Public sector performance auditing: Emergence, purpose and meaning

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extant Anglo-American literature on 'performance auditing for the public sector', in order to identify the socio-economic and political themes that influenced the emergence of public sector performance auditing. The paper also seeks to develop an understanding of the role and practice of performance auditing in the public sector. Common catalysts for change appear to rest in the influence of the local governmental senior auditor (e.g. Auditor General), the existence of public sector reform and changes in standardisation generally. The traditional role of the public sector auditor has undergone significant change over time. In particular, the scope of the public sector audit now exceeds the expectation that the auditor only check for regulatory and procedural compliance. It is now expected that the auditor enhance accountability in the management of public sector resources. The perceived objectives of performance auditing (economy, efficiency and effectiveness) emerge as a strong theme, one which seems to comply with these more modern expectations of performance

Responding to China—Changing donor discourse and perspectives on Africa?

In the past decade new donors, especially China, have become important in the international system and have developed relationships with states in sub Saharan Africa that present a challenge to the established donors of the OECD. At the same time the international financial crisis of 2008 has weakened both Europe and America ideologically, as well as in terms of their comparative international power based on their economic strength. For many states this has meant a significant reduction in aid budgets, making it more likely that the influence of non-OECD donors, including China, will continue to grow. What does this mean for the development programs of OECD states, including Ireland and the UK, and for their relationship with the governments of sub-Saharan African states? This paper answers this question analysing the policy discourse of the UK and Irish development agencies to determine if it has shifted in the period 2006-2011 in response to the changing international realities, including the challenges presented by the rise of China as a donor. It does this by using a word count content analysis of key documents published by the Irish and British development agencies. It finds a significant level of readjustment to the new international realities in both sets of documents, including a significant rehabilitation of the image of Africa

Learning Lessons: Urban Water Supply Sector

Complementing a November 2009 guidance note that outlined risks to development effectiveness in the urban water supply sector, this brief provides relevant lessons from evaluations of Asian Development Bank programs over the last ten years. The findings warn against the sector's vulnerability to diverse institutional, organizational, operations, and project-level risks

The impact of corporate characteristics on social and environmental disclosure (CSED):the case of Jordan

The corporate business environment is surrounded by strong public scrutiny from diverse stakeholder groups that are calling on businesses to accept accountability for not only their financial actions, but also the non-financial implications of their activities. Many corporate businesses are today paying attention to the needs of their stakeholders of social and environmental information. As such, in this study we examined how corporate characteristics could influence the amount of Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure (CSED) in the manufacturing sector in Jordan. Firm size, profitability, audit firm, ownership, type of industry and financial market level are the main factors examined in this study. Drawing from Ernst and Ernst methodology, the study developed a disclosure index to measure the amount of CSED for three years (2010, 2011 and 2012). Using panel data regression, we model the relationship between disclosure amount and the key drivers of CSED via random effect estimation. The results of our model indicated that the firm size, type of audit firm and financial performance in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) are significantly associated with the amount of CSED. On the other hand, we also find that firm profitability, age, type of industry and ownership are not related to the practices of CSED

Safe and Sound: an EU approach to Sovereign Investment

This Policy Brief looks at how the EU should react to the changing patterns of inward foreign investment, including a recent rise in investment coming from countries with diverse, often non-democratic political regimes. Lars-Henrik Röller and Nicolas Véron advocate building an EU-level policy framework for the review of the security consequences of foreign acquisitions, the implementation of which would be carried out at national level.

Changes within the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Society: Involvement of the Non–Governmental Actors

The monograph provides knowledge on the complex nature of both external and internal determinants influencing foreign policies of East Asian countries. Through a range of case studies on Japan, China, Taiwan and North Korea, the authors analyze international relations in East Asia as a mosaic of intertwining processes of globalization and regionalization, interests of global and regional powers, local social and economic conditions, national institutional arrangements, and even personal factors. They argue that sometimes a sudden change of one small element in this mosaic suffices to influence the whole system. Instead of providing a simplified interpretation of the analyzed processes, the monograph tries to illustrate them in their entire complexity.Non–Governmental Organizations (NGO) activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) are specified by missing mutual diplomatic representation between the two Koreas, and also between the DPRK and the US. This fact helps to increase the importance and prestige of NGOs, the role of individuals and groups in cultural, sport and civic exchanges when participating in mediation of humanitarian and development aid to the DPRK. The entrepreneurs, who are willing to invest in DPRK (despite the adverse conditions) and employ North Korean workers, play an irreplaceable role as well. A summary of these activities provides an overall picture of the presence and impact of non–governmental actors.This work was supported by the Academy of Korean Studies (Korean Studies Promotion Service) Grant funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea (Ministry of Education) (AKS-2013-INC-2230003)

Chevron's seismic survey, USAID's Nishorgo project, the Lawachara National Park of Bangladesh: a critical review

The paper mainly reviews the USAID-funded Nishorgo project which is an environmental project undertaken for the conservation of the officially declared protected areas of Bangladesh. This project is based on a co-management approach having the major features of Public-Private Partnership arrangements. Both state and non-state actors including the local communities are the participants in the project. However, the operation of this project coincides with the business interests of the US-based multinational company- Chevron in the project sites. In fact, it conducted a seismic survey in the Lawachhara forest areas of north-eastern Bangladesh. But the survey raised a public controversy as it violated the municipal laws of the country on wildlife conservation. This paper takes a Gramscian perspective to review the two different but related MNC and donor projects. In this regard, the first project of seismic survey provides a case study for the analysis of Chevron’s operation in Bangladesh, while the second project reviews USAID sponsored Nishorgo. Based on field works, interviews, and content analysis of local newspapers, this paper finds that both projects appear to have some other purposes which are largely related to the economic interests of the USA. In both cases, members of the local public and private agencies appear to partner with their international cohorts, and neglect the genuine responsibility of conserving the forests, thus further complicating the principles of public-private partnership empirically

Municipal Infrastructure Delivery in Ethiopia: A bottomless pit or an option to reach the Millennium Development Goals?

The following paper examines the different options to finance local public infrastructure in Ethiopia based on the assumption that the federal government of Ethiopia will not provide any guarantees for local borrowing. Besides a detailed description of the local public finance system and the capital market in Ethiopia, the paper also sets out some international successful practices in municipal infrastructure financing. Based on the observation of the Ethiopian case and the consideration of the international experiences, the paper has two major pillars that very specifically identify actions required for implementation. On the one hand, the paper recommends a number of feasible arrangements to generate a revenue enhancement of the local authorities in the existing intergovernmental framework. On the other hand, the paper suggests a solution - for creditworthy as well as for potentially creditworthy urban local governments (ULG) - to finance their future demand of public infrastructure together with the national finance institutions as well as the international donors.Fiscal Federalism, Grants, Ethiopia, Urban and Rural Economies

The Strawberry Growth Underneath the Nettle: the emergence of entrepreneurs in China

Chinese entrepreneurs innovatively manage organisations in the absence of strong economic institutions, under conditions of high environmental and technological uncertainty. This paper presents the findings of an empirical study designed to investigate how Chinese entrepreneurs can be successful in such an environment. We found that Chinese entrepreneurial activity relies on social institutions rather than on economic institutions. We offer a sociological theory which explains why the reliance on social institutions leads to such an unprecedented success. We conclude that the strong rule-enforcement mechanisms generate reliable behavioral patterns, and that these in turn efficiently reduce uncertainty to tolerable levels.networks;social capital;evolutionary economics;Comparative business systems;private sector in China