scholarly journals Give me liberty or give me money: the fiscal decentralization and autonomy of regional governance in Slovakia

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Mihálik ◽  
Peter Horváth ◽  
Martin Švikruha
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Central State ◽  
The Public ◽  
Fiscal Autonomy ◽  
Public Administration Reform ◽  
State Budgeting ◽  
State Financing

The aim of this study is to focus on fiscal decentralization and regional financial autonomy in Slovakia. The public administration reform and fiscal decentralization process in Slovakia ought to increase the autonomy of the multi-level governance and to decrease its dependency on state budgeting and other transfers. We argue that regional territorial governance is greatly dependent on financial incentives from central state financing, which limits the expected effect of decentralization and regional fiscal autonomy. By collecting quantitative data on state transfers and revenues to regional governments we demonstrate the limits of spatial, financial and decision-making autonomy within particular regions. The selected time frame 2005-2016 reflects all stages, reforms and changes in the fiscal decentralization of the second level governance in Slovakia.

Fiscal Decentralization in Transition Economies

2004 ◽  
pp. 126-141
Author(s):  
A. Chernyavsky ◽  
K. Vartapetov
Keyword(s):  
Public Finance ◽  
Transition Economies ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Government Control ◽  
Finance Reform ◽  
Fiscal Transfers ◽  
Fiscal Autonomy ◽  
Subnational Government ◽  
Tax Autonomy

By employing the methodology developed by the OECD the paper assesses the degree of revenue decentralization in Russia in comparison with other post-communist European countries. The paper provides theoretical arguments underpinning fiscal decentralization, analyzes the composition of subnational government revenues, the level of regional and local tax autonomy and types of intergovernmental fiscal transfers. The analysis presents the composition of revenues depending on the degree of subnational and local government control. In comparison with other transition countries fiscal decentralization in Russia is relatively low. It is concluded that Russia's public finance reform has not progressed towards providing greater fiscal autonomy for regional and local governments.

scholarly journals Obstacles to Developing Net-Zero Energy (NZE) Homes in Greater Toronto Area

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Ghazal Makvandia ◽  
Md. Safiuddin
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Greater Toronto Area ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero

Efforts have been put in place to minimize the effects of construction activities and occupancy, but the problem of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continues to have detrimental effects on the environment. As an effort to reduce GHG emissions, particularly carbon emissions, countable commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential net-zero energy (NZE) buildings were built around the globe during the past few years, and they are still operating. But there exist many challenges and barriers for the construction of NZE buildings. This study identifies the obstacles to developing NZE buildings, with a focus on single-family homes, in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The study sought to identify the technical, organizational, and social challenges of constructing NZE buildings, realize the importance of the public awareness in making NZE homes, and provide recommendations on how to raise public knowledge. A qualitative approach was employed to collect the primary data through survey and interviews. The secondary data obtained from the literature review were also used to realize the benefits, challenges, and current situation of NZE buildings. Research results indicate that the construction of NZE buildings is faced with a myriad of challenges, including technical issues, the lack of governmental and institutional supports, and the lack of standardized measures. The public awareness of NZE homes has been found to be very low, thus limiting the uptake and adoption of the new technologies used in this type of homes. The present study also recommends that the government and the academic institutions should strive to support the NZE building technology through curriculum changes, technological uptake, and financial incentives to buyers and developers. The implementation of these recommendations may enhance the success and popularity of NZE homes in the GTA.

Equality of Treatment, Opportunity, and Outcomes: Mapping the Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Klarsfeld ◽  
Gaëlle Cachat-Rosset
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Foundations ◽  
Legal Domain ◽  
The Continuum ◽  
Strict Equality

Equality is a concept open to many interpretations in the legal domain, with equality as equal treatment dominating the scene in the bureaucratic nation-state. But there are many possibilities offered by legal instruments to go beyond strict equality of treatment, in order to ensure equality of opportunity (a somehow nebulous concept) and equality of outcomes. Legislation can be sorted along a continuum, from the most discriminatory ones (“negative discrimination laws”) such as laws that prescribe prison sentences for people accused of being in same-sex relationships, to the most protective ones, labeled as “mandated outcome laws” (i.e., laws that prescribe quotas for designated groups) through “legal vacuum” (when laws neither discriminate nor protect), “restricted equal treatment” (when data collection by employers to monitor progress is forbidden or restricted), “equal treatment” (treating everyone the same with no consideration for outcomes), “encouraged progress” (when data collection to monitor progress on specific outcomes is mandatory for employers), and mandated progress (when goals have to be fixed and reached within a defined time frame on specified outcomes). Specific countries’ national legislation testify that some countries moved gradually along the continuum by introducing laws of increasing mandate, while (a few) others introduced outcome mandates directly and early on, as part of their core legal foundations. The public sector tends to be more protective than the private sector. A major hurdle in most countries is the enforcement of equality laws, mostly relying on individuals initiating litigation.

Perceptions towards the quality of public services in Romania. Poor outcomes of public administration reforms?

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-285
Author(s):  
Claudia Petrescu ◽  
Flavis Mihalache
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Public Services ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Administration Reform

Public services represent an important dimension of quality of society, as they create the contextual conditions for people to further their quality of life. Romanian public administration reform has brought about a constant institutional transformation, which has influenced both the specific features and the quality of the services. This article aims to analyse trends regarding the perceived quality of public services in Romania, in European comparative perspective, using the data of the European Quality of Life Survey (2003–2016). The article aims to understand the low satisfaction with public services in Romania against the background of the public service reform measures taken by government in this period. The article describes the context of Romanian public administration and public service reform, the most important public policy measures adopted and the most important challenges. The lack of vision in the public service reform, the partial introduction of reform elements, the permanent and, sometimes, conflicting changes are issues that may have influenced the way in which the population perceives the quality of public services. The decentralisation process of public services and the insufficient allocation of public funds for delivering such services at local level might have an impact on their quality and quantity perceived by the population. Keywords: public services; public administration reform; citizens’ satisfaction; New Public Management; New Weberianism.

The Challenges to Social Control in Brezhnev’s Soviet Union, 1964-1982

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-173
Author(s):  
Fedor L. Sinitsyn
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Soviet System ◽  
State Archive ◽  
Central State ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Russian State ◽  
The Government ◽  
General Secretary

This article examines the development of social control in the Soviet Union under Leonid Brezhnev, who was General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1964 to 1982. Historians have largely neglected this question, especially with regard to its evolution and efficiency. Research is based on sources in the Russian State Archive of Modern History (RGANI), the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) and the Moscow Central State Archive (TSGAM). During Brezhnevs rule, Soviet propaganda reached the peak of its development. However, despite the fact that authorities tried to improve it, the system was ritualistic, unconvincing, unwieldy, and favored quantity over quality. The same was true for political education, which did little more than inspire sullen passivity in its students. Although officials recognized these failings, their response was ineffective, and over time Soviet propaganda increasingly lost its potency. At the same time, there were new trends in the system of social control. Authorities tried to have a foot in both camps - to strengthen censorship, and at the same time to get feedback from the public. However, many were afraid to express any criticism openly. In turn, the government used data on peoples sentiments only to try to control their thoughts. As a result, it did not respond to matters that concerned the public. These problems only increased during the era of stagnation and contributed to the decline and subsequent collapse of the Soviet system.

Evaluation of a Nontraditional Approach to Fund, Finance, and Manage Metropolitan Freeways

2017 ◽  
Vol 2670 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick DeCorla-Souza ◽  
Morteza Farajian
Keyword(s):  
Cost Savings ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Public Welfare ◽  
Maintenance Cost ◽  
The Public ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Financial Position ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Operations And Maintenance

The purpose of this paper is twofold: ( a) to present a nontraditional, performance outcome–based public–private partnership (PPP) approach to finance and fund freeway reconstruction that relies not just on generating new revenue but also on optimizing scope and costs to achieve financial viability and ( b) to demonstrate how the approach can be evaluated for a specific project with an innovative value for money (VfM) assessment method that considers financial parameters, risk elements, and social benefits. The paper assesses the potential effects of the approach for a hypothetical project on ( a) the public agency’s financial position and ( b) public welfare. For this assessment, the effects of the project itself are assessed first by comparing conventional delivery of the project with “no build,” assuming that the project can be conventionally delivered in the same time frame as the PPP. Next, the effects of project acceleration are assessed by analyzing the effects of delaying conventional project delivery because of the public agency’s fiscal constraints. Finally, the PPP approach is compared with conventional delivery using public financing. The evaluation approach demonstrates how current VfM analysis practice may be enhanced by ( a) including a quantitative assessment of public welfare benefits and ( b) considering “no build” operations and maintenance cost savings to assess the net effect on the financial position of the agency.

scholarly journals VALUE FOR MONEY IN PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS IN THE FIELD OF STREET LIGHTING IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dejan Milenković ◽  
Vladimir Đurić
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Public Private Partnership ◽  
Value For Money ◽  
Street Lighting ◽  
Private Partnership ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Administration Reform ◽  
The Republic

Public administration reform, better known as the New Public Management - NPM, which began in the mid-1970s, had a key impact on the development of modern public administration. The NPM emphasizes the economic values of public administration, to the detriment of its other values. Public Private Partnership- PPP is one of the basic elements of NPM doctrine. PPP is a partnership between the public and private sector that aims to provide a service traditionally provided by the public sector. An integral part of every PPP is the Value for Money methodology. The “Value for money”- VfM method emerged in this process of public administration reform, first in the UK. The document of the British Government Private Finance Initiative (PFI) from the year 1992, presented the basis for the creation of a new so-called “Venture”, which at that time was called a joint venture, and which is today known as PPP. PPP is a relatively new institute that has existed in the Republic of Serbia since 2011. In this paper, we will deal with the application of the VfM methodology in PPP projects related to street lighting in the Republic of Serbia, and try to give answer about social and economic justification of PPP and potential economic savings that can be achieved in the public sector through the implementation of PPP. At the present time, when there is more and more talk about the need for environmental protection, sustainable development and energy efficiency, PPP projects can have an increasing importance in this area. For this reason, we have limited the application of VfM methods in PPP projects in the Republic of Serbia only to street lighting projects which provide the mentioned goals.

scholarly journals Public support for ‘soft’ versus ‘hard’ public policies: Review of the evidence

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanchayan Banerjee ◽  
Manu Savani ◽  
Ganga Shreedhar
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Policy Instrument ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Future Research Agenda ◽  
Educational Campaigns

This article reviews the literature on public support for ‘soft’ versus ‘hard’ policy instruments for behaviour change, and the factors that drive such preferences. Soft policies typically include ‘moral suasion’ and educational campaigns, and more recently behavioural public policy approaches like nudges. Hard policy instruments, such as laws and taxes, restrict choices and alter financial incentives. In contrast to the public support evidenced for hard policy instruments during COVID-19, prior academic literature pointed to support for softer policy instruments. We investigate and synthesise the evidence on when people prefer one type of policy instrument over another. Drawing on multi-disciplinary evidence, we identify perceived effectiveness, trust, personal experience and self-interest as important determinants of policy instrument preferences, along with broader factors including the choice and country context. We further identify various gaps in our understanding that informs and organise a future research agenda around three themes. Specifically, we propose new directions for research on what drives public support for hard versus soft behavioural public policies, highlighting the value of investigating the role of individual versus contextual factors (especially the role of behavioural biases); how preferences evolve over time; and whether and how preferences spillovers across different policy domains.

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