Familiarity and Trust: Explaining Trust in Government through Ethno-racial Differences

The paper investigates whether generalized trust in government varies among ethnic groups in a society. Theories on trust predominantly explain such institutional trust by the capabilities and intentions of the trusted actors and research into trust is mostly done at the individual level measuring whether individual characteristics of the trustee and trusted one have explanatory power. Meanwhile this paper analyzes the institutional trust at the macro (country) level. Based on a comparative study among 29 countries, this paper argues that there are significant differences between ethnic groups regarding their trust in the country‘s government and that significant effects are visible with the country‘s income inequality and one of Hofstede‘s dimensions of national culture, namely ‘power distance‘. This is an important finding as it calls for multilevel analyses when explaining institutional trust. Trust is not only dependent on individual characteristics of the trusted one and the trustee, but also on macro-level variables.

How to Implement Context-Sensitive Evaluation Approaches in Countries with still Emerging Evaluation Cultures

Evaluation cultures and evaluation capacity building vary greatly across the European Union. Western European countries, such as Austria, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, have been termed as leading countries in the evaluation as they have built up well-established evaluation cultures and carry out systematic evaluations of programmes and institutions. In contrast, in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, efforts continue to establish evaluation practices and further develop the current evaluation culture. In Hungary, for example, an established research and innovation evaluation practice does not exist, not one specifically considering gender equality in research and innovation evaluations with the exception of research and innovation programmes financed by the EU Structural Funds. Based on the results of a Horizon 2020 project, we apply a context-sensitive evaluation concept in Hungary that enables program owners and evaluators to develop a tailor-made design and impact model for their planned or ongoing gender equality interventions. The development of this evaluation was based on a thorough analysis of the literature and 19 case studies, building on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The article shows that this evaluation approach is applicable also in countries with a certain catch-up demand of the existing overall evaluation culture. The special feature of the presented evaluation approach is, on the one hand, that the evaluation is context-sensitive. On the other hand, this approach makes it possible not only to depict effects on gender equality itself, but also to anticipate effects on research and innovation. Such effects can, for example, be a stronger orientation of research towards societal needs, which makes it particularly interesting for private companies.

De-Shadowization of Tax Gaps in the System-Compositional Models of State Fiscal Policy: Comparative Analysis of EU Countries and Ukraine

The purpose of the article is to consider the empirical calculations of the level of de-shadowization of tax gaps in the system-compositional model of the fiscal policy of the state. The methodological approach to cointegration of the level of de-shadowization of tax gaps into the system-compositional model of fiscal policy is substantiated, taking into account the strategic determinants of financial and economic development of the state. The method of calculation of the integrated indicator of strategic alternatives is presented and represents the configuration of the modified system of fiscal innovations in relation to the taxation of economic entities. A methodical approach to estimating the level of de-shadowization of the tax gap on the income tax of economic entities is proposed. The level of unit testing of variables of de-shadowization of tax gaps from indicators of financial and economic development of the EU and Ukraine is analyzed. It is concluded that one of the most influential factors today is the de-shadowization of the economy. The future directions are the research of the ways to improve Ukraine’s fiscal policy.

Moterų karių karjera Lietuvos kariuomenėje: moterų puskarininkių nuomonė

Šio straipsnio tikslas – ištirti moterų karių karjeros galimybes Lietuvos kariuomenėje. Straipsnyje aptariama karjeros samprata, karių karjeros teisinis reglamentavimas. Empirinė straipsnio dalis remiasi originaliu moterų puskarininkių nuomonės tyrimu, kuris buvo atliktas 2019 m. pabaigoje mechanizuotoje pėstininkų brigados vadovybėje „Geležinis Vilkas“. Ištyrus moterų puskarininkių nuomonę nustatyta, kad teisinė bazė, reglamentuojanti karių karjerą Lietuvos kariuomenėje, yra vienoda tiek moterims, tiek vyrams, tačiau dalis tyrimo dalyvių nurodė, kad ši bazė yra nepakankamai palanki nėščioms ir vaikų priežiūros atostogose esančioms moterims, nes, pavyzdžiui, vaikų priežiūros atostogose esančios moterys neretai perkeliamos į personalo rezervą, o jų pareigas užima kiti kariai ir pan. Tiriamųjų nuomonė apie moterų galimybes, lyginant su vyrais, siekti karjeros Lietuvos kariuomenėje išsiskyrė, nes dalis tyrimo dalyvių manė, jog moterų ir vyrų galimybės yra lygios visose jų profesinės veiklos srityse, o kitos teigė, kad galimybės lygios tik administravimo, aptarnavimo ir panašiose sferose. Nustatyta, kad daliai moterų puskarininkių yra sunku lygiomis sąlygomis su vyrais siekti vertikalios kario karjeros, kad mažai moterų karių užima vadovaujančias pareigas kariuomenėje, t. y. siekiant vertikalios karjeros moterys neretai susiduria su „stiklinių lubų“ fenomenu. Taip pat nustatyta, kad kariuomenėje moterims karėms egzistuoja geresnės galimybės siekti horizontalios karjeros. Prie moterų karjerą kariuomenėje skatinančių veiksnių galima priskirti jų asmeninę motyvaciją bei finansines, materialines ir nematerialines paskatas, o prie trukdančių – kariuomenėje vis dar egzistuojančius stereotipus, vadų asmeniškumus, moterų neįtraukimą į sprendimų priėmimo procesą ir kt.

Strategic Priorities for the Development of Intellectual Potential of Developing Countries in the Context of Constructing an Innovative Economy

The intellectual potential is considered as the fundamental basis for the innovative development of the industry and business entrepreneurship through influence factors. At the same time, there is no single clear definition of the term ‘intellectual potential’ and clearly developed organisational and economic mechanisms for its relationship with the trends of innovative development of the economic system. The purpose of the study is focused on the search for optimal and effective organisational and economic mechanisms for the development of the intellectual potential of countries with developing economies. The methodology was based on the application of the following scientific methods: analysis and synthesis, the statistical method of analysis, the method of establishing patterns and hypotheses, and the method of enlarged analytical calculation. Research and analysis of the main constituent elements and indicative data of the intellectual potential of developing countries of the world (the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation) made it possible to identify systemic problems in this area. It can be concluded that the intellectual potential has significant reserves in the field of improvement and development, primarily in the field of human capital. As a result of the study, the authors propose ways of intensifying the development of intellectual potential on the principles of the formation of organisational and economic systems, such as creation and development of corporate-type universities; creation and development of regional and interregional competence centres; creation and development of business initiative centres.

Prieinamo turizmo neįgaliesiems su judėjimo negalia vertinimas: patirtis ir galimos kliūtys

Straipsnyje, vertinant asmens poreikius, susijusius su konkrečiais turizmo paslaugos prieigos reikalavimais, aplinka analizuojama universalaus dizaino aspektu: prieinamumas, aplinkos pritaikymas ir galimos kliūtys. Šio mokslinio straipsnio tikslas – įvertinti turizmo aplinkos prieinamumą asmenims, turintiems judėjimo negalią. Analizuojama mokslinė literatūra, apibūdinanti prieinamo turizmo ir universalaus dizaino sąvoką. Pateikiamas holistinis požiūris į turizmo paslaugų prieinamumo galimybes bei turizmo infrastruktūros pritaikomumą asmenims, turintiems specialiųjų poreikių, t. y. judėjimo negalią. Straipsnyje taip pat aptariami teisiniai aplinkos prieinamumo neįgaliesiems reguliavimo aspektai bei socialinės integracijos problemos. Empirinė straipsnio dalis remiasi aplinkos sąlygų, neįgaliųjų su judėjimo negalia poreikių patenkinimu, patirtimi ir galimų kliūčių identifikavimu. Pagal šias sritis straipsnyje analizuojami pagrindiniai turizmo pritaikymo neįgaliesiems infrastruktūriniai sektoriai Lietuvoje. Metodai: mokslinės literatūros analizė ir asmenų, turinčių judėjimo negalią, apklausa, kuria siekiama atskleisti turizmo aplinkos prieinamumą pačių neįgaliųjų požiūriu ir parengti gaires situacijai tobulinti. Tyrimas atskleidė, kad žmonės, turintys judėjimo negalią, retai lankosi turistinėse vietose ir beveik niekada nesinaudoja turizmo teikiamomis paslaugomis, nes Lietuvoje apgyvendinimo, maitinimo įstaigos, kelionių organizavimo įmonės, kultūros įstaigos, viešasis transportas, jų teigimu, yra prieinami tik iš dalies. Išanalizavus rodiklius išskiriama silpniausia objektų pasiekiamumo sritis – prie pastatų nėra tinkamai pritaikyto panduso ir automatiškai atsidarančių durų.

State Support for Families with Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Russia: Institutional Grammar Tool Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic is characterised by active law-making processes aimed at health care and support of different categories of population in many countries in the world. Starting from 2019, due to negative demographic trends, Russia has experienced the active transformation of the state support system for families having children. This trend has strengthened during the pandemic. Our research aims to analyse the internal characteristics of the family policy, namely the state support for families having children, during the year preceding pandemic and within the pandemic period. We consider the dynamics of the family policy architecture by means of Institutional Grammar Tool (IGT) analysis and demonstrate the opportunities for using the results of such analyses in the highly dynamic situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analysed 11 federal legal acts adopted in Russia after January 1, 2020 that addressed parents and offered support for families with children. These acts contain 78 institutional statements that we coded in accordance with the IGT rules, defining the attributes, objects, deontics and conditions in each sentence. Our results are as follows: 1) Russian family policy before and during COVID-19 pandemic can be divided into three stages, including the short-term second stage from the beginning of 2020 to the beginning of the pandemic. The most obvious changes in the three stages are seen in terms of the Objects and Conditions of the institutional statements. At the second and third stages we see a major expansion of support receivers (the Objects) as well as changes in the Conditions for the benefits gain. Conditions vary greatly and differ in terms of regularity of measure and the type of the payment granted; 2) Legal acts adopted do not always indicate clear Attributes, i.e., the subjects (federal and regional authorities) responsible for the implementation of the particular rule sometimes can hinder the implementation of the regulation; 3) Classification of the parameters of the main support measures in the framework and categories of the IGT analyses lead us to the probable concept of the information policy that would be clear to the beneficiaries of support measures.

Alkoholio žalos suvokimo įtaka blaivybės judėjimams palaikyti XIX a. ir XX a. pradžioje

Šio straipsnio tikslas – atskleisti alkoholio žalos vaidmens suvokimą blaivybės judėjimų (BJ) ir juos rėmusių skirtingų interesų grupių viešosios politikos siekiniuose. Tikslui pasiekti keliami uždaviniai: 1) aprašyti alkoholio politikos interesus; 2) atskleisti, kaip alkoholio žala buvo suvokiama klasikinio liberalizmo kontekste; 3) identifikuoti, kaip alkoholio žalą pozicionavo BJ; 4) išskirti BJ palaikiusias interesų grupes bei politinį atsaką į socialinių grupių reikalavimą. Straipsnis remiasi literatūros apžvalga bei interpretacija. Blaivybės hegemonijos (XIX a. ir XX a. pr.) laikotarpiu socialiniai judėjimai ir skirtingos interesų grupės alkoholio žalą suvokė holistiškai: pradedant geriančiuoju, bet pabrėžiant bendruomenės interesą. Klasikinis liberalizmas alkoholio žalą kitiems nei geriantysis laikė pagrįstu principu riboti geriančiojo laisvę. Atsižvelgiant į moralinį reguliavimą, blaivybė buvo dorybė ir aukštesnio statuso tapatybės bruožas, siejamas su asmens orumu, verte, produktyvumu, sveiku ir išsilavinusiu (ar to siekiančio) piliečiu. Socialiniai judėjimai, propagavę ir palaikę blaivybę, leido žmogui rinktis tarp dviejų kraštutinių alternatyvų, iš kurių viena vedė į degradaciją, kita – į klestėjimą. Šalia BJ, kurių nariai duodavo priesaiką nevartoti alkoholio, neskatinti kitų ir propaguoti blaivybę, buvo daug juos palaikiusių interesų grupių: moterys, kurios siekė šeimos ir šalies gerovės bei savo teisių; darbininkai, kurie siekė savo teisių; kapitalistai, kuriems reikėjo blaivių darbuotojų; socialistai, kuriems reikėjo darbininkų balsų; bolševikai, kuriems reikėjo blaivių darbininkų proletarinei sąmonei ugdyti. Blaivybė buvo išsilaisvinimo iš vergijos ir baudžiavos, tautinės sąmonės ugdymo, suverenios valstybės kūrimo priemonė, skatinusi išsilavinimą ir sveikatą. Blaivybę palaikė eugenikos, higienizmo, rasės gryninimo judėjimai. Per individualų ir kolektyvinį veiksmą BL blaivų gyvenimą įprasmino kaip aukštesnių tikslų siekimo priemonę. Siekiant blaivybei tinkamos aplinkos, reikėjo griežtos alkoholio politikos: nuo griežto licencijavimo iki visiškos prohibicijos.

Public-Private Partnership in Conditions of Innovative Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The relevance of the subject matter is conditioned by the fact that the innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which is based on the introduction of technological advances, the use of computer and resource-saving technologies, industrial and innovative achievements, is currently of great importance for the country’s economy. The paper aims to prepare recommendations for the development of public-private partnerships (PPP) in the conditions of innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The leading methods of researching the issues of the paper include the analysis of theoretical sources, analysis of statistics, and comparison. The analysis of statistical indicators plays a crucial role in the study since data on the innovation level on the development of PPP can be directly obtained from statistical databases. The research results showed that for the development of projects that are carried out on an innovative basis, cooperation between the state and business is necessary. Certain risks and consequences are inherent in innovative projects. Therefore, such projects require private partners who agree to PPP even under unstable political, economic and social conditions and also have corresponding production and innovative potential. Given the improvement of the regulatory framework at the national and regional levels, increasing the attractiveness of such cooperation, and providing comprehensive support for such projects, a partnership between the state and business in the innovation sector will develop. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the fact that the method of analysis of statistical indicators was used for the first time to analyse the concept of PPP in the context of the innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The observations of the paper have practical value for the development of PPP in the conditions of innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Institutionalization of State Support and Development of Sectoral Entrepreneurship of Rural Areas

The article presents the implementation of the results of supporting sectoral entrepreneurship in rural areas as a multifunctional and multi-channel process of formation, attraction, and use of financial resources provided by the rules of the institutional environment of state policy. A methodical approach to the integrated assessment of indicators of the target direction of the involved financial resources of the state and their impact on the development of sectoral entrepreneurship in rural areas is presented. It is proved that the specific criteria that determine the scenarios of consolidation of tax revenues to local rural budgets are minimization of discretion, compensation, and compromise, budget adequacy, complementarities, as well as the sequence of changes in parameters and flexibility of the tax system which allows responding quickly to changes in the institutional environment of state support of sectoral entrepreneurship. Indicators of state support for risk insurance of sectoral entrepreneurship, volumes of accumulated revenues of local budgets in decentralized rural areas of Ukraine are analyzed. A cognitive model is proposed. It determines the hypothetical ability of the multifactorial system of the institutional environment of state policy to influence the level of financial capacity of sectoral enterprises, taking into account the tax burden and targeted use of state financial resources for production, processing, and storage of agricultural products as well as to update the technological process