Dual Mandate Research Articles

Tourists' perceptions of beach quality improvement during the off-peak season: a segmentation approach

Recently coastal tourism has increased rapidly and has negatively affected environmental, social and cultural sustainability. The Algarve is the main sun-and-sea tourism destination in Portugal, with a large number of beautiful beaches. Due to negative tourism impacts and climate change, coastal tourism management tools need to be assessed and implemented. Most beach areas have the dual mandate of conserving coastal natural resources and providing opportunities for recreation and tourism. This paper aims to identify off-peak season beach users' profiles and to segment them according to their priorities for sustainable beach management in the face of climate change and seasonality balance. Four beaches with different types were chosen in the municipality of Albufeira as case studies: an urban, a rural, a resort and a remote beach. A cluster analysis was applied to data collected through a survey applied to 200 tourists through face-to-face interviews. The survey aimed to measure beach visitors' opinion about beach environment and services, as well as about the importance of 25 quality beach attributes. The cluster analyses generated three segments of beach users with the following profiles: comfort and food lovers, young and active environmentalists and sustainable minimalists. The results provide valuable information and insights for both academics and beach managers, who can adjust their management tasks to suit market segments and their preferences, fulfilling emerging environmental policies.

Zimbabwe's national museums and monuments: Constructing culture and making money

This article analyzes national monuments, museums, and Cultural Heritage Sites in Zimbabwe for their symbolic and economic value as politicized and contested landscapes. It argues that museums and national legacy sites are developed as public places that camouflage but also reveal social memory in the process of state identity formation. Developments at cultural and heritage sites include a dual mandate to assert a new African national identity and attract tourism. I argue that the visual, cultural, and political narratives used to (re)inscribe a traditional African past on the landscape evoke conflicting emotional and intellectual responses among varied audiences. Monument planning and restoration of museums and Cultural Heritage Sites must balance the needs of multiple constituencies to avoid conflicts that can arise if development plans do not align with tourist desires or respect a community's use of a space or understanding of the past. Therefore, the ability of heritage and cultural sites to serve as engines of development for the tourist economy is questionable, but as public platforms for the expression of indigenous histories and cultures, they provide significant social and cultural value to local groups.

Management priorities from tourists’ perspectives and beach quality assessment as tools to support sustainable coastal tourism

Recently coastal tourism has increased dashingly; however, it has negatively affected environmental, social and cultural sustainability. Algarve is the most visited tourist attraction in Portugal with a large number of beautiful beaches. Due to negative tourism impacts and climate change, coastal tourism management tools need to be assessed and implemented. Most beach areas have the dual mandate of conserving natural resources and providing opportunities for recreation and tourism. This paper aims to develop a methodology for sustainable beach management. An urban, rural, resort and remote beach type were chosen as case studies. The proposed methodology for assessing beach quality and effective beach management consisted of three parts: initially, SWOT analysis was performed, where overcrowding, coastal urbanization, ecosystem degradation and coastal erosion due to sea level rising emerged as main future threats. Beach quality evaluation was assessed using the Bath Area Registration and Evaluation (BARE) method. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to get the beach visitor's opinions. An Importance–performance (I–P) analysis has been applied to identify the service quality gap and the most appropriate actions to improve beach management. For most of the beach attributes, satisfaction exceeded importance, and hence no management attention was needed. Exceptions were the condition of litter facilities, public toilets, showers and associated footpaths, the use of renewable energy, and the presence of litter in sand and vegetation health. For these, satisfaction was lower than importance, suggesting management attention is needed. The combined methodology allowed to identify beach management priorities resulting in enhanced visitors' experiences and protecting the natural environment.

Evaluating the effectiveness of ChileCompra's Entrepreneurship Centers policy

AbstractMicroenterprise support programs (MESPs) have gained popularity as a modern development policy since the 1980s, with an increasing number of countries adopting this strategy to enhance economic growth. However, few studies have examined the effectiveness of these programs. This paper evaluates one of these programs, Centros de Emprendimiento ChileCompra in Chile. This initiative has a dual mandate – to serve as a primary vehicle for national procurement and to serve as a microenterprise support program. The microenterprise support component consists of regional centers that provide entrepreneurs with training in business plan development, financing, and taxation to enable greater participation among microenterprises in the public procurement market. Using 8 years of panel data on program contracts from 2007 to 2014, we assess the impact of ChileCompra's microenterprise participation component with regards to the share of the total business and the share of revenues. Our results indicate that the program resulted in an increased share of contracts going to microenterprises at the national level, but that results were uneven at the local level. In many cases, contrary to the policy's goals, the share of microenterprises receiving contracts through ChileCompra declined substantially.

Etching with electron beam-generated plasmas: Selectivity versus ion energy in silicon-based films

In the ideal case, plasma-enhanced atomic layer etching enables the ability to not only remove one monolayer of material but also leave adjacent layers undamaged. This dual mandate requires fine control over the flux of species to ensure efficacy, while maintaining an often arduously low ion energy. Electron beam-generated plasmas are well-suited for etching at low ion energies as they are generally characterized by highly charged particle densities (1010–1011 cm−3) and low electron temperatures (<1.0 eV), which provide the ability to deliver a large flux of ions whose energies are <5 eV. Raising the ion energy with substrate biasing thus enables process control over an energy range that extends down to values commensurate with the bond strength of most material systems. In this work, we discuss silicon nitride etching using pulsed, electron beam-generated plasmas produced in argon-SF6 backgrounds. We pay particular attention to the etch rates and selectivity versus oxidized silicon nitride and polycrystalline silicon as a function of ion energy from a few eV up to 50 eV. We find the blanket etch rate of Si3N4 to be in the range of 1 A/s, with selectivities (versus SiO2 and poly-Si) greater than 10:1 when ion energies are below 30 eV.

Balancing Monetary and Fiscal Policy Objectives: Central Bank Independence During the Global Pandemic

The use of unconventional monetary tools, and particularly the resort by central banks to asset purchase programs instigated as a means of addressing prolonged periods of low inflation, has not only heralded times during which new and innovative approaches to regulation can be expected, but also highlights the significance of a growing acknowledgement that changes in financial instruments, payment systems and trading platforms are significantly altering the financial landscape and also the need for monetary policies to adopt more accommodative approaches to regulation traditional tools and inflation targeting mechanisms are not as relevant as they used to be - particularly against the backdrop of the impact of crypto currencies and the need to ensure that financial stability can be guaranteed where such assets, which have great potential to trigger systemically relevant risks, and more specifically, stable coins which are backed by a basket of commodities or government bonds, are in operation. As well as highlighting why unconventional and conventional accommodative monetary policies have been propagated as being crucial to achieving dual mandates and goals of leading central bank economies, drawing from lessons and experiences whereby accommodative monetary policies have been instigated as a means of addressing prolonged periods of low inflation, this paper highlights how such experiences can also be used to bolster the proposition that since monetary policy space is limited, and many of the challenges faced are beyond mandates of central banks, these should be addressed through structural and fiscal policies.

On the Use of Current or Forward-Looking Data in Monetary Policy: A Behavioural Macroeconomic Approach

We analyse the use of current and forward-looking data in the setting of monetary policy (Taylor rule). We answer the question of whether the use of forward-looking data is to be preferred over the use of current data. We use a behavioural macroeconomic model that generates periods of tranquillity alternating with crisis periods characterized by fat tails in the distribution of output gap. We find that the answer to our question depends on the nature of the monetary policy regime. In general, in a strict inflation targeting regime the use of forward-looking data leads to a lower quality of monetary policymaking than in a dual mandate monetary policy regime. Finally, nowcasting tends to improve the quality of monetary policy especially in a strict inflation targeting regime.

SLTR: Sustainability-Linked Taylor Rule

Central banks and the financial sector are now playing their parts in promoting sustainability. We propose a sustainability-linked Taylor rule (SLTR) via which the financing costs of entrepreneurs vary counter-cyclicly with environmental conditions. Our simulation results show that the SLTR fulfills the dual mandate of welfare maximization and sustainability.

Welfare gains in a small open economy with a dual mandate for monetary policy

Welfare gains in a small open economy with a dual mandate for monetary policy

What does the new long-run monetary policy framework imply for the path ahead?

Following a lengthy review, the FOMC recently revised its long-run monetary policy strategy statement, largely in recognition of the persistent threat the effective lower bound (ELB) on policy rates poses to its dual mandate goals. Under traditional monetary policy strategies, the ELB imparts a persistent downward bias to inflation and inflation expectations; to offset this, new strategies are needed which will at times deliver inflation above 2%. The new framework addresses this issue and seeks to achieve inflation that averages 2% over time. It also emphasizes that maximum employment is a broad-based and inclusive goal, and that the FOMC should seek to eliminate shortfalls—rather than symmetric deviations—from maximum employment. The FOMC’s September policy statement provided forward guidance that is fully consistent with the new strategy. Historical retrospection of the 2015–2018 liftoff period suggests that, if it were in place over that time, the new framework and forward guidance likely would have forestalled rate increases and potentially delivered better macroeconomic outcomes. More, generally, to reduce employment shortfalls and average 2% inflation over time, the FOMC needs to have an “in it to win it” attitude toward our inflation objective. The September FOMC statement’s forward guidance that inflation should be at 2% and confidently on track for overshooting before we liftoff from the ELB is an important step in that direction.

The Deflationary Bias of the ZLB and the FED’s Strategic Response

The paper shows, in a simple analytical framework, the existence of a deflationary bias in an economy with a low natural rate of interest, a Zero Lower Bound (ZLB) constraint on nominal interest rates and a discretionary Central Bank with an inflation mandate. The presence of the ZLB prevents the central bank from offsetting negative shocks to inflation whereas it can offset positive shocks. This asymmetry pushes average inflation below the target which in turn drags down inflation expectations and reinforces the likelihood of hitting the ZLB. We show that this deflationary bias is particularly relevant for a Central Bank with a symmetric dual mandate (i.e. minimizing deviations from inflation and employment), especially when facing demand shocks. But a strict inflation targeter cannot escape the suboptimal deflationary equilibrium either. The deflationary bias can be mitigated by targeting “shortfalls” instead of “deviations” from maximum employment and/or using flexible average inflation targeting. However, changing monetary policy strategy risks inflation expectations becoming entrenched above the target if the natural interest rate increases.

The Deflationary Bias of the ZLB and the FED's Strategic Response

The paper shows, in a simple analytical framework, the existence of a deflationary bias in an economy with a discretionary Central Bank, low natural rate of interest and a Zero Lower Bound (ZLB): the presence of the ZLB prevents the central bank from offsetting negative shocks to inflation which pushes average inflation below the target; this drags down inflation expectations and reinforces the likelihood of hitting the ZLB. We show that this deflationary bias is particularly relevant for a Central Bank with a symmetric dual mandate (i.e. minimizing from inflation and employment), especially when facing demand shocks. But a strict inflation targeter cannot escape the sub-optimal deflationary equilibrium either. The deflationary bias can be mitigated by targeting shortfalls instead of deviations from maximum employment and/or using a flexible average inflation targeting. However, changing monetary policy strategy risks inflation expectations becoming entrenched above the target if the natural interest rate increases.

Colonial legacies: Shaping African cities

Abstract Institutions persisting from colonial rule affect the spatial structure and conditions under which 100s of millions of people live in Sub-saharan African cities. In a sample of 318 cities, Francophone cities have more compact development than Anglophone, overall, in older colonial sections, and at clear extensive margins long after the colonial era. Compactness covers intensity of land use, gridiron road structures and leapfrogging of new developments. Why the difference? Under British indirect and dual mandate rule, colonial and native sections developed without coordination. In contrast, integrated city planning and land allocation were featured in French direct rule. These differences in planning traditions persist.1

The Effects of theChair the FedSimulation on High School Students’ Knowledge

Chair the Fed is an award-winning online simulation developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco to teach about the role of the Fed in achieving its dual mandate goals of stable prices and maximum employment. It is widely used, with an average of close to 85,000 games started each month in 2019. This article describes Chair the Fed and the results of a controlled experiment to determine its effects on learning in high school economics classes in the Fed’s 12th district. We find that students who played Chair the Fed score significantly higher on a 10-question posttest compared with students who learned about the Fed and monetary policy in more traditional ways. In evaluating our results, we compare difference-in-difference regression modeling with the traditional economic education model where the posttest score is regressed on the pretest score, and find that our results are robust across both specifications.JEL Classifications: A20, A21, E52, E58

Art, affect, and the production of pedagogy in newcomer language classrooms

This article describes research exploring the potential of arts-based, affective pedagogy to enact the dual mandate of second language programs for adult newcomers to Canada: facilitating official language learning and social integration. Deleuze-Guattarian affect theory informs the study framing both research and pedagogical practices as effects of sociomaterial relations between bodies, human and non-human. Focusing on the concept of affect foregrounds the power of classroom objects to intervene in pedagogical events. Similarly, affect reorients the onto-epistemological underpinnings of research; it becomes an assemblage from which problems arise. This particular research assemblage, including classroom video-recorded data of an arts-based lesson and associated teacher interviews, resulted in the question How do classroom materials contribute to the production of pedagogy in newcomer language classrooms? Adult learners in two classes – one French and one English Second Language – read Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, a wordless narrative about migration. After reading, they created imaginary character profiles. The data suggest how the relational forces at work within classroom assemblages constituted by human bodies (teachers, students, researchers) and non-human bodies (curriculum, texts, digital devices, etc.) transform planned pedagogy into something unpredictable, but also creative and vibrant. The article concludes with some implications of arts-based, affective pedagogy for newcomer language education. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2020.1846554.

Can the Family Group Conferencing (FGC) model alleviate tensions between social worker’s dual responsibility of Child Protection and family support? A Systematic Review

<strong>This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.</strong> Social workers are tasked with a dual mandate to support families to keep their children safe and the power accorded by the law to use compulsion if they do not feel the families are keeping their children safe. How do social workers use both these mandates in an empowering manner that keeps the children safe whilst keeping the family together? This paper argues that in using Family Group Model (FGC)&nbsp; model, social workers are able to use both mandates through recognising and employing existing family strengths. The model helps families take control of decision making about matters that affect their children. Through the FGC model, families are partners in safeguarding their children and decision making thereby handing the power back to families.

With or against their region? Multiple-mandate holders in the Swiss parliament, 1985–2018

ABSTRACT Regional and local units try to influence national decision-making in various ways. This paper analyses one particular channel of subnational influence: multiple-mandate holders. These are members of the national Parliament (MPs) who at the same time hold an elected office at regional or local level. Focusing on Switzerland, we first assess the extent of this phenomenon over time and subnational space. We then test for its impact on MPs’ actual vote choices, analyzing whether an MP’s subnational loyalty outweighs party pressure on policy proposals submitted by a Swiss canton. Our analyses draw on a new, original dataset covering all ca. 1,000 Swiss MPs between 1985 and 2018. In the main, we find that it is rather territorial homophily – the congruence of constituency and submitting canton – than holding dual mandates that plays a role when it comes to an individual MP’s vote decision. However, territorial interests are indeed capable of outweighing partisan ties.

Let's Close the Gap: Revising Teaching Materials to Reflect How the Federal Reserve Implements Monetary Policy

&lt;ns2:p&gt;The topic of the Federal Reserve’s (the Fed’s) implementation of monetary policy has a significant presence in economics textbooks as well as standards and guidelines for economics instruction. This presence likely reflects the fact that it is the implementation framework that helps ensure that the Fed’s desired level of its policy interest rate is transmitted to financial markets, which helps it steer the economy toward the Congressional dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability. Over the past decade or so, the Fed has purposefully shifted the way it implements monetary policy to an environment with ample reserves in the banking system, and it has introduced new policy tools along the way. This paper shows that, unfortunately, many teaching resources are not in sync with the Fed’s current framework. We review six, 2020 or 2021 edition, principles of economics textbooks, and we find they vary greatly in their coverage of the concepts associated with the way the Fed implements policy today and in the longer run. We provide recommendations on how the authors can improve the next editions of their textbooks. We also review standards and guidelines used by secondaryschool educators. All of these are out of date, and we provide proposals for how these materials can be updated.&lt;/ns2:p&gt;

Can the Family Group Conferencing model alleviate tensions between social workers’ dual responsibility of child protection and family support?

Social work involves making decisions that may leave families feeling hurt and victimised or conversely supported and understood. Understanding the dual mandate of care and control is crucial to making decisions which best protect children. In the UK and internationally, safeguarding legislation has, in the past, tended to reflect an emphasis on the protection of the child, rather than the preservation and strengthening of the family. This has left social workers’ professional judgement open to question. Applying the Family Group Conferencing model helps to alleviate this tension between care and control.

Macroeconomic performance of countries across monetary policy regimes from 2000 to 2017

The goal of the article is to compare macroeconomic performance of 27 advanced and emerging OECD countries through the lens of their monetary policy frameworks. We find no advantage of the euro area countries and countries whose central banks follow a dual mandate in inflation and output stabilisation as compared to full-fledged inflation targeters including strongly inflation-averse central banks. The study contributes to the unresolved discussion on optimal monetary policy after the Great Recession. The novelty relies on employing a synthetic median-based measure adjusted for initial macroeconomic conditions. The failure to account for the initial conditions leads to underestimation of performance of countries with an originally unfavourable economic situation. We verify the results with panel data models using macroeconomic variables of key importance for monetary policy after the Great Recession. Overall, the study suggests that assigning a special role to money or output in a monetary policy strategy is not required for successful macroeconomic performance.