Search

Analysis and assessment of the legal effects of exhausting the amount allocated for co-financing of projects under the appeal procedure in the system of implementation of the EU cohesion policy in Poland in the 2021-2027 financial perspective. Literature review, analysis of relevant legal regulations and the jurisprudence of administrative courts. The provisions of the Act on the rules for the implementation of tasks financed from European funds in the 2021- 2027 financial perspective erroneously equate the exhaustion of the amount allocated for co-financing of projects under a measure or region category with the sum of funds distributed by concluding agreements or issuing administrative decisions on project cofinancing. They do not take into account the fact that due to, e.g. the availability of additional financial resources resulting from termination of co-financing agreements or an increase in the euro exchange rate, the exhaustion of the allocation may change until the end of programme’s implementation period. It is necessary to shape the appeal procedure in such a way that will provide the applicants with a real chance of obtaining co-financing, because the implementation and protection of their constitutional rights cannot depend on the exhaustion of the available allocation of financial resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to verify whether despite the generally formulated obligations in EU law intended to ensure that European funds are spent correctly, it is possible to clearly identify the scope of these obligations, and at the same time specify the standard recommended by the EU for national management and control systems. Author primarily uses the formal-dogmatic method to analyze the relevant EU law, the decision-making practice of the European bodies involved in the protection of EU financial interests, the Court’s case-law and the legal doctrine. Due to the lack of clearly recommended model at EU level while generally formulated conditions (especially those resulting from the Charter of Fundamental Rights) that need to be considered by Member States when designing their management and control systems, it is difficult to ensure that the systems are effective which is crucial for guarantee the protection of EU financial interests. The analysis showed that the problem starts at the source as the implementation of both fraud and irregularity concepts varies across Member States which significantly hinders their correct identification. To assist Member States in implementation of management and control systems, the respective guidelines adopted at EU level summarizing the key requirements applicable to national authorities involved in distribution of EU funds are worth considering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poland is the largest beneficiary of funds from the European Union budget. Thus, countless projects that will receive support from these funds are being implemented in our country. In order to obtain funding, you must take part in a competitive, transparent and transparent competition organized by competent institutions. However, they are obliged to reliably assess these applications. Often, in order to be able to assess them, professional knowledge, experience and specific qualifications are required. These are not always owned by qualified clerical staff. For this purpose, based on many years of experience, the legislator in the Act on the rules for the implementation of tasks financed from European funds in the 2021- 2027 financial perspective again enabled the competent institutions to use the substantive support of experts. The purpose of this article is to analyze the statutory duties and tasks of experts through the prism of the Act, taking into account the current practice, experience and jurisprudence. The purpose of this article is to analyze the legal solutions regarding the duties and rights of experts in the process of evaluating applications for co-financing from the European Union budget. The article uses the legal - comparative and historical method. On the basis of the conducted research, it should be clearly stated that the essence and basis for the functioning of experts in the application evaluation process have not changed in the new financial perspective. Guarantees of independence have been increased, and transparency in the work of experts has been increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Prawo Budżetowe Państwa i Samorządu is the property of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Faculty of Law & Administration and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The total funding envelope for World Bank projects is often divided among various state and non-state actors, each of which can have competing ideas about or interests in the project. How does the division of financing relate to overall project effectiveness? I argue that too many funding streams in a project can reduce project effectiveness by creating delays, increasing transaction costs, and blurring lines of accountability. I combine original data on the number and concentration of financial collaborators in World Bank projects with the World Bank’s ratings of project performance, looking at within-country variation across projects to explore whether or not there is evidence of reduced aid effectiveness in projects with more participants. The results suggest that projects with significant cofinancing receive somewhat worse project ratings.

Sustainable agriculture, in a context of continuous population growth and considering limited natural resources, is not only a major concern, but also a challenge for the countries in the European Union and worldwide. Therefore, agriculture has a major role in creating a sustainable future as it has multiple implications over jobs, climate change, water, soil and biodiversity. Agriculture in Romania still needs support for growing, but this has to be made in a sustainable way and the National Programmes for Rural Development have strategic objectives among which there is also the sustainable management of natural resources and combating climate changes. In agriculture, low productivity and poor use of modern technology determine the need for farmers’ access to financial market and bank loans. Facile access to finance through the National Programmes of Rural Development is essential, but farmers need a private contribution for cofinancig approved projects and this contribution has its source in bank loans. Data from reports of the national programmes showed that one of the reasons for poor implementation of agricultural projects, that are responsible for sustainable development, was the difficult access to bank loans. The objective of the research is finding out to which extent is cofinancing a limit of implementing sustainable development projects and what is the solutions for overcoming it.

The total funding envelope for World Bank projects is often divided among various state and non-state actors, each of which can have competing ideas about or interests in the project. How does the division of financing relate to overall project effectiveness? I argue that too many funding streams in a project can reduce project effectiveness by creating delays, increasing transaction costs, and blurring lines of accountability. I combine original data on the number and concentration of financial collaborators in World Bank projects with the World Bank's ratings of project performance, looking at within-country variation across projects to explore whether or not there is evidence of reduced aid effectiveness in projects with more participants. The results suggest that projects with significant cofinancing receive somewhat worse project ratings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leveraged cofinancing has emerged as a policy priority among international environment and development agencies. We study the determinants and impacts of cofinancing using a comprehensive data set from the GEF on 3,269 projects from 1991 through 2014, along with detailed ex post evaluations of more than 650 completed projects. We find that greater emphasis on cofinancing will tend to favor projects that are larger, less global in reach, focused on climate change, in countries with better governance, and led by certain multilateral development banks. A push towards more private sector involvement and loans, rather than grant financing, will tend to encourage projects with similar characteristics. Greater cofinancing results in better ex post evaluations, but projects executed by the private sector tend to achieve lower ratings. The results provide insight into how agencies can promote cofinancing and into how greater emphasis on cofinancing, private sector involvement, and nongrant instruments may implicitly shift environment and development priorities, as well as project outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will outline the findings of an interview conducted in the Romanian SME sector (four microenterprises, one small business and two medium sized businesses were interviewed) to investigate: Who has the power to take a financial decision in a firm (1); Which financing sources are utilized and in which frequency are they utilized?(2) Which factors play a role in taking a financial decision, basically what firms are afraid of when are making a financial decision (3); If they decide to apply for non - refundable grants what amount of co-financing are they willing to provide? (4). The purpose of these four questions was to outline a profile of SMEs that have accessed non-reimbursable funds and to whom has been given the opportunity to make a decision with a financial impact while choosing between a loan and accessing grants. We will see if there is a common element in making these financial decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the conditions for the development of cross-border partnerships based on cross-border projects, co-financed by the European Union. It also describes the role of structural funds as an instrument to support the integration and development of borderlands, and discusses the key conditions for the development of an effective partnership based on such projects. Furthermore, the paper presents the key stages of implementation of the cross-border projects and the criteria for effective management of cross-border projects, co-financed by the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable agriculture, in a context of continuous population growth and considering limited natural resources, is not only a major concern, but also a challenge for the countries in the European Union and worldwide. Therefore, agriculture has a major role in creating a sustainable future as it has multiple implications over jobs, climate change, water, soil and biodiversity. Agriculture in Romania still needs support for growing, but this has to be made in a sustainable way and the National Programmes for Rural Development have strategic objectives among which there is also the sustainable management of natural resources and combating climate changes. In agriculture, low productivity and poor use of modern technology determine the need for farmers' access to financial market and bank loans. Facile access to finance through the National Programmes of Rural Development is essential, but farmers need a private contribution for cofinancig approved projects and this contribution has its source in bank loans. Data from reports of the national programmes showed that one of the reasons for poor implementation of agricultural projects, that are responsible for sustainable development, was the difficult access to bank loans. The objective of the research is finding out to which extent is cofinancing a limit of implementing sustainable development projects and what is the solutions for overcoming it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the role of private capital in modernising agricultural holdings, as implemented by the Rural Development Programme (RDP). Specifically the authors refer to the Measure 121 (Axes I) of the RDP 2007-2013, as decided by the Apulia Region; the main aim of this measure, in accordance with Art. 20(b)(i) of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005, is the modernisation of agricultural holdings through grants to be invested in farm machinery and equipment. The aim of this work is to verify how private capital (co-financing) that an agricultural holding is willing to invest influences the amount of public aid received. Leveraging the generalised propensity score (GPS) method, a doseresponse function is estimated based on a dataset of Apulia farms. The results highlight the influence of private capital in increasing the probability of firms being granted public aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies the emergence of Share&Charge, a German platform that organizes the sharing of charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) and the billing for the energy transactions. Share&Charge follows a peer-to-peer fashion, enabling direct transactions between charging station owners and EV drivers. On the demand side, the platform, with its interactive map, makes it possible for EV owners to find a charging station in the most suitable location, for instance, at their place of work or where they live. On the offer side, Share&Charge enables station operators (private individuals or companies) to rent their charging stations and eventually to sell the electricity they produce. Charging tariffs within the charging station network are determined by the charging station operators themselves, but the platform provides indicative tariffs. Launched in September 2017, Share&Charge follows other initiatives, such as the French platforms Wattpop and ChargeMap, and the Swedish Elbnb. Share&Charge's network is already proven to be successful with German citizens.Share&Charge adds certain elements of value at different stages of EV utilization. First, this model allows for a co-financing of charging infrastructures by individuals and businesses in the private sector by sharing the infrastructure costs among EV drivers. Besides the purchase price of EVs, the implementation of charging infrastructures and their financing represent a significant barrier to the rise of e-mobility. Share&Charge helps remove this obstacle without adding a further burden on the governmental budget. In addition, this approach follows the "user pays principle," which engages in fair and effective financing. Second, the platform increases decentralized production value and facilitates its expansion. It also helps in avoiding grid congestion and energy loss, as well as increasing flexibility within the electricity market. Third, data use enables the optimization of energy demand and supply, and the optimal determination of tariffs, although these remain facultative. Models like Share&Charge could thus positively impact energy policy by tackling several upcoming obstacles associated with the development of EVs and decentralized energy production capacities. However, new forms of network structures (decentralized networks, sharing economy) and new actors (prosumers, platforms, etc.) also raise regulatory challenges. This article presents some of the legal issues associated with the development of models like Share&Charge. In particular, we study the tax framework applicable to this model, assuming that as such, it would be introduced into the Belgian market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evidence on gender discrimination in lending remains controversial. To capture gender biases in banks’ loan allocations, we observe the impact on the applicants of a microfinance institution (MFI) and exploit the natural experiment of a regulatory change imposing a strict EUR 10,000 loan ceiling on microcredit. Descriptive statistics indicate that the presence of the ceiling is associated both with bank-MFI co-financing and with harsher treatment of female borrowers. To investigate causal links, we develop an econometric approach that addresses the concerns of selection biases, multicollinearity, and endogeneity. Our empirical findings suggest that the change in the MFI’s gender-related attitude was triggered by banks through co-financing. Hence, we speculate that co-financing pushes ceiling-constrained MFIs to import whatever biases in loan granting that the banks are prone to. Overall, this paper stresses that apparently benign regulations such as loan ceilings can significantly harm the women’s empowerment efforts made by MFIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper reviews selected surveys carried out within the R&D project, co-financed with the European Regional Development Fund, called "ReUse - Innovative Recycling Materials, Enhancing the Sustainability of Bridge Facilities" (Innotech No. K3 / IN3 / 38/228116 / NCBiR / 15). The aim of the project and conducted research is to develop and implement innovative, cheap and environmentally-friendly recycled construction material in the form of tyre bales made from compressed used car tyres. This material is likely to be applied in civil engineering, especially in transport infrastructure, geotechnical and hydraulic engineering. New material is cheap and has unique properties such as low weight, high water permeability, high vibration and noise-damping capacity, low pressure coefficient values and other parameters that technically and economically allow it to replace natural aggregates. The extensive practical application of new material will facilitate the replacement of waste management methods with the environmentally friendly ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good health is a function of a range of biological, environmental, behavioral, and social factors. The consumption of quality health care services is therefore only a part of how good health is produced. Although few would argue with this, the economic framework used to allocate resources to optimize population health is applied in a way that constrains the analyst and the decision maker to health care services. This approach risks missing two critical issues: 1) multiple sectors contribute to health gain and 2) the goods and services produced by the health sector can have multiple benefits besides health. We illustrate how present cost-effectiveness thresholds could result in health losses, particularly when considering health-producing interventions in other sectors or public health interventions with multisectoral outcomes. We then propose a potentially more optimal second best approach, the so-called cofinancing approach, in which the health payer could redistribute part of its budget to other sectors, where specific nonhealth interventions achieved a health gain more efficiently than the health sector’s marginal productivity (opportunity cost). Likewise, other sectors would determine how much to contribute toward such an intervention, given the current marginal productivity of their budgets. Further research is certainly required to test and validate different measurement approaches and to assess the efficiency gains from cofinancing after deducting the transaction costs that would come with such cross-sectoral coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the following case. A set of countries produce goods from labor, government input and natural resources. Because the conservation of natural resources in any country yields utility (e.g., through biodiversity) in every country, and because there is no benevolent international government, a resident of the countries is chosen as the regulator to whom conservation policy is delegated. The countries influence the regulator by their political contributions. In this common agency setup, the following result is proven: as long as the minimum conservation standards are implemented, conservation subsidies are welfare decreasing, involving excessive conservation. This suggests that there should be no 'co-financing' for designated conservation sites in the EU NATURA 2000 project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary examines the 2014 NIPH evaluation of Gavi’s co-financing policy and comments on the appropriateness of the subsequent and most significant policy changes taking effect in 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically analyzes how a public institution chooses the cofinancing rate in funding competitive applied agricultural research projects. The public funding institution observes some objective features of the selected projects and of the proponents. The paper puts forward some testable hypotheses about how the funding institution uses this available information to decide the cofinancing rate. An empirical model is then specified and estimated to test these hypotheses. The empirical application refers to the real case of the agricultural R& D program funded by an Italian region ( Emilia- Romagna) over years 2001-2006. Results suggest that the cofinancing rate actually responds to the observed features but this response does not always follow the formulated hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the experience, high incidence, lesson learned and reflections on the issue renegotiations in Latin America, based in the evolution of PPP contracts through the last 25 years. The paper also shows how countries via new PPP laws, regulations, norms and specific platforms can reduce the incidence and the incentives to renegotiate contracts. Based in experience in the last two decades, many countries in the region have improved renegotiation practices and regulations/framework through their PPP legislation and associated regulations, such as Peru (2008), Chile (2010), Colombia (2011) or Mexico (2012.) The preliminary findings show advances in the implementation of platforms toaddress renegotiations and new trends in the renegotiations of contracts particularly in complex projects and where governments are providing financial or credit enhancement, such as sharing risk or co-financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been clearly proven that one of the major difficulties encountered by local authorities when implementing operational programmes is that of ensuring compliance with State aid rules. In this respect, this paper, building on the outcomes of the Training on State aid and European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds, intends to provide some essential notions concerning the legal issues arising from the interaction between the main piece of legislation of ESI Funds, namely Regulation 1303/2013, and the concept of State aid, as laid down in Article 107(1) TFEU. In particular, the paper attempts to identify the circumstances where the notification of the EU co-financing through ESI Funds is not mandatory as the latter is not granted to an 'undertaking' or one of the constituents of the concept of aid (State resources, advantage, selectivity, effect on trade, distortion of competition) is not present. To that end, a number of relevant Commission decisions are referred to. Should the notification have to be made, the paper finally warns against a common mistake which may prevent the EU co-financing from being declared compatible with the internal market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates into allocation of treasury funds when major repairs are being funded. Slum clearance is part of major repairs costs. It is shown that mortgage lending can be used to reduce loading on treasury funds and make slum clearance quicker. The world experience in mortgage lending improvement is studied. In particular, mortgage securitization effect is looked into. A model of government co-financing of mortgage lending is proposed. The effect on economic performances due to application of this model is assessed. Guidelines are suggested in order to maintain high quality of the mortgage portfolio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Cross-border cooperation projects constitute an excellent opportunity for the provision of funds required to start up the cooperation of project partners from neighbouring countries. The programmes are intended to establish the grounds for sustainable cooperation in the future. Experiences indicate that the programmes support single projects that do not provide for sustainability but end dismally after co-financing has been completed. Experiences and examination of past cross-border projects have served as the basis for developing a model that would provide for a sustainable lifecycle of cross-border cooperation projects. This model is based on the drawing up of an action plan that would provide for the continuity of project results and for the active involvement of project target groups during the project idea generation stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing agri-environmental schemes that are co-financed by the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union require administrative compliance with several regulations. This affects the magnitude and composition of transaction costs incurred by agricultural administrations in terms of working time spent. Distinguishing between scheme-related tasks to achieve the environmental goals of the scheme and tasks necessary to obtain the EU reimbursement, this study investigates a possible trade-off in working time allocation with the help of a multi-task principal-agent conceptual framework. Agricultural county administrations of the German state of Hesse serve as case study. Results show that the highly specified reimbursement-related tasks require most of the administrations’ working time. However, several factors exist that enhance the provision of scheme-related tasks, foremost a higher share of professional farmers in the county and a certain level of staffing. Nonetheless, the study also reveals that part of the EU-related monitoring effort is fixed and thus increases per contract costs in counties with fewer participants. The findings suggest balancing the particular incentives to perform the required tasks. This is important as more standardised compliance duties are expected for the new funding period 2014–2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crisis of 2008 saw many European banks reduce their provision of trade finance in East Asia. Notwithstanding the actions of the Group of Twenty and other bodies to redress this, a substantial shortfall in trade finance facilities in the region remains. This article explores the development of this shortfall and analyses potential responses to it. These responses range from some much needed further revisions to the Basel III rules, to the deepening of cross-border cooperation, creating a ring-fenced liquidity pool for trade finance, encouraging co-financing among the various providers of trade finance both private and public and establishing a regional trade finance database. In addition, the article ponders the likelihood of China's banks beginning to take a substantial role in providing trade finance to the region. Trade finance offers China's banks a low risk means of expanding into international business and offers China a way to provide the sort of important service to its region that regional leaders typically seek to provide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the definition, scope and measurement of informal finance in China. Other related issues, such as sample selection, reverse causality and alternative measures for firm growth, are also discussed. It suggests that informal finance is associated with a higher sales growth for small firms, but a lower growth for large firms. It also shows that co-funding is an optimal choice for firms when looking at the profit reinvestment rate.

The article presents an overview of results of a study on the effect of different modes of external finance according to the size of firms in China. The composition of co-funding and its impact on growth according to firm size is also examined. The econometric model used to examine the effect of informal versus formal finance is presented. It is found that the optimal choice for small firms is the combination of both formal and informal financing.

The article presents information on data used in examining formal and informal financing of firms in China. The data used is based on the "China Private Enterprises Survey" of 2006, initiated by the Chinese Administration for Industry and Commerce with other organizations. It concludes that there is a shift from informal to co-funding and formal finance, especially for large firms.

The article examines results of studies on formal and informal financing for firms in China and presents hypotheses based on the results. It is stated that these studies show conflicting evidence on informal finance, which may be caused by differences across the samples in firm characteristics. The first hypothesis focused on the heterogeneous impact of informal finance according to firm size. Other hypotheses include the link between co-funding and higher sales growth for small firms.

The article examines the relationship between different modes of external financing for firms in China. These modes of external financing are informal, formal and co-funding. A survey dataset of private Chinese firms was used in the study. Findings show that formal finance for the average firm is associated with higher corporate growth, while informal finance is not. It also found an association between co-funding and a 15-percentage points higher sales growth rate for small firms.

An empirical analysis of the Italian system of banks and firms is carried out using the network theory. The emerging architecture of this economic network shows peculiar behaviors: (i) Multiple lending is very widespread; (ii) Small firms are preferentially financed by small banks; (iii) Large firms are financed by many banks; (iv) the ratio between loans and deposits is much higher for large banks than for small banks, while (v) strong size heterogeneity appears among co-financing banks, and (vi) the spanning-tree is very hierarchical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the effectiveness of the main instrument of Slovenian FDI policy, the 'FDI Co-financing Grant Scheme'. We look at the post-grant performance of foreign subsidiaries that received grants in 2000–09 using a double-track approach: calculation of performance premia of subsidised foreign subsidiaries, based on financial statements data, as suggested by Bernard and Jensen, and a questionnaire survey to tackle those qualitative aspects of subsidiaries' operations which are used in the official evaluation of grant applications. Subsidised foreign subsidiaries on average show better performance than comparable local companies and better qualitative characteristics than non-subsidised foreign subsidiaries. The main objectives of the scheme, creation of new capacity and jobs in export-oriented activities, have been achieved. The quality of this quantitative increase is more of a question; the data do not indicate any real breakthroughs in technological intensity, human resource development or productivity. In terms of technology and skills subsidised FDI projects remain more or less on the level of average Slovenian firms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents an overview of the practices and use of Intellectual Property in Colombian universities. It also describes the level of knowledge, protection, management and exploitation of Intellectual Property in Colombian universities. For this propose, we present the results of a survey on Intellectual Property in Colombian Universities. In the survey, we used the AÍDA methodology developed by the 'Centre de Recherche Henri Tudor Públic' of Luxembourg. This work was developed within the framework of the research project "PILA NETWORK", Network of Intellectual Property in Latin America, a project co-financed by the European Union in the framework of the ALFA III Program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-financing political programmes between different administrative levels opens the door for principal-agent situations. The lower administrative level may have an incentive to overspend and to modify the nature of the programme. These challenges are empirically tested for a co-financed Swiss programme that supports agri-environmental networks. For ten cantons, the legal implementation of federal requirements was examined and interviews were carried out and evaluated. It was concluded that a clearly defined framework established by the upper-level administration and a limited share of the budget provided by the upper level sets incentives to comply and disincentives for opportunistic behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current financial crisis access and absorption of structural funds is the biggest challenge for government, for business, farmers and nongovernmental organization sector. European integration itself depends on the optimization and substantial absorption for Romania during 2007-2013. This research work displays diverse aspects' concerning the Romania's ability draw of irredeemable funds in period 2007-2010, focusing on co-financing activity. Today, the problem absorptions are no longer able to develop projects, that knowing a significant improvement. The volume of projects is increasingly greater that, sometimes exceed the funds available. The issue moved to the stage of implementation and funding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper discusses the ongoing initiative to establish a sustainable financing mechanism for water supply and sanitation (WSS) projects, anchored on the principle of public–private partnership. It tackles the magnitude of investment requirements and financing gaps, and the rationale and objectives of the Philippine Water Revolving Fund (PWRF) and its financial structure. PWRF responds to the government''s policy to shift financing of WSS projects, starting with existing creditworthy water utilities, from concessional to market-based sources. PWRF is initially designed as a co-financing credit facility combining official development assistance (ODA) with private financing institution funds. However, its ultimate goal is to access the domestic capital market through pooled bond financing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article contains the general background on European Union's (EU) increasing budget with emphasis on Great Britain's principles of "value for the money" and the evaluation on the structural funds starting from a single co-financed project focusing on Article 4. It also discusses the structural evaluation on Scottish Executives. She concludes that Article 4 results to different interpretations that leads to some negative consequences.

The Dutch co-financing system for nongovernmental development organizations (NGDOs) is unique in Europe. Almost a quarter of public development aid is channeled through a selective group of NGDOs that have to satisfy a broad range of institutional and operational criteria. The procedures for defining the eligibility of these co-financing organizations have recently been streamlined to enhance competition and to guarantee more objective fund allocation. This article provides a critical review of the current system for allocating public funding to private development organizations and discusses the criteria used for comparing institutional performance and assessing the quality of submitted multiyear co-funding requests. Even though important progress has been made in cross-organizational appraisal of development agencies, the operationalization of selected indicators still suffers from ambiguities and arbitrary weighing procedures. Past performance and demand-side criteria are not yet considered, thus reducing the potential relevance of the assessment system for improving the effectiveness of development projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present an endogenous growth model with foreign transfers for public capital formation in order to analyze the implications for growth maximization when the public sector in recipient countries co-finances investment projects. Our main innovation is to show that, first, there is a unique growth-maximizing absorption rate of funds that decreases with the co-financing ratio and, second, that high amounts of assistance may be an impediment to growth due to the excess domestic taxation required to co-finance investment projects. We then derive a policy rule for designing the growth-maximizing co-financing share under a given level of assistance. Finally, we also highlight some implications for EU regional policies, which aim at fostering growth in poorer EU countries by co-financing public capital formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 1994 Sweden introduced a trial legislation allowing co-financing between authorities. The legislation aimed to stimulate new ways of collaboration between health and social care providers. One of the specific objectives was to make management of patients with conditions requiring multidisciplinary care more efficient and reduce costs. This study aims to assess if there were any differences in management of patients with musculoskeletal disorders at health centres applying the trial legislation compared to health centre with conventional care with regards to health services utilisation, health care interventions received, and costs. Method: A comparative prospective study was conducted. Consecutive patients aged 16–64 with musculoskeletal disorders attending the health care centres with (n=107) and without (n=31) co-financing model were interviewed at inclusion and after 6 and 12 months. Number of contacts with professionals and interventions received were registered. Results: Patients at the intervention centres had significantly more contact with physiotherapists and physicians than the controls. Contacts with other services such as social insurance office, social services office or hospitals did not differ significantly between the groups. Costs were higher for the interventions centres. Conclusion: The findings do not suggest that the trial legislation reduced health care utilisation or costs for patients with musculoskeletal disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]