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The vote of no-confidence is the primary mechanism through which the principle of government accountability to the legislature – the defining feature of parliamentary democracy – is achieved. Yet, no research has been devoted to its influence on the relations between the government and the mechanism's main users – the opposition. This article attempts to fill this lacuna by theorising how restrictiveness in the vote of no-confidence influences the opposition's strategies vis-à-vis the government in legislative voting. We delineate the influence of the vote of no-confidence on the opposition via its preference to pursue more cooperative strategies, as opposed to conflictual ones, distinguishing between the two stages of the vote of no-confidence – initiating and voting. We empirically explore the relation between the vote of no-confidence and the voting behaviour of 59 opposition parties in 16 countries, showing that greater restrictions on both stages of the vote of no-confidence correlate with less conflictual opposition behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Professional Business Review (JPBReview) is the property of AOS: ESTRATEGIA & INOVACAO 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 question of whether democracy as a system of government helps combat corruption is a subject of debate, particularly in developing countries where democracy is practiced. The objective of this article is to answer a fundamental question: Should democracy be blamed for corruption in Ghana's Fourth Republic? In addressing this question, this article uses interviews, media reports, Ghana's constitution, relevant governance indices, and scholarly literature to argue that if constitutionalism and the rule of law, vital to democratic governance, are not respected, democracy cannot be blamed for the persistent corruption in Ghana. Hence, for democracy to help curb corruption, citizens—mainly the power elite—must take a keen interest in promoting constitutionalism and the rule of law. Based on the Ghanaian case, this article contributes to the ongoing debate on the relationship between democracy and corruption, especially in the sub-Saharan African context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract\nPLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARYInspectors general are the independent government watchdogs tasked with combating fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption, and promoting efficiency and effectiveness of the agencies, programs, and jurisdictions they oversee. Unlike federal inspectors general, state and local inspectors general are not required to adhere to the reporting requirements of the federal Inspector General Act of 1978, which raises questions on their activities. To date, there is limited research on state and local inspectors general given their substantial differences in reporting requirements, content, and publication. The author brings attributes from Stohl’s Information Visibility Scale and the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General Transparency Act to develop a 5-point scale to measure transparency of state and local offices of inspector general. This analysis finds 53% out of 116 state and local offices are very or extremely transparent while the remaining 47% are moderately to not transparent at all. The author recommends amendments to state and local inspector general statutes and their reporting methods to improve transparency within the inspection and oversight profession.The mission of inspectors general is to combat fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption and to promote transparency in government. Contemporary research focuses on federal inspectors general because federal inspectors general are required to publish their activities to the public while state and local inspectors general are not. Due to data availability, there is limited research on state and local inspectors general and their activities despite their shared role in promoting transparency in government. This article focuses on two objectives: to advance research on state and local inspectors general and to measure their transparency levels. The author develops a 5-point scale to measure state and local inspector general transparency by combining elements from an empirical transparency model and a federal inspector general transparency bill. When applying the 5-point scale, 53% of the sampled 116 state and local inspectors general are very to extremely transparent while the remaining 47% are moderately to not transparent at all. Based on the findings in this analysis, the author recommends amendments to state and local inspectors general statutes to promote transparency in the oversight profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most powerful charges that can be leveled against the IRS is that it is targeting taxpayers. Charges of political targeting have dogged the IRS for over a century, including in major controversies such as the alleged Tea Party auditing scandal in 2013. Commentators and scholars have long critiqued the IRS for focusing audit resources on some of the lowest-income Americans. And, most recently, a group of researchers estimated that the IRS audits Black taxpayers at a 2.9 to 4.7 times greater rate, as compared to non-Black taxpayers. In response, legislators demanded action, there was widespread public consternation, and IRS officials stated that they were "deeply concerned by these findings." These, and other, controversies suggest deep disdain for the targeting of taxpayers by the IRS, as well as general confusion about what it even means for the IRS to "target" taxpayers. Despite the fact that "targeting" is a powerful accusation often leveled at the IRS, it turns out that it is a significant challenge to pinpoint what "targeting" means. This question is complicated by the fact that the IRS must focus its resources on some taxpayers, but not others. Moreover, how best to allocate tax enforcement resources is not a question that has a clear, technocratic answer. Rather, it depends on normative questions, such as how much we should prioritize taxpayers who face greater vulnerabilities. And the law provides little help in deciding when tax enforcement choices are out of bounds, as antidiscrimination law plays no real, practical role in curbing the IRS's tax enforcement decisions. This Article identifies how these factors lead to a democratic accountability problem at the heart of tax enforcement. Which taxpayers to pursue is a deeply valueladen question, and the IRS is left to answer it with few legal guidelines, little ex ante oversight by the accountable branches of government, and little transparent dialogue with the public. This state of affairs inevitably leads to targeting controversies, which harm both the IRS and the public. Having identified this central problem, this Article begins to chart a path toward more democratically accountable tax enforcement. Dialogue with the public about difficult, normative tax enforcement decisions can, and should, be consistent with a successful enforcement regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

U.S. health agencies periodically evaluate transplant programs based on their patients' posttransplant survival outcomes, and a program is flagged for review if the number of unsuccessful transplants far exceeds what would be expected based on national averages. Some researchers have expressed concerns that these regulations might cause programs to reject high-risk patients, whereas others have questioned if such a response would be rational. In "Characterizing Rational Transplant Program Response to Outcome-Based Regulation," Mildebrath et al. use chance-constrained optimization to demonstrate that it may, in fact, be rational for a transplant program to become more selective when evaluating transplant candidates for admittance to the waitlist. They also demonstrate that the regulations may unfairly penalize medium-sized programs. Moreover, their model quantifies which patients may be most at risk for adverse selection by programs. Their results provide insights to policymakers by quantitatively characterizing the response of rational programs to outcome-based regulations. Organ transplantation is an increasingly common therapy for many types of end-stage organ failure, including lungs, hearts, kidneys, and livers. The last 20 years have seen increased scrutiny of posttransplant outcomes in the United States to ensure the efficient utilization of the scarce organ supply. Under regulations by the Organ Procurement Transplantation Network (OPTN) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the United States has seen a rise in risk-averse patient selection among transplant programs, resulting in decreased transplantation volume for some programs. Despite this observed decrease, the response of transplant programs to OPTN/CMS regulations remains poorly understood. In this work, we consider the perspective of a transplant program that seeks to simultaneously maximize transplant volume and control the risk of OPTN/CMS penalization. Using a chance-constrained mixed-integer programming model, we demonstrate that under certain conditions, it may be rational for a transplant program to curtail its transplant volume to avoid penalization under OPTN/CMS regulations. This finding, which confirms empirical results observed in the clinical literature, suggests that such regulations may be inherently unsuitable for use in incentivizing improved program performance. We also highlight other structural shortcomings of OPTN/CMS regulations that have not been observed previously in the literature. Funding: This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation [Grants CMMI-1826144, CMMI-1826297, and CMMI-1826323]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/opre.2018.0721. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study analyses the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 on government accountability regarding the employment of both national and migrant workforces by bringing evidence from an emerging market. In doing so, this study addresses if/how the government discharged its accountability to the public during this recent global health crisis, which started in late 2019, with its effects still being felt today. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a close reading of the relevant news media (local and international), published research and official reports, as well as ten conversations with business managers to analyse the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 on government accountability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This study draws on insights from public choice theory in trying to understand why some governments take an economic perspective while exercising accountability to their population during the pandemic. Findings: It was found that COVID-19 led the government to pursue plans for the localization of the professions and increase employment rates among nationals vs. foreigners or migrant workers. The crisis was exploited by the government to achieve macro socio-political and economic goals, demonstrating its accountability to citizens, rather than foreign workers. This shift shows that difficult and exceptional circumstances can present opportunities for policymakers in emerging markets to achieve national policy and political aims. Originality/value: This study enhances the author's understanding of accountability during crises (i.e. crises-induced accountability) in emerging markets. The analyses presented enrich the crisis management literature by highlighting the implicit actions of national leaders that affect the lives and well-being of their constituents, especially vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes alternative development coalitions, their contradictions and complexities, and how they promoted a steeply unequal agrarian change through illicit crop substitution. We zoom into two paramilitary-controlled territories in Colombia. We show that those programs counted with significant support from, and were actually driven by, long coalitions that included regional and national politicians, sectors of the rural rich, paramilitary leaders, Colombian government and United States agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article conceptualizes and constructs a comprehensive framework that can better help to answer that question – Who is accountable for social and public problems? – theoretically and practically. Design/methodology/approach: Tracing the drivers behind two phenomena "accountability hole" and "accountability black hole", stemming from "pushing power game" and "pulling power game", respectively, this study considers (1) the three actors of society: citizens (civil society), corporations (market) and civil servants (government), and (2) the principal-agent relationship between the three actors in the face of social and public problems. As a result, the 4CAs framework that contains the three actors' collaborative accountabilities to one another is presented. Findings: The 4CAs model emphasizes (1) all three actors function as agents that are accountable to one another, (2) collaborative accountability beyond collaborative governance and (3) repowering citizens and corporations beyond just empowering them, i.e. returning their inherent rights and obligations to serve one another. Originality/value: The 4CAs model may function as a descriptive and prescriptive lens through which the trilemma between market failure, government failure and citizen failure can be re-assessed and balanced. The model can also be used as a set of indicators for assessing and helping a society to better resolve the social and public problems collectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accountability is considered a cornerstone of public administration and good governance. This study characterizes the relationship between the Dutch Intelligence and Secret Service ("AIVD") and citizens (represented by parliament, courts, and oversight boards) as a complex actor-forum relationship. We utilize different accountability principles of public administration found in international and Dutch instruments and academic literature to propose workable principles of accountability for the AIVD. These proposed principles of accountability can be summarized as acting within duty, explainability, necessity, proportionality, reporting and record keeping, redress, and continuous independent oversight. Similarly, there are some conditions to support the workability of accountability principles. These conditions may be characterized as productive actor-forumrelationships, cooperation, flexibility, value alignment, and learning and improving opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve access, the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act of 2018 mandated a 2-year study of medical scribes in Veterans Health Administration specialty clinics and emergency departments. Medical scribes are employed in clinical settings with the goals of increasing provider productivity and satisfaction by minimizing physicians' documentation burden. Our objective is to quantify the economic outcomes of the MISSION Act scribes trial. A cluster-randomized trial was designed with 12 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers randomized into the intervention. We estimated the total cost of the trial, cost per scribe-year, and projected cost of hiring additional physicians to achieve the observed scribe productivity benefits in relative value units and visits per full-time-equivalent over the 2-year intervention period (June 30, 2020 to July 1, 2022). The estimated cost of the trial was $4.6 million, below the Congressional Budget Office estimate of $5 million. A full-time scribe-year cost approximately $74 600 through contracting and $62 900 through VA hiring. Randomization into the trial led to an approximate 30% increase in productivity in cardiology and 20% in orthopedics. The projected incremental cost of using additional physicians instead of scribes to achieve the same productivity benefits was nearly $1.7 million more, or 75% higher, than the observed cost of scribes in cardiology and orthopedics. As the largest randomized trial of scribes to date, the MISSION Act scribes trial provides important evidence on the costs and benefits of scribes. Improving productivity enhances access and scribes may give VA a new tool to improve productivity in specialty care at a lower cost than hiring additional providers. • To improve access, the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act of 2018 mandated a 2-year study of medical scribes in Veterans Health Administration specialty clinics and emergency departments—the largest randomized trial of scribes to date worldwide. Medical scribes are employed to increase provider productivity and satisfaction by minimizing documentation burden. The trial found that scribes were not effective in the emergency departments, increasing total length of stay; however, scribes were effective at increasing productivity in cardiology and orthopedics. • A recent Government Accountability Office report suggested that Veterans Health Administration "assess the scalability of the medical scribe pilot." The total cost of the trial was approximately $4.6 million, in line with the Congressional Budget Office estimate of $5 million. The projected cost of using additional physicians to achieve the observed productivity benefits by randomization into the scribes trial was nearly $1.7 million more, or 75% higher, than the observed cost of scribes in cardiology and orthopedics. • As VA endeavors to improve access and quality of care within fiscal and workforce constraints, the MISSION Act scribes trial provides important evidence on the costs and benefits of scribes. Scribes may offer VA a new tool to enhance access through improving productivity in specialty care at a lower projected cost than hypothetically hiring additional providers, creating additional value from the existing physician workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy evaluation is a well‐established management practice in many countries worldwide. Evaluation as we know it dates back to the 1970s. Throughout its rich history, evaluation has fulfilled a growing number of purposes with a focus on rationality and accountability. This article describes the major challenges facing evaluators and public administration researchers interested in the practice. We then formulate a research agenda, based on interdisciplinary research, to inform future work and guide the future of evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 presents many social and economic challenges and exacerbates existing ones. One of these challenges is global poverty. Prior to the epidemic, poverty affected the rural population traditionally. Global poverty can spread to urban areas now with COVID-19 outbreak. Poverty increased in the United States in 2020 as the coronavirus outbreak, affecting the economy and rising unemployment. New figures confirm that the recession may have widened the gap between rich and poor, with those at the bottom of the economic ladder suffering the most, such as the rural population. In this study, we examine the relationship between Covid outbreak, governance and economic performance and its impact on number in poverty. To this end, data from the Center for American Progress is analyzed over 10 years (from 2011–2020) among the 49 states in America through spatial econometric techniques for panel data. The effect of each state's condition was examined on neighboring states. The results showed that the governance index (with a negative sign) and Income inequality variable (with a positive sign), have the greatest impact on poverty. The unemployment, Gender wage gap, Hunger and food insecurity, Health insurance, Population and Higher education also have an impact on poverty. The policy recommendations of this study are that because the variable of governance (accountability and responsibility of the government to compensate for the damage caused by the covid outbreak) is one of the most effective variables to control poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation is the property of University of Toronto Press 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 Covid-19 pandemic has increased the pressure on organizations to ensure health and safety in the workplace. An increasing number of organizations are considering wearables and physiolytics devices as part of their safe return to work programs so as to comply with governments' accountability rules. As with other technologies with ambivalent use (i.e., simultaneously beneficial and harmful), the introduction of these devices in work settings is met with skepticism. In this context, nudging strategies as a way of using design, information, and other ways to manipulate behaviors (system 1 nudge) and choices (system 2 nudge) has gained traction and is often applied alongside the introduction of ambivalent technologies with the aim to "nudge" their use. While the feasibility of different nudge strategies is often studied from only a managerial perspective, where employees' volitional autonomy and dignity is often treated as secondary, we explore which nudges are acceptable from the perspectives of ordinary workers. Using Q-methodology as a more evolutionary and participatory way to design nudges, we describe five basic strategies that are (to varying degrees) acceptable to them: (a) positive reinforcement and fun, (b) controlling the organizational environment, (c) self-responsibility, (d) collective responsibility, and (e) adapting the individual environment. Our findings show that there is a wide range of viewpoints on what is being considered an acceptable nudge and stress the importance of a transparent, equal dialogue between those who design nudges and potential nudgees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SYNOPSIS: In 2021, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) celebrated its 100th anniversary, and its mission has never been more critical. This study documents the 100-year history of GAO, examining how Congressional law changes and leadership influences of the Comptroller General of the United States have shaped GAO's role, services, and products. GAO has transformed from focusing on providing oversight through its audits of federal government expenditures during its early years (e.g., to assess legality) to emerging as a leader in providing insights to Congress through program evaluation audits and, more recently, to providing Congress the foresight necessary to confront the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financing health care is growing in importance as more and more researchers, governments and other stakeholders see that public health goods and services need to be financed. This work is intended to understand what the underlying problems maybe in getting people to understand the magnitude of national and global emergencies in health and how to get them to obey state and global directives which are for their own safety from a fiscal perspective. Here we show that there is a breakdown in communication between states and their societies that is undermining the ability of African states to guide their people to follow health and safety rules. The findings provide a recommendation that an improvement in transparency and accountability will not only result in better management of emergencies but also build better long term fiscal legitimacy and management of the current and future emergencies and enhance societal trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of a systematic literature review of research articles (N = 72) to study the governance logic of integrated activation policies and the problems relating to reintegrating welfare benefits with services. The inductive study of the problems indicated in the literature demonstrates both the vertical and horizontal aspects of the governance of integrated activation at the street level: challenges are tied to the top‐down activation policy; requirements and strategies of delivering benefits and services; collaboration and coordination in delivery chains; and risks and inequality that streel‐level bureaucrats are trying to deal with in their work. The results point primarily to flaws in the vertical governance of activation, such as frontline work problems and collaborative practices between different actors and agencies. Moreover, some problems relating to collaboration and coordination, pointed towards the challenges in horizontal governance of activation. The article, however, demonstrates how the governance of integrated activation requires a coupling of these different streams of governance and understanding governance as a complex network of interdependencies and causal connections between institutions, organisations, and co‐production with end users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I explore the potential impact of rulemakers' professional experience on the efficiency of rulemaking by U.S. federal agencies. I highlight two types of professional experience rulemakers may have—inside experience gathered by working in the federal government, if not the same agency, and outside experience gained before entering the civil service or between stints in government. I discuss several plausible mechanisms through which inside and outside experience may affect rulemaking efficiency. Using data combining rulemakers' career backgrounds with rulemaking life-cycles from 1999 to 2023, I show that outside experience, and not inside experience, is associated with two measures of rulemaking efficiency: a higher likelihood for proposed rules to be promulgated as final and a lower likelihood of unanticipated events—extensions of public comment periods, other delays to the rulemaking timetable, and the withdrawal of rules already issued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the introduction and implications of the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA) in the U.S. Senate, which mandates social media platforms to disclose internal data to researchers and the public to increase transparency and accountability. It discusses the potential benefits and challenges of the legislation, drawing parallels to historical calls for financial transparency and examining concerns about government overreach and privacy issues.

Declarations and terminations of public health emergencies are performative utterances that shift the balance of governmental power and can change our world. They can provide and then extinguish the ability to provide grants andfunding, deploy the military, waive and modiht regulatory requirements, and curtail civil liberties, many times with limited legislative oversight. But public health emergency laws at every level are inconsistent at best and are being legislated in a reactionary manner that may limit the ability to effectively respond in juture public health emergencies. With such high stakes and during a time when executive agency authority is evolving, appropriate guidance on the felicity conditions for these performative utterances is thus urgently needed. Instead of simply accepting lengthy unfettered executive public health emergency powers or enacting strict legislative limitations on executive authority that could hinder an efective public health response in the future, this Article focuses on a singular first step in calling for a diverse, multi-disciplinary team of scholars and stakeholders to examine the existing web of public health emergency legislation and provide input and guidance on felicity conditions for declaring, continuing, and terminating specific public health emergencies that build in mechanisms for accountability and relevant, appropriate checks and balances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When do cross-national comparisons enable citizens to hold governments accountable? According to recent work in comparative politics, benchmarking across borders is a powerful mechanism for making elections work. However, little attention has been paid to the choice of benchmarks and how they shape democratic accountability. We extend existing theories to account for endogenous benchmarking. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a test case, we embedded experiments capturing self-selection and exogenous exposure to benchmark information from representative surveys in France, Germany, and the UK. The experiments reveal that when individuals have the choice, they are likely to seek out congruent information in line with their prior view of the government. Moreover, going beyond existing experiments on motivated reasoning and biased information choice, endogenous benchmarking occurs in all three countries despite the absence of partisan labels. Altogether, our results suggest that endogenous benchmarking weakens the democratic benefits of comparisons across borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce this special issue with an elaboration of the concept of human rights globalization as a dynamic process that involves local and global action by civil society and other actors to strengthen governments' accountability to global human rights norms and standards. This process challenges economic globalization that prioritizes international trade and financialization over human rights. Recent decades have seen growing movements of activists appealing to global human rights norms as they mobilize popular pressure on local and national authorities. We provide a brief overview of contributions to this special issue, which describe these movements and their impacts on the long-term strengthening of global human rights governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article compares Indian and United Kingdom (UK) parliamentary devices available to backbench Member of Parliaments (MPs) highlighting their role in scrutiny and accountability. In India, MPs can utilize procedures like Parliamentary Questions, Calling Attention, and Zero Hour to address public grievances and critique government actions. Conversely, UK backbenchers benefit from devices such as Early Day Motions, Question Time, and Ministerial Statements for similar purposes.

The study investigates whether mandatory extraction payment disclosures (EPD), a policy intervention involving Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR) in extractive industries, affects corporate tax avoidance. Based on a sample of firms listed on the London Stock Exchange over the period from 2010 to 2021, and using the Difference-in-Differences (DiD) model including firm and year fixed effects, results showed a decline in the level of tax avoidance of British extractive firms post-EPD requirement implementation, relative to U.S. extractive/British manufacturing firms not subject to such a requirement. The findings highlight one of the unstated positive consequences of the EPD regulation implementation including discouraging tax avoidance. They should be informative to tax authorities and civil society as they continue to refine existing disclosure requirements and combat tax avoidance. They also support the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)'s (2008) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s (2015) arguments that CbCR facilitates understanding of corporate tax practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parliamentary questions are one of the most widely used and common parliamentary control instruments. The purpose of parliamentary questions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is to hold the government accountable and reveal violations or clarify facts in the work of the executive authority. The Federal Constitution does not provide means of parliamentary control over the government, so parliamentary questions play a bigger role in the UAE than in other countries. This paper examines the practice of parliamentary questions in the Federal National Council (FNC) of the UAE. The methodology employed in this paper involves a comprehensive analysis of the practice of parliamentary questions within the context of the UAE's Federal National Council (FNC). Through a qualitative approach, the study delves into the role of parliamentary questions as a tool for governmental reforms, transparency enhancement, and executive authority accountability. Utilizing both primary and secondary sources, the research examines the impact of parliamentary questions in revealing violations, elucidating facts, and addressing citizens' everyday concerns. By employing a multifaceted analytical framework, this study offers valuable insights into the significance and effectiveness of parliamentary questions within the UAE's political landscape. The key findings in the paper on the practice of parliamentary questions in the UAE's FNC underscore the essential role of parliamentary questions in holding the government accountable and ensuring transparency. The document reveals how parliamentary questions serve as a vital tool for revealing violations, clarifying facts, and prompting governmental reforms. Overall, this paper highlights how parliamentary questions are a vital component of governance in the UAE and emphasizes their importance for ensuring accountability and transparency in government operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to fill gap in the literature and explore policy options for resolving the problems of accountability by framing three research questions. The research questions are (i) whether certain elements of Scott's (2014) institutional pillars attenuate (accentuate) corporate and public accountability; (ii) whether the presence of ruling party-affiliated enterprises (RPAEs) create an increase (decrease) in the degree of corporate (public) accountability; and (iii) whether there is a particular form of ownership change that transforms RPAEs into public investment companies. Design/methodology/approach: Using a qualitative research methodology that involves term frequency and thematic analysis of publicly available textual information, the paper examines Mechkova et al.'s (2019 forms of government accountability. The paper analyzes the gaps between the de jure and de facto accountability using the institutional pillars framework. Findings: The findings of the paper are three. First, there are gaps between de jure and de facto in all three (vertical, horizontal and diagonal) forms of government (public) accountability. Second, the study finds that more than three fourth of the parties that contested the June 2021 election did have regional focus. They did not advocate for accountability. Third, Ethiopia's RPAEs are unique. They have regional focus and are characterized by severe forms of agency and information asymmetry problems. Research limitations/implications: The main limitation of the paper is its exploratory nature. Extending this research by using cross-country data could provide a more complete picture of the link between corporate (public) accountability and a country's institutional pillars. Practical implications: Academic research documents that instilling modern corporate (public) governance standards in the Sub Sahara Africa (SSA) region has shown mixed results. The analysis made in this paper is likely to inform researchers and policymakers about the type of change that leads to better corporate (and public) accountability outcomes. Social implications: The institutional change proposed in the paper is likely to advance the public interest by mitigating agency and information asymmetry problems and enhancing government accountability. The changes make the enterprises investable, save scarce jobs, enhance diversity and put the assets in RPAEs to better use. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper that uses the institutional pillars analytical framework to examine an SSA country's corporate (public) accountability problem. It demonstrates that accountability is a domestic and a (novel) traveling theory. The paper identifies the complexity of resolving the interlock between political institutions and business enterprises. It theorizes that it is impossible to instill modern corporate (public) accountability standards without changing regulatory, normative and cultural cognitive pillars of institutions. The paper contributes to the change management and public interest literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the institutional performance of Kemantren in Yogyakarta City. Changing the nomenclature of the subdistrict to Kemantren as a new local institution in Yogyakarta has some implications. This condition requires the development of a performance evaluation tool for Kemantren, which has yet to be available. A qualitative analysis was conducted to evaluate the performance of Kemantren as a new local institution. Primary data were obtained via in-depth interviews and FGDs, while secondary data were derived from official government documents. The study evaluated the performance of Kemantren by adjusting two Regulations of the Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform to assess the performance of policies and public services, namely (a) The Regulation of the Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform of the Republic of Indonesia Number 88 of 2021 concerning Evaluation of Accountability for the Performance of Government Agencies and (b) The Regulation of the Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform of the Republic of Indonesia Number 17 of 2017 concerning Guidelines for Performance Assessment of Public Service Delivery Units. The assessment results show a significant impact from changing the nomenclature of subdistricts to Kemantren as a new local institution in the form of special funds. Although the Kemantren program has been funded through special funds from the Yogyakarta Special Region, the policy process starting from policy formulation, implementation, and policy reporting has no difference. In public service performance, Kemantren has done well, although it has not changed much after the change in the nomenclature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the evolution and ethical implications of accountability sanctions, particularly under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Topics include Yahya Jammeh's brutal regime in The Gambia, the use of sanctions to promote accountability for human rights abuses globally, and the theoretical tension between traditional coercive sanctions and new goals centered on justice and human rights.

Background: The advent of digital technology has significantly altered operating practices in several sectors, including the public domain. The area of public service accounting acknowledges the increasing importance of digitisation in enhancing accountability and efficiency. Objective: The article aims to explore the significant impact of digitalisation on enhancing the effectiveness and accountability of public sector accounting. Methods and Materials: The study emphasises the need to use digital technology to enhance accounting procedures, minimise human mistakes, and enhance transparency. This passage highlights the advantages of digital interventions, including the provision of a comprehensive audit trail and the prevention of fraudulent activity. Results: The results show that automating accounting processes through digitalisation improves productivity and saves money by eliminating the need for human accountants. Strategic preparation and the anticipatory handling of roadblocks like data security concerns and resistance to change are essential for a smooth transition to a digital accounting system. Conclusion: Digitalisation in public service accounting is crucial for enhancing accountability and operational efficiency. There is a global push for governments to commit resources towards the development of advanced digital accounting frameworks and carefully plan their deployment in order to effectively use the benefits of a digitalised public sector accounting environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prosecutors regard themselves as public servants who fight crime and increase community safety on behalf of their constituents. But prosecutors do not only seek to protect those they are supposed to serve. Instead, prosecutors often trade community safety, privacy, and even the constitutional rights of the general public to enlarge police power. Prosecutors routinely advocate for weaker public rights, shield police from public accountability, and fail to prosecute police when they break the law. This Article will show how prosecutors often protect police at the expense of the public. This Article suggests a novel theory of evaluating the conduct of traditional prosecutors, not just as actors seeking to protect the community, but also as advocates for heightened police and governmental power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legislative oversight of the executive branch is a fundamental mechanism for ensuring government accountability, good governance, and enhancing democracy. However, formal oversight powers alone are insufficient, and the practical application eventually determines effectiveness. In contemporary times, a distinct set of political phenomena exists, notably the emergence of populism and polarisation, a deep-seated crisis of representation, and a systematic decline in public trust regarding diverse branches of government, coupled with the personalisation of politics and the weakening of political parties. In light of these developments, it is essential to engage in a meticulous examination of the means by which legislatures can enhance their capacity to effectively oversee governments. This article examines the parliamentary committee of inquiry led by Knesset Member Eitan Cabel in Israel from 2017 to 2019, which focused on credit arrangements for large business borrowers. This committee's rigorous investigation into financial system failures makes it an exemplary case of robust oversight in action. The article analyses the Committee establishment, composition, mandate, systematic meeting-planning and questioning process, unique physical setting, report publishing, and other details. The analysis of the Committee's work reveals important insights regarding effective oversight, and isolates the practices which made its work such an augmented performance of legislative oversight. Factors such as the committee's activeness, cooperation, independence, preparation, respectful yet critical approach, transparency, accurate use of media, and precise procedure, created an exceptional performance of legislative oversight. The article concludes that while legislative oversight relies partly on formal mechanisms, it is primarily driven by how political actors apply them, and reveals the importance and centrality of the human factor. This single case analysis, focusing on the committee's oversight practices can inform comparative learning on delivering robust oversight beyond Israel's context, and derive widely applicable insights into key practices for effective legislative supervision of the executive branch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the inadequacies of New York City's Conflict of Interest Board in preventing conflicts of interest, particularly regarding elected officials' use of social media. Topics include the provisions of Chapter 68 and related advisory opinions, the contradictions within these guidelines that allow conflicts of interest, and the implications for public disclosure and government accountability.

Since the third wave of democratization, specialized constitutional courts have spread widely across developed and developing countries and become key to government accountability, rights protection, and cross-institutional conflict resolution. Simultaneously, nearly half of all constitutional court adoptions have occurred in Europe. What explains the global, yet Eurocentric, spread of constitutional courts? Countries' institutional endowments, particularly domestic and international legal institutions, are key to this crucial choice of constitutional design. Common law countries are less likely to establish specialized constitutional courts than their civil law counterparts due to their domestic legal system's relatively weaker affinity with the constitutional court model. Furthermore, the Council of Europe's Venice Commission—the main international organization specifically promoting constitutional courts—has catalyzed their wide and rapid spread especially, but not exclusively, in Europe. Our theory gains robust support from event history analyses of 172 developed and developing countries from 1947 to 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hobbes held the belief that his political philosophy would resolve political disagreements, rather his work has aroused series of criticisms and oppositions, and has given rise to unending controversies. Thus, this paper is a re-examination of Thomas Hobbes social contract theory and an analysis of his concept of motion. The driving philosophy behind every civil government is the concept of the social contract that spells out the responsibilities of government and duties of the governed. Hobbes was the first who wrote on the social contract where he clearly spelt out how man in the state of nature were life is short, nasty and brutish with no scientific development. Through the dictates of reason man in such a chaotic society was able to form a civil government relinquishing all his rights to this said man or assembly of men in place for law, order and protection. This study employed historic-analytical method. The historical dimension is to provide the knowledge of the political circumstances that prevailed during the time of Hobbes and the analytic aspect is to examine critically the concept of motion in relation to understanding the nature of man. The work concludes that, Hobbes understanding of human nature from the point of view of mechanical and mathematical precision without understanding man from the social human actions and as a conscious being is a major factor that has given rise to series of controversies surrounding his political philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies often donate to support public service delivery in US cities. Although this can help alleviate budgetary struggles for those governments, it is unclear what effect it may have on the individual residents receiving the services. In this paper, we argue that people who receive services funded in part by corporate donations are less likely to hold their local governments accountable if the services are of poor quality, because they no longer conceive of themselves as being the sole set of interests the government is catering to. We test our theory using a survey experiment with a realistic fictional government email and find evidence that, when compared with people receiving strictly taxpayer-funded services, people who are told services are provided in part by companies are less likely to take the quality of services into account when they vote. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to 1) To see the process of appointing village officials in accordance with the principles of good governance; 2) To find out and analyze what are the inhibiting and supporting factors for Village Heads in Wori District in Recruiting Village Officials in Wori District, North Minahasa Regency; 3) To find out and analyze how the Village Head in Wori District considers improving the professionalism of village officials from a good governance perspective. This research uses qualitative research methods with the focus of the research being the process of appointing village officials in Darunu Village, Wori District, North Minahasa Regency, taking into account the principles of good governance. The results of the research show that both the selection and appointment processes have met the requirements for good governance, seen in a transparent and accountable manner, where information on selection and recommendations up to appointment follows the principles of transparency. Then, in terms of accountability, all village officials must have accountability requirements in terms of completeness of documents, education level, then they must go through the stages of screening and recommendation from the Head of the District, then the Village Head is appointed. The results of the screening, recommendations from the Head of the District and the appointment of Village Apparatus are carried out openly and then obey the law, where the consideration of the Head of Darunu Village can still be said to be sufficient because there are authorities that must be taken into account, such as the authority of the Head of the District and must be based on a clear legal umbrella and its application in the community still receives many complaints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation guideline for performance accountability (EGoPA) is a commonly used framework to assess the performance of public sector organizations. It is important to develop a comprehensive evaluation guideline that considers the legitimacy of these organizations and incorporates their distinct cultural and religious values. This study aims to reconstruct the EGoPA to internalize the actual state of Indonesia's philosophy by considering Notonagoro's hierarchical-pyramidal semiotics of Pancasila. This study utilized the critical paradigm to analyze and address structures or circumstances that impose oppression or present problematic practices within society. This study revealed components of EGoPA with Pancasila values as the basis of Indonesian philosophy that refers to Notonagoro's hierarchical-pyramidal semiotics. This guideline reflects every value in Pancasila, the entire line of Notonagoro’s public management, and employs the fundamental state of philosophy in a proper guideline of EGoPA on the components as whole concepts. In addition, the reconstruction developed a better and original accountability system in the Indonesian government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Obesity and diet‐related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have a profound impact on individuals, households, health care systems, and economies in low‐ and middle‐ income countries (LMICs), with the Western Pacific Region experiencing some of the highest impacts. Governments have committed to improving population diets; however, implementation challenges limit effective policy action. We undertook meta‐narrative synthesis of the academic literature and used theories of policymaking and implementation to synthesize current knowledge of issues affecting the adoption and implementation of policies to prevent obesity and diet‐related NCDs in LMICs in the Western Pacific Region. We found that political leadership and management of food and nutrition policies often diluted following policy adoption, and that nutrition and health advocates find it difficult to enforce policy compliance from actors outside their sectors. Opportunities for strengthening implementation of food and nutrition policies in the Western Pacific include (1) improved and earlier engagement between health policymakers and implementing agencies; (2) focusing on the need for increased accountability from governments, including through effective engagement and organization of actor networks, knowledge sharing, and in highlighting where stronger action is required; and (3) identifying and building the strategic capacities of policy actors in framing, advocacy, coalition‐building, knowledge translation, and leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States spends more money than any other country on public procurement. Yet, its system for collecting and disseminating data on public procurement is unusable and dysfunctional. The purpose of this Note is to offer ways to centralize and update the current procurement data systems to promote transparency, accountability, and collaboration. This Note builds on existing legislation and technology to align federal procurement with internationally recognized open procurement standards. The arguments in support of these updates are delineated in three parts. First, this Note introduces the subject of open data in public procurement and explains how open data currently functions in the United States. Second, this Note explores how open procurement practices can impact society positively when effectively implemented. Third, this Note offers an in-depth exploration of the current shortcomings of the open procurement systems as they currently operate in the United States. This analysis is strengthened by a case study exploring Ukraine’s approach to open procurement. Fourth, this Note then offers a detailed solution highlighting the language of an amendment to the DATA Act, outlining the enactments Congress should implement to achieve a truly robust open procurement system in the United States. This discussion is rounded out by policy and procedural considerations which would arise upon implementation of such legislation. Lastly, this Note argues that, despite potential hurdles and hiccups, legislatively modernizing the open procurement systems in the United States is essential to promoting transparency, accountability, and collaboration in federal procurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the effects of tax-related news on government accountability in the United States. When exposed to news that framed the taxpayer as the ultimate sponsor of public spending to whom the government is accountable, people reacted indistinguishably from those who read no tax news. However, when exposed to identically valenced news that framed the taxpayer in procedural terms of tax collection, they responded with higher accountability demands. This suggests that in contexts where citizens are socialized into taxpayer-entitling discourse, this perspective can become the default framework, leading citizens to claim oversight rights when denied this discursively privileged position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accessibility of social media and communication platforms such as WhatsApp in sub-Saharan Africa has expanded exponentially over the past decade. The benefits are that new communities of 'networked individuals' outside of the traditional geographic localities have emerged. The capacity of ordinary citizens to autonomously gather, process and publish information has taken away states' monopoly over information, enabling citizens to form alternative narratives and influence the course of political discourse. Local conflicts and grievances have also been globalised, building a critical base for evidence-based advocacy. Yet not all communities have achieved these ideals, partly because citizens have remained 'loosely connected individuals' unable to transform their -'networks' into agents of change and reform. This article is aimed at exploring how this transformation can be achieved. Based on field research on social media activism and internet-based movements in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, this article explores how social media as a tool for citizen-led accountability can be institutionalised and transformed from 'networked individuals' to change agents able to hold government to account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Procurement and supply chain processes in public administration are often scrutinized for their susceptibility to inefficiency and corruption. This research investigated the influence of different accountability mechanisms on the quality of procurement and supply chain management within the Kitui County government in Kenya. Moving beyond a simplistic notion of accountability as mere responsibility, the study adopted a nuanced approach, drawing upon agency theory and institutional theory to analyse the interplay between formal rules, oversight bodies, and stakeholder engagement in shaping procurement outcomes. It examined how these mechanisms influence key quality dimensions like cost-effectiveness, transparency, and value for money. A mixed-method was employed, utilizing both quantitative surveys within the Kitui County procurement department and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders. The coefficients of correlation and the P-values were as follows: Accountability (Beta= 0.774, P-value= 0.000<0.05) thus indicating a statistical significance, 1 point increase in accountability increases quality of procurement by 0.774 hence indicating a very strong positive influence. This research serves as a springboard for further investigation into the nuanced dynamics of accountability within public procurement and supply chain management, ultimately aiming to improve quality and deliver greater value for public institutions and their stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the exploration of emerging trends and paradigms in leadership and governance research and practice Methodology: This study adopted a desk methodology. A desk study research design is commonly known as secondary data collection. This is basically collecting data from existing resources preferably because of its low cost advantage as compared to a field research. Our current study looked into already published studies and reports as the data was easily accessed through online journals and libraries. Findings: Emerging trends in Thai leadership and governance highlight a shift towards inclusive decision-making, ethical frameworks, and digital engagement. Sustainability and environmental stewardship are gaining importance, reflecting global concerns. This dynamic landscape blends traditional values with evolving practices. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Transformational leadership theory, complexity leadership theory & adaptive governance theory may be used to anchor future studies on the exploration of emerging trends and paradigms in leadership and governance research and practice. Implementing leadership development programs based on evidence-based practices and theories of effective leadership Developing policies to enhance transparency and accountability in government institutions, such as open data initiatives or whistleblower protection laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This cross-border study's main purpose is to examine whether there is a significant association between political institutions and the cost of debt. In addition, it also investigates whether this association is moderated by the country's corruption levels. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a unique cross-border data set comprising 45,848 firms from 117 countries from 2002 to 2017 to investigate these research questions. Further, the authors use the two-stage least squares method to mitigate issues of endogeneity. Findings: This study finds that political institutions are significantly associated with cost of debt. Specifically, the cost of debt is lower in countries with stronger democratic institutions, smaller government bureaucracies and higher adherence to the rule of law. Further, this association is strengthened by low corruption levels. Originality/value: This study provides new insights into the relationship between political institutions and the cost of debt. Overall, the results reveal that democratic institutions, government bureaucracy and the rule of law are significantly associated with cost of debt. This association is stronger in countries with low levels of corruption and consistent with Transparency's International notion that accountability and transparency by government political institutions promote sustainable economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]