Fiscal decentralization is one of the policy implementations of regional autonomy, which authorizes local governments to manage their local finances independently. However, with the evolution of the times and the dynamics that are taking place, the application of fiscal decentralization worldwide is changing at each time of year. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate fiscal decentralization research temporarily over the course of four decades. The study aims to explain the development of research on fiscal decentralization over a period of four decades. This research integrates Scopus database to offer a thorough conceptual and structural overview of the field by integrating bibliometric approaches and content analysis. The research procedure begins with the determination of the scope of the research, the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the selection process, the collection of data on Publish or Perish (PoP), and the execution of bibliometric analysis on VosViewer. The research shows that the type of journal with the highest productivity has sub-topics of economy, public service, development, and environmental. The development of fiscal decentralization research has a positive upward trend and most of the top-ranked journals indicate that fiscal decentralization has links and influences with other variables. It is apparent that the most often keywords emerged and studied in the research on fiscal decentralization are related to efficiency, measure, role, degree, growth, and fiscal federalism. Meanwhile, the least frequent keywords are related to poverty and inequality, health outcome, environmental pollution, Latin America, South Africa, fiscal autonomy, corruption, OECD country, determinant, and public sector. These keywords are the future lines of research that may be used for future research on the topic of fiscal decentralization.

Recent technological advances in the fields of biomaterials and tissue engineering have spurred interest in biopolymers for various biomedical applications. The advantage of biopolymers is their favorable characteristics for these applications, among which proteins are of particular importance. Proteins are explored widely for 3D bioprinting and tissue engineering applications, wound healing, drug delivery systems, implants, etc., and the proteins mainly available include collagen, gelatin, albumin, zein, etc. Zein is a plant protein abundantly present in corn endosperm, and it is about 80% of total corn protein. It is a highly renewable source, and zein has been reported to be applicable in different industrial applications. Lately, it has gained attention in biomedical applications. This research interest in zein is on account of its biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and certain unique physico-chemical properties. Zein comes under the GRAS category and is considered safe for biomedical applications. The hydrophobic nature of this protein gives it an added advantage and has wider applications in drug delivery. This review focuses on details about zein protein, its properties, and potential applications in biomedical sectors.

The PPP scholarly work has effectively explored the material values attached to PPPs such as efficiency of services, value for money and productivity, but little attention has been paid to procedural public values. This paper aims to address this gap by exploring how Enfidha Airport in Tunisia failed to achieve both financial and procedural values that were expected from delivering the airport via the PPP route, and what coping strategies the public and private sectors deployed to ameliorate any resultant value conflicts. Based on the analysis of Enfidha Airport, it is argued that PPP projects are likely to fail to deliver financial and procedural values when the broader institutional context is not supportive of PPP arrangements, and when political and security risks are not adequately counted for during the bidding process.

The US Infrastructure Investment and Job Act (IIJA), also commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, passed in 2021, has drawn international attention. It aims to help to rebuild US infrastructure, including transportation networks, broadband, water, power and energy, environmental protection and public works projects. An estimated $1.2 trillion in total funding over ten years will be allocated. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is the largest funding bill for US infrastructure in the recent history of the United States. This review article will specifically discuss funding allocations for roads and bridges, power and grids, broadband, water infrastructure, airports, environmental protection, ports, Western water infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations and electric school buses in the new spending of the Infrastructure Investment and Job Act and why these investments are urgently necessary. This article will also briefly discuss the views of think tank experts, the public policy perspectives, the impact on domestic and global arenas of the new spending in the IIJA, and the public policy implications.