Policy Messages Research Articles

Has Trump Damaged the U.S. Image Abroad? Decomposing the Effects of Policy Messages on Foreign Public Opinion

The U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently made foreign countries central to his political messages, often conveying animosity. But do foreign citizens react more to the speaker of these messages—Trump himself—or their content? More generally, when people are exposed to messages sent from foreign countries, are their attitudes influenced by information heuristics or information content in messages? Although related studies are abundant in the literature of American public opinion, these questions are not fully examined in the literature of foreign public opinion. To address them, we used Japan as a case and fielded a survey experiment exposing citizens to U.S. policy messages that varied by source, policy content, and issue salience. Results suggest that while the source cue (Trump attribution) causes negative perceptions of the U.S., the policy content (cooperative vs. uncooperative) has a larger effect in shaping opinion of the U.S. Furthermore, analysis of interaction effects shows that only when U.S. policy approach is uncooperative does the Trump attribution have significantly negative and large effects. We conclude that foreign citizens rely more on policy content in transnational opinion formation—an aspect that past research in this area has overlooked. Substantively, these findings may demonstrate that even under a presidency that has alienated foreign countries and seemingly undermined U.S. stature in the world, foreign opinion toward the U.S. does not hinge entirely on its political leader. In short, Trump has not irreparably damaged the U.S. image abroad.

Cancer Council New South Wales: Policy and Advocacy Report Community Insights to Inform the Policy Positioning of Tobacco Retailing Reform in NSW, Australia

Background and context: In the lead-up to the next state election, Cancer Council New South Wales (CCNSW) will run the “Saving Life 2019” advocacy campaign focused on changing NSW Government policy in cancer control. In developing a policy agenda, three priority areas were identified that required further research to better understand public perceptions, inform messaging and engagement strategies. Reform of current tobacco retailing was identified as one of these priorities. Aim: Understand how key audiences view current tobacco retailing laws and widespread tobacco availability in NSW; Find new opportunities to progress our policy objectives by identifying additional key audiences in the general population; Build the evidence base for a salient and convincing messaging guide for the advocacy campaign strategy and CCNSW's broader policy engagement and influencing work. Strategy/Tactics: The campaign will seek to demonstrate community support for reform of current tobacco retailing laws in NSW to the community, the media and political candidates to achieve policy commitments. CCNSW existing campaign strategy includes tactics across grassroots mobilization, targeted political engagement and securing earned media. The development of strategic research to underpin this campaign, including development of an evidence-based communications strategy, was critical in optimizing communications and public engagement. Program/Policy process: CCNSW commissioned an independent external agency to conduct the research. The research used a mixed methodology that included a facilitated online focus group of up to 20 people, followed by polling of the general public. Focus groups were conducted over two days, with participants recruited from a wide geographical spread and constituted a mixture of general population, parents, hospitality workers and small business owners. Outcomes: A research and communications report containing an overview of the research, key findings, as well as communications considerations based on the research was used to inform our overall campaign strategy, including policy messaging and communications planning. What was learned: Findings noted that while cancer of all types is seen as a serious public health issue, cancer specifically resulting from smoking and tobacco use is not top-of-mind. It revealed the link between ease of access to tobacco products and increased usage is clearly understood, and there was support for further restricting where tobacco can be sold. The concept of a “retailer fee” to pay for the cost of antismoking initiatives received limited support, mostly driven by concern for smaller retailers. The most popular arguments were those which reinforced existing community beliefs, rather than challenging them.

Being Heard above the Noise: The Role of Incumbent Issue Diversity in Election Campaigns

Historical policy reputations influence voters’ perceptions of parties’ electoral campaigns. In the face of their recent experiences in office, government parties’ thoughtfully crafted electoral messages likely compete for voters’ attention with a wealth of broader information about the government’s policy activities and priorities. For their message to be heard, incumbent parties must offer a focused policy message that draws voters’ attention to the issues they most prioritize. Considering the issue scope of parties’ electoral messages, I hypothesize that incumbency status determines the effect issue appeals have on the votes parties receive. Opposition parties may profit from including more issues, but incumbent parties’ policy reputations limit the potential benefits from diverse appeals. Using evidence from 25 OECD countries over a 60 year period, I find that parties’ incumbent status conditions the effect of issue diversity on parties’ aggregate electoral success. Voters reward incumbents for focusing their platforms, but reward opposition parties for diverse appeals. The results for incumbent parties are robust to extensive sensitivity analyses. The theory and evidence broadly suggest that incumbent parties with more focused policy messages can, at least partially, overcome the weight of their past policy reputations.

Community Insights to Inform the Policy Positioning of Junk Food Marketing Reform in NSW, Australia

Background and context: In the lead up to the next state election, Cancer Council New South Wales (CCNSW) will run the “Saving Life 2019” advocacy campaign focused on changing NSW Government policy in cancer control. In developing a policy agenda, three priority areas were identified that required further research to better understand public perceptions, inform messaging and engagement strategies. Reform of current junk food marketing on government owned assets (including public transport) was identified as one of these priorities to reduce childhood obesity. Aim: •Understand how key audiences view overweight and obesity as a public health issue and specifically junk food marketing to children •Find new opportunities to progress CCNSW policy objectives by identifying additional key audiences in the general population; •Build the evidence base for a salient and convincing messaging guide for the advocacy campaign strategy and CCNSW's broader policy engagement and influencing work. Strategy/Tactics: The campaign will seek to demonstrate community support for restricting junk food marketing on government owned assets in NSW to the community, the media and political candidates to achieve policy commitments. CCNSW existing campaign strategy includes tactics across grassroots mobilization, targeted political engagement and securing earned media. The development of strategic research to underpin this campaign, including development of an evidence-based communications strategy, was critical in optimizing communications and public engagement. Program/Policy process: CCNSW commissioned an independent external agency to conduct the research. The research used a mixed methodology that included two facilitated online focus groups of up to 20 people each, followed by polling of the general public. Focus groups were conducted over two days, with participants recruited from a wide geographical spread and constituted a mixture of general population and parents who are the main meal preparer in households. Outcomes: A research and communications report containing an overview of the research, key findings, as well as communications considerations based on the research was used to inform our overall campaign strategy, including policy messaging and communications planning. What was learned: Findings noted that unprompted, overweight and obesity is considered an important public health issue. The specific issue of childhood obesity is seen to be a personal family issue and the responsibility of parents. The provision of junk food by parents to children was seen as a driver of childhood obesity, but the role of junk food marketing and its regulation was not top-of-mind. When prompted, the idea of banning junk food advertising on public transport was an action that could be taken by government to tackle childhood obesity, with children perceived as being vulnerable and requiring protection.

Cancer Council New South Wales Policy and Advocacy Report: Community Insights to Inform the Policy Positioning of Smoke-Free Legislation Reform in NSW, Australia

Background and context: In the lead-up to the next state election, Cancer Council New South Wales (CCNSW) will run the “Saving Life 2019” advocacy campaign focused on changing NSW Government policy in cancer control. In developing a policy agenda, three priority areas were identified that required further research to better understand public perceptions, inform messaging and engagement strategies. Reform of current smoke-free laws was identified as one of these priorities. Aim: Understand how key audiences view current smoke-free laws and issues of exposure to second-hand smoke in NSW licensed venues; Find new opportunities to progress policy objectives by identifying additional key audiences in the general population; Build the evidence base for a salient and convincing messaging guide for the advocacy campaign strategy and our broader policy engagement and influencing work. Strategy/Tactics: The campaign will seek to demonstrate community support for the reform of current smoke-free laws in NSW to the community, the media and political candidates to achieve policy commitments. CCNSW existing campaign strategy includes tactics across grassroots mobilization, targeted political engagement and securing earned media. The development of strategic research to underpin this campaign, including development of an evidence-based communications strategy, was critical in optimizing our communications and public engagement. Program/Policy process: Cancer Council NSW worked with an external agency to conduct the research. The research used a mixed methodology that included a facilitated online focus group of up to 20 people, followed by polling of the general public. Focus groups were conducted over two days, with participants recruited from a wide geographical spread. Targeted sampling to ensure participants visit a pub or club at least once per fortnight was also incorporated. Outcomes: A research and communications report containing an overview of the research, key findings, as well as communications considerations based on the research was used to inform our overall campaign strategy, including policy messaging and communications planning. What was learned: Preliminary findings noted that while smoking and related health issues is a key concern for participants, it is of greatest concern among those who are smokers, have previously smoked, or are close to someone who does. They revealed a high level of awareness of the meaning.

금연 정책과 캠페인의 메시지에 대한 탐색적 접근: 금연광고 메시지에 대한 20대 남성 흡연자의 인식 유형을 중심으로

금연 정책과 캠페인의 메시지에 대한 탐색적 접근: 금연광고 메시지에 대한 20대 남성 흡연자의 인식 유형을 중심으로

Enhancing Central Bank Communications with Behavioural Insights

In this joint Bank of England and Behavioural Insights Team study, we test the effectiveness of different approaches to central bank communications. Using an online experiment with a representative sample of the UK population, we measure how changes to the Bank of England’s summaries of the Inflation Report impact comprehension and trust in its policy messages. We find that the recently introduced Visual Summary of the Inflation Report improves comprehension of its main messages in a statistically significant way compared to the traditional executive summary. We also find that public comprehension and trust can be further improved by making the Visual Summary more relatable to people’s lives. Our findings thus shed light on how central banks can improve communication with the public at a time when trust in public institutions has fallen, while the responsibilities delegated to central banks have increased.

Mapping the socio-political landscape of heat mitigation through urban greenspaces: the case of Taipei Metropolis

We assess socio-political challenges for urban heat island (UHI) mitigation in greenspace planning, focusing on Taipei Metropolis, Taiwan. Through analysis of articles from two newspapers, we suggest that attention to greenery and heat tends to reflect immediate weather or planning considerations, and that there is a persistent perception of greenspace as a barrier to economic development. Broad-based, durable rationales extending beyond climate adaptation benefits may be required to sustain support for greenspace planning in Taipei. There is also a need to raise decision makers’ awareness of the specific actions required to realize cooling benefits via greening. We argue that the Taipei case demonstrates the potential for policy messaging based on greenspace functions to attain cross-sectoral buy-in for greenspace development or preservation, but that planners and policymakers must ensure that consensus-based governance actually delivers cooling benefits to citizens. Our results also indicate that greenspace planning policy could more explicitly address community-level greening specifically targeted at cooling or other climate adaptation challenges.

U.S. state-level carbon dioxide emissions: Does it affect health care expenditure?

This paper is the first to provide an empirical analysis of the short run and long run effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on health care spending across U.S. states. Accounting for the possibility of non-linearity in the data and the relationship among the variables, the analysis estimated various statistical models to demonstrate that CO2 emissions led to increases in health care expenditures across U.S states between 1966 and 2009. Using quantile regressions, the analysis displayed that the effect of CO2 emissions was stronger at the upper-end of the conditional distribution of health care expenditures. Results indicate the effect of CO2 emissions on health care was relatively stronger for states that spend higher amounts in health care expenditures. The primary policy message of the paper is that there can be tangible health related benefits associated with policies that aim to reduce carbon emissions across U.S. states.

Impacts of Adaptation to Climate Change on Farmerss Income in the Savana Region of Togo

West African farmers are among those most likely to suffer from climate change, partly due to the agro-climatic characteristics of the regional system and to their limited scope for coping with shocks. Climate change adaptation has thus been touted as a necessary path for rural poverty reduction and development in the region. Yet, do farm households who implemented climate change adaptation earn higher income compare to those who did not? We attempt to answer this question in the context of crop and livestock income in the Savana region of Togo. To that end, we build a bio-economic model based on farm household model theory. Using survey data collected from a representative sample of 450 savanna farm households of the agricultural year 2014/2015, we identify farm-household types through cluster analysis and apply them in the simulation model. From the simulation results, we conclude that at their current costs, soil and water conservation techniques and irrigation practives can on average provide higher income even under climate change, since they are able to mitigate at least 63 % of the impacts of climate change on crop and livestock income. By contrast, reducing the quantity of applied fertilizer, mentioned as an adaptation option by farmers, increases the farm households’ vulnerability to climate change. The policy message we draw from this study is to encourage Soil and Water Conservation techniques and sustainable irrigation as sound strategies for higher income under climate change in the region. These are “no regret options” with a positive impact on livelihoods while preserving the resource base.

Ajit Singh (1940–2015), the Radical Cambridge Economist: Anti‐imperialist Advocate of Third World Industrialization

Ajit Singh (1940–2015), the Radical Cambridge Economist: Anti‐imperialist Advocate of Third World Industrialization

A critical examination of Teach for Bangladesh’s Facebook page: ‘Social-mediatisation’ of global education reforms in the ‘post-truth’ era

In this paper, we examine how Teach for Bangladesh (TfB) has utilised Facebook since 2012 in its effort to extend its policy influence and message to young Bangladeshi graduates and local population. We reveal this as an example of how Facebook has become a powerful new platform for policy mediatisation. This is also a developing world-example of a [global] policy rewritten [locally] as audio-video bytes. Our analyses reveal three ways in which TfB sought to influence these graduates, but also the local government and public, via Facebook. First, it created opportunities for recurrent reading, hearing and seeing the policy in practice as animated by ‘stars’, ‘spectacles’, ‘glamour’ and ‘statistics’, all of which regularise a sense of heroic bodily feeling-as-vernacularisation. Secondly, it sought to inform and reshape the social imaginary and associated problem imagination of the graduates and locals to whom this message was directed. And thirdly, it involved what might be described as a ‘post-truth’ way of engagement via the excessive use of emotional stimulus, manifesting an understanding of the affective aspect of policy. We have used a combination of social network analysis, content analysis and videological analysis in establishing our argument.

Mediated Policy Effects of Foreign Governments on Iraqi Independent Media During Elections

I use the term mediated policy to refer to messages about Iraq sent by international news media outlets of foreign governments during the Iraqi parliamentary elections of 2010, and I hypothesize that US Mediated Policy, Iranian Mediated Policy, and Saudi Mediated Policy are three latent constructs interacting in a structural model where they influence a fourth latent variable, Iraqi Independent Media. To feed the model with data, I run a content analysis of relevant international and domestic media coverage. I measure saliences of two news media frames, Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. The analysis shows that in 2010: (1) English represented a barrier to Iraqi independent media. (2) US foreign policy simultaneously dealt with two opposing regional policies, Iranian and Saudi. (3) There were significant policy messages about Iraq carried by international news media of foreign governments, which evidently influenced Iraqi independent media.

Coldspots and Hotspots of Agriculture in Nigeria; Any Hope for Youth and Women?

Africa has 25 percent of the world’s arable land, yet it cannot boast of food sufficiency let alone tapping into food export opportunities. It is no longer news that the women folks in Africa are greatly marginalised and confronted by numerous challenges. Meanwhile, youth engagement in agriculture is presently seen as one of the ways to achieve zero hunger by 2030 as set by the sustainable development goals. Using critical review approach, this study aims to review past and present agriculture programs aimed at encouraging youth and women in agriculture. We found that access to land and weak land tenure system; high cost and unavailability of inputs, infrastructural deficit; poor access to information; inadequate extension service and poor pricing policy are the main constraints for the youth and women in Nigeria. However, opportunities such as employment, large market, vast arable land, increasing investment of government and private sector and value addition. The policy message from this study is straight: effort should be intensified and constructive approaches through polices that support pathways in which opportunities can be harnessed and constraints offed.

Role of Microfinance Institutions on the Promotion of Women Entrepreneurship in Uganda

The presence of microfinance services for the poor have grown immensely since its beginning in the 1970s and it has become one of the most popular sought after poverty reducing strategies in the world. This study utilized cross-sectional study design and data was collected using a wellstructured close ended questionnaires from fifty (50) female clients of pride microfinance limited in Rubaga division in the capital Kampala. The questions were structured in English but administered in a local language (Luganda) to be specific. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques were employed. Finding indicated that majority of the bank clients had obtained loans and a sizeable number had also benefited from the training that pride microfinance provided to its clients such as book keeping, marketing, credit management and customer care services. By offering these services, Pride Microfinance helped to empower women economically by enabling them to transfer money, make payments, save money and get capital for running their businesses which are necessary requirements for entrepreneurship development. Clearly microfinance institutions (MFIs) have an enormous role to play in the economic empowerment of the women. The findings indicated that less education, inadequate training of borrowers resulted in default in loan repayment. The policy message here is that microfinance institutions should have simplified systems of operation that reduce delays, provide efficient and effective service delivery that are accessible and preferred by the women.

Operating Cost Coverage vs. Water Utility Complaints

In addressing the topic of decision making in the water sector, what has been suggested to be useful up to this point is benchmarking. This paper aims at exploring the relationship between the Operating Cost Coverage Index and customer complaints about water and wastewater services for 1898 water utilities in 11 countries, i.e., Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Lithuania, Peru, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The data used are the most recent available per country through the International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities (2013–2016). In order to examine the aforementioned relationship and further reveal the key policy messages that are derived by this analysis, parametric and non-parametric group comparisons are employed. The results of those comparisons concerning the two examined indicators of this study consist of two main findings: The first sheds light on the rational argument that well performing utilities open their data to others—at least more so than those not performing as well. The second is that there could be an association between financial performance and the complaints received about water and wastewater services, but this finding requires further investigation.

From Research to Policy: The WHO Experience With Developing Guidelines on the Potential Risk of HIV Acquisition and Progestogen-Only Contraception Use.

To develop guidance for women at high risk of HIV, WHO carefully considered the risks of maternal morbidity and mortality from unintended pregnancy against possible increased risk of HIV acquisition with injectable use. Among the many challenges: (1) balancing timeliness of changing the guidance against the potential impact of it; (2) engaging a range of stakeholders; (3) translating complex research and policy messages to clients; (4) needing additional research; and (5) monitoring and evaluating successes and challenges with implementing new guidelines.

Mental Health News: How Frames Influence Support for Policy and Civic Engagement Intentions

Depression accounts for nearly 400 million disability days per year, and has been identified as the definitive public health priority in the decades to come (Greenberg et al., 2015). Despite the passage of the 2008 Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which requires coverage of mental health services, behavioral health and substance-use disorders to be equal to physical health coverage, individuals face numerous barriers when seeking help for depression. This research tests whether changing the way stories frame depression affects how audience members attribute responsibility for depression and their intentions to participate in civic engagement activities supporting policy solutions. Findings from this study contradict earlier scholarship and have implications for how information about depression and policy solutions are framed for the public including how to develop health policy messaging when working with the news media. Suggestions for future research are included.

From Lip Service to Neglect: the Evolution of Canadian Foreign Policy and the Genocide in Darfur

The purpose of this essay is to examine the evolution of Canada’s policy in response to the Darfur genocide since 2003. In this light, this essay will first outline Paul Martin’s policy during his prime ministership and then analyze Prime Minster Stephen Harper’s policy since his election in 2006. This examination will demonstrate that a considerable divide occurred in Canadian foreign policy during Martin’s prime ministership. Martin’s rhetoric concerning Canada’s contribution to stopping the Darfur genocide became so exaggerated that it was impossible for government action to accommodate. By contrast, although Harper’s limited action in sending financial aid and military expertise to Darfur mirrors that of his predecessor, Harper has effectively taken the air out of Martin’s inflated rhetoric. Harper’s reluctance to publicly address Canada’s response to the Darfur genocide represents a divergence from the trend in contemporary Canadian foreign policy; in other words, Harper’s rhetoric matches his government’s action. Why the drastic change? As this essay will argue, Harper’s deflated rhetoric on the Darfur genocide is the by-product of his strategy to focus his foreign policy message on missions that will achieve the most political points at home, namely, militarizing the Afghanistan war, ensuring closer ties with the United States, satisfying the Canadian Forces, and defining himself in relation to the previous and present Liberals as a decisive leader. In short, Harper has largely neglected the Darfur genocide in order to position himself as a decisive leader concerned with issues of peace and security instead of issues of development and human rights.

Determinants of Government Debt Sustainability in Uganda for the Period 1960-2015

Unquestionably the impact of government debt sustainability, especially the external debt on economic growth in developing countries in particular can never ever over emphasized enough. The status of external debt in many of the developing countries has been an issue of concern among both bilateral and multilateral lending agencies like the IDA for the World Bank, ADF for the African Development bank and other emerging infrastructure financers like China and also among scholars and policy makers since the start of the early 1980’s debt crisis. The ability of the government to sustainably service its debt obligations will depend on how much it borrows in the first place, but most importantly the purpose of the loan, because it argued if funds are well invested then returns are high which ae then utilized in paying back debts. In this paper we examine this notion of debt sustainability considering real values on economies output such as real GDP, real exports and imports, total government revenue and how much government spends and finally the inflation rate. This is done by using data from world development indicators about Uganda’s economic performance since 1990 to 2015, linear imputation is adopted in years with missing observations for certain variables like inflation, total revenue and government expenditure. The results from the estimation show a one unit improvement in real GDP and total revenue and real export will significantly improve government debt sustainability status by 87.3, 46.8, and 2% respectively, while an increase in real imports, government expenditure and inflation will reduce government sustainability by 84.9, 66.0 and 06.0% respectively. A review of debt statistical figures showed that most highly indebted countries are not paying more 95% of debt obligations, this was clearly highlighted in BOU’s 2017 report of the economy. The policy message is that government should cut down on its wasteful spending and direct borrowed funds in infrastructure spending like hydropower projects, roads and investing in human capital which can enhance revenue collection to service debts. Government should also improve export status of the country concentrate in production of agricultural products in which it seems to have a comparative advantage.