Public Policy Research Research Articles

The effect of procurement centralization on government purchasing prices: evidence from a field experiment

A fundamental question in public policy and management research is whether large-centralized or small-decentralized organizations perform best. Perhaps nowhere is this tradeoff more tangible than in the context of government procurement of goods and services, where even small differences in organizational efficiency can lead to significant differences in purchasing prices. In this article, we put the theoretical arguments concerning centralized versus decentralized procurement to a systematic empirical test. We conduct a randomized field experiment of public purchase of air travel in the Danish central government. Our findings suggest that centralized procurement is not associated with lower purchasing prices; if anything, centralized purchasing is slightly more costly than decentralized purchasing of identical products. However, centralized procurement may offer other benefits, such as economies of process, information, and compliance. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications of our findings and propose avenues for further research on centralized versus decentralized government purchasing.

Policy Innovation Adoption Across the Diffusion Life Course

This study develops and tests a theory of the diffusion life course using a dataset of 566 policies adopted between 1960 and 2016. Previous small‐N studies found differences between leaders and laggards, but broader innovation theory points to five stages of adoption: innovation, early adoption, early majority, late majority, and laggard. This study demonstrates that predictors of policy adoption change throughout the diffusion life course. Neighbor adoptions matter early in the life course but are supplanted by the consistent effect of ideological learning across all stages. The results confirm that less professionalized states tend to adopt later. Finally, state wealth and population size are increasingly important as policies spread. These results have implications for our understanding of when and why states adopt policy innovations. They also illustrate the substantial opportunity for political science and public policy researchers to draw from broader theories.

Saving Behavior Within and Across Developing Nations: Implications for Public Policy Makers

Although the idea that people should save some portion of their incomes is undisputed, much extant consumer and public policy research on this topic concentrates on citizens in the developed world. Whether saving behavior is similar or different in developing countries has yet to be adequately explored. To address this research gap, the authors investigate how the proclivity to save money may influence consumption adequacy and life satisfaction across these nations and, even more fundamentally, how the ability to earn income may ultimately influence the ability to save. They compare these relationships across BRICS countries with the United States as a surrogate for developed nations. Using the University of Michigan’s World Values Survey, the authors investigate Wave 6 to determine what may underlie differences across countries. The results demonstrate that motivations and their relationships with saving behavior and consumption adequacy vary significantly. Each then plays a role in how satisfied individuals are with their lives. Findings highlight how to develop public policies to enhance saving behavior, along with research directions consonant with the study objectives.

UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF POLICY TRANSFER: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW APPROACH

Policy transfer is not a new concept in public policy or political science research. However, there are many misconceptions about policy transfer from past scholars which fragmented policy understanding among political scientists and researchers. Hence, this paper aims to shed light on the basic concept of policy transfer and add value to the current literature especially in an academic context. This paper employed secondary data from the past ten years (2010-2020) derived from selected published resources of reputable databases specifically Scopus and ScienceDirect. There are four main stages in Systematic Literature Review (SLR) namely; (1) Pre-SLR, (2) Identification, (3) Screening, and (4) Eligibility. After considering the relevant articles from prior searching activities, 15 articles were reviewed systematically. Accordingly, five themes emerged to conclude the concept of policy transfer based on thematic analysis. This paper concludes with a summary of policy transfer discussion for future research and implications for policymakers were presented.

The science and politics of climate risk assessment in Australia’s Murray Darling Basin

Climate change has many disruptive consequences, particularly in large river basins experiencing drying trends and declining water availability. With pressure for more adaptive policies, understanding how institutions governing water are adapting to climate risks has broad international relevance. This paper examines the challenges of climate risk assessments in Australia's Murray Darling Basin, an economically and culturally important basin where national legislation mandates a Basin Plan based on the best available science. However, despite repeated scientific warnings about a drying climate, the current Basin Plan does not reduce estimates of water resources available, and its climate risk management relies on a bricolage of policy mechanisms, which appear insufficient for the magnitude of predicted changes. This paper outlines the findings of original research exploring why this occurred. It draws on interviews with 30 senior public policy professionals and researchers with deep experience in climate and water policy. The interview data indicate that minimising political risks were the principal reasons for abandoning proposed reductions in entitlements and for relying on historical averages for estimating water availability. As the reform process evolved, decisions about water-planning techniques became increasingly politicised, and the adoption of explicit climate adaptation measures became problematic. As a result, the Basin Plan neither reflects the broad scientific consensus about climate change nor makes specific allowances for declining water availability. Climate risks are downplayed while concerns about levels of scientific uncertainties appear overstated. Importantly, lessons emerge from this examination that could contribute to the revisions of the Plan, scheduled for 2026. More generally, the research finds that proactive climate adaptation policies for large river basins require sustained and well-designed institutional reforms, particularly the adoption of legally prescribed procedures for utilising science - and accounting for its use - in controversial environmental reforms.

China’s ‘New-Type’ Private Think Tanks: Is ‘New’ Better?

China’s public policy research community has long been dominated by large state-run research institutes, but in recent years financially and bureaucratically independent think tanks have played a more prominent role. While private think tanks have used a variety of strategies to secure funding and access to officials, a major constraint is the continuing influence of their state-run counterparts. What are the conditions under which private institutes can prosper in this environment, both in terms of providing meaningful advice and developing prestigious brands? This essay theorizes that these goals can be achieved under three conditions: when human capital is leveraged to provide new advice, when networks are deployed to build bridges between scholarly communities, and when effective use of information technology supports the dissemination of research outputs. An organization’s ability to meet those criteria depends both on resource endowments and on willingness to buck the conventional wisdom.

Is this a men’s world? On the need to study descriptive representation of women in lobbying and policy advocacy

ABSTRACT How well are women represented in the world of political advocacy? Despite the important role of interest groups in modern democracies, the demographic composition of the interest group community remains a blind spot in public policy research. Based on data on over 1000 lobbyists in five European countries, we suggest that the share of women in the world of advocacy is significantly lower than in parliaments. We therefore argue that gender biases in political advocacy need to move high up on the research agenda. As key avenues for future studies, we raise the effects these imbalances have on agenda setting and political decision-making, as well as their symbolic effects on female participation and perceived legitimacy. Moreover, we call for research addressing the complex supply and demand-side factors that cause gender inequalities in lobbying to address this problem in practice.

Taking emigration seriously: a new agenda for research on free movement and welfare

ABSTRACT Free movement of persons (FoM) is a key topic in current research on European integration’s effects on social justice and national welfare states. These debates have focused almost exclusively on FoM as the right to entry, and neglected the correlative right to exit. As a consequence, mainstream political science and public policy research has paid very little attention to welfare state-related implications of extensive emigration in several EU member states. This article argues that emigration should be incorporated into the FoM and welfare states research agenda, so as to better comprehend the relationship between FoM and welfare policy and politics, and to advance our understanding of how FoM alters national welfare boundaries. It discusses some of the conceptual limitations resulting from studying FoM exclusively in terms of entry, and advances more specific proposals for including emigration into the wider research agenda.

Post-Vietnam Syndrome: Psychiatry, Anti-War Politics, and the Reconstitution of the Vietnam Veteran

Using primary source materials from medical, government, and journalism archives, this study of public medical discourse reveals the role of argumentation in posi­tively shaping public perceptions of traumatized soldiers and locates the contem­porary origins of the trope of “soldier as psychological victim of war”—a perception that continues to inform public policy and medical research. Using Jasinski’s (1998) concepts of interior and exterior constitutive potential to analyze the public writ­ings, interviews, and Congressional testimony of VVAW-affiliated psychiatrists, the study finds that the radical psychiatrists’ interior (directed at veterans) and exte­rior (directed at public and medical institutions) rhetorics were (and arguably remain) mutually effective in creating an identity for veterans to occupy that exculpated them from their involvement in war, while allowing them to garner benefits for their ser­vice. The article concludes with two examples of the “veteran as psychological vic­tim of war” trope as it shapes the contemporary rhetorical ecology of former servicemembers.

ГЕНЕЗА ПРАВОВОГО ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ ДЕРЖАВНОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ У СФЕРІ ОСВІТИ

У науковій статті проведено огляд основних доктринальних джерел як педагогічного профілю, так і правового характеру, що присвячені питанням правового дослідження державної політики у сфері освіти, зважаючи на процес реформування освітньої сфери, прийняття нових законів «Про освіту», «Про вищу освіту», «Про загальну середню освіту», «Про фахову передвищу освіту», реформування початкової, середньої та вищої освіти, запровадження нових методик та підходів до здійснення освітнього процесу. Автор відносить до визначальних проблем методології дослідження державної політики у освітній сфері визначення сутності і змісту предмета правового дослідження, яке планомірно випливає із загального бачення та розуміння науковцями предмета адміністративного права, особливо з погляду генези такого бачення. Автор зазначає, що винятково актуальним для реформування і удосконалення вітчизняної правової науки та національного законодавства є аналіз та використання досвіду державотворення, що сформувався в провідних країнах Європи та світу. Зазначена теза стосується передусім необхідності прийняття закону про адміністративну процедуру, ідея якого піддається різкій критиці з посиланням на звуження у цьому випадку предмета адміністративного права до виключного регулювання публічних адміністрацій. Водночас подібні зауваження є безпідставними і не відповідають дійсності. Також у науковій статті проаналізовано основні тенденції розвитку суспільства в умовах глобалізації, які мають певний вплив на освітню сферу будь-якої країни, та державну політику у сфері освіти. Результати аналізу свідчать про наявність актуальних тенденцій розвитку, характерних світовому рівню освітньої сфери, та їх специфічних національних особливостей в Україні. На основі виявлених тенденцій можна робити висновки про хід економічних процесів у сфері освіти, розглядати перспективи й прогнозувати зміну показників її розвитку. Аналіз досліджень в цій сфері дозволив виявити проблеми, що гальмують подальший розвиток освіти в Україні та знижують ефективність інвестування у цю сферу. Доведено, що вплив сукупності факторів викликає спільний ефект – зменшення потенціалу розвитку вітчизняної сфери освіти.

Contemporary Policy Challenges in Protecting the Homeland

The terrorist attacks of 2001 served as a triggering event for the inception of a policy domain focused on homeland security, and with it came a body of research substantively concentrated on public policy addressing the unique challenges presented in the emerging policy domain. Since naissance, policy issues addressing homeland security have been both disparate and highly salient creating a literature that covers topics ranging from measuring vulnerability of populations to denial of service attacks on medical facilities. This article reviews the literature for a description of what Homeland Security policy is (or is not), where the research in public policy broadly defined has improved knowledge or practice, aspects of the policy domain that require development, and the challenges associated with research in this area. We find that broadly speaking, the most productive areas of inquiry in this domain are those that have the least uncertainty—those that migrated as a mature area of research, those based on objective measures, and those with identifiable origins.

The 2020 Public Policy Yearbook

The articles presented in this supplemental issue mark the twelfth edition of the Policy Studies Journal's Public Policy Yearbook. This issue includes three outstanding retrospective review articles that summarize recent developments in public policy research concerning health policy, defense and security policy, and policy evaluation. We provide a brief description of these articles below. You can also find the main content of the 2020 Yearbook online at: www.psjyearbook.com.

Factors related to the use of pedestrian bridges in university students of Honduras

Considering that deaths and injuries due to run overs near pedestrian bridges (PB) are preventable events, this research aims to analyze the factors related to the use of pedestrian bridges in students of a public university of Honduras. This was made through a quantitative methodology; 330 questionnaires were applied to a sample of university students. Results suggest that 17.27% of the respondents don’t use the bridge. Most respondents (62.42%) believe it’s faster to cross the street and that using the bridge is tiresome (79.90%). Pedestrian bridges are also considered to be unsafe places, prone to robberies. Pearson’s r coefficient determined that this belief is significantly associated with the perception of cleanliness, quality of the infrastructure and illumination. There is a correlation between stress and considering the use of the bridge as a tiresome activity. A logistic regression model determined that significant variables explained the use of the PB included: being in a hurry, believing it’s faster to cross the street, thinking that PBs have a bad infrastructure, laziness and thinking that using the PB is tiresome, all of them reducing the chance that someone will use the bridge. On the other hand, non-significant variables in the model included: age, considering that using the PB is stressful, thinking that crossing the street is stressful, thinking PBs have good illumination. Safety related variables were not able to discriminate between users and non-users. These results are discussed in the light of previous research and their implication for public policy and future research.

An "Ecosystem of Entrepreneurialisation"? An interpretative approach to the transformation of the third Sector

Since the early 2000s scholars have observed a tendency, within the third sector, to combine social values and market objectives in new hybrid configurations. This entrepreneurial turn of non-profit organisations (NPOs) has intersected another historical trajectory of change: their integration in the provision and governance of human and social services. The research contributes to the debate on the transformation of the third sector by addressing the relationship between these two trajectories of change. An interpretative tool is devised, drawing upon public policy research and new discursive institutionalism. To exemplify the interpretative approach, a case study of social entrepreneurship rooted in southern Italian local communities is explored. The research helps building an explanation of the transformation of the third sector centred on the evolving and interactive policy context in which NPOs are embedded, presently resembling an ecosystem of entrepreneurialisation.

Bringing agency back into the study of partisan politics: A note on recent developments in the literature on party politics

The question of whether political parties make a systematic difference in terms of public policies is one of the classics of comparative public policy research. However, unstable class cleavages and changing party strategies challenge the assumptions of traditional partisan theory, namely that parties represent a stable group of voters and implement policies according to the preferences of this group. Against this backdrop, several recent studies have called for an “electoral turn” in partisan theory and suggest establishing a party–voter link on the microlevel, depending on the policy area at stake. In this article, we propose a different view on partisan effects. While we do not argue that public opinion is unimportant for parties, we maintain that the electoral turn literature has a tendency to black-box the political actors and their preferences, because they become mere agents of voter preferences. Our argument builds on a growing literature that shows that political actors both at the party member and the elite level do have preferences and that these may or may not be coherent with those of the voters. Hence, the effect of partisan ideology on public policies may also be situated on the level of the parties or policy-makers themselves.

Biological, Phytochemical and Medicinal Aspects of Cannabis Sativa L.: A Review

Aromatic and medicinal plants have played key roles in the lives of tribal peoples living in the Himalayaby providing products for both food and medicine. These plant resources, therefore, have become important domains of intervention and are increasingly attracting the attentions of public and private sector policy researchers, policy makers and development program implementers. There has been increased interest in the role of cannabis for treating medical conditions.

The use of research in public health policy: a systematic review

The use of robust research findings in public health policy has been strongly encouraged for bridging the evidence-policy gap. To assess and further promote evidence uptake, understanding how research evidence is being used by decision makers is very important. This systematic review examined primary studies exploring the use of research evidence in public health policy published between 2010 and January 2016; this work extended Orton et al’s (2011) review that covered studies published between 1980 and March 2010. The current systematic review incorporated 16 studies, representing 864 individuals, that provided insight into five topics pertaining to public health policy decision making: 1) the extent to which research evidence is used; 2) types of research evidence used; 3) the process of using research evidence; 4) factors other than research influencing decisions; and 5) barriers to and facilitators of evidence use. Relevant studies were identified using five different information sources including 14 electronic databases, websites of key organisations, forward citation search, reverse citation search, and internet search engines. Eligibility and methodological quality were assessed independently by two reviewers. The primary author conducted data extraction and the remaining authors reviewed the extraction results. Due to study heterogeneity, data were synthesised and findings were reported using a narrative approach. Findings aligned with previous literature to show that various types of research evidence are being accessed in public health policymaking. Further, challenges and enablers exist at multiple levels of the system, suggesting that use of research evidence is a complex, interdependent process.

Romanian Journal of Public Affairs No. 2/2020

Romanian Journal of Public Affairs is aiming to promote interdisciplinary research in governance, public administration, public affairs, public policy, law, economics and finance, following the philosophy of international interdisciplinary journals. This number of the journal contains the following articles: Annual Activity Program of the Local/County Council Cultural and Natural Heritage and its Law Accountability and Delegation of Regulatory Powers to Agencies Creating Collaborative Infrastructure for Inclusive Urban Innovation Administrative and Financial Reforms in the Nigerian Public Sector Thinking Global: Factors and Challenges Influencing the Audit Function

The State of Public Policy Research in the Philippines

The State of Public Policy Research in the Philippines

Scope of Field: On Defining Big Data Analytics for Field Development in Research & Curricular Design

Big data increasingly drives business models, marketing methods, regulatory techniques, novel intrusion methods and national security practices. Is big data analytics a “real discipline?” If so, it is appropriate to design an ontology, essentially a comprehensive schema acknowledging sub-topics of concern and their relationships. Taxonomies are the foundation for inspiring future research and designing curricula by identifying issues, themes and inevitable gaps. Technical disciplines are primary drivers defining current practice and inspiring innovation. However, technologists devote scant attention to public policy ramifications or predictable regulatory counter-measures. Big data is the primary raw material/feedstock to machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). AI algorithms are generally opaque, black box decision-makers operating outside traditional democratic transparency. Further, Intellectual property (IP) is under-researched in metering how big data flows through the information supply chain. Big data analytics lie at the heart of financial technology (FinTech) and regulatory technologies (RegTech). Most technical innovations cause regulatory lag (RegLag) evidenced by delayed and reactionary public policy response: (i) phenomena discovery, (ii) theorizing, (iii) interpretation of control mechanism efficacy, and (iv) deployment of adjustments to rights, duties and opportunities. This paper reviews authoritative sources enabling synthesis of big data experience and predictions of future scholarly public policy research. Structural implications emerge for curricula design in public policy incidents of data science, big data analytics, AI and machine learning.