industry level, CSR is noticed to impact positively on financial performance in the extractive industry via good governance and responsible environmental behaviors. It however has no impact on firm performance in the financial sector. Research limitations/implications The results should be interpreted with caution and some limitations. Due to the limiting nature of the Public Investment Corporation data set (the survey was carried out on selected firms on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange for three years spanning from 2011 to 2013). This resulted in a sample of 56 firms. It is therefore very problematic to generalize the findings to a larger population over a long period of time. This is more limiting especially on individual sector studies where the sample has further shrunk to a smaller sample. As a result of the smaller sample size, the authors were unable to explore some other sectors which could have given more revealing findings. The authors recommend that future research should explore other data sets or use primary data approach that can allow for more sample size and elongated time period for a more holistic view and for easy generalization of the findings. The authors also identify an important lacuna necessitating further research effort. It would be interesting to empirically examine the threshold point of firms’ size beyond which CSR damages firms’ performance. Knowledge of this will guide managers of firms in their strategic CSR decision. Practical implications This study does not only serve as a reference work for subsequent investigations into the impact of CSR on firm performance in sub-Saharan Africa but also serves as a guide to policymakers on the financial impact of CSR adoption. Originality/value This study is one of the pioneering works that comprehensively examines the effect of CSR on financial performance amongst South African firms via size and sector and also controls for contemporaneous cross-correlation effects from the firms in the panel set.

Moldovan government will prioritise Western assistance

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Budget Deficit ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Finance Minister ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Imf

Significance The government is headed by Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita, a leading PAS figure and former finance minister. This completes the creation of a strong functioning governance system under President Maia Sandu and her PAS allies. Impacts The budget deficit will encourage the government to accept conditions set by the IMF and EU. Unprecedented political synergies should foster swift, more cohesive reforms. A comprehensive campaign against corruption will be disruptive for the public sector. Finding competent, uncorrupt people to take senior positions and staff institutions will be a challenge.

Ecuador's Gabela case heightens Moreno military woes

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Military Spending ◽  
State Crime ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Military

Subject Miilitary challenges. Significance A multi-party legislative commission on November 16 announced its findings on the death of former air force commander Jorge Gabela and handed the case to the public prosecutors to investigate. The commission declared there was sufficient evidence to suggest his death in 2010 was a state crime and recommended officials linked to the case -- including former President Rafael Correa -- be investigated. The developments come amid allegations of corruption within the military and possible links with dissident Colombian guerrillas, as well as escalating violence on the Ecuador-Colombia border. Impacts Moreno will use the Gabela case to demonstrate his government’s willingness and capacity to investigate corruption. The discovery of connections between the military and FARC dissidents might cause tensions with Colombia’s government and armed forces. Facing pressure to increase military spending, Moreno will need to ensure greater transparency to prevent corrupt practices recurring.

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