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Environmental conservation has ascended to a prominent position on the global agenda, and China, recognizing the urgent need for environmental protection, has implemented nationwide measures. However, varying levels of environmental attentiveness among local governments have resulted in uneven implementation of these national directives across regions. Therefore, it is crucial to investigate the factors that drive local governments' environmental attention. Our study explores the impact of open government data (OGD) on local governments' environmental attention. Utilizing city-level data from 2010 to 2020, we employ a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model for empirical analysis. The results reveal that OGD significantly and positively influences local governments' environmental attention. This influence is partly attributed to OGD's role in promoting government digitization, mitigating fiscal pressures, and increasing energy demand. Further analysis, including heterogeneity assessments, demonstrates that OGD has a more pronounced positive effect on environmental attention in cities with higher online political participation activity and a larger internet user base. Such empirical insights underscore the imperative for an integrative policy framework that accentuates the refinement of OGD platform in tandem with strategic enhancements in political participatory mechanisms and digital infrastructure investments, thereby fostering robust local environmental stewardship paradigms., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: This paper explores a district government's role in using school networks to transform turnaround schools in rural Shanghai, China. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative case studies were conducted. Findings: Findings showed that the C District government varied its power in initiating school networks; collaborative networks were developed but addressed local problems in a limited manner and collaborative networks had difficulties innovating to solve novel problems. Originality/value: This article presents an "external-internal context" framework for understanding local government's role in school networks and turnaround school transformation in China.

The author has previously in a social system theoretical perspective outlined a position for engaged scholarship in bridging the gulf between theorizing and practice. Partaking as "midwives" for shared semantics in a polycentric network was analyzed as one role for engaged scholars to assist. This paper, however, argues that for a shared semantic reservoir for "next era" leadership and management to form, one more layer of reflection is needed: how to manage "backwards" from the future. The paper also addresses geographic inclusion/exclusion, which seems to be reinforced as digitalization and abstract knowledge are gaining ground, even though bits and abstract knowledge should easily be detached from spatial limitations. Research programs targeting "grand challenges" and "grand solutions" is defined by megaprojects defined and financed by large foundations or other large-scale actors, and well-connected international research centers and research networks are needed to influence this agenda-setting. The paper argues that forming regional polycentric networks (including scientific research scholars) may to a greater extend bridge the global agendas with local and regional issues to not be excluded in a transition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper examines the implications of COVID-19 pandemic on multi-level governance (MLG) in Ghana. Adopting a qualitative document analysis approach supported by 18 key informant interviews, the findings revealed four enablers of recentralization: COVID-19-induced legislations for centralized decision, centralized distribution of relief packages and medical supplies, centralized institutional response, and centralized government communication strategies. Despite the use of centralized policy making, the management of pandemic is fraught with institutional inefficiencies, rigidities, and ambiguities. The paper argues that the recentralization of COVID-19 management is symptomatic of a long period of neglect of MLG in Ghana. Since, local governments are perceived as inept and ill-equipped, there is a mistaken believe that recentralized decisions are more effective during emergencies. To ensure an effective response to public emergencies, its mitigation and post-crisis recovery in developing countries, a MLG approach – where central, local, and other non-state actors work together in equal partnership is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the efforts to establish Western-style astronomical observatories in India made by colleges and universities over the last century prior to Indian independence in 1947. The focus is therefore on the nineteenth-century emergence of the Presidency College Observatory in Calcutta, St. Xavier's College Observatory in Calcutta, Takhtasinghji Observatory in Poona, and Langat Singh College Observatory in Muzaffarpur. Three of these observatories were established either to aid educated Indians in gaining a realistic knowledge of Western astronomy, or so that India itself could contribute to that body of research knowledge. The fourth observatory, at the Presidency College in Calcutta, was a local government initiative founded primarily to provide a local time service and meteorological data. Unlike the observatories discussed in the first paper in this series, none of the observatories reviewed in this paper was set up primarily to further Britain's colonial ambitions. All were local Indian initiatives, but the critical involvement of Western astronomers or academics at three of the four observatories reveals that a colonial link was still there, albeit as an underlying element. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proximity of local government to communities makes it the best instrument for ensuring social justice in the democratic era. Although social justice is desirable, there are various interpretations and understandings of the concept in South Africa because various actors, structures, and agencies have different perspectives. This paper explores the relationship between municipal service provision and social justice within the macroeconomic policy of neoliberalism in South Africa. Following the qualitative approach and using secondary sources, this paper argues that adopting neoliberalism in South Africa following the demise of apartheid has thwarted social justice. Further, it argues that the adoption and implementation of neoliberalism have resulted in perpetual relative deprivation based on race, leading to the formulation of new agencies that have utilised collective action against the local government. The adoption and implementation of neoliberalism constrained the financial resources available to the government, limiting the financial resources allocated to local government. Neoliberalism adversely affected the local government, which was operating in a financially constrained environment. This financially constrained environment perpetuated the legacy of relative deprivation inherited from the apartheid era, hence thwarting social justice. Furthermore, as time passed, the crisis of neoliberalism emerged, whereby neoliberalism proved ineffective, yet mainstream economists proposed neoliberalism, and more neoliberal practices have been adopted, thus cementing neoliberalism. This increase in neoliberal practices resulted in little prioritisation of social justice in local government, hence triggering rebellions usually directed at local government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores what needs to be done to better address the growing and substantial inequalities in the UK and how the 'Levelling Up' policy that seeks to address them could be improved. It argues that a much longer-term vision and a sharper, cross-government focus on fewer challenges is required to make a more tangible impact. Four key findings are identified: a focus on health and education is fundamental for our social and economic prosperity; there is a need for greater devolution of power, with transparent and robust accountability; an open, nationwide knowledge base to share what works and what does not, and the lessons learned from innovative pilots, is required; and a more holistic approach is needed to support businesses and provide them with better-quality support. This paper argues that without these issues being taken into consideration, the lives and well-being of our disadvantaged citizens, our children and our economy will continue to worsen. It concludes that making economic development a statutory function, putting it at the very heart of our public services, is needed to ensure that the levelling up outcome is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local government is close to the people who thus, heavily rely on it for basic needs, a legislative imperative enshrined in the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa, the Constitution of 1996. Its purpose is to supply goods and services and encourage the participation of citizens in the realisation of policy objectives. This paper is one-third of a three-series composition sought through a conceptual and theoretical perspective to interrogate the ethical dimensions in which the public service exists within the interface of professionalism and compliance with municipal procurement processes and procedures. While the local sphere of government is crucial in the democratization and intensification of mass participation, there has been a rise in incidents of corruption and fraud, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and the misuse and misdirection of funds, which gradually erode public trust. This paper employed an interpretivism paradigm and a qualitative approach, and it relied on secondary data The paper found that the erosion of public trust leads to citizens violently protesting, demanding better service delivery and that service delivery is likely to decline when funds are misappropriated since municipalities rely on the procurement of goods and services to initiate public service delivery. Furthermore, the paper found while South Africa has sound, comprehensive and clear legislative policy frameworks that regulate public procurement; implementation remains a challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Chinese government has initiated assertive centralization efforts in its approach to environmental governance. However, the efficacy of these initiatives demonstrates marked variability across different sectors. While the central-local relational framework has traditionally been employed to elucidate these disparities, its explanatory power is showing signs of strain. This paper, through policy analysis and field interviews, investigates regulatory conflicts in land use for ecological and agricultural purposes within China. The findings highlight instances of overlapping jurisdictions and discordant policy objectives among agencies responsible for delineating ecological spaces and agricultural zones. While these conflicts seem to stem from the dynamics between the central and local governments, they more accurately reflect the inherent characteristics of fragmented authoritarianism. This paper aims to expand the theory of fragmented authoritarianism by incorporating the dimension of inter-departmental competition into environmental governance, moving beyond the traditional binary analysis framework of central-local relations. It seeks to understand and critique its limitations from a broader perspective, emphasizing the role of departmental competition within fragmented authoritarianism. By analyzing this internal mechanism, the paper reveals a more nuanced governance landscape, essentially replacing the traditional central-local paradigm with a model that situates departmental competition within the overall context of fragmented authoritarianism. We propose two models for delineating competition among governmental institutions: the bureaucratic model and the charisma model, thereby advancing and deepening the application of fragmented authoritarianism theory in China's environmental governance. This provides new theoretical insights for understanding the current challenges and developments in China's environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is no longer a myth that climate change‐related disasters are on the rise globally, with severe and devastating consequences in developing countries, particularly in Sub‐Saharan Africa, where many of the world's poor people reside. Thus, the emphasis on adaptation to climate change is no longer a choice or a deferred problem into the future, but rather an urgent matter of concern which must be considered a policy priority. As a response to retrogressive climate change challenges on social‐economic development and environmental degradation, the government of South Africa has in the last two and half decades, embarked on the progressive formulation of different policy instruments and strategic frameworks to curb and minimize the impacts of climate change on all sub‐sectors of the economy. Although much remains to be achieved, some level of success has been realized, particularly in the space of policy formulation, albeit the poor record of implementation. Using research methods inspired by the tradition of qualitative research and an appraisal of existing literature, this paper discusses the complexities of climate change adaptation governance at a local government level in South Africa, focusing on the Eastern Cape Province. It is argued in the paper that one of the major challenges for climate change governance at local municipality levels in South Africa emanates from the gap between aspirations and actions across the entire national governance system. The absence of an integrated climate change governance system has posed significant systemic challenges, and these have tended to constrain decision‐making and implementation processes. These issues have been discussed within the broader discourse of the sustainable development goals, particularly goals number 13, 16 and 17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imperfect external capital market and internal soft budget constraints are important reasons for the issue of enterprise financing constraints. This paper studies the impact of financing constraints and influencing factors of financing constraints in municipal infrastructure investment and construction for local governments by using the panel data from 2003 to 2018 in China. The results show that, first, there are great financing constraints in municipal infrastructure investment and construction for local government in China. Second, the increase of self-financing capacity and external financing capacity can reduce the level and uncertainty of financing constraints, thus improving the efficiency of municipal infrastructure investment and construction. Third, the expansion of the city scale may reduce the uncertainty of financing constraints, but improve the level of financing constraints thus reducing the efficiency of municipal infrastructure investment and construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coalition government is an old phenomenon that has got its roots in Western European countries. It has since spread all over the world including in South Africa. Coalitions in the local sphere of government have existed predominantly in KwaZulu Natal and Western Cape, but it has since spread over to other provinces in South Africa. The outcome of the 2016 local government elections brought about dramatic results which saw the governments of three metropolitan municipalities change hands to coalitions of political parties. The Democratic Alliance (DA) and other small parties with the assistance of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) constituted coalition governments in Nelson Mandela Bay (in Eastern Cape), City of Tshwane, and Johannesburg in Gauteng province. However, the DA mayor and his executive in Nelson Mandela Bay have since been removed with the one from the United Democratic Movement (UDM) as a mayor and the executives from the African National Congress (ANC) and other smaller parties. The EFF announced in July 2019 that it will not vote with the DAor ANC in all municipalities where coalition councils must be formed. This paper seeks to identify challenges associated with coalition governments in the local sphere of government and propose possible solutions for curtailing such challenges. The paper does so by way of reviewing existing literature related to coalitions and alliances of municipal governments in South Africa. One of the challenges is the differing policy positions of the political parties in the coalition. This paper proposes that the needs and service delivery demands of the local communities must be given more preference over the political ideologies of the political parties concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LED initiatives were planned to magnify economic development, share the alleviation objectives, and incorporate previously excluded groups in social and economic life. Section 152 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) outlines the primary objectives of the local government (municipalities); Subsection (1) stipulates that (a) municipalities must provide a democratic and accountable government for local communities; (b) ensure to provide services to local communities sustainably; (c) promote social and economic development. This paper focuses on youth community members' perceptions of LED in the Mpembeni and Bazaneni local areas. The sample also included municipal officials within the Big 5 Hlabisa Local Municipality. The paper's primary aim is to analyse initiatives toward poverty mitigation within the Big 5 Hlabisa Local Municipality. Qualitative methods were employed to collect and analyse data obtained from the youth community members and municipal officials with the LED department. Qualitative data were collected from the youth community members through questionnaires and from the municipality staff through interviews. The analysis of qualitative data was conducted through thematic analysis. This study and the identified problem were developed to analyse the possibility of LED initiatives to mitigate the poverty level and unemployment rate. For over two decades of democracy, "South Africa is still battling with the issues of poverty, inequality, unemployment, and hunger" (Stats SA, 2017). The study findings confirm South Africa's remaining battle with the elevated level of poverty in rural areas and the high youth unemployment rate. The recommendations and innovative ideas may assist the municipality in facilitating the LED initiatives effectively through local community development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most research on post-socialist civil society has focused on analysing the characteristics that explain (the lack of) civic strength. Although recent research has highlighted the rise of urban activism, it has failed to look more closely at the agency of actors. By focusing on informal groups and their engagement in public affairs in the aftermath of the 2019 local elections in Hungary, this paper seeks to unravel the civic strategies and narratives that underpin informal civic resistance to political and institutional pressures at a time when both local municipalities and civil society are experiencing a gradual loss of autonomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organizational forms of infrastructure in China are divided into two categories, the traditional Public Procurement Model (PUB) model and Public–Private Partnership(PPP) model. The main difference is the separation or binding of the construction and operation phases. A systematic understanding is needed of how Chinese local governments choose between these two models. In this paper, we take public capital congestion and local government objectives as the entry point to study the effects of both on PPP choice. Firstly, by constructing an endogenous economic growth model under the PPP model, and comparing it with the model under the PUB model, this paper initially explains how the rise in public capital congestion affects the choice of the PPP by growth-oriented local governments. Then the data from prefecture-level cities from 2009–2018 are utilized to conduct empirical tests. We find that urban economic growth pressures have a positive effect on the choice of PPP when the congestion of public capital increases. Furthermore, the implementation of PPP is indeed conducive to economic performance, and its core mechanism is to provide more infrastructure (like roads) rather than tax competition. The PPP model is more sustainable. We are the first to employ both modeling approach and the empirical research to address the implementation of Public–Private Partnership in China. And we have systematically analyzed the conditions and results of PPP selection by local governments. It formulates the Chinese PPP theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After many years of apartheid rule, South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994. As evident in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996, a commitment to establish developmental and human rights became an imperative doctrine. Three government spheres were established here: national, provincial and local. The latter is the sphere closest to the public and is constitutionally mandated to render and deliver sustainable essential services. Since 1994, significant strides have been made by the local sphere of government with both successes and failures. South Africa's legal and policy framework transformation took place between 1993 and 2000 through changes in legislation, proclamations, white papers and by-laws. However, the elements of bad governance since 1994 have created a loss of confidence and service delivery hindrances in South African local government. Much of the population, especially the previously marginalised, face inadequate health services, unclean water and poorly maintained infrastructure and housing because some state institutions have become paralysed due to corruption and maladministration. This article aims to delve into the constitutional and legislative framework of local government in South Africa. The premise from which this article moves is that the quality of governance at the local government level directly impacts service delivery and is, therefore, critical to understanding some of the constitutional and legislative underpinnings driving local government. Municipalities should ensure that all actions and conducts comply with the statutes (acts of parliament, legislations and laws) and regulatory documents (white papers, official rules and regulations and by-laws) to local government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protests over service delivery in South African local government have become a recurrent and pervasive challenge, reflecting dissatisfaction among citizens with the quality and accessibility of public services. This paper explores the importance of strengthening public accountability as a key mechanism for mitigating Protests over service delivery within the framework of local governance in South Africa. By examining the nexus between accountability mechanisms, citizen engagement, and service delivery, the study aims to provide insights into effective strategies for enhancing accountability to address the root causes of protests. The findings are expected to contribute to the development of evidence-based policies and practices that foster a more responsive and accountable local government, ultimately reducing the frequency and intensity of service delivery protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has a constitutional mandate as the country's Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), and it strengthens democracy by providing monitoring, accountability, and governance in the public sector through auditing, hence increasing public trust. The AGSA, throughout the years, has been auditing municipalities throughout South Africa and giving them audit outcomes with the hope that the financial management and reporting in the local government sphere will improve. Unfortunately, the local government sphere in South Africa has worsened over the years, even though the AGSA has provided them with reports that speculate what is working and what is not working within the sphere, especially regarding the issues of using state funds. This paper examines the root causes of poor audit outcomes and proposes strategies the local government can implement to improve their audit outcomes. This paper will use a qualitative approach to review current literature and MFMA reports from 2014 to 2021 from the AGSA to meet its objectives and answer the research problem. The authors agree that AGSA has done outstanding work as an oversight and accountability enabler in the Local Government sphere and that the recent material irregularity process, which was implemented as an enforcement tool to compel municipal managers to take action, is making progress towards ensuring that AGSA fulfils its constitutional mandate as the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

County-level administrative divisions and main functional areas are two basic governance systems that act concurrently on county-level geographical units. The administrative division governance focuses on local administration and regular social services, while the main functional area governance focuses on differentiated territorial space development. This paper summarizes the emerging trends and requirements of countylevel spatial governance in China and analyzes the coupling relationship of county-level administrative divisions and main functional areas. Then, the paper proposes to develop an interactive mechanism for the two systems, with administrative divisions focusing on local administration and social governance, and main functional areas focusing on strength complementation and differentiated development. In addition, it puts forward a new county-level spatial governance model featuring a coupling relationship of administrative and functional systems that is well matched with the coordination mechanism. It may provide a reference for improving administrative divisions, the main functional area policy system, and their dynamic adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets two questions. (a) What changes has the pandemic engendered? (b) How should the government connect these changes to efficient administration?. Three changes can be delineated. (a) The Special Law established a prefectural-centered management. (b) Substantial power was assigned to the governors. (c) The effectiveness of inter-prefectural cooperation is reflected. The governments face the challenges: (a) demand for strengthening public health administration, (b) difficult complex financial management, and (c) regional disparities. The governments are trying to overcome these challenges. This paper focuses on (a) the enrichment of medical welfare personnel and (b) living shift and local revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits options for strengthening local governance by increasing own revenues in local government jurisdictions. Using stochastic frontier and recursive structural equation methods, the paper estimates the effects of central government transfers and tax effort on own revenues in the Ghanaian local government system. Results show that contrary to some recent findings that transfers reduce own revenues for local jurisdictions in Ghana, increasing transfers to local jurisdictions increases (rather than reduces) own revenues in Ghana. Further, local government performance in public service provision was found to be critical for increasing own revenues. Making the Ghanaian local government system more sustainable thus requires increasing central government transfers and providing technical support to strengthen the relationship between available public services and own revenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving green innovation efficiency (GIE) is the key to achieve high-quality economic development in China, and the introduction of foreign direct investment (FDI) has become an important path choice to promote the GIE. Based on the data of 30 provinces in China, this paper explores the linear and nonlinear effects of FDI on GIE from both quantity and quality perspectives, and further analyzes the mediating role of environmental regulation level. The results show that: (1) From 2011 to 2020, the GIE of all provinces in China generally shows an upward trend. (2) The quantity and quality of FDI have a significant positive impact on the improvement of GIE in China's provinces, and this impact has regional heterogeneity. (3) The quantity and quality of FDI can promote the improvement of GIE in China through the level of environmental regulation (ER). (4) With the level of knowledge accumulation and GIE as the threshold variables, the quantity and quality of FDI have a single threshold effect on the GIE of China's provinces. The conclusions of this study provide some policy implications for local governments to make full use of FDI to perform green innovation activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the regulations related to protecting the architecture of the traditional house in Indonesia and the challenges in related regulations. To achieve these goals, the research uses a normative legal writing method with descriptive-analytical specifications. Firstly, the findings reveal that traditional houses are part of traditional cultural expressions (TCE). Indonesia protects architectural works and TCE in the same intellectual property regime, namely copyright. Therefore, this paper examines the protection of traditional house architecture from the perspective of Copyright law, the Law on the Advancement of Culture, and the TCE Bill. The abovementioned regulations state that the architecture is a protected object unless the TCE Bill is. Second, there are some challenges, such as 1) the priority of the TCE Bill after the change of president; 2) song and music get more benefit from copyright protection rather than the other objects in the copyright regime and no implementing regulation on architecture; and 3) the TCE data collection/inventory is still not optimal yet. Therefore, Indonesia needs to think more seriously about adequate and applicable legal protection for traditional house architecture and other TCEs. The central government should encourage regional governments and related parties to continue data collection and registration of various TCEs in each region to increase the number of registered TCEs. The central government should provide a target number of registered TCEs for the local government. If the target is met, the central government will give a reward so that the local government and related parties will be more enthusiastic about collecting data and registering the TCE with DJKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Urban Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Estudios de la Administración Local y Autonómica is the property of Instituto Nacional de Administracion Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Policy innovation is critical to improve governance capacity; however, contemporary research mainly focuses on diffusion and adoption, disregarding the next stage, namely institutionalization. Taking the diffusion and institutionalization of China's "One Visit at Most" reform as a case study and using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, this paper examines the conditions and paths that lead local governments to institutionalize this reform. The results show that four paths lead from innovation to institutionalization: policy system and idea embeddedness, spontaneous competition, learning by seizing momentum, and entrepreneurial breakthrough. These findings extend the research on policy adoption, diffusion, and institutionalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The “Internet of things” phenomenon in Industrial Revolution 4.0 provides great opportunities that support and facilitate collaboration. However, to achieve effective collaboration, there are many challenges that the government must anticipate. This descriptive literature study summarizes the results of studies related to the public policy process in local governments that are expected to answer the challenges of bureaucratic reform toward Industrial Revolution 4.0 in Indonesia. This paper uses a descriptive literature study on secondary data for 2016-2023. The results of this descriptive literature study found two subdiscussions which include, bureaucratic reform inconsistency and adaptation to various crisis dynamics. Inconsistency in bureaucratic reform can occur due to a lack of commitment and competence, the professional expertise capacity of bureaucrats, and the emergence of competition between bureaucracy and other actors. In adapting to various crisis dynamics, the ineffectiveness of implementing a public policy appears, so that more proactive activities are needed to mobilize public aspirations, openness to management system approaches, and relevant technological developments as one of the solutions. This paper is expected to provide information and input for regional stakeholders in formulating public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the continuous progress of constructing sustainable environments in China, the role played by the Chinese central government as the main body for promoting green development is worth studying. Because China's ecological civilization building has been steadily progressing. Governments at all levels in China have prioritised the development of environmental civilization as a key aspect of regional growth. However, the actual impact and mechanisms of influence of this construction still require further investigation. This paper constructs a government environmental attention index using word frequency found in the Report on the Work of the Government. It uses a long difference model to study the impact and mechanism of government environmental attention on urban green efficiency, carbon emissions and air quality. The results show that the government's ecological attention can improve green efficiency, and air quality, but it can also lead to increased carbon emissions, and the impact is particularly evident in the eastern and western regions of the country. This is because the government's emphasis on the environment significantly impacts on environmental regulations and technological progress, and is directly influenced by fiscal bias and financial pressure. Given the results, we put forward some policy suggestions that local governments should improve the intensity of local environmental regulation, encourage green technology innovation, provide encouraging conditions for environmental development, and establish a long-term strategic vision. The findings in this study has implications for promoting the implementation of local governments' environmental protection and the development of sustainable societies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper examines the key driving factors behind the rapid and uneven growth of social enterprises in China based on Kerlin's Macro-Institutional Social Enterprise (MISE) model of social enterprise development, with an emphasis on testing key local institutional factors. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts the quantitative method approach. The hypotheses have been tested based on a cross-regional empirical analysis with two national datasets on China. Findings: This study shows that among the state, market and civil society, local government support in terms of favorable policies is the sole determinant factor driving China's social enterprise growth. On the other hand, the market is irrelevant and local civil society impedes social enterprise growth. This demonstrates that the current growth model is the result of government intervention. Research limitations/implications: The datasets have a limited sample size. We suggest that future studies may collect a larger sample size with more comprehensive information. We think this study will encourage more comparative qualitative studies at the local level to reveal the underlying mechanisms of growth. Practical implications: Since government policy is the determinant factor, the quality and quantity of government-backed incubation programs and platforms would matter the most for social enterprise growth. Our study also helps social entrepreneurs understand what factors matter when they try to develop social enterprises in China. They are advised to work on aspects of gaining legal legitimacy and political support in order to grow the sector. Social implications: This conclusion suggests that professionals and practitioners should review the implications of the current growth of social enterprises in China, in terms of their sustainability, given their institutional isolation from other sectors. Originality/value: Current studies have yet to thoroughly explore the role of meso- and micro-institutional factors in social enterprise development, especially in different contexts. With reference to Kerlin's framework and the tri-sector model, this paper advances the understanding of social enterprise growth in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gestión y Análisis de Políticas Públicas, Nueva Época (GAPP) is the property of Instituto Nacional de Administracion Publica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Disaster research predominantly focuses on citizens, not on migrants. This tilted spotlight needs to be readjusted, since many advanced countries around the world have become immigration countries, and safeguarding the lives of migrants at times of disaster has become an important and immediate policy issue. Hence, this research concentrates on disaster management to protect the lives of migrants in a disaster-prone and de facto immigration country. The particular country and event in question are Japan and the northern Osaka earthquake of June 2018. More than 100 migrants who lived near the earthquake's epicentre rushed to an evacuation shelter managed by the local municipal government of Minoh City, Osaka Prefecture. While non-governmental organisations attract more attention, this paper centres on a local government and demonstrates the key role that it can play in both bridging and building networks across different communities, and thus in safeguarding the lives of migrants at times of disaster., (© 2024 The Author(s). Disasters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of ODI.)

Background: Drug overdose deaths in the United States increased to historic levels in recent years, with provisional estimates indicating more than 111,000 deaths in the 12 months ending July 2023. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Overdose Prevention in collaboration with the National Association of City and County Health Officials, funded local health departments (LHDs) to work on overdose prevention activities. This paper aims to: 1) describe the overdose prevention activities that LHDs implemented during the four eighteen-month funding cycles; 2) identify programmatic successes and areas of opportunity for LHDs to consider when implementing future overdose prevention activities; and to 3) inform policy considerations and future overdose prevention programming at the local level., Methods: We used programmatic data to identify overdose prevention activities implemented by 45 LHDs. Activities were double-coded according to the social-ecological model and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Overdose Prevention Strategies and Guiding Principles. We analyzed final codes to identify distribution and overlap of the Strategies and Guiding Principles across the social ecological model co-occurrences., Results: Approximately 55.9% (n=123) of the 220 overdose prevention activities that were coded took place at the community level, 32.3% (n=71) at the individual level, 8.6% (n=19) at the relationship level, and 3.2% (n=7) at the policy level. Most of the activities were coded as coordination, collaboration, and integration (n=52, 23.6%), harm reduction (n=51, 23.1%), data and evidence (n=47, 21.4%) or reducing stigma (n=24, 10.9%). Few activities were related to primary prevention (n=14, 6.4%), equity (n=14, 6.4%), recovery support (n=11, 5.0%), and evidence-based treatment (n=7, 3.2%)., Conclusions: Localities have primarily implemented activities focused on the community and individual levels, with most of these centered around coordination, collaboration, and integration; harm reduction; or data and evidence. This study identified gaps in overdose prevention for LHDs related to treatment and health equity and that more interventions should be implemented at the relationship and policy levels. Continuing these efforts is important as LHDs explore opportunities to enhance and expand their work in various strategy areas across the social ecology. Findings from this study may be used to inform localities as they design and implement future overdose prevention activities., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

This study examines the importance of governance quality of local government in small businesses' future revenue growth forecasting accuracy. Forecasting errors are due to either overestimation or under-estimation. When local governance quality improves, transaction costs are eliminated, boosting firms' actual performance up to the level forecast, thereby reducing overestimation. Also, when local governance quality improves, institutional trust (trust in government) and generalized trust (trust in strangers) improve, lifting the expectation of future performance to the actual level, thereby reducing under-estimation. We investigate these two mechanisms using a set of more than 250,000 small businesses in Vietnam using an instrumental variable approach to control for potential endogeneity. It is found that governance quality enhances forecasting accuracy by reducing under-estimation forecasting errors but, interestingly, without affecting overestimation errors. This paper is one of the first that links governance quality to business forecasting, indicating that local authorities can help local businesses make efficient resource preparation by improving their governance quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant 'sand in the wheels' view holds that entrepreneurship is strongly inhibited by corruption. Challenging this, the 'grease the wheels' view maintains that corruption might increase entrepreneurship in highly regulated economies. We extend the basic predictions of these theories by examining entrepreneurs' start-up decisions, as well as their location choices, in a seemingly low-corruption environment: Swedish municipalities. Combining a validated index of corruption perceptions in local government with population data on new entrepreneurs, nested logit models reveal that even in a low-corruption setting such as Sweden, perceptions of corruption can deter latent entrepreneurs. We also find that a minority of entrepreneurs relocate from their home municipalities to establish their start-ups elsewhere. Surprisingly and contrary to expectations, these relocating entrepreneurs often relocate from relatively low-corruption municipalities to others that are more corrupt. Implications for future research and public policy are discussed. Plain English Summary: The effect of corruption in local government is often overlooked in entrepreneurship research. This paper finds that even in one of the world's least corrupt countries—Sweden—local government corruption discourages the will to start new firms. Most scholars agree that corruption discourages people from starting new firms. However, a few studies have lately suggested that corruption—under specific circumstances—may actually increase entrepreneurship when bureaucracies are highly regulated and inflexible. This paper delves deeper into the salience of these contradictory views by studying municipalities in Sweden. This low-corruption country is highly regulated with an efficient but, at times, rigid bureaucracy. Using a combination of survey and business register data, we find that even in this low-corruption environment, corruption decreases the rate of entrepreneurship. Surprisingly, though, a minority of entrepreneurs relocate from their relatively low-corruption home municipalities to establish their start-ups in others that are more corrupt. An important implication of our findings is that even in the world's least corrupt countries, active anti-corruption strategies need to be upheld, and this is particularly pertinent at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In order to improve the results of college students' innovation and entrepreneurship, local governments need to analyze from the perspectives of support policies, financial support, innovation model guidance and government-enterprise cooperation. Therefore, this paper proposes several assumptions. There is a positive correlation between government financial support and entrepreneurship rate, and whether government-enterprise cooperation, model guidance and financial support are the main influencing factors of college students' innovation and entrepreneurship support. The results showed that the innovation model was the indirect factor of college students' innovation and entrepreneurship, with an impact of 0.63, the government-enterprise cooperation was a secondary factor, and the influence was 0.89, the impact of policy and financial support on college innovation and entrepreneurship was a short-term impact, the government support policy was a long-term impact, and the school-enterprise cooperation was an intermediary factor. Therefore, local governments should strengthen early financial support and introduce support policies to promote the development of college students' innovation and entrepreneurship and ensure the effect of innovation and entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National and local governments around the world are trying to implement gender responsive budgeting (GRB). Rarely the focus is on local levels and consequently, no sensitive tool is available to measure GRB implementation at the local level. The paper tried to conceptualise some characteristics for the assessment of GRB process at local government units, using Albania as a case study. Based on a literature review (i.e., content analysis) and case studies of seven local government units (municipalities) in Albania, the proposed maturity model for GRB (GRB MM) at the local level is determined. Main characteristic attributes to develop a GRB MM were identified setting the layout for the development of a maturity model to classify stages/levels of GRB implementation as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates issues related to the public health system in the North-East Region of Romania, focusing on possibilities for addressing/improving specific deficiencies/difficulties. The concerned region is characterized by the highest and densest population in the country, with a significant proportion of residents in rural areas (55%) and a high level of poverty. Population health indicators are among the weakest nationally, and the healthcare infrastructure is inadequate for the population's needs, with an uneven distribution that generates significant inequalities in access to medical services in the respective counties. Starting from the (statistical) certainty that Romania ranks among EU member states with the highest avoidable mortality, the paper addresses both preventable causes through public health interventions and treatable causes through quality care. After a brief introduction, the overall state of the public health system in Romania is examined, followed by a detailed analysis of the main issue stated in the title, highlighting multiple critical aspects based on data and information from official reports of prestigious institutions. Special attention is given to specific issues in local communities related to healthcare infrastructure and the provision of medical services, as well as possible solutions offered through the implementation of the General Regional Health Services Plan 2021- 2027 in the North-East Region. The paper concludes with a section of conclusions, which includes perspectives on the future development of the analyzed sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between cultural competency training for local government employees and technical support for micro-financing programs targeting immigrants. Utilizing a combination of literature review, theoretical framework, hypothesis testing, data analysis, and interpretation, the study examines the complexities surrounding the public sector's approach to immigrant support. The research reveals a general preference for cultural competency initiatives over technical support for micro-financing among local government employees. Statistical analysis indicates a significant, albeit complex, association between attitudes towards cultural competency training and support for technical assistance in micro-financing. A multinomial logistic regression suggests a negative relationship between support for cultural competency training and the likelihood of supporting micro-financing programs, highlighting a potential disconnect between cultural understanding and financial support for immigrants. The study discusses the implications of these findings for policy-making, program design, and future research, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that integrates cultural sensitivity with economic support. The limitations of the study, including sample representation and the challenge of establishing causation, are acknowledged, underlining the necessity for cautious interpretation of the results and further research in this area. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of considering both the cultural and economic needs of immigrant communities in public administration and support programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the concept of symmetry is utilized in the promising trajectory planning design of autonomous ground vehicles—that is, the construction and the solution of improved artificial potential field-based trajectory planning approach are symmetrical. Despite existing artificial potential fields (APF) achievements on trajectory planning in autonomous ground vehicles (AGV), applying the traditional approach to dynamic traffic scenarios is inappropriate without considering vehicle dynamics environment and road regulations. This paper introduces a highly efficient approach for planning trajectories using improved artificial potential fields (IAPF) to handle dynamic road participants and address the issue of local minima in artificial potential fields. To begin with, potential fields are created with data obtained from other sensors. By incorporating rotational factors, the potential field will spin when the obstacle executes a maneuver; then, a safety distance model is also developed to limit the range of influence in order to minimize the computational burden. Furthermore, during the planning process, virtual forces using the gradient descent method are generated to direct the vehicle's movement. During each timestep, the vehicle will assess whether it is likely to encounter a local minimum in the future. Once a local minimum is discovered, the method will create multiple temporary objectives to guide the vehicle toward the global minimum. Consequently, a trajectory that is both collision-free and feasible is planned. Traffic scenarios are carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The simulation results demonstrate that the improved artificial potential field approach is capable of generating a secure trajectory with both comfort and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Meningococcal vaccinations are recommended by Polish public health authorities but lack coverage under health insurance, prompting Local Government Units (LGUs) to implement local health policy programs. This study examines the effectiveness and impact of LGU-driven meningococcal vaccination initiatives in Poland between 2017 and 2021., Material and Methods: A retrospective analysis utilized data from reports on local public health interventions submitted annually to the Ministry of Health in Poland. The study focused on the number of meningococcal vaccination programs, their scope, the vaccinated population, and associated program costs. Additionally, nationwide data on meningococcal disease incidence and vaccine uptake were analyzed., Results: Within LGUs programs, 48,617 individuals received meningococcal vaccinations, constituting approximately 10% of all vaccinations in Poland during the study period. Notably, cities with poviat rights spearheaded programs covering 54% of the total participants. The total cost incurred by these initiatives amounted to EUR 2,553,661., Conclusions: While LGUs activities positively contributed to increased meningococcal vaccination rates, the overall engagement of local governments remains limited. The findings underscore the importance of expanding local government involvement in meningococcal vaccination programs to address public health needs effectively. Improved collaboration and increased funding may enhance the reach and impact of these initiatives., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)