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1. Exploring the Application of AI in the Public Sector: The Case of Estonia and Lessons for Georgia

Author:
Salome Abramishvili
Publication Date:
08-2024
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Georgian Foundation for Strategic International Studies -GFSIS
Abstract:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming societies globally, offering unprecedented opportunities across sectors. The integration of AI into the public sector promises enhanced service delivery, efficiency, and significant decision-making improvements. Nations worldwide recognize AI’s strategic importance and are adopting National AI Strategies (NASs) to guide its development and deployment. This paper explores AI’s evolution and impact in the public sector, focusing on applications and strategic frameworks using Estonia as an example—a pioneer in AI governance within the EU. Estonia’s approach serves as a model for Georgia, a country with post-Soviet roots and EU integration aspirations. By examining Estonia’s National AI Strategy and its implementation, this paper identifies key lessons and recommendations for Georgia to develop its tailored strategy.
Topic:
Science and Technology, Public Sector, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:
Europe, Estonia, and Georgia

2. Artificial intelligence adoption in the public sector: a case study

Author:
Laura Nurski
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Bruegel
Abstract:
This case study illustrates the drivers of and barriers to artificial intelligence adoption by organisations, and acceptance of AI by workers in the public sector. Several factors were crucial in the successful adoption of a human-centred approach to AI, including a fast discovery phase that involved workers (or end users) in the development early on, and aligning human resources, information technology and business processes. Subsidy support mechanisms were also specifically targeted and acquired to support the adoption. However, making AI support available to workers proved insufficient to ensure its widespread usage throughout the organisation. The slow adaptation of existing work processes and legacy IT systems was a barrier to the optimal usage of the technology. Moreover, the usefulness of the technology depended on both the task routineness and worker experience, thereby necessitating a rethinking of the work division between technology and workers, and between junior and senior workers. Successful human-centred roll-out of AI in Europe will therefore depend on the availability of, or investments in, complementary intangible organisational capital. Very little is currently known about these investments.
Topic:
Digital Economy, Economic Growth, Public Sector, Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, Inclusion, and Work
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. FACTORS AFFECTING CORRUPTION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: EVIDENCE FROM VIETNAM

Author:
Hoa Nguyen Thu
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
This research utilizes a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to comprehensively examine the intricate interactions among various factors influencing corruption in Vietnam’s public sector. The findings reveal that certain factors, including inadequate anti-corruption policies and enforcement, a lack of accountability and transparency in anti-corruption endeavors, and significant income disparities between public officials and anti-corruption measures, significantly and positively impact the cultural and social norms associated with anti-corruption. Additionally, insufficient cultural and social standards exert a notable and positive influence on the level of corruption in the public sector. The outcomes of this study provide valuable insights for developing effective policies and strategies that promote accountability, transparency, and good governance to combat corruption in Vietnam’s public sector.
Topic:
Corruption, Accountability, Public Sector, Transparency, and Institutionalization
Political Geography:
Vietnam and Southeast Asia

4. Winding Up of State Enterprises in India: A Case Study of Five Enterprises Under the Department of Heavy Industry

Author:
Rajan Katoch and Sunil Bahri
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Why is it so easy to create a public sector enterprise but so difficult to wind one up, even when precious resources of the state with huge opportunity costs are regularly appropriated for entities that no longer serve any public purpose? Usually, it is due to a lack of political will arising out of a perhaps overblown fear of consequences of taking what are perceived to be “harsh” steps. It is also often due to an abundance of caution in the bureaucracy that has to implement these steps. There are reasons for this reluctance. Bureaucracy has learned from previous attempts at winding up state enterprises that such exercises tend to ruffle vested interests, attract political and judicial ire, and sometimes invite the unwelcome attention of investigative agencies. Closing down state enterprises has always been notoriously difficult. It requires the rare circumstance of all the stakeholders being in alignment with the objective at the same time for progress to be made. A great opportunity for overcoming these difficulties arose in 2014, when there was a rare and favorable confluence of circumstances and people in government, notably at the political level and in the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI), Government of India. A new government had assumed power with a reforming zeal, as new governments often have. In the department, we (Sunil Bahri as the financial adviser and Rajan Katoch as the secretary of the department) happened to be thrown together as a new leadership team. Both students of economics, we understood the administrative and economic rationale for closure of sick enterprises and appreciated the opportunity for us to make a signal contribution to better governance and public welfare. We intended to make all-out efforts to ensure that the opportunity was grasped and a sustainable outcome achieved within the brief tenure of two years that we had with the department. This is the story of those efforts.
Topic:
Governance, Economy, Economic Growth, Public Sector, and State-Owned Enterprises
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

5. Public enterprises and public administration– outlawed management and citizens’ attempts to curtail it

Author:
Nemanja Nenadic
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP)
Abstract:
How citizens can point out irregularities in the work of public enterprises and public utility companies, which operate in a very non-transparent manner in Serbia, read in the case study written by the Program Director of Transparency Serbia, Nemanja Nenadić. Public enterprises and public utility companies in Serbia make a significant share of the country’s economy (23% capital of Serbia’s economy), and they employ over 165 thousand people. Therefore, it is not a surprise that they are at the same time one of the main strongholds of party control over public sector and corruption. As Serbia was gradually passing the regulations that rendered uncontrolled recruitment to civil service and local administration more difficult, public enterprises were getting more attractive for partisan staffing, expecting sure votes in the elections in return. For the purposes of electoral campaigns or political promotion, the use of public enterprises’ resources is sometimes so obvious that there are even reactions from state authorities, not just angry citizens. Partisan and other forms of unnecessary employment also make use of frequent amendments to internal organisation and job systematisation acts. Other forms of abuse in public enterprises, which come in handy to party and other abusive purposes, reflect in redundant or rigged public procurement procedures, as well as numerous situations when money is spent without even conducting procurement procedures. Not too seldom, public enterprises, being more flexible in expenditures that typical budget beneficiaries, assist the work of “suitable“ media through advertising, or, through alleged commercial sponsorship and “corporate social responsibility“ do covert budget financing, which is not visible in the final balances. It is important to say that, when regards state-owned enterprises at various levels, it is actually several types of economic operators. The number of state-owned enterprises used to be several thousand. Most of them were sold or went bankrupt during the last decade of the previous century and the first decade of the current century. The state has retained ownership in some companies competing in the market, either because nobody wanted to buy them, due to the lack of commercial (or political) interest or waiting for a good opportunity to sell. Besides commercial enterprises, which are state-owned though they needn’t be, there are also public undertakings (in a narrower sense of the word) the operations of which are regulated by a specific law. Those are companies performing the so-called “activities of common interest“, so the state is ready to maintain their existence even when they generate losses. Also, there many public enterprises that are monopolies and prominently dominant in the market, which enables their profitability. Some of them are organised as “public“ or “public utilities“, and others are shareholders’ companies or limited liability companies, which may lead to their sale. Currently there are 34 such companies at the central level, AP Vojvodina being the founder of three, while there are about 700 local public companies. The attempt to entirely hide the operations of many state-owned companies from the public, by amending the Law on Free Access to Information of Public importance planned in 2018 and 2019, with awkward justification, was prevented by the brisk response of domestic civil society and opinion of SIGMA’s experts going in the same direction.
Topic:
Public Sector, Transparency, Social Roles, and Civil Services
Political Geography:
Europe and Serbia

6. Cybersecurity culture in the public and private sector area in the Central European region

Author:
Borta Górka-Winter
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:
Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:
Cyber security is a growing problem associated with everything a citizen or organisation does in cyberspace. The problem thus outlined fits into a multifaceted programme that can be addressed through cyber security management. The analysis in the article compares the level of cyber security awareness among the staff of public institutions and the private sector in four Central European countries, namely Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Public institutions are by nature open, decentralised and rich in a wide range of data about the state, society, economy, economics and research and innovation. For this reason, they are often exposed to serious cyber threats. This study examines the relationship between cyber security culture and the urgent need for preventive action against possible cyber threats. The main thesis of the study is that an adequate understanding of cyber security culture and improved awareness among employees about digital threats is key to achieving cyber security growth. The research illustrates breaches in so-called digital hygiene, which are caused by a lack of knowledge, skills and errors in employee behaviour. Following a survey of staff employed in both public and private organisations, an identification of key cyber security risk factors is made. Increasing staff competencies can help improve cyber resilience.
Topic:
Cybersecurity, Public Sector, Innovation, Private Sector, Management, and Organizational Culture
Political Geography:
Europe, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Central Europe, and Slovakia

7. Tax provisioning by extractive industry multinational subsidiaries

Author:
Khanindra Ch. Das
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Extractive industries are spread across mining of metal and minerals, oil and gas, among others. Multinationals in these sectors are confronted with different challenges ranging from corruption, political risk, economic uncertainty, sunk costs, and the long-gestation periods to execute projects. As a result, tax payment behaviour of subsidiaries in the extractive sector could be dependent not only on these factors, but also on the life cycle of the subsidiary, profitability, and holding structure. Furthermore, emerging economy multinationals in the extractive industries could be state-owned and may invest in foreign subsidiaries for strategic reasons. We examine tax provision in host countries by India’s multinational subsidiaries in the extractive industry. Panel data analysis is carried out for the period 2010–20. It is found that tax provision remains lower in the initial years of subsidiary life and increases with the sustenance of subsidiary in the host country for a longer period. In addition, subsidiaries of public sector enterprises are found to have higher tax provisions than their private counterparts. When it comes to the determinants, economic policy uncertainty, corruption, and political stability are found to significantly affect tax provision.
Topic:
Corruption, Political stability, Multinational Corporations, Tax Systems, Economic Policy, Public Sector, Extractive Industries, and Uncertainty
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

8. What difference do schools make? A mixed methods study in secondary schools in Peru

Author:
Juan Leon, Gabriela Guerrero, Santiago Cueto, and Paul Glewwe
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE)
Abstract:
This study contributes to the scarce literature on school effectiveness in secondary education in Peru by addressing the following questions: i) which educational processes within schools are most influential in math and reading comprehension? and in the case of the most effective schools, ii) what is the importance that principals, teachers, and students place on school processes variables in explaining educational outcomes? We use a mixed-method design that follows a sequential explanatory design. Our results point out the relevance of school process variables at the school level. Therefore, educational programs carried out by local and national governments should pay more attention to the dynamics within the school to mitigate the educational inequalities, equalizing upwards the opportunities for children in impoverished public schools.
Topic:
Education, Children, Inequality, and Public Sector
Political Geography:
Peru

9. The Institutional Context of Humanitarian Helping in Contemporary Italy

Author:
Adriano Profeta, Lisa Ann Richey, and Maha Rafi Atal
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:
Italy was itself a recipient of foreign aid and has now become a donor engaged in multiple forms of humanitarian helping abroad and at home. The institutional context of humanitarian helping in Italy is constituted by a moving constellation of relationships between the state, the church, and the nonprofit sector. As we see the changing institutional context for Italian nonprofits with decreasing public solidarity, negative discursive framing, and the need to diversify fund-raising channels, Italian businesses are being sought out for partnerships between profit and nonprofit actors (De Marchi and Martinez 2020). As in other donor countries, there has been a weakening of public trust in the traditional aid sector of Italian nonprofits combined with recently decreasing national funding for humanitarian helping abroad. These trends have led to an increasing need for nonprofits to pivot their fund-raising campaigns toward individuals and social networks such as Facebook (De Carli, 2019c). Today, the interface for “helping” brings together government legislation, state bodies, for-profit organizations, nonprofit organizations, the church, and individuals. To begin to understand the interface of humanitarian helping and the trends in Italy today, this working paper documents and explains the history of Italian cooperation for development and humanitarian helping. The next section will explore changes in perceptions of non-state helping and doing good. The third section will turn to government-based helping in contemporary Italy to understand the formal structures shaping humanitarianism and international development. The fourth section examines the institutional organization of the contemporary development cooperation system that links actors in helping interventions. Within this, we examine the public funding trends for development helping. Section five then examines the private funding available. Finally we conclude with some reflections on what this institutional context suggests for the mix of public and private helping abroad.
Topic:
Development, Humanitarian Aid, Foreign Aid, Public Sector, Private Sector, Non-profits, and Public-Private Partnership
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy

10. Optimizing the Governance and Performance of Public Enterprises In Cameroon

Author:
Steve Tametong
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Nkafu Policy Institute
Abstract:
Defined as economic units with legal and financial autonomy carrying out industrial and commercial activities and whose share capital is wholly or mainly held by a legal person under public law, public enterprises occupy a major place in the economic development policy of the State in Cameroon. The many reforms that have taken place in this key sector have, for the most part, been directed towards the search for performance and the promotion of sound corporate governance. However, this double objective remained a real challenge under the empire of law n°99/016 of December 22, 1999 on the general status of public establishments and public and semi-public sector companies, which had repealed order n°95/003 of August 17, 1995 governing public and semi-public sector companies. To echo this, the Technical Commission for the Rehabilitation (CTR) of public and parapublic sector companies revealed in its 2019 Report that the 50 public entities whose performance was analysed showed a 15.7% drop in turnover compared to the 2018 financial year, and an overall net result of CFAF -59.5 billion, down by -6.4% compared to 2018. Also, the biggest losses were recorded in the combined sectors of “hydrocarbons, water and electricity” and “industry and commerce“. Moreover, out of a target of 53 billion in 2019 for contributions from public enterprises to the state budget, only 12 billion had been paid out by the end of the year, i.e. an achievement rate of 21.94%. These under-performances are the result of an extraverted governance whose causes are not exclusively managerial. According to Professor Henri Modi Koko Bebey, “political and administrative burdens also explain, at least in part, the poor results obtained so far”.. Therefore, the link between governance and the performance of public enterprises is inseparable. This policy brief is intended to be a plea for strengthening the performance-oriented governance of public enterprises. To achieve this, it first outlines the renovated legal framework and highlights the classification of public enterprises (I); then, it questions, based on a few illustrative cases, the governance of public enterprises and its impact on their performance (II); finally, it makes recommendations for better governance to improve the performance of public enterprises in Cameroon (III).
Topic:
Governance, Public Sector, Public Spending, and Efficiency
Political Geography:
Africa and Cameroon