The hopes and aspirations of Law No. 6/24 on Village autonomy has faced several problems and challenges. These problems and challenges arose when the village government had to undertake various delegated tasks assigned by the regency, provincial, and central governments. As a result, the village is preoccupied with delegated tasks assigned by supra-village authorities, straining its resources and budget. The shift in focus resulted the village government are unable to perform their main tasks and responsibilities. This situation is akin to the Village Head functioning as a state employee. Stunting is one of the assignment programs that causes various problems and instrumentalizes villages. This process involves mobilizing village institutions, human resources, and budgets to ensure the program’s success. This study employed exploratory-qualitative approach to investigate the challenges arising from the stunting program’s implementation in Ngargosari Village. The research informants included the village head, village officials, posyandu cadres, community leaders, and program beneficiaries. The data were gathered through in-depth interviews were validated and reconfirmed using Focus Group Discussions. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis was carried out to obtain findings related to village instrumentalization in the stunting program. The findings revealed that the stunting program’s implementation involved mobilizing village institutions, resources, and budgets. The village government lacked bargaining power against supra-village policies, despite their alignment with local values and wisdom. The central government dictated the system, procedures, mechanisms, and methods for handling stunting in a centralized manner, disregarding local wisdom and the authority of village governments as outlined in Law Number 6 of 2014 on Villages. Consequently, the stunting program represents a form of village instrumentalization akin to the New Order era, with centralistic initiatives that relegate village heads to the role of state employees.

This study offers a new perspective on measuring the impact of village funds (DD) on rural development. Using a mixed-method approach, the qualitative analysis reveals that, like previous rural development programs, the DD program struggles to implement inclusive methods for capturing community aspirations and evaluating outcomes. Despite rural infrastructure improvement, many villagers feel they have not fully benefited and do not view it as offering economic opportunities. The econometric model confirms the qualitative findings, indicating no significant DD influence on the village development index (IPD). Instead, effective governance factors like Musdes, regulations, and leadership are essential for the IPD improvement. Thus, enhancing village governments’ institutional capacity is crucial for increasing the DD effectiveness. The paper recommends several measures: training village officials in financial management and project planning, providing guidelines for the DD allocation and usage, creating robust monitoring-evaluation systems, developing communication strategies, and fostering partnerships with local NGOs and universities.

This study aims to analyze the current situation of inheritance taxation in Spain and evaluate the legitimacy crisis surrounding the decision of whether to tax mortis causa transfers, as well as the scope and conditions under which such taxation should occur. The Inheritance and Donations Tax (IDT) frequently sparks debate, and this paper aims to analyze its evolution since its transfer to the Autonomous Communities, tracing its development to the present day. A thorough examination is essential to clarify its significance within a modern tax system, its role in the new system of regional financing, and the reforms necessary for its potential continuation, while also assessing the level of public dissatisfaction it provokes. The methodology employed in this paper involved a review of the existing literature, current legislation, and available scientific-academic resources relevant to the topic. The approach is predominantly theoretical and intentionally cross-disciplinary, aimed at enhancing accessibility and comprehension.

This study aims to examine the role of automotive industry development in the regional growth of Hungarian counties. Through word frequency analysis, the counties were grouped, and their unique characteristics were highlighted. Some counties already play a prominent role in the domestic automotive industry hosting established Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), a significant number of automotive suppliers and high R&D and innovation potential. Another group includes counties that currently lack a significant automotive industry and did not identify it as a key focus area for future development. Additionally, an intermediate group has also emerged, including counties where the automotive industry is either in its early stages of investment, or such development is prioritized in regional planning documents. The study details the direction of automotive development in counties where the industry plays a significant role, focusing on labor market characteristics and human resource development. The findings have significant implications for the future of the automotive industry in these counties, underlining the urgent and immediate need for well-managed and well-established human resource development and ensuring effective partnership to realize its full potential in the automotive industry.

“This paper’s purpose l is to determine whether certain firm-specific factors have an influence on the catering theory of dividend in the MENA region.” The catering theory of dividend related to the dividend policy by the different companies used in our paper to explain the decision by managers. The sample includes 600 non-financial firms listed stocks in the Stock Exchange of 6 countries from MENA region during the years 2010–2019. Catering theory explains why managers initiate (continue) to distribute dividends. A high dividend premium encourages managers to increase the level of dividend payment and explains why firms pay dividends or do not pay them thereafter. Investors should increase their demand for dividends to push managers to comply. Investors show their preference for dividend to self control, satisfaction and increase their profit. “This could be the catering incentive of the firm to decide to pay dividends”. Even although the result Investor preference for dividend is explained by different factors related to the firms characteristics from each firms is different from markets, it can be the evidence supporting the catering theory of dividend, not only in well-developed markets, but also in emerging markets such as our country.