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Public debt is a key issue for government institutions, both because of the amount of its revenues, which partly compensate for the possible shortfall in tax collection, and because it is an essential instrument of fiscal policy for the government. This paper reviews the literature on the determinants of public debt in order to identify the explanatory variables of public debt according to the main theoretical and empirical studies. This work will support policy makers who have to obtain financial resources to cover essential and very necessary expenditures nowadays, such as health, education, or infrastructure investment, by controlling debt levels and fiscal pressure. The main policy implication we can derive from these results is that governments should use some of these instruments to reduce general government debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2023, a major earthquake struck Turkey, leaving thousands dead and exposing the country's corruption problems. The current Turkish president Erdoğan was sworn into power in 2003. Erdoğan's government has completely transformed the country with construction projects that have provided a huge economic boost. However, successive amnesties and non‐compliance with building regulations have uncovered cases of corruption. This paper analyses the evolution of corruption in Turkey during Erdoğan's rule. Several indicators are considered, such as the Corruption Perception Index, the Index on Impartial Administration or the V‐Dem Indicator on Political Corruption. The results indicate that two distinct stages can be distinguished during Erdoğan's term in office. The first stage was marked by a reduction in the perception of corruption, and the second stage was marked by an increase in the number of tenders for public works and corruption. Finally, several policy recommendations are proposed to reduce corruption in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities are making great efforts to provide quality and inclusive education for all. However, the number of students with disabilities or educational needs studying higher education is still low. Student support resources are essential to the success of inclusive education. An inclusive education indicator has been developed that establishes a ranking of those universities best prepared to offer inclusive resources. As an example, the indicator has been developed for the case of Spanish public universities, based on information provided by the Spanish Network of Support Services for People with Disabilities at University, which produced an online University Guide for Students with Disabilities with several areas and points that collect information on the resources available at universities. This indicator is dynamic and can be updated quickly and easily. Through it, universities may know in which aspects they need to improve. In addition, they could take as a reference those universities that are better positioned according to the value of the indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the role of accounting in disaster mitigation and the importance of transparency to avoid corruption. During the Ukrainian war, accounting has allowed the redistribution of war material, the quantification of economic aid, or the efficient management of humanitarian aid. This paper aims to set a research agenda on transparency and corruption in foreign aid to a fragile and conflict‐affected country. In order to analyze the situation of corruption in Ukraine during the war, first a review of the latest corrupt events is carried out and its position in the Corruption Perception Indicator is analyzed. Subsequently, we analyze the aid that Ukraine has received from other countries and institutions, and whether it is transparent. The possible dependence of the Corruption Perception Indicator on the transparency index of each country in the management of aid to Ukraine is studied. This article links corruption, transparency and accounting in the context of the Ukrainian war, highlighting the important role of auditing and financial controls, and presents proposals for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Litter is a global issue that pollutes water, air, and land, and has esthetic and environmental repercussions. Therefore, this study utilized the value -belief -norm (VBN) theory to analyze residents' preventing littering behavior in Ghana. This study employed a random sampling approach and used an online survey to gather quantitative data from 511 participants. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results show that the "biospheric value," "altruistic value," and "egoistic value" had substantial beneficial effects on the new environmental paradigm. The findings revealed that the new environmental paradigm increased awareness of consequences, which strongly enabled the ascription of responsibility to address environmental concerns. Personal norms influenced residents' preventing littering behavior. The study also discovered that the ascription of responsibility and new environmental paradigms promote residents' preventing littering behavior indirectly through personal norms and awareness of consequences. The study found that awareness of consequences moderates the association between personal norms and residents' preventing littering behavior. These findings provide new insights for litter prevention policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to studies examining the effects of government incentives such as environmental regulation on corporate green innovation, this paper investigates the influence of CEO reputation, a market‐based incentive mechanism, on companies' green innovation behavior. Utilizing green patent data from Chinese A‐share listed companies from 2007 to 2020, we construct a CEO reputation index through principal component analysis and examine its impact on corporate green innovation behavior and underlying mechanisms. Our findings indicate that CEO reputation positively affects companies' green innovation behavior. This effect is primarily driven by reducing financing constraints, CEOs' risk perception, and rising environmental awareness. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals the positive relationship between CEO reputation and green innovation behavior is more pronounced in companies with strong executive compensation incentives, political connections, and effective internal control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital economy is a great route to promote the efficient utilization of natural resources and promote sustainability due to its high-tech, rapid growth, extensive penetration, deep integration and other characteristics. Existing study on the influencing factors of the digital economy is not deep enough and lacks the analysis on the relationship structure of factors influencing the digital economy, which is not conducive for an overall grasp of the digital economy. To correctly understand how to better develop the digital economy, this paper studies its influencing factors and the relationships between them. Based on the time-series data of China from 2002 to 2018, grey correlation analysis was applied to calculate the correlation between these influencing factors and the digital economy, and determine the major influencing factors of digital economy development in China. The Granger causality test and a review of existing research were used to judge the interrelationship of various factors. The interpretative structure model was utilized to determine the relationship structure of the main factors affecting the development of China's digital economy. The results show that the number of digital talents, state of the technology market, and degree of digitalization are direct influencing factors of the digital economy. The results help to better understand the development of the digital economy and will enable the implementation of policies to improve towards more sustainable cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to identify the current situation of higher education institutions in Spain regarding the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals in the classroom, and what is the role of mathematics in this task. Design/methodology/approach: A review is made of how the concept of sustainability has evolved in higher education, its gradual introduction in the University and the way in which this subject is approached in the field of mathematics. Findings: The study concludes that higher education has a key role to play in designing strategies that lead to the global sustainability of the planet. This implies major changes in degree curricula, assessment, competences and teacher training. Cross-disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity between different subjects within the same degree is a strategy for students to analyse the Sustainable Development Goals using mathematical techniques. Social implications: The University as an institution must train socially responsible professionals who are aware of the importance of promoting a sustainable world. Changes should be made to introduce values in the classroom that promote and encourage sustainability. Training should be seen as a continuous process that leads to the preparation of professionals committed to society and nature and who develop strategies aimed at improving the planet through values. Originality/value: Through practical activities, the Sustainable Development objectives can be analysed from several subjects of the same degree, emphasising the interdisciplinary and transversal nature that should be the central axis of higher education. Each subject can develop a strategy for change in favour of sustainability that will be reinforced and increased by working together on the proposed teaching practice. In this way, the contents of the different subjects are not isolated, but rather the student can see how there is an interrelationship between them and with real life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement and continuous development of information and communication technologies highlights the importance of analysing and monitoring the development and capabilities of governments to use and exploit the potential of new technologies. Digital government and artificial intelligence in the public sector are two trends associated with technological development. This research conducts an analysis of these elements from the perspective of public officials by conducting a factor analysis. The study is based on a survey administered to civil servants in the state of Jalisco in Mexico. An analysis was made of their training and knowledge of these aspects and whether there are significant differences according to gender, age, level of studies, area of knowledge and place of work. The results obtained show divergences and coincidences between variables and factors. The findings are useful as a reference for the government of Jalisco to promote measures aimed at improving the situation of digital government and artificial intelligence in the short to medium term, in order to optimize administrative management. Points for practitioners: Knowing the perspective of public officials on digital government and artificial intelligence is important to evaluate and design a digital strategy in governments. Public officials in charge of technology areas in governments need constant training on emerging technological tools, mainly those related to artificial intelligence. There is a lack of knowledge about the use and implications of artificial intelligence in the public sector by public servants. Data interoperability and coordination between government agencies are relevant to the development of digital government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few studies that relate tax revenues to corruption at the municipal level due to their great complexity and the difficulty in obtaining data. Continuing the research we started years ago, the main objective of this article is to analyse whether municipal political corruption influences some or all tax revenues. A panel database of all Spanish municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants is compiled for the period 2002–2013. The most outstanding result is that municipalities with cases of corruption obtained higher revenues in construction-related taxes than those where there have been no political corruption cases, which shows the close relationship between this sector of economic activity and political corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a plethora of current research on economic or financial resources for fostering innovation. These studies lack the micro-analysis and, more importantly, disregard the effect of environmental control. This study will offer a new analytical paradigm by linking financial growth, environmental regulation, and innovation growth throughout the value chain. Using the information on 30 Chinese provinces collected between 1990 and 2020, we develop a dynamic panel data model to examine the interplay between financial effectiveness, ecological regulation, and research and development (R&D) innovation. We assess the impact that the efficiency of financial organizations and the stock market have on R&D's ability to influence R&D innovation. There are positive spillover effects for stock market efficiency, which boosts the development and conversion of R&D innovation; there are positive spillover effects for financial institution efficiency, which hurts the conversion of R&D innovation, and there is an adverse effect on environmental regulation efficiency. To what extent environmental rules affect the commercialization of research and development innovation is unclear; human capital is an effective motivator for the advancement of R&D innovation, and the volume of FDI may increase the commercialization of R&D innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The renewable energy consumption plays a significant role in achieving sustainable development, but a sectoral approach is necessary to design the better recommendations for each sector. In this context, the main objective of this paper is to assess the impact of the use of this type of energy on economic growth in 23 European Union (EU) member states in the period 1990–2020. Besides overall renewable energy consumption, different utilisations of this energy are considered: in industry, transport, in commercial and public services, and for residential purposes. The methodological background is built around panel data models that start from a Cobb–Douglas function. The renewable energy consumption is considered an important factor that should generate economic growth. The panel data approach based on causality analysis and Augmented Mean Group and Common Correlated Effects Mean Group estimators suggests that renewable energy use in industry does not determine economic growth, but economic development is a cause for more utilisation of this energy in industry. In addition, more renewable energy consumption in transport enhances economic growth. A high level of economic development can promote the consumption of renewable energies in industrial sectors. In this way, industrial companies can allocate more financial funds to research in the field of renewable energies and can afford to adopt renewable energy sources. Investment in biofuels can contribute to achieving sustainable transport in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]