Administrative Strategies and Practices for Economic Growth and Development: Governance, Sustainability, and Digital Transformation in the 21st Century

Dear Colleagues,

This era of humanity is marked by economic, environmental, and social challenges, the management of which is increasingly difficult and involves collaborative efforts from national and supranational authorities, alongside society. It is essential to define the current conditions, which are characterized by digitalisation, global openness and progress, and to seek solutions that balance interactions among the economy, the environment, governance, and society.

This Special Issue seeks to explore the complex interplay between administrative science and economic development in a rapidly evolving global landscape. As nations grapple with the challenges of sustainable growth, institutional reform, and digital transformation, the role of public administration and governance becomes increasingly central to shaping resilient, inclusive, and innovation-driven economies.

This Special Issue welcomes theoretical and empirical contributions that investigate how administrative strategies, policies, governance mechanisms and practices contribute to economic performance, in both emerging and developed economies. We are particularly interested in studies that examine how digital technologies, sustainability imperatives, and administrative reforms are reconfiguring state capacity, service delivery, regulatory effectiveness, and policy innovation. We also are interested in evaluating the effects of managerial and entrepreneurial activity, as well as their contribution to achieving the objectives of growth and economic development in the complex context of the 21st century. Here, the role of education, innovations, green technologies and other important determinants of growth and development is to be enhanced. In order to achieve growth and development, we are also interested in comparative studies that determine how economic and social inequalities can be reduced.

We welcome the submission of original research articles and reviews. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

• Public administration and institutional quality as drivers of economic growth;
• Governance models and administrative reforms in developed and emerging economies;
• Digitalization and smart governance: impacts on growth and public sector efficiency;
• Sustainability-oriented policy frameworks and administrative capacity;
• Public-private partnerships and innovation ecosystems;
• Decentralization, local governance, and regional economic development;
• Crisis management, administrative resilience, and economic recovery;
• Data governance, digital infrastructure, and public sector transformation;
• Administrative challenges in achieving SDGs and inclusive growth;
• Determinants of growth and development in 21st century;
• The impact of managerial and entrepreneurial capacity on economic growth and development;
• Innovation ecosystems and entrepreneurial governance;
• The role of education and human capital development in long-term economic performance;
• Green technologies and environmental entrepreneurship: administrative and policy implications;
• Public sector support for entrepreneurship and SME development;
• Administrative strategies to foster inclusive innovation and reduce regional disparities;
• Economic and social inequality: comparative studies on public administration and redistribution;
• Digital entrepreneurship and smart policy in the context of sustainable development;
• Administrative and institutional reforms targeting equitable access to opportunities;
• Governance and education policies for innovation-driven and inclusive growth;
• Smart cities and sustainable economic growth and development;
• Financial aspects of growth, development, sustainability and governance.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Alina-Petronela Haller
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• administrative science
• economic development
• governance
• sustainability
• digital transformation
• emerging economies
• developed economies
• public policy
• state capacity