This study examines the impact of state highway construction contracts on state spending efficiency controlling for production structure, service demands, and situational factors. The theoretical argument is that because highway construction projects are relatively large in scale, complex, and can be monitored through objective performance measurement, state highway construction programs may save government production costs through contracts. Contracting helps highway producers achieve efficiency by optimizing production size based on workload and task complexity. The unit of analysis is 48 state governments’ highway construction contracts from 1998 to 2008. Through a two-stage analysis method including a Total Function Productivity (TFP) index and system dynamic panel data analysis, the results suggest that highway construction contracts enhance state highway spending efficiency, especially for large-scale construction projects.

This study aims to explore the urban resilience strategies and public service innovations approaches adopted by the Shanghai Government in response to COVID-19 pandemic. The study utilized a combination of primary and secondary data sources, such as government reports, policy documents, and interviews with important individuals involved in the matter. The current research focused on qualitative data and examined the different aspects resilience, including infrastructure, economy, society, ecology, and organizations. The findings indicate that infrastructure resilience plays a crucial role in maintaining the stability and dependability of essential public facilities, achieved through online education and intelligent transportation systems. Implementing rigorous waste management and pollution control measures with a focus on ecological resilience has significantly promoted environmentally sustainable development. Shanghai city has achieved economic resilience by stabilizing its finances and providing support to businesses through investments in research, technology and education. Shanghai city has enhanced its organizational resilience by fostering collaboration across several sectors, bolstering emergency management tactics and enhancing policy execution.

Government performance means the results of government work. Its use is to evaluate government accountability, decision-making, efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and achievement of goals. Purpose: This paper aims to explore the understanding of performance measurement tools commonly used in government, the reasons for using them, and the implementation of performance measurement in Indonesia. Method: This study uses a meta-synthesis method, an integrative review approach from 2000–2021, in the Scopus database using the keywords measurement system, performance measurement, performance measurement government, measurement system government. Results and Discussion: The final sample consisted of 23 studies, and the results showed that the most commonly used performance measurement was the balanced scorecard. This is because the balanced scorecard is able to explain the vision, mission, strategy, results, and operational actions, so that it can achieve local government goals. Research implications: Insight into government performance measurement can be used to determine the strengths and weaknesses of various performance measurement tools so that the government can implement performance measurement tools that are more appropriate for its government. Originality/Value: This study offers an adaptation of existing methods to measure government performance more effectively. In addition, this study focuses on the context of developing countries, which can provide new contributions to the literature.

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).

The study has formulated the objective of synthesizing the extent to which technological barriers intervene in the transparency and effectiveness of public management (PM). Methodologically, the study was of a fundamental or basic nature, with a systematic review design, the databases of Scopus (369), SciELO (2), Web of Science (184) were explored, after the review process a set of 22 articles was available. The registration was made in an Excel table where the main data of the articles were included. 32% of the articles selected for the analysis of the evidence are from the period 2020, 27% were from 2022 and 18% from the year 2023; as far as origin is concerned, 14% of the articles come from Peru and 9% from Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Spain and Indonesia. In summary, the study points out that government institutions are making progress in digitizing and improving the citizen experience through electronic services, but they face challenges in areas such as resource management, the low adoption of advanced technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence, as well as the lack of transparency in PM. Despite this, it is highlighted that e-government improves citizen satisfaction, and the need to invest in digital innovation, training and overcoming technological barriers to achieve an effective transformation in state administration and promote a more inclusive and advanced society is emphasized.