IIRSA, THE GROWTH ACCELERATION PROGRAM (PAC), AND THE ENVIRONMENT: ADVANCING INTEGRATION, RECEDING FORESTS, AND DISPOSSESSED PEOPLES

Strategic visions of local governments in combating the climate crisis: a descriptive study on Türkiye and the EU

The climate crisis, one of the most urgent global challenges of the 21st century, has profound environmental, economic, social, and political consequences. Cities, as the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions, are central to both mitigation and adaptation strategies. This study examines the role of local governments in combating climate change through a descriptive analysis of policy documents from municipalities in Türkiye and the European Union. Rather than focusing on on-the-ground implementations, the research analyzes strategic visions and official climate action plans to highlight three critical functions of local governments: implementing climate policies, regulating urban development, and fostering citizen participation. Findings reveal that while Turkish municipalities—such as Istanbul with its Climate Vision 2050 and Izmir with its SECAP plan—have made notable progress, they continue to face challenges related to financing, centralization, and limited public engagement. In contrast, EU municipalities benefit from stronger institutional structures, diversified funding mechanisms, and robust citizen participation. The comparative analysis suggests that Türkiye can strengthen its climate governance by expanding international cooperation, diversifying financial resources, and enhancing participatory mechanisms. The study emphasizes that local governments are indispensable actors in building resilient and sustainable cities, and that their proactive participation is vital for achieving national and global climate goals.

Independent Country Program Review: Panama, 2021-2024

This Independent Country Program Review (ICPR) assesses the relevance, implementation, and contribution of the Inter-American Development Bank Group's (IDB Group) country strategy and program with Panama from June 16, 2021, to June 30, 2024. The review informs the Board of Executive Directors in their consideration of the forthcoming country strategy and provides the Government of Panama and other stakeholders with an independent assessment of the IDB Group's engagement. The ICPR is based on a systematic review of documentation and triangulation with IDB Group specialists and external counterparts. The analysis follows OVE's Implementation Guidelines for Independent Country Program Reviews and examines the relevance of the country strategy, the alignment and feasibility of the country program, its implementation, and its contribution to strategic objectives and expected outcomes. Panama sustained high economic growth driven by the Canal and investment, but faces persistent challenges of inequality, productivity, and access to quality basic services, particularly in rural and indigenous areas. The country strategy defined eight strategic objectives across three priority areas: modernizing public management, improving the delivery of basic services, and reigniting and diversifying productive activity. While generally aligned with national priorities, the strategy showed weaknesses in strategic selectivity, design clarity, monitoring mechanisms, and risk identification, especially regarding institutional quality and productivity constraints. The program comprised 122 sovereign-guaranteed IDB and 38 non-sovereign guaranteed IDB Invest operations totaling US$3.49 billion. Alignment was strong in public management and basic services, but weaker in productive activity. Implementation faced persistent challenges, including ex ante controls by the Comptroller's Office, budget constraints, limited institutional capacity, and pandemic-related disruptions. The program made its strongest contributions to digital transformation of public administration, education quality and relevance, and access to credit for underserved sectors, while contributions to other objectives were limited due to weak alignment, low operational maturity, implementation delays, and insufficient evidence of results. The ICPR concludes that, although the IDB Group's program in Panama was broadly relevant and adaptable, limitations in strategic focus, operational feasibility, and implementation reduced its contribution to several key development challenges. Strengthening strategic selectivity, addressing structural implementation bottlenecks, and improving evidence generation will be critical to enhancing the effectiveness of future country strategies and programs.

Regulatory and Institutional Review: Electrification in Indonesia’s Frontier, Outermost, and Underdeveloped (3T) Regions

Government of Indonesia sets an ambitious target of 100% of electrification ratio by 2029 to support inclusive economic growth. However, despite a reported national electrification ratio of 99.83%, Frontier, Outermost, and Underdeveloped (3T) regions continue to suffer from unreliable service and frequent asset abandonment. This study investigates the institutional and regulatory root causes of these disparities. Using a qualitative institutional analysis combining regulatory review, stakeholder mapping through a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consult, and Informed) framework, and comparative policy synthesis, we identify a fundamental “Accountability Paradox” in the current governance structure. The analysis reveals that the separation of mandates between the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as the regulator, the Ministry of Finance as the financier, and PLN as the operator creates a vacuum of accountability for long-term sustainability, particularly for off-grid systems. Furthermore, while the institutional and regulatory framework disperses funding responsibility across multiple levels of government, resulting in fragmented financing arrangements, state-centric subsidy mechanisms create financial asymmetries that constrain private and community participation. To address these structural inefficiencies, this paper proposes the establishment of a dedicated Public Service Agency (BLU) for 3T Energy. The proposed institution functions as a centralised orchestrator to integrate electrification programs, financing mechanisms, and performance-based incentives, thereby shifting the national electrification paradigm from connectivity toward sustainable service quality.

Toward A New Equilibrium: The Intersection of Economy, Population, and Environmental Degradation in Southeast Asia

This study examines the relationship between population growth, economic growth, and environmental degradation in Southeast Asia using panel data from ten countries during the 2018–2023 period. Data were obtained from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and analyzed using panel regression techniques that integrate both cross-sectional and time-series dimensions. The findings indicate that economic growth is significantly associated with several dimensions of environmental degradation, particularly land-use dynamics, whereas population size does not exhibit a statistically significant effect across the estimated models. The results suggest that environmental outcomes in Southeast Asia are influenced more by economic structure, institutional quality, and environmental governance than by demographic expansion alone. Although the findings are consistent with arguments commonly discussed in the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) literature, this study does not directly test the EKC hypothesis because it excludes nonlinear income specifications. The study highlights the importance of strengthening environmental governance, promoting green technologies, and supporting sustainable development strategies to mitigate long-term ecological pressures. These findings contribute to the growing literature on sustainable development and environmental management in Southeast Asia.

The Impact of FinTech on the Achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: A Hybrid Systematic Review

Financial technology (FinTech) is recognized as an important enabler of sustainable development. However, it presents a fragmented and limited explanation of how FinTech may contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this hybrid systematic review of 93 articles published between 2015 and May 2026, this study explores responses to these questions. First, it synthesizes four mechanisms through which FinTech contributes to the SDGs: financial inclusion and access to capital, transparency and governance, risk mitigation and resilience, and data‐driven decision‐making. This review develops an integrated theoretical framework combining institutional, innovation diffusion, capability, and stakeholder perspectives. Our analysis suggests that FinTech may contribute unevenly across the economic, social, and climate‐related SDGs and that uncertainty is increasingly conditioning sustainability outcomes. Finally, this review offers theoretical, policy, and future research implications on the subject. JEL Classification: A1O1O3

Sustainable Development as a Strategic Factor in Ecuador’s Economic Growth: A Socioeconomic and Environmental Analysis