Showing papers in "Politics and Policy in 2021"

Citizens' Willingness to Support New Taxes for COVID-19 Measures and the Role of Trust.

Abstract: The COVID-19 public health pandemic has seen governments spend trillions of dollars to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus as well as to soften the economic blow from the shutting down of national economies. Subsequent budget shortfalls raise the question of how governments will pay for the direct and indirect costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we study the public's willingness to contribute through paying a new tax, with a focus on Canada. We find that both generalized social and political trust are associated with a greater willingness to support a COVID-related tax and that generalized social trust, in particular, attenuates the negative effect of an experimentally manipulated, specified level of tax burden on policy support. These findings entail important implications for the public opinion and tax policies literature, as well as for policy makers. Related Articles Gainous, Jason, Stephen C. Craig, and Michael D. Martinez. 2008. "Social Welfare Attitudes and Ambivalence about the Role of Government." Politics & Policy 36 (6): 972-1004. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2008.00147 Shock, David R. 2013. "The Significance of Opposition Entrepreneurs on Local Sales Tax Referendum Outcomes." Politics & Policy 41 (4): 588-614. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12028 Wagle, Udaya R. 2013. "The Heterogeneity Politics of the Welfare State: Changing Population Heterogeneity and Welfare State Policies in High-Income OECD Countries, 1980-2005." Politics & Policy 41 (6): 947-984. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12053.

Finance, Institutions, and Private Investment in Africa

Abstract: The study extends the debate on finance versus institutions and measurement of property rights institutions. We assess the relationships between various components of property rights institutions and private investment, notably: political, economic and institutional governances. Comparative concurrent relationships of financial dynamics of depth, efficiency, activity and size are also investigated. The findings provide support for the quality of institutions as a better positive correlate of private investment than financial intermediary development. The interaction of finance and governance is not significant in potentially promoting private investment, perhaps due to substantially documented surplus liquidity issues in African financial institutions. The empirical evidence is based on 53 African countries for the period 1996-2010. Policy measures are discussed for reducing financial deposits, increasing financial activity and hence, improving financial efficiency.

Policy Entrepreneurs in Public Administration: A Social Network Analysis

Abstract: This article examines the role of policy entrepreneurs in promoting change in flood risk mitigation at the local level in Sweden through a comparative study of two Swedish municipalities with different approaches to flood risk governance; as a technical issue or a social issue. The municipality in which flood risk mitigation is addressed as a social issue exhibits a larger size of the network mitigating flood risk, more diverse actors involved, and a more central location of the politicians and senior management. Moreover, the analysis points to the salience of a bureaucratic policy entrepreneur in promoting this shift toward addressing it as a social issue, and shows how they use relational strategies to frame the issue as relating to climate change action. The article operationalizes sociability and credibility, two of the attributes of policy entrepreneurs, and thus, contributes to the theoretical and methodological discussion of policy entrepreneurs in general, and as they pertain to environmental policy in particular. (Less)

The “Isms” of Regional Integration: What Do Underlying Interstate Preferences Hold for the ECOWAS Union?

Abstract: As the world starts reopening following the recent lockdowns prompted by Covid-19 pandemic, regional collaborations and trade matters have resurfaced. While the Brexit (British exit from the European Union) negotiations dominate regional trade headlines, the fate of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is also being rethought. In all these, however, the issue of regional integration, administration and governance of treaties and policies remain contentious areas. Considering these concerns, this paper draws insights from the regionalization of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We explore the “isms” (that is, the ideologies of realism, neo-liberalism, intergovernmentalism, institutionalism and regionalism) that impacts upon the achievement and implementation of the regional governance system. We analyse ECOWAS current strategy towards the integration of the West African region, its successes and failures. Also, we highlight some of the challenges concerning the implementation of treaties. Finally, we evaluate the underlying national preferences and the implications for the “isms” in many settings.

The Failure of Foreign Policy Entrepreneurs in the Trump Administration

Abstract: One of the most important decisions a president will make soon after an election is what kind of relationship he/she will have with cabinet secretaries and agency heads. Will the president control weaker secretaries and agency supervisors or will the president give them greater autonomy, making them in effect policy entrepreneurs? For example, George H. W. Bush created a contractor presidency, one that subcontracted management to important officials, giving them considerable freedom. Yet when it came time to support initiatives, Bush did not spend any political capital in backing his policy entrepreneurs, which ultimately led to policy failure. Bush’s approach to government is informative because of its similarities with Donald J. Trump’s strategy in policy-making. Trump also created a contractor presidency, which handed over major policy making to important officials in his cabinet. Yet, at the same time, Trump prevented those same executives from building their own teams and further gave equivocal or even contradictory responses to their policy initiatives. Just as Bush’s unsupportive relationship with his policy entrepreneurs led to policy defeat, Trump’s contradicting connection with his policy entrepreneurs also resulted in policy failure.

China's Pathway to Domestic Emergency Management: Unpacking the Characteristics in System Evolution

Abstract: China's emergency management (EM) system has undergone a series of reforms and organizational changes since the SARS epidemic in 2003. However, institutional segmentation, unbalanced power for the Emergency Management Office, pervasive internal corruption, and state monopoly control are threats to the administration's goal of resilient and modern EM systems. The new round of 2018 reforms was intended to promote integration through the establishment of the Ministry of Emergency Management and related institutional restructuring involving power redistribution. The reforms are nevertheless likely to face some potential problems like the operation of a superâ€