Sector Policy Research Articles

Analysis on integration of heat pumps and thermal energy storage in current energy system: From research outputs to energy policies

This paper presents a comprehensive examination of the integration of heat pumps and thermal energy storage (TES) within the current energy system. Utilizing bibliometric analysis, recent research trends and gaps are identified, shedding light on the evolving landscape of this dynamic field. The study delves into the research outputs since 1969, offering insights into the global scholarly contributions shaping the discourse. Furthermore, an extensive policy analysis is conducted, focusing on seven countries with the highest research output. The interplay between research advancements and energy policies is explored, providing an understanding of the practical implications of the integration of heat pumps and TES. An understanding is tried to reach as how research and policy sector influence each other. This analysis contributes not only to the academic understanding of the subject but also informs policymakers about potential pathways for enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability in heating and cooling sector.

Political accountability and legislative behavior in Africa: evidence from the 2019 Kenyan Sugar Bill in the context of the political economy of sectoral policy

ABSTRACT Recent research on African legislatures, once considered rarely autonomous, has found that some broad-scale mass movements, including pro-poor campaigns, hold legislators accountable. This article meanwhile examines the conditions under which narrow local constituency issues, shaping partisan differences, can hold relevant representatives and parties accountable while prioritizing over executive pressures and clientelist personal gains. I argue that this sort of political accountability in legislatures can be observed concerning sectoral policy interests, which, in Africa, are often geographically concentrated along ethnicity and party support lines. Drawing on a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches including interviews, news coverage reviews, and a statistical analysis of legislative debates on the 2019 Sugar Bill in Kenya, I show that the growing and collective efforts of sugar farmers to influence their local representatives and parties to support the legislation, tying them to the same electoral fate, prompt legislators to speak in favor of their local interests. This implies that sector-based policy concerns, when addressed by organized policy backers, are used as an effective mechanism for maintaining party unity and accountability in the legislature.

Expressions of inequalities in access to health services in Latin America: a scoping review.

Latin America is one of the most unequal regions in the world. Due to colonization and occupation of the territory, structural inequalities mark people's living and health conditions. In health, we can observe how different dimensions of inequalities condition access and user experience in the service. This scoping review aimed to map and analyze the expressions of inequalities in access to health services in Latin American countries from the scientific production of the last ten years, from which 272 articles were selected. The categorical analysis classified articles into five dimensions, which characterize the expressions of inequalities in access to health services: socioeconomic, geospatial, ethnic/racial, gender, and people with disabilities. The most frequent access barriers were socioeconomic or ability to pay, geographic or transportation difficulty, availability of services, cultural/ethnic, communication, and architecture. The main conditioning factors of health inequalities were income, schooling, transportation, and living conditions. Combating health inequalities requires proposing structuring and sectorial policies.

The Impact of Ukraine’s Involvement in Global Value Chains on the Development of the Processing Industry

The relevance of the research is determined as Ukraine, a country with a developed manufacturing industry, opens up new opportunities and challenges in the context of the global economy, which is increasingly based on global value chains, and studying this impact is key to achieving economic growth and competitiveness. The study aims to examine the relationship between Ukraine’s participation in global value chains and the development of the manufacturing industry to identify opportunities and prospects for their interaction. The methods used were analytical, functional, system analysis, deduction, synthesis, and comparison. The results showed that industrial development is closely linked to changes in production, exports, and participation in global value chains, which affect production volumes and the number of employees in Ukrainian industries. The practical implications are to facilitate the development of better export strategies and improve sectoral policies to increase the competitiveness and efficiency of Ukrainian enterprises in global value chains.

Trade with Central Asian Republics: Banking Sector Policy Option for Pakistan

Trade with Central Asian Republics: Banking Sector Policy Option for Pakistan

Understanding cardiac events in breast cancer (UCARE): pilot cardio-oncology assessment and surveillance pathway for breast cancer patients

PurposeIn Ireland, over 3000 patients are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, and 1 in 9 Irish women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. There is evidence that female breast cancer survivors are more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than their age-matched counterparts. Specific services for cancer patients suffering from cancer therapy related cardiovascular toxicity have led to a higher incidence of safe anti-cancer treatment completion. Such services are not widely available in our jurisdiction, and the purpose of this trial is to remedy this situation.MethodsThis protocol describes a prospective, single arm, pilot feasibility study implementing a dedicated Cardio-Oncology assessment and surveillance pathway for patients receiving multimodal breast cancer treatment. It incorporates novel biomarker and radiomic surveillance and monitoring approaches for cancer-therapy related cardiac dysfunction into routine care for breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant systemic chemotherapy. ResultsDeclaration of results will via peer reviewed academic journals, and communicated directly to key knowledge users both nationally and internationally. This engagement will be critical to enable to healthcare services and policy sector make informed decisions or valuable changes to clinical practice, expenditure and/or systems development to support specialized Cardio-Oncology clinical pathways. All data is to be made available upon request.ConclusionDedicated cardio-oncology services have been recommended in recent literature to improve patient outcomes. Our protocol describes a feasibility study into the provision of such services for breast cancer.

The role of sectoral policies in the energy transition

The objective of this paper will be firstly to indicate the significance of sectoral policies, as well as to explain the impact of cross-sectoral policies on the achievement of their goals. Next, these considerations will be related to the role of energy sectoral policies in the energy transition process, taking into account the impact of the cross-sectoral climate policy. The article is directed at highlighting the need to distinguish between sectoral and cross-sectoral policies and to identify the relation between these policies, which has special significance in relation to the energy sector. In order to realise the adopted objective, an administrative-legal research method will be applied, taking into account the perspective of EU law in connection with the significant impact of EU policies on the setting of national sectoral policies.

The Impact Of Economic Contraction On The Financing Collectability Of Islamic Banking In Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic affected Indonesia's economic growth, which experienced a contraction in the first and second quarters of 2020. This study examines how economic contraction affects the collectability of Islamic banking in Indonesia, period for 2019: IV - 2020: II. The measurement of financial collectability is based on non-performing financing (NPF). The research data source comes from secondary data in publications from the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Data analysis uses descriptive statistics with the help of percentages, growth, and graphs. The results indicated that the economic contraction significantly impacted the decline in Islamic banking performance, as evidenced by an increase in NPF. The NPF increase occurs in all debtor groups: MSMEs, non-MSMEs, and households (consumption financing). The collectability of financing is separate from the area where COVID-19 spreads; where DKI Jakarta, East Java, and West Java are in the top five highest COVID-19 cases, they have better financing collectability than other provinces. Based on economic sectors, only mining and quarrying did not experience an increase in the NPF during the economic contraction period. These findings show differences with the growth-led finance paradigm. Regions that experience high cases of COVID-19 infection have better financing collectability. The practical implication of these findings is the importance of coordinating macro prudential policies with others, such as fiscal and actual sector policy, in encouraging the resilience of MSMEs, including managing the collectability of financing during economic contraction periods.

Lembaga Filantropi dan Fiskal Sebagai Instrumen Pembangunan Ekonomi Negara

Economic development is the main goal that every country wants to achieve to improve people's welfare, reduce poverty, and encourage sustainable economic growth. This study examines the important role of philanthropic institutions and fiscal policy in encouraging economic development, both in general and from an Islamic economic perspective. Philanthropy, through voluntary contributions such as zakat, infaq, alms, and waqf, helps fill gaps that cannot be fully addressed by the public sector, improves people's welfare, and reduces socio-economic disparities. Fiscal policy, as the main tool of government, plays an important role in managing state revenues and expenditures, influencing economic growth, income distribution, and macroeconomic stability. Through in-depth literature analysis, this research finds synergies between the philanthropic sector and fiscal policy that can strengthen sustainable economic development. This study also provides insight into the development of Islamic economics in the last three decades, showing significant progress in academic research and operational practice. It is hoped that the results of this research can provide significant policy recommendations to maximize the potential of these two tools in achieving fair and sustainable economic development.

Policy coherence assessment of water, energy, and food resources policies in the Tana River Basin, Kenya

Water, energy, and food resources are closely related in the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus, a tightly connected system in which impacts in one sector leads to changes in the other sectors. The WEF nexus approach studies these interactions to better understand their connections and implications across sectors, and is focused on making research practicable for policy. There is a clear lack of policy coherence studies to provide practical recommendations to achieve integrated resources management. This is true in the Tana River Basin (TRB), which provides abundant water, energy and food resources to the national economy and development of Kenya. This work carried out a WEF policy coherence assessment of the Tana River Basin. Results show that there are synergies and trade-offs across all resources sectors and their policy objectives. Water policies (e.g. to secure water availability) are generally evaluated as win-win, thus being supportive of attainment of goals in other policy sectors. Food policies (e.g. to develop the agricultural sector) show the highest number of trade-offs, suggesting these policies could be redesigned to minimise the trade-offs with other resource policies. This work highlights specifically which policies are relatively more or less supportive for holistic resources management in the TRB. In particular, the only TRB-level policy analysed (which is cross-resource in its ambition) shows synergies with national policy, offering opportunity for leveraging benefits and increasing implementation efficiency across resources. Strengthened cross-sectoral collaboration, joint workshops, and the establishment of a national cross-sectoral taskforce to develop aligned policies are recommended. This work provides a basis for similar studies across Africa, and promotes research that is of practical relevance.

"Special Regime - Galapagos islands" analysis of the electricity and public lighting service: Current status

This article presents the impact of applying the electricity sector and public lighting policies in the Galapagos Islands, focused on a framework that addresses six issues: legislation, demand, financial, technologies, environmental, and international commitments. The installed power capacity in 2022 was 31.55 MW, 23.04 % from renewable sources. By 2027, the power generation is expected to be 57.62 MW with 56 % renewable sources, without a short-term plan to comply with the "Zero fossil fuels" policy. The electrical system is isolated from the continent, and some policies analyzed can serve as a reference to implement changes in similar systems.

The contradicting state of urban housing and neoliberal policy in India: a macro analysis

The paper evaluates the adaptation of neoliberal policies in the Indian urban housing policy sector. While completing the objectives of this paper, the article also appraises the expression of neoliberalism as it unfolds in the literature. Neoliberalism is considered a loose set of philosophical, institutional, and political principles to safeguard individual and collective freedom like private property rights, goods and services exchange, movement of capital and labor, etc. Neoliberal policies promote open markets and trade to unbound creative potentials and entrepreneurial skills through efficient utilization of resources and upbringing of human well-being. In a neoliberal regime, cities compete to attract talented people, capital, and resources to achieve newer economic and social benchmarks. However, the constant pursuit of excessive achievements lets some negativities grow within. Large-scale inequality, deprivation, social unrest, and meager quality of life affect the sustainable and holistic development of seemingly most developed cities worldwide. Referring to literature from social sciences, urban planning, and development studies, this paper focuses on the consequences of neoliberalism and its impact on urban housing in India.

Integrated environmental-economic modelling for cross sectoral water policy evaluation

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) has set a deadline for 2027 to reach at least good ecological status (GES) in coastal waters in the EU. As nutrient pollution (eutrophication) is one of the main pressures in most EU coastal waters, and Danish waters in particular, significant nutrient reductions are required. In this paper, we take an integrated environmental-economic modelling approach to assess alternative strategies to mitigate non-point source nutrient pollution. A spatially explicit optimization model, TargetEconN, is implemented at the Danish national scale and extended to include mussel production as a marine water quality improvement measure. Different eutrophication mitigation strategies investigated in the model are characterized by whether nitrogen emissions are reduced at the source, between the source and the recipient e.g., by establishing wetlands, or in the recipient itself. We run scenarios exploring the uncertainty in baseline load assumptions and the effects of mussel farming. The results show that the potential for marine measures depends on the baseline load assumptions and that marine measures have a limited impact on the overall costs of achieving GES. The results also show that including marine measures has a significant indirect impact through the influence on the spatial distribution of land-based measures. We conclude that including mussel farming in policy initiatives to meet WFD targets has potential, but that the distributional effects across sectors and spillover effects to other policy targets should be a central part of the ex-ante policy discussions. We argue therefore that spatially explicit integrated modelling, as the model developed for this paper, can offer useful insights to manage the unescapable trade-offs in effective policy design to meet the WFD.

Mapping bureaucratic overload: Dynamics and drivers in media coverage across three European countries

AbstractBureaucratic overburdening has emerged as an important theme in public policy and administration research. The concept signifies a state where public administrators are overwhelmed with more tasks and responsibilities than they can effectively handle. Researchers attribute this phenomenon to several key factors, such as an increasing assault on the public sector, a growing volume of policies to enforce, and “external” shocks. These studies converge on the perception that the public sector's capacity to effectively implement policies and to address societal problems is progressively diminishing. However, there is a clear knowledge gap regarding the breadth, dynamics, and pervasiveness of this issue, as existing research often narrows its focus on the implementation of specific policies or policy sectors. This paper addresses this research gap by mapping the frequency of bureaucratic overload reports in newspaper articles from Italy, Ireland, and Germany, spanning two decades from 2003 to 2022. In the second step, we describe the drivers of overload that we coded in a random sample of articles. Our research reveals that the overburdening of public administration is indeed an escalating problem resulting from an “explosive” cocktail of external and internal challenges that simultaneously affect public authorities.

Where has all the knowledge gone? migrations from industrial to knowledge economy in textile firms

ABSTRACT Adopting a comparative international case study approach, we explore the relationship between crafts and knowledge management, focusing specifically on the transformation of knowledge in firms based in declining clusters. By analysing long-standing textile firms based in Veneto and Dundee, we investigate the question “where has all the (craft) knowledge gone” and how knowledge management practices have evolved within firms and in the overall cluster. The thematic analysis of our qualitative data shows a migration of knowledge from the industrial to the contemporary knowledge economy, identifying diverse trajectories, respectively oriented to the past and to the future. The paper proposes a framework of knowledge transformation approaches based on key differences between the clusters analysed. Building on this, we also provide practical suggestions for firms still operating in the sector and broader policy implications.

Harmonizing existing climate change mitigation policy datasets with a hybrid machine learning approach

With the rapid proliferation of climate policies in both number and scope, there is an increasing demand for a global-level dataset that provides multi-indicator information on policy elements and their implementation contexts. To address this need, we developed the Global Climate Change Mitigation Policy Dataset (GCCMPD) using a semisupervised hybrid machine learning approach, drawing upon policy information from global, regional, and sector-specific sources. Differing from existing climate policy datasets, the GCCMPD covers a large range of policies, amounting to 73,625 policies of 216 entities. Through the integration of expert knowledge-based dictionary mapping, probability statistics methods, and advanced natural language processing technology, the GCCMPD offers detailed classification of multiple indicators and consistent information on sectoral policy instruments. This includes insights into objectives, target sectors, instruments, legal compulsion, administrative entities, etc. By aligning with the sector classification of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission datasets, the GCCMPD serves to help policy-makers, researchers, and social organizations gain a deeper understanding of the similarities and distinctions among climate activities across countries, sectors, and entities.

The connectedness and structural changes among green and conventional energy markets with CO2 emissions in the United States

As the world's biggest oil producer and second-biggest polluter, the United States has set a strict target to cut net CO2 emissions by 50–52 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and a net zero emission by 2050 through various strategies, particularly clean energy initiatives. This research attempts to examine the effects of five specific renewable and conventional energy subsectors with carbon emission across five sectors, including power (POW), industry (IND), ground transportation (GT), domestic aviation (DA), and residential (RE). The data illustrate the decline and subsequent increase in CO2 emissions throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukrainian conflict, and the USA recession periods from January 1 2021 to September 30 2022. Employing the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model and a novel quantile connectedness framework, it was found that risk transmission between different markets has been exceptionally high, exceeding 80% both in the COVID-19 outbreak and in the aftermath. The finding suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic shock and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict have intensified the connections between carbon emissions and clean and non-clean energy markets. Policymakers should adjust net zero targets to align with changing dynamics, prioritize wind and geothermal energy, and promote energy independence due to rising oil prices. Leverage lithium for electric vehicles and create specific policies for power, industry, transportation, aviation, and residential sectors to manage CO2 emissions effectively.

Determining a future policy focus to support antimicrobial stewardship in community pharmacy: A modified Delphi study

BackgroundOver the past decade, the pharmacy sector's policy, academic and professional spheres have increasingly drawn attention to the opportunities to better leverage the untapped potential of the community pharmacy sector in contributing to global efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While efforts are in train, progress is slow. ObjectiveTo draw insights from global experts in the field to identify a broad range of potential future policy directions to support community pharmacists' involvement in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). MethodsA modified Delphi technique, comprising two survey rounds to build consensus amongst global community pharmacy sector stakeholders and opinion leaders. In Round 1, participants rated their level of agreement with 28 statements across the three domains of policy design, implementation design, and monitoring and evaluation. Participants were also invited to contribute feedback in Round 1, which was reflected as new statements (n = 10) in Round 2. In Round 2, participants were asked to re-assess Round 1 statements in view of the group consensus and to rate the new statements. Results289 participants were invited to participate. 48/289 (17% response rate) completed Round 1, and 25/42 (60% response rate) completed Round 2. Consensus (defined as >70% agreement) was achieved for 79% (n = 30) of the statements across the three domains. ConclusionPharmacy sector experts agreed that acknowledging community pharmacists in AMS national action plans is an important component, signalling a recognition of the sector's contribution to whole-of-nation AMS efforts. Implementation components that achieved consensus reflect the profession's evolution to a professional service driven model, particularly in complementary AMS initiatives including infection prevention and control measures. Context-specific adjustments to support implementing these AMS measures will be required, in addition to striking the appropriate balance to support the pace of increased community pharmacists'involvement in AMS with building whole-of-profession buy-in.

Feasibility of Haruan Snakehead Fish Breeding Units for Recipients of Non-Cash Government Assistance Revitalization of People's Seedling Units (UPR) in Hulu Sungai Tengah District, South Kalimantan Province

Haruan snakehead fish, as one of Indonesia's fisheries germplasm wealth, has an important role as a source of animal protein and buffers the stability of inflation rates in the Kalimantan region. The feasibility factor is expected to make a significant contribution to the development of the local fisheries sector and related government policies at the regional level. The research aims to analyze the feasibility of the local haruan fish hatchery business for recipients of government assistance in the form of revitalizing the People's Hatchery Unit (UPR) in Hulu Sungai Tengah Regency, South Kalimantan Province. Research activities take place in the Mufakat Group, Mahang Baru Village, South Labuan Amas District, Hulu Sungai Tengah Regency - Province South Kalimantan. Sampling was carried out using the proportional sampling method, namely samples were taken deliberately from Haruan snakehead fish cultivators who received grant assistance. The total number of respondents was 1 Cultivator Group. Feasibility of the Haruan snakehead fish hatchery unit for recipients of non-cash government assistance for revitalizing people's hatchery units (UPR) in Hulu Sungai Tengah Regency, South Kalimantan Province Hulu Sungai Tengah, South Kalimantan Province, with different discount rates, the present value (NPV) snakehead fish cultivation business obtained a value of Rp. 189,533,025, which shows that this project can provide financial benefits. The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) value of 56% indicates a fairly high rate of return, exceeding the interest rate generally available on the market. The payback period (PP) is 1.76 years Keywords: Haruan Snakehead Fish, Feasibility, Revitalization, HST

Local community participation in Tanzania's natural gas sector: A dissection of policies and the regulatory frameworks

The discovery of significant natural gas reserves in Tanzania prompted the government to develop policies and regulatory frameworks for better management of this sector. Nevertheless, knowledge of how these policies and regulatory frameworks facilitate local community participation in the sector is scant and attention to these issues is limited. We use qualitative data and the Context Interaction Theory (CIT) as our lens to analyse the sectoral policies and regulatory frameworks to understand whether and how they facilitate local community participation. Our analysis revealed that the natural gas policies and frameworks have to some extent facilitated local community participation through provision of employment opportunities, participation in the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility projects and protection of the gas infrastructures. However, meaningful local community participation is constrained by various factors including inadequate qualified and skilled individuals among the locals; misinformation to local community members; and insufficient awareness on the natural gas policies and regulatory frameworks. We recommend policies and regulatory frameworks that support local capacity development and empower local government authorities to develop their capacity for translating policies into practice on local community participation. These measures should involve ‘policy learning” from countries that have been successful in developing inclusive participation policies and responsive institutions.