Pesticide use in agriculture is a pressing but complex sustainability problem. It involves various stakeholders and trade-offs between health, environmental, agroeconomic, and sociopolitical objectives. To address the problem, effective policy mixes must be designed. For this, they must be evaluated for their probability of achieving the diverse objectives, considering stakeholder preferences for trade-offs and risks. Previous studies have evaluated the coherence of objectives and the consistency and congruence of instruments to assess the effectiveness of policy mixes. However, they overlook the influence of nondesign activities in policy formulation that are shaped by interests. To grasp the full potential of policy mixes, evaluations must consider stakeholder preferences and measure consequences across multiple objectives. This study aims to conduct such an evaluation. We adapted a participatory multicriteria decision analysis using multiattribute value and utility theory to evaluate seven mixes of policy instruments for reducing agricultural pesticide risks in Switzerland. Our evaluation included the consequences of the policy mixes for 16 objectives, predicted from expert interviews and literature, and the preferences of stakeholders in economy, administration, and civil society. Stakeholder preferences, including rarely considered attitudes toward the risks of gains and losses for specific objectives, were decisive for the performance of the policy mixes. Despite conflicting preferences and high uncertainty, we found that one policy mix of risk-based tax incentives on pesticide use and an adapted pesticide approval process performed best for all. This finding was surprising given the limited support from some stakeholders for the tax incentives when asked directly. We conclude that a value-based evaluation of policy mixes could enrich policy choice architecture. Focusing on stakeholders' preferences for achieving policy objectives can inform decision-making by identifying effective policy mixes with a potential for consensus in contentious debates about how to reduce agricultural pesticide risks. • Participatory multicriteria decision analysis process to address complex problems. • Evaluation of various policy mixes to reduce agricultural pesticide risks. • Evaluation considering trade-offs, uncertainty, and stakeholder preferences. • Rarely considered attitudes to risk affect policy mix performance under uncertainty. • Focusing on objectives can help find policy mixes with consensus potential.

Mitigating climate change and halting biodiversity loss require sustainable after-use strategies for peat extraction sites. This study evaluates the climate regulation potential of post-extraction land use using two peat cutaway sites in South Ostrobothnia, Finland, as case examples. The land use portfolio examined includes afforestation (conventional and short-rotation), peatland restoration, creation of open-water wetlands, conventional agriculture, reed canary grass cultivation and paludiculture. First, we mapped all suitable areas for each land use at the two case study sites, based on detailed spatial data on surface elevation, peat thickness and subsoil characteristics. Second, we calculated the climate warming impact of each land use based on published greenhouse gas flux and biomass estimates using REFUGE4, a climate impact model. Third, we assessed the climate impact of land-use scenarios aligned with five different objectives: climate regulation, ecological restoration, food production, timber production, and peat-replacing biomass production. This allowed us to explore how landowners' preferences or policy choices may influence climate outcomes. The results suggest that various climate-wise land use combinations are feasible after peat extraction, depending on site-specific conditions and landowner and policy preferences. We propose that tailoring land use to site characteristics and using strategic damming and ditching to create a multi-habitat landscape can provide both economic and ecological benefits. However, substantial knowledge gaps remain regarding greenhouse gas fluxes from post-extraction land uses.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between patents (with quantity and quality) and the corporate finance policies in Vietnam, including investment, leverage, and dividend payout. In addition, this study also hinges on the 2013 Science and Technology Law to examine the causal effect of this regulation on two groups (innovative and non-innovative firms) before and after the policy shock. Design/methodology/approach We construct a unique dataset linking patents to firm-level financial information from Orbis Intellectual Property and firm datasets, from 2003 to 2022. Using an event study approach by Freyaldenhoven et al. (2025), we analyze the impact of the 2013 Science and Technology Law, comparing innovative firms (those with patents) and non-innovative firms. We also employ a two-way fixed effects model to examine the relationship between innovation and corporate policies, while controlling for firm-specific characteristics, and test for unobservable variables by Oster (2019). Findings Our findings suggest that patenting activities significantly influence firms' investment in fixed assets, with innovative firms holding a higher ratio of fixed assets over total assets. However, we find no precisely estimated coefficients for patents on profitability or dividend payout. Additionally, after the 2013 Science and Technology Law, innovative firms increase fixed assets and their performance, as well as reduce leverage compared to non-innovative firms. Originality/value Although the literature focuses on the developed economies, this study shows the relationship between patents and corporate policy choices. Furthermore, using the policy shock to claim a causal relationship, this study emphasizes the role of science and technology law in financial decision-making through the innovation process.

In the essay, the author starts from a paradox: no people desires war and no parent would choose to expose their children to death, yet conflicts in the world increase. The author hypothesizes that this increase may be a “transitory” phase towards a more peaceful future but recognizes that the phenomenon remains a puzzle and requires identifying the factors that, in contemporary societies, open the way to enlistment and even offensive wars. At the base there is first of all the desire to prevail, which feeds rivalries and logic of domination. Added to this is the relative scarcity of goods and resources, which pushes individuals and groups to accumulate far beyond what is necessary; this dynamic translates, in modern times, into an endless race for enrichment and power. A further “fuel” of conflicts is identified in social hatred and envy of the well-being of others, feelings that, added to inequalities, make it easier to accept or justify confrontation as a solution. The author then addresses the political knot: how can a community be forced to wear the uniform and fight when the majority of families would be against it? Even in democracies, he argues, the decision to war is in fact in the hands of the government and parliament, representative bodies that can act without a specific popular mandate on that choice. This disconnect would be favored by the decline in political participation compared to the post-war period: less militancy, less public debate, less widespread control over the “hottest” decisions, including military ones. To make the reasoning concrete, the US example is recalled and the foreign and military policy choices decided even in the presence of internal dissent. He also links the persistence of conflicts to economic and financial interests, citing in particular the role of oil and speculation (including through rising energy prices), which can indirectly support the continuation of wars and generate negative effects on the global economy. In this context, secrecy and the concentration of decision-making in restricted circles (“a small living room”) also weigh heavily, sometimes justified by operational needs but capable of reducing transparency and democratic accountability. On the ethical level, the text recalls the moral condemnation of war expressed by the Pope and, on the legal level, art. 11 of the Italian Constitution, which repudiates war as an instrument of offense against the freedom of other peoples. The author concludes by indicating a basic direction of reform: to really reduce conflicts, we need a model oriented towards common welfare, the distribution of surpluses and finally a market without money with access to the families of the destitute, capable of limiting the excessive accumulation of wealth and inequalities that fuel resentment, competition and, finally, war.

Purpose This study examines the impacts of green subsidy policies on the decision-making and performance of supply chain members, including a manufacturer that determines green R&D intensity and wholesale price, and a retailer that selects green marketing efforts and sales volume. Design/methodology/approach By constructing a game-theoretic model, this study investigates the impacts of three subsidy policies (R&D subsidies, output subsidies, and hybrid subsidies) on the green activities of supply chain members, and compares the efficiency improvements achieved by different subsidy policies. Findings Comparative analysis of these subsidy mechanisms yields some key findings. First, the output subsidy exhibits superior (inferior) efficiency to the R&D subsidy in incentivizing green R&D and green marketing and in improving social welfare, when the environmental damage coefficient is relatively low (high). Second, while the hybrid subsidy consistently outperforms the R&D subsidy in incentivizing green R&D and marketing efforts, and in enhancing the profits of supply chain members and social welfare, this subsidy fails to motivate green marketing efforts or boost retailer profits more effectively than output subsidy. Finally, extending the analysis to centralized structures, we counterintuitively find that centralized structure does not necessarily generate higher channel profits and social welfare than decentralized structure under these subsidy policies. Originality/value Despite the abundant literature on green subsidy policies, little attention has been paid to examining the comparative efficiency of such policies—particularly hybrid subsidy policies—in green supply chains where manufacturers conduct green investments and retailers undertake green marketing efforts; equally scarce is attention to their impacts on centralized channels. These findings provide theoretical foundations and managerial implications for governments to make optimal green subsidy policy choices.

ABSTRACT This paper examines how network externalities shape the strategic interaction of trade policies between home and foreign countries. Incorporating reciprocal trade policy into an import‐competing model under Cournot and Bertrand competition, we show that the endogenous choice of trade policies depends critically on the strength of network effects. Under Cournot competition, weak network externalities yield an Intervention–Non‐intervention outcome, where the home country imposes tariffs while the foreign country opts for free trade. However, when network externalities are sufficiently strong, two equilibria arise: Intervention–Non‐intervention or Non‐intervention–Intervention, implying that the home country may prefer free trade. Under Bertrand competition, strong network externalities lead the foreign country to subsidize exports rather than impose an export tax. Moreover, depending on the degree of network effects, three distinct equilibria emerge. These findings suggest that when network externalities are strong, the trade policy preferences of the two trading countries converge, making an equilibrium in which the home country adopts free trade and the foreign country pursues export subsidies Pareto optimal.

The traditional Chinese classics of Confucianism established the distinctive cultural characteristics which define the Chinese people. The tradition evolved into a moral system which extended beyond written text to influence Chinese cultural values and concepts. Confucianism established itself as a fundamental element of Chinese national heritage through its extensive historical development. These principles from Confucianism shaped numerous policy choices and propaganda initiatives during World War II. These measures had a profound and positive impact on fostering a nationwide attitude and strategy of active resistance in Chinese society at that time. The Chinese classics The Analects, The Book of Changes and The Records of the Grand Historian transmitted their principles through time to become permanent representations of Chinese heritage. The Confucian classics, as a part of China's cultural memory, have become a spiritual and cultural symbol for the Chinese people. They embody the national spirit, facilitate political mobilization. This essay investigates how national memories created cultural ideals that positively influenced Chinese social mobilization and state development during the war period.

Patient self-determination and integrity are central to quality health care. In addiction treatment, patients encounter choices related to treatment options, yet little is known about how such choices are expressed in practice. The present study aimed to explore how treatment-related choices are expressed and in what situations they occur, from the perspectives of patients and healthcare staff. A qualitative exploratory design was applied. Observations and interviews were conducted at a Swedish addiction day care unit over seven weeks. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Choices emerged throughout the treatment process across different treatment arenas, from initial assessment to discharge. The analysis identified seven subthemes of choice, organized into two themes: (1) unconditional choices reflecting active involvement in treatment (considered choices, spontaneous choices, and delegated choices) and (2) conditional choices, reflecting more passive involvement (negotiated choices, menu choices, either-or choices and hindered choices). Patients' choices were shaped by their life circumstances and constrained by staff routines, organizational procedures and treatment policies. Emphasizing patient choice and health literacy during treatment may support informed decision-making and strengthen self-efficacy in maintaining a drug-free life. Future research is recommended to examine the gap between opportunities for choice and treatment routines and policies.

ABSTRACT Why have African states increasingly turned to China for development finance? Dominant explanations emphasise China’s strategic ambitions or the material effects of its lending, often overlooking how Western colonial legacies continue to structure African policy choices. This article adopts a decolonial political economy approach, arguing that China–Africa aid relations are shaped by, and represent a response to, enduring radicalised hierarchies and dependencies forged under Western colonial rule and reproduced through global governance. Drawing on 33 semi-structured interviews with senior Zambian policymakers, the article centres African policy voices to examine how colonial legacies shape their interpretations of, and engagement with, Chinese aid. The findings show that Chinese aid has transformed development finance into a contested political arena in which African actors strategically leverage China’s rise to challenge Western-dominated aid regimes, reclaim constrained policy space, and assert greater autonomy. While Chinese development finance remains embedded in global neoliberal logics and can reproduce historical dependencies, it provides African policymakers an alternative source of leverage within an unequal global political economy. By foregrounding African agency, the article advances debates on the changing politics of aid, geopolitics in the Global South and how colonial history continues to influence policy decisions today.

ABSTRACT This article investigates and compares how three Nordic countries – Denmark, Norway, and Sweden – have constructed security for their civilian populations through civil defence activities throughout the twentieth century. The overarching purpose of the study is to deepen our understanding of how and why these countries, often seen as a common cultural sphere with similar policies, tend to diverge in civil defence policymaking. This article operationalises strategic culture as a tool for analysis, focusing particularly on how geography, history, institutional traditions, and governance models have influenced each country’s choice of civil defence policy. This approach provides a deeper understanding of how change in this policy field occurs over time and offers explanations for why the Nordic countries – although organising their civil defence quite similarly during most of the twentieth century – have diverged in recent decades. The analysis contributes to scholarship by combining studies of strategic culture, civil defence history, and Nordic cooperation within the crisis preparedness sector in a novel way.

ABSTRACT Racially segregated schools persist in U.S. cities during current trends of gentrification and school choice expansion. Scholars have pointed to disparate social networks, unequal access to information, and transportation barriers as contemporary drivers of school segregation. The role of place perceptions remains underexplored. We employ a spatial imaginaries framework and a mixed-methods approach to examine how perceptions of place shape school preferences in a gentrifying city marked by school choice and segregation. Findings reveal that racialized perceptions of place in the neighborhoods surrounding schools shape choice sets, underscoring the need for school choice policy analyses and design to include nuanced, racialized conceptions of place. Segregation will likely continue across choice policy designs if school desirability remains tied to racialized idealizations of place.

A core mission of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to advance public health through regulatory decision-making, demanding both scientific expertise and political judgment. Since its inception, the FDA has undergone frequent reform intended to better position the agency to fulfill its mission with attention to evidentiary standards, patient autonomy and protection, innovation and access, transparency, and independence. The FDA is situated within the executive branch, so it is reasonable for the agency's priorities and approach to change with administrations. However, the scope, number, and magnitude of changes in the second Trump administration have been extraordinary, including tremendous loss of expert staff and leadership, proposals for rushed reviews and approvals based on little evidence, “expert panels” lacking public input and conflict-of-interest vetting, and political interference in lieu of established science and procedures. Scientific rigor and public trust in the FDA's decisions are at stake. Yet this crisis may offer an opportunity to rebuild and reenvision the FDA for the future. This article proposes that developing a core set of principles and associated metrics can shape rebuilding and reform by providing a framework for guiding FDA policy choices, a shared evaluative structure for assessing agency actions, and parameters for differentiating reasonable policy changes from unreasonable ones.

Out-of-home calorie labelling was introduced in England as part of public health policy to address obesity. We examined the acceptability and perceived impacts of the policy on individuals with disordered eating. Additionally, potential alternative nutritional label policies were explored. We hypothesised that individuals with binge eating would view the policy more favourably compared with individuals without binge eating. A cross-sectional mixed-methods study was conducted from February 2024 to March 2025. Inclusion criteria were age ≥16 years, living in England and having experienced disordered eating. In total, 1001 people participated. Latent profile analyses revealed five distinct groups of people based on policy acceptability, perceived impacts and avoidance of calorie labels: (1) highly negative with avoidance (n=202, 20.2%); (2) highly negative without avoidance (n=112, 11.2%); (3) moderately negative (n=183, 18.3%); (4) neutral (n=241, 24.1%) and (5) positive (n=263, 26.3%). Current binge eating was associated with lower likelihood of belonging in the highly negative with avoidance (OR 0.45 (0.30; 0.69)) or highly negative without avoidance groups (OR 0.45 (0.26; 0.78)) and a higher likelihood of belonging in the neutral (OR 1.84 (1.26; 2.69)) or positive groups (OR 2.04 (1.42; 2.93)). Thematic analysis generated four superordinate themes: reassurance, emotional distress, criticisms and impacts on recovery. When ranking different nutritional label policies, optional calorie labels were the most popular policy, with 63.6% ranking the policy in their top three options. People with disordered eating hold diverse opinions on out-of-home calorie labels. Our findings shed new light on which demographic groups are negatively or positively impacted by such labels and suggest that optional calories on menus would be the preferred policy choice of people with disordered eating.

Recent US-Cambodia and US-Malaysia trade agreements include ‘poison pills’ echoing an earlier precedent, United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). For trading partners navigating intensifying US-China geopolitical rivalry, these provisions complicate hedging strategies. In practice, the bite of these provisions may be less than their formal language suggests. The likely impact of these provisions on trade policy choice depends on country-specific factors including export dependence, alternative market access, and expected treatment by the United States after the termination of any agreement.

Purpose: This study aims to systematically typologize how Programme-Based Approaches (PBA) have been structured and implemented in the ODA of OECD DAC donors. By dividing the analytical period according to turning points in the international development cooperation environment, the study empirically examines how donors’ use of PBA has evolved over time and derives policy implications for the future design of Korea’s PBA-related ODA strategies. Originality: While PBAs have been widely discussed as a key instrument in the aid effectiveness agenda, few studies have systematically classified how donors have actually selected and combined different PBA modalities in practice. Methodology: Using the OECD Creditor Reporting System (CRS) database, this study analyzes ODA activities of OECD DAC donors from 2009 to 2023. Key variables include the PBA marker, aid modalities, and financing types. A K-means clustering approach is applied to identify distinct typologies of donors’ PBA utilization. Result: The analysis identifies six types of PBA utilization among OECD DAC donors. These typologies exhibit gradual shifts over time in response to changes in the international development cooperation environment and donor-specific policy choices. Conclusions and Implication: Korea remained a donor with limited PBA utilization until the 2010s but expanded PBA activities centered on loan-based sector budget support in the 2020s. However, this shift largely reflects a temporary response to the COVID-19 pandemic rather than a strategy-driven transition. In an era of tightening ODA resources and increasing emphasis on sustainable outcomes, Korea faces a growing need to design and deploy PBA in a more strategic and planned manner.

In the context of global economic transformation and the growing role of emerging market countries, the BRICS group is often viewed as a monolithic actor capable of offering an alternative development model. However, the hypothesis of this study is that, despite shared geopolitical goals, the economic strategies of BRICS member countries diverge significantly under the influence of national fiscal and trade policy choices. To test this hypothesis, a cluster analysis method was used based on 15 indicators (mean values, standard deviation, and trend) for 22 countries. The results of the analysis confirmed the divergence hypothesis. The BRICS countries were divided into different clusters, reflecting fundamentally different development models. China and India were included in the cluster of dynamically growing economies with moderate tax burdens and trade liberalization policies. Meanwhile, Brazil and South Africa were classified as countries in the “middle-income trap”, characterized by high tax burdens, complex regulations, and, consequently, a large shadow economy (over 40% of GDP). Russia and South Africa, while high-income, exhibit high growth volatility due to dependence on commodity markets and institutional weaknesses. The clustering conducted in the study allowed us to identify the determinants of the BRICS countries’ inclusion in various strata of the global economic hierarchy. Development models largely depend on fiscal factors (tax and customs-tariff policies), which in turn influence the scale of the shadow economy and, ultimately, determine growth rates. Five fundamentally different patterns of economic growth were identified, refuting the hypothesis of a monolithic BRICS bloc. Cluster 0 demonstrates a “dynamic development” pattern – an export-oriented model with high investments in human capital, which ensures sustainable growth with a moderate shadow economy. Cluster 1 is characterized by a “protectionist stagnation” pattern: despite high customs barriers, weak fiscal institutions lead to the formation of a gigantic shadow sector, limiting the potential for sustainable growth. Cluster 2 represents a “middle-income trap” pattern, where excessive tax burdens suppress business activity, resulting in minimal growth rates and the scale of the shadow economy. Cluster 3 exhibits a “rent volatility” pattern: high per capita GDP is combined with growth instability due to dependence on commodity markets. Low tariffs and tax burdens do not compensate for institutional vulnerability, manifested in a moderately high level of shadow economy. Thus, the optimal model is a balance of taxation, trade openness, and investment in human capital, while protectionism, excessive tax burdens, and dependence on commodity markets contribute to slower growth. The study demonstrates that the key determinants of economic success and sustainability are not formal membership in an integration bloc, but specific national choices regarding tax and tariff policies. The effectiveness of these choices directly impacts the growth rate and scale of the shadow economy, determining a country’s place in the global economic hierarchy.

This article explores possible connections between health crises, economic policy choices, and the rise of populist movements, drawing on evidence from the interwar period. It considers how differing policy responses to the Great Depression may have been associated with contrasting trajectories in both public health and political developments. In Germany, the adoption of austerity measures in the early 1930s appears to have coincided with worsening economic conditions, declining health indicators, and growing electoral support for far-right movements. By contrast, expansionary initiatives introduced under the New Deal in the U.S. were likely accompanied by strengthened social protections, improvements in health outcomes, and what some observers have interpreted as a mitigation of pressures toward political radicalisation. Taken together, these historical experiences offer insights into contemporary developments, where perceived inadequacies in responding to intertwined health and economic crises could potentially contribute to eroding institutional trust and increasing receptiveness to populist narratives.

Abstract Introduction Recent legislation will substantially reduce Medicaid spending and coverage but also created a temporary Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), which may partially offset cuts. The extent to which the RHTP will attenuate rural healthcare cuts depends both on how the federal government allocates RHTP funds and how states spend the money received. Methods We reviewed RHTP scoring criteria and collected relevant publicly-available data for each state. We calculated the number of points likely to be allocated for each measurable scored factor, analyzed funding actually awarded for fiscal year 2026 (FY2026), and evaluated associations with anticipated rural Medicaid funding losses and partisanship. Results The association between RHTP point allocations and estimated cuts was statistically significant, both overall and when subsetting to the rural facility and population score factors, which include statutorily-mandated criteria. However, the measurable state policy- and data-driven factors—which primarily reflect state policy choices—are not significantly associated with expected rural funding cuts. Estimated scores and actual awards for FY2026 favored Republican-leaning states, even after conditioning on anticipated Medicaid cuts or rural population size. Conclusion Key design choices in RHTP legislation and implementation had important consequences for the distribution of funds.

International relations theories have long sought to explain states’ foreign policy behavior by emphasizing different levels of analysis, with realism remaining one of the most influential and enduring approaches in the field. Classical realism foregrounds power struggles, national interests, and the role of human nature, whereas neorealism focuses on the anarchic structure of the international system and the distribution of capabilities among states. Despite their analytical strengths, both strands of realism tend to underestimate or overlook the role of domestic political dynamics and ideational factors in shaping foreign policy outcomes. Neoclassical Realism emerged to address these theoretical limitations by integrating systemic pressures with unit-level variables. This approach emphasizes how state capacity, leadership perceptions, elite consensus, state–society relations, and ideational frameworks mediate the translation of international constraints into concrete policy choices. In doing so, Neoclassical Realism offers a more nuanced and context-sensitive explanation of foreign policy behavior. Applying this framework to Russia–Türkiye relations demonstrates that the interaction between the two states cannot be reduced to a simple model of rivalry or alliance. Instead, competition, pragmatic cooperation, and parallel struggles for regional influence coexist in a dynamic and issue-specific manner. The Karabakh case, in particular, illustrates how systemic power assessments interact with domestic strategic calculations in both countries. Consequently, this case strongly supports the multidimensional explanatory capacity of Neoclassical Realism in capturing complex regional interactions beyond binary interpretations.

Paraguay’s Pensión Alimentaria para Adultos Mayores, today the country’s largest non-contributory social protection program, is often attributed to the social agenda of left-of-center president Fernando Lugo. This article shows, however, that the pension emerged from the interaction between sustained mobilization by elderly organizations and the strategic calculations of Paraguay’s traditional political parties operating in a competitive setting, as they sought to regain control over social policy provisioning. Using process tracing based on interviews with key informants involved in the policy process, supplemented by documentary analysis, the research reconstructs the critical sequence of policy choices that shaped the program’s development. Elderly organizations pressed their demands for years, framing them in rights-based terms and deploying strategies such as mobilization, lobbying, and alliances with bureaucrats and legislators. Their persistent advocacy kept the issue alive, but political competition ultimately created the decisive opening to pass the pension. After Lugo’s unexpected 2008 victory and his plans to expand the conditional cash transfer program Tekoporã, opposition legislators advanced the pension not only to court an electorally salient constituency but also to constrain the executive’s capacity to consolidate a political base. The program’s endurance, culminating in its universalization in 2024, shows how sustained grassroots mobilization, combined with political competition, can drive social protection expansion even under limited state capacity, stringent fiscal constraints, and clientelism. More broadly, the findings add a strategic, rivalry-constraining mechanism to debates on political competition and social policymaking, showing how elites may adopt redistributive programs to limit competitors as well as to attract voters.