The Turkmen-style economic development

The resource-rich and state-led Turkmen economy has grown very fast since the beginning of the twenty-first century. The authorities have produced a number of various programmes and strategies aimed at improving the standard of living of the citizens and achieving sustainable and inclusive development. Officially, nearly 80% of the national budget in Turkmenistan has been annually allocated for social needs. However, instead of creating opportunities and improving access to these opportunities for the citizens, the authoritarian government chose income redistribution and social spending. The paper identifies key features of the economic development in Turkmenistan and was written base on a critical analysis of state-controlled and independent news websites. The main feature of the Turkmen-style economic development is the growing deprivation of ordinary people. Poor citizens are getting poorer while the president’s relatives and patronage networks are getting richer. Huge gaps between the rural and urban population and tribal divisions have been observed in the country. Moreover, the Soviet-style work holidays continue. Despite significant improvements in infrastructure, provision for education and health care still remains poor in Turkmenistan. The government expenditure for social needs means investment in infrastructure, not human capital.

Idle Youth and Macroeconomics in Latin America

This paper analyzes the macroeconomic repercussions of the existence of idle youth in a cross-section of Latin American countries. The results indicate that idle youth has a close association with the indices of gender inequality and governance, and with informality. By estimating a series of equations, it was possible to infer that idle youth exerts adverse effects on economic growth, the domestic saving rate and economic vulnerability. It is also reported that the prevention of idle youth rests on substantial increases in tax revenues so as to increase social spending.

Deuda pública en México: dinámica e implicaciones de política

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that have driven the public debt in Mexico and its consequences on the economy. The hypothesis proposed is that the increase in debt is related to factors such as discretion in the management of public resources, the guarantee of oil resources, the cost of financial bailouts and the growing social spending exercised. The research question is: How has public debt evolved in the medium and long term, and what are the consequences? The methodology used is qualitative in that it analyzes the facts and documents, and the second is quantitative in that it uses a regression model in which a growth rate of the variable in question is used. The data come from institutions such as the Bank of Mexico, the World Bank, the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), as well as World Population Review. The paper concludes by highlighting the need for governments to adopt responsible policies in order to influence growth and economic development, and not that austerity policies cause low investment and unemployment in the country.

Dynamic Linkages between Social Expenditures and Economic Growth: the Most Important Conclusions for Central European Countries

The role of the state within the neoliberal system is discussed in the approaches developed for social expenditures. Accordingly, the question of whether the state should stand back or provide the support needed by individuals has shaped the literaturę on social expenditures. It is thought that the increase in social expenditures affects public expenditures, and public expenditures may indirectly cause budget deficits. In addition, it is said that there is a decrease in social spending during periods of economic growth. All these dilemmas show that the idea that the country needs both producers and consumers while realizing economic growth has been pushed into the background. Here, the analyses of the relationship between social spending and economic growth are the arguments for the accuracy of this assumption. The aim of this study is to empirically analyze the long-term relationship between the economic growth and social expenditures of eight Central European countries and the causality relationship for 1999 and 2019. In the empirical findings, the cointegration relationship was determined between economic growth and social spending. Based on the findings of the causality analysis, it has been concluded that there is a bidirectional causality relationship between economic growth and social expenditures. Policy proposals are given in the conclusion section of the article.

Summit for Democracy raises more policy questions

Significance The online meeting, which included civil society groups and representatives from the business sector, was ostensibly a forum for considering strategies to bolster democratic institutions. However, it also offered implicit criticisms of China and Russia while playing to Biden’s domestic agenda, in particular efforts to strengthen voting rights and bolster social spending. Impacts The second summit is expected soon after the November 2022 US midterm elections, when further claims of electoral fraud are likely. Criticism of Washington’s choice of participants will spark calls for a multinational committee to set the invitation list. Controversy over Taiwan’s inclusion in the Summit for Democracy will increase during 2022.

Socioeconomic differences in informal caregiving in Europe

Disclosing socioeconomic differences in informal care provision is increasingly important in aging societies as it helps to identify the segments of the population that may need targeted support and the types of national investments to support family caregivers. This study examines the association between individual-level socioeconomic status and informal care provision within the household. We also examine the role of contextual factors, income inequality, and the generosity of social spending, to identify how macro-level socioeconomic resource structures shape individuals’ provision of care to household members. We use pooled data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE, waves 1, 2, 4, 5, 6) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA, waves 2, 3, 4, 6, 7). Poisson regression multilevel models estimate the associations between household socioeconomic status (education, income, and wealth), and country socioeconomic resources (income inequality and social spending as a percentage of GDP), and the likelihood of older adults’ informal care provision within the household. Results indicate that lower individual socioeconomic resources—education, income, and wealth—were associated with a higher incidence of older adults’ informal care provision within the household. At the macro-level, income inequality was positively associated while social spending was negatively associated with older adults’ care provision within the household. Our findings suggest that socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are more likely to provide informal care, which may reinforce socioeconomic inequalities. At the national level, more equitable resource distribution and social spending may reduce intensive family caregiving.

How Do Violent Politicians Govern? The Case of Paramilitary-Tied Mayors in Colombia

How do politicians with coercive linkages govern? This article relies on original data on militia-linked mayors in Colombia from 1988 to 2015 derived from 42,000 pages of Colombian Supreme Court sentencing documents. Using a regression discontinuity design, it examines the governance records of militia-tied mayors who won the elections by a narrow margin. It finds that being ruled by a militia-linked mayor significantly reduces levels of insecurity and crime, but has pernicious effects on the provision of other public goods, especially education. I theorize that these politicians' (perverse) comparative advantage on security, combined with their crowding out of social spending, engenders these outcomes. I evaluate these mechanisms with data on the nature of paramilitary–mayor alliances, police reinforcements, municipal budgets, politicians' Twitter feeds, and in-depth interviews with paramilitary commanders and politicians. The article has implications for understanding the effects of voting for politicians with coercive ties on the quality of governance and democracy.

Trudeau begins his third term with continuity

Significance The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is beginning its third term with an emphasis on post-pandemic issues. While there was little new in the speech, which mostly signalled a continuation of existing policies, more action is likely on environmental and Indigenous reconciliation issues. Impacts New legislation will underpin the equality of the French language with English in federally regulated workplaces. Reform of the Broadcasting Act to cover online streaming services will require them to generate more Canadian content. Substantial increases in the foreign aid budget are likely, as are new diplomatic efforts in the Indo-Pacific region. Promises of renewed investment in defence are likely to be downgraded given the emphasis on social spending.

Development of the Financing Structure of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices

The article features the concept of corporate social responsibility and its financing. Russian publications usually focus on theory. However, such practices and the related profit depend on how the company allocates its financial resources. By solving this matter, commercial organizations can solve many issues of inefficient or unsystematic spending of funds. Modern business needs verified mechanisms for financing corporate social responsibility in order to develop corporate management. The article introduces various issues related to social and environmental activities that are new to domestic business. The author proved the relevance of the availability of financing mechanisms for these areas, thus distinguishing the system of corporate social responsibility from unsystematic environmental or social spending, as well as from one-time charity events or promotions.