Policy Perspective Research Articles

Youth justice-involved LGBTIQA+ young people: exploring practitioner and policy perspectives

ABSTRACT A growing body of research explores the intersectional needs and experiences of youth justice (YJ)-involved young people. However, there remains limited research on the experiences of and service responses to justice-involved lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual and other sexually or gender-diverse (LGBTIQA+) young people. This paper contributes practitioner and policy perspectives on the topic, with focus group data from one Australian jurisdiction and a review of jurisdictional YJ policy directions. In relation to LGBTIQA+ young people, the study found that: intersectional factors influence experiences of and engagement with services; pathways to justice-system contact are variable and influenced by several factors; current service responses have several limitations in both statutory and non-statutory settings; young people’s experiences in one service influence their experiences and engagement with other services. These findings are largely unreflected in current state and territory YJ policy direction documents. The findings can inform policy and practice with justice-involved LGBTIQA+ young people in Australia and provide recommendations for future research. IMPLICATIONS: Current limitations to practice with justice-involved LGBTIQA+ young people cannot be addressed fully by individual practitioners or organisations. Identified practice concerns and limitations are largely not reflected in current state and territory YJ policy direction. Further research should explore perspectives of justice-involved LGBTIQA+ young people.

The Impact of Green Finance on Carbon Emissions: An Empirical Study Based on Spatial Metrology

Green finance plays a crucial role in driving industrial transformation and upgrading, crucial for China’s dual carbon goals. This study constructs comprehensive green finance indicators from market and policy perspectives using the entropy method. Panel data from 30 Chinese provinces (2007-2020) is analyzed via spatial Durbin model to assess the impact of green finance policies on carbon emissions, considering driving mechanisms and geographical heterogeneity. Findings show a steady increase in green finance development across Chinese provinces, with the east leading. Local green finance significantly correlates with carbon reduction, especially in the east and central regions. Policy recommendations are derived from these insights. The final policy recommendations come from these insights.

Policy Perspectives for Socially, Spatially, and Temporally Embedded and Dis-Embedded Agents

Economies are complex systems. To enhance our understanding in analyses, we have to introduce simplifying assumptions to allow the construction of analytical frameworks. Under different assumptions, different analytical frameworks result. The vantage point that we choose for analyses can shape what we see, and how we see it. There is no singular nature of socio-economic reality, then. Insofar as economic analyses serve to inform policy makers, differences in analytical frameworks may be expected to lead to differences in policy frameworks developed from them. We discuss different areas in which decisions about the construction of analytical frameworks impact policy approaches. We focus in particular on conceptualizations of individual agents and their relation to and position in their social and economic environment, time, and space.  @font-face{font-family:"Cambria Math";panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:roman;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face{font-family:Calibri;panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:swiss;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-unhide:no;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;mso-default-props:yes;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1{page:WordSection1;}

Using composite indicators and city dashboards to promote place-based policy interventions

Spatial inequality is a common urban phenomena in cities around the world, where stark contrasts in a variety of different social and economic outcomes paint a vivid picture of compound inequalities. Tackling these influences from a policy perspective remains challenging, as political economies often span multiple actors and municipal bodies, lacking effective policy instruments to challenge multiple forms of inequality at once. This paper provides a new data-driven perspective, which seeks to improve how policy is developed when trying to mitigate the impacts of compound inequality. Utilising a place-based approach, we present an evidence base which has been co-produced with policymakers, comprising composite spatial indicators and a city dashboard for Liverpool City Region. The assembled evidence base highlights clear patterns of compound inequality across the region, identifying places in greatest need of support. In the paper we discuss how this evidence base is now being used to distribute investment from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, generating positive outcomes for people and places across the region. Finally, we conclude by reflecting on the benefits of building collaborative relationships between academics and policymakers, and the utility of our approach, which uses urban indicators and city dashboards, which we argue can secure a more equitable future for cities globally.

Evidence, Policy, Education, and Neuroscience—The State of Play in the UK

AbstractIn this article, we give an overview of translational educational neuroscience (mind, brain, and education) in the United Kingdom. We consider the state of translation, describing respectively the state of the dialogue between researchers and educators, the state of evaluation of approaches to improve educational outcomes, and the state of innovation in research translation. We consider the teacher perspective. What do UK teachers think about educational neuroscience and its potential for informing classroom practice, and how do ideas about pedagogical approaches feature among their everyday concerns? We describe the results of a recent survey from a representative sample of over 1,000 UK teachers, and a case study of a UK high school teacher who employs educational neuroscience in his practice and what this entails. Lastly, we consider the policy perspective and assess the recent move by the UK government to introduce knowledge of cognitive science into initial and early‐career teacher training.

Environmental Crisis in Public Administration Policy Perspective

The environmental crisis has developed into an international and national problem impacting every country, including Indonesia. Factors such as sea level rise, global warming, pollution, and unauthorized land use and reclamation influence this. Excessive land use for housing, agriculture, and other needs causes climate change and environmental degradation due to human activities such as deforestation. The agricultural production revolution policy also caused an ecological crisis. Incorporating the principles into public administration policies is expected to balance economic development, social justice, and environmental preservation. This is expected to have a good and sustainable effect on the environment in the long term. Managing human activities, reducing land degradation, and promoting sustainable development are necessary to overcome the environmental crisis.

Regional innovation policies and directionality: exploring the role of conditionality*

ABSTRACT The paper investigates the use of conditionality to achieve directionality within transformative innovation policies. To date, research in this area has been very limited in spite of the increasing adoption of the instrument of conditionality to advance societal goals, such as in the context of the new US industrial policy. The paper contributes to filling this gap by taking the specific perspective of regional policies which offer for different reasons a vantage point to analyse the mechanism. We first conceptualize the main benefits and limitations arising from the use of conditionalities with a directional purpose. We then analyse the concrete application of this specific form of conditionality in four case studies from EU and domestic regional policy comprising both policy conditionalities (S3) and grant conditionalities (regional or national funding schemes). The case studies suggest that the instrument of conditionality requires a high degree of flexibility to be effective in transformative innovation policies.

Mineral resources and equitable economic development: South Asian mineral resources policy perspective with innovation for resources efficiency

In the contemporary era, economies are heavily relying on minerals extraction, where the literature offers ambiguous evidence regarding minerals-growth nexus. To solve the puzzle, this research inspects the empirical association between mineral resources and economic prosperity in the South Asian nations from 1988 to 2022. This study also scrutinizes the importance of financial development, remittances, renewable energy use, and technological innovation. The research utilizes a panel dataset and applies the normality, stationarity, and cointegration tests. The results validates non-normal data distribution, stationarity of variables, and existence of long-run equilibrium association between them. To tackle non-normality and structural break issues, panel quantile regression and structural break ordinary least squares (OLS), are used. The study's results emphasize that mineral rents and remittances harm economic growth, indicating the poor outcomes associated with excessive dependence on external sources income. On the other hand, the factors identified as key drivers of sustainable economic expansion include financial progress, the use of green energy, and technical innovation. The results are tested for robustness via dynamic OLS, fully modified OLS, and canonical cointegration regression. This research recommends the significance of diversified revenue sources, fostering financial expansion, and making investments in renewable energy systems. To create more equitable growth, policymakers must focus on improved R&D and financial inclusion.

Balancing Technocentric and Ecocentric Approaches: Integrating Ethnocultural Perspectives in Environmental Policies of Finland and Bhutan

Balancing Technocentric and Ecocentric Approaches: Integrating Ethnocultural Perspectives in Environmental Policies of Finland and Bhutan

A novel modeling approach on the water–electricity–climate nexus in the context of resource sustainability

AbstractWater and energy have become essential resources and must be wisely managed for a sustainable future. This paper explores the relationship between water consumption and electricity generation in hydropower plants with dams under different climate change scenarios to contribute to the policy perspectives with a new tool and method to sustain the future. Still, as a reliable forecasting tool, the evaluation of the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system model has not been tested for forecasting water consumption during electricity generation. Thus, this study uses this modeling approach to generate reliable water consumption estimates based on electricity generation. The operational data of 78 hydroelectric power plants with dams and meteorological parameters were used as input variables, while water consumption was the output parameter in the model. The dataset was randomly divided into training and testing sets, and 85–15% data splitting presented the best-fitted model. The lowest mean average percent error of the hydroelectric power plants' model resulted in 9.59%, and the coefficient of determination of the model was 0.97, which showed that the developed model presented acceptable prediction performance. Various climate change scenarios are applied to analyze the effects of climate parameters on the water consumption of hydropower plants. The annual hydroelectric power plant water consumption and water intensity were estimated between 2,609 million m3 and 4,393 million m3, and 50,768 m3/GWh and 85,487 m3/GWh, respectively, based on climate change scenarios. The study concludes with significant policy suggestions to endorse this approach. Graphical abstract

Bildungspolitik ist Arbeitsmarktpolitik

Abstract Based on empirical evidence, we argue that recent declines in the basic skills of German pupils are highly concerning from a labour market policy perspective. High-quality schooling is crucial for meeting the demands of a changing labour market, as it provides new cohorts of workers with basic and self-productive skills and facilitates the acquisition of more complex skills and lifelong meta-competences. Therefore, education policy must be seen as an integral part of labour market policy. However, there is a distinct lack of communication and coordination between labour and education policy in Germany, due to misaligned incentives and fragmented responsibilities. Recent reforms provide hope that the necessary capacity building can be achieved.

De-emulsifying barriers to the circular economy-a fertilizer industry perspective

PurposeThe fertilizer industry (FI) is well known for its high energy needs, reliance on limited natural resources, and negative environmental impacts (EIs). The consumption of 14.2 billion tons (BT) of materials and the extraction of 1,580 tons of resources per acre are solely attributed to the FI. Because of FI's resource and energy-intensive nature, it becomes crucial for FI to adopt a Circular Economy (CE) to improve efficiency, energy, and resource reuse. However, FI needs to strengthen its progress toward CE adoption. The proposed study comprehends and examines the barriers that inhibit the adoption of CE in FI.Design/methodology/approachA total of 15 barriers obstructing the CE in FI are identified and categorized into seven different categories. The barriers were identified by performing a comprehensive literature review and expert input. The study employs the DEMATEL approach to analyze the barriers and establish a causal relationship between them.FindingsThe study reveals that the most significant challenge to implementing CE in FI is governmental restrictions, which are followed by a lack of awareness and understanding and a need for a steady supply of bulk materials. The results comprehensively comprehend the pivotal factors that jeopardize the CE in FI and furnish a robust foundation for the methodology and tactics to surmount the barriers to CE adoption.Originality/valueThe literature review encompasses the barriers to the transition to CE and offers management and policy perspectives that help the FI's policy and decision-makers surmount these barriers with future research endeavors.

Policy Perspectives on Mitigating the Impact of AI on the Labor Market

AI, a novel form of workforce, functions akin to traditional employees, with labor needs stemming from it. Labor is a crucial production element, with test products as primary raw materials. Yet, the worth of labor lies not in its wages but in what it produces. AI tends to substitute and enhance work, significantly affecting past and future labor markets. In previous labor markets, AI has replaced some jobs, decreasing certain types of employment. Jobs that can be easily substituted by artificial intelligence usually involve highly repetitive tasks, such as basic tasks performed on assembly lines. They can be easily substituted with automated machinery, as they do not include intricate thinking and decision-making processes, thus allowing for efficient and fatigue-free operations. This paper analyses the policy perspective on mitigating the impact of AI on the labor market, including the adaption and transformation of the labor markets, changes in educational needs, and workplace environments. In addition, we introduce the short-run effects and long-run effects brought by AI, such as job displacement, skill mismatch, and income inequality. Some recommendations are put forward to solve these problems. We hope that this paper will provide some references for the relevant research.

IS ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE CONTRIBUTING TO ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY? A CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS USING A GLOBAL DATASET

The European Green Deal strategy aims to decarbonize the EU economy and achieve ambitious sustainability goals. By evaluating and promoting environmentally sound development practices, the EU strives to lead by example and inspire global efforts towards a sustainable future. Moreover, The EU and OECD countries, alongside international frameworks, are committed to supporting vulnerable nations and advancing sustainable development worldwide. Through collaborative efforts and innovative policies, the EU and OECD aim to mitigate the impacts of climate change and pave the way for a more resilient and sustainable world. Analyzing the ecological sustainability of development patterns within the EU is integral to enhancing the EU's initiatives under the European Green Deal. In the opinion of the present study, the feasibility of European Green Deal needs further assessment from the perspective of a cost – benefits analysis, as the methodology employed in computing the costs involved raises several questions. This study underlines the multiple dimensions of environmental quality and proposes a methodology for building an aggregated index of environmental degradation. Subsequent analysis uses structural equations framework to investigate the impact of economic performance on environmental degradation index. Results are in line with previous findings in the field. Thus, present research has documented a positive and statistically significant impact of economic performances at macroeconomic level on the environmental degradation index. However, we also have shown that, while economic activity can contribute to environmental degradation, it can also drive positive environmental outcomes through technological innovation, investment in environmental protection, improved policies, sustainable consumption and production, creation of green jobs, and increased education and awareness. Thus, we have shown that, from a policy perspective, it is important to harness economic growth in ways that promote sustainability and environmental quality.

Employer Strategies for Health Care Price Transparency.

This paper describes hospital, insurance, and pharmaceutical price transparency policies and applications in the United States and in selected countries around the world. Many of these policies apply to self-insured employers. So far, the experience in the United States and elsewhere is clear that federal and state price transparency regulations have had little impact on whether employees or dependents search for low-cost or high-quality providers or on the cost and quality of their health care. This is because of weak regulatory oversight, conflicting federal and state reporting requirements, and few economic incentives for providers and insurance companies to supply easily readable or analyzable price information. However, price transparency requirements are here to stay. This paper therefore offers several recommendations to maximize the utility of price transparency tools provided for employees and other insureds, by their employers, providers, commercial insurance carriers, or technology firms. From a policy perspective, coupling reporting requirements with clearer technological guidance and much stronger regulatory oversight would increase the utility of price transparency efforts. For individual employers, the impact of price transparency efforts may increase by coupling price transparency tools with health plan network and design strategies, behavioral economic nudges, and programs designed to improve health, well-being, and quality of care. Many program vendor partners, consultants, and actuarial, technology, and research firms can help make these efforts useful.

Social media platforms use in startups’ international marketing strategies: a multiple case study

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how social media support startups in accessing international markets and interacting with foreign customers and stakeholders, focusing primarily on the social network LinkedIn.Design/methodology/approachGiven the explorative research aim, the paper adopts a multiple case study approach, analyzing seven Italian food tech startups. 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted, also involving startup accelerators and a business angel to deepen the knowledge on the investigated phenomenon. In addition, a content analysis of the LinkedIn pages of the seven selected startups was conducted using NVivo 14 software.FindingsThe results of this study show that social media support startups to (1) diffuse brand awareness in international markets, (2) position their offering abroad and (3) develop relationships with international stakeholders to penetrate the local business. Furthermore, the main challenges and difficulties related to the use of social media by startups for these purposes were identified.Practical implicationsThis study provides useful managerial implications to enable startups to strategically use social media to access international markets and connect with key foreign networks. Also from a policy perspective, incentives to support the expansion and consolidation of startups into international markets are crucial.Originality/valueAlthough a vast literature has dealt with internationalization strategies, this study clarifies the role of social media in changing these dynamics speeding up startups’ access to foreign markets and identifying key local stakeholders.

Analysis from a policy perspective: The importance of strengthening in maritime axis policy design in Indonesia

This study analyzes the importance of strengthening the design of Indonesia’s maritime axis policy. This research uses a qualitative approach to systematically explain the dynamics and importance of strengthening world maritime policy, where the Nvivo 12 Plus tool is used to analyze data and answer the research questions posed. This research shows that Indonesia still has complex bureaucratic and institutional problems and aspects of political identity and leadership attitudes that require systematic and comprehensive improvement. Then, the draft for strengthening the maritime axis policy in Indonesia includes three policy recommendations: reformulating the focus of the maritime axis policy, comprehensive and coherent governance, and an integrated administrative framework, as well as improving the political identity and attitudes of leaders in public policy. Substantially, the relative failure of the Global Maritime Axis (GMA) policy, known as Joko Widodo’s concept of regulating the Indonesian government based on geographical location, was caused by the dominance of political factors and domestic bureaucratic problems. Apart from that, the lack of priority narratives in the maritime and development sectors means that the Indonesian government’s priorities are more oriented towards GMA infrastructure aspects and at the expense of other fundamental elements. This study encourages the Indonesian government to accelerate a more substantive GMA. However, this research needs to be expanded because the analysis results were only carried out through secondary data and focused on two important aspects of GMA. Therefore, further research is needed that explains the prospects for GMA policy in Indonesia in more detail.

Research on integrating hydrogen energy storage with solar and wind power for Net-Zero energy buildings

Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) are evolving as a pillar concept as it fits in with the global Net Zero Energy Target strategy and the decarbonisation strategy of the building sector, which has been developed in response to climate change. The shift from existing building types to Net Zero Energy Buildings is a predominant trend. Net Zero Energy Buildings. This review paper explores the use of solar and wind energy as new sources of energy to generate electricity and hydrogen to store electricity as revolutionary solutions to achieve Net Zero Energy Buildings. It provides insights into the technological advances and challenges associated with hydrogen energy systems, including electrolyser efficiency, storage solution resolution, and fuel cell innovation. In addition, the paper highlights the key role of hydrogen in addressing the intermittency of renewable energy generation and enhancing the resilience and sustainability of Net Zero Energy Buildings systems. The potential for scaling up and commercialising hydrogen storage in the building sector is assessed through a detailed examination of current technologies, performance evaluations, and case studies. Despite facing a number of barriers from technical, economic, and policy perspectives, this paper argues that hydrogen storage can make a significant contribution to the decarbonisation of the built environment through continued technological innovation and framework improvement.

Mitigating ecological footprint in BRICS countries: unveiling the role of disaggregated clean energy, green technology innovation and political stability

BRICS nations as emerging economies have undergone a substantial structural transformation; however, achieving economic growth while sustaining the ecology is a pressing challenge for these economies. Nonetheless, one of the possible ways to achieve ecological sustainability is to promote clean energy use and green innovation backed by a strengthened political system. Thus, this study assesses the effect of disaggregated clean energy use (hydro and nuclear energy), green technology innovation, and political stability on the ecological footprint in BRICS countries from 1993 to 2022 while controlling for the impacts of natural resources rent, population growth, and GDP per capita. Using dynamic fixed effect and CS-ARDL estimators, the outcomes reveal that hydro and nuclear energy use and political stability induce the ecological footprint in BRICS countries. However, the empirical findings indicate that green technology innovation substantially reduces the ecological footprint. Therefore, from a policy perspective, the study encourages policy coordination among BRICS countries to embrace targeted policies to strengthen regulatory frameworks, promote innovations in technological know-how, and encourage the utilization of clean and sustainable energy to foster environmental sustainability.Graphical

Re-investigating the linkage between buildings’ energy efficiency and mortgage rates

ABSTRACT The energy use in residential buildings is one of the deciding factors in the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. Using data on Dutch residential mortgages from 2013 to 2022, we re-investigate the linkage between mortgage interest rates and the energy efficiency of buildings. The results are novel in that they are the first to empirically provide evidence in favour of a small sustainability discount of about 3 bps on mortgage interest rates for residential homes. Sensitivity checks suggest that younger-aged borrowers and those in the middle-income range benefit the most from a sustainability discount. From a policy perspective, our results are relevant as they show how banks ‘walk the talk’ and incorporate energy efficiency in mortgage terms.