Policy Suggestions Research Articles

Bank runs and media freedom: What you don’t know won’t hurt you?

This paper examines the influence of media freedom restrictions on retail depositor behavior during banking crises. Non-professional, retail depositors are particularly affected due to insufficient access to vital information about the banking industry's vulnerability and broad macroeconomic conditions amidst the crisis. Using data from 85 countries from 2004 to 2019, we found that during crises, higher media restrictions lead to an increase in the rate of household deposit withdrawals. If media restrictions hinder depositors from accurately assessing the banking sector’s exposure, there is a higher likelihood of panic-based response in uncertain times brought on by the banking crisis, potentially triggering bank runs. Furthermore, our results reveal that lower banking sector risk can mitigate the negative effect of media restrictions on retail deposit growth during a banking crisis, especially in middle-income OECD and non-OECD countries, countries with stronger institutional environments, and countries with higher financial literacy. As a policy suggestion, promoting financial literacy could help reduce information asymmetry and prevent panic withdrawals, even in environments with significant media restrictions.

Environmental health and clinicians: time to promote more action.

Climate change and ambient air pollution are threats to human health, with dramatic short- and long-term effects on mortality and morbidity. Pollution generates fears among citizens who rarely receive adequate information for risk mitigation. A large burden of evidence is describing since decades the health effects of pollution, linking environmental exposure to pathophysiological mechanisms (mainly, low-grade chronic inflammation) that lead to an array of chronic non-communicable diseases. Epidemiologists are deeply involved to depict environment-related diseases, identify risk factors as well as to offer suggestions for prevention policies. However, their warnings are frequently disregarded by clinicians and policymakers. In clinical practice, diagnostic evidence is the basis for therapeutic interventions. Conversely, epidemiological evidence in the field of environmental health rarely generates appropriate preventive and clinical actions. Despite the great interest and concerns of citizens and epidemiologists, the perception of pollution as a major hazard to health is often scarce among clinicians, as witnessed by thepoor presence of environmental health in the majority of clinical guidelines, meetings of scientific societies, and medical curricula. As a consequence, inaction is not uncommon among clinicians, who often fail to routinely engage in counseling their patients on how to reduce their health risks from living in an unsafe environment nor toact as advocates in orderto enact changes in the community. This gap should be urgently bridged by creating opportunities for health professionals to be adequately informed and trained to play an active role in tackling environmental risks.

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

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

Closing Loopholes in Water Rights Systems to Save Water: The Colorado River Basin

AbstractAround the world, water rights systems govern the allocation of water to a multitude of users. Such systems primarily come into play during times of drought, when some users have to be shorted. Yet their management during times of excess can have implications for subsequent drought impacts. This is evident in the State of Colorado, where under “free river conditions” in which there is sufficient water to satisfy all water rights, anyone—including individuals lacking water rights—can divert as much as they want, unconstrained by the limit of their water right. Here, we estimate the amount of excess water used under such conditions within Division five of the Upper Colorado River Basin in the State of Colorado. Comparing the daily water withdrawals of diversion structures along the Colorado River and its tributaries with their (daily) water rights, we find that in 2017, 339 structures report days with excess withdrawals, amounting to 108 million cubic meters (87,577 acer feet). While such excess withdrawal is legal in Colorado, we argue that the free river condition is an antiquated rule that will make much needed reform of water allocation within the water‐stressed Colorado River Basin more difficult. We offer policy suggestions to address it.

Social class and informal caregiving for family members with Alzheimer’s disease: the role of economic capital, cultural health capital, and social capital

This paper explores the multifaceted experiences of informal caregivers providing care for family members afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, examining how these experiences are influenced by social class, and the role of economic capital, cultural health capital, and social capital. Drawing upon Bourdieu’s theoretical framework, this paper conducts a qualitative thematic analysis to analyze twenty-five semi-structured interviews with caregivers and three interviews with medical professionals. The paper reveals how distinct forms of capital (economic, social, and cultural health capital) shape the caregiving experiences for family members with Alzheimer’s disease. Notably, upper-class caregivers leverage both economic and cultural health capital to ease the burden associated with caregiving, while lower-class caregivers harness social capital. The paper challenges the prevailing deficit model of capital by shedding light on how lower-class caregivers demonstrate resourcefulness in seeking support beyond the health system. However, the findings also underscore a persistent and widening discrepancy in the caregiving experience. The paper concludes with policy suggestions, substantive and theoretical implications, and acknowledgement of methodological limitations.

How to Extend China’s Rural Land Contracts for Another 30 Years: A Psychological Ownership Perspective

In China’s rural land system, the collective owns the land, and farmers, as members of the collective, can acquire land contractual management rights through land contracting. With the second round of land contracts nearing expiration, the central government has announced that the term should be extended for 30 years. This paper introduces the theory of psychological ownership to explore the implementation paths of the 30-year extension policy. The study finds that (1) farmers generally exhibit strong psychological ownership towards the contracted land. (2) The Household Contract Responsibility System satisfies the three routes for the formation of psychological ownership—control, intimate knowledge, and self-investment. As the duration of farmers’ possession of contracted land extends, their psychological ownership gradually forms and strengthens. (3) Farmers’ psychological ownership has both positive and negative effects. The 30-year extension policy must adhere to the path dependence formed by the evolution of the land contract system, comply with the institutional constraints imposed by rural land collective ownership, and simultaneously meet the practical demands posed by urban–rural integration and agricultural development. Drawing on the complex effects of farmers’ psychological ownership and considering the historical, institutional, and practical contexts of policy implementation, this study proposes the dual necessity of facilitating and restraining farmers’ psychological ownership when extending for another 30 years and offers corresponding policy suggestions. Facilitation requires empowering farmers with more stable land possession and stronger land rights. Restraint requires preventing the permanent locking of rural land allocation patterns to achieve fair and efficient land allocation.

A Study on the Impact of Overtime Work on the Well-being of Young Employees -- An Empirical Analysis Based on CLDS (2018) Data

This study first collects the current status of overtime labor and well-being among young employees through literature research, based on which three research hypotheses are proposed. Secondly, in terms of empirical research, relying on the database of the Chinese Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) in 2018, this paper constructs a linear regression model and a moderation effect model to investigate the impact of overtime labor on the well-being of young employees and the moderating role of job autonomy between the two. Finally, the research findings indicate that: firstly, overtime labor has a negative effect on the well-being of young employees; secondly, there is a significant positive relationship between job autonomy and well-being; thirdly, job autonomy mitigates the negative impact of overtime labor on the well-being of young employees. Therefore, this study aims to provide relevant policy suggestions from multiple aspects to enhance the well-being of workers, reduce the adverse effects of overtime labor on young employees, safeguard their legitimate rights and interests, improve their working environment and quality of life, and ultimately achieve mutual benefit and win-win results for both employers and employees.

Shared decision-making interventions in the choice of antipsychotic prescription in people living with psychosis (SHAPE): Protocol for a realist review.

Shared decision-making (SDM) has yet to be successfully adopted into routine use in psychiatric settings amongst people living with severe mental illnesses. Suboptimal rates of SDM are particularly prominent amongst patients with psychotic illnesses during antipsychotic treatment choices. Many interventions have been assessed for their efficacy in improving SDM within this context, although results have been variable and inconsistent. To generate an in-depth understanding of how, why, for whom, and to what extent interventions facilitating the application of SDM during antipsychotic treatment choices work and the impact of contextual factors on intervention effectiveness. This review will use realist review methodology to provide a causal understanding of how and why interventions work when implementing SDM during antipsychotic treatment choices. The cohort of interest will be those experiencing psychosis where ongoing treatment with an antipsychotic is clinically indicated. The review will take place over five stages; (1) Locating existing theories, (2) Searching for evidence, (3) Selecting articles, (4) Extracting and organising data and (5) Synthesizing evidence and drawing conclusions. An understanding of how and why interventions work will be achieved by developing realist programme theories on intervention effectiveness through iterative literature reviews and engaging with various stakeholder groups, including patient, clinician and carer representatives. This is the first realist review aiming to identify generative mechanisms explaining how and why successful interventions aimed at improving SDM within the parameters outlined work and in which contexts desired outcomes are most likely to be achieved. Review findings will include suggestions for clinicians, policy and decision-makers about the most promising interventions to pursue and their ideal attributes.

How should non-emergency EMS presentations be managed? A thematic analysis of politicians’, policymakers’, clinicians’ and consumers’ viewpoints

ObjectiveIn 2023, Australian government emergency medical services (EMS) responded to over 4 million consumers, of which over 56% were not classified as an ‘emergency’, at the cost of AU$5.5 billion....

Income and Expenditure Patterns Among Migrant and Non-Migrant Fisherfolk Households in Malappuram District, Kerala, India

This study examines the income and expenditure patterns among migrant and non-migrant fisherfolk households in Malappuram District, Kerala. Based on a sample of 375 households, with 172 migrants and 203 non-migrants surveyed between August 2023 and December 2023. Malappuram district which is located in the southern Indian state of Kerala, is known for its Kerala model of development and foremost position in the marine fisheries sector. Employing statistical tools such as chi-square, independent sample t-tests, and multiple linear regression, the study analyses how migration affects the income and expenditure patterns of the marine fisherfolk community. The chi-square results reveal significant disparities in occupational choices influenced by migration. The independent sample t-test indicates a statistically significant difference in mean income between migrant and non-migrant households. The multiple linear regression model examines the influence of migration status on expenditure alongside other explanatory variables, revealing that migration status and income significantly predict expenditure, while family size and age do not. These results, taken together, offer a sophisticated picture of how migration affects the income and spending habits of the Malappuram district's fishing community. Several policy suggestions can be made in light of these findings to reduce inequalities and improve the standard of living for households headed by migrant and non-migrant fishermen. Migrant fishermen can increase their income levels and have more career options by implementing focused skill development and training programs. The community can be empowered and long-term benefits can be ensured by supporting education and awareness programs that emphasize sustainable fishing practices and financial literacy.

The process of developing and implementing health and nursing policy: Implications of research and opportunities to influence.

To provide insight into the process of developing health and nursing policy and how that process can be influenced by both researchers and nursing leaders. Nurses care for people across the life course from birth to death, in our communities, hospitals, care homes and schools. They have unique insight into how people live their lives and how this affects their health. Despite being well placed to influence health policy, nurses often fail to capitalise on this. At the same time, academics often struggle to identify the policy implications of their research resulting in further missed opportunities to use policy influence. Classical policy theory, which is predominantly drawn from economics and public administration together with a range of contemporary nursing and health policy studies, is used in this paper to discuss the policy process and opportunities to influence. Researchers need to focus on realistic policy suggestions that aim to raise awareness, highlight policy problems or set the agenda. In turn, nursing leaders, from National Nursing Associations, need to harness evidence to support their efforts to influence policy. In terms of influence, a range of approaches exist, and each lends itself to different parts of the policy cycle. The role nurses can play in health policy is not well developed in many countries. Nursing researchers and leaders are well placed to influence policy but must do so in a clear and pragmatic way recognising that policymakers make decisions despite being faced with conflicting evidence, competing demands and economic imperatives. Recognising that nurses can offer much in terms of policy development, the paper argues that a pragmatic approach based on different forms of influence at different stages is likely to be most successful. The evidence reviewed in this paper suggests that nursing academics and leaders need to identify realistic policy interventions when examining their own empirical work or identifying ways to individually or collectively influence policymakers.

Analysis of Factors Influencing Total Retail Sales of Consumer Goods in Hainan Province, China

The total retail sales of social consumer goods is a comprehensive reflection of a country's consumption capacity, consumption structure and living standard, which is of great significance for evaluating a country's economic vitality and social development level. In recent years, with the continuous expansion of the consumer market and the improvement of consumers' purchasing power, the total retail sales of social consumer goods has continued to grow, and its role in the national economy has gradually increased. However, there are many factors that affect the total retail sales of social consumer goods, including economic environment, policies and regulations, consumer behavior and so on. Under this background, this paper takes Hainan Province as the empirical research object, and selects per capita disposable income, rural residents' per capita disposable income, gross domestic product, resident population at the end of the year and local government's general budget expenditure as explanatory variables to analyze the factors affecting the total retail sales of social consumer goods. The results show that the average disposable income of rural residents and the general budget expenditure of local governments are significant factors affecting the total retail sales of social consumer goods in Hainan Province. Finally, the model is analyzed economically, and some conclusions are drawn, and some policy suggestions are put forward.

Are South Korea’s Environmental Policies Rational? An Analysis Focusing on Fine Dust Programs in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

Since 2018, the government of South Korea has strengthened its environmental policies to solve the problem of fine particulate matter in the air. Because of these strict regulations, diesel cars have been replaced with cleaner vehicles, and coal power plants have been shut down. Despite these government efforts, some researchers assert that fine dust programs have failed in Seoul, the capital of Korea. In other words, they conclude that the central and local governments designed and implemented the policies unreasonably. Despite these critics, this study attempts to prove that the government has thoroughly and meticulously prepared its policies on fine particles. Also, it tries to demonstrate that the policy scheme has been properly established. To attain these research goals, the theory of procedural rationality is adopted and utilized. As a result of the analysis, six steps of procedural rationality were identified in the Korean policy on fine dust: problem identification, goal setting, searching for alternatives, consequence prediction, comparison of alternatives, and policy decision. In conclusion, this study provides suggestions for environmental policies in other metropolitan cities, especially in developing countries that suffer from severe air pollution.

Unveiling the dynamic nexuses between foreign investment, trade openness, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions in South Africa: A vector error correction model approach

Amidst the rising carbon emissions posing significant challenges for the global environment, there exists an inadequate recognition of the profound implications associated with foreign investment, trade openness, and energy consumption in South Africa. This study investigates the dynamic relationship among foreign investment, trade, energy, and the interactive effect of foreign investment and trade openness on environmental pollution in South Africa using time series data from 1990 to 2020. The results from the Johansen cointegration analysis and vector error correction model confirm a sustained long-term relationship among foreign investment, trade, energy, and CO2 emissions. This suggests that any deviations from CO2 emissions equilibrium would gradually self-adjust autonomously. This study reveals the long-run positive effects of trade openness and energy consumption on environmental pollution, while foreign investment exhibits a persistent negative impact on environmental pollution in the long run. Economic growth reduces CO2 emissions, while population growth and inflation are detrimental to the environment in the long run. The interaction between foreign investment and trade reduces environmental pollution in the short and long run. The Granger causality tests show a two-way causal relationship between population growth and CO2 emissions and a one-way causal connection among other variables, enlightening the linkage among these critical factors. The study offers several policy suggestions including environmentally friendly trade practices, investing in energy efficiency and transition, and promoting sustainable foreign investment in South Africa to achieve long-term economic sustainability while curbing environmental impact.

Exploring the Impact of Financial Development on Water–Energy Efficiency in Western China

The western region of China is a fundamental ecological protection barrier for China. The conflict between regional economic development and ecological environmental protection has always existed in the region. This study first evaluated the water–energy efficiency (WEE) of 11 provinces in western China from 2011 to 2019 using the super-slacks-based model with undesirable outputs and analyzed their spatiotemporal characteristics. It then investigated the influence of financial development level on WEE. The results indicate that (a) the WEE in Western China was at a relatively low level, showing an upward trend from 2011 to 2016 and fluctuating after 2016; (b) financial development levels had U-shaped impacts on the WEE of Western China, which reduced at first and then rose; (c) increasing technological innovation capabilities and trade openness had positive impacts on WEE in Western China, while urbanization level had a negative effect on WEE; and (d) an examination of robustness using two different methods showed that the test results are consistent with the above conclusions. Therefore, this study has robustness. We also put forward corresponding policy suggestions, such as increasing financial support for clean and low-carbon industries, increasing input in science and technology, vigorously developing cleaner and environmentally friendly foreign trade, and implementing a new type of urbanization strategy, to promote the WEE of Western China.

Development Status of Digital RMB Under the Background of Blockchain Technology: Theoretical Practice and Policy Suggestions

Development Status of Digital RMB Under the Background of Blockchain Technology: Theoretical Practice and Policy Suggestions

Exploring the Supporting Role of Finance in the Development of Clean Energy in China Based on the Panel Vector Autoregressive Model

The efficient development and widespread utilization of clean energy hold global significance, particularly for developing countries like China, which has committed to carbon peak and neutrality targets. In this context, the financial sector plays a crucial role in supporting the renewable energy industry, ensuring a reliable energy supply for economic growth. To statistically assess the impact of financial characteristics—such as financial efficiency, financial size, and green finance—this paper employs a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model with province-level data from China spanning the period 1991 to 2018. The key findings demonstrate that (1) financial factors significantly contribute to the development of clean energy in China, and among these factors, financial scale has a greater impact than financial efficiency and green finance; (2) there are distinct regional variations in how financial development affects the clean energy sector, and the role of financial scale is particularly pronounced in the central and western regions of China while the impact of financial efficiency on the clean energy industry is not significant across all regions; and (3) other drivers—including industrial structure, financial expenditure, and technological advancements—also spur the growth of the clean energy industry. However, due to diminishing marginal effects, the forces driving its growth may gradually diminish. Therefore, the article proposes critical policy suggestions for promoting clean energy development in China. These policies should consider the regional context and address both financial and non-financial aspects. Understanding the interplay between finance, regional dynamics, and clean energy development is crucial for achieving sustainable and resilient energy systems in China.

Efficiency of Agricultural Insurance in Facilitating Modern Agriculture Development: From the Perspective of Production Factor Allocation

Agricultural insurance is instrumental in consolidating the gains of poverty alleviation and advancing rural revitalization. It significantly aids in the efficient allocation of agricultural production factors, which in turn enhances agricultural output and bolsters the evolution of modern agriculture. Therefore, utilizing data from 583 household surveys and employing endogenous transformation and intermediary effect models, this paper analyzes the production factor allocation effect and specific mechanism of agricultural insurance. It focuses on small-scale farmers and new agricultural operators, exploring how insurance contributes to the advancement of modern agricultural practices. The results show the following: (1) Agriculture insurance can significantly affect the agricultural scale input behavior of farmers such as land input scale and input scale, agricultural machinery application behavior such as the degree of mechanization and water conservancy application, agricultural technology adoption behavior, and planting structure selection behavior, thereby helping to modernize agriculture. (2) There is heterogeneity in the impact of agriculture insurance on the allocation of production factors for small farmers and new agricultural operators. For small farmers, agriculture insurance has a significant promoting effect on their agricultural machinery application behavior, agricultural technology adoption behavior, and planting structure selection behavior. For new agricultural operators, agriculture insurance significantly promotes their agricultural scale input behavior, agricultural machinery application behavior, and agricultural technology adoption behavior. (3) In terms of the mechanism of action, agriculture insurance mainly promotes agricultural scale input behavior through land transfer, facilitates agricultural machinery application behavior by purchasing agricultural machinery equipment and services, encourages agricultural technology adoption behavior by strengthening agricultural technology training, and enhances professional production levels by increasing the scale of insured planting, thereby contributing to the development of modern agriculture. Based on this, several policy suggestions have been proposed. These include enhancing the directionality of agriculture insurance policies, improving the collaborative interaction mechanism between agriculture insurance and agricultural credit financing, and adopting certain reward and punishment measures to curb moral hazard.

Research on the Institutional Mechanism of Promoting Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Collaborative Innovation

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei collaborative innovation is an advanced stage of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei collaborative development, and is an important manifestation and core force of regional collaborative development in the new era. Under the new situation, with the deepening of the national innovation-driven development strategy, promoting the formation of a collaborative innovation community and building a collaborative innovation mechanism have become the key initiatives to promote the high-quality collaborative development of Beijing-TianjinHebei in the new era. This paper firstly discusses the status quo, development significance and problems of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei collaborative innovation, clarifies the top-level logical structure of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei collaborative innovation mechanism, so as to further clarify the goal, structure and operation mechanism of constructing Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei collaborative innovation community,and puts forward the corresponding policy suggestions to optimize the development path of promoting Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei collaborative innovation, so as to provide a reference for further enhancing the level of collaborative innovation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and pushing the development of collaborative innovation to a higher level. The development of collaborative innovation in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei will be pushed to a higher level and achieve common prosperity.

Analysis on the spatial correlation network and driving factors of carbon emissions in China's logistics industry

Promoting the green development of the logistics industry has become a focal point of attention in China. This study combines an improved gravity model and social network analysis method, focusing on the nineteen provinces of the Yangtze Economic Belt and Yellow River Basin. It constructs a spatial correlation network of carbon emissions in the logistics industry from 2010 to 2021, exploring its formation mechanism and spatial evolution characteristics. The study utilizes a quadratic assignment procedure model to investigate internal driving factors. Building upon this, the study employs an improved STIRPAT model to predict the emission reduction path of the future logistics industry. Results are as follows: (1) Carbon consumption is most pronounced in Shandong, Jiangsu, and Shanghai. The carbon emission shows the characteristics of larger downstream; (2) The bridges of carbon emission-related networks gradually shift from Shandong to Shanxi, Anhui, and Sichuan. Carbon emissions in each sector and spatial spillover effects exhibit dynamic correlations and interactive influences; (3) Energy intensity, freight volume, and the spatial correlation network of the logistics industry are highly correlated; (4) The overall carbon emissions from the logistics industry show a decreasing trend in the future. Anhui and Shaanxi provinces will have high carbon emissions in 2035. The conclusions aim to provide policy suggestions for the region's low-carbon transformation.