Choice Of Policy Instruments Research Articles

Provincial environmental inequality in China: Measurement, influence, and policy instrument choice

The environment is the common property of all human beings, and all should enjoy equal rights to use the environment. Years of growth have greatly improved China's overall economic development, but the problem of environmental inequality has become prominent. Based on data from 278 prefecture-level cities, the Williamson coefficient is used to measure the environmental inequality and environmental pollution-inequality indices of 25 regions from 2003 to 2015, and the effects of the stringency of environmental policy instruments on environmental inequality are discussed. The results demonstrate that the provincial environmental inequalities in China between 2003 and 2015 declined at first and then rose, thus showing a U-shaped trend, and the heterogeneity of various pollutant emissions is substantial. The extent of public participation is negatively correlated with environmental inequality, while the stringencies of command-and-control and market-based instruments are positively correlated with environmental inequality. An inequality process may be necessary during the transformation from a high-pollution to a low-pollution state, so governments should mix a variety of environmental policy instruments to narrow or even eliminate regional environmental inequality. The findings of this study have important implications for the government to effectively choose policy instruments, improve policymaking ability, and eliminate environmental inequality.

Modeling the Linkage between Vertical Contracts and Strategic Environmental Policy: Energy Price Marketization Level and Strategic Choice for China

The lower price of energy leads to higher coal consumption in China. The idea of an “environment-for-trade policy” could be used to achieve an international competitive advantage, which, in turn, has important implications. To address the issue, we develop properties to examine the link between the low price of energy and strategic environmental policy in China and investigate the choice of policy instruments in a strategic environmental policy model with vertical contracts. In addition, to contribute to the literature on strategic environmental policy, this paper also develops properties to investigate different choices of instruments for the environmental policy and includes the degree of energy marketization for the wholesale price in the study. To do so, we assume that the wholesale price of the polluting input increases with the market price. By using this assumption, this paper analyzes the effects of two instruments of the environmental policy on social welfare and concludes that there is no reason to expect both downstream and upstream firms to establish a high wholesale price. Due to the low level of marketization, when the government selects an emission tax as the policy instrument, the optimal tax rates should be higher than the marginal damage of emissions. However, the optimal resource tax is uncertain when its effect on environmental damage is taken into account. In other words, the resource tax is ineffective as a policy instrument. Our results can be used to draw some practical policies for countries to use their energy effectively. To promote energy sustainability, governments should liberate resource prices and reform the system to get efficient environmental policies.

Energy Justice, Decarbonization, and the Clean Energy Transformation

Addressing climate change will require significant reductions in carbon emissions. Decarbonization will likely lead to increases in energy prices, which are regressive. Poorer households spend a higher percentage of income on energy and also have less access to energy efficient options in housing, transportation (including electric vehicles), and household durables. This review summarizes the state of knowledge on the energy justice implications of the clean energy transformation along four dimensions—production of energy, energy insecurity/energy poverty, access to clean energy technologies, and impacts of policy instrument choices for achieving decarbonization. Along each dimension there is evidence of greater negative impacts on lower-income households and on Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) households, even controlling for income. But there is also evidence that these impacts can be mitigated through policy choices. Together these findings highlight that centering justice concerns in policy debates is critical for a just and clean energy transformation.

Policy response to COVID-19 in Senegal: power, politics, and the choice of policy instruments

The objective of the paper is to understand how Senegal formulated its policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The response was rapid, comprising conventional policy instruments used previously for containing Ebola. The policymaking process involved several agencies, which resulted in significant leadership and coordination problems. In addition, community participation and engagement with relevant scientific communities were limited, despite their recognized importance in fighting medical crises. Instead, international donors had a significant influence on the choice of policy tools. The paper contributes to contemporary thinking on the autonomy of policy instruments—the idea that preferences for policy instruments are stable, independent of the particular policy problems being addressed and goals being pursued—which has recently been applied to policies in Africa. The study calls for a review of how academics, civil society, and decision-makers must collaborate to design public policies and policy tools based on evidence and context, not only politics.

Fueling green connections: Networked policy instrument choices for sustainability regulation

AbstractThis paper presents a policy network analysis study that examines policy subsystem interconnectedness and cohesion, to explore three constituent regulatory policy instruments that have a combined impact on governing sustainability. The network surrounding the environmental sustainability of biodiesel policy in Indonesia is marked by high interconnectedness and relatively weaker cohesion, properties that impact how policy solutions are formulated through policy actor interactions and define prevailing policy formulation styles. Using primary policy network data on 46 organizations and the review of national regulations, laws, and directives, this paper tests established hypotheses on how instruments that are formulated within the same policy subsystem, share similar characteristics. While overall network interconnectedness and cohesion are important first indicators of policy instrument selection in the literature on policy design, this article recommends also including an examination of network centrality and the characteristics of dominant central actors who are in favorable positions to design policies, to better accommodate for different policy formulation styles.

Aviation policy instrument choice in Europe: high flying and crash landing? Understanding policy evolutions in the Netherlands and Germany

AbstractIn the public debate on climate change in Europe, aviation transport has become a bone of contention and thus also a target of political regulation. While the actual available policy instruments, their designs and effects have been extensively studied, their political economy has remained a rather blind spot of research. Therefore, in this article we explore factors accounting for the instrument choice in aviation policy. Revealing most different evolutions in this matter, the Netherlands and Germany represent appropriately illustrative cases for a comparative exploration. Based on the Political Process-inherent Dynamics Approach, we shed light on a highly complex and limiting institutional environment for aviation policy-making and ultimately identify diverging conceptions of problem structures as well as different configurations of party competition as main explanatory factors for instrument choice and aviation policy evolution.

Choice of Policy Instruments with Endogenous Quality: Per‐Passenger and Per‐Flight Airport Charges in Japan*

This study empirically investigates how two types of airport charges (per‐passenger and per‐flight) differentially affect airfares, service quality (flight frequency), and welfare. A structural model endogenizing airfares and flight frequency is estimated with data on Japanese domestic routes and then used for simulation analyses. The results reveal that per‐passenger charges significantly raise airfares, with an average pass‐through rate of 97.5 per cent, and reduce flight frequency. Per‐flight charges decrease flight frequency but have little effect on airfares. The socially preferred type of charges differs across routes: per‐passenger charges tend to be socially preferred on larger routes.

Policy instrument choice under globalization: Do authoritarian states choose differently?

• New data show policy convergence among 15 ex-Soviet states in childcare deinstitutionalization. • Countries adopted policies as ‘a package’ (goals + instruments), as promoted by international actors. • Authoritarian states adopted the same policy instruments, as non-authoritarian states. • Authoritarian states adopted ‘modern’, non-coercive policy instruments, based on the agentic individual. • World culture and international advocacy appear key to childcare policy instrument choice. Do authoritarian states differ from non-authoritarian ones in their social policy choices? The paper presents new data on childcare deinstitutionalization policies in 15 ex-Soviet countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The data suggest significant convergence among countries in the adoption of both deinstitutionalization policy ‘ends’ and ‘means’, despite drastic differences in political regimes. In particular, I trace the adoption of several instruments, which have been actively promoted by international organizations (e.g., foster care, case management, downsizing of institutions, etc.). The data suggest that authoritarian states in the ex-Soviet region do not differ from non-authoritarian governments in their deinstitutionalization instrument choices, suggesting that political regime is not always a major policy determinant. The results are significant because they show that authoritarian regimes can also select modern, non-coercive instruments for childcare deinstitutionalization, which are underpinned by the idea of agentic actors and the centrality of the individual.

Policy Instrument Choice with Coasean Provision of Public Goods

Policy Instrument Choice with Coasean Provision of Public Goods

Comparison of the Approach of the Czech National Bank and the European Central Bank to the Effects of the Global Financial Crisis

The latest global crisis, which fully erupted in 2008, can have a significant impact on central banks credibility in the long run. During the last crisis, monetary authorities encountered zero interest rate levels and, as a result, started to use non-standard monetary policy instruments. The Czech National Bank decided to use a less standard instrument in November 2013, when it started to intervene on the foreign exchange market in order to keep the Czech currency at level 27 CZK / EUR. However, the European Central Bank also adopted a non-standard instrument, when chose a path of quantitative easing in 2015 in order to support the euro area economy by purchasing financial assets. The question remains whether the approach of Czech National Bank or the approach of European Central Bank in the crisis and post-crisis period was a more appropriate alternative. With the passage of time from the global financial crisis, it is already possible to compare the approaches of these two central banks and at least partially assess what approach was more appropriate under the given conditions. When comparing the central banks approaches to the crisis, the Czech National Bank was better, both in terms of the rate of interest rate cuts and the resulting inflation with regard to the choice of a non-standard monetary policy instrument. The recent financial crisis has revealed the application of moral hazard in practice, both on behalf of the European Central Bank and the Czech National Bank, which may have a significant impact on their credibility and independence in the coming years.

What determines the government’s policy instrument choice for steering nonprofit organizations? The role of government capacity and contextual complexity

ABSTRACT This article investigates the factors that account for variation in the use of policy instruments for steering NPOs across Chinese provinces. Drawing on instrument choice theory, this article advances a theoretical framework that links government capacity and contextual complexity to variation in government instrument choice. Pooling five-year data from 26 Chinese provinces, two panel regression models are estimated to examine the variation in provinces’ use of regulatory and incentive instruments for steering NPOs. The findings indicate that provinces’ use of these two categories of policy instruments is not predetermined but bounded by their own government resources and external contextual factors.

How Many Are Too Many? Analyzing Dockless Bikesharing Systems with a Parsimonious Model

Using a parsimonious model, this paper analyzes a dockless bikesharing (DLB) system in a city, where the DLB service competes with walking and a generic motorized mode. The DLB system operator chooses a fleet size and a fare schedule that dictate the utility of its service. The access time to the service---a crucial component in the utility---is modeled as a function of the number of unique bike locations, which is estimated from the number of idle bikes through an empirical relationship. The market equilibrium is formulated as a solution to a nonlinear equation system, over which three design problems are formulated to maximize (i) profit; (ii) ridership; and (iii) social welfare. We calibrate the model against empirical data collected in Chengdu, China and test three counterfactual strategies, each for one of the three design problems. We find: (i) the current fleet limit set by Chengdu should be cut by roughly two thirds in order to avoid severe oversupply and waste; (ii) maximizing ridership keeps the fare at an affordable level to maintain revenue neutrality, while raising ridership and social welfare close to system optimum; (iii) for a regulator seeking to influence the DLB operator for social good, the choice of policy instruments depends on the operator's objective. When it focuses on profit, limiting price is a much more effective policy than limiting fleet size. If, instead, the operator aims to grow its market share, then setting a limit on fleet size becomes a dominant strategy.

Critical Approaches to GIS and Spatial Mapping in Indonesia Forest Management and Conservation

The conventional Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial mapping techniques fail to understand a spatially complex forest area. This is because forest landscapes cannot be easily mapped into a two-dimensional map, which is usually used in spatial planning. In addition, planning maps are the fundamental factors of land grabbing issues. To solve this problem, counter-mapping arises at the local level as a tool to overcome the problem of land grabbing in forest areas in Indonesia. Counter mapping is defined here as part of a broader term under participatory mapping or citizen mapping. However, counter-mapping also faces critiques in terms of different epistemological and socio-economic-political conditions at the local level. This article elaborates the use of GIS and spatial mapping methods within a 'critical' social science approach based on literature review and field experiences. This article also aims to analyze counter-mapping as a ‘tool’ to solve the forest land-use problem, which can contribute to the choice of policy instruments in forest management and conservation in Indonesia.

The political economy of industrial pollution control: environmental regulation in Swedish industry for five decades

The paper analyzes the prerequisites for a regulatory-driven transition toward radically lower air and water pollution in industry. This is achieved in the empirical context of the Swedish mining and metals industry, and by investigating the environmental licensing processes during two regulatory systems. The paper derives an analytical framework that explores under what circumstances such licensing processes can result in radical emissions reductions without seriously jeopardizing the competitiveness of the industry. Archived material covering six environmental licensing processes, three during each system, is used to illustrate the various design and implementation issues. The results suggest that regulatory-driven green transitions benefit from trust-based bargaining procedures in which companies are involved in repeated interactions with regulatory authorities, and which extended probation periods permit tests of novel abatement technologies (including innovation). The findings also illustrate the importance of abstaining from simplified normative notions about policy instrument choice (e.g. taxes versus standards).

Assessment of the intellectual component in economic development

Intellectual factors are key to ensuring the economic growth of countries and their high competitiveness. The article structures intellectual resources by types, assesses the impact of different types and individual forms of intellectual resources on the country's GDP. Correlation analysis allowed assessing the degree of influence on the level of GDP of the country of certain intellectual factors on the basis of selection: resource (availability of basic intellectual resources) and resulting indicators (patents, licenses, know-how, publications, etc.). The simulation is based on data from 40 indicators, 44 countries, over 10 years. The most influential factors were identified and ranked (among the resources—the cost of education, the cost of higher education, the number of RD among the resulting—the cost of public relations, publications, the share of Internet users, the growing share of innovative enterprises, information infrastructure, number of applications of non-residents for trademarks). It is confirmed that the list of the most influential factors is different for different groups of countries. This is important for the choice of public policy instruments to stimulate economic and innovative development.

Moderating the Impact of Nurse Emigration on the Health Sector: The State and Policy Instrument Choice

This paper offers an unconventional approach to the migration‐development nexus by zooming in on the health sector. Although state strategies promoting nurse migration are widely studied, comprehension on how the state functions as a central actor in emigration is empirically deficient in accounting for the different development levels experienced by sending countries. Drawing from the literature on policy instrument choice, this paper examines how the Philippines as the leading nurse sending state in the world intervenes in the emigration of Filipino nurses and what are the effects of these interventions? Based on a key informant survey (N = 100), regression results show that the state's regulatory authority in the remittance market triggers the positive contribution of nurse remittances on health sector development. This paper concludes by discussing how the choice of policy instruments is a crucial decision point for nurse‐sending countries when maximizing the development impact of emigration on the health sector.

Science, technology and innovation policy in Russia and China – Mapping and comparisons in objectives, instruments and implementation

Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy of Russia and China is studied in this paper from a policy foresight perspective and with regard to policy instruments, policy objectives, and policy implementation. A structural analytical framework is developed in this study specifically for STI policy analysis in these dimensions. Analyzing a database of 418 STI policies issued in the two countries, 25 policy variables have been scrutinized for the two countries vis-à-vis the three policy dimensions. The paper then maps and compares the two countries in STI policy instruments, objectives and implementation, adopting a positivist epistemology stance. Estimating a binary logistic model, Russia has been differentiated from China in their choice of policy instruments, their devotion to policy objectives and their approaches to policy implementation, revealing the differences and similarities between the two countries in the three STI policy dimensions. Deriving observable and corroborated evidence for STI policy perspectives in Russia and China, the results and findings help gain legitimate knowledge in this field.

Why does waste separation policy vary across different Chinese cities? A configurational analysis of the pilot scheme

This study aims to explain why different policy instruments are selected and how different configurations of factors influence the policy selection in waste management in China. Firstly, we perform content analysis with Nvivo 11 to illustrate the regional variance in policy instrument choice among the 46 cities selected as pilots to enforce the separation of municipal solid waste (MSW). While some local governments mainly resort to regulatory instruments, some others show inclination toward incentive instruments. The authors then explore the mechanisms shaping local government’s policy instrument choice with the configurational approach of fussy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), which has been seldom conducted empirically. The analysis generates several significant implications for policy instrument choice in waste management in China. It reveals how combinations of factors influence the instrument choice, which is difficult for regression analysis to capture. Second, it identifies equifinal causal paths to both incentive and regulatory instruments. Third, the fsQCA analysis also demonstrates the asymmetry of causality.

Policy implementation styles and local governments: the case of climate change adaptation

ABSTRACT Adaptation to impacts of climate change is a key pillar of climate change policy, and local governments have historically played a major role in the design and implementation of these policies. An array of political, economic, institutional, social, and individual factors influence adaptation policy instrument choice. At the local government level, these choices also reflect inter-governmental dynamics that can constrain or support local efforts. We analyze eight hypothesized drivers of local adaptation policy instrument choice using fractional regression analysis and multilevel modelling. Local governments are pursuing diverse adaptation policy implementation styles that are associated with different levels of internal capacity, local political economies and problem perception. Dependence on national governments, the presence or absence of national adaptation mandates, national decision-making traditions, and national adaptation policy approaches may also influence local policy instrument choices.

The Evolution of Policy Instruments for Air Pollution Control in China: A Content Analysis of Policy Documents from 1973 to 2016.

China's portfolio of air-pollution control policy instruments has gradually broadened since the 1970s from regulatory instruments to include numerous market-based and voluntary policy instruments. We demonstrate this broadened portfolio of policy instruments for air-pollution control with a computer-assisted content analysis of 148 central-level policy documents from 1973 to 2016. We identify 20 types of policy instruments in these documents, and analyze such things as their historical evolution, main subjects, frequency of use, and whether they were issued by a single agency or jointly with other agencies. Prior research has found several factors complicating the diversification of policy instruments in China, including the late start of coordinated governance of air pollution, overreliance on regulatory instruments, insufficient use of market-based and voluntary instruments, the high cost of collecting shared information on a web-based platform, and the choice of policy instruments resulting from the "campaign-style" of governance. Given such challenges, we expected the policy documents to show little diversification of policy instruments and little coordination among agencies. The content analysis results show, however, a gradual shift from a centralized, regulatory model to an increasingly coordinated model using a diverse portfolio of policy instruments.