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Central theme: The present chapter discusses the integration of data science methods in devising economic policies in different countries with special reference to India.

Purpose: It explains how the policy-making process in countries can be transformed from estimate-based policies to evidence-based policies with the help of techniques such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and data analytics. It answers the research question of whether the data science techniques can make the economic policy process efficient or not in developing countries like India.

Research methodology: Data are collected from secondary sources such as government websites, journals, corporate reports, and research databases to conduct this descriptive analysis. Research papers from Scopus/Web of Science (WoS) database are extracted, and exclusion/inclusion criteria are applied for extracting papers relevant to this research.

Findings: The chapter found out various opportunities which India can tap by gaining new insights on critical macroeconomic issues such as unemployment, labour markets, and water crises and would be able to resolve the problems with the help of predictive modelling. The findings exhibit the possibility of building models that could explain how to integrate data science techniques into the policy-making process. It also highlights the challenges that Indian economy is facing in incorporating these techniques in its policy-making process. It states the need to design different evaluation schemes based on information and communication technology (ICT) and data science for different policies, since one methodology does not suit all.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate public disclosures and accountability for government decision-making in the case of a major prison project delivered through a Public–Private Partnership (PPP) in the State of Victoria (Australia).

The study explores a unique case to provide insights into public disclosures for PPPs in a jurisdiction that is a recognised leader in PPP policy and practice. The analysis is theoretically framed by an understanding of neoliberalism and New Public Management, and draws on data from case-specific reporting, media reporting and public policy, to examine interconnections between accounting, public discourse and accountability.

The analysis shows how publicly available information relating to key government decisions routinely lacked supporting evidence or explanation, even though areas of subjectivity were recognised in public policy. Accounting was deployed numerically and discursively to present potentially contestable decisions as being based on common-sense “facts”. The implied “truth” status of government reporting is problematised by media disclosure of key issues absent from government disclosures.

Under neoliberalism, accountingisation can help depoliticise the public sphere and limit discourse by constructing ostensible “facts” in an inherently contestable arena. By contrast, democratic accountability requires public disclosures that infuse a critical dialogical public sphere.

The paper shows how neoliberalism can be embedded in public policies and institutional practices, and buttressed by the use of accounting. The analysis illuminates the persistence and “failing forward” character of neoliberalism, whereby crises are addressed through further neoliberalisation.

Behavioral economics poses a challenge for the welfare evaluation of choices, particularly those that involve risk. It demands that we recognize that the descriptive account of behavior toward those choices might not be the ones we were all taught, and still teach, and that subjective risk perceptions might not accord with expert assessments of probabilities. In addition to these challenges, we are faced with the need to jettison naive notions of revealed preferences, according to which every choice by a subject expresses her objective function, as behavioral evidence forces us to confront pervasive inconsistencies and noise in a typical individual’s choice data. A principled account of errant choice must be built into models used for identification and estimation. These challenges demand close attention to the methodological claims often used to justify policy interventions. They also require, we argue, closer attention by economists to relevant contributions from cognitive science. We propose that a quantitative application of the “intentional stance” of Dennett provides a coherent, attractive and general approach to behavioral welfare economics.

This study aims to identify and outline the critical challenges affecting the inclination of executives to use data as the basis for making decisions at a local government level.

The study conducted in-depth interviews with 21 public officials comprising middle- and top-level executives from 18 agencies and offices at the Bojonegoro Regency, one of Indonesia’s most progressive regencies in pursuing open government and smart cities.

The findings demonstrate that ensuring a good quality data architecture, nurturing data culture and developing analytics capability are essential in the case of a developing country such as Indonesia. However, insufficient policies and regulations, a nonexistent evaluative framework for data quality, disruptive local tradition and the ingrained autocratic administration represent significant and unique challenges to implementing data-driven decision-making in the local government in Indonesia.

The chosen research approach may result in a need for more generalizability beyond Indonesia, accentuating the necessity for the geographical objects to include other developing countries in future research.

The findings showcase that lack of awareness and acceptance from public officials and the general public of the importance of a data-driven approach; as such, a better understanding of the change in attitudes and mindsets of public officials is invariably one of the critical practical determinants.

The findings signify the importance of creating robust accountability systems and evaluative frameworks that consider the many variables influencing decisions that capture the significance of organizational and local culture.

This study highlights the crucial significance of stakeholder participation in the creation of a comprehensive energy and electrical master plan for Mozambique. The purpose of this study is to deliver a practical insights that transcend theoretical concerns by digging into the subtleties of stakeholder relationships and strategic collaborations, paving the path for pragmatic and meaningful solutions that connect with real-life conditions. This debate lays the groundwork for educated decision-making, propelling Mozambique’s energy industry towards a more sustainable and prosperous future.

The study used a combined approach of stakeholder analysis (SA) and social network analysis (SNA) to enhance our understanding of the stakeholder landscape in Mozambique’s energy sector. This methodological approach offers a unique vantage point to examine the individual stakeholders’ roles and the intricate web of connections, partnerships, collaborations and information-sharing activities. By integrating SA and SNA, this study aims to provide a more comprehensive and dynamic depiction of stakeholder interactions, contributing methodologically to the existing body of literature.

The findings also highlight the need to develop frameworks that promote private investment and joint endeavours with entities such as Cahora Bassa Dam/Mozambique Transmission Company. A consistent legal framework ensures uniform performance and a robust monitoring system for ongoing projects, improving accountability and progress tracking. Furthermore, the discussion includes enhancing the competence of the regulatory agency regulating the electricity industry. This includes tackling complex concerns with electricity pricing and other regulatory aspects relevant to private investment. A highly empowered regulatory agency is critical to creating an atmosphere conducive to long-term private sector involvement.

While the study emphasises the need to integrate multiple stakeholders, it may not detail specific issues or impediments that may develop during the engagement process. Additional research could look into potential tensions or barriers to effective collaboration. Furthermore, the study emphasises the necessity of addressing environmental impacts; it must thoroughly examine specific environmental concerns such as carbon emissions, deforestation or renewable energy possibilities. Future research could assess the suggested policies’ environmental impact more extensively. Additionally, while the conclusion briefly mentions economic prosperity, a more thorough consideration of the possible economic and social implications of various energy policies could provide a greater understanding of their practicality and potential benefits.

In terms of practical contributions, this study aspires to shed light on how stakeholder interactions can shape energy policy interventions that ensure reliable and affordable energy sources for economic development and societal well-being. By unveiling the complex network of relationships and partnerships, this study seeks to provide actionable insights for policymakers, industry players and other stakeholders involved in Mozambique’s energy sector. By taking this action, this research aims to pave the way for more effective and inclusive energy policies that align with circular economy principles, thus addressing a critical need in scholarly discourse and practical implementation.

The study underscores the critical role of energy stakeholders in shaping energy policies and projects, given their influential positions and impact on decision-making processes. While existing literature acknowledges this influence, a discernible research gap exists in comprehensively understanding how stakeholder interactions and collaborations in the energy sector affect policy interventions within a context such as Mozambique. This study seeks to bridge this gap by delving into the intricacies of stakeholder involvement and its implications for energy policy development in Mozambique.

This article examines public sector leadership during the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic in Ghana. It focuses on the Bank of Ghana – the nation's central bank responsible for monetary policy and financial sector leadership – and examines the critical leadership attributes that the central bank demonstrated through its administrative and policy responses to the crisis.

Text-based content analysis is the method of investigation in this study. The analysis relies on textual data from the Bank of Ghana's monetary policy committee press briefings. The textual data are analyzed in three steps, namely pre-analysis, analysis and interpretation to identify patterns, themes and emphases and to make inferences about the central bank's public sector leadership during the coronavirus crisis in Ghana.

The findings from textual analysis of monetary policy committee press briefings show that the central bank demonstrated several criteria of effective public service leadership during the crisis, namely sensemaking, critical decision-making, communication, accountability, adaptability and, to an extent, learning. However, the textual evidence suggests that the Bank of Ghana needs to broaden its collaboration and coordination across a wider spectrum of stakeholders in economic crisis management, while not compromising its policy independence.

This article contributes to the emerging literature on public sector leadership during the COVID-19 crisis. It provides a unique perspective on public sector leadership through the lens of economic crisis management in a developing country context.

Measuring research’s policy influence is challenging, given the complexity of the policy process, the gradual nature of policy influence, and the time lag between research investment and impact. This paper assesses measurement approaches and discusses their merits and applications to overcome various hurdles.

Relevant articles and studies were selected and analyzed. First, the research-policy interface was revisited to understand their link and how research influences policy making. Second, the most common approaches for measuring policy influence were reviewed based on their features, strengths, and limitations.

The three approaches reviewed — pyramid, influencing, and results chain — have their respective strengths. Thus, research organizations planning to design a program for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of policy influence have to adopt the best possible features of each approach and develop a customized method depending on their objectives and overall M&E framework.

This paper fosters a deeper understanding of leveraging the three approaches.

The study aims to investigate the impact of indirectly evoked incentives, in the form of supervisor’s preferences, on the decision about accounting policy regarding depreciation method selection and to examine subsequent post-decision distortion by evaluating the depreciation method.

The authors conducted two experiments with control and treatment groups, manipulating the supervisor’s indirectly evoked preferences. In Study 2, the authors also measured the evaluation of both depreciation methods to investigate post-decisional distortion regarding the assessment of the depreciation method chosen in a decision task. Study 1 was conducted among 85 accounting students, while Study 2 consisted of 200 accountants.

Both studies revealed the significant impact of supervisor’s indirectly evoked preferences on accounting policy decisions. Participants who were aware of supervisors’ preferences were more likely to choose the depreciation method that was consistent with those preferences. The authors also found that those participants attached a higher value to the depreciation method, providing evidence that adherence to the supervisor’s preferences results in a distorted assessment of the depreciation methods.

First, this study shows that indirectly evoked supervisors’ preferences may lead to a departure from substantive criteria resulting in low-quality accounting outcomes. Second, the assessment of the depreciation method is inseparable from the situational context, as the evaluation of the depreciation method is interdependent upon the preferences of the choice of a depreciation method and the fulfillment of those preferences.