Equitable payments for ecosystem services are emerging as a viable tool to protect and restore ecosystems. Unlike previous studies using contingent valuation approach in Ethiopia, this study is unique in its scope and target users. It explores the possibility of payment for watershed services as an economic tool in supporting and promoting sustainable land management and financing community-based watershed investments from electric users at a national level. We examine the sensitivity of users’ ability to generate funds for watershed services for sustainable watershed management through the raising of small amounts of money added onto a monthly electrical bill. Sampling frame covered four of the nine regional states of Ethiopia with more than 86% coverage dating back to 2014. A total of 501 urban and rural households and 100 organizations were interviewed over a five-year period from 2014–2019. We used a multistage sampling technique; we first selected cities, towns, and villages based on several data collection methodologies. The findings indicate that about 84% and 90% of households and organizations, respectively, showed their willingness to pay (WTP) additional fees for watershed management that could potentially reduce upland degradation and siltation. Specifically, more than half of the households and organizations and industries were willing to pay the surcharge for watershed management. Likewise, we developed a model estimation of results which verified the WTP amount, respectively. We concluded that funds generated from electric users play a possible role in contributing to the financing of watershed management efforts and could be taken as an important lesson for the watershed management continuum efforts Ethiopia-wide and in other countries.

A focalized analysis and reporting on the problems of general government debt (GGD) and government deficit (GD) and their influencing factors on economic growth rate tell the story of positive, neutral, and negative economies. Research was conducted over a nineteen-year period between 2000 and 2018 on all eleven post-communist European Union Member States (MS). MSs are divided in to three regional blocks: (1) the Baltic countries, (2) Central and Eastern European countries, and (3) the Balkan countries. Reviewed literature examined different types of GGD and GD with denoted influence on each MS’s economy and government. GGD and GD increase as a result of State intervention by reacting to economic fluctuations needed in creating redistributive-related fiscal policy. A breakdown of the problems of fiscal policy is explained. Datasets were compiled and systematically analyzed using Eurostat indicators. European regulatory benchmarking was used for GGD and GD as a percentage of gross domestic product. Results were divided at the regional group level. Comparative tax systems based on total general government revenue as well as total tax and contribution rate were evaluated. Histo-geographical research was considered and a comparative examination of GGD, GD and growth rate illustrated. In terms of GGD, GD, and growth rate, the Baltic countries were best situated, while all other countries were generally stable—with the exception of Hungary, Croatia, and Slovenia. In all, negative or stagnant periods revealed a general positive trend throughout the study with the exception of the world financial crisis of 2008, in which a deteriorative impact on growth rate was evident in all MS—especially from 2009. In the latter years, MSs’ economic promise signals a high potential for renewed public finance and stability initiatives.

Education is the bedrock of any nation. It is essential for individual and societal growth and development. This triggers the demand for quality education which simultaneously increases with a growing demand for quality assurance. This study investigated the role of quality assurance in achieving the expected outcome of education in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s higher education system. Comparative development is looked at by examining other National Qualification Frameworks. The study was based on textual reviews and descriptive analysis on student enrollment and programs of studies. Unlike the global trend, it can be seen that student enrollment is on the decline in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was found that quality assurance is an indispensable tool for strengthening the higher education system and for achieving the desired change and outcomes, that education offers. It was also found that study programs and curricula are pivotal for teaching and learning processes, and that a unified qualification framework is essential for achieving set objectives of education at all levels. The study recommended, among other things, that sound quality assurance systems as well as appropriate structure for monitoring and accreditation be put in place and be judiciously followed in order to achieve the desired outcomes in conjunction with the set objectives of higher education. Moreover, vital thoroughly analyzed pressures (i.e., democratic, economic, and systemic) barriers show signs of epistemological, political, and institutional barriers in the country.

Dedicated to publishing empirical and theoretical studies and analyses in education that constitute contributions to the understanding and/or improvement of educational processes.