Essays on Asymmetric Federalism

The growing research on fiscal and political federalism in economics (as well as rational choice political science) basically shares two main assumptions regarding federal institutions: it takes democratic and symmetric federations as the reference point. Democracy means that the decision making is based on elections and/or referenda, which effectively constraint the actions of politicians. Symmetry means that the ”degree of devolution” for all regions is identical. In particular, if both federal and regional budgets are funded by a common split tax, the de-jure retention rate is identical for all states. It goes without saying that there is a multitude of models looking at economic asymmetry between regions: most federations include states or regions with significantly different economic potential, population and territory, obviously influencing both their comparative economic performance and their behavior in the federal bargaining. However, the economic asymmetry does not (necessarily) provide an identity mapping into the asymmetric devolution in terms of formal institutions and informal policy making (what I refer to as ”asymmetric federation” in this paper): this issue requires careful analysis.Federalism; decentralization; Russia.

EFFECTS OF MANAGERS' POWER ON CAPITAL STRUCTURE: A STUDY ON ITALIAN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES

Agribusiness,

THE RE-ENGINEERING OF MANAGERIAL PROCESS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

The base of this research was a comparative analyse of the international practices in the field, in order to identify the most important tendencies in public services management. Considering the results of this research, there were identified the foundamental principles of an intelligent management model for public management (subsidiarity, public value and deliberative governance). Starting from this point, we proposed a new intelligent management model applicable in romanian public sector, which can be structured into three major components: top management component (executive and deliberative), operational management component (back office) and communication component (front level). As a case study, we focused in particullary on the water supply public service and we developed a methodology for projecting the front-office component starting from the necessity of optimising stakeholder satisfaction.public management, intelligent services, intelligent public organizations, top management, back and front office

Modern democratic federations in the digital age: the conditions and prerequisites of electronic government (de-)centralization

This thesis discusses the process of administrative (de-)centralization of electronic government in 11 democratic federations. The research is comparative in nature and process-tracing was used as a primary data analysis method in order to identify the factors that led to the centralization or decentralization of the three electronic government areas. The following factors were discussed in the study: economic resources, the quality of public services, the quality of electronic government and the political orientation of the majority party in the parliament. The work not only analyzes the prerequisites for the actions of the central government regarding the electronic government system aimed at redistributing intergovernmental power-relations but also categorizes these actions in the context of redistribution of administrative powers. Based on the results of the study, the factors of centralization or decentralization of each electronic government area are highlighted, and the main strategies are outlined. As the thesis argues, the desire of federal center to improve the quality of public services and quality of electronic government leads to the decentralization of electronic services area with the centralization of electronic administration, while increasing of economic resources leads to greater centralization of both electronic administration and electronic services.http://www.ester.ee/record=b5145136*es

Social Dialogue for Decent Work

[Excerpt] This paper aims to develop usable indicators of the concept of social dialogue, as part of the ILO\u27s effort to develop operational measures of Decent Work. Section 1 examines the concept of social dialogue. Section 2 looks at past approaches to measuring social dialogue. Section 3 discusses what we have learned from past approaches and the implications for developing indicators and collecting data. Section 4 describes and justifies the proposed indicators. Section 5 concludes the paper with a discussion of the implications of this methodology for practice, and an examination of the costs

Impact Of Management Functions On Appointment Of Football Referees In Nigeria Premier League

This study investigated impact of management functions on appointment of football referees in Nigeria premier league. The objectives were to examine the relationship between remuneration, recruitment process on appointment of football referee. Descriptive research design of survey type was adopted. The population for this study comprises of all football referees both active and retired. Purposive sampling techniques were used to select 150 respondents. A researcher structured questionnaire was used to gather information for the study. The instrument was validated by experts and tested for reliability through test retest method using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The administration of instrument was done by the researcher and two trained research assistants. The data collected were analysis using descriptive statistics of percentage to analysed the research questions while inferential statistics of Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to test the formulated hypotheses set for the study at 0.05 alpha level. The result revealed that there was a significant relationship between remuneration and recruitment processes and appointment of football referees in Nigeria premier league. The study therefore recommends that the recruitment and appointment of the referees should be based on merit and their remuneration should be conform with the FIFA standar

Applying a simple measure of good governance to the debate on fiscal decentralization

Debates about the appropriate role, policies, and institutions of the state are often hampered by the lack of a definition for good government. To provide a quantifiable measure of good government, the authors develop an index for the quality of governance for a sample of 80 countries. They apply the index to the debate on the appropriate level of fiscal decentralization. In measuring the quality of governance, the authors develop indices for the government's ability to: a) Ensure political transparency and a voice for all citizens (the citizen participation index measures political freedom and political stability). b) Provide effective public services efficiently (the government orientation index measures judicial and bureaucratic efficiency and the absence of corruption). c) Promote the health and well-being of its citizens (the social development index measures human development and equitable distribution of income). d) Create a favorable climate for stable economic growth (the economic management index measures outward orientation, independence of the central bank, and an inverted debt-to-GDP ratio). In relating the index of governance quality to degree of fiscal decentralization for the 80 countries, the authors are not surprised to find a positive relationship between fiscal decentralization and quality of governance. But the strength of the correlation is surprising.Banks&Banking Reform,Decentralization,Municipal Financial Management,Economic Theory&Research,Health Economics&Finance,Municipal Financial Management,National Governance,Governance Indicators,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform

Quality management in sports tourism

Research question: While quality management literature has addressed products and services separately, the founders of total quality presented this management philosophy as universally oriented. The purpose of this study is to empirically test the Deming management model (DMM). Research methods: We tested the proposed research model using structural equation modeling, based on data collected from golf courses and ski resorts, in three different countries. Results and findings: The results support the application of the model to services, in general, and sports tourism, in particular. Implications: Our conclusions reinforce the recognition of the method's effectiveness and identify the cause–effect patterns, within its basic scope, highlighting the importance of leadership in the success of a quality improvement program. Lastly, a discrepancy of this study is the incapability to support the relationship between continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. Nevertheless, the results should be interpreted while considering the presented limitations