Public Policy Recommendations Research Articles

Rethinking strategies for coexistence with bark beetles in Mexico and beyond

Temperate forests in Mexico are often inhabited by humans and as such function as social–ecological systems (SES). As elsewhere in the world, these forests are increasingly under threat from bark beetle pests, outbreaks of which will be exacerbated by climate change. Current strategies for confronting bark beetle infestations are typically more technical and reactive, and technology and science have not yet provided economic and practical solutions. Taking into consideration future climate‐change scenarios, forest policy agendas must embrace more holistic strategies focused on improving resistance, resilience, and adaptive capacity of forest SES. Forest landowners are crucial stakeholders worldwide, and when provided with reliable information, training, and incentives, can perform the complex and highly demanding responsibilities of forest monitoring, sanitation logging, and restoration. Participatory sanitation logging in Mexico highlights the opportunities and challenges of dealing with bark beetles, from which lessons can be drawn. A holistic strategy that includes management and public policy recommendations for Mexico and elsewhere is proposed as a potential means of coexisting with this challenge to forest health.

The obesity wars and the education of a researcher: A personal account

A naïve researcher published a scientific article in a respectable journal. She thought her article was straightforward and defensible. It used only publicly available data, and her findings were consistent with much of the literature on the topic. Her coauthors included two distinguished statisticians. To her surprise her publication was met with unusual attacks from some unexpected sources within the research community. These attacks were by and large not pursued through normal channels of scientific discussion. Her research became the target of an aggressive campaign that included insults, errors, misinformation, social media posts, behind-the-scenes gossip and maneuvers, and complaints to her employer. The goal appeared to be to undermine and discredit her work. The controversy was something deliberately manufactured, and the attacks primarily consisted of repeated assertions of preconceived opinions. She learned first-hand the antagonism that could be provoked by inconvenient scientific findings. Guidelines and recommendations should be based on objective and unbiased data. Development of public health policy and clinical recommendations is complex and needs to be evidence-based rather than belief-based. This can be challenging when a hot-button topic is involved.

The Association Between the 5Cs and Anxiety-Insights From Three Countries: Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain.

Several of the most frequent psychological difficulties in childhood and adolescence are related to anxiety and lead to numerous short- and long-term negative outcomes in emotional, social, and academic domains. Empirical evidence consistently shows that the 5Cs (competence, caring, confidence, connection, and character) of Positive Youth Development (PYD) are positively related to adolescents’ contribution to self, family, and society as well as negatively related to risky behaviors and emotional difficulties, such as anxiety. Thus, the PYD can be one of the models that informs prevention programs. To provide contextualized, data-driven support for prevention efforts, we have analyzed the predictive value of the 5Cs for anxiety and anxiety dimensions using three different convenience youth samples from Portugal (N = 384, 46.6% female), Slovenia (N = 449, 69% females), and Spain (N = 768; 60.5% females). To assess the 5Cs, we used the same short form of the PYD scale in all samples (Geldhof et al., 2013) and different anxiety measures across samples: the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) in Portugal, the Lestvica anksioznosti za otroke in mladostnike anxiety scale (LAOM) in Slovenia and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) in Spain. The findings show significant associations of PYD and anxiety across all three contexts with all three different anxiety measures used. The associations vary across countries emphasizing the need to further research the role of contexts in anxiety prevention. Despite variations the results do indicate that connection is negatively associated with anxiety in all three contexts using the three anxiety measures, while confidence is a negative predictor and caring is a positive predictor of anxiety in Slovenia and Spain. Implications for practice within an educational framework for adolescents and youth are discussed, together with public policy recommendations.

A forensic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 cases and COVID-19 mortality misreporting in the Brazilian population

ObjectiveThe study aimed to investigate the misreporting number of positively tested individuals for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) succumbed or not to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Brazil at the city, state, and national scales using statistical forensic analysis. Study designThis is a register-based study over public health data collected, organized, and maintained by the Ministry of Health covering the Brazilian population. MethodsWe evaluated the Brazilian notifications of positively tested cases for SARS-CoV-2 who have succumbed or not to COVID-19 between February 26th to September 7th of 2020 at the city, state, and national scales for conformity to expected distribution provided by Benford's law (BL). ResultsStatistical analyzes demonstrated a significant rejection of SARS-CoV-2 notification cases at the city and the number of deaths by COVID-19 in all regional levels according to the hypothesis of conformity to BL. ConclusionWe demonstrated by BL, which has been widely applied to query the quality and reliability of different numerical data sources, the misreporting number of cases and deaths throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Brazil. Therefore, we brought to light pieces of evidence that raise questions about the reliability of SARS-CoV-2 data in Brazil. This situation may have led to inconsistencies in public health policy actions, recommendations, and drastic humanitarian, social, and economic consequences such as the intensive unit care overload in some Brazilian regions.

Public policy recommendations for promoting female entrepreneurship in Europe

From 2021 onwards, female entrepreneurship is expected to grow very substantially as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The introduction of teleworking and staggered hours in many countries at national or workplace level will make possible the conciliation between labour and family life. The purpose of this paper is to identify the most influential explanatory factors in the behaviour of female entrepreneurship in Europe so as to subsequently propose efficient economic policy measures to promote it. The distinction between opportunity and necessity female entrepreneurs have been considered since both motivation and factors are different in each case. 15 econometric models using the panel data method for a sample of 20 previously selected European countries (grouped by their GDP level) during the period 2001 to 2018 have been estimated to determine which explanatory factors affect female entrepreneurship and necessity-based female entrepreneurship. The empirical analysis used demonstrates that more women enter into entrepreneurship due to necessity rather than in pursuit of opportunity for European countries both with higher levels of GDP and for countries with lower levels of GDP. In this context, the following policy measures should be implemented to promote female entrepreneurship in Europe: the optimization of government spending (training courses and mentoring, public procurement, stronger networks, support in reconciling business and family life, etc.), the government incentives for subsidizing high interest rates to support women in accessing financing, and the improvement of entrepreneurship education to increase the confidence of women in themselves in their own entrepreneurial capabilities.

The Backward Art of Slowing the Spread? Congregation Efficiencies during COVID-19

Were workers more likely to be infected by COVID-19 in their workplace, or outside it? While both economic models of the pandemic and public health policy recommendations often presume that the workplace is less safe, this paper seeks an answer both in micro data and economic theory. The available data from schools, hospitals, nursing homes, food processing plants, hair stylists, and airlines show employers adopting mitigation protocols in the spring of 2020. Coincident with the adoption, infection rates in workplaces typically dropped from well above household rates to well below. When this occurs, the sign of the disease externality from participating in large organizations changes from negative to positive, even while individuals continue to have an incentive to avoid large organizations due to the prevention costs they impose on members. Rational cooperative prevention sometimes results in infectious-disease patterns that are opposite of predictions from classical epidemiology.

ELABORATION OF A MECHANISM FOR REGULATING DISPARITIES OF REGIONAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BY FUZZY LOGIC METHODS

Introduction. Regions of Ukraine are characterized by a considerable level of disparities in socio-economic development. Interpretation of disparities is important in order to develop the measures preventing their aggravation. Problem Statement. The indices of regional disparities are variable and heterogeneous, with different dynamics. Thus, it is difficult to estimate them with the help of conventional methods that do not allow application of intermediate indices. Purpose. To formulate a mechanism for regulating regional disparities necessary for further solution of management and prognostic tasks based on innovative approaches given environmental variability, rapid, and non-linear dynamics of disparities. Materials and Methods. For estimation and interpretation of indices for regional disparities, it is advisable to use methods of fuzzy logic theory. These methods apply to quantitative estimation of qualitative information (in the case when it is indefinite), modeling of increasingly complicated economic processes given a high reliability of calculations based on fuzzy logic models. Results. The mechanism for forecasting the dynamics of regional disparities by fuzzy logic methods has been presented as integration of interdependent factors ensuring development of the region under unstable conditions of external and internal environment. With the help of fuzzy logic methods, the membership function between the levels of disparities and the catalysts of disparities (retarders) has been built. The characteristics of regional disparity levels have been classified as permissible, regulated, and catastrophic. The study of dynamics of the disparity underlies elaborating public policy recommendations on the regulation of disparities. Conclusions. The characteristics of disparities for each region estimated on the basis of membership function pave the way for further forecasting the dynamics of disparities and developing a strategy for the regulation of disparities in each region.

The Violence of Fat Hatred in the “Obesity Epidemic” Discourse

The concern globally over the “obesity epidemic” has become one of the most widely discussed social problems over the last twenty or so years. There is an intense focus from the media, popular culture, government agencies, and medical community about the harms of “obesity,” which includes strategies for eradicating the “obesity epidemic.” Public discussions of “excess weight” typically imply that fat persons are responsible for their body size, and public health policy recommendations follow from that assumption. Through the voices of 74 women of size, I demonstrate the ways in which the “obesity epidemic” discourse is a form of symbolic violence. Interviewees discussed countless acts of public humiliation, blocked opportunities, and fears about attending appointments with health care practitioners because of the stigma, discrimination, and mistreatment they receive. Moreover, the anti-fat rhetoric made interviewees feel responsible for the oppression. The violence manifested through the “obesity epidemic” rhetoric creates and perpetuates the phenomenon of hyper(in)visibilty, a phenomenon where marginalized bodies are simultaneously paid tremendous attention and dismissed. I conclude by urging sociologists to include body size in their intersectional research, teaching, and activism.

IS INDONESIA LOSING THE SOUL OF ITS DEMOCRACY?

This paper describes 11 year dynamics and trends of Indonesian democracy, specifically, aspects of Civil Liberty, Political Rights, and Democratic Institutions, through the results of Indonesia Democracy Index’s (IDI) annual assessment. IDI is an assessment of provincial democracy. Its calculation is based on events occurring throughout the year; it is an attempt to capture democracy from the ground up; a depiction of democracy as it is practiced in everyday life at the institutional as well as at behavioral level. The results indicate complex dynamics and trends where issues of civil liberty, political rights and democratic institutions intertwine to shape political reality on the ground. Discrepancies of performances between IDI’s indicators of democracy indicate a certain paradox in Indonesian democracy as it is practiced at the provincial level. On one hand, the space for civil liberty is open and the citizens are freely and enthusiastically express themselves; and on the other hand, democratic institutions are lacking in capacity and cannot respond adequately to the democratic demands arising from the opening up of civil liberty. More than a decade long abject performance of provincial parliaments across Indonesia in performing its legislative roles (i.e. initiating legislation and giving public policy recommendation to the executives) have no doubt contributed to dissatisfactions express in many public complaints and demonstrations throughout Indonesia. This lack of parliamentary capacity across Indonesia translates into the absence of representation.

Urban green spaces and housing prices in developing countries: A Two-stage quantile spatial regression analysis

Urban Green Spaces (UGS) provide various environmental benefits to nature and are essential for people's overall well-being. UGS regulate temperature and humidity, absorb pollutants, and reduce soil erosion. Also, they improve the emotional and physical well-being of people and increase the environmental awareness of citizens. Due to its great importance, various studies have sought to economically quantify its value through the housing market. However, the households' heterogeneity and the vegetation index of the UGS have not been analyzed together. In this study, we show that a developing country's population values the UGS (economically). Still, that valuation depends on the housing submarket and the interaction between “distance” and vegetation index. For example, for small parks, the interaction between “distance” and vegetation index is significant only in the highest and lowest conditional quantiles. For medium and large parks, the interaction is significant only from the 50th and 30th percentiles, respectively. On the other hand, for small, medium, and large forests, the interactive variable is significant starting from the 50th, 70th, and 80th percentiles, respectively. We, also make recommendations for public policy.

Governance of Urban Green Spaces across Latin America - Insights from Semi-Structured Interviews to Managers Amid COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to managers of urban green spaces. As suggested by findings from 18 structured interviews from six Latin American countries reported in this paper, managers in Latin America have not been able to take the most advantage of available green space during the COVID-19 lockdown. At the core of this inability is a governance characterized by dependence on political will, lack of continuity due the non-existence of civil service, limited autonomy, insufficient budgets, absence of formal paths to fund themselves, shortage of technical know-how, and insufficient citizens' involvement. Thus, while a criticism to management of urban green spaces in developed cities is its focus on recreational services -with no attention to other ecosystem services-, management in Latin America is heavily constrained by funds that barely afford maintenance of basic infrastructure -with exceptions that we highlight in the manuscript. Consequently, managers of urban green spaces across Latin America have not successfully implemented adaptation measures that, for instance, European counterparts have -e.g. traffic management, information campaigns. In addition, these governance capabilities pose the risk of maladaptation. For instance, many managers in Latin America have formally resorted to a full closure of their premises during the COVID-19 lockdown but they have not successfully enforced such a closure, which likely has brought undesirable effects -e.g. more overcrowding than under a controlled no-closure scenario. We provide public policy recommendations, and a list of research questions specific to Latin America -an understudied region when it comes to both governance of urban green spaces, and the role of urban green spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The importance of responsive parenting for vulnerable infants.

The quality of the early caregiving context sets the stage for the developing child's long term developmental trajectory. Infants are born highly dependent on parents and other caregivers for critical input for developing brain and behavioral systems. When infants experience early adversity, they are at risk for difficulties regulating behavior, emotions, and physiology. Parenting interventions have been developed to enhance parental responsiveness, thereby enhancing child outcomes. One such program, Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), is a home visiting intervention designed to enhance parenting nurturance and sensitivity. In this paper, we will consider the importance of parental sensitivity and developmental consequences of sensitive and insensitive care. We will then describe interventions that target parental responsiveness and intervention effectiveness, focusing primarily on ABC. Public policy recommendations related to the importance of parental responsiveness will then be discussed.

Análisis de los roles y responsabilidades de las técnicos en educación parvularia en el nivel sala cuna: una contribución a su formación inicial

Significant advances in psychology and neuroscience research has contributed to a deepened understanding that the first two years of life are a critical period for brain development. The lack of stimulating experiences produces deficits in physical, cognitive and especially emotional health of babies. For this reason, it is essential to provide intentional pedagogical experiences to children from birth to two years old, through quality early childhood education. This, however, requires competent and well-trained professionals and paraprofessionals, whose preparation and learning opportunities are aligned with the roles and responsibilities they must fulfill in their professional lives. The objective of this study was to explore, through interviews with paraprofessionals and literature reviews, the roles and responsibilities of Chilean practitioners who work with infants and toddlers, and compare these results with the initial training curriculum. Both convergences and discrepancies were found, which enabled the elaboration of recommendations for initial training and public policies in early childhood education.

Are the effects of minimum wage on the labour market the same across countries? A meta-analysis spanning a century

The effects of the minimum wage (MW) on the labour market have been studied for almost a century, but the results remain inconsistent. To review what is known until now, a global, multilingual database of 588 articles on MW effects is constructed spanning more than a century, from 1900 to 2020. Most of the studies belong to developed countries, and less than a third come from developing countries. The most researched subject during the period under review is the impact of the MW on employment, but the evidence is mixed independently of the country studied. Consequently, it is only possible to perform a meta-regression to suitably evaluate the impact of the MW on employment according to the number of studies collected on this topic. The meta-regression model is useful to explain the reasons for these differences. For this purpose, recently developed meta-analysis methods are implemented distinguishing between developed and developing countries. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis that reviews articles on the effect of MW without limits on the analysis period, the variables relative to the labour market or the countries under consideration. The results show a negative publication bias for developed countries but not for developing countries. The impact of the MW on employment is negative in both groups, adjusting for that bias. This adverse effect is small but robust. Characteristics related to the control variables, the demographic groups concerned, the methods implemented and the inclusion of local fixed effects, trend or time dummies account for the estimated employment effect. Public policy recommendations are proposed based on the studies reviewed.

El enfoque de capacidades en la promoción del derecho a la información en comunidades en vulnerabilidad

El derecho a la información es un derecho humano de utilidad para la exigencia de otros derechos y la participación en el espacio público; sin embargo, la información pública no está al alcance de todas las personas de forma equitativa debido a barreras como la digital, la escolaridad, la alfabetización, la pobreza económica, la etnia, el género, entre otras. Mientras que las políticas de promoción del derecho a la información se han basado en difusión en medios masivos y proyectos con enfoque de “formación de usuario”, que no necesariamente consideran el desarrollo de capacidades en las personas y la reducción de barreras para el acceso y el uso de información pública de sectores en vulnerabilidad. Este artículo propone el uso del enfoque de capacidades en las políticas de promoción del derecho a la información, para lograr que las personas puedan usar información pública como herramienta indispensable de la capacidad de control sobre su entorno político. Para ello, se desarrolla un marco analítico de capacidades de acceso y uso de información pública y se aplica en un estudio de caso del programa “Transparencia proactiva” de Artículo 19 México y Centroamérica, que promueve el derecho a la información en comunidades rurales y mayoritariamente indígenas en Chiapas, México, con la finalidad de identificar estrategias orientadas al desarrollo de capacidades para el acceso y uso de información pública. A partir de ello, se ofrecen algunas recomendaciones desde el enfoque de capacidades para mejorar las políticas públicas de promoción del derecho a la información en personas en vulnerabilidad.

Can Small French Farms Provide an Opportunity for Employment in the Agricultural Sector?

SummaryThe contributions of small farms to the environment or employment are increasingly recognised. Yet small farm employment receives little support from public policies. Can small farms provide employment opportunities in the agricultural sector? The objective of this work is to contribute to reflections on a better adaptation of public support to the heterogeneity of the contributions of small farms to employment. This article focuses on the example of France, using the 2010 agricultural census data. It proposes a typology of workforce patterns in French small farms.In 2010, labour‐intensive small farms with paid worker(s) accounted for just over 2 per cent of small farms in France. They were managed by trained farmers, sometimes newcomers to agriculture, and had high value‐added activities like agrotourism, short distribution channels and/or organic farming production. We conclude with recommendations for European and national public policies aimed at encouraging the maintenance and/or creation of employment on small farms. They include, for example, specific support for small farms, adapted to their lower investment needs and a lighter administrative burden to enable them to develop labour‐intensive projects; or a better integration of small farms into employers’ alliances.

Gobernanza policéntrica para la resiliencia al cambio climático: análisis legislativo comparado y Ley Marco de Cambio en Chile

Una gobernanza capaz de dar respuestas eficaces, proactivas y adaptativas frente al cambio climático requiere hacer frente al menos a tres órdenes de desafíos: (1) deberá prestar atención a las particularidades de los contextos locales, sin perder de vista interdependencias globales; (2) deberá coordinar de manera coherente una multiplicidad de perspectivas y actores autónomos; y (3) deberá fomentar la innovación y el aprendizaje mientras mantiene un grado mínimo de estabilidad necesaria para realizar predicciones y tomar decisiones. El artículo argumenta que el enfoque de gobernanza policéntrica, especialmente en su interpretación sistémica, ofrece respuestas efectivas para estos tres desafíos, y emplea dicho enfoque para evaluar las actuales normativas de cambio climático, por medio de un análisis comparado de legislaciones internacionales, y de un estudio de caso del Proyecto de Ley Marco de Cambio Climático de Chile. Se finaliza identificando oportunidades y retos, así como proponiendo recomendaciones de política pública.

Public health policy-making for hearing loss: stakeholders\u2019 evaluation of a novel eHealth tool

BackgroundHearing loss (HL) affects 466 million people of all ages worldwide, with a rapidly increasing prevalence, and therefore requires appropriate public health policies. Multi-disciplinary approaches that make use of eHealth services can build the evidence to influence public policy. The European Union-funded project EVOTION developed a platform that is fed with real-time data from hearing aids, a smartphone, and additional clinical data and makes public health policy recommendations based on hypothetical public health policy-making models, a big data engine and decision support system. The present study aimed to evaluate this platform as a new tool to support policy-making for HL.MethodsA total of 23 key stakeholders in the United Kingdom, Croatia, Bulgaria and Poland evaluated the platform according to the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats methodology.ResultsThere was consensus that the platform, with its advanced technology as well as the amount and variety of data that it can collect, has huge potential to inform commissioning decisions, public health regulations and affect healthcare as a whole. To achieve this, several limitations and external risks need to be addressed and mitigated. Differences between countries highlighted that the EVOTION tool should be used and managed according to local constraints to maximise success.ConclusionOverall, the EVOTION platform can equip HL policy-makers with a novel data-driven tool that can support public health policy-making for HL in the future.

International Remittances as a Driver of Domestic Tourism Expenditure: Evidence from Mexico

This article aims to empirically assess the impact of international remittances on domestic tourism expenditure (DTE) in Mexican households. Using Probit and Tobit regressions with instrumental variables and information from the 2016 National Household Income and Expenditure Survey, our findings show that international migrants’ remittances can improve DTE among Mexican households. Controlling for endogeneity of remittances, the results show a statistically significant and positive impact of international remittances on both the probability and the amount of money spent on domestic tourism. This suggests that international remittances provide the necessary resources to alleviate the liquidity constraints that restrict access to tourism activities for recipient households. This research also highlights the need to encourage public policy recommendations aimed at promoting tourism-related development in Mexico.

Advances, gaps and opportunities in the detection of familial hypercholesterolemia: overview of current and future screening and detection methods.

Studies reaffirm that familial hypercholesterolemia is more prevalent than initially considered, with a population frequency of approximately one in 300. The majority of patients remains unidentified. This warrants critical evaluation of existing screening methods and exploration of novel methods of detection. New public policy recommendations on the detection of familial hypercholesterolemia have been made by a global community of experts and advocates. Phenotypic tools for diagnosing index cases remain inaccurate. Genetic testing is the gold standard for familial hypercholesterolemia and a new international position statement has been published. Correction of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) for the cholesterol content of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] may increase the precision of the phenotypic diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia. Cascade cotesting for familial hypercholesterolemia and elevated Lp(a) levels provides a new opportunity to stratify risk in families. Digital technology and machine learning methods, coupled with clinical alert and decision support systems, lead the way in more efficient approaches for detecting and managing index cases. Universal screening of children, combined with child-parent cascade testing, appears to be the most effective method for underpinning a population strategy for maximizing the detection of familial hypercholesterolemia. Detection of familial hypercholesterolemia can be enhanced by optimizing current diagnostic algorithms, probing electronic health records with novel information technologies and integrating universal screening of children with cascade testing of parents and other relatives.