JournalTOCs

Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences
Journal Prestige (SJR): 0.255

Citation Impact (citeScore): 1
Number of Followers: 0

This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Print) 1842-2845 - ISSN (Online) 2247-8310
Published by Babes-Bolyai University

[4 journals]

Citizens’ Voice as a Cornerstone of Making Territories Smart
- Authors: Anna D’Auria, Marco Tregua, Manuel Carlos Vallejo-Martos, Rocio Martínez-Jiménez
  Pages: 5 - 27
  Abstract: This paper aims to answer the call for studies on smart transformation in small and rural municipalities. It focuses on the ‘smart territory’ concept, which includes all the features of the smart city but considers a larger and less delimited urban area, as well as the intricacy of effects among towns and cities. To address such a space, the authors conducted an in-depth analysis of the Province of Jaén in Spain through a content analysis of interviews with representatives from local associations of citizens. The results confirmed that a participatory approach supports the territory management thanks to the government-to-citizens interactions that allow getting direct information: The citizens’ voice is about perspectives and opinions related to the status of different neighborhoods, towns, or villages, as well as the city, and real opportunities to shape a smart territory as theorized. The study’s contribution stems mostly from the category of actors involved, as the critical issues, as well as the opportunities in local development, are usually investigated by involving either local administrations or politicians and citizens. Listening to citizens’ voices also addresses the intricacies of a territory overcoming the limits of an approach based on a single town or city. Furthermore, detecting problems and opportunities in an urban context in this way can help in planning local smart development.
  DOI: 10.24193/tras.70E.1
  Issue No: Vol. 19, No. 70
Does Administrative Reform Improve the Business Environment in China' A
Mixed-Method Analysis Based on Administrative Burden Theory
- Authors: Zhang Chun, Liao Fuchong, Wang Xiaojun
  Pages: 28 - 44
  Abstract: Does administrative reform boost the favorable business environment' What is the mechanism underlying such reform' This study explores the relationship between administrative reform and the business environment in China via a mixed-method approach. This paper extends administrative burden theory to government-company interactions and then proposes a framework that bridges administrative reform and the business environment. Based on firm-level survey data and case data, this quantitative analysis confirms that administrative reform can significantly boost the favorable business environment and that administrative burden is a mediating variable during this process. The qualitative comparative analysis contends that there are three different configurations that can boost the favorable business environment: collaborative governance, government-driven, and enterprise-driven configurations. Theoretically, this paper extends the administrative burden theory, which brings companies into this theory as new actors. We also provide reform advice for practitioners.
  DOI: 10.24193/tras.70E.2
  Issue No: Vol. 19, No. 70
Transfer Pricing System of EU Countries: An Analysis in the Context of
SDGS
- Authors: Ioana Ignat, Marta Tache
  Pages: 45 - 66
  Abstract: Considering that the base erosion and the profit shifting practiced by multinationals could deprive governments of their fair share in taxes and, as a consequence of the financial resources needed to achieve the sustainable development goals (‘SDGs’), governments have started to be interested in the implementation of transfer pricing regulations. The objective of the paper is to analyze the transfer pricing regulations and practices adopted by the EU countries that record a good progress in terms of SDGs vs. EU countries that record a moderate progress in this respect.The results of the study show that the strictness of the transfer pricing system influences the progress regarding the achievement of the SDGs. More exactly, the countries which record a good progress in achieving SDGs have, in general, a stricter transfer pricing system. In order to increase the strictness of the transfer pricing system and the progress in terms of SDGs, countries could implement regulation which envisage: the preparation of an annual transfer pricing documentation; the preparation of a documentation on three levels according to BEPS 13; the adoption of certain measures in order to increase the number of APAs, MAPs and transfer pricing audits; imposing of penalties.
  DOI: 10.24193/tras.70E.3
  Issue No: Vol. 19, No. 70
Personal Income Tax Progressivity in the Czech Republic and Its Influence
on Tax Revenue
- Authors: Michal Krajňák
  Pages: 67 - 84
  Abstract: The article evaluates the influence of the tax progressivity of the personal income tax on tax revenue in the Czech Republic. The first part of the study deals with the analysis of tax progressivity. In the next part, the indicator of tax progressivity is used as a variable of the regression model examining its effect on tax revenue. The analysis is carried out for the period 1993-2020. For part of the period, the nominal tax rate was progressive, for part of the period, on the contrary, it was linear. This approach to solving the research topic is thus unique and creates added value to the text. This is due to the length of the examined period, the alternative approach to measuring tax progressivity, and the way the tax base from dependent activity was constructed in the Czech Republic for part of the period.
  DOI: 10.24193/tras.70E.4
  Issue No: Vol. 19, No. 70
The Contribution of Artificial Intelligence to Stimulating the Innovation
of Educational Services and University Programs in Public Administration
- Authors: Ruxandra Irina Popescu, Oana Matilda Sabie, Marian Iulian Trușcă
  Pages: 85 - 108
  Abstract: In the new contemporary pandemic paradigm, higher education in public administration and be[1]yond knows challenges, barriers, and opportunities for the academic process. Shocks, environmental changes and physical distancing in recent years have led to the implementation of efficient solutions in educational services, based on artificial intelligence (AI). Thus, in the global academic land[1]scape, many international universities have adopted a ‘chatbot’, a digital interface designed to stimulate conversation with people. Modern algorithmic communications have effects, such as: increasing the number of enrollments in public administration programs, improving academic experience and active student participation, while reducing administrative tasks on university staff. This paper aims to provide a glimpse on the perceptions of the potential impact of conversational artificial intelligence on public administration (PA) programs from universities and to reflect on its implications for university leaders and staff work and also on students’ engagement. The paper will focus on how AI tools will help university programs to be more effective, and how technology will support the limited human resources in this sector. In order to gather the data for this research, the interview was used as well as case studies from international universities that have implemented a chatbot. The research findings capture technological and digital advances that will continue to shape the higher education landscape and its curricula, especially in PA programs. As a result, leaders will need to monitor how artificial intelligence, in particular conversational agents, influences universities’ images; attraction and retention for students in PA programs and other important partners; staff productivity, and how to be more proactive in initiating pilot projects. This is one of the few publications that looks at the expectations for conversational AI in higher education today. In this sense, implementing a chatbot can be a competitive advantage in a market where modern technologies weigh heavily and make a difference.
  DOI: 10.24193/tras.70E.5
  Issue No: Vol. 19, No. 70
Who Runs Public Administration' A Longitudinal Study of Technocratic
Ministerial Appointments in Post-Communist Romania (1991–2021)
- Authors: Cătălin Raiu, Laura Mina-Raiu
  Pages: 109 - 127
  Abstract: Starting from the traditional public administration dichotomy ‘power versus knowledge’, concerned with the cleavage between politicians and bureaucrats, this paper’s main purpose is to reframe a classic theoretical model, by placing the spotlight on a new, under-conceptualized public sector actor: the technocrat. Second, the paper performs empirical research starting from an own-build comprehensive database that includes all the ministers appointed in the Romanian Government during a 30-year time[1]frame (October 1991-November 2021). In spite of being a rather young democracy with a communist public sector legacy, research findings indicate that in Romania we can clearly identify patterns similar to other European countries (primarily Italy), consisting of appointing technocrats to the cabinet. Such nominations are discussed in correlation with the advancements of new theories of democracy and public administration, imprinted with Neoliberalism, New Public Management, and Good Governance paradigms.
  DOI: 10.24193/tras.70E.6
  Issue No: Vol. 19, No. 70
Impact, Utilization and Applications of Digital Media for Government in
Rural Settings. A Comparative US-Romania Research
- Authors: Tudor Vlad, Cristina Hințea, Bogdana Neamțu, Viorel Stănică
  Pages: 128 - 155
  Abstract: Abstract Interaction between citizens and government has traditionally taken place in community settings, government meetings, special town hall meetings, written correspondence in letters, emails, or texts, or via a phone call to a government representative. With digital media, citizens can instantly interact with the government. The mobile component of digital media will continue to be important in this interaction. This research operates with the assumption that digital media expresses a paradigmatic shift regarding how to govern and how to communicate. Digital media clearly is transforming the way governments think, plan, and carry out their policies but more importantly, how they communicate public policy. Our research intends to understand how local government institutions in rural settings use digital media and other communication channels to communicate with their citizens. The research employs a comparative perspective by investigating rural communities from the US and Romania. This was achieved by undertaking a content analysis of local government’s websites and social media platforms, as well as collecting primary data through interviews with representatives of local government, to assess the ways they use digital media, traditional media, and other communication tools, and whether they viewed them as effective strategies.
  DOI: 10.24193/tras.70E.7
  Issue No: Vol. 19, No. 70
Beyond Self-Presentation. An Analysis of the Romanian Governmental
Communications on Facebook
- Authors: Florin Zeru, Delia Cristina Balaban, Alina Bârgăoanu
  Pages: 156 - 172
  Abstract: The present study is one of the few studies that examine the social media communication of the Romanian governmental institutions from a systematic perspective accounting for three categories of messages that enhance the goals of open governance, transparency, participation, and collaboration. Our research contributes to developing the research methodology in the field, given the methodological tool we used based on previous literature on social media communication of public institutions with relevant elements added from political communication. The research focuses on the official Facebook pages of the following Romanian governmental institutions: the Romanian Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health. Moreover, based on content analysis of N = 2,484 Facebook posts, we examined how different social media content generates differences in citizen engagement. Findings showed that the Romanian governmental institutions we analyzed frequently used Facebook posts. However, we observed significant differences between the institutions regarding message types. Our results align with previous research conducted in other Western countries showing that public institutions mostly used social media for impression management and transparent communication and less for participation and collaboration.
  DOI: 10.24193/tras.70E.8
  Issue No: Vol. 19, No. 70
Religion and Public Administration. An Introduction Edoardo Ongaro,
Michele Tantardini Edward Elgar Publishing
- Authors: Călin Emilian Hințea
  Pages: 173 - 174
  Abstract: Edoardo Ongaro and Michele Tantardini’s book titled Religion and Public Administration. An Introduction is an original approach to understanding the relationship between religion and public administration in an effort to analyze the ‘elephant in the room’ (p. 1) of administration studies. The authors’ understanding of religion broadly refers to people’s relationship with divinity. It seeks to define a global perspective that attempts to ‘conceptualize and theorize the influence of religion in the functioning of public administration systems in all regions of the globe’ (p. 3). Their study is intended as an introductory essay for those interested in this topic, an essay that considers the contextual data in which administrative systems operate.
  DOI: 10.24193/tras.70E.9
  Issue No: Vol. 19, No. 70