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Regional Governments (regional + government)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	55%
Humanities and Social Sciences	27%

Distribution within Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting

General & Introductory Economics	40%
General & Introductory Business & Management	20%

Selected Abstracts

Regional Government and Governance in China and the United States

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 2009
Lin Ye
A comparative analysis of regional governance policies in China and the United States is presented from multiple perspectives, including jurisdictional structure, intergovernmental relationship, and performance outcomes. Policy reviews and case studies contrast how regional approaches may assist governments to learn seminal lessons from multinational experiences. [source]

Spain's greatest and most recent mine disaster

DISASTERS, Issue 1 2008
Flor Ma.
On 25 April 1998, the mineral waste retaining wall at the Swedish-owned pyrite mine at Aznalcóllar (Seville, Spain) burst,2 causing the most harmful environmental and socio-economic disaster in the history of the River Guadiamar basin. The damage was so great that the regional government decided in May 1998 to finance a comprehensive, multidisciplinary research initiative with the objective of eradicating or at least minimising all of the negative social, economic and environmental impacts. This paper utilises a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis to identify eight strategic measures aimed at providing policymakers with key guidelines on implementing a sustainable development model, in a broad sense. Empirical evidence, though, reveals that, to date, major efforts to tackle the negative impacts have centred on environmental concerns and that the socio-economic consequences have not been completely mitigated. [source]

Interest group strategies in multi-level Europe

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2007
John Constantelos
This article analyzes the political responses of French and Italian business associations to Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in the EU. I propose and test the empirical relevance of a multi-level lobbying model for multi-tiered systems, a model assumed by, but never systematically examined in, the pluralism literature. Data for this ten-sector cross-national panel study come from personal interviews with the presidents of French and Italian business associations. The interviews were held at the beginning and the end of the euro implementation process. The research shows that organized groups routinely overstep their territorial jurisdictions to lobby across multiple levels of government in multi-level Europe. The degree of state political decentralization is a statistically significant variable in explaining the choice of lobbying target. This ,crucial comparative case study' finds that, in adjusting to deeper economic integration, regional associations in France focus their energy on the central government, while Italian groups favour the regional government. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Dual Diagnosis,Policy and Practice in Italy

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL ON ADDICTIONS, Issue 2 2006
Giuseppe Carrà MD
In Italy, dual diagnosis issues are affected by distinctive historical pathways. Since the end of the 1970s, the addiction field has been starved of psychiatric contribution, with the emphasis being on a pedagogical model of substance-related disorders and a bio-psycho-social model for mental health. As such, dual diagnosis treatment, service models, and research have only been developed in the last fifteen years. Substantial training needs with regard to dual diagnosis are identified in addiction and mental health professionals, and new graduate and undergraduate programs are required. Further research is needed as well as an evidence-based health policy from national and regional government. [source]

Anatomy of Autonomy: Assessing the Organizational Capacity and External Environment of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

ASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 2 2009
Benedict S. Jimenez
Decentralization and autonomy can potentially increase public sector efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability, as well as fulfill a conflict-mitigating role. There is no guarantee, however, that decentralization, once implemented, would automatically produce the expected benefits. Using the case of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in the Philippines, this article explores the importance of organizational capacity and the cultural, political, and social conditions in the region to explain the performance of the autonomous government. The article concludes that for autonomy to work, the administrative and institutional capacity of the regional government should be revitalized and the current politico-administrative structure redesigned to accommodate local customs and practices and facilitate a consultative and collegial local governance arrangement. [source]

REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT DISPARITIES: AN EVALUATION OF POLICY MEASURES,

AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 4 2008
N. GROENEWOLD
This paper analyses the efficacy of regional and federal government policies in reducing inter-regional unemployment disparities. We use as our framework a two-region general equilibrium model with a given freely-mobile supply of labour. We assume inter-regional migration to occur in response to inter-regional utility differentials. Each region has households, firms and a regional government. In addition to regional governments, there is a federal government. The firms in a region use a single factor, labour, to produce a single good which we assume to be different to that produced in the other region. It is supplied to households and to the regional government in the form of payroll taxes. Households consume some, trade some with households in the other region and give some up to the federal government as income tax. Firms and households bargain over wages and firms then choose employment to maximise profits. The resulting equilibrium will generally not be a full-employment one. We simulate a linearised numerical version of the model. We examine seven alternative policies, six carried out by a regional government and one by the federal government. In the first group there are traditional tax/expenditure polices as well as policies which might be seen as attacking the natural rate of unemployment: changes in unemployment benefits, changes in union power, changes in the labour force and changes in labour productivity. The federal government policy is a regionally-differentiated fiscal policy. Contrary to expectations, many policies which have traditionally been recommended to alleviate unemployment are found, in fact, to exacerbate the unemployment problem. [source]

Bauphysikalische, ökologische und ökonomische Bewertung von geförderten Sanierungskonzepten in Wien

BAUPHYSIK, Issue 3 2009
Azra Korjenic Univ.-Ass.
Energieeinsparung; Gebäudebestand Abstract In diesem Beitrag wird die Nachhaltigkeit von Gebäudesanierungen untersucht, wobei die Reduzierung des Energieverbrauchs das oberste Ziel ist, was mit bis zu 80 % erreicht werden kann. Während in anderen Großstädten Europas das Konzept der Flächensanierung praktiziert wurde und wird, wird in Wien die "sanfte Sanierung" propagiert und auch gefördert. Die Stadt Wien hat dafür verschiedene Sanierungskonzepte bei der Hand. In dieser Untersuchung werden die verschiedenen geförderten Sanierungskonzepte anhand eines realen Beispiels gezeigt und rechnerisch überprüft. Ein Vergleich der verschiedenen Konzepte beleuchtet die einzelnen Punkte der Sanierung: Energieeffizienz, Sanierungskosten, Belastung für den Eigentümer bzw. Mieter der Wohnungen und Belastung für den Fördergeber (Land Wien). Die Ergebnisse ausgeführter Sanierungskonzepte brachten folgende Erkenntnisse bzw. Problemstellungen: , die Sanierungsmaßnahmen kommen hauptsächlich den Mietern zugute, während der Kostenträger (Eigentümer) nur die Wertsteigerung als Nutzen hat; , mangelnde Bereitschaft der Bewohner zur Sanierung; , erhebliche Mehrkosten für Passivhaustechnik; , zu geringe höchstzulässige Gesamtsanierungskosten. Evaluation of retrofitting concepts and municipal sponsoring in Vienna. Major energy efficiency improvements can be achieved via building stock retrofit. While in some major cities in Europe, mostly large-area building retrofit measures have been targeted; in Vienna a gradual thermal improvement of the building stock has been practiced. Thereby, a number of different instruments and programs have been promoted by the regional government. In the present contribution, a number of such programs are compared and evaluated based on the demonstrative case of a concrete example. Thereby, multiple related issues were addressed: energy efficiency, retrofit expenses, burden for the building owners and tenants, and burden for the funding agency (Municipal of Vienna). The results suggest: , the main beneficiary of retrofit programs are typically the tenants. The landlords benefit indirectly due to the appreciation of property value; , there is a certain lack of willingness on the side of the occupants toward thermal building retrofit measures; , achieving passive house standard in the course of retrofit measures cause significant additional costs; , permissible (fundable) maximum total retrofit expenses has been set too low. [source]

The political economy of direct legislation: direct democracy and local decision,making

ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 33 2001
Lars P Feld
Local and regional governments account for an important share of total government spending and, given the decentralization trend in OECD nations, this is likely to increase. How should this spending be governed? This article argues that direct democracy is best suited to organize decision,making at the state and local level. To support this, we present the main theoretical arguments on why and how referenda and initiatives affect fiscal policy outcomes. The basic argument concerns voter control. Under representative democracy, citizens only have direct control at election time. With referenda and initiatives, citizens can selectively control their representatives on specific policies whenever they deviate sufficiently from citizens' preferences. As a result, fiscal policy outcomes are likely to more closely reflect voter preferences. We empirically test this on Swiss data since Switzerland provides a ,natural laboratory' for local governance. The governance structures of Swiss cantons and localities with respect to fiscal issues range from classic parliamentary democracy to pure direct democracy, and an important part of spending and taxation is controlled at these levels. Specifically, we estimate an econometric model of fiscal behaviour using data from 1986 to 1997 for the 26 Swiss cantons, and 1990 data on 134 local communities. It is shown that mandatory referenda on fiscal issues at both levels have a dampening effect on expenditure and revenue, and at the local level also on public debt. Combining this with existing empirical evidence leads to a relatively uncontested result, namely that elements of direct democracy are associated with sounder public finances, better economic performance and higher satisfaction of citizens. [source]

The status of warning services for plant pests in Italy,

EPPO BULLETIN, Issue 1 2000
V. Rossi
A survey of the present status of warning services for plant protection in Italy shows the lack of a national project, so that the different regional governments approach the question in different ways. In spite of this, some common characters are present: (1) most of the regions manage the warning service directly; (2) everywhere, the warning service interacts with research institutes, farmers' associations, agrometeorological networks and other warning services; (3),indirect warning' is the prevalent model of organization; geographical areas are divided into homogeneous subareas, where information useful for producing advice is collected and elaborated; warnings are then disseminated by different means of communication, and farmers comply with them autonomously; (4) warnings are usually prepared by a team of advisers, who meet periodically, analyse available information and elaborate suggestions for crop protection; (5) available information comes from field monitoring, weather stations, insect and spore traps, forecasting models for pests and diseases; unfortunately, forecasting models are not widespread; (6) the content of warnings is rather uniform, including information on crops pests and diseases, suggestions for control strategies and, frequently, meteorological conditions and forecasts; (7) different means are used to disseminate warnings to farmers; usually several methods co-exist: bulletins published in local newspapers, sent by mail or fax, displayed on notice boards or available via the Internet; placards; telephone messages; surveys on local TV or radio. [source]

The ethics, politics, and realities of maritime archaeology in Southeast Asia

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2002
Michael Flecker
There is a constant battle between maritime archaeologists and commercial salvors throughout the world. In many developed countries, the arguments of archaeologists are valid, and their actions fully justify their stance. This is not so in Southeast Asia. In this region, archaeological information is being lost on a massive scale. Co-operation between the two groups, and with regional governments, is essential to prevent more irreparable damage. [source]

Equalization and the Decentralization of Revenue,Raising in a Federation

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMIC THEORY, Issue 2 2003
Robin Boadway
We study federal economies in which regional governments have responsibility for delivering public services and redistributive objectives apply. The implications of these for the assignment of revenue,raising instruments and fiscal transfers, both vertical and horizontal, are considered. Models of heterogeneous regions of varying degrees of complexity and generality are constructed. For each case, we determine what fiscal instruments must be given to the regions and what intergovernmental transfers must be made in order that the social optimum is achieved. With heterogenous households and regions, the social optimum can be decentralized by making regions responsible for redistribution and implementing equalization transfers that depend on the number of households of each type. [source]

Federalism in an endogenous growth model with tax base sharing and heterogeneous education services,

PAPERS IN REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2005
Thierry Madiès
Federal system; provision of education; tax base sharing; endogenous growth and human capital; "predative" governments Abstract., We examine the effects of tax base sharing on the growth path of an economy in which central and regional governments provide heterogeneous educational services (general and specific training) which increase capital productivity. Our focus is the non co-operative game between two overlapping governments , central and regional , whose objective is to maximise their net tax revenues of educational spending (Leviathan hypothesis). We will show that the dispute between centralisation and decentralisation depends on two effects; the first is a tax effect, which supports centralisation in that tax base sharing leads to overtax the common tax base, and so has a negative effect on the growth path. Second is a public good effect, which defends decentralisation because the very diversity of central and regional educational services has a beneficial effect on the growth path (educational services are imperfect substitutes and "specific assets" of each level of government). We discuss the virtue of tax base sharing in a federation, as an incentive scheme within government's grasp. [source]

Parliamentary Election Turnout in Europe since 1990

POLITICAL STUDIES, Issue 5 2002
Alan Siaroff
This article examines the cross-national variations in turnout for parliamentary elections in Europe since 1990 , a continent with a vast range in turnout levels and some clear subregional patterns, especially that of low turnout in East-Central Europe. A full range of socio-economic, mobilizational, party system, institutional, and contextual factors are examined for bivariate relationships with turnout. A multivariate model then indicates that cross-national turnout is higher where there is strictly enforced compulsory voting, in polarized two-party systems and countries with a high level of party membership, and where there are no relevant elected presidents or strong regional governments. Variances on these and other key factors are what accounts for the subregional pattern of East-Central Europe and the highest turnout case of Malta; however, Switzerland is confirmed to be a significant national dummy variable. [source]

Small firm networks: a successful approach to innovation?

R & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2002
Victoria Hanna
This paper considers the increasing trend of inter,working among small firms. Networks of small firms co,operate in certain activities, such as marketing, purchasing, R&D, training or manufacturing. But does co,operation lead to innovation? To answer this question published evaluations of small firms co,operating for mutual benefit are reappraised. Inter,working among small firms is then investigated further by interviewing three network brokers. The brokers were funded by regional governments and they facilitated co,operation between small firms. These semi,structured discussions explored the key characteristics of successful networks, the responsibilities of the broker and the level of innovation occurring. Networking is primarily a competitive response. It needs to evolve into a mechanism to enable small firms to develop innovative products and processes jointly. Small firms may have to rethink their approach to co,operation, and their motives for initiating inter,working if they are to benefit fully from co,operation. [source]

Multi-level Governance and Global Climate Change in East Asia

ASIAN ECONOMIC POLICY REVIEW, Issue 1 2010
Miranda A. SCHREURS
Q54; F55; H77 Climate change is an issue that requires integrated action at multiple levels of government and within the spheres of politics, economics, and society. National, regional, and local governments have both distinct and complementary roles in developing climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. Compared with the attention that has been given to international and national activities in East Asia, relatively limited attention has been paid to the role of urban and regional governments in combating global climate change. Cities and provinces are initiating their own climate action plans, positioning themselves as environmental model cities, and joining local, national, and international networks for climate change. This article examines urban and prefectural climate policies in China, Japan, and South Korea within a multilevel governance framework. [source]

Impact of Government Ownership on Investment Banks' Underwriting Performance: Evidence from China,

ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL STUDIES, Issue 2 2010
Ning Jia
G21; G24; G28 Abstract This paper examines the effect of government ownership on investment banks' underwriting performance in China. A large number of Chinese investment banks are owned and controlled by their respective regional governments. While regional governments may capitalize on their superior local knowledge and administrative power to help affiliated investment banks identify and land high quality local issuers, they may also leverage affiliated underwriters to facilitate the capital market access of those underperformed but socially and/or politically desirable local firms. Empirical evidence favors the latter hypothesis. Specifically, using a sample of regional IPOs, we find that issuers underwritten by their respective regional government-affiliated investment banks exhibit lower earnings quality and poorer long-term performance compared with those underwritten by unaffiliated investment banks. However, this difference is attenuated after the abolition of the IPO quota system. Examination of underwriting fees and issuers' shareholder identity provides additional evidence supporting the latter hypothesis. [source]