Fiji's financial reforms were disrupted by the coup of 2000. Since then, Fiji has initiated more targeted reforms. This report, for which work commenced in January 2016, documents the country's financial management systems covering budgeting, funds flow, accounting and reporting, and auditing systems. It provides insights into Fiji's internal control systems, staffing resource capacity, and information technology structure. The intent is to give project teams and consultants a better understanding of the country's financial management systems in order to improve project preparation. Find out how high-quality financial management assessments support projects by identifying key risks and enabling the implementation of appropriate actions and reforms to mitigate those risks.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made a record by becoming the first democratically-elected premier who has presented the fifth consecutive budget in a single tenure in the 70-year history of Pakistan. Although Pakistan People's Party government also completed its five-year term, they had two prime ministers in that tenure. There were a lot of expectations from amongst the people as well as pressure within the party in the run-up to the election that the federal budget 2017-18 would be an election-friendly budget. After all this were to be the first independent budget presented by the PML-N government. The initial four budgets were prepared under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. Therefore, in those four budgets, the conditions imposed by the IMF framework took priority in the budget-making process.
In March 2016, elite groups of Natuna and the neighbouring oil-and-gas district Anambas aspired to separate from Kepri to create their own province. Their aim was to secure more fiscal transfers from Jakarta. Among these people was Natuna's former district-head Daeng Rusnadi, who was once imprisoned for corruption concerning oil-and-gas revenues. The plan was supported by Natuna's current district-head Hamid Rizal, whose deputy is Rusnadi's wife. In January 2017, the discourse was adopted by local parliamentarians, who subsequently tried to exploit Jakarta's security interest to push for a "special defence province". Unsurprisingly, Kepri's governor Nurdin Basirun did not support the separation as Kepri would then lose its only oil-and-gas districts. Eventually this spark of separation was doused by the recent gerbangdutas' pledge of funds and the moratorium on the creation of new provinces. On the surface, Jakarta's development funds for Natuna seem to be what the region needs. However, further dependency on the central government's resources may not be helpful in boosting the local economy in the long run. By focusing on the dependence of regions to central government transfers, this article aims to highlight the causes of Natuna's lack of income despite its natural wealth.
In this paper, we focus specifically on areas where digital financial services have significant potential to accelerate financial inclusion through their impact on existing business models. We also provide recommendations for governments and regulatory authorities on how to encourage the development of digital financial services to increase inclusion. In particular, we examine financial inclusion at the base of the pyramid,9 for women, and for MSMEs in four Southeast Asian markets: Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Southeast Asia was chosen as a geographic focus because the region represents a microcosm of the emerging markets universe, with countries at various stages of development. The four markets chosen for this study represent the diverse market structures and development stages we see across Southeast Asia. At one end, Indonesia is a major global economy, where financial inclusion efforts have largely been driven by state-owned banks and the digital economy has started to emerge. At the other end, Cambodia's economy is one-fortieth the size of Indonesia's, and financial inclusion has largely been served by Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). This allows us to draw out common themes that may resonate in other emerging markets, as well as important market-specific nuances that may only apply to a narrower group.
China's rising economic and political clout has created both opportunities and challenges for Southeast Asian countries. China's economic cooperation with Southeast Asian countries is multidimensional and multi-layered involving business collaboration, trade and investment, and financial assistance (grants and concessional loans), which are "fused indistinguishably".2 Although the Chinese have claimed that their financial assistance has no strings attached, there is a close link between economic ties and political influence. Some regional analysts argue that "China's rise exerts a profound and complex impact on the political, security and economic contexts of Southeast Asia".3 A Cambodia expert, Sophal Ear, puts it this way, "Taking the geopolitical interests of China in Southeast Asia into account, Chinese investment does not come free; political and economic strings tie those who benefit to the influence of China."
Last week, on October 4th, the budget of the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) for 2017 was changed.1 It should be noted that earlier on June 30th, state budget revenues increased by 511 million manat, and expenditures by 1 billion 41 million manat, as amended by the law "On the State Budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2017".2 Changes in the budget of the Oil Fund did not cause wide public debate. We suppose that the changes in the document reflect important symptoms for the analysis and forecasting of the government's current fiscal policy.
This report provides an assessment of the evidence for sugar taxes as a fiscal instrument to improve health. Forty-seven peer-reviewed studies and working papers published in the last five years were reviewed, summarised and assessed for key methodological issues. Experience with sugar taxes is complicated by inconsistencies in their design and context. Most sugar taxes apply to sugar-sweetened beverages, but some also include pure fruit juices or other foods with high sugar content. Some are valoric taxes while others are volumetric. Some taxes were implemented alongside other measures to improve diets or increase awareness of the danger of excess sugar consumption. Sugar taxes are also implemented in some jurisdictions as a means to raise additional tax revenue, with no particular expectation that any reduction in intake will translate into health benefits but sometimes with revenues being earmarked for health programmes.
Sustainable and inclusive growth in emerging Asian economies requires continued high levels of public sector investment in areas such as infrastructure, education, health, and social services. These responsibilities, especially with regard to infrastructure investment, need to be devolved increasingly to the regional government level. However, growth of sources of revenue and financing for local governments has not necessarily kept pace, forcing them, in some cases, to rely on unorthodox funding measures such as shadow banking, or else cutting spending below needed levels. Even if adequate funding is available, there need to be safeguards to ensure that debt levels are sustainable.
The Thailand Development Research Institute Foundation was established in 1984 to conduct policy research and disseminate results to the public and private sectors. TDRI was conceived, created and registered as a non-profit, non-governmental foundation, and is recognized as such by the Royal Thai Government. The Institute does technical and policy analyses to support the formulation of policies with long-term implications for sustaining social and economic development. This review contains to articles: Economic impact of high household debt in Thailand and Government Advertising and Media Intervention.
According to the Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan Republic, the external public debt of the country constituted $ 7,651 billion US (12,402 billion manat) in October 2016. The ministry has reported that the debt to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio stands at 20.1 percent. The external public debt consists of direct obligations of the state as well as contingent liabilities emanating from sovereign guarantees. Meanwhile, the ministry has underlined that the external public debt is predominantly attracted from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Japanese International Cooperation Agency and other financial institutions to finance projects in the economy as well as the issuance of bonds in the international capital markets. The CESD calculations show that the foreign debt of Azerbaijan is higher than the figure has reported by the Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan. Based on the anonymous survey among CESD's contacts in the government show that Azerbaijani real foreign debt is double digit billions dollar. That also means that the foreign debt's share in the GDP in reality is higher than the official figure.
Commodity-driven deforestation is the primary source of forest loss in the tropics, with major negative socio-environmental impacts occurring as a result. To combat this, many companies have made zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs), policies to purchase goods only from deforestation-free producers. It is hoped that these private supply chain policies can reduce producers' incentives to deforest and achieve deforestation at scale in a context of insufficient territorial governance. However, evidence for ZDCs' efficacy remains unclear, particularly due to key knowledge gaps stemming from: i) the heterogenous exposure of farmers to ZDC companies over time and space, ii) incomplete implementation to all actors involved in ZDC supply chains, and iii) the unclear impact of political context in implementing regions. The goal of this dissertation is to address each of these uncertainties, using evidence from the soy and cattle sectors of the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado. Chapter 2 of this thesis uses multivariate regression to assess how local variations in ZDC exposure, measured by estimating the municipal-level market share of ZDC companies, influenced conservation outcomes in the cattle sector of the Brazilian Amazon. This chapter finds that for the Amazonian portions of the Brazilian states of Pará, Rondônia, and Mato Grosso, 7,000 ± 4,000 km2 (15 ± 8%) of deforestation was avoided due to ZDCs between 2010 and 2018, and that had all firms adopted an effective ZDC, deforestation could have dropped by 24,000 ± 13,000 km2 (50 ± 28%). These results suggest that ZDCs in the Brazilian cattle sector are reducing deforestation, but only where ZDC market share is high. Chapter 3 examines both how the presence of non-ZDC buyers and ZDC companies' failure to monitor indirect suppliers' deforestation affects the ZDC effectiveness in the cattle sector of Pará. It also investigates whether these two policy weaknesses are associated with leakage. This is achieved by developing a property level dataset of direct and indirect cattle suppliers in the state of Pará to differentiate producers' supply chain tier and ZDC treatment. In line with Chapter 2, this chapter finds that incomplete adoption is the biggest challenge to ZDC effectiveness, as this allows producers to avoid ZDCs and business-as-usual deforestation to continue. Yet cattle laundering, whereby indirect suppliers to ZDC supply chains continue to deforest and sell through "clean" direct suppliers, is also linked to a substantial amount of deforestation. This pathway seems particularly linked to leakage, as direct ZDC suppliers who deforest are significantly more likely to switch to supplying ZDC firms indirectly than direct ZDC suppliers who do not deforest. The final research chapter of this thesis presents the concept of the "sacrifice frontier" to explain the role that local political narratives have on producers' resistance to supply chain policies. I suggest that sacrifice frontiers are regions where due to reinforcing perceptions of suitability for agricultural expansion, there is a heightened likelihood of political consolidation by agribusiness interests, low levels of public and private policy implementation, high levels of agglomeration, and low perceived risks to frontier expansion, making rapid land use change especially probable. Using data from semi-structured interviews with soy value chain members in the Matopiba region collected in 2018, this chapter examines to what extent the Cerrado aligns with this characterization and the potential implications that being a sacrifice frontier has for the effectiveness of private policies in such regions. This chapter finds the Cerrado closely corresponds to the sacrifice frontier concept and that as a result, the implementation of ZDCs in the region is highly challenging, as producers and agribusiness institutions are resistant to ZDC adoption locally and feel entitled to deforest. These results suggest that in sacrifice frontiers, such as the Cerrado, interventions need to go beyond market exclusion and alter prevailing narratives surrounding agricultural expansion, such as via interventions that consider the specific issues faced by local producers, or via more inclusive, jurisdictional-level positive incentives, technical support, and capacity building.
This edition of Network Industries Quarterly aims to provide insights into the general legal framework for liberalization and regulation of public utilities, notably communal services, in countries of ex-Yugoslavia. Among ex-Yugoslav countries, two are European Union (EU) Member States (Slovenia and Croatia), two are in the process of accession negotiations (Montenegro, Serbia), one is a candidate country (Macedonia) and one represents a potential candidate country (Bosnia and Herzegovina). After World War II, ex-Yugoslavia was a unique example of self-management, and a specific system of governance and societal ownership of companies, including public utilities. In the early 1990s, Yugoslav disintegration and democratization coincided with economic transformation from a socialist market economy to a market economy. However, legacies of the past economic system are still present in some aspects, albeit in some countries more than others, and influence the process of liberalization of public utilities. This process was urged by joining the EU or is still urged by EU accession requirements. Most of the impetus for liberalization comes as a response to low investments in infrastructure, as most of these countries have reached high debt levels and therefore a private finance infrastructure seems to be a solution. The market liberalization agenda began to come to the front, and regulatory reform urged creation of independent regulatory agencies for state-wide public utilities such as electricity and gas markets. On the other side, municipal (communal) services are mainly provided by local authorities and public operators. Liberalization agenda in many of these countries presupposes privatization of public undertakings, contracting out or alternatives to privatization such as Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and concessions, with special attention given to the general legal framework for PPPs and concessions in these countries. The following are some of the issues the country contributions have strived to address: • The scope and characteristics of public undertakings providing utilities and the character of public utilities owned or regulated by local self-government units; • PPPs and concessions as an "alternative" to full privatization: basic overview of active projects and reference to the legal and institutional framework for PPPs and concessions; • Liberalization agenda and the main issues in regulating local public utilities (communal services); • The character of regulatory powers and challenges posed to municipalities in regulating communal services. Although all country contributions have a similar structure, the level of detail may differ, notably due to the existing level of development of the normative and institutional framework in a respective country and different experiences in private sector involvement. After presenting the institutional and normative setting, in the concluding remarks authors have identified the main pitfalls and prospects for change. Although differences exist, it seems that the volatile political situation in many countries of ex-Yugoslavia and the fragile political will to perform necessary reforms of public (including local) administration and public sector of the economy are the most important deficiencies. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust legal and regulatory frameworks and create a stable economic environment. Local administration and business communities have to understand the concept of PPPs and private finance initiatives, while policymakers and local authorities must develop adequate plans and facilitatory structures for potential PPP projects, including capacities to initiate projects and perform cost-benefit analysis for the potential projects. ; -- The Legal Regime of Utility Services and Public-Private Partnership in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zoran Vasiljevic -- The Framework for Liberalization and Regulation of Public Utilities in Croatia, Frane Stanicic -- The General Framework for Liberalization and Regulation of Public Utilities in the Republic of Macedonia, Marjan Nikolov -- An Overview of Public Utility Services and General Legal Framework for PPPs and Concessions in Montenegro, Budimka Golubovic -- General Framework for Liberalization and Regulation of Public Utilities – the case of the Republic of Slovenia, Aleš Fercic -- Liberalization Agenda and the General Framework of Serbian Local Public Utility Services Regulatory Regime, Tatjana Jovanic
Relevance of the study of e-governance in the context of global political processes due to the practical importance of e-government in the process of political development, democratization of political interaction between the main actors and public relations.Modern technologies of political communication and organization of the mutual relationship between government and society suggest the implementation of e- government is not only the traditional functions of management, decision -making and implementation of policy and social integration, and other important functions for the exchange of information between global (national, collective and individual) political actors, social institutions and civil society organizations.E- government should promote the expression of ideas and open public debate on important issues of social development and act as a social institution of political dialogue and civil means of achieving consensus.Argued that in recent decades is the active development of information technology, which penetrate into the political sphere and public administration.Proved that the establishment of a global communication space directly affects the role and function of mass media. There are several traditional functions of the mass media : information, critical, controlling the function of the political education of the population , the function of articulation and integration of social needs and interests, mobilization and function in. Democratic model of media based on the following key provisions:- The separation of news from comment;- Openness of government information;- Lack of censorship, both the owners and the state.Determined that the system of priorities audience that «the public agenda» never quite matches the media order. That there are problems that people consider important, even if they do not cover media. Such problems are called «compulsive» because they attract the attention of ordinary citizens, regardless of the efforts of the media. In other words, people do not need help from the media to see in inflation or unemployment a serious social problem, because they know it from their direct experience.Through discussion of material media with other people in the individual develops a system of priority problems, this explains the great role of the media in the process of governance.At the present stage of development can distinguish the following models of e-democracy and e-government. Firstly, the model of support for direct democracy. Second, the support model of representative democracy, which corresponds to the concept of «e- democracy». Thirdly, the model support participatory democracy, which correspond to the concept of «virtual communities» and «e- inclusion».In today's processes of e- democracy and e -government related. E-government is interpreted as electronic infrastructure of state and municipal government that combines information technology interaction between government and citizens (G2C), government and civil society, including business structure and associations (G2B), and between various state and local government agencies (G2G).Thus, the prioritization of social development and the agenda depends not only on the activities of the media, and is the result of horizontal and vertical political interaction.Among the range of services provided by the e- Government should be noted focus on client work without paper documentation, automation, reducing the subjective factor in the provision of services and the provision of services in real time, which requires changes in the structure of government.So, e-government can, on the one hand, to increase the effectiveness of vertical relationships (government policy), and the other - facilitates engagement of communities, associations and agencies in the process of agenda setting, formulation and decision-making. ; Статья посвящена исследованию актуального феномена общественной жизни –электронному правительству. Определена роль е-правительства в процессе установления общественных приоритетов и повестки дня демократической политической системы. Проанализированы особенности е-правительства в эпоху глобализации и обусловленные глобализацией современные вызовы электронному правительству. ; Статтю присвячено дослідженню актуального феномену суспільного життя – електронному урядуванню. Визначено роль е-урядування у процесі встановлення суспільних пріоритетів та порядку денного демократичної політичної системи. Проаналізовано особливості е-урядування доби глобалізації та зумовлені глобалізацією сучасні виклики е-урядуванню.
The term «e-government» is now global. There are a number of models of e-government transition while the work on e-government implementation is carried out in almost all of the countries. However, the question of what are the limits of applicability of the existing models in the analysis of the concrete implementation processes remains virtually unstudied. This article describes the basic model, ensuring the establishment of international indicators of e-government development, and shows its limits based on experience the experience of the United States, China and Russia.Such models of e-government as World Bank model, the four stage model of К. Layne and J. Lee, UN DESA model et al. consider the main stages of its formation, ignoring the social and cultural context in which this formation takes place. This, on the one hand, enables the operationalization and monitoring e-government development at the world, and on the other, significantly distorts the actual specifics of the process. The analysis of the U. S., China and Russia experience shows that in the e-government implementation process a key role is played by national administrative cultures that define the objectives of transition, and therefore the limits of acceptable solutions.The process of information technologies installation in public administration in the United States was held under the banner of citizen's empowerment. The officially declared aim was to maximize their involvement in the decision-making. At the same time, those who make decisions, sought process for the orientation to reproduce the experience of business, which has successfully developed e-commerce. This process reflects the specifics of American management culture, which is traditionally defined as «administrative weaknesses but normative strength» (the central government has limited ability to directly affect the local authorities and a business, and operates by extending normative requirements).In the countries where the tradition requires direct impact on local authorities, the e-government transition is based on different principles. In China, e-government is formed to improve the efficiency of government by tightening control over the provincial and municipal levels of government and thereby eliminating conditions for abuse of power and corruption. The main objectives are to ensure sustainable development and support economic growth.Russia is characterized by contradictory approach to e-government implementation. The government establishes a set of goals, which are equal, not hierarchized, and tries to achieve them all simultaneously, which leads to numerous conflicts between the various implementers. Resulting controlled chaos is typical for Russian management culture.In general we can say that the e-government model is used more to show compliance of local governance reforms to the international standards and global trends, rather than an instrument of e-government implementation. ; Существующие модели электронного правительства (модель Всемирного банка, модель Лэйна и Ли, модель Департамента по социальным и экономическим вопросам ООН и др.) рассматривает основные стадии его формирования, игнорируя социальный и культурный контекст, в котором это формирование происходит. Это, с одной стороны, позволяет проводить операционализацию и осуществлять мониторинг перехода к электронному правительству на уровне стран мира, а с другой, существенно искажает реальную специфику этого процесса. Как показывает анализ опыта США, Китая и России, при переходе к электронному правительству ключевую роль играют особенности национальной административной культуры, которые определяют цели перехода, и, следовательно, характер принимаемых практических решений. ; Існуючі моделі електронного уряду (модель Світового банку, модель Лейна і Лі, модель Департаменту з соціальних і економічних питань ООН та ін) розглядають основні стадії його формування, ігноруючи соціальний і культурний контекст, в якому відбувається його діяльність. Це, з одного боку, дозволяє проводити операціоналізацію та здійснювати моніторинг переходу до електронного уряду на рівні країн світу, а з іншого, суттєво спотворює реальну специфіку цього процесу. Як показує аналіз досвіду США, Китаю і Росії, при переході до електронного уряду ключову роль відіграють особливості національної адміністративної культури, які визначають цілі переходу, і, отже, характер прийнятих практичних рішень.
Objetivo: El enfrentamiento a la pandemia del COVID-19 ha sido un desafío para todos los Estados, debido al alto nivel de contagio y la necesidad de insumos y camas en la unidad de cuidados intensivos para la atención de los casos más graves. Brasil ha enfrentado, además de la crisis de la salud, varias cuestiones administrativas, legislativas y judiciales relacionadas con los procedimientos para combatir el virus.Metodología: La investigación tiene como objetivo plantear el contexto de Brasil y México en este desafío, abordando cuestiones como la administración, la gobernanza y los juicios relacionados, este último en Brasil. La investigación tratará cómo estos Estados enfrentan la pandemia en términos de manejo, enfatizando aspectos administrativos y legales. Método: el método utilizado combina el estudio de caso (Brasil y México) con el desarrollo del razonamiento deductivo, a partir de la organización administrativa y la regulación legal. La investigación se basa en la revisión de la literatura, el análisis de datos documentales y secundarios.Resultados: Los resultados muestran que Brasil tiene experiencia en la realización de vacunaciones, pero que las diferencias políticas han obstaculizado la lucha contra el COVID-19, y el Estado brasileño puede realizar esfuerzos para una participación más activa de la población, con el fin de legitimar las acciones y luchar contra el COVID-19, con la ayuda y fortalecimiento de los gobiernos locales, como lo hizo México, donde el análisis demuestra las lecciones aprendidas en el combate a la pandemia, mediante el fortalecimiento de la gobernanza y la gestión de redes de apoyo entre los vecinos y personas de las localidades coordinadas por el propio gobierno municipal.Contribuciones: La principal contribución de la investigación es permitir el análisis de los contextos, problemas y acciones desarrolladas por Brasil y México para enfrentar la pandemia por COVID-19.Palabras Clave: Brasil; México; Enfrentamiento al COVID-19; Aspectos administrativos; Aspectos legales. ABSTRACTObjective: The fight against the pandemic by COVID-19 has been a challenge for all States, due to the high level of contagion and the requirement for intensive care supplies and beds for the care of the most serious cases. Brazil has been fighting, in addition to the health crisis, several administrative, legislative and judicial problems related to procedures to combat the virus. The research aims to raise the context of Brazil and Mexico in this challenge, addressing issues such as administration, governance and related lawsuits — the latter concerning Brazil. Thus, the research will investigate how these States are facing the pandemic in terms of management, emphasizing administrative and legal aspects.Methodology: The method used combines the case study (considering Brazil and Mexico) with the development of deductive reasoning, starting from administrative organization and legal regulation. The research is based on literature review, documental and secondary data analysis.Results: The results show that Brazil has expertise in carrying out vaccinations, but that political divergences have hampered the fight against COVID-19, and that the Brazilian State may undertake efforts for a more active participation of the population, in order to legitimize the actions to fight it. to COVID-19, with the help and strengthening of local governments, as did Mexico, where the analysis demonstrates the lessons learned in combating the pandemic by strengthening governance and vaccine management by Solidarity Support Networks for Neighbors and Local Residents , coordinated by the municipal government.Contributions: The main contribution of the research is to allow the analysis of the contexts, problems and actions developed by Brazil and Mexico in confronting the pandemic by COVID-19.Keywords: Brazil; Mexico; Confronting COVID-19; Administrative aspects; Legal aspects. RESUMO Objetivo: O enfrentamento da pandemia pela COVID-19 tem sido um desafio para todos os Estados, devido ao alto nível de contágio e da exigência de insumos e leitos de unidade intensiva para os cuidados dos casos mais graves. O Brasil tem combatido, além da crise sanitária, diversos problemas de ordem administrativa, legislativa e judicial, referentes aos procedimentos de combate ao vírus. A pesquisa tem como objetivo levantar o contexto do Brasil e do México neste desafio, abordando temas como a administração, a governança e as ações judiciais relativas — este último concernente ao Brasil. Assim, a pesquisa investigará a maneira como estes Estados estão enfrentando a pandemia em termos de gestão, salientando-se os aspectos administrativos e jurídicos.Metodologia: O método utilizado combina o estudo de caso (considerando Brasil e México) com o desenvolvimento do raciocínio dedutivo, partindo da organização administrativa e da regulação jurídica. A pesquisa está alicerçada em revisão bibliográfica, na análise documental e secundária de dados.Resultados: Os resultados mostram que o Brasil tem expertise na realização de vacinação, mas que divergências políticas vêm obstaculizando o combate à COVID-19, podendo o Estado brasileiro empreender esforços para a participação mais ativa da população, a fim de legitimar as ações de enfrentamento à COVID-19, com auxílio e fortalecimento dos governos locais, tal como fez o México, onde a análise demonstra as lições aprendidas no combate à pandemia pelo fortalecimento da governança e da gestão das vacinas pelas Redes de Apoio Solidário de Vizinhos e Moradores das Localidades, coordenadas pelo governo municipal.Contribuições: A principal contribuição da pesquisa consiste em permitir a análise dos contextos, dos problemas e das ações desenvolvidas pelo Brasil e pelo México no enfrentamento da pandemia pela COVID-19.Palavras-chaves: Brasil; México; Enfrentamento da COVID-19; Aspectos administrativos; Aspectos legais.
