Policy Priorities Research Articles

Understanding how and why travel mode changes: analysis of longitudinal qualitative interviews

BackgroundEncouraging alternatives to the car such as walking, cycling or public transport is a key cross-sector policy priority to promote population and planetary health. Individual travel choices are shaped by individual and environmental contexts, and changes in these contexts – triggered by key events – can translate to changes in travel mode. Understanding how and why these changes happen can help uncover more generalisable findings to inform future intervention research. This study aimed to identify the mechanisms and contexts facilitating changes in travel mode.MethodsProspective longitudinal qualitative cohort study utilising semi-structured interviews at baseline (in 2021), three- and six-month follow up. Participants were residents in a new town in Cambridgeshire, UK, where design principles to promote walking, cycling and public transport were used at the planning stage. At each interview, we followed a topic guide asking participants about previous and current travel patterns and future intentions. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Data analysis used the framework approach based on realist evaluation principles identifying the context and mechanisms described by participants as leading to travel behaviour change.ResultsWe conducted 42 interviews with 16 participants and identified six mechanisms for changes in travel mode. These entailed increasing or reducing access, reliability and financial cost, improving convenience, increasing confidence and raising awareness. Participants described that these led to changes in travel mode in contexts where their existing travel mode had been disrupted, particularly in terms of reducing access or reliability or increasing cost, and where there were suitable alternative travel modes for their journey. Experiences of the new travel mode played a role in future travel intentions.ImplicationsApplying realist evaluation principles to identify common mechanisms for changes in travel mode has the potential to inform future intervention strategies. Future interventions using mechanisms that reduce access to, reduce reliability of, or increase the financial cost of car use may facilitate modal shift to walking, cycling and public transport when implemented in contexts where alternative travel modes are available and acceptable.

Federal focus on education initiatives wins broad public support Findings from the 56th annual PDK Poll

Preparing students to enter the workforce and attracting and retaining good teachers are Americans’ top educational priorities for the next administration in Washington, regardless of who wins the upcoming presidential election, the 2024 PDK Poll finds. While eight in 10 or more Americans pick those two items as priorities, other policy priorities also win broad support. Seven in 10 — or more — favor an increased focus on addressing student mental health, helping students who have fallen behind academically, and college affordability. The survey was produced by Langer Research Associates for PDK International, with data collected June 21 to July 1, 2024, in English and Spanish, among a representative, random national sample of 1,009 adults.

Rethinking Industrial Strategies and the State: A Global South Perspective

Abstract: After decades of opposition and neglect in the context of a dominating neoliberal approach to markets and institutions, industrial policy has experienced a renaissance. In the wake of financial, climate, and health crises, setting a sound industrial strategy has emerged as an absolute policy priority. Yet contemporary industrial strategies remain bound by outdated frameworks and preconceptions. Those shaped by the Global North in particular fall short of addressing the unique challenges Global South countries face, including limited state capacity, dependence on volatile global markets, and colonial legacies. These factors necessitate a radical rethinking of industrial strategy. The article argues that to avoid reproducing the mainstream view of state intervention, industrial strategy should fundamentally rethink the role of the state—not as a market fixer, but as a capable and confident market shaper.

Identifying Service, Research and Policy priorities for preventing the impacts of family adversity on children’s mental health: An Australian national resource allocation study with professional and lived experience experts

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to develop Service, Research and Policy priorities to prevent the impact of family adversity on child mental health and determine comparative priorities of diverse stakeholders to those with lived experience of adversity. MethodsValue-weighting approach conducted in a staged process: (i) professionals and experts with lived experience from health, education, justice and social care sectors attended a national symposium to identify priorities for family adversity and mental health and (ii) a subsequent resource allocation survey gathered views from participants and external experts on symposium priorities. ResultsConsensus was reached on priorities. Service priorities included establishing intersectoral hubs for children and families and early childhood nurse home-visiting programs. Research priorities included scaling up evidence-based interventions and evaluating cross-sector, flexible funding models for services addressing childhood adversity. Policy priorities included developing evidence-based policies with evaluation and implementation plans and flexible funding models to support integrated care. ConclusionsOur results provide detailed and actionable clarity on next steps to address family adversities. Implications for Public HealthThe priorities call for a focus on cross-sectoral approaches to preventing or mitigating the effects of family adversity. The current Australian policy environment provides a timely opportunity to action the proposed interventions.

러시아 연방의 기후 및 환경 문제에 대한 인식과 정책

Climate and environmental issues are one of the biggest threats to sustainable development of mankind. Russia is warming faster than the planet as a whole. In this process, climate and environmental policy in Russia is directly linked to national goals, strategic goal setting, and economic conditions, starting with the production of natural resources. As such, it has gone through several stages of coordination to ensure the rational use of resources. Russia’s national strategy is characterized by the fact that raw materials play an important role in the country’s economic structure. However, Russia is also bound to change due to climate and environmental change. In order to understand how Russia can shift its policy priorities in the process of climate and environmental change, it is necessary to study the current situation and policy changes in Russia.

A Research of Identifying Policy Priorities for Urban Shrinkage Management: Focusing on the Delphi-AHP Approach Targeting Managers of Small and Medium-sized Cities in Northern and Northeastern Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

A Research of Identifying Policy Priorities for Urban Shrinkage Management: Focusing on the Delphi-AHP Approach Targeting Managers of Small and Medium-sized Cities in Northern and Northeastern Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Unveiling complementarities between mangrove restoration and global sustainable development goals

Indonesia, renowned as the most mangrove-rich nation, has committed to extensive mangrove restoration policies, but the effects of these policies have yet to be systematically evaluated. Our study conducts a comprehensive network analysis to investigate the synergies between mangrove restoration policy and global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achievements by exploring their interactions. This investigation follows the ‘product space’ method in economics and creates the ‘Mangrove-SDG space’ to assess each metric pair's co-occurrence and comparative advantages with validated stability. Our analysis unveils a tripartite structure, encompassing socio-economic and environmental clusters, each significantly contributing to global sustainability and a distinctive mangrove cluster tied to land attributes. At the Goal level, mangrove loss showcases robust synergies with SDGs 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Change), and mangrove metrics such as tropical storm frequency and mangrove change, indicating strong interdependences between mangrove forests and SDGs. The result indicates that improved performance of climate change and responsible consumption can greatly enhance mangrove forests' performance in alleviating mangrove loss and reducing tropical storms. Moreover, our analysis underscores the central roles played by ‘bridge’ Goals. Indicator-level space details how they warrant prioritization because of their cascade synergistic enhancements across widely interconnected indicators, triggering systematic positive improvements. Turning to Indonesia, we advocate a strategic shift from solely expanding mangrove extent to focusing on four critical policy priorities: effective nitrogen management, enhancing Ramsar site efficiency, optimizing logistic performance, and addressing urban population conditions. These priorities are pivotal to seeking complementarities between Indonesia's international sustainability commitment and fostering mangrove restoration success.

Unhealthy Food and Beverage Marketing to Children in the Digital Age: Global Research and Policy Challenges and Priorities.

Food and nonalcoholic beverage marketing is implicated in poor diet and obesity in children. The rapid growth and proliferation of digital marketing has resulted in dramatic changes to advertising practices and children's exposure. The constantly evolving and data-driven nature of digital food marketing presents substantial challenges for researchers seeking to quantify the impact on children and for policymakers tasked with designing and implementing restrictive policies. We outline the latest evidence on children's experience of the contemporary digital food marketing ecosystem, conceptual frameworks guiding digital food marketing research, the impact of digital food marketing on dietary outcomes, and the methods used to determine impact, and we consider the key research and policy challenges and priorities for the field. Recent methodological and policy developments represent opportunities to apply novel and innovative solutions to address this complex issue, which could drive meaningful improvements in children's dietary health.

Village Fund Priority Policy in Fakfak, Indonesia

The research objective of this study is to describe and analyze the implementation of the Priority Policy for the Use of Village Funds based on the Fakfak Regent's Regulation Number 20 of 2022 concerning the Amount and Priority of the Use of Village Funds for the 2022 Fiscal Year and the driving and inhibiting factors in Tanama Village, Pariwari District, Fakfak Regency, the research approach used will be used through a naturalistic (qualitative) approach with a descriptive level of explanation. The research location is in Tnama Village, Pariwari District, Fakfak Regency, West Papua. The data sources are primary data and secondary data. The data collection techniques used were observation, interviews, and documentation. Milles and Michael Huberman's Data Analysis (Interactive Model) technique was used for data analysis techniques in this research. From the results of this research, it was found that the Policy Implementation Process of Fakfak Regent Regulation Number 20 of 2022 concerning the Amount and Priority of the Use of Village Funds for the 2022 Fiscal Year in Tanama Village, Pariwari District, Fakfak Regency, is by the indicators according to Edward III which consist of Communication, Resources, Disposition and Bureaucratic Structure has been implemented well. However, there are still several obstacles that can still be overcome.

The Origins of a Fiscal Outlier: The Abandonment of a Federal VAT in the Nixon Presidency

Abstract Richard Nixon was the first president who examined the possibility of introducing a value-added tax (VAT) at the federal level in the late twentieth century. By 1970, his administration had considered recommending it alongside other domestic programs to overcome the criticism against the VAT’s regressivity, potential conflict in the federal–state tax authority, and the fragmented decision-making authority between the executive and legislative branches of the government. However, in 1971, the Nixon administration shifted their policy priority toward gaining the middle-class political support by linking local property tax relief to a federal VAT. Although they combined the two measures with a rebate to obtain consent to and confidence in them from the “opponents” among the “internalists” of policymaking and societal actors, their attempt failed to accomplish it. As a result, Nixon abandoned the federal VAT. This abandonment was a missed opportunity to introduce a federal VAT, leading the United States to become a fiscal outlier among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries: it has not yet implemented a national/federal VAT. Furthermore, this outcome marked the origin of certain historical characteristics of the American fiscal state: the use of tax expenditures, “fend-for-yourself federalism,” weak extractive capacity, and fiscal inflexibility.

Sharp Waiting-Time Bounds for Multiserver Jobs

Multiserver jobs, which are jobs that occupy multiple servers simultaneously during service, are prevalent in today’s computing clusters. But, little is known about the delay performance of systems with multiserver jobs. We consider queueing models for multiserver jobs in scaling regimes where the system load becomes heavy and meanwhile, the total number of servers in the system and the number of servers that a job needs become large. Prior work has derived upper bounds on the queueing probability in this scaling regime. However, without proper lower bounds, the existing results cannot be used to differentiate between policies. In this paper, we study the delay performance by establishing sharp bounds on the steady-state mean waiting time of multiserver jobs, where the waiting time of a job is the time spent in queueing rather than in service. We first characterize the exact order of the mean waiting time under the first come, first serve (FCFS) policy. Then, we prove a lower bound on the mean waiting time of all policies, which has an order gap with the mean waiting time under FCFS. We show that the lower bound is achievable by a priority policy that we call smallest need first (SNF). Funding: This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation [Grant ECCS-2145713]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/stsy.2023.0006 .

The Function of the Regional Development Work Plan in the Planning and Budgeting Process of Bekasi City

Based on the Bekas City RPJPD 2005 – 2025 and 2020 – 2024 RPJMD, the Bekas City Government has prepared the 2023 Bekas City RKPD based on the Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia Number 17 of 2021 concerning Guidelines for Preparing Regional Government Work Plans for 2022 because it has not been implemented. There is a new Minister of Home Affairs Regulation regarding Guidelines for Preparing Regional Government Work Plans for 2023.In this research, the author used a descriptive qualitative approach. The Regional Development Work Plan (RKPD) is a very important tool in the planning and budgeting process, as a description of annual programs and activities as the basis for General Budget Policy and Temporary Budget Ceiling Priorities. The RKPD must be reviewed by the Bekasi Inspectorate, to ensure quality there is harmony between the RPJMD and RKPD, so that the development stages per year are in accordance with those that have been determined. The review issues recommendations as a quality assurance function that must be followed up, and after the review is carried out, a Mayor's Regulation regarding RKPD is stipulated. In discussing the RAPBD, it must be based on the RKPD, and adjustments can be made to the budget ceiling for each program and activity.

Монгол улсын боловсролыг тогтвортой хөгжүүлэх үзэл санаа

This article presents findings of a social forum on concepts to develop education in Mongolia from a sustainable perspective among 1464 participants from various social groups through online and face-to-face discussion. The findings were triangulated by selected experts and national consolidation. Following the findings, we recommended a concept to develop education in Mongolia from a sustainable perspective by employing a dynamic model of education. The concept to develop education in Mongolia from a sustainable perspective emphasizes 8 components, including Education philosophy of Mongolia (as the foundation of existence), Vision (as a pole star), Values (as a compass leads to the pole star), Mongolian learner (as a future social member), Policy priorities (as assistance to Mongolian learner), Collaboration and Partnership (as public engagement), Digital transformation and Big Data (as reliable and sustainable implementation mechanism), and Education finance (as an efficiency-directed mechanism).

Rental Housing Supply and Build-to-Rent Conundrum in Australia

Traditionally, rental housing has been supplied by a large pool of individual investors who own a few units and invest their savings, with some leverage, to take advantage of the tax regime in Australia. The last five years have seen the emergence of build-to-rent (BTR) units, which are supplied by investors who own a large number of units. The state of Victoria in Australia has the largest share of these projects. In the current market and regulatory environment, the financial viability of BTR projects is low for investors and hinges on the ability of units to be leased at higher than market rents. This paper examines four groups of levers, including those already being pursued by the building industry, that can be used to improve the financial viability of BTRs. These include: (i) revenue maximization, (ii) cost reduction (iii) fiscal and (iv) planning incentives. An archetypical BTR project which mimics current practice is considered, assumed to be in Docklands, Victoria, where several BTR projects are planned. For the robustness check, a feasibility analysis is conducted for a site in North Melbourne, a neighbourhood in Victoria with several BTR projects. The results indicate that for revenue maximization, the mix of unit types in a BTR project should be location-specific, as market preferences (and the characteristics of renters) determine the rent for different types of units that can be achieved. In a conventional BTR project development, where land is bought upfront and the project is developed, the mixed-use BTR (residential in combination with commercial) does not provide significant financial benefits though including small retail (3–4% of the net lettable area) may provide complementary benefits. Incurring large capital costs upfront and having the revenue stream spread over long periods reduces financial viability. While construction costs are more difficult to reduce, ways to reduce land costs could be through zoning land for BTR use, through mechanisms such as joint ventures with landowners, and land leasing. Exemptions on income, land tax, and rates (like CHPs) can result in a higher return for investors. A full GST refund, an incentive that industry is lobbying for, results in a similar IRR as an exemption on income, land tax and rates would offer. These results will assist in determining priorities for policies that are aimed at BTR.

Developing two-dimensional indicators of transport demand and supply to promote sustainable transportation equity

Inadequate supply of transport infrastructure is often seen as a barrier to a sustainable future for cities globally. Such barriers often perpetuate significant inequalities in who can and who cannot benefit from sustainable transport opportunities, and as a result there is momentum for transformative urban planning to promote sustainable transportation equity. This study introduces a new set of two-dimensional indicators, merging elements of supply and demand, to identify barriers and imbalances in sustainable transport equity. The accessibility indicators, which are generated for bus, rail, and cycle infrastructure, consider the proximity of administrative areas to good quality transport infrastructure, as well as mode-specific demand, to clearly identify areas where the supply of infrastructure is inadequate to support local populations. We present a policy case study for Liverpool City Region, which demonstrates how these indicators can be used in an analytical framework to support transformative urban planning in long-term. In particular, the indicators reveal policy priority areas where demand for sustainable transport is greater than supply, as well as neighbourhoods where multiple transport inequalities are intersecting spatially, highlighting the need for specific types of infrastructure investment to promote sustainable transport equity (e.g. more frequent services, additional cycle paths). Our framework lays the foundations for improved decision-making in urban systems, through development of mode-specific sustainable transport indicators at small area levels, which harmonise elements of supply and demand for the first time.

Բյուջետային ծախսերի կառուցվածքի ազդեցությունը տնտեսական աճի վրա (ՀՀ օրինակով) / The impact of the public expenditures structure on economic growth: Case of Armenia

The public budget is an important lever for the state regulation of the economy: it reflects the main directions and priorities of the state economic policy. In this context, there is a lot of discussion about the dynamics of the public expenditure multiplier, as well as the interaction between the structure of these expenditures and economic growth. The study of the dynamics of the multiplier of budgetary expenditures of Armenia over the last 15 years shows that it was higher than 1, making an average of 4.5 points. As a result of the research, we evaluated the impact of Armenia's budgetary expenditures on economic growth using an econometric model, based on quarterly data from 2008-2023. The results of the research show that the increase in the productive expenditures of the state budget in Armenia, such as those spent on education, healthcare and the national economy, contribute to the GDP growth rate, while the allocation of public funds to non-productive expenditures, such as defense and social sector expenditures, has a negative impact on the GDP growth rate.

Reframing climate security: The “planetary” as policy context

Much of the discussion under the label of “climate security” focuses on potential conflicts and disruptions in peripheral locations in the global south putatively triggered by climate change. If, however the analysis starts with climate, and the earth system as the point of departure for analysis, then things look very different. The speed and scale of climate disruptions is accelerating. Earth system science suggests that urgent action is needed to deal with climate change; waiting too long may make the issue impossible to address. Framing matters in terms of a planetary condition and focusing on climate rather than national security as the starting point for analysis suggests very different policy priorities. Reframing climate security to grapple with the planetary condition requires policies that first, facilitate adaptation, second work to make sustainable habitats for humanity and third, work to drastically constrain the use of fossil fuels urgently. Here, proposals for fossil fuel non-proliferation treaties and similar measures analogous with earlier arms control agreements. This provides the security sector with a much-needed direct engagement with the causes of climate change and its resultant disruptions while simultaneously reframing climate as a matter of planetary rather than national security. Tackling climate change is a matter of urgency, and failure to so effectively in the short run my derail needed efforts later, simply because the resources to do so are no longer available.

Best Practices in the Management of Clostridioides difficile Infection in Developing Nations.

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a well-known cause of hospital-acquired infectious diarrhea in developed countries, though it has not been a top priority in the healthcare policies of developing countries. In the last decade, several studies have reported a wide range of CDI rates between 1.3% and 96% in developing nations, raising the concern that this could represent a healthcare threat for these nations. This review defines developing countries as those with a human development index (HDI) below 0.8. We aim to report the available literature on CDI epidemiology, diagnostics, management, and prevention in developing countries. We identify limitations for CDI diagnosis and management, such as limited access to CDI tests and unavailable oral vancomycin formulation, and identify opportunities to enhance CDI care, such as increased molecular test capabilities and creative solutions for CDI. We also discuss infection prevention strategies, including antimicrobial stewardship programs and opportunities emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, which could impact CDI care.

“Successful” ageing in later older age: A sociology of class and ageing in place

Supporting people to ‘age in place’ – to live independently at home and remain connected to the community – is an international policy priority. But the process of ageing in place is mediated in a socio-cultural context where neoliberal tropes of successful ageing reproduce a pervasive model about ‘ageing well’ by elevating ideals of individualised choice and self-governance.Based on two waves of qualitative interviews and interim observations, we employ a Bourdieusian logic to explore the ramifications of this context on the experiences of 46 people in later older age (80+) ageing in place in North East England. All participants enacted everyday improvisatory practices to render their homes habitable. But our participants – most of whom were located in middle-class social positions – supplemented such improvisions with a strategic disposition to plan for and actively shape their ageing-in-place futures. Our participants conveyed a distinct sense of agency over their ageing futures. Underpinning their orientations to practice was an awareness of the value attached to individually ‘ageing well’ and a distancing from the agedness associated with the fourth age.Our analysis demonstrates the role of capital, accrued throughout the life course, in bringing such future trajectories into effect. The central argument of this paper therefore is that the embodiment of (neoliberal) ideals of successful ageing in place requires the deployment of classed capital. In sum, contrary to the individualising narratives ubiquitous in policy pertaining to ageing well, we show the importance of classed structural moorings in this process.

Ukraine’s reconstruction in the context of EU accession

This paper outlines the impact of the war on Ukraine's economy, sets out the main challenges for reconstruction and EU integration, and provides a set of policy recommendations to "build back better" within the EU accession process. The economic and demographic shock caused by the war has been severe. However, we find that Ukraine can feasibly follow the EU-CEE EU integration path once the war ends, and that it will bring a great deal to the EU. Ukraine will not create an unmanageable extra strain on the EU budget, but the integration of its competitive agricultural sector must be carefully managed. Policy priorities for Ukraine and the EU include measures to mitigate the demographic shock, rebuild infrastructure in a way that integrates Ukraine more tightly into the EU economy, support the regions most impacted by the war, and use trade and FDI policies to maximise the benefits of EU integration.