Public Policy and Administration

Analysis of Pseudo-Decentralization and Financial Dependency in the Implementation of Regional Autonomy in Sumedang Regency of Indonesia

Akadun Akadun — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0200

This study examines the phenomenon of pseudo-decentralization and financial dependence in the context of regional autonomy implementation in Sumedang Regency, Indonesia. Using a case study approach and analyzing financial data from 2019-2022, this research investigates the extent to which Sumedang Regency relies on central and provincial governments for financial resources. The findings reveal a high level of financial dependence due to limited income sources provided by the central government to regions like Sumedang. Despite this dependency, Sumedang Regency has successfully executed development programs and received awards, partly due to effective political lobbying by regional leaders. However, this reliance on local elites may hinder the achievement of decentralization objectives and lead to unequal development outcomes. As a recommendation, the central government is urged to focus on implementing fiscal policies that distribute more lucrative and equitable financial resources to all regencies and cities, promoting genuine decentralization and fair development.

Strategies of Regional Levies of the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Office of Central Java Province of Indonesia

Diah Setyorini Gunawan, Icuk Rangga Bawono — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0200

There is still a need to properly increase the role of regional levies in generating revenue for Central Java Province. This is because each region has been granted the authority to manage its affairs, including regional finance, with the expectation that regional governments will become financially independent from the central government. In reality, many regions in Indonesia and other countries still significantly rely on the central government for financial support. Therefore, regional governments must focus on increasing revenue by improving the management of regional levies at the Regional Apparatus Organizations. This is achieved through the development of strategies for the regional levies sector based on the SWOT analysis results and the projected regional levies revenue of the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Office of Central Java Province. This research aimed to identify strategies, create strategies for regional levies, and analyze the projected revenue from these levies. This is expected to support efforts to increase regional levies revenue. This research used primary and secondary data. The primary data were obtained through interview results with key informants to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Office in collecting regional levies. Meanwhile, secondary data comprised information on regional levies and relevant references on the Regional Apparatus Organization. The data collected were analyzed using the SWOT and multiple linear regression analyses as analytical techniques. The results showed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats used to collect regional levies and also the strategies. Based on the projected revenue, the levies generated by this Regional Apparatus Organization are projected to increase from 2022 to 2027 steadily. The implications include recommendations for activities carried out by the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Office, which aligned with the potential and capabilities of the regional and central government regulations governing regional levies.

Enhancement of Performance Audit for Effective Budget Investments

Lyazzat Sembiyeva, Assel Ismailova, Ceslovas Christauskas, Bekzat Nurmaganbetova — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0200

The relevance of the study is due to the need to improve the efficiency of budget investments in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Performance audits of the use of these investments will reveal opportunities to optimize expenditures and increase the overall socio-economic impact, which is significant for the sustainable development of the country. In order to improve the efficiency and socio-economic return of budget expenditures, this study is focused on evaluating the efficiency of budget investments during the performance audit. This study is aimed at reviewing the role and capabilities of the performance audit, as a mechanism of public financial control of budget investments. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used as a method for evaluating efficiency. Taking into account the reference management, the DEA algorithm is proposed to address the issue of limited input and output data to evaluate the national socio-economic development indicators. The special study of the budget investments’ technical performance in the regions of Kazakhstan shows that this method can be used since it improves the flexibility and performance of evaluation in the performance audit. The stability of the concept of performance audit is therefore confirmed, showing the need for a periodic revision of the legislative and methodological base. The study highlighted the main challenges of performance audit of budget investments in the Republic of Kazakhstan and provided recommendations for improvement.

Political Budget Cycles and Mayoral Influence in Latvian Municipalities: An Examination of Revenue, Expenditure, and Electoral Dynamics

Malvine Stučka — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Budget allocation and budget planning can be used in different ways. In addition, it can be part of a political budget cycle. Previous research has highlighted the political budget cycle's existence in European countries, demonstrating its impact on public revenue and expenditure near elections. However, citizens often lack awareness of this phenomenon, underscoring the need for vigilant scrutiny. In addition, elected politicians increasingly rely on voters for support, targeting them during budget allocation and election campaigns. In Latvia, the mayors have a role in budget planning because they work full-time and are the head of the financial commission. In Latvia, despite a lack of trust in local politicians, there is a tendency for most of the mayors to be re-elected. The article aims to examine what kind of role the council’s chairperson has in the local government's budget allocation process and what factors affect the budget allocation process in Latvia. The article’s scope encompasses the years 2009 to 2017, spanning two election terms (2009-2013; 2013-2017), and focuses on eight state cities in Latvia, excluding the capital city, Riga. Notably, local governments with a higher percentage of council members from the mayor's party tend to exhibit higher expenditure levels. The findings of this study suggest that various socio-economic and political factors impact the financial performance of local governments in Latvia. These results underscore the significance of population and unemployment in shaping local government expenditures. Simultaneously, this research has highlighted the importance of political factors such as the majority in the local government and time spent in the mayor’s position. Moreover, it reveals that long-serving mayors and a majority in the council also influence budget allocation decisions. This article's implications can guide policymakers in making informed decisions regarding municipal budget expenditures and revenues.

Problems and Prospects of State Regulation of Cryptomining in Kazakhstan

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0200

The cryptocurrency mining sector in Kazakhstan has witnessed remarkable expansion, attracting global miners due to favourable conditions. However, this growth has underscored the country's energy scarcity, leading to the enforcement of stringent regulations by the government. This article seeks to offer a thorough comprehension of the regulatory framework governing cryptocurrency mining in Kazakhstan. Examining diverse aspects such as the legal status of mining, licensing structures, tax considerations, and the impact on energy infrastructure, the study utilizes international experiences and stimulus materials. Through the analysis of media representation and examination of primary trends, it is revealed that while the government has addressed legal gaps and instituted transparent tax procedures, taxing digital mining may discourage foreign investments, given the industry's current fragility due to excessive regulations. The article provides insights into the regulatory landscape, emphasizing challenges and opportunities.

Nuolatinės privalomosios pradinės karo tarnybos karių požiūris į grėsmes nacionaliniam saugumui ir tarnybos motyvaciją

Gerda Kazlauskienė — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Straipsnyje analizuojamas nuolatinės privalomosios pradinės karo tarnybos (NPPKT) karių požiūris į grėsmes Lietuvos nacionaliniam saugumui ir NPPKT motyvaciją. Buvo aptariami motyvai, kurie skatina prisijungti prie karinės tarnybos, išskirtina, kad tarnauti jauni žmonės privalomoje karo tarnyboje dažniausiai renkasi dėl individualių motyvų. Atliktos 2018 m. ir 2023 m. reprezentatyvios NPPKT karių apklausos, siekiant palyginti rezultatus. Empiriniai duomenys leidžia teigti, kad 2018 m. ir 2023 m. nepakito NPPKT karių išskirta pagrindinė grėsmė nacionaliniam saugumui – ekonominė grėsmė. Be to, 2023 m. iš dalies padidėjo karinės agresijos grėsmės nacionaliniam saugumui akcentavimas. Išaugus karo grėsmei tikėtinas savanorių ir privalomai pašauktų karių pasiryžimas ginti valstybę, reikšmingai skyręsis 2018 m., 2023 m. nesupanašėjo ir reikšmingai nepadidėjo. 2023 m. reikšmingai padidėjo šauktinių tarnybos motyvacija ir pagerėjo Lietuvos krašto apsaugos pajėgų vertinimas.

Handling with Legitimacy Crisis of the Chinese Communist Party: How is the Promotion of Confucianism Related with the Labour Protest Levels?

Ligita Šarkutė, Jiabin Song — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0200

This article aims to shed light on the problem of Confucianism’s role in strengthening the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party. After 40 years of economic reform, contemporary China is by and large functioning as a quasi-capitalist state, however, due to the lack of protection of the labour class, the conflicts between the workers and their employers have created a legitimacy crisis for China’s authoritarian regime and forced it to seek alternative means to strengthening its legitimacy apart from its orthodox communism ideology and the coercive measures. In this article, the researchers try to answer the abovementioned question by examining the correlation between the coverage of Confucianism (the frequency of messages related to Confucian ideas) in the Chinese Communist Party’s biggest state-owned newspaper People’s Daily and how Chinese people acknowledge the regime as rightful, which is expressed via Chinese labour protest levels. The vector autoregressive (VAR) modelling results revealed that in the period between 2011 and 2019, the Chinese Communist Party used Confucianism as one of the instruments to build and strengthen the regime’s legitimacy whereby it can pacify the dissatisfaction of the labour class. Further, considering that many authoritarian regimes shared a similar approach of using the dominant religion or culture to enhance their legitimacy during crises, the findings of this research could also open a new avenue for further comparative studies on these authoritarian regimes’ discrepancies using the same approach.

Pirmosios 1000 vaiko gyvenimo dienų kaip viešosios politikos problemos pateiktis

Ilona Tamutienė, Vaida Auglytė — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0200

Šio straipsnio tikslas – atskleisti mokslu grįstų pirmųjų 1000 vaiko gyvenimo dienų problemų pateiktis ir jų pozicionavimą Lietuvoje. Straipsnis remiasi naratyvine literatūros apžvalga. Duomenys analizuojami taikant viešosios politikos rėminimo prieigą, apsiribojant skirtingų problemos pateikčių (rėminimų) identifikavimu. Atliktas tyrimas leido išskirti šias pagrindinės pirmųjų 1000 vaiko gyvenimo dienų problemų pateiktis: 1) biomedicininę (pabrėžia aplinkos poveikį vaiko raidai bei jo sveikatos rezultatams ateityje); 2) socioekonominę (pabrėžia skurdo įtaką vaiko raidai, investicijų į ankstyvąją vaikystę atsiperkamumą, būsimo žmogiškojo kapitalo stiprinimą); 3) puoselėjančios globos (pabrėžia sveikatos priežiūros, socialinės apsaugos, mitybos, atliepiančio santykio elementų svarbą). 4) tvaraus vystymosi (pabrėžia rūpestį ankstyvąja vaikyste, būtinybę spręsti sveikatos, skurdo, aplinkos apsaugos problemas bei taikos ir solidarumo stiprinimo poreikį. Visos pateiktys sutelkia dėmesį į vaiko gyvenimo kelio perspektyvą bei tarpgeneracinę problemų prigimtį. Skirtingų disciplinų problemų pateiktys nekonkuruoja tarpusavyje, o sudaro pagrindą ankstyvosios vaikystės vystymo politikos darbotvarkei.

Tyrimas atskleidė, kad Lietuvoje vyrauja išskirtinai biomedicininė problemos pateiktis. Nors Lietuvos švietimo sistemoje ankstyvasis ugdymas apibrėžiamas kaip ikimokyklinis (traktuojamas nuo vaiko gimimo), tačiau pirmųjų 1000 vaiko gyvenimo dienų ugdymo sprendiniai paliekami išskirtinai tėvų atsakomybei. Socialiniame sektoriuje pirmosios 1000 dienų labiau siejamos su apsauga nuo smurto gimus vaikui. Nėščiųjų ir vaikų prevencinė sveikatos priežiūra Lietuvoje vykdoma nusistovėjusia bendra tvarka, neišskiriant pažeidžiamų grupių ir neteikiant prioriteto pirmosioms 1000 vaiko gyvenimo dienų. Šiame lauke stokojama sisteminių tyrimų, advokataujančių koalicijų bei problemos įtraukimo į politinę darbotvarkę. Rekomenduojama finansuoti pirmųjų 1000 vaiko gyvenimo dienų tarpdisciplininius tyrimus, kurti advokataujančias koalicijas ir valstybinę pirmųjų 1000 vaiko gyvenimo dienų programą Lietuvoje.