Legal nature of social assistance benefits provided to persons at risk

Social assistance is an important link in the national social protection system, through which the state is committed to protecting and supporting people and families who are at risk or vulnerable. The nature of the vulnerability depends on poor material condition, physical and health status, family status (single-parent families, orphans), exposure to situations of violence, etc. To prevent and annihilate social risks, state institutions with social functions provide citizens in need with a range of social benefits to alleviate existing inequalities, normal integration into society and regain their autonomy. In this article, we will identify the problems of the social benefits system, which make the purpose and objectives of providing these monetary supports remain purely ideological, because they do not ensure a visible improvement in living conditions. In the author’s opinion, the state’s social policy must be aimed at combating in time the causes that lead to the risk of poverty, and not get involved post factum, when a large part of our citizens are in a situation of absolute poverty. In this context, it is found that all reforms, policies, and budgetary decisions, regardless of the field they regulate (education, agriculture, economy, construction), negatively or positively influence the well-being of the family, and must be directed towards the healthy development of families in the Republic of Moldova.

The interplay of policy and energy retrofit decision-making for real estate decarbonization

Retrofitting existing buildings is critical for meeting global and institutional net-zero CO₂ emissions goals. Prominent energy and climate policy strategies are aiming to increase notoriously low retrofitting rates by triggering energy efficient and/or decarbonized real estate investments. Although many real estate assets are owned by large-scale investors, the interplay of their retrofit decision-making and policies are under researched. Relying on interviews with four major owner types, industry experts, and policymakers, we unpack the “black box” of retrofit investment and demonstrate how large-scale investors can transform retrofit decision-making processes to meet emissions goals. We show that to accelerate deep retrofits, policymakers should focus on integrated policy mixes, and consider the cross-impacts of policy instruments from various domains on the value-driven retrofitting decision. Instruments indirectly influencing retrofits, such as those targeting affordability or densification, represent a critical avenue for improving the retrofitting policy mix by moving away from single instruments directly targeting energy or emissions aspects. This policy mix should specifically target asset management budgetary decisions, which mainly drive investment planning relevant for deep retrofits.

Optimizing integrated imaging service delivery by tier in low-resource health systems

Access to imaging diagnostics has been shown to result in accurate treatment, management, and optimal outcomes. Particularly in low-income and low-middle-income countries (LICs, LMICs), access is limited due to a lack of adequate resources. To achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, access to imaging services is critical at every tier of the health system. Optimizing imaging services in low-resource settings is best accomplished by prescriptive, integrated, and coordinated tiered service delivery that takes contextual factors into consideration. To our knowledge, this is the first recommendation for optimized, specific imaging care delivery by tier. A model for tier-based essential imaging services informs and guides policymakers as they set priorities and make budgetary decisions. In this paper, we recommend a framework for tiered imaging services essential to reduce the global burden of disease and attain universal health coverage (UHC). A lack of access to basic imaging services, even at the lowest tier of the health system, can no longer be justified by cost. Worldwide, affordable modalities of modern ultrasound and X-ray are becoming an accessible mainstay for the investigation of common conditions such as pregnancy, pneumonia, and fractures, and are safely performed and interpreted by qualified professionals. Finally, given the vast gap in access to imaging resources between LMICs and high-income countries (HICs), a scale-up of tiered imaging services in low-resource settings has the potential to reduce health disparities between, and within countries. As the access to appropriately integrated imaging services improves, UHC may be achieved.

'Business as usual': The Treaty of Lisbon and transnational party manifestos

The Treaty of Lisbon was a milestone in the enduring process of empowerment of the European Parliament and its connections to the European Commission. This latest reform of the Treaties, in force since December 2009, placed the only supranational institution whose members are directly elected by all citizens of the EU (since 1979) on an equal footing with the Council as a co-legislator in around thirty additional policy areas. The Treaty of Lisbon also strengthened the European Parliament in terms of the annual and multiannual budgetary decisions, and it granted it the right to elect the President of the European Commission according to the results of the European elections. This article examines various possible effects of this major boost of the European Parliament, along with links to the European Commission in the manifestos issued by five European parties: the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), European Free Alliance (EFA), European Green Party (European Greens or EGP), European People’s Party (EPP), and Party of European Socialists (PES). It studies variations from 2004 onwards in the scope of the programmatic proposals regarding EU domains of power, the footprint in the manifestos of the transnational party organisations themselves, and eventually also of their candidates for the presidency of the European Commission. To do so, the twenty manifestos issued by the abovementioned parties for the 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019 European elections were content analysed. The results point to the lasting distance between these transnational parties and the European elections, despite the reinforcement of the role of the European Parliament over time.

Participatory Budgeting: A Case Study of Provincial Administrative Organization

The objective of this paper is to study the budgeting process of the Provincial Administrative Organizations in Thailand and to examine the limits to public participation in the budgeting process. Furthermore, the paper offers recommendations on how to increase for public participation in the budgeting process. The study uses qualitative methods, studying documents related to budgeting process such as laws and regulations, in addition to using in-depth interviews with administrators and staff at Provincial Administrative Organizations. The research shows that the budgeting process of Provincial Administrative Organizations limits public participation. Participation is limited to local development plan making, which only acts as a guideline, and is nonbinding. The final decision makers the annual budgets are the administrators of the provincial administrative organizations and the provincial administrative organizations council. Therefore, to reduce the limits to public participation in budgetary decisions, the paper recommends that the central government enacts legislation that creates mechanisms that allows people to participate in budget allocation decisions. In this regard, the nature or type of operation may that a form suitable to each area. Examples include direct decisions about public matters or political issues or in the form of a third-party intermediary intermediation.

INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS EXPERIENCES IN PORTS AND THEIR RELATION TO UKRAINE

The purpose of this article is to review recent international studies on ports that have entered into public private partnerships (PPPs). This article examines five articles covering ports in Columbia, Mexico, Brazil, the Caribbean (Cayman Islands), China, South Korea, and France. Divided as follows, the article includes: (I) a summary of each article; (II) a critique of the articles related to the countries referenced; and (III) an assessment of how this relates and/or applies to Ukraine. The analysis and assessment of each article should better inform progress towards PPPs and their use in ports in Ukraine. Based on five variables to assess PPP projects in this article: (a) the type of PPP (allowing for a plurality of PPP arrangements); (b) regulatory framework (with a supportive institutional arrangement for PPPs); (c) financial safeguards (delivering value for money against other options); (d) accountability; and (e) miscellaneous data (something that improves context and practical aspects), this article offers three key findings. First, enhance accountability and publicity. Second, improve market engagement. Third, correct implementation of legal and institutional frameworks. This study, according to its author, encountered the usual limitations: sample selection and access to data at different stages of the project’s completion. The sample is fair, comprising a diverse, representative pool of projects. Regarding access to data, the article found that publicity and reporting need to improve in the Caribbean. The author engaged with all main sources, especially local ones, at different stages of each project. PPPs in the Caribbean are not exempt when it comes to budgetary decisions.

COMPARING BUDGETARY STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES The cases of Paris and São Paulo

This article compares the structure of the city budget of São Paulo and Paris and their processes between 2008 and 2018, aiding in the understanding of budgetary decisions and contributing to the literature on public budgets, more focused on national and federal levels. As the budget process is very technical and standardized, one should observe several similarities between both cases This article demonstrates how similar the budget structures and processes of these two metropolises are. It indicates, for example, that both present incrementalisms in their budget base, as expected according to theory. However, the study also indicates differences within similarities as both cases, with very different macro institutions (federal versus unitary States), similar meso-institutions (organization of municipal institutions, municipal public policies), but certain different rules, generate important differences in their processes and some divergence in their results.

Precarization or protection? The impact of trade and labour policies on informality

Several episodes of market-oriented reforms in developing countries have been accompanied by a significant rise in work outside of the formal economy. This paper investigates whether the impact of increased exposure to trade on formal employment is mediated by the strength of labour regulations. We rely on data from the Brazilian Census which provides information on workers’ demographics and employment, including job formality status. Our estimation strategy exploits quasi-exogenous changes in industry-level real exchange rates to explore the likelihood of informality across employers exposed to varying degrees of de facto labour regulations. To instrument for labour enforcement, we utilize two key features of Brazilian labour institutions—budgetary decisions about the availability of resources occur at the federal level, while decisions about where to inspect occur at the local level. Our instrumental variables results suggest that strict labour regulations may lead to a precarization of employment, rather than offering protection for workers.

Ideological and financial spaces of budgetary responses to COVID-19 lockdown strategies: comparative analysis of Russia and Ukraine

PurposeTo compare Russian and Ukrainian central governments' reaction to the pandemic, reflected in extraordinary budgetary allocations and to provide our understanding of how those allocations can be attributed to the two countries’ different social, economic and political contexts.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is built on secondary data analysis over a six-month period, i.e. January–June 2020, during which the real-time events were documented in a research diary. The data sources included budgetary and other relevant legislature, official reports from international agencies, news, press conferences and videos of interviews with key stakeholders.FindingsThe findings showed that uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and the corresponding lockdown policies in Russia and Ukraine have produced two divergent patterns of budgetary allocations: step-by-step budgetary allocations in Russia vs one emergency budget decision in Ukraine.Originality/valueThe paper explains the divergence of the central governments' budgetary decisions based on the same lockdown policy, in light of the different ideological and financial legitimized action spaces that frame governmental decisions.

Budgeting in an Era of Political and Institutional Turmoil

Higher education has existed in a maelstrom for more than two decades of contentious debates on its costs, outcomes, and value. Critics abound among elected officials and decision-makers. Likewise, there is a drumbeat of criticism from within the academy that orbits around mission drift, leadership failures, and questionable practices in pursuit of new revenue. This political and policy dilemma will remain unresolved over the next decade. Such questions of efficiency and effectiveness ultimately impact college budgetary decisions and pose a threat to financial viability. For each criticism or suggested solution there is quite likely to be an opposing opinion that could be grounded in biases or self-interest. Therefore, institutional leaders must be holistic thinkers whose optimal solutions to budgetary challenges must embrace the best practices that cover the full spectrum of providing equal access to a quality education, discovering new knowledge, and serving as stewards of place within their service areas.