Most countries have adopted a more liberal policy to socialize public relations under the influence of neoliberalism and lobbying by economic elites to strengthen the role of market mechanisms and citizens’ entrepreneurial activity. The nature, scale, sequence, and strategy of economic and social reforms in each country have their specifics. Today multi-vector and large-scale changes are taking place in social and labor policy, and they do not always have an internal logic. The study assesses prospects for the development of the labor market in the context of global transformations. Within the framework of this study, the collected information was processed gradually. Data processing was modified during the study phase. At the first stage, data processing results were used to determine total and non-farm self-employment for two groups of countries with developing economies and estimate the scale of vulnerable employment. At the second stage, indicators were identified that characterize various categories of economically active population that belong to the precariat. At the third stage, the authors analyzed data on non-standard forms of employment. The authors assumed that these forms have a right to exist and will be implemented more often. There is an imbalance between standard and non-standard forms of employment. Further research should consider the transformation of labor from material and intangible dominants to creativity.

Sustainability is a top priority for municipal administrations, particularly in large urban centers where citizens rely on transportation for work, study, and daily errands. Public transportation faces a significant challenge beyond availability, performance, safety, and comfort: balancing the cost for the city with fare attractiveness for passengers. Meanwhile, bicycles, supported by public incentives due to their clean and healthy appeal, compete with public transit. In Curitiba, the integrated transport system has been consistently losing passengers, exacerbated by the pandemic and the rise in private vehicle usage. To address this, the city is expanding bicycle infrastructure and electric bike rental services, impacting public transit revenue, and prompting the need for financial compensation to maintain affordable fares for those reliant on public transport. Therefore, this study’s objective is to analyze the bicycle’s impact on public transportation, considering the impact of public policies on economic and social efficiency, not just ecological and environmental factors. Data from six main bus lines were collected and analyzed in two separate linear regression models to verify the effects of new bicycles in circulation, bus tariffs, and weather conditions on public transportation demand. Research results revealed a significant impact of bus tariffs and fuel prices on the number of new bicycles that are diverting passengers from public transportation. The discussion may offer a different perspective on public transport policies and improve city infrastructure investments to strategically change the urban form to address social and economic issues.

This paper provides a concise historical analysis of the political economy of privatization in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia from the 1980s to 2007, a period that witnessed the emergence of privatization as a primary policy tool to reform the public sector. The paper examines the influence of political history, macroeconomic considerations, and International Development Agencies (IDAs) on the early privatization processes in these North African countries. Despite shared developmental trajectories, internal and external factors had a significant impact on the outcomes of economic liberalization. The paper aims to answer the following key questions: What were the underlying political-economic factors driving privatization, and how successful was it in achieving the promised economic growth? Through a focused analysis of each country’s contextual factors, privatization processes, and outcomes, the paper contributes valuable insights into the nuanced dynamics shaping privatization in developing countries.

Studies on the influence of public policies on the regional tourism sector are of high scientific and practical interest, as they offer inputs to guide public management towards strengthening the tourism development of the territories. Through the structural equation model, this study took a sample 99 companies in the tourism sector in Valle del Cauca, Colombia, addressing the relationship between public policy management (PPM) and regional tourism development (RTD), from the perspective of the rational model of business performance. The findings show that the capacity of the state and its entities to comply with the requirements of the organizations, as well as the rigor to take criticism and suggestions for improvement, as a basis to strengthen their management, are the factors that best explain the relationship between the PPM and RTD based on the performance of organizations in the sector, especially focused on increasing market share, productivity, and income. Other findings and practical implications are discussed.

COVID-19 has presented considerable challenges to fiscal budget allocations in developing countries, significantly affecting decisions regarding number of investments in the transport sector where precise resource allocation is required. Elucidating the long-term relationship between public transport investment and economic growth might enable policymaker to effectively make a decision in regard to those budget allocation. Our paper then utilizes Thailand as a case study to analyze the effects on economic growth in a developing country context. The study employs Cointegration and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) techniques to account for long-term correlations among explanatory variables during 1991–2019. The statistical findings reveal a significantly positive correlation between transport investment and economic growth by indicating an increase of 0.937 in economic growth for every one-percent increment in transport investment (S.D. = 0.024, p < 0.05). This emphasizes the potential of expanding the transport investment to recover Thailand’s economy. Furthermore, in terms of short-term adjustments, our results indicate that transport investment can significantly mitigate the negative impact of external shocks by 0.98 percent (p < 0.05). These findings assist policymakers in better managing national budget allocations in the post-Covid-19 period, allowing them to estimate the duration of crowding-out effects induced by shocks more effectively.

The performance of Public Enterprises (PEs) in Namibia has been a long and contentious issue, clamored by continuous bailouts in the face of constant poor performance. The trend of financial bailouts to PEs in Namibia over the years has attracted increased attention into the dynamics of poor PE performance and their fiscal burden on the state. The Namibian government has taken active steps in cutting on PE bailouts and demanding improved performance or face closure. By looking at recent developments in the governance of PEs in Namibia, the purpose and objective of the current study is to analyze whether the current stance and trajectory of government decisions spells a post-honeymoon period in which poor performing PEs will ‘wither and survive or die’ if they do not improve their sustainability index by not relying on financial bailouts. This analysis is aided by the insights provided by the stakeholder, institutional and principal-agent theories. Through the qualitative research method, this study finds that the Namibian government has taken a new attitude and approach in which it will no longer blindly accept and tolerate the poor performance of PEs through continuous bailouts as seen in the past. PEs that are withering will now either survive (through reforms) or die (through liquidation or dissolution).