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North Macedonia can improve its economic growth by addressing the infrastructure gap by at least full capital budget utilisation. The outturn/execution of capital budget expenditures is low and in relative terms decreasing. The planned public finances for regional balanced development are also low and non-compliant with the legally set levels. A test of several hypothetical scenarios of full capital budget utilisation it is expected to positively contribute to the economic growth immediately and in the period to follow. Even if total debt increases in nominal terms, in relative terms the debt-to-GDP on a longer-run reduces through generating additional economic output.

Although punctuated equilibrium theory (PET) is widely hailed as the dominant theory regarding public policy and budgets, little research has extended PET to the local government arena or to capital expenditures. This article utilizes a panel dataset of public expenditures from Wisconsin counties, cities, villages, and towns from 1990-2009 to show that local operating and capital budgets fit the contemporary PET framework. However, the article also offers some discussion about methodological problems in assessing PET for local governments, and highlights the importance of differentiating between expenditure types (e.g. capital versus operating spending) as well as institutional differences between counties, cities, villages, and towns.

This study discussed capital budgets and their role in rationalizing investment decisions in commercial banks' branches in El Fasher town with an objective of highlighting the importance of using capital budgets rationalizing investment decisions in commercial banks' branches in the study area and explaining to what extent the working staff in the above mentioned banks aware that using capital budgets will lead to rationalizing investment decisions as well as possessing enough knowledge could be depended on to prepare and implement capital budgets on scientific bases. The Study depended on primary sources to acquire the related data using comprehensive survey method due to the limited population size which consist of the all working forces in commercial banks' branches in the study area (50) and a questionnaire was used for this purpose. The Study depended also on secondary sources such as books, sand internet to acquire additional data. Statistical methods, namely frequency tables, percentages and Chi-Square were used to manipulate the data and testing the reach hypotheses. The obtained results revealed that investment decisions consider as one of commercial banks' branches managers’ major tasks in the study area, and these branches always identify different investment alternatives then choosing the best one. Additionally, Investment diversification is considered one of fundamental banks policies in order to minimize risk associated with these investments. Chi-Square test analysis revealed that the working forces in these branches aware that the process of investment decisions is considered one of commercial banks' branches managers’ major tasks, and they aware of the importance of using the capital budgets rationalizing investment decisions tasks, additionally, thy possess enough knowledge that could be depended on to prepare and implement capital budgets on scientific bases, all at 0.05 significant level. the study recommends that it is important to support capital budgeting culture, be sure of the soundness of investment alternative chosen; building the banks' working forces capacities in fields of using capital budgets rationalizing investment, and sharing of the staff at different division and departments in the process of investment decisions.

This paper compares the level and composition of government spending in U.S. states that maintain separate budgets for capital and operating expenditures with that in states that employ unified budgets. It also investigates the effects of pay-as-you-go financing rules for capital projects. The empirical findings suggest that states with separate capital budgets spend more on public capital projects than comparable states with unified budgets. There is no evidence that the presence or absence of a capital budget affects the level of non-capital spending. Pay-as-you-go requirements for financing capital projects are associated with lower levels of both capital and non-capital spending.

This paper compares the investment behavior of multi-segment firms (firms with multiple business units) with that of single-segment firms. Models that omit within-firm information and incentive problems predict both set of firms to invest in response to investment opportunities. Our main findings reject this null. In particular, multi-segment firms exhibit a tendency to maintain a fixed level of capital in their business units regardless of investment opportunities. In addition to exhibiting rigid investment behavior, multi-segment firms are also less responsive to investment opportunities than single-segment firms. These effects are especially strong in multi-segment firms with unrelated business units. Our findings support the existence of agency problems within multi-segment firms.

This paper uses cross-section data on the U.S. states to test the hypothesis that budgeting and borrowing rules affect the level and composition of public spending. It employs a 1963 data set with detailed information on state capital budgeting practices to compare capital spending in states that maintain separate budgets for capital and operating expenditures and states that employ a unified budget It also investigates the impact of financing rules, in particular pay-as-you-go rules for capital projects, on the level of spending. States with capital budgets tend to spend more on public capital, especially if they do not impose pay-as-you-go requirements for financing capital projects.

In 1986 the staff of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget reviewed issues concerning the possible development of a federal capital budget. As part of this study, a survey of all 50 states was conducted concerning state capital budgets. This paper summarizes the results of the survey. According to the survey responses, 42 states have capital budgets. Of these 42, 37 generally borrow to finance some public capital and 5 generally do not. Of the 8 states that said they do not have a capital budget, 4 generally borrow to finance some public capital and 4 generally do not. The survey also found that the form of a governor's capital budget, the way legislatures enact capital spending, the coverage of the capital budget, and the method of financing capital vary widely among states, making it virtually impossible to define a state capital budget in a precise way. Large amounts of state capital spending, especially for transportation, are generally not included in state capital budgets.

A real system is described where the normal assumptions of capital rationing are violated. A goal programming model of this system is developed which allows a decision maker to choose the basis upon which an objective could be computed. The major part of this model is an integer programming algorithm leading to selection of the projects which optimize the system according to the basis chosen yet can be used on a relatively small computer. Finally, speculation on the possible use of this tool in other public sector decision making activities is presented.

With growing constraints on all categories of inpatient revenue, many hospitals face their tightest-ever capital budgets in 1989. Yet pressures continue for hospitals to acquire new technologies in order to remain competitive and attract patients and physicians. This summary of new technologies that many hospitals should be considering will aid in prioritizing capital budget requests.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the problem of selecting optimal security portfolios by risk-averse investors who have the alternative of investing in risk-free securities with a positive return or borrowing at the same rate of interest and who can sell short if they wish. It presents alternative and more transparent proofs under these more general market conditions for Tobin's important separation theorem that “ … the proportionate composition of the non-cash assets is independent of their aggregate share of the investment balance … and for risk avertere in purely competitive markets when utility functions are quadratic or rates of return are multivariate normal. The chapter focuses on the set of risk assets held in risk averters' portfolios. It discusses various significant equilibrium properties within the risk asset portfolio. The chapter considers a few implications of the results for the normative aspects of the capital budgeting decisions of a company whose stock is traded in the market. It explores the complications introduced by institutional limits on amounts that either individuals or corporations may borrow at given rates, by rising costs of borrowed funds, and certain other real world complications.

Chance Constrained (C sup 2) Programming and Linear Programming under Uncertainty (LP(U sup 2)) are joined together in order to deal with different risks and uncertainties which are commonly encountered in capital budgeting. This includes payback period protection via chance constraints formulated to cover (or bound) a possible loss of future opportunities during the payback period. It also includes liquidity requirements formulated preemptively via (LP(U sup 2)) to provide protection against possible cash (or liquidity) shortages at specified times. The case of arbitrary discrete distributions is examined and new formulations are developed which model economic, statistical, and technological decision interdependencies. Relations to geometric programming are indicated prior to reducing these formulations to zero-one integer programming (deterministic) equivalents. Duality relations obtained from these formulations provide separate evaluators for yield, risk, portfolio and liquidity effects of cash investment. Finally, relations to 'Balas-type' subsidy and penalty adjustments are noted.

THE FORM in which a government's budget is presented reflects to some extent official attitudes toward the various components of receipts and expenditures, and it also influences popular interpretations of the government's program. In this respect the treatment of capital receipts and expenditures is especially important. A number of countries maintain separate capital and current budgets, and other countries accord special treatment by other means to at least a part of capital items. The advisability of introducing a capital budget has recently been under public discussion in several countries that have not used the device. At the same time, there have been indications that in some countries with established capital budgets the financial implications of the system are being reconsidered. This paper explores the economic implications of a dual government budget system involving separate capital and current budgets. It reviews the purposes that such systems appear to be intended to serve and criteria for distinguishing between capital and current items. The influence of a dual budget system on the amount and composition of government expenditures and means of financing is examined. Attention is also given to the problem of measuring government expenditures, receipts, and surplus or deficit when a separate capital budget is employed.'

Although Spatial Development Frameworks are regarded as the key spatial restructuring tool of local municipalities, the investment of public resources through the municipal capital budget is of equal importance. Public-sector capital investment plays a key role in the reorientation of spatial priorities by guiding private investment and restructuring historically inefficient spaces. The alignment of spatial development strategies and municipal capital budgets provide a potentially effective restructuring mechanism for local municipalities. This article analyses the degree of alignment of these instruments through the case-study investigation of three local municipalities: Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Rustenburg. The findings indicate that spatial development frameworks significantly influence budgetary capital spending patterns and address growth management and connectivity. However significant resources were committed in marginalised fragmented settlements, a trend that reinforced spatial inefficiencies.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole assumed office in November 2008 following a successful court appeal to retrieve the mandate given to him by the people of Edo. Widespread support from a variety of interest groups buttressed the legal challenge and helped create the political space for the Governor’s pursuit of an agenda focused on both reform and speedy delivery. Popular demand for reform was evident, but responding to this presented major challenges. Historically,Edo had been one of the best performing states in the country. Expectations were high that he would restore this status and address the perceived poor performance and allegations of corruption leveled against previous administrations. This case study is an attempt to better understand the process through which the Administration was able to maximize its delivery. This report is one product of several ongoing efforts by the World Bank to better understand how to better tailor its interventions to local realities with the overarching objective of improving its impact. To do this in the case of capital spending in Edo, it was necessary to craft a study method that suspended judgments about actual practices. Thus, rather than holding these practices up to international standards, and highlighting deficits and shortcomings in relation to those standards, the study purpose was to depict how the State administration had responded to the political priorities of the new Governor by adapting to the constraints it faced and creating new ways to deliver through infrastructure spending. This case study underlines the very rich and often messy reality that leaders frequently find when assuming office and the trade-offs that they are forced to make. In doing so, it reminds us of the political realities within which we work and, like other case studies recently undertaken to inform Bank engagements in Nigeria, finds that traditional blue print approaches in such circumstances are unlikely to work and that sequencing, tailoring to local contexts and adaptation along a non-linear road to reform is more feasible path.

The urban population in Ethiopia is increasing rapidly. If managed proactively, urban population growth presents a huge opportunity to shift the structure and location of economic activity from rural agriculture to the larger and more diversified urban industrial and service sectors. If not managed proactively, rapid urban population growth may pose a demographic challenge as cities struggle to provide jobs, infrastructure and services, and housing. The central challenge for the Ethiopian Government is to make sure that cities are attractive places in which to work and live, while fostering smart urbanization. Making urbanization a national priority will accelerate Ethiopia’s progress towards reaching middle-income status. The government has already taken steps to make evidence-based, informed decisions for well-managed urban growth, and this report aims to contribute to those efforts.

The Public Investment Management (PIM) efficiency review is intended to support the Government of Zimbabwe, and in particular the Ministry of Finance, in its efforts to strengthen the efficiency of the public investment system, with the goal of improving the creation, operation and maintenance of public sector capital assets that support service delivery and economic growth. The problems of public investment management are not merely financial but systemic. Budget execution deficit remains a major bottleneck. Due to large backlogs across sectors, capital budget allocation has prioritized completion and rehabilitation of on-going and stalled projects and programs. Currently, public investment projects are mainly financed by the national budget. Regulatory frameworks for public-private partnerships are in place, but sluggish recovery from the private sector has not made it a notable source of financing for capital projects. Foreign loans and grants, and humanitarian aid from donors are not channeled through the official budget. This report is intended to provide the basis for a follow-on discussion with government on possible options and approaches to addressing the identified problems, focusing on those which are the most critical to Zimbabwe's economic recovery and long term development. It is complementary to the action plan, also developed by the team for consideration by the Government of Zimbabwe, which suggests a list of reform actions over the immediate to medium-term to strengthen the regulatory framework and build capacity across central and implementing agencies. The objective of the policy note is to support the Government of Zimbabwe to strengthen the efficiency of PIM system, with an ultimate goal of contributing to improved governance, service delivery, and economic growth. The study will inform a reform and capacity strengthening action plan with the Government as well as subsequent Bank's proposed technical assistance program to strengthen the PIM.

Upgrading infrastructure plays a critical role in the Republic of Congo's quest to diversify its economy and reduce poverty. It is also an important source of growth on its own. A cross-country statistical analysis conducted for this report shows that infrastructure contributed one-half of one percentage point to the Republic of Congo's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth annually from 2001 to 2006. However, if the country's infrastructure could be improved to the level seen in Mauritius, the leading country in Sub-Saharan Africa, it could contribute more than 3 percentage points to annual per capita growth. The Republic of Congo's power infrastructure is inadequate and inefficiently operated. The country lags well behind peer countries in generation capacity and electrification. The parts of the population not served by the grid face exorbitant costs. The government has responded to these issues with an ambitious investment plan. However, if new assets are to operate effectively, major inefficiencies in the power utility will also need to be addressed. The utility's transmission and distribution losses are 47 percent, more than double best-practice benchmarks, while the cost of overstaffing is 30 percent of utility revenue. Tariffs recover barely half the cost of service provision, even though full cost recovery will be affordable to the population. In the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, the Republic of Congo has made good progress in developing its mobile telephony market in recent years, with high levels of signal coverage. The cost of international connectivity is currently high, but it should fall once the country connects to the international submarine cable and completes its domestic fiber optic network. On the other hand, the physically dilapidated and financially depleted condition of the fixed-line telephone operator is becoming a constraint to raising Internet penetration. The Republic of Congo performs relatively well on service coverage in the water and sanitation sector. The country's access statistics are substantially ahead of those in its peer group, particularly with regard to piped water, stand-posts, and improved latrines. However, access to services is much greater in urban areas than in rural areas. Furthermore, under-pricing of water has hurt the financial soundness of the water utility, even though analysis suggests that cost recovery tariffs would be affordable to consumers.

Infrastructure improvements contributed 0.6 percentage points to the annual per capita growth of Zambia's gross domestic product (GDP) over the past decade, mostly because of the exponential growth of information and communication technology (ICT) services. Poor performance of the power sector reduced the per capita growth rate by 0.1 percentage point. Simulations suggest that if Zambia's infrastructure platform could be improved to the level of the African leader, Mauritius, per capita growth rates could increase by two percentage points per year. Zambia's high generation capacity and relatively high power consumption are accompanied by fewer power outages than its neighbors. But Zambia's power sector is primarily oriented toward the mining industry, while household electrification, at 20 percent, is about half that in other resource-rich countries. Zambia's power tariffs are among the lowest in Africa and are less than half the level needed to accelerate electrification and keep pace with mining sector demands. Meeting future power demands and raising electrification rates will be difficult without increasing power tariffs. Zambia's infrastructure situation is more hopeful than that of many other African countries. Infrastructure spending needs, though large, are not beyond the realm of possibility, and Zambia's resource wealth and relatively well-off population provide a more solid financing basis than is available to many other countries. Zambia's infrastructure funding gap, though substantial, can be dramatically reduced through measures to stem inefficiencies and lower costs.

Urban governments globally have generated climate change mitigation plans in recent decades. With greenhouse gases (GHG) being emitted from far-ranging anthropogenic sources, selecting mitigation alternatives from a portfolio of options can be highly challenging, particularly when capital budgets and life cycle costs are considered. This research combines life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost accounting (LCCA), and mathematical formulation methods to select ideal alternatives for a case study city. We utilize LCA and LCCA to determine the environmental and economic costs associated with 15 different GHG emission abatement alternatives in four different infrastructure systems: lighting, transportation, buildings, and energy. These abatement alternatives are also assessed for high, medium, and low emission reduction scenarios. For this problem we propose two mathematical formulations to apply to the LCA and LCCA results. The first mathematical formulation is for a single-phase implementation of all selected solution design alternatives; the second mathematical formulation applies to the implementation of alternatives done in three phases. The modeling results reveal the selection differences that occur when capital budgets are varied for both single and multi-phase planning. This unique approach to urban GHG abatement planning can effectively aid policy makers in efficiently selecting best practices in climate change mitigation when balancing environmental and economic perspectives.

In the Derivatives financial markets, Futures portfolios are perceived to be instruments of high risk, despite their flexibility of being used for portfolio protection (hedging) or for profitable trading (speculating). A multi-pronged approach for an effective management of the risks involved includes employing strategies such as, diversification between dissimilar markets, decision to go long or short on assets that make up the portfolio and risk tolerance or risk budgeting concerned with how risk is distributed across asset classes constituting the portfolio with all of these governed by investors’ preferences and capital budgets. However, the inclusion of such objectives and constraints turns the problem model complex for direct solving using analytical methods, inducing the need to look for metaheuristic solutions. In this paper, we present a metaheuristic solution to such a complex futures portfolio optimization problem, which strives to obtain an optimal well-diversified futures portfolio combining several asset classes such as equity indices, bonds and currencies, subject to the constraints of risk and capital budgets imposed on each of the asset classes, besides bounding constraints. The Herfindahl index function has been adopted to measure diversification of the long-short portfolio. In the absence of related work and considering the complexity of the problem that transforms it into a non linear multi-objective constrained optimization problem model, two metaheuristic strategies viz., multi-objective evolution strategy and multi-objective differential evolution, chosen from two different genres of evolutionary computation, have been employed to solve the complex problem and compare the results. Extensive simulations including performance analyses, convergence testing and back testing portfolio reliabilities have been undertaken to analyze the robustness of the optimization strategies.

Some oil and gas companies, the major source of employment for SPE members, revealed their budgets for 2023 and the following years. A look at where the companies plan to direct their spending sheds light on the areas of expected job availability and needed competencies. The numbers show companies’ major allocation of funds for oil and gas exploration and production and concerted efforts to reduce their carbon footprint by reducing emissions resulting from their current operations (whether it is under scope 1, 2, or 3) and increasing efforts to develop new sources of energy. Oil and gas companies’ plans reflect a strategy that may be described as Petroleum ++. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas conducts a quarterly energy survey, and in its most recent one (released 29 December), it asked respondents about expectations for capital spending in 2023 vs. 2022. Most reporting companies indicated they plan to increase their capex spending within a range of 8 to 25%. Some major international companies announced additions to their capital budgets. While some reported their plans for 2023, others reported 5-year plans. I wish all were reported the same way with specific numbers for various activities so that we engineers can input all values in a table and reach quantitative conclusions, but this is not the case, and we must review what is being reported and reach a generalized understanding about future directions. For example, Chevron reported about $14 billion capex in 2023 with 82% going to upstream oil and gas projects, 14% towards the effort to lower its carbon footprint, and 7% toward new energy developments. ExxonMobil reported a capex budget of between $20–25 billion annually through 2027 with 15% directed to efforts to lower emissions. TotalEnergies plans to increase its annual budget by about 14% in the 2023–2025 period to about $14 billion per year and appears to be targeting about $6 billion for new oil and gas assets and $4 billion for new energy. Saudi Aramco approved $296 billion for 2023 and has created a $1.5-billion sustainability fund to invest in technology that can support a stable and inclusive energy transition. Petrobras will increase investment during the 2023–2027 period to $78 billion with 83% earmarked for traditional exploration and production activities, 6% to reduce carbon emissions, and about 1% for the decarbonization fund. The directions from the announced spending plans of oil and gas companies indicate that more than about 80% of their budgets are directed toward traditional oil and gas exploration and production and concerted efforts to reduce emissions and carbon footprint, and measurable sustainable investment in new energy. This clearly shows SPE members, employers, and educational institutions the needed competencies and technical skills that we all need to continue our work and provide the world with the energy it needs. As mentioned earlier this may be summarized by Petroleum ++. It is also reasonable to expect that with the increase in budgets of oil and gas companies, there will be an uptick in the employment of petroleum professionals. A modest increase that we just witnessed in the number of SPE members in 2022 for the first time in a few years may be a good indication.

Within the last 10 years, four of the 10 most extreme and extremely expensive weather- related disasters in Canada have occurred in Alberta, and climate modelling for Western Canada projects increasing changes and weather extremes. Changing and extreme conditions will continue to affect many aspects of municipal operations over the next 10 to 30 years. The major risks and impacts of changing climate conditions directly affecting municipalities involve infrastructure performance, increasing water stress, land use change and asset management. Long-term seasonal temperature and precipitation changes punctuated by extreme weather conditions are a costly combination affecting local governments and communities. Alberta has a diverse range of climate risks, and risk assessment, adaptation and disaster response needs to reflect this diversity. Surveys done in 2019 and 2021 identified common barriers affecting municipal effectiveness in managing and adapting to climate risk which include: available staff time; access to climate risk and adaptation expertise; access to financial resources; and access to locally relevant and credible climate information and data. Municipalities in Alberta with populations less than 10,000 are more likely to experience these barriers than larger and urban municipalities better positioned to have access to the specialized resources necessary. All Alberta local authorities are required to have an emergency management plan to respond to extreme weather events of relatively short duration. However, longer term, extreme shifts in seasonal temperatures and precipitation are projected over the next 20 to 30 years that will continue to impact municipal land use planning, water availability and infrastructure costs. Climate risk and adaptation need to be integrated into municipal plans, infrastructure maintenance, capital budgets and asset management to strengthen local resilience. Municipalities in Alberta have a provincial statutory framework that can address climate risk assessment and adaptation. Eight opportunities are identified that can be used within Alberta’s municipal government model to increase municipal effectiveness including: greater use of Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks (ICFs) and development of a Climate Adaptation Research and Decision Support (CARDS) network to provide multi- disciplinary decision support to local government decision-makers in different geographic areas of Alberta., The School of Public Policy Publications, Vol. 16 No. 1 (2023)

El objetivo general de la investigación es estudiar las relaciones entre los indicadores ESG y el desempeño financiero de un conjunto de empresas que cotizan en las bolsas de valores del Mercado Integrado Latinoamericano (MILA), para el periodo 2011-2020. Con tal fin, se realizó una revisión sistemática de literatura que permitió recopilar, sintetizar y analizar las principales publicaciones científicas sobre el campo de la inversión responsable, así como evaluar la evidencia presentada en ellas, para luego estudiar la relación entre indicadores ESG y desempeño financiero para cada empresa, pasando en un tercer momento a evaluar la misma relación a nivel de portafolios de inversión. Este documento se divide en nueve capítulos: en el capítulo 1 se inicia con la introducción. En el capítulo 2 se delimita y justifica el problema de investigación. El capítulo 3 presenta los objetivos general y específicos. En el capítulo 4 se desarrolla el marco teórico, que incluye los aspectos más relevantes de la evaluación financiera tradicional, teorías contemporáneas como las pruebas Z de Altman y F de Piotroski, la conformación de portafolios de inversión desde el método media-varianza, la relación de la organización y su entorno, la inversión responsable y las finanzas sostenibles, la medición del desempeño social corporativo, los enfoques ESG para la selección de inversiones y la selección de portafolios, terminando con un marco contextual y un marco legal. En el capítulo 5 se expone la revisión sistemática de literatura, mediante los resultados del análisis bibliométrico y de mapeo científico. El capítulo 6 presenta el análisis de datos de panel dinámicos para la estimación de la relación entre el puntaje y la revelación de información ESG, y diferentes indicadores de desempeño financiero corporativo. En el capítulo 7 se explican los modelos de construcción de portafolios bajo criterios ESG, además de las fronteras eficientes y una medida del dividendo psíquico del inversionista. Finalmente, en el capítulo 8 se plantean las conclusiones, al tiempo que se reconocen las limitaciones del estudio y se sugieren ideas para futuras investigaciones, para concluir en los capítulos 9 y 10 con las referencias y los anexos, respectivamente. Los resultados obtenidos evidencian una relación directa entre la estrategia en ESG y el desempeño financiero, mostrando específicamente que mejores indicadores y transparencia en ESG están relacionados con menor probabilidad de quiebra, mayor fortaleza financiera integral, más alta generación de valor corporativo y rendimiento riesgo/retorno superior. Así mismo, se evidenció un conjunto de ventajas que la inclusión de criterios de inversión responsable presenta en cuanto a tasas de riesgo y rentabilidad e índices de Jensen, Treynor, Alpha, VaR, error de seguimiento, coeficiente de información, fronteras eficientes y dividendos psíquicos, al tiempo que identifican claras desventajas para portafolios compuestos por empresas que no reportan información ESG. The general objective of the research is to study the relationships between ESG indicators and the financial performance of a group of companies listed on the Latin American Integrated Market (MILA) stock exchanges, for the period 2011-2020. To this end, a systematic literature review was carried out that allowed to collect, synthesize and analyze the main scientific publications on the field of responsible investment, as well as evaluate the evidence presented in them, and then study the relationship between ESG indicators and financial performance for each company, moving in a third moment to evaluate the same relationship at the level of investment portfolios. This document is divided into nine chapters: Chapter 1 begins with the introduction. Chapter 2 delimits and justifies the research problem. Chapter 3 presents the general and specific objectives. Chapter 4 develops the theoretical framework, which includes the most relevant aspects of traditional financial evaluation, contemporary theories such as Altman's Z tests and Piotroski's F, the formation of investment portfolios from the mean-variance method, the relationship of the organization and its environment, responsible investment and sustainable finance, the measurement of corporate social performance, ESG approaches to investment selection and portfolio selection, ending with a contextual framework and a legal framework. Chapter 5 presents the systematic review of literature, using the results of bibliometric analysis and scientific mapping. Chapter 6 presents the analysis of dynamic panel data for estimating the relationship between scoring and ESG disclosure, and different indicators of corporate financial performance. Chapter 7 explains portfolio construction models under ESG criteria, as well as efficient boundaries and a measure of the investor's psychic dividend. Finally, chapter 8 presents the conclusions, while recognizing the limitations of the study and suggesting ideas for future research, to conclude in chapters 9 and 10 with the references and annexes, respectively. The results obtained show a direct relationship between ESG strategy and financial performance, specifically showing that better ESG indicators and transparency are related to lower probability of bankruptcy, greater comprehensive financial strength, higher generation of corporate value and superior risk/return coefficients. Likewise, a set of advantages that the inclusion of responsible investment criteria presents in terms of risk and return rates and indices of Jensen, Treynor, Alpha, VaR, tracking error, information coefficient, efficient borders and psychic dividends was evidenced, while identifying clear disadvantages for portfolios composed of companies that do not report ESG information.

Joint activities for global water partnerships in regional development programs are usually facilitated by implementing transboundary water projects. Most projects are however hampered by the absence of a clear economic base for making investment decisions. In this paper, we propose a zero-one integer programming model to determine the optimal decisions for selection of project portfolios on transboundary waters; where project selection is based on several time periods in the future.The objective is to determine whether to undertake a project or not; so that the net present value of investment returns is maximized to support needy communities. A numerical example is presented for illustration; demonstrating the optimal choice of investment projects under budget constraints. The zero-one integer programming model provides a feasible solution for choice of transboundary project investment decisions; given the competing nature of capital budgets prior project implementation. The proposed model can be efficient; where limited funds among competing projects serve as a basis for project selection criteria; a decision for facilitation enhancement towards water partnership for regional development.

Acoustical privacy and noise control design and implementation guidance is needed, regarding Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI) criteria for outpatient medical facilty tenant improvements (TI). TI in existing commercial buildings or medical office buildings may not have capital budgets or expected facility/lease life that hospitals enjoy. Full conformance to FGI criteria and guidelines may be limited; by economic feasibility and by constructability. Design professionals can use "good practice" space planning, demising assembly selection, and electronic sound masking to achieve appropriate acoustical privacy within reasonable capital expense budgets. Consider FGI criteria for demising partition, ceiling, door and window selections plus infrastructure equipment and material selections that can provide cost-effective lightweight, common construction standards. The objectives are to protect the privacy of patient information and provide quiet spaces, free of transient disturbance for clear speech communications. Continuous ambient sound increases speech privacy including speech transmitted from enclosed quiet spaces. Criteria for acoustics, speech privacy,continuous noise and masking exists in FGI. Temporal level changes (on/off, transients) and tonality (spectrum smoothness or balance) should be considered in basis-of-design (BoD). This paper will present design guidelines for selecting demising assemblies and supplemental sound masking for outpatient clinical spaces in commercial or medical office buildings.

Fiscal transfer development across the world today has been in part driven by assertions of a supposed ‘economic dividend’ linked with the devolved financial spending. There is, however, little empirical evidence to validate these assertions in Kenya. It is against this background that this study was carried out to estimate the end product of fiscal transfer on regional economic growth in Kenya using a secondary panel data set. Using the ARDL estimation technique the long -run and error correction estimates of the model were generated. The findings revealed that increased fiscal transfer in recurrent budgets accelerates regional growth, hence confirming the Keynesian hypothesis. Conversely, fiscal transfer in capital expenditure was insignificant. This study recommends the need for policymakers to put in place policies and strategies that will improve budget allocation and execution in capital budgets so as to improve physical infrastructure and thus boost private productivity and consequently regional income growth.

IntroductionThe Belgian government needs to re-evaluate the current health care system and think about radical adaptations to the structure and payment of health care provision. Therefore, twelve local pilots (Integreo.be) started in Belgium to test different strategies for the implementation of integrated care. The Zorgzaam Leuven project is situated in the city of Leuven, which has a world class reputation when it comes to healthcare. Practice change implementedIn Zorgzaam Leuven, a bottom up approach was used and a new care model was implemented in 9 vicinity networks of health care professionals. To fund the vicinity networks, flat rates are used as a surplus on top of the regular fee-for-service (FFS) system. This mixed financing model is based on the Cappuccino model. The vicinity networks are self-steering and free in allocating their budget within a general framework. Aim and theory of change The current, dominating FFS payment system (volume based) does not encourage health care providers to increase value for the patient. The mixed financing model in Zorgzaam Leuven, facilitates the provision of customized care that meets specific needs of the population and allows a more creative approach of the care needs. Targeted population and stakeholders All inhabitants of Leuven are targeted, 102.000 people. All relevant healthcare organizations participate in the project, which is financially supported by the federal government and by 60 local organizations. Timeline Pilot study (2018 – 2022).Highlights (innovation, Impact and outcomes) The model based on vicinity networks facilitates communication among professionals, improves coordination of the care process by coordinating the roles and sequencing the activities of the multidisciplinary care teams. Moreover, more attention is paid to preventive care and population management. To sustain implementation, there is a need for a strong integrator, motivated healthcare providers, policy factors, the availability of necessary resources and a long term vision.Conclusions (comprising key findings)The findings indicate that a new care model based on vicinity networks combined with a mixed financing model based on ‘Cappucino’, supports integrated care. It supports demand-driven and preventive care. Discussions and lessons learnedMany hindrances will have to be overcome first in order to make a further implementation of new payment systems (e.g. bundled payment) possible in the future. The model implemented in Zorgzaam Leuven is very valuable, as it is a first and realistic step towards integrated care, in the complex health care system of Belgium. The main barrier to the implementation of bundled payments is the fragmentation of Belgium’s political landscape and the separation of capital budgets (regional authority) and operational budget (federal government). Consequently, the current macro-policy is based on silos making changes difficult. To tackle this problem, the Federal Minister of Public Health states in his policy note that the Belgian government will build further on the federal plan for chronically ill people in order to arrive at an interfederal plan. Comments on sustainability and transferabilityThis model is interesting for many world-wide projects, since it highlights the fundamentals of an implementation strategy in a complex healthcare system.

The Delaware Basin encompasses 6.4 million acres throughout Southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. With large players such as ExxonMobil, Shell or Oxy typically grabbing headlines, it's easy to forget the multitude of smaller public and private E&P operators who exist in and around the acreage positions of the aforementioned companies. Regardless of the size of the acreage holding, a consistent theme is that a typical horizontal well drilled and completed (D&C) will yield water cuts of 60-90% at any given period in its productive lifespan. Saltwater production, handling and disposal (SWD) is a drag on lease operating expenses (LOE). SWD costs via trucking, pipeline, or on-lease SWD wells can range between $0.50-$3.00/bbl. As existing infrastructure is exhausted, water handling costs have been projected to rise to over $5.00/bbl. Additionally, restricted access to SWD could cause production curtailments and thus impacting operators beyond direct LOE.1 Well completion operations are impacted by freshwater procurement costs starting around $0.75/bbl. Regardless of final frac design, water consumption during fracturing operations typically exceeds 500,000 bbls or $375,000 per well. Significant value exists for recycling produced water via an on-lease pit and utilizing it for future frac operations. The produced water turns into an asset if the operator can efficiently manage to substitute higher and higher percentages of freshwater with produced water. Many smaller operators (defined as less than 50,000 acres) may view produced water recycling as an operation best left to large E&P's with their massive capital budgets and contiguous acreage. Fortunately, even a 5 well, section development plan can yield returns from an on-lease produced water recycling program.

We interviewed chief financial officers from hospitals and healthcare systems in Michigan regarding selected capital budgeting practices that have not been previously considered in the literature. Results revealed a variety of approaches in the development and deployment of capital budgets. Most healthcare systems used a blend of board and department-initiated input into budget development, usually with interaction between the two. The majority of healthcare systems had flexibility in the deployment of their capital budgets over time. Standard methods of project evaluation were employed by healthcare CFOs, but few used the most sophisticated tools. A host of constraints, including certificate-of-need laws and internal, mission-based motivations uniquely affect capital budgeting of not-for-profit healthcare systems. Clearly, future research will be need to understand why organisations have selected capital budgeting practices and the extent to which selection and use of capital budgeting practices matters in the efficiency and viability of healthcare systems.

Introduction Black radiologists remain significantly underrepresented in the radiology workforce, despite a 1973 plea by Black radiologists of the National Medical Association to increase training programs for minority radiologists. Objective The authors provide a qualitative narrative that highlights the radiology residency programs of three historically Black schools of medicine (HBSOM) in the U.S., their contributions, and lessons learned from their closure. Methods Data from public repositories, interviews, and conversations were conflated to chronicle significant events and establish a timeline during these residency programs' existence. Results Radiology residencies at Howard University School of Medicine (1945), Meharry Medical College (1949), and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (1972) were established to train Black doctors to treat communities of color. These programs provided care to underserved and under-resourced areas of the country, where inequitable health care fueled a legacy of poor health outcomes. These radiology residency programs collapsed under the weight of suboptimal funding, strapped capital budgets, attrition of faculty, a declining hospital patient census, and failure to maintain other residency specialty programs.` Conclusion Understanding the history and impact of these programs, and of their closure, can be leveraged to develop strategies to increase the representation of racial and ethnic minorities in radiology. Possible reinstatement, with appropriate allocation of resources and creation of intentional policies to ensure sustained success, merits further investigation and may be a pathway to achieve optimal representation.

Kamu bütçesi devletin en vazgeçilmez mali araçlarından biridir. Bu mali araç gerektiğinde maliye politikasının yönlendirilmesinde ve devletin asli fonksiyonu olan kamusal malların temininde, gerektiğinde de sosyal politikalar ve transfer ödemeleri ile vatandaşların refahını arttırılmasında kullanılır. Kamu bütçelerini özel bütçelerden farklı kılan onun yasa hükmünde olma özelliğidir. Sadece kendisinin yasa hükmünde olmasından ayrı, bütçenim düzenlenme ve uygulanma esasları da yasalarla düzenlenmiştir. Ancak tüm bunların dışında kamu bütçeleri teknik belgelerdir ve bu belgelerin belirli bir sistem içinde hazırlanması gerekir. Bütçe sistemleri birçok ülkede tarihsel süreç içerisinde revize edilmiş yeni bütçe sistemleri devreye sokulmuştur. Çok uzun bir dönem boyunca hâkim iktisadi düşünce olan Klasik İktisadi Düşünce Sistemi’nin temel felsefelerini benimseyen Klasik(Geleneksel) bütçe sisteminden günümüzde en yaygın olarak uygulanan program bütçe sistemine kadar birçok bütçe sistemi kamu mali yönetiminde yer almıştır. Ülkemizde çok uzun yıllar boyunca uygulanan Klasik(Geleneksel) Bütçe Sistemi’nden 1973 yılında Program Bütçe Sistemine geçilmiş ancak çok başarılı bir uygulama süreci gerçekleşmemiştir. 2003 yılında kabul edilen 5018 sayılı KMYKK ile Performans Esaslı Bütçe sistemi uygulanmaya başlamıştır. 2021 yılından itibaren de cari bütçe sistemi terk edilerek yerine yeni bir bütçe sistemi uygulamaya konulacaktır. Bu bağlamda makalemizde geçmişten günümüze bütçe sistemleri incelenerek yeni bütçe sistemimizin temel nitelikleri ve bu bütçe sisteminden beklentiler analiz edilmeye çalışılacaktır., The public budget is one of the most indispensable financial instruments of the state. This financial instrument is used to direct the fiscal policy when necessary and to provide public goods, which are the primary function of the state, and to increase the welfare of the citizens with social policies and transfer payments in need. The essence, which makes public budgets differ from private budgets, is its legal feature. In addition to the legality of public budget, the principles of regulation and implementation of the budget are also regulated by law. Nonetheless, apart from all these, capital budgets are considered as technical documents, and these documents should be prepared within a certain system. Budget systems have been revised through the historical process in many countries and new budget systems have being introduced. From the classical budget system, which adopted the basic philosophies of the Classical Economic Thought System and is the dominant economic notion for a very long period, to the Program budgeting system, which is the most widely applied program, many budget systems have taken part in public financial management. In 1973, The Classic Budget System, which was implemented in our country for many years, was replaced by the Program Budgeting System, but a successful implementation process could not manage. In 2003 latter, the event of adoption of the KMYKK numbered 5018, the Performance-Based Budget system has started to be implemented. As of 2021, the current budget system will be abandoned, and a new budget system will be implemented. In this context, we will try to analyze the basic features of our new budget system and expectations from this budget system by examining the budget systems from past to present in our article.