THE USE OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION IN GOVERNMENTAL REGULATION AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: THE IMPACT OF JOHN R. COMMONS AND EARLY INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMISTS

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Covaleski ◽  
Mark W. Dirsmith ◽  
Sajay Samuel

This paper examines the socio-political process by which an ensemble of such calculative practices and techniques as accounting came to be developed, adopted, and justified within turn-of-the-century public administration. We are particularly concerned with examining the influence of John R. Commons and other early institutional economists during this Progressive era. Using primary and secondary archival materials, our purpose is to make three main contributions to the literature. First, the paper explores Commons' contribution to the debates over “value” which seems to be somewhat unique in that he explicitly recognized that there exists no unproblematic, intrinsic measure of value, but rather that it must be socially constituted as “reasonable” with reference to common law. To illustrate this point, this paper explores Commons' role in the historical development and implementation of rate of return regulation for utilities. Second, the paper describes the contradictory role accounting played during this period in ostensibly fostering administrative objectivity while accommodating a more pragmatic rhetoric of “realpolitik” in its development and deployment. The third contribution is to establish a linkage between current work in economics and accounting concerned with utility regulation and the debates of ninety years ago, noting that Commons' contribution has not been fully explored or recognized within the accounting literature.

Author(s):  
Inna Mitrofanova ◽  
Olga Chernova ◽  
Olga Patrakeeva

Introduction. In the current political process in Russia, national projects occupy an important place, working as one of the main tools for the achievement of national goals. The projects are usually made more specific at the regional level of administration and include the strategic goal of regional development, the amount of resources allocated for their achievement, as well as the responsibility of the officials for their use. The article examines the impact of implementing national projects of the “first wave” (from 2006–2010 to 2018) and the first results of the projects of the “second wave” (designed for 2019–2024) on solving the problems of effectiveness growth of public administration of the balanced development of old industrial regions of Southern Russia – Volgograd and Rostov regions. The problems of this study are justified by the expansion of using program-targeted methods in the organizational environment of regional management, what implies the need to assess the compliance of the results achieved during the implementation of projects with the goals of state regional policy. Methodology and methods. The research methodology is based on the provisions of the concept of sustainable development, as well as the system paradigm of G.B. Kleiner devoted to the need for the interconnected development of the object, environment and control subsystems. In the study of the effectiveness of national projects and their impact on the balanced development of old industrial regions of the South of Russia, the effective approach and the comparative analysis method were used. Analysis. The study shows that the degree of involvement of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in implementing program activities of national projects is determined by the volumes of regional budgets, as well as the priorities facing a region. From the standpoint of sustainability and balance of regional development, there is a disagreement in the processes of modernization changes in the subsystems of the object, environment and management, what leads to the underutilization of the resource potential of the regions in the achievement of national goals. Results. The priorities of goal setting in Volgograd and Rostov regions in the implementation of national projects are studied. The feedbacks of the regional system to the measures mentioned in national projects, as well as limiting factors for the achievement of their objectives are identified. The idea of the coordinated development of the object, environment and management subsystems of a region for the effectiveness growth of public administration of the balanced regional development is substantiated. It is concluded that the administration and management of modern national projects is not so much a managerial task but rather a political one, and therefore their implementation implies the solution of such political goals as carefulness in setting goals and choosing priorities, building effective mechanisms of the interaction between federal and regional authorities, and also with local target population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-42
Author(s):  
Nam-Sik Yun ◽  
Seok-Kee Lee

Background/Objectives: The study discussed the impact of citizens' perceptions of public office values of integrity, accountability, and fairness, based on the view that government trust is centered on the citizens' perception of the value of public office.  Methods/Statistical analysis: The data was based on a 2017 survey conducted by the Korea Institute of Public Administration on the perception of corruption in the Korean government sector. The study included 1,000 people and was conducted through a survey public service value, citizenship level and government trust. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 22 and AMOS 22.0 program.


2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (8) ◽  
pp. 366-374
Author(s):  
Nam-Sik Yun ◽  
Seok-Kee Lee

The study discussed the impact of citizens' perceptions of public office values of integrity, accountability, and fairness, based on the view that government trust is centered on the citizens' perception of the value of public office. Methods/Statistical analysis: The data was based on a 2017 survey conducted by the Korea Institute of Public Administration on the perception of corruption in the Korean government sector. The study included 1,000 people and was conducted through a survey public service value, citizenship level and government trust. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 22 and AMOS 22.0 program.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 268-288
Author(s):  
Dlan Ismail Mawlud ◽  
Hoshyar Mozafar Ali

The development of technology, information technology and various means of communication have a significant impact on public relations activity; especially in government institutions. Many government institutions have invested these means in their management system, in order to facilitate the goals of the institution, and ultimately the interaction between the internal and external public. In this theoretical research, I tried to explain the impact of the new media on public relations in the public administration, based on the views of specialists. The aim of the research is to know the use of the new media of public relations and how in the system of public administration, as well as, Explaining the role it plays in public relations activities of government institutions. Add to this, analyzing the way of how new media and public relations participate in the birth of e-government. In the results, it is clear that the new media has facilitated public relations between the public and other institutions, as it strengthened relations between them


Author(s):  
Anna Valeriivna Terentieva

The author has analyzed the problem aspects of public administration of educational change in modern Ukraine. Special frameworks of public administration of educational change in an information society have been determined. The author has analyzed the categories of the implementation process of educational change. The author has explored the key features of external environment of such activity, formed by regulatory acts for settling relations in a particular area. The author has highlighted a set of contradictions of public management of educational change and recommendations for state agencies regarding the organization of an effective process of implementation of educational change as a social and political process with an emphasis on peculiar properties of the educational change. It is determined that the updated legal and regulatory framework of the educational sector, at the same time, extends the scope of professional freedom of teaching and, hence, sets high requirements for the professionalism of teachers. The change in the focus of educational activity by innovations is declared in terms of practice, interactivity and functionality. The teacher will now create educational and training programs tailored to the needs of students and local communities, will create an open learning environment, taking into account the potential of the school and involving the partners in the educational process. However, it has been proved that the methods of active and problem-searching approach defined in the updated normative provision of education in Ukraine require appropriate conditions for the educational process. An active student becomes an active citizen; school, school environment and class become a micro-society. Like the society itself, the school environment is not devoid of conflicts or problem situations. It is in these conditions that students have the opportunity to learn to consciously identify their own interests and gain experience in civic activity.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 969-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Gyung H. Paik ◽  
Joyce A. van der Laan Smith ◽  
Brandon Byunghwan Lee ◽  
Sung Wook Yoon

SYNOPSIS Proposed changes by the FASB and the IASB to lease accounting standards will substantially change the accounting for operating leases by requiring the capitalization of future lease payments. We consider the impact of these changes on firms' debt covenants by examining the frequency of income-statement- versus balance-sheet-based accounting ratios in debt covenants of firms in high and low Off Balance Sheet (OBS) lease industries. Based on debt contracts from the 1996–2009 period, our results provide evidence that lenders focus on balance sheet (income statement) ratios in designing debt covenants for borrowers in low (high) OBS lease industries. Further, the use of balance-sheet- (income-statement-) based covenants falls (rises) faster in high OBS lease industries than in low OBS lease industries as the use of OBS leasing increases. This evidence indicates that OBS operating leases influence lenders' use of accounting information in covenants, suggesting that creditors consider the impact of OBS leases when structuring debt agreements. These results also suggest that the proposed capitalization of OBS leases may not result in firms violating loan covenants but will make the balance sheet a more complete source of information for debt contracting by removing the need for constructive capitalization of OBS leases.


Author(s):  
Paul Lawrie

Throughout U.S. history, the production of difference, whether along racial or disability lines, has been inextricably tied to the imperatives of labor economy. From the plantations of the antebellum era through the assembly lines and trenches of early-twentieth-century America, ideologies of race and disability have delineated which peoples could do which kinds of work. The ideologies and identities of race, work, and the “fit” ’ or “unfit” body informed Progressive Era labor economies. Here the processes of racializing or disabling certain bodies are charted from turn-of-the-century actuarial science, which monetized blacks as a degenerate, dying race, through the standardized physical and mental testing and rehabilitation methods developed by the U.S. army during World War I. Efforts to quantify, poke, prod, or mend black bodies reshaped contemporary understandings of labor, race, the state, and the working body.


Author(s):  
Ran Wei

To fully understand the impact of mobile phone technology on politics, this chapter provides a state-of-the-art overview of research and identifies an emerging subfield concerning the relationship between mobile media and politics. The chapter traces the evolution of mobile media from personal communication devices to tools for political participation. The growing literature on the role of various mobile devices in civic and political life is reviewed and critiqued. The specific uses of mobile media as tools in political communication, such as informational use, mobile political news, and mobile public sphere, are explicated and synthesized. The chapter also sheds light on the question of how the attributes of mobile media influence the political process in democratic and non-democratic countries. The chapter outlines key issues concerning mobile media in civic and political communication, highlighting significant predictors and mediators. Unresolved issues and debates are highlighted, and directions for future research are suggested.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019251212096737
Author(s):  
Gianfranco Baldini ◽  
Edoardo Bressanelli ◽  
Emanuele Massetti

This article investigates the impact of Brexit on the British political system. By critically engaging with the conceptualisation of the Westminster model proposed by Arend Lijphart, it analyses the strains of Brexit on three dimensions developed from from Lijphart’s framework: elections and the party system, executive– legislative dynamics and the relationship between central and devolved administrations. Supplementing quantitative indicators with an in-depth qualitative analysis, the article shows that the process of Brexit has ultimately reaffirmed, with some important caveats, key features of the Westminster model: the resilience of the two-party system, executive dominance over Parliament and the unitary character of the political system. Inheriting a context marked by the progressive weakening of key majoritarian features of the political system, the Brexit process has brought back some of the traditional executive power-hoarding dynamics. Yet, this prevailing trend has created strains and resistances that keep the political process open to different developments.


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