Why multi-stakeholder groups succeed and fail

Anti-corruption initiatives increasingly use multi-stakeholder groups, comprised of representatives from government, private sector, and civil society organizations, to drive implementation at the local level and serve as a force for transparency. In theory, the multi-stakeholder groups ideal is quite appealing -- each stakeholder has its own interest in the initiative and contributes its unique capacities. In practice, many multi-stakeholder groups have fallen short of expectations. This paper considers two separate but related questions. First, what are the unique barriers to implementation facing multi-stakeholder groups? Second, what policy measures can be taken to improve the likelihood that multi-stakeholder groups will succeed? The authors use existing research in political science and economics to develop a multi-level framework that accounts for the"nested nature"of multi-stakeholder groups. The framework is then applied to experiences of MSGs from the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative, a new pilot program that aims to promote transparency in construction through the release of material project information. The evidence shows that the barriers facing multi-stakeholder groups are substantial, but once the level (individual incentives, organizational dynamics, country context, or international pressures) of the challenge confronting a multi-stakeholder group is identified, the specific barrier, its root causes, and appropriate solutions can be identified. More broadly, the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative experiences suggest that multi-stakeholder groups are best used as a means of promoting dialogue and building consensus, not as the locus of policy implementation and oversight.Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,Social Accountability,Emerging Markets,Corporate Law,Corruption&Anticorruption Law

Grand Corruption in Utilities

This paper discusses mechanisms of grand corruption in private sector utility provision in developing countries. By the term "grand corruption," the authors abstract from the petty corruption that consumers experience -- for example, when firms and individuals pay bribes to get water delivery or an electricity connection. The paper focuses on decisions made at the government level involving private sector management, ownership, and provision of utility services. Corruption at that level may influence the pace and nature of private sector involvement and competition in utilities, as well as the level and form of investments, subsidies, and prices. On the basis of a literature review and interviews with firms and regulating authorities in two countries, Tanzania and the Philippines, this paper discusses the levels and determinants of grand corruption in utilities. The paper concludes by discussing a research program to extend this knowledge through a cross-country survey instrument.abuse; access to capital; access to finance; Access to information; accessibility; accountability; anti-corruption; Asian Development Bank; assets; asymmetric information; authority;

Political economy of the petroleum sector in Nigeria

The relatively slow pace of Nigeria's development has often been attributed to the phenomenon of the resource curse whereby the nature of the state as a"rentier"dilutes accountability for development and political actors are able to manipulate institutions to sustain poor governance. The impact of the political elite's resource-control and allocation of revenues on core democratic mechanisms is central to understand the obstacles to development and governance failure. Given that problems of petroleum sector governance are extremely entrenched in Nigeria, the key question is whether and how it is possible to get out of a poor equilibrium after fifty years of oil production. This paper uses a political economy perspective to analyze the governance weaknesses along the petroleum sector value chain and attempts to establish the links between challenges in sector regulation and the following major political and economic attributes: (i) strong executive control on petroleum governance in a political environment of weak checks and balances; (ii) regulatory and operating roles bundled into one institution, thereby creating conflict of interest; and (iii) manipulation of elections and political appointments. The restoration of democratic government has helped improve transparency and management of oil revenue and reforms at the federal level and proposed reforms of the petroleum sector hold much promise. At the same time, the judiciary has started to restore confidence that it will serve as a check and balance on the executive and the electoral process. Yet, these reforms are fragile and need to be deepened and institutionalized. They must be addressed not as purely technocratic matters but as issues of political economy and vested interests that must, through regulation and reform, be aligned with the public interest and a vision of Nigerian development.National Governance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Oil Refining&Gas Industry,Energy Production and Transportation,Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures

Dealing with politics for money and power in infrastructure

Policy recommendations for infrastructure provision usually build on a well-established understanding of best practice for sector governance. Too rarely are they adapted to the country-specific political environment even if this is an area where policy choices are likely to be subject to private agendas in politics. The fact that such private agendas are often ignored goes a long way toward explaining why infrastructure policies fail and why best practice can be counterproductive. While non-benevolence and rent-seeking are well described in the literature and anecdotes abound, there is only limited consideration of how the different incentive problems in politics impede policy improvements in infrastructure. This paper addresses why politics in infrastructure cannot be ignored, drawing on theoretical results and a systematic review of experiences. It reviews how different private agendas in politics will have different impacts for sector-governance decisions -- and hence service delivery. The concept of best practice in policy recommendations should be reconsidered in a wide perspective and allow for tailored solutions based on an understanding of the given incentive problems. Policy recommendations should take into account how coordination trade-offs may complicate efforts to reduce the possible impact of private agendas on infrastructure policy decisions. Although more transparency linked to service delivery indicators is a"safe"recommendation, it is also clear that the demand for good governance will not be sufficient to secure political accountability in a sector with huge vested interests combined with complicated funding schemes and complex contracts.Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,National Governance,Governance Indicators,Environmental Economics&Policies,Transport Economics Policy&Planning

A year-round study on digestive enzymes in the Arctic copepod Calanus glacialis: implications for its capability to adjust to changing environmental conditions

The biomass of zooplankton communities in Arctic shelf regions is dominated by the calanoid copepod Calanus glacialis . This species spends the winter in deep water, and then, metabolic rates are low. In late winter, it migrates to the surface where the spring generation develops. To date, it is not fully understood what regulates the activity of the copepods and how it coincides with food availability. To fill this gap, we sampled C. glacialis, mainly copepodite stage V, in a high-Arctic fjord in monthly intervals for 1 year and determined proteinase and lipase/esterase activities in relation to food availability and depth distribution of the copepods. By substrate SDSPAGE(sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis),we tackled changes in specific isoforms. We found a clear seasonal enzyme activity pattern. Activities in winter were reduced by at least 75 % as compared to spring. Substrate SDS-PAGE showed high heterogeneity of lipolytic enzymes, which could reflect extensive accumulation and metabolization of internal lipids. Only one band of proteolytic activity was found, and it intensified with the onset of the algal blooms. In late winter/spring, we sampled females and CIV, which also showed high digestive enzyme activities in surface water and low activities in deep water. High enzyme activities were related to the ice algal and phytoplankton blooms in spring. In autumn, the copepods descended although food was still available. C. glacialis could thus benefit from an early ice breakup and early algal blooms, but not from long-lasting phytoplankton availabilit

Exercise: a path to wellness during adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer?

Background: Breast cancer treatment can represent a threat to a patient’s wellness. The role of exercise in perceived wellness in women with breast cancer merits further study. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe how exercise is perceived by women to influence their physical and psychosocial wellness at the time they were receiving chemotherapy. Methods: Five focus group interviews with a total of 27 women with early-stage breast cancer were conducted. Prior to the focus groups, the women had participated in an exercise intervention during chemotherapy treatment. Results: Three themes emerged from the analysis: exercise shapes feelings of psychological wellness; exercise stimulates feelings of physical wellness; and exercise influences social wellness. The women reported feeling stronger in a psychological sense after exercising, that the strength exercise improved their upper-limb functioning, and that engaging in exercise triggered social support and interactions. Conclusions: Exercise during breast cancer treatment is perceived to enhance the patients’ wellness on several dimensions and in particular psychological wellness. Exercise might support the patients’ efforts to restore their sense of wellness and enhance their level of daily life functioning. Implications for Practice: Cancer nurses should promote exercise as a wellness-fostering intervention during chemotherapy treatment. Focusing on how exercise can contribute to feelings of wellness may help women with breast cancer choose exercise as a health-promoting activity that contributes to their recovery

The relationship between the systemic inflammatory response, tumour proliferative activity, T-lymphocytic and macrophage infiltration, microvessel density and survival in patients with primary operable breast cancer

The significance of the inter-relationship between tumour and host local/systemic inflammatory responses in primary operable invasive breast cancer is limited. The inter-relationship between the systemic inflammatory response (pre-operative white cell count, C-reactive protein and albumin concentrations), standard clinicopathological factors, tumour T-lymphocytic (CD4+ and CD8+) and macrophage (CD68+) infiltration, proliferative (Ki-67) index and microvessel density (CD34+) was examined using immunohistochemistry and slide-counting techniques, and their prognostic values were examined in 168 patients with potentially curative resection of early-stage invasive breast cancer. Increased tumour grade and proliferative activity were associated with greater tumour T-lymphocyte (P<0.05) and macrophage (P<0.05) infiltration and microvessel density (P<0.01). The median follow-up of survivors was 72 months. During this period, 31 patients died; 18 died of their cancer. On univariate analysis, increased lymph-node involvement (P<0.01), negative hormonal receptor (P<0.10), lower albumin concentrations (P<0.01), increased tumour proliferation (P<0.05), increased tumour microvessel density (P<0.05), the extent of locoregional control (P<0.0001) and limited systemic treatment (Pless than or equal to0.01) were associated with cancer-specific survival. On multivariate analysis of these significant covariates, albumin (HR 4.77, 95% CI 1.35–16.85, P=0.015), locoregional treatment (HR 3.64, 95% CI 1.04–12.72, P=0.043) and systemic treatment (HR 2.29, 95% CI 1.23–4.27, P=0.009) were significant independent predictors of cancer-specific survival. Among tumour-based inflammatory factors, only tumour microvessel density (P<0.05) was independently associated with poorer cancer-specific survival. The host inflammatory responses are closely associated with poor tumour differentiation, proliferation and malignant disease progression in breast cancer

Linking the metabolic rate of individuals to species ecology and life history in key Arctic copepods

This study compares the active and resting metabolic rates of species and life stages of copepods during the Arctic winter. Measurements were taken on individuals, and rates were described as functions of body mass. Differences in metabolic rate between species and life stages with the same mass were taken as evidence of distinct lifestyles. Copepod species that opportunistically feed during winter had higher active metabolic rates than species in a dormant state, but their resting metabolic rates were similar. Furthermore, metabolic rate increased more rapidly with mass for males compared to females and juvenile copepods with the result that the largest males had much greater rates. Whether the copepod was active or at rest had the greatest effect on metabolic rate, followed by body mass, species, and life stage having the least effect. Individual measurements on copepods can facilitate comparisons of metabolic rate across mass and further enable the measurement of rates when the individuals are active or at rest. The plasticity in metabolic rate found in the present study enables winter active species to have as low metabolic rates as dormant species and then suddenly mobilize and increase metabolism, likely as an adaptation to the scarce and random food availability during winter

www.ecares.org Dealing with Politics for Money and Power in Infrastructure

Policy recommendations for infrastructure provision usually build on a well-established understanding of best practice for sector governance. Too rarely are they adapted to the country-specific political environment even if this is an area where policy choices are likely to be subject to private agendas in politics. The fact that such private agendas are often ignored goes a long way toward explaining why infrastructure policies fail and why best practice can be counterproductive. While non-benevolence and rent-seeking are well described in the literature and anecdotes abound, there is only limited consideration of how the different incentive problems in politics impede policy improvements in infrastructure. This paper addresses why politics in infrastructure cannot be ignored, drawing on theoretical results and a systematic review of experiences. It reviews how different private agendas in politics will have different impact for sector-governance decisions – and hence service delivery. The concept of best practice in policy recommendations should be reconsidered in a wide perspective and allow for tailored solutions based on an understanding of the given incentive problems. Policy recommendations should take into account how coordination trade-offs may complicate efforts to reduce the possible impact of private agendas on infrastructure policy decisions. While more transparency linked to service delivery indicators is a “safe ” recommendation, it is also clear that the demand for good governanc