Policy Measures Research Articles

The influence and mechanism of female-headed households on household debt risk: empirical evidence from China

With the development of society, the number of female-headed households is on the rise. Based on the data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) in 2019, this paper establishes a Tobit model to study the influence of female-headed households on household debt risk. Results indicate that female-headed households can substantially reduce household debt risk, and this conclusion still holds after overcoming endogeneity issues. Further tests on the mediating effect reveal that risk aversion and housing property holding have partial mediating effects and masking effects, respectively, in the path of female-headed households affecting household debt risk. In addition, the heterogeneity analysis indicates that the influence of female-headed households on household debt risk is more significant in third-tier cities, as well as in families without children, families without elderly members, and families with more than two elderly members. The conclusions of this paper provide a reference for the relevant policy measures to reduce household debt risk and promote gender equality.

Rainbows and Ratings: Assessing indices of LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the Japanese workplace

ABSTRACT With a growing global interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies, ESG indices and ratings have gained significant influence, but have also come under increasing academic scrutiny as to their validity. As part of this development, LGBTQ+ indices and pledges have also grown in popularity to signal the LGBTQ± friendliness of companies worldwide. This article begins by discussing the overall state of LGBTQ+ employees in the Japanese workplace and addresses to what extent Japanese LGBTQ+ indices can help to assess inclusive work environments. After proposing a novel framework to evaluate the components behind such indices, we apply it to two Japanese LGBTQ± friendliness indices, namely the PRIDE Index and the D&I Award. We find that both LGBTQ+ indices show potential to assess the degree of LGBTQ+ inclusive policy measures. At the same time, they still have weaknesses and leave room for misuse. Yet, these indices have a much stronger validity than other LGBTQ± friendliness markers used in Japan, such as the widely popular United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These findings are not only a timely contribution to the academic literature on the validity of ESG indicators, but they are also relevant to the LGBTQ+ community in Japan, as the newly enacted LGBTQ+ Understanding Law in 2023 lacks effective anti-discrimination measures.

An Overview of Public Expenditure on Health Sector in Tamil Nadu

The state governments spend money on both economic and social services for the community. Education, public health, worker welfare programs, aid and rehabilitation for displaced people, and similar services are examples of social services. The community benefits from these services, and the better and happier the people are, the more advanced these services are. Tamil Nadu is welfare state which understands its responsibility to provide a minimum standard of living to all the citizens. Tamil Nadu is socially and economically a well performing state in the country. From the time of independence, the state has been dedicated in the provision of quality in the health sector. Almost all the political parties who ruled the state known for their rationality. The study period includes six five-year plans from 1991-2017. The health sector expenditure has been on increasing trend during the study period. It shows how far the government was interested towards providing health benefits to its masses. During every five-year plan period Tamil Nadu Government has introduced number of schemes and policy measures towards the health sector. The main focus of the study is an overview about the public expenditure on health from different five-year plan period from 8th five-year to 12th five-year plan. In Tamil Nadu, approved spending was almost always less than actual spending incurred during all plan periods. It concludes that over the period of the plan periods, the total amount spent by the federal and state governments on the health sector has increased steadily.

Euro area banks' asset‐liability dependency and unconventional monetary policy over the years 2013–2021: Does size matter?

AbstractFocusing on a sample of euro area commercial banks, we investigate the evolution of the asset‐liability dependency over the years 2013–2021, characterized by the introduction of monetary, supervisory and institutional policy measures that shaped a business environment never experienced before. We find that large banks show a stronger asset‐liability dependency than small banks, and that the linkages between the two sides of the balance sheet experience a general upward trend over time for both groups of intermediaries. We report evidence of the presence of two transmission channels of the unconventional monetary policy, namely, the direct pass‐through and the portfolio rebalancing.

Understanding thermal justice and systemic cooling poverty from the margins: intersectional perspectives from Rio de Janeiro

ABSTRACT Heatwaves, which are escalating in frequency, duration and intensity, have prompted governments worldwide to issue vital health warnings to protect populations. These include urging individuals to stay cool, hydrated, avoid direct sun exposure and minimise strenuous activities. Regrettably, a significant segment of the population faces substantial challenges in accessing these crucial recommendations due to a range of issues termed “systemic cooling poverty”. Systemic cooling poverty encompasses intricate layers of physical, social and intangible infrastructural deficiencies, impeding the provision of essential services necessary to ensure thermal safety during extreme heat episodes. Through an intersectional mixed-method examination, this study brings empirical evidence of the structural factors that exacerbate inequalities in attaining thermal safety among the African–Brazilian community, LGBTQI+ and disabled, living in two favelas in Rio de Janeiro. By shedding light on these lived experiences of cooling poverty, we contribute to the understanding of targeted interventions and policy measures that can alleviate the impacts of extreme heat and safeguard public health and well-being as temperatures rise.

CLIMATE-SMART CITY: CAN CHINA’S SMART CITY POLICY LEAD TO LOW-CARBON DEVELOPMENT OF CITIES?

As an intensive mode of urbanization, a smart city may be conducive to achieving a win–win situation of regulating the urban economy and the environment. Based on a quasi-natural experiment in three batches of smart pilot cities, we use the difference-in-differences (DID) method to examine the impact of the smart city policy on CO2 emissions by adopting city panel data in China during the period 2003–2017. This study also explores the influence mechanism and heterogeneous effects of smart city policy. The empirical results indicate that China’s smart city policy effectively lowered CO2 emissions by approximately 1.83%. This primary finding remains reliable using the propensity score matching (PSM)-DID method for robustness check. Moreover, the smart city policy not only directly inhibits CO2 emissions, but also indirectly influences CO2 emissions through scale, structure, and technology effects. Regarding city heterogeneity, the first-tier cities in the eastern area, which have larger population scale and more resource endowments, tend to have stronger negative impacts on CO2 emissions. Based on these conclusions, we highlight several specific policy measures for reducing CO2 emissions and achieving dual carbon targets in China.

The costs of job loss and task usage: Do social tasks soften the drop?

AbstractDo different tasks shield differently from the scarring effects of job loss? This study examines how the effects of job loss depend on task usage. We use Finnish linked employer–employee data from 2001 to 2016, representative survey data on task usage, and plant closures to identify individuals who involuntarily lose their jobs. We find that heterogeneity in the cost of job loss is linked to task usage. Workers in more social task-intensive origin jobs have smaller employment and earnings losses, whereas workers in routine jobs face larger wage losses. The probability of being employed is 8.3 pp higher (3.9 pp lower) per one standard deviation higher than mean social (routine) task usage 1 year after the job loss event. We also find that workers with longer tenure face larger losses and that task usage contributes more to their losses. The results show that the costs of job loss depend on task usage in the origin job. Public policy measures should be targeted at employees in routine-intensive jobs, since they face the largest losses.

Evaluating and enhancing natural resource asset management efficiency in China: A data envelopment analysis study

The efficiency of China's natural resource asset management system significantly influences the sustainable utilization of resources and the promotion of an environmentally sustainable economy. In this research, we employ a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to assess and analyze the efficiency and dynamic changes within China's natural resource asset management system. Our analysis is based on panel data collected from 30 provinces spanning the years 2007–2019. Our findings reveal that only three provinces demonstrated DEA effectiveness in managing natural resource assets, highlighting substantial regional disparities in efficiency. The presence of multiple institutions operating independently has led to a situation of overlapping responsibilities, resulting in critical issues related to redundant management. Inadequate resource tax collection intensity and a low tax utilization rate have contributed to the insufficiency in resource tax utilization. Local industrial structures and government priorities have hindered the active involvement of industrial enterprises in natural resource asset management in certain regions. We categorize changes in the efficiency of system operations in non-DEA-effective regions into three types: a temporary increase followed by a continuous decline, a gradual increase with overall low efficiency, and a rapid increase with relatively high overall efficiency. Consequently, this study offers policy recommendations aimed at enhancing the efficiency of natural resource asset management: (1) Clarify the ownership of natural resource assets and establish a well-defined hierarchical proxy system along with an integrated supervision framework. (2) Allocate resource tax revenue reasonably and promote collaborative coordination between resource taxes and other policy measures. (3) Strengthen the government's commitment to natural resource asset management, draw insights from advanced regions' experiences, and tailor policy approaches to the specific conditions of different regions to effectively balance economic development and environmental protection.

Transition towards natural resource rents and green technology to achieve China’s COP26 Success: A novel insights in the case of trade openness and environmental pollution

This study aimed to investigate the impact of various factors such as natural resource rents, trade openness, green technology innovation, oil prices, and economic growth on environmental pollution in China by covering the period from 1970 to 2021, aligning with the COP26 agenda. These factors included. To accomplish this, we utilized an advanced Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag model to scrutinize the short- and long-term quantile patterns for both the dependent and independent variables. The findings reveal that green technologies and natural resource rents play a negative role in reducing emissions, whereas economic growth and trade openness have positive effects on emissions levels in China in the short and long run during different quantile patterns. Additionally, we employed the Wald test to confirm the presence of asymmetric patterns in environmental pollution concerning economic growth, natural resource rents, green technological innovation, and trade openness in both the short and long terms. These results emphasize the significance of prioritizing key policy measures to align with the COP26 agenda, including enhancing green technology via natural resource rents and addressing immediate climate change challenges in China.

Balancing supply diversification and environmental impacts: A system dynamics approach to de-risk rare earths supply chain

We introduce a System Dynamics (SD) model to examine policy measures aimed at diversifying the global supply chain of rare earth elements (REEs) and reducing reliance on China. Through meticulous simulation experiments, the paper evaluates the effectiveness of individual policies and their combinations (strategies) on enhancing the Rest of the World’s (RoW) market share, minimizing environmental impacts, and meeting the burgeoning demand for Neodymium—essential for green technologies such as electric vehicles and wind turbines.Our findings reveal that direct governmental interventions, particularly those focused on expanding mining and recycling capacities, significantly bolster the RoW’s market share and decrease unmet Neodymium demand. The study also underscores the importance of environmental regulations in promoting sustainable mining practices, which, while slightly constraining market share growth, result in considerable environmental benefits. Among the evaluated strategies, one combining capacity expansion, recycling, and international cooperation emerges as the most effective, marking a substantial increase in RoW market share and a notable reduction in unmet demand.Furthermore, the paper discusses the complex trade-offs between economic development, environmental stewardship, and supply security in policy-making. It calls for a comprehensive approach that considers economic, environmental, and social factors, including public perception and regulation, in REEs mining.In conclusion, our research provides vital insights for policymakers, illustrating how simulated policy interventions can facilitate informed decision-making in the REEs market. By advocating for a balanced consideration of multiple factors, this study contributes to the discourse on sustainable supply chain management for critical minerals.

Serious games and transport justice: Examining redistributive issues through classification and dictator games

IntroductionSerious games can provide an important contribution to grasp how people perceive certain social issues related to transport and what factors are more relevant for them. The paper examines the use of serious games as tools to understand how citizens perceive possible inequalities related to urban mobility and what factors they consider relevant for (re)distributing resources among different social groups experiencing such inequalities. MethodsTwo serious games, a classification game and a dictator game, are applied in Santiago de Chile, a city characterised by significant inequalities that affect also transport. The games are tested in seven focus groups involving 33 participants, arranged according to their socioeconomic conditions. In the games, participants have to rank six fictional characters and distribute among them resources to finance their mobility needs. ResultsParticipants tend to privilege socioeconomic variables such as income, rather than considering other significant individual features or the actual mobility needs of different characters. The resources are distributed focusing on the characters perceived as disadvantaged. Such perception of mobility-related inequalities does not show significant differences between participants from different social backgrounds. ConclusionsSerious games can be helpful to anticipate how the general public may perceive controversial policy measures and to plan measures to avoid discontent, providing relevant elements to enhance the social acceptability of certain transport policy decisions. Their relevance is significant in the face of pressing societal issues, also in relation to health, although their implementation can be quite time- and money-consuming.

Improving interest in public, active, and shared travel modes through nudging interventions

Nudging is a popular approach to changing behavior by designing interventions to encourage, for instance, sustainable or healthy actions without necessarily limiting freedom of choice. Nudging could show particular potential in changing travel behavior by providing governments with softer policy options to reduce the negative impacts of private vehicles in urban areas. This study examines the efficacy of nudging in changing interest in using public transport, active modes, and carsharing in Flanders, Belgium (n = 292), focusing on moral nudges, highlighting individual and social benefits, and norm nudges, using social pressure to promote appropriate behavior, through independent and paired sample t-tests, ANOVA mean-comparison tests, and multiple linear regression models. Results indicate that moral nudging is effective overall, but particularly for improving interest in carsharing, potentially providing an option for individuals wanting to make environmentally and socially conscious choices without drastically changing their lifestyles. Norm nudging was effective for public transport and especially active travel, indicating that mobility cultures and social acceptance are important to these modes. Attitudes toward public transport and carsharing were important to nudge susceptibility. Women might have greater concerns about making environmentally moral choices, resulting in higher moral nudge susceptibility, particularly for active travel, and trips taken with companions might be more easily swayed toward active modes. Those with greater time flexibility who are younger might be a target group for carsharing, especially when influenced by moral arguments, while older retired and full-time employed individuals may not be willing to give up their private cars and carsharing may not be practical for families with children. Nudging might be effective in changing travel behavior in conjunction with other policy measures to promote sustainable and healthy transport, ideally through a nudge unit to test, advise, and implement these subtle nudges. Further, the location, quality of transport services, and geographical density of cities are crucial aspects regarding the effectiveness of nudges in real-life scenarios.

Examining Inflation Expectations within Asian Economies: Application of Wavelet Quantile Analysis towards Assessing Monetary Policy Credibility

The relevance of rational expectations has generated a renewed interest in assessing the accuracy of monetary policy declarations. Despite the enduring principles of the rational expectations theory, a remarkably dependable central bank can alleviate inflation by skillfully managing inflation expectations, thus avoiding adverse effects on employment. This paper explores the complex relationship between inflation expectations, target inflation rates, and the credibility of monetary policy, emphasizing the importance of rule compliance and transparent communication for establishing public confidence in central banks. While the estimation processes the study utilizes wavelet-based quantile regression by investigating data from 1990q1 to 2021q4, with variations across selected countries. The credibility index (CI) is employed to instrument the dependability of monetary policies. Nevertheless, the results of this study indicate that Policy credibility has a significant impact on inflation expectations in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, underscoring the importance of clear communication and institutional reforms. Different outcomes in India and considerable effects in Pakistan underscore the necessity of customized policy measures and communication strategies to address inflation and promote economic stability in South Asia.

Do Drug Cost Containment Measures in India Increase Affordability of Cancer Drugs? Evidence from Spending on and Cost of Cancer Medicines

The article examines the drug pricing policy and cost containment measures in India by drawing on the data of spending on and price variations of cancer drugs. Results show that medicines held the highest share in the out-of-pocket (OOP) cancer medical expenditure in private and public sectors, and it was more pronounced for private sector and in outpatient care. Medicine expenditure has a positive and significant causal association to OOP medical expenditure of cancer patients even when other medical costs, type of care and socio-economic backgrounds are controlled for. Further, there were significant price variations for recently approved anticancer medicines across brands, which are under and outside price control. The results confirm the ineffectiveness of price control measures for cancer drugs under market-based pricing policy and the inadequacy of existing risk protection measures in India. This calls for the adoption of appropriate cost containment measures, which include expanding the scope of all forms, types and severities of cancer and anticancer medications under health insurance and adoption of a uniform treatment protocol across private and public sectors.

Cyberbiosecurity in the new normal: Cyberbio risks, pre-emptive security, and the global governance of bioinformation

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic saw a surge in cyber attacks targeting pharmaceutical companies and research organisations working on vaccines and treatments for the virus. Such attacks raised concerns around the (in)security of bioinformation (e.g. genomic data, epidemiological data, biomedical data, and health data) and the potential cyberbio risks resulting from stealing, compromising, or exploiting it in hostile cyber operations. This article critically investigates threat discourses around bioinformation as presented in the newly emerging field of ‘cyberbiosecurity’. As introduced by scholarly literature in life sciences, cyberbiosecurity aims to understand and address cyber risks engendered by the digitisation of biology. Such risks include, for example, embedding malware in DNA, corrupting gene-sequencing, manipulating biomedical materials, stealing epidemiological data, or even developing biological weapons and spreading diseases. This article brings the discussion on cyberbiosecurity into the realms of International Relations and Security Studies by problematising the futuristic threat discourses co-producing this burgeoning field and the pre-emptive security measures it advocates, specifically in relation to bioinformation. It analyses how cyberbiosecurity as a concept and field of policy analysis influences the existing securitised governance of bioinformation, the global competition to control it, and the inequalities associated with its ownership and dissemination. As such, the article presents a critical intervention in current debates around the intersection between biological dangers and cyber threats and in the calls for ‘peculiar’ policy measures to defend against cyberbio risks in the ‘new normal’.

An Agent-Based Market Analysis of Urban Housing Balance in The Netherlands

The Dutch housing market comprises three sectors: social-rented, private-rented, and owner-occupied. The contemporary market is marked by a shortage of supply and a large subsidised social sector. Waiting lists for social housing are growing, whereas households with incomes above the limit do not or cannot leave the social sector. Government policy and market regulations change frequently, not least for political reasons. In view of commonly recognised problems in the housing market, this article considers the ‘internal demand’ of those households that are dissatisfied with their current residence. We examine the effects of regulatory policy by means of an exploratory agent-based simulation. The results provide perspectives on how internal demand is impacted by regulations in a housing market that is suffering from a shortage, and allow decision makers to weigh the pros and cons of policy measures.

Economic Impacts of Marine Pollution in Nigeria and the Need for Sustainable Policy Interventions

The economic prosperity of countries is greatly jeopardized by marine pollution, and Nigeria is not exempt from this perilous situation. This study examines the financial consequences of marine pollution in Nigeria and promotes the implementation of sustainable policy measures to reduce its negative repercussions. The literature study explores the historical backdrop of marine pollution in Nigeria, examining existing patterns, trends, and case studies that emphasize the economic repercussions, both direct and indirect. The theoretical basis comprises economic ideas that are pertinent to environmental deterioration, offering a conceptual framework for comprehending the economic consequences of marine pollution. Based on previous literature, this paper examines the current condition of marine pollution in Nigeria, with a specific focus on its economic consequences. This section combines case examples and research data to emphasize the pressing need to tackle the problem. The third part provides a thorough analysis of current policy initiatives, assessing both international and national frameworks, highlighting effective strategies in other countries, and detailing the problems and constraints involved. Ultimately, the study underscores the crucial need of sustained policy interventions, providing suggestions for successful execution. This research adds to the discussion on reducing the economic consequences of marine pollution in Nigeria and other places by promoting a comprehensive strategy.

Lockdowns, vaccines, and the economy: How economic perceptions were shaped during the COVID‐19 pandemic†

AbstractThis paper analyses the economic confidence indicators' reaction to the environment surrounding the COVID‐19 pandemic. Using Eurostat's monthly data for the economic sentiment in European Union countries, we found that, in the COVID‐19 era, confidence and perceptions about the economy are strongly dominated by factors related to the pandemic, more so by policy measures and the vaccination process than by the direct health impact of the coronavirus. This is found to be prevalent across the multiple dimensions of economic sentiment. Moreover, standard macroeconomic variables seem to play a smaller and more marginal role during this period.

Elder Abuse Prevention in Brazil, Norway and Slovakia: a Narrative Review

Abstract OBJECTIVES With the global population ageing, concerns about the incidence, prevalence and prevention of elder abuse have become increasingly pertinent. This study presents a narrative review of empirical research, investigating the elder abuse prevention implemented in public health policies in three selected countries. The narrative review aims to enrich academic critical discussion about the theme and provide insights for policymakers and professional practitioners working towards elder abuse prevention across different regions. METHODS Searches in the electronic database CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO and Web of Science databases were performed to identify and synthesise studies reporting on research aimed at investigating elder abuse prevention. The studies that handle on all prevention levels, had to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, report on empirical research, and are available in full text in Portuguese, Slovak, English or Norwegian and published within a ten-year period (2012 to 2022) were included. A total of 981 studies were retrieved, of which 13 papers met the inclusion criteria for this narrative review. RESULTS The evidence indicated that proactive approach within primordial and primary prevention, interdisciplinary cooperation within primary and secondary prevention, and education for healthcare professionals within all forms of prevention were implemented to various extent as elder abuse prevention in Brazil, Norway and Slovakia. CONCLUSIONS There is a need to further enhance public awareness of elder abuse through campaigns and advocacy programs; additionally, the routine screening and assessments by healthcare providers for early detection and intervention in suspected abuse cases require improvement; and also, legal and health policy measures must be updated regularly. Elder abuse prevention should be a collective undertaking involving community leaders, healthcare providers, and governmental and non-governmental organisations.

State-Directed Wood Industry Upgrading for Forest Protection and Economic Development in the Global South: Insights From Teak Processing in the Lao PDR

Asymmetric timber trade between least-developed countries with large forest resources but backward processing industries and emerging economies has led to an uneven distribution of value in international timber commodity chains. Selling their raw timber with no domestic value added contributes little to socio-economic development and is associated with high rates of deforestation. The Lao PDR has served as a raw timber frontier for advanced timber industries in neighboring countries, leading to forest loss and related environmental problems. In response, since 2015, the Lao government has adopted drastic policy measures to end forest degradation and upgrade its timber industry (e.g., log export ban). Using teak as an example, our study provides empirical ex-post evidence on the effectiveness of state-imposed timber industry upgrading policies. The study relies on expert interviews with key policy actors at national and local levels, as well as an enterprise survey and cluster analysis conducted in Xayyabouly province. These drastic policies had far-reaching implications for the structure of the timber industry and the configuration of the timber value chain and rural development.