Theory Policy Research Articles

A Critical Review on New Structural Economic

New structural economics has become one of the most influential economic theories in China today. However, there are still many scholars and students in economics who could not understand the nature of its theoretical and analytical framework and policy recommendations, which make it necessary to describe and evaluate it objectively. This paper investigates the object of study, analytical framework and policy theory of new structural economics, which, in terms of object of study and analytical framework, lies in an intermediary form. in the transition from traditional neoclassical economics to new classical economics by Xiaokai Yang. Since the function of the institutional environment in the analytical framework of new structural economics is not to determine the set of production structures, but to realize the optimal production structure determined by the structure of factor endowment structure through transaction costs, in terms of policy practice, new structural economics could only explain the rapid growth rate of China’s reform. and opening up for 40 years, and cannot identify when China should again undergo an institutional transformation in order to achieve the timing of an advanced economy eventually.

On dividend policy and market valuations of Australia’s listed electricity utilities: Regulated vs. merchant

Restructuring of Australia’s electricity supply industry during the 1990s led to two clear lines of business emerging, (i). regulated utilities (i.e. poles & wires), and (ii). merchant utilities (i.e. competitive generation and retail). There are dozens of utility businesses in Australia but only four were listed on the Australian Stock Exchange — two regulated and two merchant. Over the past decade the Australian Energy Regulator entered a ‘tightening phase’ vis-à-vis Opex and Capex allowances, with regulated utilities arguing regulated rates of return were sub-optimal. In this article, earnings, dividends and market valuations of Australia’s ASX-listed regulated and merchant utilities are analysed over the period 2007–2021. The practical evidence is Australia’s regulated utilities avoided the large swings in earnings that characterised merchant utilities, exhibiting outcomes consistent with the lifecycle theory of dividend policy (i.e. falling cost of capital). Soaring valuations culminated in the simultaneous takeover events of Australia’s two ASX-listed regulated utilities. This makes criticisms of regulatory policy on rates of return hard to reconcile, at least from an historic perspective. However, the industry now faces a very different trajectory and set of market conditions — rising rates, higher inflation and an unwinding of lifecycle theory effects given substantial network investments required to meet climate change objectives. This may in turn require returns policy recalibration. Unfortunately for policymakers, all regulated utilities have now been delisted, ending our ability to observe ‘real’ capital market responses to regulatory change.

Inclusive Policy Innovation in Improving Welfare for People with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Period in Batam City

The purpose of this research is an effort to strengthen policies that must be carried out as a step in preparing regulations for the implementation of various policies, especially for people with disabilities, such as various breakthroughs in the development of basic competencies that include various skills. This research is motivated by the problems faced by the Batam City Government in fulfilling the right to work for people with disabilities and improving the welfare of people with disabilities. The theory used in this discussion refers to the Inclusive Policy Theory which is continuous with the Inclusive Economic Policy launched by the Ministry of Manpower, this research also uses qualitative methods with descriptive research types. The results of this study indicate that there are 5 challenges to the welfare of people with disabilities in Batam City, one of which is that there is no programmed job training for persons with disabilities. This means that people with disabilities find it difficult to find work and are unable to compete with workers who do not have physical disabilities. Therefore, inclusive policies and inclusive economies are able to coexist in advancing the economy of disabled workers and are accompanied by Law number 8 of 2016 in Article 53 paragraph (1).

Theory of Optimal Taxation and Current Tax Policy in Pakistan’s Agriculture

The theory of optimal taxation has tended to recast the existing literature of public finance into the mould of classical welfare economics by emphasising minimisation of dead weight losses resulting from the imposition of a tax or faulty tax structure. As such, these modern theories have much in common with the traditional approach in terms of efficiency and equity. In spite of this, however, the differences remain. For example, the former theories adhere strictly to the norms of classical welfare economics which treats individual consumers as utility maximisers where improvements in welfare involve change that makes one individual better-off without making someone else worse-off [Stern (1987)]. In contrast to the emphasis of traditional theories on lump-sum taxes, the optimum tax literature is concerned with the implication of using non-lump-sum taxes which have a wider range and therefore more useful to the policy-maker. The recent work on normative tax theory looks at the impact of taxation on individual decisions and the trade off between raising revenues or redistributing tax burdens and the efficiency losses [Atkinson (1987)]. Finally, the optimal tax literature may be more pragmatic in its approach than traditional works as it realistically deals with government objectives and constraints and combines them into models that are sufficiently rich to allow for differences between people regarding income and expenditure patterns.

Credit Guarantee Schemes – Are They Efficient? Experience from European Union Countries

The paper aims to assess selected elements of the business models of credit guarantee schemes (CGSs) implemented in 20 European Union countries within the financial framework between 2007 and 2013. This paper focuses on the CGSs’ financial additionality that depends mainly on how these programs are managed, the institutions implementing them, the objectives set and their distribution constraints. We analyse the implementation costs and the use of the funds allocated to implement the schemes. To reach the goal, we used several methods: the Kruskal‑Wallis by ranks, the median test, discriminant analysis, multidimensional scaling, and correlation. We also did the power analysis. We discovered that the efficiency of CGS implemented by non‑governmental organisations, mutual guarantee funds and regional agencies is related to the level of regional development. The relationship is not visible only when banks are engaged, which may be due to the impossibility of assigning a bank’s activities to a single region. However, we did not find differences in efficiency between types of organisations that implement CGSs. The answers to the research questions posed in the article can help policymakers and researchers conclude whether it is cost‑effective to continue supporting CGSs and whether the management of these schemes should change. The paper contributes to the economic policy theory in the area of state aid to SMEs and public finance.

Customizable Health Policy System

In order to account for the role that hospitals play in health policy, this research paper will use and build customized health policy theory. The way in which health services are provided is heavily influenced by health policies. Due to its inflexible structure and misguiding policies, it is a well-known issue with the purchase of health insurance. Due to this, the appropriate resources are not allocated at the appropriate time, which results in reimbursement failure, health burden, and financial losses as a result of error in judgement or misunderstanding. Therefore, personalizing health policies to meet the requirements of specific people or groups is possible. The framework for making decisions to improve people's health status is known as health policy. The significance and problems with developing health policies are discussed in detail in this paper, along with methodological concerns. Methodological concerns are cited, and the majority of the works in this field are cited. After introducing the subject and outlining the need for health policy, it is explained from several academic perspectives and what a health policy is. The stages of the cycle for developing policies are discussed. The health policy development cycle is described in this review paper, along with the methodological concerns it raises. The study places further emphasis on evidence-based health policy and then describes the lessons that may be drawn from prior attempts at developing policy. The report finishes by outlining the difficulties in creating and implementing a successful health strategy.

Evaluation on Humanitarian Intervention in Myanmar: Is It a Placebo Effect?

Historically, humanitarian intervention has been used to support political and economic interests. As the globalization effect, humanitarian intervention was carried out sincerely to deal with a humanitarian crisis by providing assistance. Myanmar is a country that experienced a humanitarian crisis a long time ago. Various humanitarian intervention methods have been done in Myanmar to handle the humanitarian crisis. Since the military coup in February 2021, the crisis has escalated and the effectiveness of the humanitarian assistance is still questionable in dealing with the crisis. This article will evaluate the governance of humanitarian interventions provided by INGOs and how they resolve the humanitarian crisis. The analytical methods used were qualitative research that used theory of domestication policy. In evaluating the effectiveness of humanitarian intervention governance, the authors analyze it from the point of view of the international humanitarian agency and the Myanmar government. This study found that due to the domestic policy made by the junta, which seem not want to empower the people. Further evaluation is on the humanitarian assistance to Myanmar that is not covered the needs and only temporary or placebo effect.

Towards an integrated framework for evaluating transformative innovation policy

In recent years, a new frame for innovation policy has emerged, namely “transformative innovation policy” (TIP), which aims at addressing transformative change or “Grand Challenges”. Such a shift in policy theory should, ideally, be reflected in policy evaluation, but the literature has so far provided little advice on how to address TIP-related evaluation challenges such as directionality and system-level behavioural additionality. This paper discusses how the evaluation of policy interventions targeting system innovation can be designed to address these challenges. Combining the literature on sustainability transitions with policy evaluation, we propose an integrated evaluation framework composed of three main components: (i) programme theory (programme goals, systems boundaries and desired (or accepted) development paths); (ii) system analysis (transformative outcomes); and (iii) synthesis and overall assessment (including revision of programme theory). By integrating the two sets of literature, we provide a bridge between academic research on transitions and current evaluation practices. We briefly illustrate the applicability of the integrated framework in the BioInnovation Strategic Innovation Programme in Sweden.

Reverse Repurchase Rate on Selected Monetary Policy Indicators: A Vector Autoregression

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the reverse repurchase (RRP) rate as the main monetary policy instrument of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in affecting selected monetary policy indicators, particularly output gap, inflation, and nominal exchange rate, through a modified New Keynesian monetary policy model using vector autoregression (VAR). The results showed that changes in the RRP rate affects output gap, inflation, and nominal exchange rate, albeit not statistically significant. In addition, the “price puzzle” was seen in the results. This pertains to an increase in inflation after monetary policy contraction which is in contrast with the standard monetary policy theory.

The "Securitization" theory and the problem of political rhetoric in social networks

In the usual sense, "information security" means a set of measures necessary to protect against leakage or hacking of computer systems, programs and data. However, recently the concept of security has begun to change - in connection with this, the approach to the concept of information security has begun to be filled with new social and political meanings. Cyberspace is a defining feature of modern life. Therefore, the concept of "national security" began to extend in terms of "Cyber Security Politics", concept including new reference objects, such as Internet networks and messengers, socio-political threats and challenges. The emergence and development of this approach was largely influenced by the theory of speech acts of the Copenhagen School "securitization" concept. The main purpose of the study is to determine how "cybersecurity" is connected in general with the theory and practice of state security policy, to determine the role of politicians and media specialists’ rhetoric in social media, in election campaigns; and to show the methods of speech acts influence on ensuring and maintaining information/Internet security. Based on content analysis and discursive analysis of speech acts used in social media such as Facebook, Twitter and others, the following results were obtained: the importance of posing the problem of the social threat of social media to the formation of mass consciousness is indicated, the need to solve the problem at the legislative level is pointed. Cybersecurity threats are one of the main national security, public safety, politics and economy challenges every nation faces in XXI century. The existence of numerous cyber security issues on various spheres of life naturally increase political interest in resolving them. The novelty of the study lies in the analysis of the Kazakhstani segment of the Internet, comparative analysis with problematic cases of cyber threats in the USA and Russia. The results of the study are of practical importance for the media professionals, content managers of social media, in order to mainain the Internet security. Keywords: cybersecurity, concept of “securitization”, preventing threats and challenges of a socio-political nature, social media, rhetoric.

Comparative analysis of bank lending to non-financial corporations under the conditions of inflation targeting

The influence of the interest policy of the National Bank of Ukraine on the dynamics of lending to non-financial corporations during the period of using the monetary regime of fixed exchange rate and inflation targeting is considered. It has been proven, that the use of the symmetric corridor of the interest policy of the National Bank of Ukraine has a negative effect on the volume of lending to non-financial corporations, since high rates on deposit certificates of the National Bank of Ukraine create a risk-free and highly profitable instrument for the placement of bank assets, which discourages lending to the real sector of the economy. The absence of a connection between the interest rate policy and the dynamics of the consumer price index and the money supply during the period of inflation targeting is substantiated, which made it possible to prove the low level of effectiveness of the chosen monetary regime.
 The aim of the article is to study the problems of bank lending to non-financial corporations of Ukraine in the conditions of inflation targeting and to develop proposals for its stimulation, taking into account foreign experience.
 Methods. The methodological basis of the work is the dialectical method of cognition, the position of the theory of monetary policy and credit. The work uses methods of economic and mathematical statistics and methods of correlation analysis to analyze the features of lending to non-financial corporations and the impact of inflation targeting on the dynamics of bank lending; generalization methods for formulating research conclusions.
 Results. The monetary regime of inflation targeting is quite often recommended by the International Monetary Fund for implementation in countries with emerging markets as a basic set of central bank tools for regulating inflation and ensuring price stability. However, in conditions of import dependence of the national economies of countries with emerging markets, in addition to changes in the money supply and credit activity of banks, the dynamics of export-import operations and the volume of official reserve assets, which determine the level of the exchange rate, have a decisive influence on the dynamics of the consumer price index, and it, in turn, determines the level of prices for imported goods and services. Neglecting the non-monetary factors of supply inflation during the implementation of the interest policy leads to the limitation of bank lending to non-financial corporations, which in turn reduces the ability of enterprises to increase capital investments at the expense of bank loans, as well as to develop domestic production with high added value and to implement the policy of import substitution. Therefore, for this purpose, it is necessary to use the asymmetric corridor of the central bank's interest policy and stimulate targeted bank lending to non-financial corporations.

전환적 지역혁신정책: 리뷰

This study is a review paper on the contents and policy direction of the ‘Transformative regional innovation policy’. The transformative regional innovation policy is a policy that develops countermeasures against climate crisis, aging, and polarization with a vision of system transformation from the perspective of local residents. The structure of the study is as follows. First, it deals with the characteristics of transformative regional innovation policy theory, which is distinguished from existing regional innovation policies. Next, studies related to major elements of transformative regional innovation policies, types of system transformation, and industrial formation are reviewed. The elements that differentiate the transformative regional innovation policy from existing policies are summarized and issues to be addressed in order to develop future discussions are drawn.

Corporate Pay-out Policy and Test of Life Cycle Theory; Evidence from Nepalese Commercial Banks

Dividend policy of firm in theoretical finance is one of the most controversial issue, various theories of dividend policy try to explain the dividend behaviour of the firm. The dividend distributed by a firm to its shareholder is very different when it is viewed from the perspective of the company’s life cycle. If no regulation forces, then firms at initial stage have higher investment opportunities, so they retain all their earning and pay no dividend. The firms at maturity stage have less investment opportunities, slow pace of growth rate and lower cost of raising external capital, hence, mature firms retain less and pays higher dividend. Life cycle hypothesis suggests that firm increases their dividend with their maturity. This study investigates the dividend behaviour of Nepalese commercial banks, by using the ten years panel data for the period from 2010 to 2019. Using conventional proxies of life cycle, the result of the study consistently shows that Nepalese listed commercial bank follow dividend life cycle theory. The result also shows that larger firms pay higher dividend and dividend history has positive relation with next period dividend payment. The result is robust and such robustness check has been conducted by altering some of the proxies of the variables. The result of the study suggest that the regulators should not impose same dividend policy to the entire banking industry.

Pertumbuhan Penjualan, Leverage dan Kebijakan Dividen

The aim of this research is to empirically examine the effect of sales growth and leverage on dividend policy. The quantitative approach was chosen in this research by using data from the coal industry listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Financial data from 23 coal companies were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. As expected, this research results reveal that sales growth has a significant negative effect on dividend policy. The results of this study indicate that dividends are paid after the issuer has completed its investment expenditures related to efforts to increase sales. This is in accordance with the theory of residual dividend policy. On the other hand, the results of this study find that leverage has a significant positive effect on dividend policy.
 Keywords: Sales Growth; Leverage; Dividen Policy

Japan's Declining Suicide Rate in Light of The Jisatsu Taisaku Kihon Hou Policy

Suicide in some countries in the world is not a big problem. But in Japan, suicide is a very worrying social problem. Japan since 1998 experienced a very high increase in suicide rates. In 1998, suicide rates in Japan rose to above 30 thousand, after previously stabilizing at 20 thousand. This suicide rate lasts up to 5 years and shows no signs of decreasing. Therefore, in 2006, the Japanese government made Jisatsu Taisaku Kihon Hou or suicide measures basic law to reduce suicide rates. As a result, suicide rates declined in 2010, 4 years after the adoption of the suicide measures basic law. This research seeks to reveal the influence of Jisatsu Taisaku Kihon Hou by decreasing suicide rates in Japan. The object of research is various kinds of public documents relating to suicide in Japan in the period from 2006 to 2019. Using policy theory and literature, this study reveals the impact brought about by making suicide prevention laws on suicide rates that high in Japan since 1998. This research shows the efforts of the Japanese government to reduce suicide rates by using a variety of programs for all ages and to apply to all kinds of places. Thus, suicide rates can be reduced so that the suicide rate in Japan is no longer a social problem.

Determinants of Dividend Policy: The Case of the Casablanca Stock Exchange

This article investigates the determinants of dividend policy on the Casablanca stock exchange. The variables tested were based on the main theories of dividend policy, and the fixed effect model was used to test panel data over a period of 16 years from 2003 to 2018. The eight independent variables tested were profitability, firm size, retained earnings, firm age, leverage, growth opportunities, price to earnings (P/E) and a dummy variable introduced for financial companies. To corroborate the results, two proxies were used to test the dependent variable: dividend yield and payout ratio. The results led to the identification of three significant determinants of dividend policy, which are firm age, growth opportunities and firm size. The negative correlation between the variables of firm size and firm age with dividend policy is explained by signaling theory. On the other hand, the negative correlation between growth opportunities and dividend payments is predicted by different theories, such as agency theory, financial flexibility theory and life cycle theory. This study provides insights for investors, analysts and researchers into dividend policy determinants on the Casablanca stock exchange based on firms’ characteristic variables.

Konflik Kawasan: Studi kasus Sengketa Masjidil Al Aqsa

Conflict is inseparable in human life. Where there is interaction where it is prone to conflict. conflicts almost occur in all parts of the world, including in the Middle East Region. This conflict in the Middle East began since the fall of the Ottoman Empire during the first world war. as we know the Otoman kingdom has been in power for centuries and has a vast area including the Middle East. the collapse of the Ottoman Empire's power made its territory fall to Great Britain including the Middle East. this is what ultimately gave birth to the "state" of Israel. this is one of the causes of conflict in the Middle East. For the example of the conflict that occurred was the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Israel-Palestine fought Masjidil Aqsa, one of the world's historic sites. they claimed each other that the Masjidil Aqsa was theirs. In this journal we see the conflict between the Aqso mosque and foreign policy theory and conflict theory.

Consistent and Persistent: Successful Home Language Maintenance among Vietnamese-Australian Families

Informed by Spolsky’s language policy theory, this study explores Vietnamese-Australian families’ experience of successful home language maintenance in three aspects: language practices, language ideologies, and language management. Seven parents from five families whose children achieved high bilingual proficiency scores in the speech and language assessment of the VietSpeech research program were invited to participate in a focus group to discuss successful strategies for home language maintenance. The discussion was undertaken in Vietnamese. Thematic analysis of the bilingual transcription revealed four themes: motivations, challenges, practices, and recommendations for home language maintenance support. The parents’ motivations for home language maintenance included communication with grandparents and relatives, maintenance of cultural identity, parents’ need to speak their home language, and cognitive and emotional benefits. Challenges faced by the families were related to children starting school and growing older, parents’ lack of time and persistence, and insufficient support in terms of formal Vietnamese education, resources, and teacher quality. The families’ strategies for successful language maintenance included speaking Vietnamese all the time as well as teaching Vietnamese directly using textbooks and indirectly through regular activities including book reading, daily interactions, and watching Vietnamese TV. The parents’ recommendations focused on changes in language education policy and advocacy, better resources, and raising awareness of the benefits of home language maintenance. This study provides insights into the successful experience of home language maintenance of Vietnamese-Australian families and can be used by multilingual families, educators, policy makers, speech-language pathologists, and other professionals to support home language maintenance.

IMPACT COVID-19: INFLATION ON STAPLE FOOD, UNEMPLOYMENT, THEFT, MARIJUANA CASES IN JAYAPURA CITY IN 2020-2021

This study aims to investigate how the impact of COVID-19 to the inflation of staple foods, increasing in unemployment 2,956 people, theft 2,940 cases and marijuana 50 cases in Jayapura City in 2020. To analyze the problem in this study, Thomas R. Dye Policy Theory was used. Qualitative research method was used. Research location is in Jayapura city in 2020-2021. There are 20 respondents gathered in this study: 1 respondent of Head of Health Department of Jayapura city; 1 respondent of Head of Department of Industry, Trade, Cooperatives and SMEs of Jayapura city; 1 respondent of Head of Department of Labor of Jayapura city; 2 respondents of Head of Detective for Theft and Marijuana Cases; 5 respondents of private employees; 6 respondents of neighborhood chiefs and respected figures in society; and 4 respondents of high school students and university students. The data collected and analyze from interview, observation and documentation according to the reality. In Jayapura City in 2021, the impact of COVID-19 still increase, the rise of staple food, the number of unemployment to 12,788 people, theft cases to 3,920 cases and marijuana cases to 60 cases. The suggestions to Mayor of Jayapura City in 2022 are lower monthly and yearly tax for malls, shops, hotels, traditional markets, give the donations or helps entrepreneurs suffering financial problems, no termination of employees in private sectors, ease the approval of business license issues and also invite the big investor to come and open the new business in Jayapura City.

The use and value of cultural historical activity theory in institutional educational technology policy

Institutional educational technology policies in Higher Education Institutions can help or hinder the objectives of faculty and administration staff. In many national contexts, these policies typically result from a top-down unilateral canonical decision-making process  and or/retroactive heuristic models of investigation. However, research utilizing and advocating multilateral non-canonical approaches and more sociocultural models of investigation in institutional educational technology policy decision-making are novel.This paper stems from a project which used a formative Change Laboratory intervention to affect real meaningful change in institutional educational technology policy at one university in South Korea. Participants, including Korean faculty, international faculty and administration staff participated in multilateral, non-canonical workshops over a period of 7 months to explore and redesign their own activity.Central to this formative Change Laboratory intervention was Engeström’s Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). The study utilized CHAT as a practical lens/toolkit to expose/examine contradictions and collectively transform institutional educational technology policy-practice activity. CHAT’s activity system models helped participants identify, shape and question ‘normal’ or ‘routine’ practices in shared activity. As a result, participants realized how unilateral canonical policies inhibiting research and pedagogy objectives might be questioned and changed for the better.This paper reflects on the use and value of CHAT as a more sociocultural approach to institutional educational technology policy. Rather than presenting a paper that just ‘happens’ to use activity theory, this paper discusses my reasons for using CHAT, how it was used, how I collected and analysed data, my experience of using it, and prevailing criticisms. This paper will be of particular interest to researchers who are interested in using CHAT to conduct research on topics related to technology enhanced learning.Keywords: institutional educational technology policy; higher education; Change Laboratory; activity theory; CHATPart of the special issue Activity theory in technology enhanced learning research <https://doi.org/10.21428/8c225f6e.cbaae672>