Policy-relevant Information Research Articles

The Effects of Foreign Elite Cues from a Dominant Neighboring Country: The Case of the United States and Mexico

ABSTRACT The attitudes that one country’s citizens hold toward a dominant neighboring country can influence the dominant country’s foreign policy, international relations, and its political leaders’ wielding of “soft power.” The dynamics of these attitudes, however, are not well understood. Where the dual-process model is often used to describe how citizens react to elite endorsements and policy-relevant information pertaining to domestic issues, its usefulness regarding attitudes on foreign leaders and policies is an open question. Do citizens react predictably to foreign leaders’ cues and foreign policy content, or is it the case that this theory is unable to explain the formation of these attitudes? Using data from a survey experiment fielded in Mexico, we argue that Mexicans’ attitudes toward specific U.S. foreign policies align with previous work, suggesting that people respond predictably to elite cues and foreign policy information. On the other hand, our data suggest that the dual-process model does not accurately describe the dynamics of Mexicans’ attitudes toward the U.S. More specifically, Mexicans’ attitudes toward the U.S. display remarkable stability such that elite cues and policy content have no discernible effects. We close with a discussion that weaves together literatures on American public opinion and international relations, ultimately arguing that theories of political behavior that have been tested extensively on the American mass public can be used, in some situations, to inform work on mass-level behavior in international relations.

Boater’s Preference for Coral Reef Restoration and Sustainable Resource Management in Florida

The Florida Reef is under intense pressure from excessive human disturbance and climate change. A group of Florida residents including boaters and fishers was surveyed about their concerns and willingness to pay (WTP) for restorative services. A discrete choice valuation experiment was conducted, involving nearly 1,300 respondents, to estimate WTP for coral reef restoration, wide beaches, and clean water. The boaters demonstrated a somewhat higher WTP for a more extensive beach size and coral restoration. The analysis allowed quantification of maritime transportation passengers’ preferences for sustainable resource management. The findings provide useful insights for maritime transportation and coastal management agencies wishing to finance conservation initiatives. Furthermore, the study offers valuable methodological contributions and policy relevant information to incorporate ecosystem service valuations into the decision-making process beyond the study areas.

Lacking knowledge or lacking support? An informed choice study of support for mileage fees as an alternative to gas taxes

Governing bodies are continuing to research, conduct pilot programs, and adopt policy for mileage fees as alternatives to the gas tax, yet public support remains critically low. Lack of support generally stems from assumptions that mileage fees will cost more, be inequitable for rural and low-income households, and will impede privacy through invasive mileage collection. In this study, we assess the extent to which these perceptions of mileage fees, which ultimately shape policy opinion formation, are related to low levels of information or lacking information. We also evaluate the unique aspects of policy opinion formation, including engagement with both individual and aggregate ideologies and material self-interests. Our survey instrument encourages issue engagement through iterative voting and educational experiences, through which we see information has a statistically significant effect on policy opinions and changes what we think we know about public support for mileage fees. Across the educational experiences, which include policy-relevant information provided through videos and tailored annual cost calculations for the policy alternatives, 24% of respondents changed their opinion by the end of the study, and 44% changed their opinion at least once during the study. We conclude with suggestions for public opinion polling around controversial policies that apply to both researchers and practitioners looking to engage with their constituents.

The Policy Relevance of Urban Scaling Laws: A Study on Impervious Ground in German Cities

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The expansion of urban infrastructure is an important indicator of agglomeration and a major factor in the deterioration of the urban environment. The investment in urban infrastructure is accompanied by the sealing of ground. The implementation of effective policies to reduce the practice of sealing ground is impeded by the existence of conflicting interests and fiscal disincentives. A significant challenge is the dearth of policy-relevant information. Conventional analysis considers urban outcome indicators in proportion to population and neglects non-linear distribution patterns, thus obscuring global regularities that contain important information. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of urban imperviousness through the lens of urban scaling. The present study employs Germany as a case study to examine the extent to which the parameters of the scaling function differ between two types of cities. District Affiliated Cities (DACs) and Administrative City Districts (ACDs), which are afforded greater fiscal autonomy. The analysis indicates that the amount of sealed land exhibited a notable increase between 2006 and 2018 in the ACDs. Calibration of the scaling functions for cities with the actual coefficient of the DAC control estimate and a global orientation exponent (5/6) resulted in a 16% reduction of sealed ground. In conclusion, urban scaling laws offer a valuable tool for analyzing the complex dynamics of urban imperviousness and its control costs, thereby contributing to the formulation of more effective urban policies and planning.</span></p>

The Policy Relevance of Urban Scaling Laws: A Study on Impervious Ground in German Cities

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The expansion of urban infrastructure is an important indicator of agglomeration and a major factor in the deterioration of the urban environment. The investment in urban infrastructure is accompanied by the sealing of ground. The implementation of effective policies to reduce the practice of sealing ground is impeded by the existence of conflicting interests and fiscal disincentives. A significant challenge is the dearth of policy-relevant information. Conventional analysis considers urban outcome indicators in proportion to population and neglects non-linear distribution patterns, thus obscuring global regularities that contain important information. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of urban imperviousness through the lens of urban scaling. The present study employs Germany as a case study to examine the extent to which the parameters of the scaling function differ between two types of cities. District Affiliated Cities (DACs) and Administrative City Districts (ACDs), which are afforded greater fiscal autonomy. The analysis indicates that the amount of sealed land exhibited a notable increase between 2006 and 2018 in the ACDs. Calibration of the scaling functions for cities with the actual coefficient of the DAC control estimate and a global orientation exponent (5/6) resulted in a 16% reduction of sealed ground. In conclusion, urban scaling laws offer a valuable tool for analyzing the complex dynamics of urban imperviousness and its control costs, thereby contributing to the formulation of more effective urban policies and planning.</span></p>

What is the IPCC's assessment style and what shaped it?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is one of the best-known global expert organizations. Its main objective is to supply policymakers with policy-relevant recent scientific information about climate change. The way in which the IPCC is obtaining this information is called an assessment. But assessments can be performed in a wide variety of ways. An important step, then, in understanding what this important organization does and why, is to figure out what characterizes the particular type of assessment it performs. The main objective of this paper is to contribute to the literature dedicated to understanding the work of IPCC by outlining the characteristics of the IPCC's assessment style and providing an in-depth analysis of the factors that have contributed to its development. As it will be argued here, understanding the climate-scientific-specific obstacles that had to be overcome by the IPCC in the process of pursuing its objectives is crucial for understanding why the IPCC is performing the type of assessment that it does and also for understanding some of the most important controversies associated with it.

Keep me posted, but don’t stress me out: how the positive effect of social networking services on civil servants’ information use and political capacities can be attenuated by social media stress

Public policy and administration debates typically assume that ICT tools, including social networking services (SNS), increase the amount of information that is communicated and thus harnessed for policymaking processes. At the same time, behavioral approaches point to the potentially detrimental effects of social media stress resulting from an overexposure to SNS. Because systematic research on the individual-level effects of SNS in policy formulation is rare, this paper explores the effect of SNS on the use of policy-relevant information and, thus, on individual political capacities. A moderated mediation analysis was performed based on survey data from central ministerial bureaucracies in Germany, Italy, and Norway, considering not only the amount of information utilized in legislative drafting but also the variability and concentration of the information sources. The results indicate that SNS positively relate to policy officials’ information use, which, in turn, increases their self-reported political capacities. However, the positive relationship between SNS and both the amount and the variability of information use was found to be diminished when levels of social media stress are high rather than low. The conclusions discuss the implications for civil servants and policymaking.

Online Retail of Derived Psychoactive Cannabis Products: Age and Shipping Restrictions

PurposeThe 2018 US Farm Bill's definition of hemp resulted in the proliferation of derived psychoactive cannabis products (DPCPs), which appeal to some youth. Despite the importance of restricting youth access, few studies have systematically examined the DPCP retail environment, particularly their online accessibility. MethodsIn May 2023, Google incognito mode was used to search "buy delta thc." Among the first 100 results, data were collected from the 20 most trafficked websites that sold and delivered DPCPs. For each site, we documented the following policy-relevant information: 1) age verification measures for site entry and purchase attempts, 2) adult signature reportedly required upon delivery, and 3) shipping restrictions. ResultsOverall, 14 websites (70%) required individuals to indicate their age. Most websites (n = 13, 65%) did not verify age at attempted purchase, nor indicated that an adult signature was required upon delivery (n = 15, 75%). Only three websites (15%) had rigorous age verification procedures during checkout that included contact information as well as an image of their photo ID, which would then be validated through a third-party software. None required age verification upon both purchase and delivery. Thirteen websites (65%) mentioned state shipping restrictions; four of these provided conflicting information across different sections of the website. DiscussionAs the e-commerce landscape continues to evolve, clearer regulations regarding DPCP online retail sales and related enforcement are needed. In particular, measures are needed to enforce shipping restrictions and prevent youth access, including increasing the rigor of age verification.

The Court as a Policy Information Discoverer: Evidence from China’s Emerging Industries

Abstract This paper delves into the pivotal role that courts play in shaping public policy, particularly in the context of burgeoning industries. It shifts the focus from Constitutional and Supreme Courts to the significant, yet often unnoticed, role of local courts. It proposes that these local courts are uniquely positioned to act as discoverers of vital information for public policy, especially critical in the fast-paced arena of emerging industries where policymakers often lack comprehensive information. This study highlights three key mechanisms used by courts to gather policy-relevant information: collection, scanning, and extraction. These methods help reduce political bias, explore policy boundaries, and propose feasible alternatives. The paper illustrates these processes through six cases from the emerging industry sectors in China, adjudicated by local courts. It emphasizes the necessity for policy practices to take into account the nuanced judicial judgments at the micro level.

Implementation Costs of the APPRAISE Alcohol Brief Intervention (ABI) for Male Remand Prisoners: A Micro-Costing Protocol and Preliminary Findings.

This article documents the methods used to assess the implementation costs of the APPRAISE (A two-arm parallel group individually randomized Prison Pilot study of a male Remand Alcohol Intervention for Self-efficacy Enhancement) alcohol brief intervention (ABI) delivered to male remand prisoners across two study sites in Scotland and North East England. We first developed a comprehensive taxonomy of the activities constituting the APPRAISE ABI. Next, data about the study staff and the subject time spent were collected for each activity, in addition to the other resources used and unit costs. From the pilot data collection, it was possible to construct a narrative, for both study sites, how the intervention was delivered and the time required for each activity. The ABI was delivered by Change Grow Live and Humankind intervention staff. Staff salaries were obtained from both organizations to calculate the staff delivery costs for each site. Other costs, such as the printing of materials, were estimated based on APPRAISE study records. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and limited access to prison resources and staff, there were significant deviations from the initial study protocols. As a result, we document the costs of implementing the ABI as delivered rather than as planned. This article provides the first estimates of the implementation costs of an ABI delivered in a criminal justice setting in the United Kingdom. Although these costs are from a pilot implementation that was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, this article nonetheless provides useful, policy-relevant information on the potential costs of providing ABI to remand prisoners. It also serves as a methodological template, guidance, and proof of concept for future micro-costing studies of ABIs in criminal justice settings.

Accounting for the value of ecosystem services of floodplains in Germany – National studies matter

Floodplains are among the most valuable and most threatened ecosystems. Worldwide, degradation and restoration are taking place at the same time. In Germany, more than 90% of the floodplains are degraded, and restoration is carried out through several projects because the benefits floodplains provide are already known, though not yet quantified. Decision makers and politicians are still in need of economic values, e.g. for cost-benefit analyses. Therefore, we sought to conduct a review of ecosystem services (ES) in German floodplains to provide a policy-relevant summary of estimated ES valuation efforts. While there are many reviews and meta-analyses in the scientific literature, they use data on an international scale. While international synthesis has value, assuming internationally synthesized values can be used to represent local or national values can be problematic due to unknowable transfer errors. In focusing on only German studies, we found that there were not enough data available for a German floodplain meta-analysis or review that could produce locally policy-relevant information. Only five floodplain ES were investigated in 14 studies between the years 2000 and 2021 within Germany, which provided enough data and study descriptions for a comparison of homogenized values. In total, ES of more than 4000 €2015/ha/yr were provided for German floodplains, which is much lower than global reviews, however, because of which and how ES are considered. There is an urgent need for representative studies examining how ecosystem values are generated and perceived to provide locally relevant information. There is a strong focus within meta-analytical studies on the international scale to overcome the data scarcity issue at the expense of local relevance. This is a fundamental trade-off that must be acknowledged.

Opinion: Stratospheric ozone – depletion, recovery and new challenges

Abstract. We summarise current important and well-established open issues related to the depletion of stratospheric ozone and discuss some newly emerging challenges. The ozone layer is recovering from the effects of halogenated source gases due to the continued success of the Montreal Protocol despite recent renewed production of controlled substances and the impact of uncontrolled very short-lived substances. The increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), have large potential to perturb stratospheric ozone in different ways, but their future evolutions, and hence impacts, are uncertain. Ozone depletion through injection of smoke particles has been observed following recent Australian wildfires. Further perturbations to the ozone layer are currently occurring through the unexpected injection of massive amounts of water vapour from the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai volcano in 2022. Open research questions emphasise the critical need to maintain, if not expand, the observational network and to address the impending “satellite data gap” in global, height-resolved observations of stratospheric trace gases and aerosols. We will, in effect, be largely blind to the stratospheric effects of similar wildfire and volcanic events in the near future. Complex Earth system models (ESMs) being developed for climate projections have the stratosphere as an important component. However, the huge computational requirement of these models must not result in an oversimplification of the many processes affecting the ozone layer. Regardless, a hierarchy of simpler process models will continue to be important for testing our evolving understanding of the ozone layer and for providing policy-relevant information.

Flexible and cost-effective genomic surveillance of P. falciparum malaria with targeted nanopore sequencing

Genomic surveillance of Plasmodium falciparum malaria can provide policy-relevant information about antimalarial drug resistance, diagnostic test failure, and the evolution of vaccine targets. Yet the large and low complexity genome of P. falciparum complicates the development of genomic methods, while resource constraints in malaria endemic regions can limit their deployment. Here, we demonstrate an approach for targeted nanopore sequencing of P. falciparum from dried blood spots (DBS) that enables cost-effective genomic surveillance of malaria in low-resource settings. We release software that facilitates flexible design of amplicon sequencing panels and use this software to design two target panels for P. falciparum. The panels generate 3–4 kbp reads for eight and sixteen targets respectively, covering key drug-resistance associated genes, diagnostic test antigens, polymorphic markers and the vaccine target csp. We validate our approach on mock and field samples, demonstrating robust sequencing coverage, accurate variant calls within coding sequences, the ability to explore P. falciparum within-sample diversity and to detect deletions underlying rapid diagnostic test failure.

Uncertainties and confidence in stratospheric aerosol injection modelling: a systematic literature review

Abstract Model projections performed to evaluate the efficacy and impacts of solar geoengineering interventions, such as Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI), include multiple sources of uncertainty, namely scenario, model, and natural variability uncertainty. It is well accepted that a quantitative uncertainty assessment related to SAI modelling is required to provide robust and policy-relevant information on SAI. This study investigates how and to what extent articles using a climate modelling approach on SAI quantify and communicate uncertainty sources. We conducted a systematic literature review of a sample of 60 peer-reviewed articles in order to (i) analyse whether uncertainties were addressed, and if yes, which methods were used to characterize uncertainties, and (ii) study how the articles communicated assumptions and limits that contribute to the estimation of confidence in the used models and the resulting projections. We present statistics on the uncertainty quantification methods used in the articles and we discuss the vocabulary employed for conveying these uncertainties and model confidence. In the studied article sample, the attention paid to uncertainty estimations in the SAI literature increased with time, and overall, uncertainties were treated using a variety of methods. Model confidence was not always explicitly communicated as the models used are already tested in the literature and their strengths and weaknesses are known to the community although this is often implicit. Our results show that it is currently difficult to perform global, quantitative assessments of uncertainty related to SAI research, in line with recent review reports on solar geoengineering.

Stakeholder-driven transformative adaptation is needed for climate-smart nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa

Improving nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa under increasing climate risks and population growth requires a strong and contextualized evidence base. Yet, to date, few studies have assessed climate-smart agriculture and nutrition security simultaneously. Here we use an integrated assessment framework (iFEED) to explore stakeholder-driven scenarios of food system transformation towards climate-smart nutrition security in Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. iFEED translates climate–food–emissions modelling into policy-relevant information using model output implication statements. Results show that diversifying agricultural production towards more micronutrient-rich foods is necessary to achieve an adequate population-level nutrient supply by mid-century. Agricultural areas must expand unless unprecedented rapid yield improvements are achieved. While these transformations are challenging to accomplish and often associated with increased greenhouse gas emissions, the alternative for a nutrition-secure future is to rely increasingly on imports, which would outsource emissions and be economically and politically challenging given the large import increases required.

Estimating causes of community death of adults in Myanmar from a nationwide population sample: Application of verbal autopsy.

In Myanmar 84% of deaths occur in the community, of which half are unregistered and none have a reliable cause of death (COD) recorded. Since 2018, Myanmar has introduced improved registration practices and verbal autopsy (VA) to assess whether such methods can produce policy relevant information on community COD. Community health midwives and public health supervisors grade II collected VAs on over 80,000 deaths which occurred between January 2018 and December 2019 in a nationwide sample of 42 townships in Myanmar. Electronic methods were used to collect and consolidate data. The most probable COD was assigned using the SmartVA Analyze 2.0 computer algorithm. Completeness of VA death reporting increased to 71% in 2019. Most adult (12+ years) deaths (82%) were due to non-communicable diseases, primarily stroke, ischemic heart disease and chronic respiratory disease, for both men and women. VA results were consistent with Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study estimates, except for cirrhosis in men, which was more common, and had a younger age distribution of death than the GBD. Large scale implementation of improved death registration practices and COD diagnosis using VA is feasible and provides plausible, timely, disaggregated and policy relevant information on the leading causes of community death. Addressing the burden of non-communicable diseases, particularly cirrhosis in young men, is an important public health priority in Myanmar. Improving completeness of VA death reporting in poorly performing townships and in neonates, children and women will further improve the policy utility of the VA data.

Study protocol of an economic evaluation embedded in the Midwives and Obstetricians Helping Mothers to Quit Smoking (MOHMQuit) trial

BackgroundTobacco smoking during pregnancy is the most important preventable risk factor for pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes and can have lifelong consequences for infants. Smoking during pregnancy is associated with higher healthcare costs related to birth complications and during childhood. Psychosocial interventions to support pregnant women to quit are effective, yet provision of smoking cessation support has been inconsistent. The Midwives and Obstetricians Helping Mothers to Quit Smoking (MOHMQuit) intervention provides systems change, and leadership and clinician elements, to support clinicians to help women stop smoking in pregnancy. There have been few long-term analyses conducted of the cost-effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions for pregnant women that target healthcare providers. This protocol describes the economic evaluation of the MOHMQuit trial, a pragmatic stepped-wedge cluster-randomised controlled implementation trial in nine public maternity services in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to ascertain whether MOHMQuit is cost-effective in supporting clinicians to help women quit smoking in pregnancy compared to usual care.MethodsTwo primary analyses will be carried out comparing MOHMQuit with usual care from an Australian health care system perspective: i) a within-trial cost-effectiveness analysis with results presented as the incremental cost per additional quitter; and ii) a lifetime cost-utility analysis using a published probabilistic decision analytic Markov model with results presented as incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained for mother and child. Patient-level data on resource use and outcomes will be used in the within-trial analysis and extrapolated and supplemented with national population statistics and published data from the literature for the lifetime analysis.DiscussionThere is increasing demand for information on the cost-effectiveness of implementing healthcare interventions to provide policy makers with critical information for the best value for money within finite budgets. Economic evaluation of the MOHMQuit trial will provide essential, policy-relevant information for decision makers on the value of evidence-based implementation of support for healthcare providers delivering services for pregnant women.Trial registrationsACTRN12622000167763, registered 2 February 2022.

Reflections on COP27: How do technological innovations and economic freedom affect environmental quality in Africa?

Studies in literature argue that technological innovation is a crucial component that could provide an enduring solution to the effects of climate change. However, we argue in this study that technology-driven climate solutions may not be sustainable in the absence of robust economic freedom, particularly in Africa where there are manifestly weak governance indices. Hence, we investigate the interaction effects of technological innovation and economic freedom on environmental quality in Africa. By doing this, we deviate from prior studies that have considered only non-interactive regressions and offer a net effect approach which allows us to simultaneously introduce economic freedom as a modulating policy variable. We utilize panel data from the Fraser Institute and the World Bank Database for the period 2000 to 2018 for 31 African nations. Using an array of econometric techniques, our initial findings disclose a significant unconditional negative impact of technological innovation and economic freedom on the proxies of environmental quality. When both variables are interacted, the net effect suggests further negative impact. We account for potential endogeneity, and our results, yet remain consistent. We then evaluate the effect across regions and income classes. Our findings suggest that technological innovation improves environmental quality in low-middle and upper-middle income African nations, whereas the opposite is observed in low-income and Western nations. Our findings offer comprehensive and policy-relevant information to African stakeholders and international organizations, on the suitable strategies to managing environmental degradation.

Non-State Participation in International Organizations 1998–2017: Introducing a New Dataset

Abstract In recent decades, one of the most prominent trends in global governance has been the increasing openness of international organizations (IOs) toward non-state actors (NSAs). As participants in the policymaking bodies of IOs, NSAs have become important actors in global governance, providing policy-relevant information to decision makers, representing constituency interests, and ultimately, influencing policies. Yet to date, we have little systematic comparative knowledge about the NSAs that participate in IO bodies. This article introduces the Non-State Participation in International Organizations (N-PINION) dataset, which maps NSA participant populations across eighty one policymaking bodies in twenty four global IOs between 1998 and 2017. The dataset provides indicators on the density, diversity, and volatility of NSA populations, available yearly across IO bodies. These indicators provide potential dependent and independent variables for scholars interested in a wide variety of research questions relating to the drivers, consequences, and normative merits of NSA participation in IOs.

Expert opinions and negative externalities do not decrease support for anti-price gouging policies

During disasters, citizens call for “anti-price gouging” policies. However, majorities of economists oppose such policies. For democracy to function, citizens should be responsive to policy-relevant information—especially from experts. What impact does exposure to the potential negative externalities have on public support for anti-price gouging policies? We hypothesize that if the public were exposed to such information, they would be less supportive of anti-gouging policies. We employ two survey experiments: one administered in Florida ( n = 2085), a state prone to hurricane activity, and the second in the United States ( n = 2023) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both show that the public overwhelmingly supports anti-price gouging policies, regardless of exposure to information about negative externalities, even when it comes from experts.