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on Project, Program and Portfolio Management |
| By: | Aleksandar Kešeljević (School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia) |
| Abstract: | Purpose Financial crisis (2008) and the war in Ukraine (2022-) show that governments have to develop more resilient national development strategies in order to adequately respond to pressing disrupters and unpredictable shifts in the world. The Slovenian government (2014-2018) took Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 (UN) as the baseline platform for its development strategy. The purpose of the article is to show that strong political commitment and a project-based approach (Government Project Office) were the most crucial steps in its implementation, and why certain strategic projects (e.g., green tax reform) were not implemented at the end. The Slovenian government identified ten strategic projects to be implemented in line with its SDGs strategy. The Government Project Office (GPO) reported at the Government sessions on all projects in progress and drew attention to projects that were lagging behind. One of the key projects was green tax reform (GTR) in order to stimulate structural transformation of the Slovenian economy and its sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach GPO was not so much a legal-formal organizational construct but more a way of approaching the management of interdepartmental projects at the government level. The task of the GPO was to monitor the performance of project managers, take care of the project information system, ensure methodologically uniform implementation of projects, draw attention to bottlenecks, and maintain a knowledge base (archive of project documentation, examples of good practices, database of errors). The value added of GPO was its assistance in strategic project promotion, in inter-ministerial coordination and monitoring the implementation process. The office has also trained future project managers and members of their teams by mentoring members and project managers. The main goal of GTR is to tax bad things (pollution) instead of good ones (income) in order to ensure fiscal neutrality and to improve the situation in an environmental and economic sense (double dividend). We do not go into the topic since conditions for double dividend have been largely discussed elsewhere (Bovenberg and Goulder 1997; Goulder, 1995; Bosquet, 2000; Sokolovska 2020). E3ME model (dynamic simulation econometric model) was used for analyzing the macroeconomic effects of the new green tax. Analysis was based on a comparison of two empirical scenarios, baseline scenario where the green tax was not introduced, and a projection that assumed the introduction of the specific green tax. Comparison between two scenarios was made for some key economic variables (exports, GDP, employment), and in subsequent analyses, where green tax was also recycled in various ways. Finding No. 1. The Effect of the yearly carbon tax in the amount of EUR 15/tCO2 on GDP is presented in the Figure. Introduction of an extra annual carbon tax would lead to the highest drop in Slovenia's GDP in the second year relative to the baseline scenario with no introduction of a carbon tax. After the second year, the difference between the two scenarios would gradually decrease. This confirmed our expectations and theoretical findings in the literature. Companies need time to implement new technologies, and consumers need time to adjust their consumption patterns. Thus, policy makers should introduce green tax gradually, transparently, and predictably. Figure 1: Effect of carbon tax introduction on GDP (comparison to the baseline scenario) (Source: Kešeljević and Koman, 2014) Finding No. 2. Budget should reflect strategic priorities. The implementation of the Strategy with supporting strategic plan, strategic priorities and projects should be based on medium-term planning and program budget. Experience from Slovenia and some other countries (Finland) show that developing a strong medium-term dimension in budgeting process beyond the traditional annual cycle is a real challenge due to political constraints and short-sighted of many politicians, especially in a coalition government. Finding No. 3. In spite of positive contributions of the GPO and implementation of the ministerial project offices, the GPO was completely disintegrated and dismantled in the next government mandate. Originality/Value. The comparison between different scenarios was carried out in order to identify the optimal fiscal instrument for Slovenia to achieve the double dividend. Analysis showed a relatively small impact of the new green tax on GDP. That was the main reason why GTR was not implemented as one of the key strategic government projects. The major challenge in the creation of the Slovenian development strategy was how to integrate sustainability goals and strategic orientation within the budget (program budget) and how to preserve some good practices as GPO. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable development, National development strategy, Green tax reform |
| JEL: | H23 Q50 |
| Date: | 2025–12–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoh:conpro:2025:i:6:p:305-307 |
| By: | Muehlheusser, Gerd; Roider, Andreas |
| Abstract: | The main aim of the project was to contribute to a better understanding of group decisions. In a series of randomized experiments, we study the effects of important group characteristics such as group size, group gender composition, and other potential determinants of group behavior. Due to the frictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the initial project plan had to be adapted. Developing the video chat tool chaTree necessary to allow for face-to-face communication in online experiments took considerable time, which lead us to focus on the domains of unethical behavior and solving complex tasks as fields of application. Our results also have interesting implications outside academia, in particular for the design of work teams and committees. For example, a diffusion of responsibility seems to be a highly relevant phenomenon in the context of unethical decisions. Moreover, larger groups behave more unethically than smaller ones, and all-male groups seem to be particularly prone to unethical behavior and should hence be avoided. Moreover, we also find that group diversity seems to enhance group performance, particularly in smaller groups. The experiments were originally planned to be conducted in the lab, allowing group members to interact and communicate with each other. However, this was made impossible by the pandemic, which hit shortly after the project started. This forced us to resort to online experiments. Thereby, we were facing the challenge that at that point, in online experiments there was no possibility of having face-to-face communication in groups, and the only feasible mode of communication was the exchange of (written) chat messages. For the purpose of our project, this was not satisfactory. As a response, one (unforeseen) methodological contribution of the project was the development of the tool chaTree. We are convinced that it will also be helpful to other researchers. |
| Abstract: | Das Hauptziel des Projekts war es, zu einem besseren Verständnis von Gruppenentscheidungen beizutragen. In einer Reihe ökonomischer Experimente untersuchen wir die Auswirkungen wichtiger Gruppenmerkmale, wie der Gruppengröße, der Zusammensetzung der Gruppe nach Geschlecht und anderen potenzielle Determinanten des Gruppenverhaltens. Aufgrund der durch die Covid-19-Pandemie verursachten Friktionen waren im Verlauf Anpassungen des Projektplans nötig. Die Entwicklung des Video-Chat-Tools chaTree, die notwendig war, um die Kommunikation in Bild und Ton in Online-Experimenten zu ermöglichen, hat substanzielle Zeit in Anspruch genommen. Dies hat uns veranlasst, uns auf unethisches Verhalten und das Lösen komplexer Aufgaben als Anwendungsgebiete zu konzentrieren. Unsere Ergebnisse haben auch außerhalb der Forschung Relevanz, insbesondere hinsichtlich der Ausgestaltung von Arbeitsteams oder Gremien. Beispielsweise scheint die Diffusion von Verantwortung ein höchst relevantes Phänomen im Zusammenhang mit unethischen Entscheidungen zu sein. Außerdem scheinen sich größere Gruppen unethischer zu verhalten als kleinere, und rein männliche Gruppen sind offenbar besonders anfällig für unethisches Verhalten und aus dieser Perspektive potenziell problematisch. Darüber hinaus scheint es, dass Heterogenität in der Zusammensetzung insbesondere für die Leistung kleinerer Gruppen förderlich ist. Ursprünglich sollten die Experimente im Labor durchgeführt werden, um den Gruppenmitgliedern die Möglichkeit zu geben, miteinander zu kommunizieren. Dies wurde durch die Pandemie, die kurz nach Beginn des Projekts ausbrach, jedoch unmöglich gemacht. Dadurch waren wir gezwungen, auf Online-Experimente auszuweichen. Dies war jedoch mit der Herausforderung verbunden, dass es zu diesem Zeitpunkt in Online-Experimenten keine Möglichkeit gab, in Bild und Ton zu kommunizieren. Die einzig praktikable Art der Kommunikation war vielmehr der Austausch von schriftlichen Chat-Nachrichten. Für die Zwecke unseres Projekts war dies nicht zufriedenstellend. Ein (unvorhergesehener) methodischer Beitrag des Projekts war daher die Entwicklung des Tools chaTree. Wir sind überzeugt, dass es auch für andere Forschende hilfreich sein wird. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esrepo:335700 |
| By: | Saeed Tajrishy (Sharif University of Technology); Mohammad Vesal (Sharif University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the causal impact of a large-scale public housing construction project on district-level employment. The program focused on mass building of affordable housing for lowand middle-income households. We use this construction shock in a generalized difference-indifferences strategy to estimate the impact on local labor markets. Our results show that each affordable housing project, increase local employment in the construction sector by 5 persons and 230 hours per week. Our second result show public housing projects crowd-out private housing projects by 50 percent. However, we do not find statistically significant general equilibrium effects on local employment across all specifications. These findings suggest that the local variation in affordable housing construction was too small relative to the baseline regional variability to detect a “local multiplier” effect impacting jobs outside of construction. We also find a transition from non-construction jobs to construction which is consistent with no overall employment impact. |
| Date: | 2024–12–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erg:wpaper:1765 |