Core Policy Research Articles

Understanding Integrated Community Case Management Institutionalization Processes Within National Health Systems in Malawi, Mali, and Rwanda: A Qualitative Study.

Since 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have recommended integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) of childhood illnesses as an intervention delivered by community health workers (CHWs) in areas with limited access to health facilities to increase access to lifesaving interventions for children younger than 5 years with malaria, pneumonia, or diarrhea. In recent years, the importance of institutionalizing iCCM and community health more broadly within national health systems has become increasingly recognized. This qualitative study sought to identify and describe processes of iCCM institutionalization from the perspectives of health system actors. A total of 51 semistructured interviews were conducted with purposefully selected key informants in 3 countries: Malawi, Mali, and Rwanda. Thematic analysis of coded interview data was conducted, and country documentation was reviewed to provide contextual background for qualitative interpretation. The study was informed by a newly developed iCCM Institutionalization Framework, which conceptualizes the process of institutionalization through a maturity model of phases (i.e., awareness, experimentation, expansion, consolidation, and maturity) with 4 drivers: core values, leadership, resources, and policy. According to key informant narrative descriptions, processes of iCCM institutionalization reflected a progression of maturity phases, which were iterative rather than linear in progression. All 4 drivers of institutionalization as conceptualized within the iCCM Institutionalization Framework were described by key informants as contributing to the advancement of iCCM institutionalization within their countries. Key informants emphasized the need to continually strengthen or reinforce iCCM institutionalization for it to be sustained within the context of wider health system dynamics. Overall, key informants viewed government ownership and integration within national systems to define the status of iCCM institutionalization. Further development of the iCCM Institutionalization Framework and other practical sensemaking models could assist health system actors in advancing institutionalization of iCCM and other health interventions.

Competition and cooperation mechanism of new energy vehicle policies in China’s key regions

New energy vehicles (NEVs) are crucial in addressing environmental pollution and energy shortages. Their widespread adoption has been hindered by challenges such as inadequate infrastructure and limited market competitiveness. To promote the development of NEV, local governments in China have implemented various policies. However, resource constraints within regions have created inherent conflicts among policy objectives, while regional disparities have emerged due to differences in development status and characteristics. This study aims to model the complex competitive and cooperative mechanisms among different NEV policy objectives and compare their variations across three key regions: the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), Guangdong-Guangxi-Fujian (GGF), and Yangtze-River-Delta (YRD). Firstly, topic model Latent Dirichlet Allocation is applied on 857 local NEV policies from 2010 to 2021, identifying six core policy objectives, namely production technology, infrastructure, financial support, demonstration, industrial management and environmental protection. Then, the Lotka-Volterra model is employed to examine competitive and cooperative mechanism among these policy objectives. Key findings are: (1) infrastructure policies prevail across all regions; (2) regulation policies exhibit a comparative advantage in the BTH region, while implementation policies dominate in the GGF region and promotion policies in the YRD region; (3) cooperation among objectives is primarily observed in the BTH region, whereas competition plays a more dominant role in the other regions. This study fills a previous research gap and provides insights for researchers and policymakers, highlighting the development of customized strategies that consider the unique characteristics and requirements of each region.

The Spatial Spillover Effect and Mechanism of Carbon Emission Trading Policy on Pollution Reduction and Carbon Reduction: Evidence from the Pearl River–West River Economic Belt in China

Abstract: China faces issues such as air pollution and global climate change, and the Carbon Emission Trading Policy (CETP) has attracted considerable attention as a core policy tool for achieving the "dual carbon" goals. Based on panel data from the Pearl River–West River Economic Belt (PRWREB) from 2008 to 2021, we use the Synthetic Control Method (SCM) and Spatial Difference-in-Differences (S-DID) models to explore the pollution reduction and carbon reduction effects of the CETP and its spatial heterogeneity. Our analysis reveals several interesting insights. First, the CETP has promoted a 34.1% overall reduction in pollution and carbon levels in the pilot areas, with sustained effects. Moreover, spatial spillover effects can reduce the pollution and carbon levels in the economic belt by 29.9%. Second, the pollution and carbon reduction effects of the CETP are more significant in regions with better economic development and active carbon trading. It has the best synergistic reduction effects on CO2 and SO2 but is less effective in reducing PM2.5. Third, the spillover effects of the CETP on technological innovation are greater than the direct effects, with the most noticeable pollution and carbon reduction outcomes. The overall negative effect on industrial structure is that it fails to promote pollution and carbon reduction. The emission reduction mechanisms vary for different targets: CO2 and PM2.5 are related to energy efficiency, SO2 to advancing industrial structure, and smoke and dust to technological innovation. Based on the research conclusions, we propose to improve the coordinated governance system for carbon and pollution, advance pollution and carbon reduction according to local conditions, and implement targeted emission reduction and efficiency enhancement.

How do policy belief and policy learning influence perceived policy effectiveness in a local CPM policy network?

This article studies policy implementation of arts-led community development catalyzed by the Creative Placemaking (CPM) policy as a complex policy network. This article uses the social influence model and qualitative interview analysis to investigate the relationship between policy beliefs and policy learning of structurally interdependent policy actors and their perceived effectiveness of the CPM policy. Hypotheses are tested using survey and interview data collected from policy actors involved in the East Franklinton Creative Revitalization project in Columbus, OH. The findings suggest that, with the network attributes of individual policy actors being controlled, broad policy core beliefs have a more significant impact on shaping perceptions of policy effectiveness than context-specific secondary beliefs. Strategic alignment in core policy beliefs and strong confidence in the local task environment both contribute to perceived policy effectiveness in economic growth. The study underscores the importance of social learning over technical learning in enhancing perceived policy effectiveness.

The Future Healthy Countdown 2030 consensus statement: core policy actions and measures to achieve improvements in the health and wellbeing of children, young people and future generations.

This consensus statement recommends eight high-level trackable policy actions most likely to significantly improve health and wellbeing for children and young people by 2030. These policy actions include an overarching policy action and span seven interconnected domains that need to be adequately resourced for every young person to thrive: Material basics; Valued, loved and safe; Positive sense of identity and culture; Learning and employment pathways; Healthy; Participating; and Environments and sustainable futures. Provide financial support to invest in families with young children and address poverty and material deprivation in the first 2000 days of life. Establish a national investment fund to provide sustained, culturally relevant, maternal and child health and development home visiting services for the first 2000 days of life for all children facing structural disadvantage and/or adversity. Implement a dedicated funding model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled early years services across the country to ensure these services are fully resourced to provide quality early learning and integrated services grounded in culture and community. Properly fund public schools, starting by providing full and accountable Schooling Resource Standard funding for all schools, with immediate effect for schools in communities facing structural disadvantage. Establish legislation and regulation to protect children and young people aged under 18 years from the marketing of unhealthy and harmful products. Amend the electoral act to extend the compulsory voting age to 16 years. Legislate an immediate end to all new fossil fuel projects in Australia. Establish a federal Future Generations Commission with legislated powers to protect the interests of future generations. Together, these achievable evidence-based policies would significantly improve children and young people's health and wellbeing by 2030, build a strong foundation for future generations, and provide co-benefits for all generations and society.

Tourism Industry of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

In the context of global economic integration and increasingly strengthened regional cooperation, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) has emerged as one of China's most economically dynamic and open regions, with its strategic development position becoming ever more prominent. On February 18, 2019, the Outline of the Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area was issued by the Chinese central government, which is the core policy of my research. As an important bridge to promote economic and cultural exchanges and enhance mutual understanding among people, the development of tourism directly affects the overall image and international influence of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. At present, Guangdong focuses on building the GBA into a world-class tourist destination. As China’s largest source of tourists and an important destination, the quality and efficiency of tourism development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area continue to improve. This paper takes the tourism industry of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as the research object and analyzes the unique advantages and challenges of its development. This analysis aims not only to facilitate the high-quality development of the tourism industry, foster regional integration, and enhance international competitiveness but also to promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning and provide a scientific basis for policy formulation.

Using Strategic Games to Illustrate Environmental Policy Concepts for Undergraduates

A growing body of literature highlights the benefits of using classroom games to help students understand policy concepts. In practice, however, instructors often use games as ad-hoc activities to increase student engagement, rather than as an integrated way to consolidate student understanding of core course topics. The goal of this paper is to help instructors design and systematically integrate games into their undergraduate policy courses. Drawing on our experiences as instructors and researchers, we describe how we developed a sequence of games to help undergraduate students understand three of the core concepts in environmental policy, and how we integrated them into our undergraduate courses on environmental policy. We then provide a basic framework for instructors who are interested in designing games that illustrate core policy concepts by simulating real-world policy interactions.

Study on the Theme Evolution and Synergy Assessment of China’s New Energy Vehicle Policy Texts

Drawing on data from 133 Chinese New Energy Vehicle (NEV) policy documents from 2007 to 2023, this study utilizes Dynamic Topic Modelling (DTM), social network analysis and a quantitative model to investigate the evolutionary path of policy themes and the coordination effects. The following results were obtained. (1) A thematic cross-sectional analysis identified six core policy themes, namely, coordinated promotion of technology and finance, industry development and safety standardisation, market service and technical support systems, promotion strategy and urban cluster development, industrial capital and safety supervision mechanisms, and policy support and market expansion. The analysis also mapped the distribution of hot spots within these themes. (2) The keyword co-occurrence network of the NEV policy indicated that the network structure evolved from an initial ‘overall dispersion–theme concentration’, comprising 16 policy themes, to an ‘overall stability–theme coordination’, consisting of 14 policy themes. (3) The coordination degrees across the three types of policies exhibited a consistent upward spiral, with the comprehensive coordination index surging from 30 in 2007 to 951 in 2023, underscoring the complementary effects among policy instruments. These conclusions offer valuable insights for government departments to understand NEV development trends and dynamically adjust policy themes accordingly.

The impact of corporate governance on firm performance: panel data evidence from S&P 500 Information Technology

This research is important for both the academic and business environments due to the extraordinary results obtained. Additionally, the significance of the study is also attributed to the addressed topic, which is intensively studied in the world of corporate finance. The primary aim of this research is to scrutinize a cohort of 66 information and technology (IT) companies, all of which are constituents of the American Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500). The study period spans two decades, covering the years 2003–2022. To summarize the outcomes, the analytical framework incorporated linear models with both fixed (fe) and random effects (re), as well as quantile regression models. This study's key outcomes highlight that firm size, sales growth, current ratio, long-term debt to capital, free cash flow, asset turnover and receivable turnover, board meeting frequency, female board representation, chief executive officer age, audit committee independence, and the presence of compensation and nomination committees, alongside a pandemic indicator, positively impact firm performance. Conversely, firm age, dividend payout ratio, effective tax rate, board size, chief executive officer duality, and corporate social responsibility committee presence have negative effects on performance. Also, regarding quantile regressions, CEO duality significantly influences companies with high profitability rates, and companies with low to medium profitability rates are more strongly and negatively influenced by board size. The implications of the core policy in this research focusing on corporate governance will consider certain rules and guidelines regarding financial transparency and protecting shareholders' interests. Additionally, it will take into account the independence of the board of directors and the presence of its committees, as well as ethical leadership practices.

Speaking of reform: Experimental insights into influencing police executives' perspectives on civilian oversight

AbstractResearch summaryThis study investigates how information about public opinion and peer practices influences police executives' views on civilian review boards. We applied structural topic modeling in an experimental paradigm, a novel approach diverging from traditional experimental survey methods, to the open‐ended responses of 1331 police executives collected in an original survey experiment. This technique enables the capture of subtle shifts in belief directly from the executives' own words. The experiment systematically varied the information provided to police executives, including state‐level public opinion data from a representative sample of 16,840 U.S. residents, and peer practices in major city police agencies. Our findings reveal that police executives, although generally aligned in their views, demonstrate a readiness to update their beliefs when presented with cohesive local public opinion and information about peer practices in policing.Policy implicationsIn a democratic society, the core policy beliefs of police executives critically shape the existence and efficacy of civilian oversight mechanisms. Our findings demonstrate the adaptability of police executives in updating their policy positions, reflecting their commitment to informed decision making in response to the dynamic nature of police governance. We find that police executives are willing to update their beliefs related to the public's ability to oversee policing in an unbiased and qualified manner when presented with information about reforms adopted by peer agencies. In contrast, information about public demand for more aggressive forms of oversight can lead to a backlash, increasing the likelihood of police executives to favor existing oversight mechanisms and to doubt the public's qualification. For executives, reformers, and scholars, these findings highlight the limitations of public opinion and benefits of peer influence as mechanisms for policy learning in policing.

College Student Sex Work: A Qualitative Content Analysis of U.S. Higher Education Sex Work Policies

ABSTRACT Using content analysis methodology, we explore sex work policies at 255 U.S. colleges and universities as articulated in codes of student conduct to understand the potential impact of those policies on college student sex workers. The findings indicate U.S. colleges and universities largely do not articulate clear policies for students involved in sex work. However, many policies include language and framing that potentially governs some sex work. These articulations often rely on flattening differences in sex work, trafficking, and carceral logics, which result in misalignment between research, rhetoric, and policy at some institutions. Such ambiguities in institutional policy may result from the conflation of sex work with sex trafficking at the federal or state policy level. In addition to the marginalization imparted to student sex workers, unjustified exposure to stigma and shame on their respective college campuses negatively impacts students’ well-being. We recommend the current laissez-faire approach by institutional policymakers be replaced with a more intentional approach whereby the well-being of all students is maintained at its core and unclear policy language clarified.

Program Implementation Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka Through The Implementation of IKU I PTN Standards of The Ministry of Education and Culture (Case Study at University of Indonesia)

Education is an important element in the development of human civilization from time to time to be able to make adjustments to all needs both situational and dispositional. The rapid development in aspects of science and technology requires all of us to go towards changes that also run rapidly in various aspects of life. The demands for these changes include the way of mindset, outlook on something new, social, economic and cultural changes that simultaneously occur significantly, related to these dynamics, universities must provide a quick response in responding to all challenges which of course must be done appropriately, and based on Based on Evidence. The Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia under the leadership of Nadiem Makarim issued a new policy, namely the Independent Learning Program – Independent Campus (MBKM), in this policy there are four core policies that will be targeted from this program, namely, granting autonomous authority to universities related to the addition of new study programs, automatic reaccreditation process, facilitating procedures for changing the status of universities from universities The Public Service Agency (PTNBLU) became a Legal Entity State University (PTNBH), and the latter gave freedom to its students to study outside their study program and even outside their campus. The four programs are basically intended to provide universities with ease to be more independent, autonomous, less bureaucratic, and innovative.

Housing Crisis in England: A Comparative Policy Paper on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)

The housing crisis in the UK is imperilling what Abraham Maslow described as a vital physiological necessity. This paper examines how the housing issue in the UK is complicated by the policy intricacy of The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the capability of the management and workforce to adapt to a changing political agenda, public administration and the current as well as the concomitant issues in the housing sector. It explores and focuses on core policy elements and how they impact the housing crisis. These policy factors include accountability and transparency, institution administration and style, network governance, data management and communication, strategic and policy-making systems and response to emerging agendas in public administration and governance. This study reveals the severity of the housing issue’s problems and offers important advice that will help remedy the UK’s housing quandary to accomplish this research objective, a mixed research approach was used, which helped in the presentation of findings that showed how the situation has affected the UK. Lastly, the study will assess the internal and exterior difficulties MHCLG faces in carrying out its duties and examine how it has responded to recent developments in governance.

The impact of European Cohesion Policy: a spatial perspective

Abstract Cohesion Policy is one of the core policy areas of the European Union and one of the largest expenditure items in its budget. Its impact is the subject of intense academic and policy debate, but its effectiveness is an empirical question still open. This article contributes to this debate by performing a region-specific investigation of the direct and indirect impact of Structural Funds expenditure. We employ a heterogeneous panel data model, which accommodates the spatial dependence in a heterogeneous setting and measures heterogeneous spatial spillover effects, both inward and outward. We also consider different channels of spatial spillovers with respect to standard geographical closeness. In particular, the introduction of new measures of proximity that explicitly consider economic linkages between regions is a novel contribution to the literature. The results clearly indicate that the impact of the Cohesion Policy, while positive overall, is highly heterogeneous and the Structural Funds expenditure generates substantial heterogeneous spatial spillovers: the positive effects do not remain confined to the target regions. Finally, strong spillover effects are channelled by value-added trade connections, particularly in regions belonging to the so-called ‘Central European Manufacturing Core’.

Remedying Japan’s deficient investment in people

ABSTRACT This paper asks if there is deficiency of investment in people in Japan. To answer this question we examine comparative and historical data, as well as the reasons behind the data. We then look at public policies of recent administrations, particularly the Kishida administration, since one of its core policy agendas is ‘investment in people’. We find that there is a deficiency of investment in people, by governments, companies and people themselves, for a variety of reasons, and that the Kishida administration has to date only proposed temporary measures without long term solutions. The paper concludes with policy implications and some proposals for additional action.

Core socialist values and curriculum policy in China: A study of the curriculum standard for Chinese language

AbstractThis study employs Bernstein's concept of recontextualization and Rata's theorization of the Curriculum Design Coherence [CDC] model as theoretical tools to analyse the Curriculum Standard for Chinese Language [Standard] (The Standard, the Guidance, the Plan and all the quotations from the three policies were translated by me because the official English versions of them are unavailable.) which is part of a new approach to curriculum policy development in China. The study aims to identify and explain the mechanisms through which the Chinese government has recontextualized its ascendant political ideals of the core socialist values into the country's education system via curriculum policymaking. The study reveals that the Standard contains features embedding the core socialist values. This is achieved through three distinct mechanisms of recontextualization: policy propositions, subject competencies and subject concepts and content which operate from a sociocultural knowledge orientation. This sociocultural knowledge orientation aligns with the government's strong will to cultivate the core socialist values within the young generation so they become qualified builders and successors of the country's great socialist cause.

Health Policy for Prostate Cancer Early Detection in the European Union and the Impact of Opportunistic Screening: PRAISE-U Consortium.

With the new policy recommendation in 2022 to explore the possibilities of screening for prostate cancer by the European Commission, the landscape for prostate cancer early detection is evolving. In line with this recommendation, the PRAISE-U project aims to evaluate the early detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer through customised and risk-based screening programmes, with the goal to align protocols across European Union member states. This systematic review is part of the PRAISE-U project, with the goal to review the policy, medical guideline recommendations, and the current level of opportunistic screening presented in the scientific literature on prostate cancer early detection from 2016 to 2023 in European Union member states. An extensive literature search was performed on 1 June 2023 in a large number of databases, including Embase.com, Medline (Ovid), Web of Science Core Collection, Google Scholar, and Policy Commons. We identified 318 articles (qualitative, quantitative, and reviews), of which 41 were included in the full-text screening. Seventeen articles were ultimately identified as eligible for inclusion. The included articles revealed significant variations towards PSA-based early detection policies for prostate cancer in nine European countries. Despite official recommendations, opportunistic screening was prevalent across all nine countries regardless of recommendations for or against PSA-based early detection. This systematic review suggests that the current early detection policies are not fit for purpose. High levels of opportunistic screening and overdiagnosis persist, prompting policy recommendations for standardised guidelines, informed decision making, and increased awareness to improve efficiency and effectiveness in early detection.

Pottery in Telangana: Empirical Evidence of Current and Future Challenges

This article presents and discusses empirical evidence of the socio-economic status of the Kummari potter community in Telangana to highlight the continued primacy of the traditional caste-based occupation as a livelihood option for many Kummari households. Taking a holistic perspective, the research documents the current challenges faced by the community, covering the entire cycle of pottery-making, including input sourcing, production, adoption of new technology and marketing. The article also identifies core policy interventions that need urgent attention in the form of state support, complemented with collectivisation, technology diffusion and capacity-building of the artisans.

State Management of Unpopular Religious Public Policies in Israel

Abstract What strategies do state institutions use to maintain their existing unpopular policies? To what extent are citizens content with these strategies? This article presents a model classifying the various methods state institutions use to manage unpopular policies while keeping these core policies intact. The model demonstrates that state institutions manage unpopular policies by using three strategies, adjusted accordingly to counteract societal discontent: (1) disregard, (2) accommodation of under-the-legislative-threshold alternatives, and (3) partial institutional modification. To test this model, I compare three religion-based policies in Israel: marriage, public transportation on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath), and kosher food inspection in public institutions. Each policy is an example of the different measures taken by state institutions to mitigate societal discontent without changing the core of the policy.

Comparative Analysis of the Monetary Policy Practices: A Case Study of China and the United States

Currency policy plays a crucial role in macroeconomic management and is of significant importance for the economic stability and development of countries and regions. Understanding and evaluating the choices and consequences of different countries' currency policy practices are essential. This paper aims to compare and analyze the currency policy practices of China and the United States, two important economic entities, and explore their core elements, policy objectives, and impact on economic stability and growth. China, as the world's second-largest economy, has implemented a series of unique monetary policy measures to address domestic and external challenges. The United States, as the largest economy in the world, has a long-standing tradition of stable monetary policy and faces challenges and responsibilities consistent with its economic status.