Government Preferences Research Articles

The impact of local government preferences on environmental regulation: evidence from China’s national key ecological function zones

ABSTRACT This study examines the influence of local government preferences on the effectiveness of environmental regulation. Leveraging the establishment of China’s National Key Ecological Function Zones (NKEFZs), we apply a difference-in-differences strategy to explore how different regions respond to environmental regulation. We find that in higher-income NKEFZs, environmental quality improves while economic growth slows. In contrast, in lower-income NKEFZs, economic growth accelerates due to the transfer of production capacity from higher-income NKEFZs, though environmental improvements are minimal. Local governments with differing preferences influence the implementation of environmental regulations through industrial restructuring. This study provides novel insights into the differentiated effects of environmental regulation across regions.

Unveiling the link of country compliance, risks, and cost of capital in socially responsible investing

The study provides empirical evidence on the cost implications of socially responsible investing (SRI) in relation to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) preferences. Specifically, it examines whether socially responsible investors incur higher costs to meet non-pecuniary goals and how government involvement can offer rewards to socially responsible investors in supporting the realization of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using panel data regression, this study analyzes ESG scores and financial and return data of 1,450 firm-year observations in ASEAN-5 countries over the period 2015–2022. The findings reveal that firms implementing ESG practices experience an increase in their cost of capital (CoC), supporting the notion that ESG investment requires a sacrificial cost. Even firms with low operational risks face rising CoC when implementing ESG principles. However, the study also finds that firms located in countries with better government effectiveness and stronger control of corruption benefit from a reduction in CoC, despite ESG implementation. Conversely, country risks, particularly those related to environmental pollution, exacerbate the CoC for firms adhering to ESG criteria. Overall, the results suggest that while country-level governance can reward socially responsible investors by mitigating CoC, country risks such as pollution pose additional burdens, highlighting the need for government intervention to incentivize SRI and align it with global sustainability goals. AcknowledgmentThis research was funded by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Research, and Technology (DRTPM), Fundamental Research Grant in 2024 [0609.10/LL5-INT/AL.04/2024,359/D.01/LPPM/2024].

Domestic ideas and interests in development cooperation of emerging donors: the case of Mexican development policy

ABSTRACT As emerging donors play a growing role in international development cooperation, attention has turned to understanding their motivations and strategies. While current studies predominantly draw on the role of power, economic interests and values in emerging donors’ development assistance towards the Global South, there has been a lack of attention to the role of domestic ideas and interests in governmental preference formation. How do these domestic factors shape ideational and material interests-driven development policy preferences? Drawing on the case of Mexico under the government of President Calderón, this study analyses bilateral development assistance through a domestic politics lens of international political economy. I argue that while the government's rhetorical stance significantly correlates with dominant societal ideas, domestic interests provide only a limited explanation for development policy choices. This study enriches the literature by revealing the often-hidden domestic roots of value-based and interest-driven development assistance preferences among donors.

The partisanship of a central banker

Even if formally established as independent, central banks may still be subject to partisan influences. The paper uses a simple new-Keynesian framework to model these influences as quiescence (i.e. when the central bank aligns with the ideological preferences of the incumbent government) or demurral (i.e. when the central bank moves away from the ideological preferences of the incumbent). The partisanship of the central bank then depends on which of these two prevails. The empirical analysis shows that different patterns of quiescence and demurral occur in different countries at different times. There is however also evidence that in some circumstances the conduct of monetary policy is non-partisan; that is, neither quiescence nor demurral prevails.

The Impact of Multi-Goal Constraints of Government on Corporate Green Technology Innovation

ABSTRACT This study mainly investigates the impact of government multiple-goal constraint on green technology innovation by utilizing data for 4,822 enterprises from 2008 to 2021. The panel estimations support the positive impact of government constraint on green technology innovation which the government prefer environmental goal. Moreover, the mechanism of the industry policy has been investigated. The government prefer subsidy tools to support green innovation than tax deduction. The results reveal that the central government should improve the appraisal system of officials and the local governments should adjust the investment structure.

The current policy focus shift from a sectoral to a territorial governance of wildfire reduction is aligned with forest owners’ preferences

Land management for wildfire reduction has been said to require new governance arrangements that ensure the coordination at the local level among landowners and between them and other relevant private and public actors. To promote a shift in the policy approach to wildfire mitigation from the current focus on fuel management, within the forestry sector, to a more effective cross-sectoral landscape transformation, this governance problem takes on even greater importance. Given the diversity of owners within a territory, our main goal is to identify a governance arrangement that match the heterogeneity of owners’ preferences for alternative governance options.Based on a face-to-face survey of 497 owners in a fire-prone region, four types of owners have been identified using a cluster analysis based on management practices and socioeconomic context. Our results show that the type of owner helps explaining their preferences for alternative governance options. Owners that are more active (e.g. regular forest interventions) and have stronger links to the forestry sector, through regular timber sales and participation in forest owner organizations, favor the keeping of individual management over the delegation of management on others or the renting or selling of the land. Although many of these owners see forest organizations alone as the best entities to promote wildfire mitigation, the majority would prefer solutions that also integrate local authorities. Owners that are less active (e.g. no forest interventions) and have weaker links to the sector (no timber sales and no enrollment in forest organizations) consider renting or selling the land, and view a combination of both local authorities and forest organizations as the best solution to promote wildfire reduction at the local level.We conclude that a multi-actor (public-private) territorially-based governance model fits both the required transition in the policy approach and the diverse preferences of different owner types.

Populism and the liberal international order: An analysis of UN voting patterns

AbstractPopulism is often assumed to undermine the liberal world order, but this claim has never been tested systematically. In this study, we do so for the first time. Based on an understanding of populism as a “thin-centered ideology” entailing anti-elitism and people-centrism, we expect populist governments to have foreign policy preferences opposed to the core features of the US-led liberal international order. Our empirical analysis assesses government preferences on the liberal international order as expressed through UN General Assembly votes. Our findings support the expectation that populism has a strong and statistically significant negative impact on foreign policy preferences related to the core norms of the liberal international order. Moreover, we find that populists with a left-wing ideology and those in less democratic countries tend to be more opposed to the US-led liberal international order. However, populist governments do not reject the UNGA as such, as they are not more likely to be absent from UNGA votes than other states. Thereby, this study makes a contribution both to the burgeoning literature on the international implications of populism and to debates on the crisis of the liberal order.

Towards a trusted genomics repository: Identifying commercialisation fears and preferred forms of governance across segments of the community.

A latent class analysis on a nationally representative Australian sample (N = 1000) identified four subgroups (i.e. classes), ranging from high to low concern about, and willingness to donate to, a national genomic repository under different forms of public and commercial management and access. The distribution of concerns and governance preferences across these classes was investigated. This added to previous research by indicating the degree to which extant concerns (e.g. corporate profiteering, discrimination by insurers) are held by different segments of the community. Based on the governance mechanisms that had widespread support across segments, the following recommendations are made to develop a trusted Australian genomic repository: the repository cannot be solely profit-driven; can utilise an access committee; protections (e.g. ensuring confidentiality of donors) may not require new legislation; data users cannot retain data for future research; the public should remain informed about the intended and/or actual benefits of research.

Examining Government Preference for Enhancing Islamic Education Through Regulatory Review

Government regulations on Islamic education in Indonesia have provided significant clarity and fulfilled educational needs within a developing society. These regulations demonstrate democratic, cultural, and adaptable qualities in the legal framework of Islamic education. However, challenges remain in achieving parity between Islamic and general education policies. This research employed a literature review approach, analyzing data from books, scientific articles, and research reports. A comparative and historical analysis was conducted to assess the impact of government policies on Islamic education. The findings reveal three key outcomes: (1) Government policies have shaped Islamic education to help students understand and practice their religious teachings across various levels of general education; (2) The Ministry of Religion has been granted autonomy to determine Islamic education curriculum policies; and (3) Political efforts to equalize the status of Islamic education with general education have encountered significant challenges, hindering policy development. The research highlights the ongoing struggle to integrate Islamic education within the broader educational system, which continues to present obstacles for policymakers. Despite these challenges, the autonomy granted to the Ministry of Religion marks progress in shaping the curriculum according to Islamic values. The study provides valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders, offering guidance on improving Islamic education policies in Indonesia. Further efforts are necessary to address the political challenges that affect the development and implementation of Islamic education laws.

Social care provision for older adults in China: Regional disparities and driving factors

AbstractIn the context of rapid ageing, the scale and distribution of social care resources for older adults in China are undergoing significant changes. Based on the macroscopic samples of the National Statistical Yearbooks from 2011 to 2021, this study examines the regional disparities, dynamic evolution, and drivers of social care provision for older adults in China. The results reveal that while the overall level of social care provision for older adults has consistently improved, significant regional disparities persist. The most abundant social care resources have long been concentrated in the economically prosperous coastal regions. Although overall disparities have shown a fluctuating downward trend over time, the absolute gaps across certain economic regions continue to widen. Furthermore, this study identifies several driving factors behind senior social care provision, including regional economic conditions, government preferences for welfare fiscal expenditure, regional consumption patterns, and urbanisation rates. However, the increase in local financial autonomy has a negative impact on the provision of social care for older adults. The findings highlight the importance of developing a more scientific fiscal oversight mechanism, creating region‐specific policies, and addressing the needs of older migrants to achieve the goal of equalising social care provision for older adults.

Remanufacturing in global supply chains: Self-operating or licensing?

Nowadays, globalization and decarbonization have emerged as new normals for supply chains worldwide. In this paper, we investigate remanufacturing strategies within a global supply chain, aiming to provide managerial insights through the research to assist businesses in better integrating into the new normals. Within the global supply chain, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) located in the home country sells its products to a foreign country through a local retailer. To establish a closed-loop supply chain, the OEM faces two strategic choices, i.e., self-operating remanufacturing in its home country (Strategy A) or licensing remanufacturing to a local remanufacturer (LR) in the foreign country (Strategy B). Utilizing game-theoretical models, our study first explores the operational decisions regarding quantities and prices made by the OEM, the retailer, and the LR. The analysis reveals that a higher cost disparity between the new and remanufactured products or lower cross-border recycling costs for used products can potentially stimulate firms’ incentives for recycling and remanufacturing. Second, upon comparing the equilibrium profits under the two strategies, we demonstrate that lower cross-border recycling costs consistently encourage the OEM to opt for self-operating remanufacturing. Interestingly, we find that the impact of the production cost disparity on the OEM’s strategic choice is non-monotonic; that is, either a low or high disparity of cost can incentivize the OEM to choose licensing remanufacturing, whereas a moderate cost disparity leads to self-operating remanufacturing. We also explored the impact of remanufacturing strategies on sustainability. Furthermore, we have examined governmental preferences regarding firms’ adoption of remanufacturing strategies. Our findings indicate that both countries can benefit from the OEM’s self-operating remanufacturing, providing an explanation as to why cross-border recycling and remanufacturing are not entirely prohibited by governments worldwide.

Role preferences for ethnic autonomous region government in emergency management in China

China's ethnic autonomous regions, inhabited by diverse ethnic groups and located near national borders or at provincial intersections, confront complex natural, relatively underdeveloped economic, and ethnic harmony challenges. Governments balance central government-assigned tasks and ethnic harmony, showing varied responses: some prioritize stability, others focus on management, and some are indifferent to local emergencies. Given this phenomenon, why do governments in these regions vary in their responses to emergencies? This research, based on government role theory, examines how role preferences influence government behavior in emergency management, identifying two key roles: economic man and social man, and establishes a four-quadrant role analysis framework: : local guardian, political competitor, moral paragon, and indifferent bystander. Grounded theory explains these roles and evaluation indicators, with evaluations from 44 scholars gathered via questionnaire, and the indicator weights determined using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The weight matrix then calculates economic man (X) and social man (Y) values for 272 cases based on expert scores. The research results reveal that (1) these governments exhibit an overall role preference of “local guardian > political competitor > indifferent bystander > moral paragon” in emergency management. (2) This ranking also reflects their preference for the economic man role. (3) Factors contributing to this ranking include cultural differences, administrative contracting, and performance tournaments within the Chinese system and administrative ethics. These findings provide theoretical insights into emergency management role preferences in multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and even multicultural regions, ultimately aiming to enhance local government emergency management efficiency, optimize policy formulation, and ensure community resilience.

Unraveling the relationship between sustainability and returns: a multi-attribute utility analysis

PurposeThis study aims to establish an analytical framework to help investors accommodate their environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) preferences. The analytical solutions were complemented by empirical analyses to shed light on their benefits and tractability.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposes an expected multi-attribute utility analysis for ESG investors in which stocks can be treated as more green or less green (brown) than the market, represented by an index, all modeled in a one-factor structure. The solution is found via the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation with proper treatment of various sources of risk. For the empirical analysis, we use the RepRisk Rating of US stocks from 2010 to 2020 to select companies that are representative of various ESG ratings.FindingsThis study finds closed-form solutions for optimal allocations, wealth and value functions. Our empirical analysis reveals drastic increases in wealth allocation toward high-rated ESG stocks for ESG-sensitive investors, even as the overall level of pecuniary satisfaction remains unchanged.Originality/valueThis study broadens the existing analytical framework by introducing a market portfolio along with green and brown stocks. As by-products, we first demonstrate that investors do not need to reduce their pecuniary satisfaction to increase green investment. Second, we propose a parameterization to capture investors' preferences for green assets over brown or market assets, independent of asset performance.

From Tradition to Technology: Societal and Educational Impacts on Job Preferences in Oman

This study explores Omani undergraduate students’ employment readiness, job preferences, and the impact of English language proficiency, within the framework of Oman Vision 2040. Through qualitative analysis of interviews with 43 first-year students, seven themes emerged: occupational preferences, influences on career choices, technology-centric careers, preference for government versus private sector jobs, English proficiency as a prerequisite for employment, societal valuation of English skills, and English for global integration and mobility. The findings reveal a strong preference for comfortable, less physically demanding white-collar jobs, underscoring the need for educational reforms that align curricula with modern job market demands, particularly in enhancing STEM education and digital literacy. English language proficiency has been seen as crucial for securing desirable jobs, highlighting the necessity for comprehensive English training programs across all educational levels. Societal expectations and personal ambitions significantly influence career choices, with a preference for prestigious white-collar jobs over traditional professions. The study recommends educational interventions to address these evolving job preferences, promote all forms of work, and support the critical role of English proficiency in employment and career advancement. These insights contribute to the broader goals of economic diversification and sustainability outlined in Oman Vision 2040, offering valuable perspectives for policymakers, educators, and researchers.

Financing constraints of firms: Is there political favoritism in the economic resources given by the central government?

AbstractEconomic resources within the jurisdiction of local governments in China shape the external financing environment of enterprises. However, few studies have focused on China's unique political hierarchy, which results in differentiated access to economic resources for different levels of local governments and substantially affects local corporate financing constraints. This paper examines the impact of city political hierarchy on firm financing constraints among Chinese A‐share listed firms from 2004 to 2019. We use the 200,000 population criterion for delineating the political hierarchy of cities in 1927 as the cutoff for fuzzy regression discontinuity design to identify causal effects. The results show that the greater a city's political rank is, the lower its financing constraints are. The mechanism suggests that the central government provides more financial and political resources to high‐level cities, directly and indirectly influencing the financing constraints of firms. In addition, high‐level cities' government preferences, bank loans, debt financing costs, and business credit are vital channels at the firm level. However, this effect varies depending on the ownership and size of the firm.

Kinh tế số nhìn từ thành công của Đan Mạch và bài học kinh nghiệm cho Việt Nam

Digital economic development is an inevitable trend of modern society based on the application of information and communications technology to socio-economic development. With large data scale and fast processing speed, the digital economy has given birth to new business models and highly digitized goods and services. Based on the synthesis of general theoretical issues related to the digital economy, the article focuses on researching Denmark's experience in developing the digital economy and drawing some practical lessons to suggest applications for Vietnam in the process of promoting the implementation of the Digital Economy and Digital Society Development Strategy to 2025, with a vision to 2030. At the same time, to accomplish the goal of the article, the author used the research method of synthesizing and analyzing secondary data from documents and scientific works published domestically and internationally related to the topic research problem and the scope of the study in terms of time is from the period 2016- 2024 and the Danish government's orientation to 2025.

Demographic change threat, preference for nondemocratic governance, and support for political violence

Demographic change threat, preference for nondemocratic governance, and support for political violence

An investment evaluation and incentive allocation model for public-private partnerships in renewable energy development projects

This study proposes an investment evaluation and incentive allocation model for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in renewable energy development projects (REDPs). A hybrid multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) and bi-level optimization model are proposed to evaluate investment opportunities and allocate government financial incentives (GFIs) to REDPs. The best-worst method (BWM) is used to weigh the evaluation criteria. VIKOR and grey relational analysis (GRA) rank and allocate GFIs to the private sector companies selected to participate in the REDPs. The government uses the PPP to persuade digital services companies in the private sector to invest in underdeveloped REDPs using financial incentives with minimal risk and maximum return. An iterative full-enumeration-based heuristic model is developed to handle the computational intractability in the bi-level model. The computational results show that political and financial support and land use are the most and the least important criteria, respectively. Moreover, we show that the government prefers to allocate a significant portion of its GFIs to waste heat recovery and hydropower in partnership with digital services companies. The results from the bi-level model help government agencies and policymakers offer equitable incentive programs in the energy sectors.

Free riding is not the problem: how agency, heterogeneity and authority challenge collective action against antimicrobial resistance in the European Union

ABSTRACT This paper outlines a contextual approach to the governance of collective action in high complexity contexts. Using the major public health threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Europe as empirical case, we investigate the coordination challenges related to a plurality of agency, heterogeneity of capabilities, preferences and institutions, and various degrees and forms of authority. The analysis draws on original quantitative and qualitative data on senior public servants’ and experts’ preferences for governance arrangements. Allowing for variation in agency, heterogeneity and authority, we identify factors preventing or facilitating transnational governance and explain how and why these factors persist. The pattern of experts’ governance preferences as indicated in surveys and interviews suggests that when collective action fails, it can often be attributed to the heterogeneity among EU member states in terms of their willingness and capacity to address AMR. Also, networks of AMR experts are seen as critical to successful governance, both in the human public health sector where formal authority is limited and in animal health where the EU has extensive formal authority. In human public health, networks are instruments for exchanging ideas, knowledge and learning while in animal health networks support hierarchies and facilitate horizontal coordination.

Climate change adaptation projects of transport facilities: is a demonstrator necessary?

AbstractTransport facilities are increasingly threatened by the climate-change related natural disasters in recent years. In order to incentivize the transport facility operators to engage in climate change adaptation, governments may provide subsidies to the adaptation investment. Due to the substantial uncertainties in the outcomes of the adaptation projects, the government can set up an “experiment” project, which can be used as a demonstrator. In this paper, we develop real-option game models to investigate the transport facility operators’ adaptation investment under static stochastic demand and time-varying stochastic demand. Meanwhile, the government’s optimal decisions on whether to set up a demonstrator and the related subsidy policies are also examined. We find that under static stochastic demand, the government prefers to set up a demonstrator if the marginal benefit of the adaptation capacity is larger than its marginal cost, or the demonstration effect is high enough. Under time-varying stochastic demand, the government prefers to set up a demonstrator when the demand volatility is low. Moreover, increasing demand volatility requires less (or more) subsidy, when the demonstrator is (or is not) set up. Increasing demand volatility leads to postponement of the adaptation timing and more adaptation investment, irrespective of whether there is a demonstrator.