Strong Role Of Government Research Articles

Agenda setting and socially contentious policies: Ethiopia’s 2005 reform of its law on abortion

BackgroundIn 2005, Ethiopia took a bold step in reforming its abortion law as part of the overhaul of its Penal Code. Unsafe abortion is one of the three leading causes of maternal mortality in low-income countries; however, few countries have liberalized their laws to permit safer, legal abortion.MethodsThis retrospective case study describes the actors and processes involved in Ethiopia’s reform and assesses the applicability of theories of agenda setting focused on internal versus external explanations. It draws on 54 interviews conducted in 2007 and 2012 with informants from civil society organizations, health professionals, government, international nongovernmental organizations and donors, and others familiar with the reproductive health policy context in Ethiopia as well as on government data, national policies, and media reports. The analytic methodology is within-case analysis through process tracing: using causal process observations (pieces of data that provide information about context, process, or mechanism and can contribute to causal inference) and careful description and sequencing of factors in order to describe a novel political phenomenon and evaluate potential explanatory hypotheses.ResultsThe analysis of key actors and policy processes indicates that the ruling party and its receptiveness to reform, the energy of civil society actors, the “open windows” offered by the vehicle of the Penal Code reform, and the momentum of reforms to improve women’s status, all facilitated liberalization of law on abortion. Results suggest that agenda setting theories focusing on national actors—rather than external causes—better explain the Ethiopian case. In addition, the stronger role for government across areas of policy work (policy specification and politics, mobilization for enactment and for implementation), and the collaborative civil society and government policy relationships working toward implementation are largely internal, unlike those predicted by theories focusing on external forces behind policy adoption.ConclusionsEthiopia’s policymaking process can inform policy reform efforts related to abortion in other sub-Saharan Africa settings.

Public support for U.S. social safety net policies throughout the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 has stretched the U.S. social safety net and prompted federal legislation designed to ameliorate the pandemic's health and economic impacts. We surveyed a nationally representative cohort of 1222 U.S. adults in April 2020 and November 2020 to evaluate changes in public opinion about 11 social safety net policies and the role of government over the course of the pandemic. A majority of U.S. adults supported six policies at both time points, including policies guaranteeing two weeks of paid sick leave; enacting universal health insurance; increasing the federal minimum wage; and increasing government spending on construction projects, business tax credits, and employment education and training. From April to November 2020, public support was stable for nine of the 11 policies but declined nearly 10 percentage points for policies guaranteeing two weeks paid sick leave (from 76% support in April 2020 to 67% support in November 2020) and extending unemployment insurance benefits (51% to 42%). Declines in support for these two policies were concentrated among those with higher incomes, more education, in better health status, the employed, and those with health insurance. The share of respondents believing in a strong role of government also declined from 33% in April to 26% in November 2020 (p > 0.05). Despite these shifts, we observed consistent majority support for several policies enacted during the pandemic, including guaranteeing paid sick leave and business tax credits, as well as employment-related policies.

An ignored player in internationalisation: why and how does a Chinese regional university internationalise?

ABSTRACT Most scholarly work on internationalisation in Chinese higher education institutions has been conducted on top-level universities but prior research does not necessarily apply to regional universities that are pursuing a strategy of internationalisation and recruiting international students. This research has selected a Chinese regional university as a case study and has investigated its rationale for and practices in implementing internationalisation. Data were collected primarily through the university’s internal documents and 18 semi-structured interviews with university senior and middle managers. Results show that the university is motivated by quantitative indicators that relate to internationalisation in the China University Subject Rankings, which has determined the university’s long-term and short-term financial resources, reputation and development opportunities. This instrumental approach to internationalisation has resulted in changes and challenges in the university’s management and academic practices, and has indicated the debate of the good and bad of a strong government role in higher education internationalisation.

PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVELOPMENT FROM NEW ORDER REGIME TO REFORMATION REGIME IN INDONESIA: PERSPECTIVE OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION SYSTEM

<p>PV has been firstly introduced in Indonesia by government as part of new and renewable enegies (NREs) since new order regime. During this regime, directive of PV development was totally determined by strong role of government. Afterwards, in reformation regime, role of enterprises to develop PV appeared when government issued regulation about use of local products as well as formation of the directorate of NREs at Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resource (ESDM) in 2010. To capture phenomena of PV development during new order regime to reformation regime, technological innovation system (TIS) is used on this study. This study is a qualitative analysis using case study method developed by Yin. Finding of this study is that PV projects and its technology cannot be massively developed without intervention of government both in new order regime and reformation regime.</p><em></em>

Self-Rated Health and Attitudes About U.S. Health Care Policy

ABSTRACTHow does one’s own health influence attitudes about national health care policy? Previous research has documented a reliable (though bounded) role of personal interest in shaping policy preferences, but little is known about the role that personal health plays in shaping these attitudes. Using recent General Social Survey data, we find that those with poorer self-rated health were more likely to endorse a strong role for government in providing health care, and more likely to endorse increased spending on health care. Further analysis suggested that this relationship was moderated by political ideology. Implications for better understanding the source of health policy support are discussed.

Generating political priority for regulatory interventions targeting obesity prevention: an Australian case study

Effective obesity prevention requires a synergistic mix of population-level interventions including a strong role for government and the regulation of the marketing, labelling, content and pricing of energy-dense foods and beverages. In this paper we adopt the agenda of the Australian Federal Government (AFG) as a case study to understand the factors generating or hindering political priority for such ‘regulatory interventions’ between 1990 and 2011. Using a theoretically-guided process tracing method we undertook documentary analysis and conducted 27 interviews with a diversity of actors involved in obesity politics. The analysis was structured by a theoretical framework comprising four dimensions: the power of actors involved; the ideas the actors deploy to interpret and portray the issue; the institutional and political context; and issue characteristics. Despite two periods of sustained political attention, political priority for regulatory interventions did not emerge and was hindered by factors from all four dimensions. Within the public health community, limited cohesion among experts and advocacy groups hampered technical responses and collective action efforts. An initial focus on children (child obesity), framing the determinants of obesity as ‘obesogenic environments’, and the deployment of ‘protecting kids’, ‘industry demonization’ and ‘economic costs’ frames generated political attention. Institutional norms within government effectively selected out regulatory interventions from consideration. The ‘productive power’ and activities of the food and advertising industries presented formidable barriers, buttressed by a libertarian/neolibertarian rhetoric emphasizing individual responsibility, a negative view of freedom (as free from ‘nanny-state’ intervention) and the idea that regulation imposes an unacceptable cost on business. Issue complexity, the absence of a supportive evidence base and a strict ‘evidence-based’ policy-making approach were used as rationales to defer political priority. Overcoming these challenges may be important to future collective action efforts attempting to generate and sustain political priority for regulatory interventions targeting obesity.

Social Entrepreneurship in Non-munificent Institutional Environments and Implications for Institutional Work: Insights from China

We investigate the research question: Why are there very few social enterprises in China? Our findings unpack four types of institutional challenges to social entrepreneurship, as perceived by social entrepreneurs: norms of a strong role for government; misunderstood or unknown role for social enterprises; non-supportive rules and regulations; and lack of socio-cultural values and beliefs in support of social goals. We contribute to the literature on social enterprises by showing how an institutional environment may be “non-munificent,” i.e., non-supportive for the existence of social enterprises and their goals, and we thus address the need for more attention to the institutional environment in which social entrepreneurship takes place. Further, by using Q-methodology on 42 social entrepreneurs along with illustrative qualitative data from interviews, we address the need to go beyond anecdotal case studies and introduce methodological plurality in social entrepreneurship research. Finally, our findings on institutional challenges provide us with an opportunity to discuss how social entrepreneurs may engage with purposive activities to overcome such challenges, leading us to initiate a conversation between the social entrepreneurship and institutional work literatures.

A World Trade Organization for the 21st Century: The Asian Perspective

A World Trade Organization for 21st Century: The Asian Perspective. Edited By Richard Baldwin, Masahiro Kawai and Ganeshan Wignaraja. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar, 2014. Pp. 429. As an increasing proportion of world economic activity shifts to Asian continent and various regional trade agreements proliferate, a book focusing on future role of World Trade Organization (WTO) is a delight to any intellectual mind aspiring to dig deep into issues related to international trade. The book touches upon all issues that are central to shaping current global trade architecture. It specifies that governance of international trade in present day has to address the intertwining of trade, investment, intellectual property and --something that has not been able to address convincingly till date. The chapters of book may be roughly divided into four groups. Although book does not divide these groups explicitly, a brief roadmap is provided in introductory chapter. To address changing paradigm of international trade, first group (Chapters 2 and 3) define concept of value-added trade and supply chain trade, an issue that is particularly relevant while talking about trade in East and Southeast Asia. The challenges of not having kept up with changing times and need for WTO 2.0 are mentioned. In second group, Chapters 4 and 5 deal with question of firm level determinants in joining global supply chain, and industrial policies to facilitate trade in value chains. The question of firm size as a determinant to join a supply chain is investigated rigorously and results are shown to vary by region across East and Southeast Asia. The role of investment in technology and technology upgradation stands out as a significant determinant. The role of government in formulating policies to facilitate small-medium enterprises (SMEs) joining supply chain is postulated. It concludes that a strong role of government in infrastructure development in close coordination with private actors is most suitable. In third group (Chapters 6 to 10), focus shifts to policies relevant for international transactions. Specifically, Chapters 6 and 7 analyse exchange rate policies and responses to economic crises through protectionism. The protectionist stance taken as a reaction to recent financial crises is found to have been higher in developed countries than developing ones in Asian region. The style of protectionism is also outside governing areas and span areas of discrimination against foreign firms, services and workers, just to name a few. On exchange rate policies, trend across partners in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of maintaining stable currencies amongst FTA members is observed, highlighting distortionary effects on trade outside bloc. This is followed by analysing trends towards regional integration through policy challenges in context of Asian FTAs and mega regional trade agreements (RTAs) like Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The pivotal role of Rules of Origin (ROO) in context of any FTA in determining preference given to FTA members is analysed while addressing other challenges of integrating famous Asian noodle bowl effect. The prospects of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)--the impediments and integrating factors and its effects--are further discussed. …

Beauty without the Beast: How to Improve Investment Characteristics of Emerging-Market Exposures

Emerging markets, characterized by dynamic economies and capital markets that are less than perfectly correlated to those in developed markets, have become a hot topic. Their lack of correlation with developed markets is of special interest to investors based in or exposed to developed markets, as it helps to diversify their portfolios. However, investors face many challenges when directly investing in emerging markets, including different or reduced regulations, a stronger role for government, exchange-rate risks and, above all, liquidity concerns. Many emerging markets still do not have exchanges as developed and mature as those of developed markets. An alternative approach to direct investment in emerging markets has recently gained popularity: Invest in companies that are incorporated and locally listed in developed markets but that generate a significant share of revenues in emerging markets. As the empirical results of this article show, this approach—which we call “the exposure concept”—provides investors with risk-and-return characteristics significantly tilted in the direction of a direct emerging-market investment. However, since exposure concepts select their constituents among developed market firms, they remain influenced by their home markets, giving them a hybrid character of both worlds. <b>TOPICS:</b>Emerging, portfolio construction, risk management

Marketing Practices of Cardamom Growers: A Study in the Western Ghats of South India

This article makes an attempt to elucidate the marketing practices of cardamom growers in the Western Ghats of south India. The article is based on a sample study conducted among 300 cardamom planters in three states, namely, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. The study was conducted so as to understand the marketing practices of cardamom growers in the study area. As such the study has revealed the practices in cardamom marketing such as sales and pricing of small cardamom in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, under a comparative framework. The article, based on the findings of the study, offers suggestions which have policy implications. The study suggests a strong role of government with regard to regulations of marketing of small cardamom in India.

A Toothless Chihuahua? The ACCC, Neoliberalism and Supermarket Power in Australia

During the Senate Inquiry into ‘milk price wars’ in 2011, Senator Nick Xenophon accused the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) of being ‘less effective than a toothless Chihuahua’. This follows the ACCC’s lack of action regarding the reported abuse of market power of Australia’s supermarket duopoly – where an extensive inquiry into the competitiveness of retail prices in 2008 found grocery retailing to be ‘workably competitive’ despite numerous claims to the contrary. How can farmers’ submissions to the inquiry that cite market abuse be reconciled with the ACCC’s finding that all is well in the food supply chain? Following an in-depth examination of 53 farmer submissions to the inquiry, we conclude that the findings of the ACCC are commensurate with the neoliberal economisation of the political sphere – where commercial entities ‘legitimately’ govern beyond their corporate boundaries, often using disciplinary measures that were once exclusive to governments. We argue that such clear structural inequalities between farmers and major corporations is reason to re-regulate markets and reinsert a stronger role for government to ‘level the playing field’.

Synthesis paper on socioeconomic factors relating to agriculture and community development

Agriculture is highly dependent on the social sustainability inherent in rural communities. Yet too often we focus on the economic and environmental drivers relating to agricultural production, ignoring the social and community aspects that make rural livelihood not only possible but also rewarding and nurturing. In this paper I focus on climate change as yet another factor associated with rural restructuring that defrays community wellbeing. I argue that attention to social factors and a stronger role for government in assisting communities will enable greater adaptation and enhance resilience in what are essentially very uncertain times.

Health care reform: Can a communitarian perspective be salvaged?

The United States is culturally oriented more toward individual rights and values than to communitarian values. That proclivity has made it hard to develop a common good, or solidarity-based, perspective on health care. Too many people believe they have no obligation to support the health care of others and resist a strong role for government, higher taxation, or reduced health benefits. I argue that we need to build a communitarian perspective on the concept of solidarity, which has been the concept underlying European health care systems, by focusing not on individual needs, but rather, on those of different age groups--that is, what people need at different stages of life.

China's health care reform: A tentative assessment

Abstract China has recently unveiled an ambitious new health-care reform plan, entailing a doubling of government health spending as well as a number of concrete reforms. While the details of the plan have not yet been completely announced, we offer a preliminary assessment of how well the reform is likely to achieve its stated goal of assuring every citizen equal access to affordable basic health care. The reform is based on three fundamental tenets: strong role of government in health, commitment to equity, and willingness to experiment with regulated market approaches. Within this framework, the reform offers a number of laudable changes to the health system, including an increase in public health financing, an expansion of primary health facilities and an increase in subsidies to achieve universal insurance coverage. However, it fails to address the root causes of the wastes and inefficiencies plaguing China's health care system, such as a fragmented delivery system and provider incentives to over-provide expensive tests and services. We conclude that China should consider changing the provider payment method from fee-for-service to a prospective payment method such as DRG or capitation with pay-for-performance, and to develop purchasing agencies that represent the interests of the population so as to enhance competition.

Power from Perspective: Potential future United States energy portfolios

This paper presents United States energy portfolios for the year 2030, developed from seven different Perspectives. The Perspectives are characterized by different weights placed on fourteen defining values (e.g., cost, social acceptance). The portfolios were constructed to achieve three primary goals, energy independence, energy security, and greenhouse gas reductions. The portfolios are also evaluated over a comprehensive set of secondary criteria (e.g., economic growth, technical feasibility). It is found that very different portfolios based on very different defining values can achieve the three primary goals. Commonalities among the portfolios include reliance upon cellulosic ethanol, nuclear power, and energy efficiency to meet year 2030 energy demands. It is concluded that the US energy portfolio must be diverse and to achieve national energy goals will require an explicit statement of goals, a strong role for government, and coordinated action across society.

Impact of cooperatives on smallholders' commercialization behavior: evidence from Ethiopia

AbstractThis article examines the impact of marketing cooperatives on smallholder commercialization of cereals using detailed household data in rural Ethiopia. We use the strong government role in promoting the establishment of cooperatives to justify the use of propensity score matching to compare households that are cooperative members to similar households in comparable areas without cooperatives. The analysis reveals that although cooperatives obtain higher prices for their members, they are not associated with a significant increase in the overall share of cereal production sold commercially by their members. However, these average results hide considerable heterogeneity across households. In particular, we find that smaller farmers tend to reduce their marketed output as a result of higher prices, whereas the opposite is true for larger farmers.

Insuring Large-Scale Floods in the Netherlands

Without its primary flood defenses, a large part of the Netherlands would be swallowed by rivers and the sea. Floods caused by the failure of primary flood defenses are high-impact, low-probability events that are notoriously difficult to insure. Private insurance was long considered unfeasible but the Dutch government is currently studying ways to introduce a public–private insurance program. This paper offers a discussion of variables that should be taken into account in the choice for an arrangement for the financing of large-scale floods in the Netherlands. Because flood risk is highly concentrated and potential losses could be severe, a strong government role seems inevitable. But this would not necessarily be inappropriate as this could reduce the risk of underinvestment in flood protection.

Teaching social behaviour in schools – what can governments do?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the role of government and policy making in supporting schools to develop work on social behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is written by a sitting member of Parliament in the UK who is himself supporting work in schools in his constituency of Nottingham North on social behaviour, in order to clarify the role of government and it to do more in this emerging area.FindingsThe paper finds that work on social behaviour in school is urgently needed to address social deprivation and social exclusion. There is a strong role for government in this process. This work needs to be addressed with the same degree of commitment and systematic thinking as has been applied to numeracy and literacy teaching in schools, not least because social behaviour underpins and supports academic learning.Practical implicationsThe paper implies that policy makers need to consider the importance of work on social behaviour in schools and their role in supporting it.Originality/valueThe paper is written by a sitting member of Parliament, addressing his fellow politicians, as well as other social policy makers, to tackle an issue of great social and educational significance – and as such is unusual if not unique.

Income Polarization and California's Social Contract

This chapter explores the implications of growing economic and social inequality in California for the state's social contract, as well as the role of government and other institutions in addressing the new polarization. Data from the ILE's 2001-02 California Workforce Survey reveal that a majority of Californians are seriously concerned about the widening economic divide and support public policy measures that would help to narrow it. Respondents with lower incomes and less education are especially supportive of a strong government role in this area, as are noncitizens, Latinos, and African Americans. Because of the concentration of low-wage workers, immigrants, and Latinos in the southern part of the state, attitudes there belie the conservative stereotype of Southern California, traditionally juxtaposed to the relatively liberal attitudes assumed to be typical of the Bay Area. The survey results suggest that today, southern Californians are in fact more supportive of a strong government role than are people in the rest of the state. Southern Californians are also more pro-union than their counterparts elsewhere in the state. Another important topic in the chapter is public policy in regard to the problem of combining work and family responsibilities, with a large majority of survey respondents reporting that they favor compensating workers for family leave, and making child care and elder care more affordable.

Health Care Data: Government Intervention or Private Cooperation?

markets and the delivery of health care resources fall into two different camps: one side opts for a public sector approach and the other, for a competitive market approach. The former implies a strong government role, and, in its purest sense, the latter implies none at all. In reality, government has been, and will continue to be, a major player in health care markets-especially in promoting and fostering freely competitive market environments. An important tool in advancing this goal of competitive health care markets is the information required for promoting efficiency and regulating competition. More specifically, health care data can be used for making purchasing decisions and for ensuring that markets are operating competitively. For example, purchasers of health care services-from individual consumers to purchasing coalitions to large, self-funded corporations-need data to make prudent decisions about how to get the best quality care at the lowest possible price. Governments need accurate data to monitor health care markets (e.g., to determine if one provider or provider system has a monopolistic share of a local or regional health care market).