IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i4p1837-d495654.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Promoting Online Transparency to Help Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: An Empirical Study of Local Governments in Latin America

Author

Listed:
  • Tamara Guerrero-Gómez

    (Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, University of Granada, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain)

  • Andrés Navarro-Galera

    (Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, University of Granada, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain)

  • David Ortiz-Rodríguez

    (Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, University of Granada, Campus Universitario de Cartuja, s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain)

Abstract

Although transparency on the sustainability of public services is an issue of urgent interest to both governments and academics, previous research in this area has mainly focused on developed European countries, and has paid insufficient attention to areas that are still developing, such as many Latin American countries. The aim of this study is to identify factors that promote transparency on sustainability by local governments in Latin America, in the view that greater transparency will help them meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Therefore, using content analysis and following the GRI guidelines, we analyze the economic, social and environmental information published on the websites of 200 large local governments in 18 Latin American countries. In addition, using linear regression and calculating the corresponding Spearman coefficients, we analyze the influence of idiosyncratic and systemic variables on the volume of information disclosed. Our findings show that certain factors—population size, education level, unemployment, the quality of legislation and political corruption—affect transparency on sustainability. The conclusions drawn from this analysis enable us to identify useful measures for enhancing transparency on sustainability, including the reform of transparency laws and the analysis and disclosure of citizens’ information demands.

Suggested Citation

  • Tamara Guerrero-Gómez & Andrés Navarro-Galera & David Ortiz-Rodríguez, 2021. "Promoting Online Transparency to Help Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: An Empirical Study of Local Governments in Latin America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:1837-:d:495654
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/1837/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/1837/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniel Albalate del Sol, 2013. "The institutional, economic and social determinants of local government transparency," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 90-107.
    2. -, 2017. "Desde el gobierno abierto al Estado abierto en América Latina y el Caribe," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 144 edited by Cepal, June.
    3. Manila Marcuccio & Ileana Steccolini, 2005. "Social and environmental reporting in local authorities," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 155-176, June.
    4. Daniel Albalate del Sol, 2013. "The institutional, economic and social determinants of local government transparency," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 90-107, March.
    5. Nuno Ferreira da Cruz & António F. Tavares & Rui Cunha Marques & Susana Jorge & Luís de Sousa, 2016. "Measuring Local Government Transparency," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(6), pages 866-893, July.
    6. Giulio Greco & Nick Sciulli & Giuseppe D'Onza, 2015. "The Influence of Stakeholder Engagement on Sustainability Reporting: Evidence from Italian local councils," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 465-488, April.
    7. Waris Ali & Jedrzej George Frynas & Zeeshan Mahmood, 2017. "Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Disclosure in Developed and Developing Countries: A Literature Review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(4), pages 273-294, July.
    8. Francisco J. Alcaraz-Quiles & Andrés Navarro-Galera & David Ortiz-Rodríguez, 2020. "The contribution of the right to information laws in Europe to local government transparency on sustainability," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 161-178, March.
    9. Torbjörn Tagesson & Michelle Klugman & Maria Ekström, 2013. "What explains the extent and content of social disclosures in Swedish municipalities’ annual reports," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(2), pages 217-235, May.
    10. Brautigam,Deborah & Fjeldstad,Odd-Helge & Moore,Mick (ed.), 2008. "Taxation and State-Building in Developing Countries," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521888158.
    11. Andrés Navarro-Galera & Francisco José Alcaraz-Quiles & David Ortiz-Rodriguez, 2018. "Enhancing Sustainability Transparency in Local Governments—An Empirical Research in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Marieke Van Genugten & Sandra Van Thiel & Bart Voorn, 2020. "Local governments and their arm’s length bodies," Local Government Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(1), pages 1-21, January.
    13. Pollitt, Christopher & Bouckaert, Geert, 2004. "Public Management Reform: A Comparative Analysis," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 2, number 9780199268498.
    14. -, 2019. "Informe de avance cuatrienal sobre el progreso y los desafíos regionales de la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible en América Latina y el Caribe," Libros y Documentos Institucionales, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 44551 edited by Cepal.
    15. Deegan, Craig, 2017. "Twenty five years of social and environmental accounting research within Critical Perspectives of Accounting: Hits, misses and ways forward," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 65-87.
    16. Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, 2016. "Sustainable Growth and Development in a Regional Economy," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(5), pages 922-923, May.
    17. -, 2017. "Desde el gobierno abierto al Estado abierto en América Latina y el Caribe," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 44769 edited by Cepal.
    18. Lara Tarquinio & Domenico Raucci & Roberto Benedetti, 2018. "An Investigation of Global Reporting Initiative Performance Indicators in Corporate Sustainability Reports: Greek, Italian and Spanish Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-19, March.
    19. Karen Holm Olsen & Fatemeh Bakhtiari & Virender Kumar Duggal & Jørge Villy Fenhann, 2019. "Sustainability labelling as a tool for reporting the sustainable development impacts of climate actions relevant to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 225-251, April.
    20. -, 2016. "Agenda 2030 y los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible: una oportunidad para América Latina y el Caribe," Coediciones, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 40155 edited by Cepal.
    21. Sumit Lodhia & Kerry Jacobs & Yoon Jin Park, 2012. "Driving Public Sector Environmental Reporting," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(5), pages 631-647, June.
    22. Brautigam,Deborah & Fjeldstad,Odd-Helge & Moore,Mick (ed.), 2008. "Taxation and State-Building in Developing Countries," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521716192.
    23. José Caamaño-Alegre & Santiago Lago-Peñas & Francisco Reyes-Santias & Aurora Santiago-Boubeta, 2011. "Budget Transparency in Local Governments: An Empirical Analysis," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1102, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    24. Andrés Navarro-Galera & Mercedes Ruiz-Lozano & Pilar Tirado-Valencia & Araceli de los Ríos-Berjillos, 2017. "Promoting Sustainability Transparency in European Local Governments: An Empirical Analysis Based on Administrative Cultures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-20, March.
    25. Matthias S. Fifka, 2013. "Corporate Responsibility Reporting and its Determinants in Comparative Perspective – a Review of the Empirical Literature and a Meta‐analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 1-35, January.
    26. Ludger Niemann & Thomas Hoppe, 2018. "Sustainability reporting by local governments: a magic tool? Lessons on use and usefulness from European pioneers," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 201-223, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francisco J. Alcaraz-Quiles & Andrés Navarro-Galera & David Ortiz-Rodríguez, 2020. "The contribution of the right to information laws in Europe to local government transparency on sustainability," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 161-178, March.
    2. Andrés Navarro-Galera & Francisco José Alcaraz-Quiles & David Ortiz-Rodriguez, 2018. "Enhancing Sustainability Transparency in Local Governments—An Empirical Research in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, June.
    3. Cañizares-Espada Manuela & Muñoz-Colomina Clara Isabel & Pérez-Estébanez Raquel & Urquía-Grande Elena, 2021. "Transparency and Accessibility in Municipalities: The Case of Social Services in Spain," Central European Journal of Public Policy, Sciendo, vol. 15(5), pages 31-54, June.
    4. Susana Iglesias-Antelo & Vicente López-López & Antonio Vázquez-Sanmartín, 2021. "Assessing the Influence of Strategic Resources on the Quality of Life in Spanish Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, November.
    5. Paweł Charasz & Jan P Vogler, 2021. "Does EU funding improve local state capacity? Evidence from Polish municipalities," European Union Politics, , vol. 22(3), pages 446-471, September.
    6. Remmer Sassen & Leyla Azizi, 2018. "Voluntary disclosure of sustainability reports by Canadian universities," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 97-137, January.
    7. Katarina Ott & Velibor Maèkiæ & Mihaela Broniæ, 2019. "Political Stubbornness and Online Local Budget Transparency in Croatia," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 37(2), pages 553-585.
    8. Paulo Reis Mourao & Mihaela Bronić & Branko Stanić, 2020. "Discussing the determinants of online budget transparency based on a spatial regression analysis of Croatian cities and municipalities: Do good neighbours make you better?," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 23(3), pages 268-287, September.
    9. Monica Bruzzone & Renata Paola Dameri & Paola Demartini, 2021. "Resilience Reporting for Sustainable Development in Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-24, July.
    10. Ignacio J. Duran & Pablo Rodrigo, 2018. "Why Do Firms in Emerging Markets Report? A Stakeholder Theory Approach to Study the Determinants of Non-Financial Disclosure in Latin America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-20, August.
    11. Bronić Mihaela & Stanić Branko & Prijaković Simona, 2022. "The Effects of Budget Transparency on the Budget Balances and Expenditures of Croatian Local Governments," South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Sciendo, vol. 17(1), pages 111-124, June.
    12. Leanora Alecia Brown & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2015. "International Debt Forgiveness: Who Gets Picked and Its Effect On The Tax Effort Of Developing Countries," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper1504, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    13. Pedro L. Rodríguez, José R. Morales, Fancisco J. Monaldi, 2012. "Direct Distribution of Oil Revenues in Venezuela: A Viable Alternative?," Working Papers 306, Center for Global Development.
    14. Gabriella Y. Carolini, 2021. "Aid’s urban footprint and its implications for local inequality and governance," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(2), pages 389-409, March.
    15. Arjan de Haan & Ward Warmerdam, 2012. "The politics of aid revisited: a review of evidence on state capacity and elite commitment," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-007-12, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    16. Timothy Besley & Torsten Persson, 2011. "Pillars of Prosperity: The Political Economics of Development Clusters," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9624.
    17. Hina Ismail & Muhammad A. Saleem & Sadaf Zahra & Muhammad S. Tufail & Rao Akmal Ali, 2021. "Application of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Principles for Measuring Quality of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Disclosure: Evidence from Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    18. Kodjo Adandohoin, 2021. "Tax transition in developing countries: do value added tax and excises really work?," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 379-424, May.
    19. María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno & Teresa Duarte-Atoche, 2019. "Relationship between Sustainable Disclosure and Performance—An Extension of Ullmann’s Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-33, August.
    20. Mara Redlich Revkin, 2021. "Competitive Governance and Displacement Decisions Under Rebel Rule: Evidence from the Islamic State in Iraq," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 65(1), pages 46-80, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:1837-:d:495654. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.