Research on the efficacy and effect assessment of deep-sea aquaculture policies in China: Quantitative analysis of policy texts based on the period 2004–2022

Abstract

Deep-sea aquaculture, as an emerging industry, requires the support of relevant policies for its development. To assess the efficacy of the policies enacted by the Chinese government on deep-sea aquaculture and the effect of policy implementation, we collect policy documents produced by the Chinese government that promote the development of deep-sea aquaculture from 2004 to 2022 and categorize them into three types of policy tools, namely, supply-type, demand-type, and environment-type policies. An assessment model is established with three dimensions, namely, policy power, policy goals, and policy tools, to quantitatively analyze policy efficacy and assess the policy implementation effect of the 109 policy documents. The research results show that the number of policy documents on deep-sea aquaculture policy is generally on the rise, and the number of policies drives its annual overall efficacy, which fluctuates widely. The annual average efficacy is low and fluctuates little. In the three dimensions of policy tools, supply-type policies exhibit a higher overall efficacy than environmental-type and demand-type policies. In terms of the implementation effect, there is a deviation between the government's policy preferences and the actual effectiveness of the policy tools. The current policy regime is dominated by supply-type policies, while the implementation effect of policy tools shows that demand-type policies have a better promotional effect on the industry.