Journal of Public Affairs最新文献

The COVID-19 pandemic raised critical questions about whether migrants in Chinese cities receive equitable treatment compared to urban natives. Using micro-survey data, this study examines vaccine availability and job stability for “rural-to-urban” and “urban-to-urban” migrants during the pandemic. We find that migrants had comparable access to vaccines as natives, with older and less educated migrants prioritized, reflecting policies targeting vulnerable groups. However, “rural-to-urban” migrants experienced significantly greater job stability disruptions than natives and “urban-to-urban” migrants, primarily due to weaker social networks. These findings highlight the need for targeted employment protection programs to support vulnerable migrant populations and their families during public health crises.

This study investigates the relationship between happiness (HAPP) and tax evasion behaviour in European and OECD countries, with a focus on the moderating role of public governance. Happiness is measured using the Life Ladder Index from the World Happiness Report, while the shadow economy serves as a proxy for estimating tax evasion. Data from 36 countries—28 European and 8 OECD—spanning the period 2005–2022 was analysed using regression models. The findings reveal a significant negative relationship between happiness and tax evasion. Moreover, the moderating analysis highlights that happiness significantly affects tax evasion in countries with low public governance but has an insignificant impact in countries with high public governance. These results underscore the importance of strengthening public governance to mitigate the influence of psychological factors, such as happiness, on tax compliance behaviour.

Upholding the democratic governance of functioning in water collectives has always remained a challenge. Democratic governance involves egalitarian decision-making, a participatory election process, equitable handling of defaulters, management of conflicts, and maintaining transparency, among others. In this paper, we do a comparative analysis of functioning and non-functioning (at the time of the survey) water user associations (WUAs) promoted by the West Bengal government. We find that democratic governance is correlated with the functioning of the WUAs, suggesting its association with core service delivery. Also, the democratic nature of governance is reflected in members' collective faith when asked about the sustainability of their associations in the future after the withdrawal of government support. We have undertaken case studies of better-performing WUAs to assess their best practices and mapped them to Ostrom's principles. We also find that some of these WUAs, while managing natural resources, have also acted as public institutions by providing support to members and non-members alike during the pandemic. The paper concludes that practitioners and promoters should focus on collectives' sustainability through continuous monitoring and ensuring good-quality core service delivery. Well-run collectives should also look beyond their core responsibilities to emerge as salient public institutions.

This study explores the rising phenomenon of masstige marketing in the service industry in Bangladesh. By analyzing consumer behavior, business strategies, and market dynamics, this research aims to understand the impact of offering premium-quality services at affordable prices. A survey of 353 respondents, combined with rigorous data analysis, revealed the positive effects of masstige on local businesses, consumer perceptions, and overall industry growth. However, challenges such as pricing strategies, brand positioning, and competition persist. This study contributes to the expanding body of research on masstige marketing, particularly in emerging economies, and provides valuable insights for businesses, policymakers, and scholars.

Clarifying the mechanism between anti-corruption measures and enhanced trust in government is of great practical significance to ensuring good social governance and public confidence. Based on mixed cross-sectional data from CGSS 2015 and CSS V (2013–2021), this paper uses empirical analysis to explore the effect of trust in government on anti-corruption performance; the influence of anti-corruption performance on government trust; and the impact of public service efficiency and the level of rule of law in social governance on the relationship between them. The effectiveness of basic public services and the level of rule of law in social governance are found to play an intermediary role between strict anti-corruption measures and government trust. This paper adopts a diachronic analysis to discuss the trend of trust in government in the anti-corruption context. It uses multi-source heterogeneous data to support, deepen, and supplement the conclusions of previous research.

While food insecurity remains a critical issue, Financial Inclusion (FI) has recently drawn the attention of development economists due to its potential in attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This facilitates livelihood diversification for households, empowers women, and consequently improves food security. Using 467 rural household survey data, this study evaluates the impact of financial inclusion on households' food insecurity in rural Odisha. The measurement of household FI is conducted using a multidimensional method, whereas propensity score matching (PSM) and endogenous switching regression (ESR) approaches are employed to evaluate the impact of FI on food insecurity. The findings disclose that 64% of the surveyed households are financially included, whereas 36% remain financially excluded. The PSM and ESR results reveal that households with the status of FI are less food insecure compared to those without FI. The study suggests that government policies should emphasize awareness of using financial services and assist the food-insecure households in achieving SDG-2.