Journal of Public Affairs最新文献

{"title":"The Economics of Crime and Its Implementation in Ecuador Using External Instrumental Variables","authors":"Sánchez Calderón Marcos,&nbsp;Cristian Gabriel Gutierrez Rojas,&nbsp;Valiño Castro Aurelia","doi":"10.1002/pa.70111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.70111","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Rising crime rates in Ecuador pose a significant challenge for the design of effective public policies. This study examines the socio-economic determinants of two key offenses, homicides and vehicle thefts, using national time-series data from 1990 to 2022. Applying an instrumental variables (IV) approach and the two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimator, the analysis considers factors such as illiteracy, income inequality, urban growth, and public security expenditure. The results show that income inequality and urban growth are positively associated with homicides, while poverty is strongly linked to vehicle thefts. In contrast, access to employment and public security expenditure demonstrate significant deterrent effects. This study provides new empirical insights and policy recommendations tailored to crime determinants in Ecuador.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47153,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Affairs","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146002302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ESG Performance and Green Bond Issuance in Indian Financial Institutions: The Moderating Role of Profitability","authors":"Tuba Mahfooz,&nbsp;Pragya Singh","doi":"10.1002/pa.70109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.70109","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study examines how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance influences green financing within India's financial sector, using cross-sectional data from 99 financial institutions for FY2023–24. Employing probit regression to estimate the likelihood of green bond issuance and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to analyze the volume of green financing (bond proceeds and loans), the study addresses a key gap in emerging-market evidence. Results indicate that higher ESG scores significantly increase the probability of green bond issuance, with governance exerting the strongest effect. Profitability moderates this relationship, reducing the ESG impact for highly profitable firms. Institutions with superior ESG performance also exhibit larger green loan portfolios. Situated within India's evolving regulatory context including SEBI's 2016 green bond guidelines, the Reserve Bank of India's 2023 sustainable finance framework, and India's sovereign green bond issuance, the findings underscore the country's growing sustainable finance ecosystem. This paper makes a novel contribution by providing the first empirical evidence linking ESG performance and green bond activity among Indian financial institutions, enriching stakeholder and signaling theory applications, and offering practical insights for policymakers and banking leaders to strengthen ESG integration and support national climate finance objectives.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47153,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Affairs","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145994026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing Economic Activity by Mitigating Uncertainty: Exploring the Roles of the Financial System and Institutional Quality","authors":"Muhammad Ramzan Kalhoro,&nbsp;Ameet Kumar,&nbsp;Khine Kyaw,&nbsp;Pervaiz Ahmed Memon","doi":"10.1002/pa.70108","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.70108","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This paper investigates how financial development and institutional quality influence the negative impact of economic uncertainty on economic growth. Using a panel dataset of 32 countries covering the period 2004–2017, the study examines whether the institutional context can mitigate the adverse effects of uncertainty, and through which channels this effect is transmitted. To address potential endogeneity issues, we employ the system-GMM estimation method and margin plot techniques. The overall level of financial development is measured using principal component analysis (PCA). The results show that financial development reduces the negative impact of uncertainty on economic growth through both the investment and consumption channels. Further analysis reveals that access to finance, financial depth, financial stability, and stock market depth all play significant roles in moderating this relationship. In contrast, financial efficiency shows no mitigating effect. Regarding institutional quality, government stability helps to lessen the adverse effects of uncertainty, while bureaucratic quality does not appear to have a significant influence. The findings highlight the importance of institutional context in shaping how uncertainty affects economic growth and contribute to the limited literature on the role of financial development in this relationship. This study also pioneers the analysis of how institutional quality interacts with financial development to influence the uncertainty–growth nexus. From a policy perspective, governments should promote financial system development to cushion the economy against uncertainty, and policymakers should consider the state of financial markets when designing strategies to sustain growth under uncertain conditions.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47153,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Affairs","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145963844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Living With the Rivers—A Study on the Livelihood of the Riverine Communities of Assam, India","authors":"Mrinal Saikia,&nbsp;Ratul Mahanta,&nbsp;Dimpal Dekaraja","doi":"10.1002/pa.70104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.70104","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study explores the livelihood options and choices of the char dwellers of Assam, who are amongst the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the state. Char areas are river islands and sandy lands that are prone to flooding, land erosion, and sand deposition. Primary data were collected from 394 households across four districts of Assam, through focus group discussions and a structured household survey. A multivariate probit analysis was used to identify factors that affect char households' decisions about their livelihoods. Descriptive statistics reveal that 53.8% of households engage in two livelihood activities, and 65.7% combine farm and non-farm work, underscoring the prevalence of diversification. Moreover, 83.5% of households participate in farm-based activities, though only 6.35% rely exclusively on agriculture. Various environmental, geographical, social, and economic factors affect char dwellers' livelihood decisions. Indeed, char dwellers face challenges such as low agricultural productivity, land loss, and limited employment opportunities. Thus, improving agricultural yield and reducing flood risks are essential to enhance the livelihood security and well-being of char dwellers.</p>","PeriodicalId":47153,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Affairs","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145887862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“Do Not Fight for Me, Without Me”: Beneficiary Perspectives on Existing Engagement and Authentic Accountability in Yemen's Humanitarian Organizations","authors":"Najeeb Al-Nowairah,&nbsp;T. G. Saji","doi":"10.1002/pa.70105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.70105","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The purpose of this paper is to explore how authentic beneficiary accountability mediates the relationship between existing beneficiaries' engagement and their perceptions of humanitarian organizations' (HOs) performance in Yemen. The research analyzes data drawn on the perspectives of 380 beneficiaries through a questionnaire survey, and the study assesses the hypothesized relationships under a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework. Analysis revealed no significant direct relationship between beneficiary engagement and their perceptions of HOs' performance. However, there exists significant positive indirect association of existing beneficiaries' engagement with their perceptions of HO performance through authentic beneficiary accountability. For HOs to successfully engage beneficiaries and realize positive performance outcomes, our findings suggest a strong sense of beneficiary accountability.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47153,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Affairs","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145887863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tax Residency in the European Union and the Problems of Implementing Anti-Tax Avoidance Legislation in the Frames of Digital Competition: A View From Non-Residents","authors":"Valeriy Khoruzhy,&nbsp;Yuriy Kolesnikov,&nbsp;Aleksandra Zakharova,&nbsp;Alexei Malenkin","doi":"10.1002/pa.70106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.70106","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In recent years, the rapid development of the digital economy has brought issues of taxation and tax residency in the European Union (EU) into sharp focus. Digital competition and globalization have changed traditional approaches to taxation, requiring legislative responses and new policies to be adapted to ensure fair and efficient tax systems. The EU actively addresses aggressive tax planning by developing new regulatory instruments such as the ATAD (Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive), which require the adaptation of national tax systems. However, implementing these directives in the digital economy faces many challenges. This study intends to identify, analyze, and systematize the problems of implementing the EU anti-tax avoidance regulation in the context of expanding digital competition among business entities. The achievement of the research objectives is based on the analysis and synthesis of political and legal initiatives in the field of EU tax regulation. The study suggests that currently the implementation of the anti-tax avoidance initiatives in the context of digital competition faces a number of specific challenges for both residents and non-residents. The main ones are issues related to the legal definition of tax residence and the issue of permanent establishment (presence). One of the most problematic areas of practice was the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC6), aimed at preventing aggressive tax planning. Although it formally serves as an instrument of transparency, the uncertainty of its key categories (including “hallmarks,” “intermediaries”) has created significant difficulties in law enforcement. In general, it can be argued that the problems of indeterminacy of the nexus, blurring of DAC6 criteria, and differences in the implementation of EC directives reflect a general trend—a transition from codified norms to flexible, interpretation-dependent constructions. This creates risks for legal predictability and uniform application of tax legislation. The solution could be the formalization of key concepts (nexus, hallmarks, substance) in the form of supranational criteria.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47153,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Affairs","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145891075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of the Carbon Tax on the Transport Sector on the Moroccan Economy: Insights From a Dynamic CGEM","authors":"Saïd Aït Faraji,&nbsp;Ilyes Boumahdi,&nbsp;Nouzha Zaoujal","doi":"10.1002/pa.70107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.70107","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Morocco is committed to a policy of decarbonization in the various sectors whose production is intensive in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as transportation. The impact of this policy on this sector is very significant, given its cross-cutting nature in relation to all other sectors. This article assesses the socio-economic and environmental impact of a carbon tax on the Moroccan transport sector, using a computable general equilibrium model (CGEM) and considering two scenarios. The first earmarks all additional tax revenues for the state budget. The second earmarks 25% of these revenues to support carriers' production costs. Carbon taxation would negatively affect the transport sector, which is strongly connected to other sectors of the economy. But the support measure would transform the environmental challenge into an economic opportunity. In fact, GHG emissions will be significantly reduced, and the volume of transport service consumption will fall in the first scenario, fading out until it becomes slightly positive thanks to the reallocation of resources. The sector's value added would deteriorate without support, but would improve with reallocation, and employment would fall, although reallocation would boost it. Lastly, the impact on GDP would be positive in both scenarios and would be slightly greater thanks to the support measure.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47153,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Affairs","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145887656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Influence of Work Ethics on Public Servants' Performance: Investigating the Mediating Role of Intrinsic Motivation","authors":"Mahadih Kyambade,&nbsp;Afulah Namatovu,&nbsp;Luke Sewante","doi":"10.1002/pa.70095","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.70095","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study aims to examine the association between work ethics and employee performance among public servants, with intrinsic motivation as a potential mediator. A total of 366 responses were collected from public servants in Uganda. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in SPSS, followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) using AMOS version 23. The results indicate a significant positive association between work ethics and employee performance. Work ethics and intrinsic motivation are positively correlated, as well as intrinsic motivation and employee performance. Lastly, intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between work ethics and employee performance, demonstrating its crucial role in enhancing performance outcomes. The study highlights the importance of fostering strong work ethics and promoting intrinsic motivation within public service institutions to enhance employee performance. Public service managers should focus on creating environments that encourage integrity, accountability, and punctuality while also nurturing employees' intrinsic motivation through autonomy, job satisfaction, and a sense of purpose. These findings not only inform policy and managerial practices in Uganda but also offer valuable insights for other developing countries facing similar human resource and performance challenges in their public sectors.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47153,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Affairs","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145824885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Economic Outcomes of Digitalization and Financial Development: Insights From 125 Economies","authors":"Noureen Ayaz,&nbsp;Mudeer Ahmed Khattak","doi":"10.1002/pa.70102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.70102","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Digitalization is argued to be transformative, where digital platforms are becoming increasingly popular to the point that governments have included digitalization in their blueprints. Regardless of the buzz, it is unclear if digitalization enhances economic growth and lowers volatility. This further becomes more important with the development divide among the economies. We explore whether digitalization enhances economic growth and volatility in global settings. We do this by taking 125 economies as a sample for 2011–2021. We employ the system generalized method of moments estimator for potential omitted variable bias, endogeneity, and simultaneity concerns. It is found that digitalization enhances overall economic growth with no significant impact on volatility. Furthermore, it is found that digitalization slows economic growth and increases volatility in developing economies. For developed economies, the impact of digitalization on economic growth and volatility is precisely the opposite, which is interesting because developed economies are capitalizing on transformative opportunities, and developing economies are yet to explore the potential of digitalization. Moreover, it has been found that economies with more financial development experience extra benefits of digitalization, have higher economic growth, and have lower volatility. These findings are robust to alternative proxies for digitalization, country-year fixed effects, and different econometric estimators. This study carries vital policy implications for governments, policymakers, and digital platforms.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47153,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Affairs","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145824651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Structural Analysis of Public Trust and the Mediating Role of Government Image in Typhoon-Induced Disaster Response","authors":"Reciel Ann Cullano,&nbsp;Ann Myril Tiu,&nbsp;Purity Mata,&nbsp;Kafferine Yamagishi,&nbsp;Gamaliel Gonzales,&nbsp;Fatima Maturan,&nbsp;Samantha Shane Evangelista,&nbsp;Angelo Burdeos,&nbsp;Lanndon Ocampo","doi":"10.1002/pa.70103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.70103","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Recent reports modeled the quality of government disaster response via service quality, public trust, perceived justice, and government image in disaster situations. This study explores the mediating role of government image in the relationships between service quality, perceived justice, and public trust, thereby addressing the existing gaps in understanding these complex interactions. Using a cross-sectional survey with non-probability sampling, 860 valid responses were analyzed to test the hypothesized direct and mediating effects related to Typhoon Rai, which hit the Philippines in December 2021. The case was chosen for its significant disaster event, which caused broad spatial and temporal impacts, and the Philippines' frequent exposure to about 20 typhoons annually. Results from Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling generate insights from the proposed model's five hypothesized paths and two mediation effects. We uncover salient results to serve as inputs for disaster risk reduction and management. All of the main hypothesized structural paths are statistically supported, except for the path from service quality to public trust, whose significance changed after the Gaussian copula analysis was performed to remove possible endogeneity problems. Thus, public trust is developed when there is quality information and fairness in the delivery of services. The government image fully mediates the overall relationship between service quality and public trust, while a partial mediating effect was found between perceived justice and public trust. We discussed insights in light of findings and systematically connected the results to the emerging discussions in the field.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":47153,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Public Affairs","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145750908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}