scholarly journals Financial sustainability: An annotated bibliography

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 35-60
Author(s):  
Shivam Kakati ◽  
Arup Roy
Keyword(s):  
Research Methodology ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Annotated Bibliography ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Sectorial Analysis ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
Analytical Tools

The literature on financial sustainability is scattered in such a way that a synthesis is indispensable. The present study on an annotated bibliography of financial sustainability seeks to fill this particular gap by presenting a collation of published literature in the sphere. The sectorial analysis depicted that ability to cover the costs from its own resources and ability to pay debt were the key dimensions to measure financial sustainability. The majority of the studies were found in the public sector covering local governments and central governments particularly in such European countries as Spain, Italy and England. Earning enough resources, asset sustainability and the ability to repay obligations are the three dimensions to assess financial sustainability. The study also pointed out the key research areas, variables and analytical tools among other trends in the literature. The present study assists the future researchers in reviewing the literature on financial sustainability and developing research methodology.

The Continuing Problem of Special Districts in American Government

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larita Killian
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Census Bureau ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Special Districts ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Policy Alignment ◽  
Definition Of

ABSTRACT Due to fiscal constraints and demands for increased accountability, scholars and public officials are reviewing the structure and reporting practices of local governments. These efforts are often incomplete, however, because they bypass special districts, which now comprise over 40 percent of all local governments. The proliferation of special districts has the potential to increase government costs, redirect the allocation of scarce resources, remove debt and expenditure practices from the public eye, and reduce democratic controls over elected officials. This paper highlights some of the public interest concerns related to these entities to inform future, localized research. For decades, scholars have approached special districts from two opposing theoretical perspectives: institutional reform and public choice. Literature from these opposing perspectives is used to analyze special districts along three dimensions: efficiency and economy of operations, policy alignment and allocation of resources, and democratic accountability. This paper uses the U.S. Census Bureau definition of special districts, though alternative definitions are discussed. Efforts by four states (Florida, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and New York) to improve local government, and their varying approaches to special districts, are reviewed, leading to the conclusion that the complex issues related to special districts must be resolved within state contexts.

Sustainability Management and Local Governments

2018 ◽  
pp. 31-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio De Matteis ◽  
Daniela Preite
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Financial Indicators ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Sustainability Management

After highlighting the breadth and complexity of the concept of sustainability and highlighting the role of local authorities in sustainable development, this chapter aims to interpret how sustainability management can consider the concept of financial sustainability in the context of local governments. It does this through the following specific objectives: 1) defining financial sustainability, considering it not only autonomously, but in an integrated manner with respect to the typical sustainability dimensions (environmental, social, and economic) that are usually involved in the local authorities activity; 2) proposing the main stages of the sustainability cycle in the local authorities to highlight the key moments and the role of financial sustainability; 3) analyzing some aspects of financial indicators as tools for measuring the financial side of the sustainability profile of a local government. In order to reach the aim of the chapter, the research methodology followed is the literature review.

Strategic Formulation and Implementation of Social Entrepreneurs

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Charles A. Oham ◽  
Okeoma John-Paul Okeke
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Earned Income ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
The Public ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Strategic Management Framework ◽  
Analytical Tools

This chapter explores the theory and practice of strategy that social entrepreneurs deploy to run their ventures in a sustainable way. A critical link between strategy and practice of social enterprise is discussed in detail in this chapter. The chapter focuses only on the strategic management framework and adapts it to include business analytical tools that social entrepreneurs use such as TOC, ABCD, Forms of Capital, SROI, etc. Social entrepreneurs run businesses to generate earned income and reinvest profits back into the business for a social purpose rather than for personal gain like an entrepreneur. Social enterprises include and mean different things to different people, they include a spectrum of trading organisations, such as cooperative societies; charities involved in a trading activity like charity shops; civic enterprises set up by local governments; credit unions and microcredit organisation run by social entrepreneurs. SE missions and characteristics enable them to be very attractive to the public and stakeholders.

Characterizing the Risk Factors for Financial Sustainability in Spanish Local Governments

2018 ◽  
pp. 206-223
Author(s):  
Isabel Brusca ◽  
Jorge Olmo ◽  
Margarita Labrador
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Principal Components Analysis ◽  
Principal Components ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Three Components

This chapter aims to analyze the characteristics of Spanish governments that fail to achieve budgetary stability, as well as propose a model for the analysis of financial sustainability of governments that can help in predicting risk for financial sustainability. The analysis is focused on Spanish local governments with more than 5,000 inhabitants that have elaborated the annual plan because they did not achieve budgetary stability (79 local governments). Using the principal components analysis, the authors developed a model for the analysis of the characteristics of these governments. The model is made up of three components created from six indicators usually considered in the literature as relevant. The results evidence the indicators useful to measure the three dimensions identified by the IPSASB as relevant: revenue dimension, debt dimension, and public services dimension.

scholarly journals An Investigation on Responsible Innovation in the Emerging Shared Bicycle Industry: Case Study of a Chinese Firm

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liu ◽  
Ma ◽  
Zhu ◽  
Ji
Keyword(s):  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Responsible Innovation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Bicycle Industry ◽  
Chinese Firm ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
Shared Bicycle

In the current era of Industrial 4.0, open innovation, and the sharing economy, innovation ecosystems are formed through government-industry-university (triple helix) interaction. The concept of responsible innovation has emerged to explore how innovation can be conducted in a transparent, trustworthy, and sustainable way so as to respond to the public interest. While current literature provides a conceptual framework, details of how responsible innovation can be formed, developed, and sustained in the sharing economy, in particular in developing countries, have been under-explored. This paper aims to explore factors of responsible innovation, linking dimensions with business practice, and identify the dynamic stages of the industry life cycle. Through an in-depth case study of China’s shared bicycle industry and the firm Hellobike, this paper has prioritized factors which lead to responsibility, such as user safety and friendliness in product design, real-time operations combined with big data, collaboration between industry and local government for industry standardization, and user credit systems. It has enriched key dimensions based on literature and case studies and proposed dynamic interaction models for industry, government, users, and universities at different stages of responsible innovation in the shared bicycle sector. From this empirical study, future research areas have been identified.

Analysing the accounting measurement of financial sustainability in local governments through political factors

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 2135-2164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Pedro Rodríguez Bolívar ◽  
Andrés Navarro Galera ◽  
María Deseada López Subirés ◽  
Laura Alcaide Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Measurement ◽  
Generalised Method Of Moments

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to obtain new knowledge about the accounting measurement of financial sustainability in local governments, by studying the influence of political factors on the evolution of income statements.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyses income statements of Spanish municipalities from 2006 to 2014, together with mayor profiles and political-institutional factors, using the generalised method of moments system.FindingsThe income statement represents a useful measure to assess financial sustainability, showing the effect of political factors on three dimensions proposed by IFAC (i.e. service, revenue and debt), such as ideological coincidence, political competition, political ideology, and absolute majority or political fragmentation.Practical implicationsThe findings can be useful for policymakers and accountants responsible for accountability, supervisory bodies, fiscal authorities, voters, users of public services and other stakeholders interested in governmental income statements.Social implicationsIn the Eurozone, the crisis of government finance has made the citizens and the policymakers question the size and volume of public services. Likewise, in countries such as Spain, politicians remain one of the main problems for citizens. These circumstances make it very interesting and timely to study the accounting measurement of financial sustainability and its political explanations.Originality/valueThe findings provide new empirical evidence about the accounting measurement of financial sustainability in local governments, and they identify political factors that influence the evolution of income statements.

scholarly journals How to Manage the Components of Financial Sustainability in Local Governments

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Serena Santis ◽  
Alberto Incollingo ◽  
Francesca Citro
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
International Federation ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Setting Theory ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Future Management

This study aims to evaluate three dimensions proposed by the IFAC (International Federation of Accountants) in relation to impact financial sustainability. These dimensions are service, revenue, and debt. In 2017 and 2018, a regression analysis was conducted for Italian local governments on the different components of financial sustainability. Based on goal-setting theory, and in combination with the ambition to pursue adequate good financial sustainability, significant results were demonstrated. It was seen that these local governments would have to maintain a good level of autonomy with current revenue. They would also need to control the quantity and quality of service in order to pursue financial sustainability. This study suggests practical implications for policymakers and the managerial class, and it seeks to identify methods to drive and keep financial sustainability under control. It also seeks to define current and future management strategies that focus on pursuing intergenerational equity in local governments.

Operating within the boundaries of legislation, accountability and personal agendas

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 346-365
Author(s):  
Sotirios Karatzimas ◽  
Carles Griful Miquela
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the views of mayors and comptrollers of Catalan municipalities on aspects related to the Spanish legislation on financial sustainability – its usefulness and necessity of maintaining, its impact on citizens’ welfare and alternative proposals. The setting is rather interesting as strict rules are imposed by a legislation criticized of mimicking European Commission policies, on well-performing municipalities, in light of the recent “independency” conflict. Design/methodology/approach The study uses insights from the public choice theory and the concept of accountability to draw a framework that could explain the perceptions of mayors and comptrollers. The views of the two groups are captured with the use of an online questionnaire. Findings The results indicate that while the application of strict rules has borne fruit, this trend is not sustainable in the long run and a careful reconsideration is required. Accordingly, both groups express concerns on citizens’ future welfare. It moreover appears that in this particular setting, mayors’ and comptrollers’ sense of accountability toward citizens exceed their personal interests. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence on the impact of strict budget stability and sustainability rules on the long-term financial sustainability of local governments from the point of view of mayors and municipality comptrollers who are called to implement them.

scholarly journals Benchmarking Crisis in Social Media Analytics: A Solution for the Data-Sharing Problem

2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110122
Author(s):  
Dennis Assenmacher ◽  
Derek Weber ◽  
Mike Preuss ◽  
André Calero Valdez ◽  
Alison Bradshaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Data Sharing ◽  
Algorithm Design ◽  
Computational Social Science ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Social Media Analytics ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Media Data

Computational social science uses computational and statistical methods in order to evaluate social interaction. The public availability of data sets is thus a necessary precondition for reliable and replicable research. These data allow researchers to benchmark the computational methods they develop, test the generalizability of their findings, and build confidence in their results. When social media data are concerned, data sharing is often restricted for legal or privacy reasons, which makes the comparison of methods and the replicability of research results infeasible. Social media analytics research, consequently, faces an integrity crisis. How is it possible to create trust in computational or statistical analyses, when they cannot be validated by third parties? In this work, we explore this well-known, yet little discussed, problem for social media analytics. We investigate how this problem can be solved by looking at related computational research areas. Moreover, we propose and implement a prototype to address the problem in the form of a new evaluation framework that enables the comparison of algorithms without the need to exchange data directly, while maintaining flexibility for the algorithm design.

scholarly journals Renewable Energy Attitudes and Behaviour of Local Governments in Poland

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2765
Author(s):  
Joanna Rakowska ◽  
Irena Ozimek
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Energy Behavior ◽  
Public Aid ◽  
Energy Projects

The deployment of renewable energy at the local level can contribute significantly to mitigating climate change, improving energy security and increasing social, economic and environmental benefits. In many countries local authorities play an important role in the local development, but renewable energy deployment is not an obligatory task for them. Hence there are two research questions: (1) Do local governments think investments in renewable energy (RE) are urgent and affordable within the local budgets? (2) How do they react to the public aid co-financing investments in renewable energy? To provide the answer we performed qualitative analysis and non-parametric tests of data from a survey of 252 local authorities, analysis of 292 strategies of local development and datasets of 1170 renewable energy projects co-financed by EU funds under operational programs 2007–2013 and 2014–2020 in Poland. Findings showed that local authorities’ attitudes were rather careful, caused by financial constraints of local budgets and the scope of obligatory tasks, which made renewable energy investments not the most urgent. Public aid was a factor significantly affecting local authorities’ behavior. It triggered local authorities’ renewable energy initiatives, increasing the number and scope of renewable energy investments as well cooperation with other municipalities and local communities. Despite this general trend, there were also considerable regional differences in local authorities’ renewable energy behavior.

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