A policy window and a network of global and local policy entrepreneurs: The introduction of opioid substitution therapy in Belarus

Why does a regime that is predominantly characterised by conservative ideology introduce opioid substitution therapy (OST), a liberal policy? This article applies the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) to examine the introduction of OST in Belarus. Methodologically, the research draws on qualitative content analysis of drug policy documents and reports as well as on interviews. Results show how an increased HIV prevalence among injecting drug users opened a policy window in the problem stream. The increase in HIV cases could be used by a network of global and local policy entrepreneurs to frame OST as a public health policy instead of a drug policy measure. Findings suggest that, in nondemocratic regimes, global policy entrepreneurs can play a dominant role in introducing new policy ideas. However, the sustainability of the policy change remains questionable when acquiescence by key policymakers is lacking.

Between incrementalism and punctuated equilibrium: the case of budget in Poland, 1995–2018

Incrementalism and punctuated equilibrium theory (PET) have secured their standing in public policy research when studying change in budgetary data. On the other hand, however, new empirical evidence is constantly developed to confront it with theoretical assumptions. In line with the above, the aim of the paper is threefold. First, it is examined if budgetary outlays in Poland follow either incrementalism or PET's core premises. Second, the paper aims at facilitating discussion on identifying punctuations. It is claimed that any cut-off point should be data-driven, category-responsive, and generalizable across different types of outliers. And third, it is investigated which of the budget categories have the most punctuations. Methodologically, the study is based on descriptive and distributional statistics provided to tackle the above two issues comprehensively. Consequently, the paper aims at filling the gap in theory-driven literature on Polish budget shifts and their empirical rigorous explanations. Thus, it is claimed that the Polish case study contributes to the debate on the verification of empirical research on public policy agendas and public policy change.

From a Caring State to an Investing State. Stages of a Changing Welfare Model in Labour Market Policy

In this paper, we investigate the changing model of social security. The analyses are focusing on changes in labour market policies which have taken place in the countries of the European Union. With the critical review of scientific literature of welfare changes, we try to answer the next questions. What circumstances led to the shift from the welfare state focusing on welfare benefits and services to the generally accepted model of the activating? What reforms and what stages lead to the transformation of the welfare model especially in the area of labour market policies? How the earlier integration efforts, which had mainly focused on entitlement, was replaced with a market-based approach like social investment? The most important result of the critical analysis is the presentation of the policy model transfer between the states of the European Union and the steps of the reform process, which jeopardise the enforcement of the citizen's social rights. The first part of the study presents the theoretical framework for the transformation of the labour market policies, the key pillars of the welfare state and the term “activation state” and “investing state”. The second part examines the key features of five stages of changing model.

Modelling the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the labour market in Czechia

This article describes an original model developed in the Technology Centre CAS for the estimation of the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the labour market in Czechia. On the contrary to the previous estimates, this model is based on the comparison of projected future technical capabilities of AI with a mix of capabilities needed in different job categories. Both the importance and the level of capabilities are taken into account in order to assess the impact of AI on jobs in three different time horizons. Based on the model calculations, it can be expected that on the five-year horizon the AI will be able to replace more than 50% of the required capabilities in 11 % of the occupations. On the thirty-year horizon, AI can replace over 50% of capabilities in the vast majority of the current professions. At the same time, new professions will continuously emerge, though they will place different demands on their performers and will require different skills and capabilities in comparison to current professions. The model and its results may be effectively used for efficient adaptation of education, lifelong learning and retraining to the changing nature of work, and related new demand for workers’ capabilities.

Abandoned structures: tools for reuse and repurposing of buildings in Slovak municipalities

In this article, we aim to analyse the state of abandoned properties in Slovak municipalities and present possible solutions for this issue. In the theoretical part, we define abandonment and the tools for abandonment based on the current literature review. Building on this framework, the paper analyses the towns and villages of selected Slovak region, that being Banská Bystrica self-governing region. To map abandoned properties located in a selected region, as well as to identify emotional value of these building and the instruments needed for their reconstruction or removal, a questionnaire was sent to the mayors of all municipalities of over 1,000 inhabitants in the region of Banská Bystrica – a total of 115 municipalities in 2019. This concentrated research on one region enabled us to have a closer look at the status of abandoned structures in municipalities in a typical area of Central and Eastern Europe. We compare the issue of abandonment in the commuter zone (the two largest cities in the regions and their surrounding) and the hinterlands. Research has shown that the population in the hinterlands is declining more than in the commuter zone, but more abandoned buildings are located in municipalities in the commuter zone. Buildings in need of repair that are important for the inhabitants (e.g. from the point of view of history), are registered in their municipality by 93% of mayors in the commuter zone and 84% in the hinterlands. The most frequent obstacles to repairing these buildings are considered by the mayors in both zones the many number of owners who cannot agree on a plan for saving the objects. The quantitative research is completed with an illustration of an abandoned object in Banská Bystrica.

Stimuli contributing to local property taxation – with the focus on spatial effects of industry and functional urban areas

In this study, we argue that a historical background of the region matters in tax mimicking and yardstick competition as a matter of principle. We seek to determine factors supporting the policy of the high local property tax in the Czech Republic. Based on the statistical and spatial data of 6,258 municipalities between 2009 and 2019, the results show that the municipalities burdened by large industrial facilities, as well as municipalities in the functional urban areas (FUAs), apply the policy of higher property taxation twice frequently than the rest. On the other hand, the industrial stimuli keep enfeebling after 2010, and the number of local governments preferring high property taxation is variegated across different FUAs. The causal analysis based on Granger's approach concludes an existence of cumulative effects of both industry and the FUAs, which push the municipalities with large industrial facilities located within an FUA to increase the property taxes. From the mimicking point of view, we found that mimicking policy is an important phenomenon among the municipalities of Czech Republic; however, it has different impacts on both stimuli (Industry and FUA). The analysis suggests that it rather incites the municipalities within the FUA to increase the local property taxes.

Transparency and Accessibility in Municipalities: The Case of Social Services in Spain

This paper aims to design and propose a new measurement model for social services transparency in municipalities. The model includes an empirical study of 38 municipalities in Spain. The information published on these municipalities’ websites is evaluated through experimental quantitative methods using multivariate analysis. The municipalities chosen were those with the highest population that also disclosed the largest amount of information and provided the easiest access to their websites. The paper's conceptual framework was constructed by combining the Spanish legal context with a bibliographic review based on the latest transparency models. The research proposes a new Transparency Evaluation Model for Social Services to measure transparency in municipalities using the social services information published on the websites. Factors considered include degree of ease and amount of time spent by citizens in accessing the website. Some conclusions indicate that transparency remains difficult to achieve, information is less accessible to citizens than it should be, and transparency differs among the municipalities due to the legal changes implemented in recent years, as well as to other economic and social variables.

The influence of civil society on Ukrainian anti-corruption policy after the Maidan

This article examines the influence of civil society on Ukrainian anti-corruption policy after the Maidan in 2014. Drawing on the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), we hypothesise that the Maidan events led to a redistribution of formal legal authority in the anti-corruption policy subsystem, opened access to policy venues for civil society actors, and increased leverage of international organisations to push for strict reforms. We test these expectations with a systematic content analysis of primary documents and semi-structured interviews. Findings show that changes in the formal legal authority to make policy decisions led to anti-corruption policy change. The newly adopted policies were largely influenced by civil society actors who had increased venue access after the Maidan. In addition, civil society advocated for strict anti-corruption reforms through international organisation.

The perception of inter-municipal cooperation by local officials and managers

Though the exploration of inter-municipal cooperation (IMC) is very widespread in contemporary literature worldwide, the perception of IMC by municipal officials is rarely examined. We focused this paper on revealing the relationship between the perceptions of municipal public officials and the realized benefits of municipal cooperation. Our research combines primary data from a survey of municipalities engaged in a form of IMC and in-depth interviews of both municipal officials and managers who coordinate IMC. Our survey results show that agreement with the statement that IMC helps solve administrative capacity problems tends to vary with the size of the municipality. This study detected considerable obstacles to IMC use, with one set of respondents indicating that they had tried cooperation and found that it did not yield significant, positive financial or non-financial benefits for them. Our in-depth interviews revealed that strong political leadership and experienced managerial staff can contribute to the development of municipal cooperation. In summary, our research provides evidence supporting the notion that the perception of IMC by municipal officials could be an important precursor to actual IMC use and future development.

Is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) a New Alternative to Governance Challenges of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs)?

This article aims to analyze the current theory of managing the State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) with the use of Single Ownership Entity and to suggest alternative solution, particularly, managing SOEs with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).After a thorough review of the literature analyzing the connection between CSR and SOEs, the article states that there are important missing points in the previous research and academic debate: (1) no scholar directly emphasizes CSR as the answer to the problems of SOEs; (2) there is no research conducted on the comparison of Single Ownership Entity and CSR, evaluating their potential positive effects on SOEs; (3) accordingly, academic literature does not discuss the ways and tools of implementation of CSR in SOEs.The article aims to fill this gap and emphasize the links between CSR and SOEs. Due to the challenges, goals and ownership structure of SOEs, CSR is the most suitable corporate governance model for SOEs and its effective implementation is more vital than the execution of recommendations on creating the single ownership entity suggested by international organizations. The research question of the article is to compare managing the SOEs with the use of the CSR model (Alternative Theory) to single ownership mechanism established by OECD (Current Theory) and find out whether CSR is a better solution to the existing problems of SOEs.Finally, the article discusses the institutional context of SOEs based on the examples of the countries of Eastern and Central Europe where the problems regarding SOEs remain remarkable; presents the balance of interests of stakeholders’ in SOEs in connection to Alternative and Current Theories; and combines analysis, research and recommendations of international organizations and academia towards the problems of SOEs.