Showing papers on "Public policy published in 2016"

Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty

Abstract: We develop a new index of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) based on newspaper coverage frequency Several types of evidence – including human readings of 12,000 newspaper articles – indicate that our index proxies for movements in policy-related economic uncertainty Our US index spikes near tight presidential elections, Gulf Wars I and II, the 9/11 attacks, the failure of Lehman Brothers, the 2011 debt-ceiling dispute and other major battles over fiscal policy Using firm-level data, we find that policy uncertainty raises stock price volatility and reduces investment and employment in policy-sensitive sectors like defense, healthcare, and infrastructure construction At the macro level, policy uncertainty innovations foreshadow declines in investment, output, and employment in the United States and, in a panel VAR setting, for 12 major economies Extending our US index back to 1900, EPU rose dramatically in the 1930s (from late 1931) and has drifted upwards since the 1960s

Policy: Map the interactions between Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract: Mans Nilsson, Dave Griggs and Martin Visbeck present a simple way of rating relationships between the targets to highlight priorities for integrated policy.

Behavioural Assumptions of Policy Tools

Abstract: This paper provides a framework to analyze the implicit or explicit behavioral theories found in laws, regulations, and programs. The analysis focuses on policy tools or instruments and the underlying behavioral assumptions that guide their choice. We begin with the premise that public policy almost always attempts to get people to do things they otherwise would not have done, or it enables them to do things they might not have done otherwise. Policy tools are used to overcome impediments to policy-relevant actions. The five broad categories of tools we iden- tify-authority, incentives, capacity-building, symbolic and hortatory, and learning-make dif- ferent assumptions about how policy relevant behavior can be fostered. We contend that policy tools are essentially political phenomena, and that policy participation in the form of com- pliance, utilization, and other forms of "coproduction" is an important form of political behavior deserving of greater attention by political science.

Co-production and the co-creation of value in public services: A suitable case for treatment?

Abstract: Co-production is currently one of cornerstones of public policy reform across the globe. Inter alia, it is articulated as a valuable route to public service reform and to the planning and delivery of effective public services, a response to the democratic deficit and a route to active citizenship and active communities, and as a means by which to lever in additional resources to public service delivery. Despite these varied roles, co-production is actually poorly formulated and has become one of a series of ‘woolly-words’ in public policy. This paper presents a conceptualization of co-production that is theoretically rooted in both public management and service management theory. It argues that this is a robust starting point for the evolution of new research and knowledge about co-production and for the development of evidence-based public policymaking and implementation.

Handbook of theories of aging

Abstract: The long awaited sequel to Birren and Bengtson's landmark text, "Emergent Theories Of Aging" has arrived. Dedicated to James E. Birren, this volume continues to explore and expand upon the bases of theory-building and research design in aging. Renowned researchers examine biological, biomedical, psychological, and social science concepts and theories. In addition, this volume contains a new section that explores the potentials for successful interventions by applying theories to gerontological practice, public policy, and mental health and aging. This text is a valuable resource for gerontologists, academics, psychologists, and graduate-level students. The contributors include: James Birren, Gary Kenyon, Caleb Finch, Diana Woodruff-Pak, Paul B. Baltes, Margret Baltes, Laura Carstensen, Timothy Salthouse, Gisela Labouvie-Vief, Christine Fry, Dale Dannefer, and Margaret Gatz, among others.

Are Workers Paid their Marginal Products

Abstract: Status is, like Coase's social costs, a reciprocal phenomenon. Given that one person's gain in status can occur only at the expense of a loss in status for others, and that workers are free to choose their coworkers, it follows that the competitive wage structure within a firm must be one in which individual wage differences understate individual differences in marginal products.' The purpose of this paper is to examine a variety of empirical evidence that relates to this proposition about the firm's internal wage structure. The paper is organized as follows. Section I briefly summarizes the theoretical considerations that govern competitive wage determination when status matters to people and firms are viewed as voluntary associations of workers. Section II then confronts the predictions of Section I by examining pay and productivity schedules for a group of sales occupations for which these schedules are relatively easily observed. Section II also examines the relationship between wages and productivity for a sample of university professors, an occupation in which individual productivity differences are, for a variety of obvious reasons, relatively more difficult to measure. All of the evidence examined is consistent with the hypothesis that, within firms, wage rates vary substantially less than do individual productivity values. Section III discusses additional observations and evidence that bear on this same hypothesis. It suggests that the implicit market for status may strongly influence the ways in which firms are organized to carry out the tasks they perform. Section IV concludes by considering the claim that egalitarian internal wage structures arise because of "equity considerations." It argues that the concept of equity appears very closely linked to the concept of status, and suggests a strategy for assigning monetaty value to the equity considerations that so often dominate public policy decisions.

From market fixing to market-creating: a new framework for innovation policy

Abstract: Many countries are pursuing innovation-led “smart” growth, which requires long-run strategic investments and public policies that aim to create and shape markets, rather than just “fixing” markets or systems. Market creation has characterized the kind of mission-oriented investments that led to putting a man on the moon and are currently galvanizing green innovation. Mission-oriented innovation has required public agencies to not only “de-risk” the private sector, but also to lead the direct creation of new technological opportunities and market landscapes. This paper considers four key issues that arise from a market-creating framework for policy: (1) decision-making on the direction of change; (2) the nature of (public and private) organizations that can welcome the underlying uncertainty and discovery process; (3) the evaluation of mission-oriented and market-creation policies; and (4) the ways in which both risks and rewards can be shared so that smart growth can also result in inclusive growth.

Public Policies for Environmental Protection

Abstract: Originally published in 1990, this study tracks the issues, progress and problems in environmental issues in the United States from the 1980’s. Improvements in air and water quality as well as regulation of hazardous waste and toxic substances has led to new policies such as the Superfund Act and a general increase in awareness about environmental issues on a federal level. Placing an emphasis on economics, these papers analyse the effectiveness of environmental policy and progress made in relation to air pollution, water quality, hazardous wastes, toxic substances and enforcement of regulations. This title will be of interest to students of environmental studies.

Improving the quality

Abstract: China has achieved tremendous progress in its efforts to introduce Western theories in public policy-making and launch its own theories in this respect. The magnitude of this introduction and application in central government has impacted greatly on its policy-making capacity. However, at the local government level, China still manifests a worrisome trend of sticking to rule of man and personal decision-making which caused enormous economic losses. China has to enhance its policy-making capacity at the local level by educating local government officials and disseminating knowledge on public policies.

A critical analysis of the Native Vegetation Protection Law of Brazil (2012): updates and ongoing initiatives

Abstract: The Native Vegetation Protection Law of Brazil, which replaced the Forest Code from 1965, is still undergoing regulation at federal and state levels, and the constitutionality of some clauses are still in question. In order to support legal rulings, decisions by public officers, and to inform other stakeholders, we present a balanced assessment of the positive and negative consequences of Native Vegetation Protection Law in light of current scientific knowledge. Key advances were noted in the systems of controls and incentives, which promoted new mechanisms and policies to support the implementation of this law. The main environmental setbacks were (i) the removal of protection of certain environmentally fragile areas, (ii) the concession of amnesty of fines incurred for violating the preceding legislation, (iii) allowing continuous farming or maintenance of infrastructure in areas protected by law, without full recovery of native vegetation. The weakening of Native Vegetation Protection Law may hamper soil and watershed protection, biodiversity conservation, and even agricultural productivity, without manifest benefits for the country. On that account, we recommend that: (i) judiciary rulings and state and county regulations to correct pending issues with the Native Vegetation Protection Law based on scientific knowledge and with wider citizen participation; (ii) the strengthening of agencies for rural technical assistance; (iii) the development of incentives to develop the supply chain for native vegetation recovery; (iv) the regulation of compensation for Legal Reserves based on clear and robust environmental criteria; and (v) the assessment of legal compliance has also to be based on the environmental quality of recovered areas.

Public policy to promote entrepreneurship: a call to arms

Abstract: We debate the motivation for and effectiveness of public policies to encourage individuals to become entrepreneurs. Reviewing established evidence we find that most Western world policies do not greatly reduce or solve any market failures but instead waste taxpayers’ money, encourage those already intent on becoming entrepreneurs, and mostly generate one-employee businesses with low-growth intentions and a lack of interest in innovating. Most policy initiatives that would have the effect of promoting valuable entrepreneurship would not be recognizable as such, because they would primarily address other market failures: A central-payer health care would remove healthcare-related distortions affecting employment choices; greater STEM education would produce more engineers of which some start valuable new firms; and labor market reform to encourage hiring immigrants in jobs they have been educated for would reduce inefficient allocation of talent to entrepreneurship.

Toward More “Evidence-Informed” Policy Making?

Abstract: The quality of public decision making depends significantly on the quality of analysis and advice provided through public organizations. Champions of “evidence-informed” policy making claim that rigorous evaluation practices can significantly improve attainment of cost-effective outcomes. After decades of experience, performance information is more sophisticated, but evaluation practices and capabilities vary enormously. Public agencies gather and process vast amounts of information, but there has been little analysis of how this information is actually utilized for policy and program improvement. This article examines how government agencies use evidence about policy and program effectiveness, with attention to four themes: (1) the prospects for improving “evidence-informed” policy making, (2) the diversity of practices concerning evidence utilization and evaluation across types of public agencies and policy arenas, (3) recent attempts to “institutionalize” evaluation as a core feature of policy development and budget approval, and (4) the relationships between public agencies and nongovernmental sources of expertise.

Big data in the policy cycle: Policy decision making in the digital era

Abstract: Although of high relevance to political science, the interaction between technological change and political change in the era of Big Data remains somewhat of a neglected topic. Most studies focus on the concept of e-government and e-governance, and on how already existing government activities performed through the bureaucratic body of public administration could be improved by technology. This article attempts to build a bridge between the field of e-governance and theories of public administration that goes beyond the service delivery approach that dominates a large part of e-government research. Using the policy cycle as a generic model for policy processes and policy development, a new look on how policy decision making could be conducted on the basis of ICT and Big Data is presented in this article.

The Economics Profession and the Making of Public Policy

Abstract: Robert H. Nelson has been a member of the economics staff of the Office of Policy Analysis of the U.S. Department of the Interior since 1975. He thanks Christopher Leman for his particular helpfulness over many years in identifying literature on American government and for comments and criticisms from the viewpoint of a political scientist on several drafts of this article. In addition, Donald Bieniewicz, Robert Crandall, Robert Davis, Herbert Fullerton, Jon Goldstein, Joan Hartmann, Ted Heintz, Evan Kwerel, Larry Lane, Ross Marcou, John Schefter, Eugene Steuerle, Richard Stroup, Richard Wahl, and Jeffrey Wasserman-all past or presentfirst-hand observers of the policy-making process-read earlier drafts and made helpful comments.

The Politics of Sin: Drugs, Alcohol and Public Policy : Drugs, Alcohol and Public Policy

Abstract: This work demonstrates the value of a multi-method approach to public policy analysis, arguing that descriptive historical studies, quantitative historical studies and cross-sectional quantitative studies are essentially compatible.

Agenda Setting : Readings on Media, Public Opinion, and Policymaking

Abstract: Contents: Part I:The Public Agenda. W. Lippmann, Public Opinion. M. McCombs, D. Shaw, The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media. A. Downs, Up and Down With Ecology: The "Issue-Attention Cycle." G.R. Funkhouser, The Issues of the Sixties: An Exploratory Study in the Dynamics of Public Opinion. Part II:Measuring Agenda-Setting Effects. J. McLeod, L.B. Becker, J.E. Byrnes, Another Look at the Agenda-Setting Function of the Press. M. Benton, P.J. Frazier, The Agenda-Setting Function of the Mass Media at Three Levels of "Information Holding." M.T. Gordon, L. Heath, The News Business, Crime, and Fear. K.A. Smith, Newspaper Coverage and Public Concern About Community Issues. S. Iyengar, M.E. Peters, D.R. Kinder, Experimental Demonstrations of the "Not-So-Minimal" Consequences of Television News Programs. Part III:The Agenda-Setting Process. J.P. Winter, C.H. Eyal, Agenda-Setting for the Civil Rights Issue. P. Palmgreen, P. Clarke, Agenda-Setting With Local and National Issues. L.E. Atwood, A.B. Sohn, H. Sohn, Daily Newspaper Contributions to Community Discussion. K. Schoenbach, Agenda-Setting Effects of Print and Television in West Germany. D.H. Weaver, Political Issues and Voter Need for Orientation. D.B. Hill, Viewer Characteristics and Agenda-Setting by Television News. Part IV:Shaping Public Policy Agendas. W.L. Rivers, The Media as Shadow Government. B. Nelson, Making an Issue of Child Abuse. D.L. Protess, F.L. Cook, T.R. Curtin, M.T. Gordon, D.R. Leff, M.E. McCombs, P. Miller, The Impact of Investigative Reporting on Public Opinion and Policymaking: Targeting Toxic Waste. F.L. Cook, W.G. Skogan, Convergent and Divergent Voice Models of the Rise and Fall of Policy Issues. Part V:The Media Agenda. J.V. Turk, Public Relations' Influence on the News. S. Gilberg, C. Eyal, M. McCombs, D. Nicholas, The State of the Union Address and the Press Agenda. D.C. Whitney, L.B. Becker, "Keeping the Gates" for Gatekeepers: The Effects of Wire News. S.D. Reese, L.H. Danielian, Intermedia Influence and the Drug Issue: Converging on Cocaine. W. Williams, Jr., M. Shapiro, C. Cutbirth, The Impact of Campaign Agendas on Perceptions of Issues. Part VI:New Approaches to Agenda-Setting. O. Gandy, Beyond Agenda-Setting. G.E. Lang, K. Lang, Watergate: An Exploration of the Agenda-Building Process. G. Burd, A Critique of Two Decades of Agenda-Setting Research.

Pushing on a string: US monetary policy is less powerful in recessions

Abstract: We estimate the impulse response of key US macro series to the monetary policy shocks identied

Ideas as coalition magnets: coalition building, policy entrepreneurs, and power relations

Abstract: One of the most common ways by which ideas influence policy outcomes is by facilitating the construction of a political coalition. The ideas that have this capacity we call coalition magnets, and this contribution explains how coalition magnets open a path for policy reform. The key components of a coalition magnet are the ambiguous or polysemic character of the idea that makes it attractive to groups that might otherwise have different interests, and the power of policy entrepreneurs who employ the idea in their coalition-building efforts. We illustrate the utility of the concept with an examination of three ideas that were creatively employed to construct new policy coalitions: sustainability; social inclusion; and solidarity.

The Policy Dystopia Model: An Interpretive Analysis of Tobacco Industry Political Activity.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Tobacco industry interference has been identified as the greatest obstacle to the implementation of evidence-based measures to reduce tobacco use. Understanding and addressing industry interference in public health policy-making is therefore crucial. Existing conceptualisations of corporate political activity (CPA) are embedded in a business perspective and do not attend to CPA's social and public health costs; most have not drawn on the unique resource represented by internal tobacco industry documents. Building on this literature, including systematic reviews, we develop a critically informed conceptual model of tobacco industry political activity. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We thematically analysed published papers included in two systematic reviews examining tobacco industry influence on taxation and marketing of tobacco; we included 45 of 46 papers in the former category and 20 of 48 papers in the latter (n = 65). We used a grounded theory approach to build taxonomies of "discursive" (argument-based) and "instrumental" (action-based) industry strategies and from these devised the Policy Dystopia Model, which shows that the industry, working through different constituencies, constructs a metanarrative to argue that proposed policies will lead to a dysfunctional future of policy failure and widely dispersed adverse social and economic consequences. Simultaneously, it uses diverse, interlocking insider and outsider instrumental strategies to disseminate this narrative and enhance its persuasiveness in order to secure its preferred policy outcomes. Limitations are that many papers were historical (some dating back to the 1970s) and focused on high-income regions. CONCLUSIONS: The model provides an evidence-based, accessible way of understanding diverse corporate political strategies. It should enable public health actors and officials to preempt these strategies and develop realistic assessments of the industry's claims.

Problems (and solutions) in the measurement of policy diffusion mechanisms

Abstract: A growing literature in public policy, comparative politics and international relations has studied how the policies of one unit (e.g. country, federal state or city) are influenced by the policies of other units – that is, how policies diffuse. This article provides a meta-analysis of 114 studies, demonstrating persisting inconsistencies in the measurement of the mechanisms driving policy diffusion processes. Different indicators are used to measure the same mechanism, and the same indicators are used to measure different mechanisms. To improve this state of affairs, this article puts forward a conceptual structure that serves as a guide for the application of diffusion arguments, a starting point for theoretical refinement and a benchmark to assess measurement validity. In addition to paying more attention to the conceptual consistency of indicators, overcoming the problems currently found in the literature requires the construction of original, innovative research designs instead of the replication of widely used templates.

Using wellbeing for public policy: Theory, measurement, and recommendations

Abstract: Indicators of social progress are the primary drivers of public policy. If existing economic measures of prosperity are complemented with wellbeing metrics that better capture changes in individuals’ quality of life, decision makers will be better informed to assess and design policy. The science of wellbeing has yielded extensive knowledge and measurement instruments during more than three decades. We review the existing wellbeing literature and answer three questions: (1) What is wellbeing? (2) How do we measure wellbeing? And, importantly, distinguishing this review from previous ones, (3) How do we use wellbeing metrics to assess and design policy? We suggest that the science of wellbeing is empirically mature enough to complement economic assessments of national progress. We build on existing work to provide recommendations on metrics and new, specific policies for societal wellbeing.

The Impact of Supply Constraints on House Prices in England

Abstract: We test the theoretical prediction that house prices respond more strongly to changes in local earnings in places with tight supply constraints using a unique panel dataset of 353 Local Planning Authorities in England between 1974 and 2008. Exploiting exogenous variation from a policy reform, vote shares and historical density to identify the endogenous constraints-measures, we find that: regulatory constraints have a substantive positive impact on the house price-earnings elasticity; the effect of constraints due to scarcity of developable land is largely confined to highly urbanised areas; and uneven topography has a quantitatively less meaningful impact.

Electoral Backlash against Climate Policy: A Natural Experiment on Retrospective Voting and Local Resistance to Public Policy

Abstract: Retrospective voting studies typically examine policies where the public has common interests. By contrast, climate policy has broad public support but concentrated opposition in communities where costs are imposed. This spatial distribution of weak supporters and strong local opponents mirrors opposition to other policies with diffuse public benefits and concentrated local costs. I use a natural experiment to investigate whether citizens living in proximity to wind energy projects retrospectively punished an incumbent government because of its climate policy. Using both fixed effects and instrumental variable estimators, I identify electoral losses for the incumbent party ranging from 4 to 10%, with the effect persisting 3 km from wind turbines. There is also evidence that voters are informed, only punishing the government responsible for the policy. I conclude that the spatial distribution of citizens' policy preferences can affect democratic accountability through ‘spatially distorted signalling’, which can exacerbate political barriers to addressing climate change.

Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy

Abstract: W e argue that the social construction of target populations is an important, albeit overlooked, political phenomenon that should take its place in the study of public policy by political scientists. The theory contends that social constructions influence the policy agenda and the selection of policy tools, as well as the rationales that legitimate policy choices. Constructions become embedded in policy as messages that are absorbed by citizens and affect their orientations and participation. The theory is important because it helps explain why some groups are advantaged more than others independently of traditional notions of political power and how policy designs reinforce or alter such advantages. An understanding of social constructions of target populations augments conventional hypotheses about the dynamics of policy change, the determina- tion of beneficiaries and losers, the reasons for differing levels and types of participation among target groups, and the role of policy in democracy.

Trauma-Informed Social Policy: A Conceptual Framework for Policy Analysis and Advocacy.

Abstract: Trauma-informed care is a service provision model used across a range of practice settings. Drawing on an extensive body of research on trauma (broadly defined as experiences that produce enduring emotional pain and distress) and health outcomes, we have argued that the principles of trauma-informed care can be extended to social policy. Citing a variety of health-related policy examples, we have described how policy can better reflect 6 core principles of trauma-informed care: safety, trustworthiness and transparency, collaboration, empowerment, choice, and intersectionality. This framework conveys a politicized understanding of trauma, reflecting the reality that trauma and its effects are not equally distributed, and offers a pathway for public health professionals to disrupt trauma-driven health disparities through policy action.

Coping with the Wickedness of Public Policy Problems: Approaches for Decision Making under Deep Uncertainty

Abstract: In many planning problems, planners face major challenges in coping with uncertain and changing physical conditions, and rapid unpredictable socioeconomic development. How should society prepare itself for this confluence of uncertainty? Given the presence of irreducible uncertainties, there is no straightforward answer to this question. Effective decisions must be made under unavoidable uncertainty (Dessai et al. 2009; Lempert et al. 2003). In recent years, this has been labeled as decision making under deep uncertainty. Deep uncertainty means that the various parties to a decision do not know or cannot agree on the system and its boundaries; the outcomes of interest and their relative importance; the prior probability distribution for uncertain inputs to the system (Lempert et al. 2003; Walker et al. 2013); or decisions are made over time in dynamic interaction with the system and cannot be considered independently (Haasnoot et al. 2013a, b; Hallegatte et al. 2012). From a decision analytic point of view, this implies that there are a large number of plausible alternative models, alternative sets of weights to assign to the different outcomes of interest, different sets of inputs for the uncertain model parameters, and different (sequences of) candidate solutions (Kwakkel et al. 2010). Decision making under deep uncertainty is a particular type of wicked problem (Rittel and Webber 1973). Wicked problems are problems characterized by the involvement of a variety of stakeholders and decision makers with conflicting values and diverging ideas for solutions (Churchman 1967). What makes wicked problems especially pernicious is that even the problem formulation itself is contested (Rittel and Webber 1973). System analytic approaches presuppose a separation between the problem formulation and the solution. In wicked problem situations this distinction breaks down. Solutions and problem formulation are intertwined with each other. Depending on how a problem is framed, alternative solutions come to the fore; and, vice versa, depending on the available or preferred solutions, the problem can be framed differently. Even if there is agreement on the difference between observed and desired outcomes, rival explanations for the existence of this difference are available, and, hence, different solutions can be preferred. An additional factor adding to the wickedness is that decision makers can ill afford to be wrong. The consequences of any decision on wicked problems can be profound, difficult if not impossible to reverse, and result in lock-ins for future decision making. Planning and decision making in wicked problem situations should, therefore, be understood as an argumentative process: in which the problem formulation, a shared understanding of system functioning and how this gives rise to the problem, and the set of promising solutions, emerge gradually through debate among the involved decision makers and stakeholders (Dewulf et al. 2005). When even the problem formulation itself is uncertain and contested, planning and decision making requires an iterative approach that facilitates learning across alternative framings of the problem, and learning about stakeholder preferences and trade-offs, all in pursuit of a collaborative process of discovering what is possible (Herman et al. 2015). Modeling and optimization can play a role in facilitating this learning. They can help in discovering a set of possible actions that is worth closer inspection, and make the trade-offs among these actions more transparent (Liebman 1976; Reed and Kasprzyk 2009). Under the moniker of decision making under deep uncertainty, a variety of new approaches and tools are being put forward. Emerging approaches include (multiobjective) robust decision making (Kasprzyk et al. 2013; Lempert et al. 2006), info-gap decision theory (Ben Haim 2001), dynamic adaptive policy pathways (Haasnoot et al. 2013a, b), and decision scaling (Brown et al. 2012). A common feature of these approaches is that they are exploratory model-based strategies for designing adaptive and robust plans or policies. Although these frameworks are used in a wide variety of applications, they have been most commonly applied in the water domain, in which climate change and social change are key concerns that affect the long-term viability of current management plans and strategies. Liebman (1976) recognized that water resources planning problems are wicked problems in which modeling, simulation, and optimization cannot be straightforwardly applied. In recent years, this observation has been reiterated (Herman et al. 2015; Lund 2012; Reed and Kasprzyk 2009). If decision making under deep uncertainty is a particular type of wicked problem, to what extent do the recent methodological advances address some of the key aspects of what makes wicked problems wicked? To answer this question, the authors look at two exemplary approaches for supporting decision making under deep uncertainty: (multiobjective) robust decision making and dynamic adaptive policy pathways. This article first briefly outlines each approach, and then discusses some of the ongoing scientific work aimed at integrating the two approaches. This sets the stage for a critical discussion of these approaches and how they touch on the key concerns of supporting decision making in wicked problem situations.