Incentives for the adoption of e-government by Greek municipalities

Purpose: The research aims to identify the incentives that play an important role in the evolution of e-government in Greece at local scale and its actual development level. It also investigates the factors and the perceived barriers that affect the development of local egovernment in Greek Municipalities, as well as the benefits they derive from it. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research is based on a survey that was conducted through a questionnaire to all 325 Municipalities of the country and includes data from 109 Municipalities that participated in the quantitative approach. Findings: While e-government is spread at a relatively satisfactory level, it appears that only a few Municipalities are performing well. Results highlight also the two main incentives that motivate Municipalities to adopt e-government: The first is the improvement of the efficiency of information exchange with the external environment and the second is managing internal issues-relationships in conjunction with the existence of prominent IT departments. Amongst the main factors that affect e-government adoption by Local authorities, budgetary constraints stand out, while the lack of personnel specialized in Information Technologies is identified as common obstacle. Practical Implications: Findings suggest that an integrated approach to e-government is needed in order to enable organizations to minimize failures and to overcome barriers and counter risks. The capacity to align e-government applications with the increasing and evolving needs and requirements of the citizens is the key to optimizing the benefits of eGovernment at local scale. Originality/Value: There is no similar empirical research in the context of Greece; hence, it seems important to increase the knowledge about the drivers of e-government adoption, especially in the public sector at the local scale.peer-reviewe

Sustainable Development Policies in Europe

The objective of this paper is to investigate the actual situation in the shift towards the implementation of Sustainable Development Policies in Europe. The aim is to highlight the key role of the European Union in bringing about sustainable development within Europe and also on the wider global stage. It will show how the European Commission performs its commitment in reaching a sustainable regulation by issuing some documents and declarations. The paper frames the EU action into an international framework of strategies, agreements and policies on SD and, at the same time, provides an overview on experiences of SD strategy implementations at the national level, according to the commission pressing on MS to produce their own SD strategy and implement it. Indicators systems, issues of interest and fields of actions are compared: the analysis of these elements aims to highlight common scenarios of SD strategies that reveal the trends towards a more sustainable growth in the European Union.Sustainable Development, Globalization, Environment Policy, Strategy for Sustainable Development, Good Governance, Participation

All that Glitters: A Review of Payments for Watershed Services in Developing Countries

This report reviews the current status of payments for watershed services in developing countries. It highlights the main trends in the evolution of these schemes, synthesising the available evidence on their environmental and social impacts, and drawing lessons for the design of future initiatives. The interest in payments for watershed services (PWS) as a tool for watershed management in developing countries is growing, despite major setbacks. This review identified 50 ongoing schemes, 8 advanced proposals and 37 preliminary proposals for PWS. A previous review published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) on markets and payments for environmental services (Silver Bullet or Fools' Gold? (Landell-Mills and Porras 2002)) identified just 41 proposed and ongoing PWS schemes in developing countries, which suggests a considerable growth in interest in this approach

E-Government, transparency, reputation and performance. An empirical study in a sample of Spanish municipalities

Different streams of the Resource-Based View of the Firm (RBV) research have tested diverse relationships among intangible strategic resources and performance in heterogeneous industries, which have made a considerable contribution to our knowledge about firms and competition. The RBV establishes that those organizations capable of creating and developing strategic resources will have a competitive advantage and will enjoy a superior performance. Despite the substantial research effort, scarce empirical work has been developed trying to test the resourcebased view postulates in the public administration domain. The aim of this study is to examine how a set of strategic resources (e-government, transparency and reputation) can be the drivers of performance in public organizations, developing a theoretical model based on the RBV. The methodology considers a structural equation model (SEM) in order to test the hypotheses formulated in a sample of 78 Spanish municipalities. A group of models were designed considering performance as the dependent variable, and measuring it in six different ways: with three indicators of performance (economic activity index per capita, employment, and performance factor) and three indicators of performance growth (economic activity index growth, employment growth and population growth). The empirical research revealed a positive relationship between e-government and transparency, transparency and reputation, e-government and reputation, and reputation and performance, while the relationship between e-government and performance was not supported. Based on empirical findings, several implications emerge for scholars and practitioners; mainly that the RBV presents an adequate perspective for analysing public organizations, and that the development of strategic resources highly linked to local governments could be a source of competitive advantages with a positive impact on several indicators of city performance, and this should be considered by practitioners

Occupational hazards

This article provides an analysis and a critique of the law governing the employment relationship between Israeli employers and Palestinian employees in industries operating in the West Bank. Through an analysis of Israeli jurisprudence it highlights the intersection among different areas of law: choice of law, public international law (in particular the law of occupation), and labor law. The article explores the tensions that this intersection creates: first, between the importance that public international law ascribes to matters of sovereignty and territory, and the latter’s growing marginality in the labor field, which is increasingly becoming transnational; another tension is between the transience underlying the law of occupation and the exceptional duration of Israel’s occupation of the territories, which has led to an economic conundrum not predicted by the framers of the international legal structure, and with which the law of occupation can deal to a very limited extent. Through discussion of these tensions the article brings to the fore challenges to the role of meaning equality in transnational employment relationships, particularly in situations of structured power disparities deriving from political circumstances. While the challenges explored here are intimately linked to the phenomenon of occupation, the increased swiftness with which private companies worldwide are now able to cross borders and set up enterprises outside their state of origin makes the analysis highly relevant to businesses worldwide

The Critical Role of Public Charging Infrastructure

Editors: Peter Fox-Penner, PhD, Z. Justin Ren, PhD, David O. JermainA decade after the launch of the contemporary global electric vehicle (EV) market, most cities face a major challenge preparing for rising EV demand. Some cities, and the leaders who shape them, are meeting and even leading demand for EV infrastructure. This book aggregates deep, groundbreaking research in the areas of urban EV deployment for city managers, private developers, urban planners, and utilities who want to understand and lead change

Disparities of poverty and wealth in the Philippines. An analysis of policy effect(iveness)

In contemporary times of globalisation the manifestations of disparities of poverty and wealth and the design and implementation of policy responses become ever more complex and challenging. It is the conventional task of the (national) government to promote socio-economic security and equality by reaching out to the peripheral regions, marginalised people, and most problematic issues of disparities of poverty and wealth. This Ph.D. thesis argues that governmental policy outreach and effect(iveness) are increasingly determined by whether and how policy-making considers and integrates liberalised market forces, societal stakeholders, and national and decentralised local governments. In the Philippines disparities of poverty and wealth particularly disadvantage rural, agricultural peripheries that show a high concentration of Muslim and indigenous minorities, and at local scales, of tenants and landless workers. Governmental policy-making (re)produces these disparities through spatial and sectoral biases on market growth and global integration for the most profitable yet volatile urban coastal centres of industries and services. Moreover, endogenous institutions of "traditional Philippine political culture" render policy-making ineffective as a means for a sustainable, locally-embedded, and -empowered form of development. The political elite is more interested in (corruptive) self-enrichment practices than long-term objectives of redistribution. Socio-cultural patronage relations towards them constrain participation of and partnership with local populations and non-governmental organisations in policy-making. In lieu of cooperating, stakeholders operate mutually exclusive or compete with each other, causing an institutional overload and chaos in the most profitable policy sites, while others are entirely neglected. Altogether, the interactions between spatial, sectoral disparities, social inequalities, and policy-making biases have triggered of persistent armed conflicts over "redistributive and recognitive justice" in the developmental peripheries. The conflicts work to exacerbate the developmental gap between centres and peripheries, weaken Filipinos' national cohesion in favour of regional and local identities, and threaten the legitimacy of government. Hence, this thesis depicts how imbalanced negotiations between state and globalised market on the one hand and a persistent endogenous political culture in policy-making on the other can work to continually (re)produce manifestations of disparities of poverty and wealth to eventually undermine government and nation-state

Investments in solid waste management : opportunities for environmental improvement

This paper presents the findings of a brief evaluation of World Bank experience in municipal solid waste management (MSWM) and recommends approaches to improving future Bank performance in this subsector. The paper is presented in four chapters. Chapter I describes the methodology by which the MSWM investments were reviewed and presents definitions and discussion of the benefits of MSWM to the environment and urban productivity in developing countries. Chapter II presents the overall results relating to to the Bank's total lending for solid waste management, including the findings of the Regional evaluation of MSWM lending. Chapter III examines the findings related to the design and implementation of the Bank's MSWM components and discusses such issues as the size and scope of investments, borrowing levels, cost recovery, and private sector participation. Finally, chapter IV presents recommendations for improving the design and execution of future MSWM projects or components. Annexes to the paper include a series of tables containg summary data on MSWM components in Bank projects and eight individual case studies highlighting specific MSWM projects or components in selected countries.Urban Solid Waste Management,Sanitation and Sewerage,TF030632-DANISH CTF - FY05 (DAC PART COUNTRIES GNP PER CAPITA BELOW USD 2,500/AL,Waste Disposal&Utilization,Energy and Environment

Towards sustainability in South Africa : a study of local government sustainability planning in the Cape Metropolitan Area

Includes bibliography.The popular use of the term sustainability represents a consensus around the fact that society must change its path towards ecological destruction and the consequent decline in human's quality of life. Sustainability facilitates the integration of environmental issues, previously seen as radical and disruptive, into mainstream political, social and economic discourse. The term therefore represents a transitional tool which will lead society from its current non-sustainable phase to greater sustainability. At present the most successful action for change is being initiated from the local level through local sustainability planning. Sustainability planning represents an alternative approach to local government decision-making based on the principles of sustainability. Many countries are experiencing success with local sustainability planning initiatives such as Healthy Cities and Local Agenda 21. These initiatives represent generic approaches to sustainability planning. This thesis contends that a more successful approach could be gained through tailoring strategic planning to local contexts. The challenge is to design a framework that meets the needs of the specific socio-economic, legislative and institutional contexts of a given area. South Africa's discriminatory socio-political history has resulted in major social and environmental legacies, especially amongst the marginalised and poor sectors of society. These legacies must be understood and addressed in order to carry-out successful sustainability planning processes. Since 1994 sustainability in South Africa has received significant attention in the legislation which has emanated from the democratic government. The legal framework for sustainability is provided by a progressive Constitution [Act 108 of 1996]. The Constitution provides clear objectives for environmental management. Furthering the framework for environmental management set out in the Constitution is the National Environmental Management Act [Act 107 of 1998] (NEMA). NEMA is a key piece of legislation which has far-reaching implications for sustainability. It establishes general principles which act as a framework within which environmental management in the country will be carried out. The Constitution [Act 108 of 1996] also sets out clear objectives for local governance. Local government in the CMA, as in the rest of South Africa, is suffering from the effects of the (re)current restructuring period following the country's transition to democracy. This sphere of government is experiencing significant financial and capacity constraints. The situation has been compounded by a lack of civil-sector consultation during this protracted period of change. Mechanisms for addressing sustainability and incorporating environmental issues within local government planning and decision-making are absent from national legislation. Local government sustainability planning represents such a mechanism. This study researches the current status and future prospects for local government sustainability planning using the Cape Metropolitan Area (CMA) in South Africa as a case study. A framework for local government sustainability planning is developed based on the current national and local contexts. The proposed framework places the fundamental principles of sustainability at the highest strategic level in the authority. Alongside these principles are key operational themes of sustainability. Each of these should be used to guide and inform decisions and activities carried out within the local government authority. As we enter the new millennium local government in South Africa has an increasing responsibility to achieve local sustainability and in so doing to elevate its citizens quality of life. A bold response to local sustainability planning is required if this is to be achieved

Incentive-Based Instruments for Water Management

This report provides a synthesis review of a set of incentive-based instruments that have been employed to varying degrees around the world. It is part of an effort by The Rockefeller Foundation to improve understanding of both the potential of these instruments and their limitations. The report is divided into five sections. Section 1 provides an introduction to the synthesis review. Section 2 describes the research methodology. Section 3 provides background on policy instruments and detail on three incentive-based instruments -- water trading, payment for ecosystem services, and water quality trading -- describing the application of each, including their environmental, economic, and social performances, and the conditions needed for their implementation. Section 4 highlights the role of the private sector in implementing these instruments, and Section 5 provides a summary and conclusions