142 results on '"Policy experimentation"'
Search Results
2. With Friends like These, Who Needs Enemies?
- Author
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Izzo, Federica
- Subjects
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POLITICAL party leadership , *POLITICIANS , *DISSENTERS , *ATTITUDES of leaders , *VOTERS - Abstract
Why do politicians publicly attack the leaders of their own party, even when they have no opportunistic reasons to do so and such attacks are electorally costly? The article addresses this question by presenting a model in which the leader faces a preference conflict with dissenting members of his party, and voters are learning about their own policy preferences over time. Here, by publicly attacking the leader (and thereby harming the party in the upcoming election), the dissenters can change his incentives to choose more or less extreme policies, which affects the amount of voter learning. This induces a trade-off between winning the current election and inducing the party leadership to pursue the dissenters' all-things-considered more preferred policy. Optimally balancing this trade-off sometimes involves public dissent that damages the party in the short run. In equilibrium open dissent arises precisely because it is electorally costly, in order to induce a policy response by the leader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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3. Policy Experimentation as Communication with the Public: Social Policy, Shared Responsibility and Regime Support in China.
- Author
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Zhu, Xufeng and Wang, Yan
- Subjects
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COMMUNICATION policy , *GOVERNMENT policy , *SOCIAL policy , *POLITICAL trust (in government) , *PUBLIC communication , *GROUP decision making - Abstract
Research on policy experimentation has mainly focused on central–local relations; scholars have paid little attention to the interaction between policy experimentation and the public. We argue that policy experimentation can be used by decision makers as an instrument to communicate with the public, facilitating the building of a social consensus regarding controversial policies. We evaluate the effects of the Chinese government's policy experimentation efforts to promote shared responsibility between the state and individuals for the urban pension system on the public's regime support. Evidence from two rounds of a nationwide survey conducted before and after the policy experiment indicates that the policy experimentation has significantly contributed to citizens' acceptance of their individual welfare responsibility. Moreover, the image-building of governmental responsibility via official news, with varied intensity across regions, consolidates the political trust of residents while posing a challenge to local government credibility in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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4. Experimentation-based Policymaking for Urban Regeneration in Shenzhen, China.
- Author
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Tong, De, Yang, Shuang, and Lai, Yani
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POLICY sciences , *TWO thousands (Decade) , *INSPIRATION , *URBAN renewal , *REFORMS - Abstract
A growing appreciation of the potential benefits of experimentation to tame the complexities of urban transformation has led to an increase in related research activity. Building on a "practice-to-policy" experimentation-based framework, this paper investigates the adaptive policymaking process for urban regeneration in Shenzhen since the 2000s. It finds that "explorative experimentation" is used to identify a general direction in the absence of a clear route for the policy process, while "generative experimentation" is sequentially dedicated to specific issues for the improvement of the entire policy package within a particular reform. We argue that understanding the successive roles or hybrid functions of these two types of experiment adds new insights to the development rationales for Shenzhen's urban regeneration and provides inspiration for an experimental model of urban governance. Governments and policymakers can benefit from the experimentation-based approach, as presented in the Shenzhen case, to pursue policy innovation embedded in local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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5. Introduction to the special issue: Urban governance and policy.
- Author
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Cai, Rong and Chen, Na
- Abstract
At a time when urbanization has become a topic of public concern, it is highly important to consider the impact of governance approaches on our understanding of the urban and urban policies. Urban areas are vibrant, multifaced, and interrelated systems that require nuanced governance and thoughtful policy-making to thrive. Effective urban governance and policy are essential for tackling issues like infrastructure development, affordable housing, environmental sustainability, and social equity. This special issue delves into the complexities of urban governance and policy, exploring the strategies, frameworks, and innovations that can help cities manage growth and improve the quality of life for their inhabitants. We organized this special issue around the theme of urban governance to highlight the critical importance of these topics for ongoing progress in urban studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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6. An Effective Alternative, Policy Experimentation, and the Multiple Streams Framework: An Empirical Study of Chinese Rural Governance Policy Output.
- Author
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Zhengbo Peng, Su Yang, Liying Dong, and Jinhan Sun
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POLICY sciences , *RURAL geography , *GOVERNMENT policy , *POLITICAL science - Abstract
Although the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) has abundant research, the mechanism of partial couplings to complete coupling remains to be investigated. The study extends the MSF using the perspective of generating effective alternatives in the policy stream to explain the dynamic of the policy process. This article is an empirical study that compares two cases under the same holistic policy issues. We propose the multiple streams framework based on goal-oriented "policy solutions" to explain the process of Chinese rural governance policy output. The results show that: First, the partial coupling (politics and problems) opens the policy window for policy formulation, which drives the policy stream forming. Second, the periodic stability windows are a realistic path to accelerate the policy stream process. Third, policy experimentation constitutes an essential tool for formulating effective options. Further comparing the policy stream in the MSF with the policy stream in this study found clear differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
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7. NAVIGATING GREEN AND DIGITAL TRANSITIONS: FIVE IMPERATIVES FOR EFFECTIVE STI POLICY.
- Author
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Arnold, Erik, Paunov, Caroline, Planes-Satorra, Sandra, Serger, Sylvia Schwaag, and Mackle, Luke
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TECHNOLOGICAL innovations ,INDUSTRIAL policy ,STAKEHOLDERS ,SOCIAL support - Abstract
This paper discusses five innovation policy imperatives critical to achieving green and digital transitions: coordinated government, stakeholder engagement, policy agility and experimentation, directionality and support for breakthrough innovation. The paper provides policy examples from Germany, based on the OECD Review of Innovation Policy: Germany, and other countries to illustrate in what ways countries have addressed these imperatives. Overall, the quality and scale of these policy responses need to increase if transitions are to succeed. Open questions for future policy research are also highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
8. Policy transfer and policy experimentation in China: the case of state-sponsored student loans.
- Author
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Zhang, Hanwen
- Abstract
As part of efforts to mass higher education, China introduced state-sponsored student loans around the turn of the century, a progressive social policy reflecting the country’s move toward increased marketization and decentralization in delivering educational services. The loan scheme, open to low-income students, is a voluntary policy transfer that draws on lessons from abroad. Unexpectedly, it stalled soon after implementation. Subsequent local experimentation brought it back on track. This article uses the Dolowitz and Marsh policy transfer framework to identify and explain the unsuccessful transfer. It also uses Heilmann’s model to examine the local experimentation that brought about institutional change nationwide. The article argues that policy transfer, in conjunction with policy experimentation, provides practical frameworks for capturing the subtleties of China’s hierarchical governance and the different complications experienced throughout the policy process. The article thus contributes to the integration of policy transfer and experimentation as a broader toolbox for policy analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2023
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9. Practical Paths and Innovative Developments in Rural Governance Reform in China: Based on Leading Cases from 2019 to 2022.
- Author
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Chen Rongzhuo
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RURAL development ,GOVERNMENT policy ,POLICY diffusion ,REFORMS ,RULE of law ,RURAL poor - Abstract
Successful examples are formed through benchmarking and establishing pioneers, and policy diffusion is carried out through the concept of exemplary leadership and progressive promotion, in accordance with the national policy deployment of rural governance. In addition to combining the two benefits of rural social promotion and national policy support, this also creates an interactive pathway between national policy promotion and rural active response. We should not only concentrate on the national administrative system but also pay attention to the peculiarities of primary-level governance in order to study the workings of exemplary leadership. The National Rural Governance Leading Cases highlight the extensive scope, wide range of manifestations, and unique characteristics of China's wave of rural governance reform efforts in the new era. The combination of feeling the stones to cross the river and strengthening top-level design better reflects the logic of exemplary leadership in contemporary rural governance. These two strategies are based on the five practical dimensions of Party-building leadership, departmental coordination, integration of self-governance, rule of law, and rule of virtue, creation of new approaches, and multi-stakeholder governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2023
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10. District government as a policy entrepreneur: Understanding policy experimentation in China’s Wujin District.
- Author
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Zhou, Changchang, Chan, Roger C. K., and Zhang, Xianchun
- Abstract
Inconsistent policy implementation has been widely observed in Chinese institutional reforms. The central government has experimented with policymaking in a strategic way against tensions between inherited regulatory deficiencies and ongoing development. And, despite the central government’s authority over local governments, the latter operate with a remarkable degree of discretion. By synthesizing policy experimentation theories and policy entrepreneurship, we consider the Wujin District government, as a policy entrepreneur that identified and acted within a “policy window” and explore how it interpreted and actualized policy tasks set by the central government in relation to the rural land reform. The central government designated 33 county-level administrations as testbeds for removing institutional obstacles to coordinated urban-rural land governance. The Wujin District was granted greater administrative autonomy pertinent to local reform initiatives. Further, the Wujin District reorganized its inter-governmental relations by delegating power downward to forge a reform coalition. Critically, Wujin succeeded in aligning local development priorities with central policy goals. Taking an agent-centric perspective, we also examine historical and contextual factors relevant for behavioral changes. The findings indicate that the Wujin District government acted as an effective policy entrepreneur and on this basis made crucial contributions to policy innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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11. The Trying Game: Policy Experimentation According to Institutional Environment in China's Education Reforms.
- Author
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Han, Shuangmiao
- Subjects
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EDUCATIONAL change , *SOCIAL change , *EMPLOYMENT , *IMPLEMENTATION (Social action programs) - Abstract
Policy experimentation (PE) has been regarded as an integral element in defining China's reform capability. However, few studies have investigated the processes of PE in China's education reforms, as well as the policy conditions required for PE's successful initiation, implementation, and inclusion into the policy process. Through an empirically informed case study featuring university graduate assignment and employment reform, engaged with extensive documentary evidence and semi-structured interviews, the study argues that PE allows a temporary breakthrough from the existing policy constraints to generate contextualized novel policy options, but its large-scale diffusion and inclusion into the policy process have to proceed according to the institutional environment, corresponding to the broader social, economic, and cultural changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2023
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12. Mechanisms to Bridge the Gap Between Science and Politics in Evidence-Informed Policymaking: Mapping the Landscape
- Author
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Cassola, Adèle, Fafard, Patrick, Palkovits, Michèle, Hoffman, Steven J., Fafard, Patrick, Series Editor, de Leeuw, Evelyne, Series Editor, and Cassola, Adèle, editor
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- 2022
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13. Policy Experimentation under Pressure in Contemporary China.
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Heffer, Abbey S. and Schubert, Gunter
- Subjects
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FOREIGN investments , *INVESTMENT policy , *POWER (Social sciences) , *GOVERNMENT regulation , *LOCAL government - Abstract
Many studies put forward the argument that local policy experimentation, a key feature of China's policy process in the Hu Jintao era, has been paralysed by Xi Jinping's (re)centralization of political power – otherwise known as "top-level design." This narrative suggests that local policymakers have become increasingly risk-averse owing to the anti-corruption campaign and are therefore unwilling to experiment. This article, however, argues that local governments are still expected to innovate with new policy solutions and now will be punished if they do not. By introducing the analytical framework of "experimentation under pressure" and drawing on an analysis of over 3,000 local government regulations and fieldwork data related to foreign investment attraction policies in two localities, Foshan and Ganzhou, the authors highlight new features developing within current experimental policy cycles. Local cadres now have no choice but to experiment as the political risk of shirking the direct command to experiment may be higher than the inherent risk of experimentation itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2023
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14. Temporary Leaders and Stable Institutions: How Local Bureaucratic Entrepreneurs Institutionalize China's Low-Carbon Policy Experiments.
- Author
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Gong, Weila
- Subjects
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BUREAUCRACY , *BUSINESSPEOPLE , *CARBON offsetting , *RESOURCE mobilization , *GOVERNMENT policy on climate change , *FEDERAL government - Abstract
Traditional analysis of China's policy experimentation has focused on the role of central–local relations and rotating leaders in shaping the local agenda-setting process. Less is known about the role of less mobile mid-level local bureaucrats who serve as bridges in the implementation process. This paper examines why some cities have performed better than others at implementing and maintaining low-carbon policy experiments. Drawing on a comparison of four case cities and over 100 expert interviews, I argue that the availability of bureaucratic entrepreneurs and their resource mobilization capacity determine the level of local engagement in climate policy experimentation. This study shows that the institutionalization of local policy experiments is not only driven by the central government or rotating top local leaders but also by bureaucratic entrepreneurs who help policy experiments survive periodic changes in the bureaucracy. The findings have important implications for the fulfilment of China's 2060 carbon neutrality pledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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15. User-Oriented Policies in European HEIs: Triggering a Participative Process in Today's Digital Turn—An OpenU Experimentation in the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
- Author
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Dell'Omodarme, Marco Renzo and Cherif, Yasmine
- Subjects
IMAGINATION ,UNIVERSITIES & colleges ,CONTINUITY ,HIGHER education ,UNIVERSITY rankings - Abstract
As European higher education institutions (HEIs) increasingly grapple with new challenges, the importance and difficulty of massification, democratization, and inclusion have been reinforced by the recent pandemic crisis and the simultaneous need for pedagogical continuity. Meeting these challenges not only implies a profound change in organization and teaching practices, which need to focus on user-centered quality learning, but also raises questions about financing, management, and governance. Using results from two participative experiments conducted in the French University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in the framework of the OpenU (Online Pedagogical Resources in European Universities) project, the authors present ethical and practical issues that currently face inclusive and user-oriented policies in the European higher education area. Through this paper, we argue that creating an imaginative and inclusive participative process is as essential today in the spirit of evidence-based policies supporting digital education as it is partial. We furthermore present emerging results on current needs, as well as incentives to increase participation. Such results ultimately allow us to draw conclusions and recommendations for institutional and national policymakers to further improve user-oriented policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2022
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16. Guest workers and development–security conflict: Managing labour migration at the Sino-Vietnamese border.
- Author
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Speelman, Tabitha
- Abstract
This article investigates the increasing development–security conflict in China's immigration management through the case of a policy trial regularizing Vietnamese labour migration in two Guangxi border cities. China's border regions host low-income immigrant labourers from neighbouring nations. In the 2010s, China launched a series of policy initiatives to regulate temporary and irregular migrant flows. Based on fieldwork and policy research, this study analyses the development and early implementation of this trial, with a focus on state perspectives. It shows how state actors mobilize migrant temporariness and other policy tools within a negotiation process that aims to resolve tensions between developmental policy aims for transnational economic integration and a drive towards securitizing cross-border mobility. I conclude that state actors fail to reach a balance between the conflicting development and security concerns. I also argue that China's current risk-averse policy environment makes the development–security policy conflict in its immigration management more difficult to resolve. My findings contribute to our understanding of contemporary Chinese policymaking, including immigration policymaking, as well as to the literature on the development–security nexus in temporary labour management schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2022
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17. The Problem of Success and Failure in Public-private Innovation Partnerships.
- Author
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HAMMOND, JONATHAN, BAILEY, SIMON, GORE, OZ, CHECKLAND, KATH, DARLEY, SARAH, MCDONALD, RUTH, and BLAKEMAN, THOMAS
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HEALTH care industry , *EVALUATION of human services programs , *PRACTICAL politics , *PRIVATE sector , *INTERVIEWING , *NATIONAL health services , *PUBLIC sector , *INTERPROFESSIONAL relations , *POLICY sciences , *DIFFUSION of innovations - Abstract
Public-Private Innovation Partnerships (PPIPs) are increasingly used as a tool for addressing 'wicked' public sector challenges. 'Innovation' is, however, frequently treated as a 'magic' concept: used unreflexively, taken to be axiomatically 'good', and left undefined within policy programmes. Using McConnell's framework of policy success and failure and a case study of a multi-level PPIP in the English health service (NHS Test Beds), this paper critically explores the implications of the mobilisation of innovation in PPIP policy and practice. We highlight how the interplay between levels (macro/micro and policy maker/recipient) can shape both emerging policies and their prospects for success or failure. The paper contributes to an understanding of PPIP success and failure by extending McConnell's framework to explore inter-level effects between policy and innovation project, and demonstrating how the success of PPIP policy cannot be understood without recognising the particular political effects of 'innovation' on formulation and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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18. BORDER CONTROL: The Territorial Politics of Policy Experimentation in Chinese Border Cities.
- Author
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Su, Xiaobo and Miao, Yi
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BORDER security ,NATIONAL security ,COMMERCIAL policy ,ECONOMIC policy ,ECONOMIC development ,CHINESE people ,GEOGRAPHIC boundaries - Abstract
How to balance policy experimentation for economic development with border control for national security is an issue that remains unresolved. Addressing this question, the article analyzes policy experimentation in Chinese border cities and how such experimentation is territorially reflected in and promoted through border control—a selective process that involves both softening and hardening the border. The case study is Ruili in Yunnan province, a border city adjacent to northern Myanmar's Shan and Kachin states. With the approval of higher‐level governments, Ruili has already begun experimenting with policies to promote cross‐border trade. One key initiative has been to move customs clearance away from the border to customs checkpoints within the city, giving rise to a special situation of 'inside territory and outside customs'. However, this neoliberal policy of trade facilitation also generates new administrative loopholes which facilitate two‐way smuggling across the border. Border control provides the conditions through which border cities experiment with new policies in trade, investment and manufacturing, while enforcing sovereign power against clandestine business under the guise of national security. This article contributes to our understanding of the theoretical synergies between urban entrepreneurism and border politics by developing a territorially sensitive reading of the implementation of experimental policies for economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2022
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19. Policy experimentation and institutional power dynamics in China's higher education reforms
- Author
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Han, Shuangmiao, Mills, David, and Ertl, Hubert
- Subjects
378.51 ,Higher education ,Education policy ,China studies ,Education ,Education reform ,China ,Higher Education ,Policy experimentation ,Policy process - Abstract
In response to the challenges presented by unprecedented growth in higher education (HE) since 1978, China adopted policy experimentation (PE) as a means of introducing and testing HE reforms. This study involves four in-depth case studies of important reforms facilitated by policy experiments at different junctures of China's HE development: early 1980s, mid-late 1980s, late 1990s, and early 2010s. Within each reform, two elite universities as 'experiment points' (shi dian) were selected. Through cross-case analysis informed by semi-structured interviews and extensive documentary analysis, the study offers a holistic historical perspective on how PE has been used to bring about institutional changes in China's higher education. The study documents different rationales used for implementing policy experiments. State actors use PE to exert pressure on universities to introduce reforms, to lower associated risks and to strengthen the nation's overall HE policymaking capacity in a volatile and extremely heterogeneous context. For their part, university leaders have adopted PE locally to navigate China's politically charged policymaking environment and to negotiate with state actors more favourable terms for reforms. Therefore, the PE approach enables state-university interactions and power negotiations that create and maintain 'strategy space' for consensus-building and institutional changes. It is an iterative process characterised by central-local interaction and intentionally ambiguous boundaries. The state, however, retains ultimate authority for legitimatising, selecting and expanding policy experiments. It is best understood as elite-enabled experimentation within existing political hierarchies. Over time, China's PE approach has become a semi-institutionalised mechanism for HE reforms. In the various policy experiments discussed in this study, PE functions as a productive, disciplinary and symbolic force at different stages of the policy process. Sometimes it appears to offer a genuinely productive mechanism for producing, identifying and negotiating innovative policy options that may be replicated at a larger scale; sometimes its essential use lies in its generated regulative effect; and sometimes it assumes more of a symbolic role allowing the government to acquire or consolidate reform legitimacy. Policy processes are mediated by these different uses of PE towards either reform efficacy or institutional conformity. This study situates these reforms within broader political, social, economic and historical contexts, and highlights the policy implications for higher education reform internationally.
- Published
- 2017
20. The impacts of long-term care insurance on health care utilization and expenditure: evidence from China.
- Author
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Chen, He and Ning, Jing
- Subjects
MEDICAL care costs ,MEDICAL care ,PATIENTS' attitudes ,LONG-term care insurance ,HEALTH insurance ,RESEARCH funding ,LONG-term health care ,LONGITUDINAL method - Abstract
Long-term care insurance (LTCI) is one of the important institutional responses to the growing care needs of the ageing population. Although previous studies have evaluated the impacts of LTCI on health care utilization and expenditure in developed countries, whether such impacts exist in developing countries is unknown. The Chinese government has initiated policy experimentation on LTCI to cope with the growing and unmet need for aged care. Employing a quasi-experiment design, this study aims to examine the policy treatment effect of LTCI on health care utilization and out-of-pocket health expenditure (OOP) in China. The Propensity Score Matching with difference-in-difference approach was used to analyse the data obtained from four waves of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Our findings indicate that, in the aspect of health care utilization, the introduction of LTCI significantly reduced the number of outpatient visits by 0.322 times (P < 0.05), the number of hospitalizations by 0.158 times (P < 0.01) and the length of inpatient stay during last year by 1.441 days (P < 0.01). In the aspect of OOP, we found that LTCI significantly reduced the inpatient OOP during last year by 533.47 yuan (P < 0.01), but it did not exhibit an impact on the outpatient OOP during last year. LTCI also had a significantly negative impact on the total OOP by 512.56 yuan. These results are stable in the robustness tests. Considering the evident policy treatment effect of LTCI on health care utilization and OOP, the expansion of LTCI could help reduce the needs for health care services and contain the increases in OOP in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
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21. What Motivates Local Sustainability Policy Action in China? The Case of Low-Carbon City Pilot Program.
- Author
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Liu, Zhilin, Wang, Jie, and Thomas, Craig W.
- Subjects
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SUSTAINABILITY , *EVENT history analysis , *PILOT projects , *TECHNOLOGICAL innovations , *MOTIVATION (Psychology) , *GOVERNMENT policy on climate change ,WESTERN countries - Abstract
An increasing volume of literature has sought to identify factors that motivate cities to pursue sustainability and adopt climate policies. However, most empirical studies were done in Western countries, where relatively high local autonomy and low pressure on industrial growth create conditions for spontaneous policy innovations in sustainability. This paper uses China's Low-Carbon City Pilot Program as a case to investigate motivations for local sustainability actions in an authoritarian context. Our event history analyses confirm the effects of multi-level governance on local sustainability initiatives in China, particularly horizontal competition across jurisdictions, priorities and preferences of upper-level authorities, as well as local determinants including leadership, capacity, politics, and environmental stress. The findings contribute to the comparative urban governance scholarship by highlighting the unique feature of "experimentation under hierarchy" in shaping urban sustainability policymaking in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
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22. How urban greening policy affects urban ecological resilience: Quasi-natural experimental evidence from three megacity clusters in China.
- Author
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Xu, Chang, Huo, Xinxin, Hong, Yaoxiaoxue, Yu, Chang, de Jong, Martin, and Cheng, Baodong
- Subjects
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ENVIRONMENTAL policy , *ECOLOGICAL resilience , *URBAN policy , *URBAN ecology , *MEGALOPOLIS - Abstract
This study examines how urban greening policies affect urban ecological resilience through a quasi-natural experimental analysis of various cities in China. Leveraging the country's large-scale promotion of forest city development, we assess the effectiveness of these policies using differences-in-differences modeling across multiple time periods. The results affirm the positive impact of urban greening on resilience, as designated forest cities demonstrated enhanced resilience levels compared to control cities. Notable disparities were also found among the three major Chinese urban agglomerations - the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions - in terms of policy effects. While short-term resilience increased under central government oversight, long-term gains relied more on intercity cooperation within agglomerations. It highlights the limitations inherent within China's "experiment under hierarchy" paradigm but also benefits from regional integration. This study contributes novel insights regarding the dynamic relationship between governance structures and urban ecosystem resilience under authoritarian contexts. Innovatively, we explore how intercity cooperation among urban agglomerations affects the long-term effectiveness of urban ecological governance, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in fostering resilient urban ecosystems under such governance models. • An evaluation index for urban ecological resilience (UER) was built based on DPSIR framework. • Multi-period DID model was used to analyze the impact of forest city on UER. • Yangtze River Delta had the highest resilience. • National Forest City Certification significantly improved UER of the three megacity clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
23. Towards experimental standardization for AI governance in the EU.
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Prifti, Kostina and Fosch-Villaronga, Eduard
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ARTIFICIAL intelligence , *DIGITAL technology , *LEGITIMACY of governments , *LEGISLATION , *TECHNOLOGICAL innovations - Abstract
The EU has adopted a hybrid governance approach to address the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI), emphasizing the role of harmonized European standards (HES). Despite advantages in expertise and flexibility, HES processes face legitimacy problems and struggle with epistemic gaps in the context of AI. This article addresses the problems that characterize HES processes by outlining the conceptual need, theoretical basis, and practical application of experimental standardization , which is defined as an ex-ante evaluation method that can be used to test standards for their effects and effectiveness. Experimental standardization is based on theoretical and practical developments in experimental governance, legislation, and innovation. Aligned with ideas and frameworks like Science for Policy and evidence-based policymaking, it enables co-creation between science and policymaking. We apply the proposed concept in the context of HES processes, where we submit that experimental standardization contributes to increasing throughput and output legitimacy, addressing epistemic gaps, and generating new regulatory knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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- 2024
- Full Text
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24. Policy experimentation with impact financing: a systematic review of research on social impact bonds.
- Author
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Moldogaziev, Tima T., Liu, Cheol, and Ivonchyk, Mikhail
- Abstract
Social impact bonds (SIB) have become a novel and attractive policy tool to assist with service delivery to vulnerable groups. Since the first SIB in 2010 in the United Kingdom, hundreds of projects have been adopted, implemented, and continue to be developed around the world. A broad observation from current research concludes that there is a lack of consistent evidence on research foci and orientations with regard to this innovative policy tool. In the context of the Asia-Pacific region, research on SIBs is largely non-existent. Moreover, research from Asia-Pacific contexts is primarily focused on the (financial) product features of impact financing, at the expense of studying the process innovation aspect of SIBs in service delivery. This contrasts with research from European and North American SIBs, which exhibit a relatively heightened interest on issues in service delivery process and their impact on performance measurement, evidence auditing and evaluation, and accountability to service recipients versus investor returns. As policy experimentation continues with SIBs in the Asia-Pacific region, several key considerations remain vital and require future scholarly attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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25. Analysis of national policies for Circular Economy transitions: Modelling and simulating the Brazilian industrial agreement for electrical and electronic equipment.
- Author
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Guzzo, Daniel, Rodrigues, Vinicius Picanço, Pigosso, Daniela C.A., and Mascarenhas, Janaina
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ELECTRONIC waste , *TRANSITION economies , *REWARD (Psychology) , *GOVERNMENT policy , *REVERSE logistics , *ELECTRONIC equipment , *CIRCULAR economy - Abstract
• Simulation of potential effects of the Brazilian Industrial Agreement for EEE (BIAEEE). • Alternative reverse logistics systems for EEE influence the collection rates. • Scenarios show the effects of varying coverage, distribution of collection points and rewards. • Only one of the twelve investigated scenarios meets the BIAEEE targets. • Simulation models can inform Circular Economy public policies implementation. Public policies, incentives, and infrastructure are top-down instruments that can align stakeholders' roles and expectations for Circular Economy (CE) transitions, but it is crucial to analyse the possible effects of such instruments before implementation. This research investigates the Brazilian Industrial Agreement for Electrical and Electronic Equipment (BIAEEE) that governs the responsibilities and targets for nationwide collection and treatment of Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). A system dynamics simulation model is adapted for the use of smartphones in Brazil, and interventions focused on the collection of end-of-life products are examined against the BIAEEE targets. Twelve policy scenarios investigate three aspects of EEE collection: coverage increase, distribution of collection points and rewards. All scenarios show improvement in the EEE collection, but only one meets the BIAEEE targets. This research demonstrates how modelling and simulation can inform strategic decision-making in public policies for CE transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
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26. Experimental governance in China's higher education: stakeholder's interpretations, interactions and strategic actions.
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Han, Shuangmiao
- Subjects
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STATE universities & colleges , *STAKEHOLDER analysis , *POLICY sciences , *HIGHER education - Abstract
The state-university's interaction and relationship has long been a key focus of scholarly discussion. A distinct strategy in China's higher education is policy experimentation (PE), which allows indigenous policy innovations to be generated at local institutions and incorporated into national policymaking. The PE approach allows power negotiation among various stakeholders in creating a strategy space for reform. Through case studies, the paper examines those complicated processes enabled and shaped by stakeholders' perceptions, behaviours and strategic actions. It proposes three types of rationales for using PE as mission-driven, problem-driven and administration-driven. The university uses 'bargaining and persuasion' and 'formation of advocacy coalition' in negotiating with the state whereas the state communicates with the university through 'documentary politics' and 'open method of coordination'. Thus, PE can be regarded as a new way of HE governance in effectively mediating the state authority and university power in building consensus for China's HE development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
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27. Policy experimentation and policy learning in Canadian cultural policy.
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Mattocks, Kate
- Subjects
- *
POLICY sciences , *DECISION making , *ETHICS , *EXECUTIVES , *POLITICAL science , *POLITICAL planning - Abstract
This article examines policy experimentation in the context of policy learning in Canadian cultural policy. Despite the attraction of experimentation to encourage learning and thus improved policy outcomes, much of the literature on experimentation does not give sufficient attention to how it is operationalized in practice. Drawing from a novel dataset based on interviews with key actors, this article focuses on how the governance of experimentation impacts learning resulting from experimentation. Findings ultimately demonstrate that while learning occurred, it was constrained overall by a hierarchical, top-down approach to experimentation. Lessons from this case study can therefore be useful for both policy scholars and public administrations embarking on experimentation or other types of public sector innovation in Canada and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
28. Innovation or implementation? Local response to low‐carbon policy experimentation in China.
- Author
-
Guo, Shihong, Song, Qijiao, and Qi, Ye
- Subjects
- *
GOVERNMENT policy , *POLITICAL participation , *FEDERAL government , *LOCAL government , *PILOT projects - Abstract
The low‐carbon pilot city project is a critical policy experimentation in China, which is designed to implement policy instruments and local initiatives for low‐carbon development targets. However, some scholars have argued that local pilots have not met the central government's expectation of policy innovation. The current literature mainly focuses on pathways at the national level and few studies have discussed how subnational authorities respond to the national goals. Through a case study, we present the actions and the political will of the local authorities and discuss the logic involved in the local government's response to the low‐carbon pilot city project. We conclude that the bottom‐up initiative has become a top‐down policy implementation process, which contributes little to the design of new and appropriate policy instruments and initiatives. The local government only "package up" the low‐carbon related policies responding to the country's requirement, showing less enthusiasm and political will toward low‐carbon development initiatives. This study contributes to subnational pathways of low‐carbon development and explores the responses and the political will of local government to policy experimentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
29. New Perspectives on Green Energy Defaults.
- Author
-
Mundaca, L. and Moncreiff, H.
- Subjects
CLEAN energy ,DEFAULT (Finance) ,CONSUMER behavior ,EXPERIMENTAL design - Abstract
This paper is an attempt to provide new perspectives on green energy defaults (GED) that promote the purchase of renewable energy electricity (RE
e ) among consumers. We aim to complement existing studies and improve the understanding of GED, particularly when they are less, or unexpectedly, effective. To that end, we run a randomized controlled experiment and take the UK as a case study. We replicate the research design of previous lab experiments for comparative reasons. We also expand the analytical framework, identify key determinants and compare stated versus revealed preferences. Initial results indicate a lack of effectiveness across all treatment groups. This seems to challenge most of the existing lab experimental evidence and questions external validity claims. In addition to the actual treatments, current tariff agreements appear as significant determinants of choices. Nevertheless, when stated and revealed preferences are analysed, statistical tests revealed positive and significant differential effects, suggesting that the sole provision of an explicit, simple decision framework can trigger a greater adoption of REe, even in an opt-in treatment scenario. We thus argue that GED can still influence consumer decision-making in the desired policy direction. However, outcomes are likely to be context-specific so policy generalisations are not advisable. Building upon existing knowledge and our experimental results, we propose various motivational and contextual issues affecting consumer behaviour and thus the effectiveness and suitability of GED. They can offer guidance for future GED studies, particularly in countries in which market and consumer policy conditions for REe may be less advanced or certain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
30. 'FROM POINT TO SURFACE': THE ROLE OF POLICY EXPERIMENTATION IN CHINESE HIGHER EDUCATION REFORMS.
- Author
-
Han, Shuangmiao and Mills, David
- Subjects
- *
EDUCATION policy , *HIGHER education , *EDUCATIONAL innovations - Abstract
China has undergone unprecedented changes since the Reform and Opening-up policy in 1978. Policy experimentation (PE) has been key in generating and catalysing reforms in the process. This study proposes a conceptual framework to describe the different pathways of PE-enabled reforms. Comparing two empirically informed case studies, this study demonstrates the functions of this policy tool plays within China's higher education policy-making and development: generative, rhetorical and regulatory. The paper argues that PE can be a genuinely productive mechanism for producing, identifying and negotiating new policy options while allowing the government to supervise and regulate institutional reform behaviours. However, under certain conditions, it assumes more of a symbolic role allowing the government to acquire or consolidate reform legitimacy without engaging substantial innovation. By highlighting those key roles of PE, this paper provides a distinctive perspective for understanding the policy-making and reform process in China's higher education development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
31. Qujing (取经) as policy mobility with Chinese characteristics: A case study of ultralow-energy building policy in China.
- Author
-
Zhou, Yu
- Subjects
- *
NEOLIBERALISM , *PASSIVHAUS , *SOCIAL mobility ,TANG dynasty, China, 618-907 - Abstract
This article introduces the concept and practice of qujing as a Chinese state-organized form of policy mobility. The term qujing originates in the journey of a Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang who brought Buddhism's sutras from India to China in the 7th century; qujing has been appropriated by modern Chinese leaders to promote learning from the experiences of other regions. In post-reform China, qujing has become routinized within the Chinese bureaucracy as an integral step in its distinctive experimentalist governance. By bringing insights from the literature of China's policy experimentation to situate trans-local learning, I challenge the disproportionate attention the policy mobility literature has paid to local and transnational actors in mobilizing policies under neoliberalism. Instead, I locate the origins, agency, and knowledge mutation of Chinese qujing within the multi-scalar policy experimentation protocols of China's authoritarian regime. This article contrasts qujing with generalized patterns of policy mobility in the existing literature, thereby decentering political mobility research from more familiar western political contexts and actors. Using multi-year interviews and official documents, I trace China's introduction of ultralow-energy passive building from Germany as a case-study to show the relationships between foreign learning (qujing), local experimentation, and policy making in greening China's built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
32. 成为“最佳实践” :试点经验的 话语建构.
- Author
-
王路昊 and 林海龙
- Subjects
POLICY discourse ,POLICY diffusion ,PILOT projects ,POLICY sciences ,DISCOURSE analysis ,CONSTRUCTIVISM (Psychology) - Abstract
Copyright of Society: Chinese Journal of Sociology / Shehui is the property of Society: Chinese Journal of Sociology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2021
33. Behavioural insights for sustainable energy use
- Abstract
Behavioural insights are increasingly shaping the design, implementation and evaluation of energy policies. This Special Issue aims to broaden and strengthen the evidence base, and policy value of behavioural insights in the context of sustainable energy use. It showcases a plethora of behavioural issues that can help to improve our understanding of the decision-making ‘black box’ of energy users and the contexts in which behaviours take place. Our editorial focuses on five cross-cutting themes, namely: interdisciplinarity, policy experimentation, non-economic factors, the diffusion of low-carbon innovations, and digitalisation. Findings across these themes reveal various challenges (e.g. timescales of energy behaviours, scaling of policy experiments, heterogeneous treatment effects) and four overarching areas are identified when policy implications are examined horizontally: ambition, integration, cooperation and ethics. We conclude that the application of behavioural insights to sustainable energy use provides a rich body of evidence and approaches to support our understanding of complex policy issues. It is an interdisciplinary and resource-intensive process that can effectively assist policymaking by encouraging behaviour change via more integrated, (cost-) effective interventions. Knowledge exchange between social scientists and policymakers is crucial for behavioural insights to realise their full potential. Ethical considerations call for good research practices and improved governance.
- Published
- 2023
34. Policy Synthesis through Regional Experimentations: Comparative Study of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme in Three Chinese Provinces.
- Author
-
Zhu, Xufeng and Bai, Guihua
- Subjects
- *
GOVERNMENT policy , *COMPARATIVE studies , *REGIONAL disparities , *FEDERAL government , *CHINESE people - Abstract
Policymakers often face difficulties in determining appropriate national policy instruments based on the results of small-scale experimentations conducted by subordinate governments due to regional disparities and the inherent characteristics of such policies. This research explores policy synthesis via regional experimentations as a novel policy experimentation model. In policy synthesis, the upper government determines instruments for each element of a national policy by communicating with and learning from the experiences of local governments and then synthesizes the policy elements by conducting large-scale experiments. This study analyzes the experimentation of the Chinese New Cooperative Medical Scheme as a case to demonstrate the feasibility of applying policy synthesis. It also compares the experimentations conducted in three provinces and reviews the strategy adopted by the central government. It is found that the Chinese central government learns the pros and cons of diverse policy instruments from regional experimentations to produce a balanced synthesized policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
35. Local Policy Experimentation, Social Learning, and Development of Rural Pension Provision in China.
- Author
-
Ting Huang
- Subjects
- *
SUBSIDIES , *SOCIAL learning , *PENSIONS , *TECHNOLOGICAL innovations , *LOCAL government - Abstract
The rural pension system, co-financed by rural residents' contributions and government subsidies, is a remarkable institutional innovation in China. To better understand the establishment and policy design of this system, this article studies the local experimentation of (partly) government-funded new rural pension schemes prior to the national policy guideline issued in 2009. The focus is on the role of social learning as a crucial driving force in this process. Through a process tracing based on in-depth interviews in Daxing of Beijing and Baoji of Shaanxi Province, this article illustrates how local governments struggled to find suitable financing models for rural pensions, and relied primarily on hands-on experimentation and experiences. During the mobilization of participation in the schemes, the repeated and constant interactions between local officials and rural residents promoted a form of mutual learning that contributed to local policy adaptation and rural residents' internalization of the value and basic rules of contributory pension provision. The local experience had a cumulative impact on the ideational reorientation of the central officials regarding the state's financial role in provision. Specifically, the financing model in Baoji created new options that facilitated the reconciliation of a set of different concerns and objectives at the centre, notably fiscal affordability, wide coverage, and modest managerial burden, which, this article argues, was the major reason for the incorporation of this model into the national policy. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the establishment of the rural pension system and its provisions on rural state-society relations in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
36. Policy experimentation and power negotiation in China's higher education reforms.
- Author
-
Han, Shuangmiao
- Subjects
- *
EDUCATION policy , *NEGOTIATION , *HIGHER education , *EDUCATIONAL change , *EDUCATIONAL planning - Abstract
China has adopted policy experimentation (PE) as a means of introducing and testing innovative policy options for reforms in higher education (HE). This paper explores how PE plays out in the HE sector, involving state actors and university actors in a dynamic interactive process and bringing about institutional changes. This paper proposes a theoretical categorisation to understand four types of PE that occurred in China's HE reforms, i.e. directive, authorised, exploratory and retrospectively authorised experiments. It discusses an empirically informed case study to illustrate the experiment process characterised by central-local interaction and intentionally ambiguous boundaries. The PE approach enables state-university interactions and power negotiations that create and maintain strategy space for consensus-building. The state, however, retains ultimate authority for legitimatising, selecting and expanding policy experiments. It is best understood as 'elite-enabled experimentation within existing political hierarchies'. This study provides a distinctive perspective for understanding and explaining the power dynamics embedded in China's HE reform process and more broadly the evolution of higher education governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
37. 'Push' dynamics in policy experimentation: Downscaling climate change adaptation programs in Canada
- Author
-
Adam Wellstead, Michael Howlett, Sreeja Nair, and Jeremy Rayner
- Subjects
Canada ,Policy experimentation ,Governance ,Climate adaptation ,Meteorology. Climatology ,QC851-999 ,Social sciences (General) ,H1-99 - Abstract
Policy experiments have often been touted as valuable mechanisms for ensuring sustainability transitions and climate change adaptation. However problems exist both in the definition of ‘experiments’, and in their design and realization. While valuable, most experiments examined in the literature to date have been small-scale micro-level deployments or evaluations of policy tools in which the most problematic element revolves around their “scaling-up” or diffusion. The literature on the subject has generally neglected the problems and issues related to another class of experiments in which macro or meso-level initiatives are ‘scaled-down’ to the micro-level. This paper examines a recent effort of this kind in Canada involving the creation of Regional Adaptation Collaboratives (RACs) across the country whose main purpose is to push national level initiatives down to the regions and localities. As the discussion shows, this top-down process has its own dynamics distinct from those involved in ‘scaling up’ and should be examined as a separate category of policy experiments in its own right.
- Published
- 2016
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
38. 'A New Way for New Talents in Teaching' or the Impact of Targeted Recruitment, Rigorous Selection, Innovative Training, and Ongoing Professional Support on Beginner Teachers' Performance.
- Author
-
Koleva, Neli and Stoyanova-Warner, Maya
- Subjects
TEACHER education ,ACADEMIC achievement ,TEACHER certification ,ACADEMIC motivation ,SOCIAL responsibility - Abstract
'A New Way for New Talents in Teaching' (NEWTT), an Erasmus+, Key Action 3: Policy Experimentation project, explores alternative pathways into the teaching profession for highly motivated graduates and professionals. The project is inspired by prior research that compares traditional teacher education programs to alternative pathways to the profession based on teacher and student performance and on key competencies and mindsets demonstrated by the teachers in both tracks. The key hypothesis tested is that rigorously selected career-changers or top-performing graduates with a strong commitment to teaching could combine their first two years at school with practical, on-the-job training and a university teacher certification program and perform at least on par with traditionally trained beginner teachers. If this proves to be true, NEWTT could potentially address a few major EU-wide education challenges. An impact assessment team have been tracking the competence, motivation, and mindsets of the alternative training group and have been comparing them to the competence, motivation, and mindsets of control groups - traditionally trained beginner teachers also working in underperforming schools. The impact evaluation interim report for Bulgaria outlines a few key trends: NEWTT trainees and beginner teachers enter the profession with different job motivators - the main one being social responsibility for NEWTT trainees and job security for the control group, teaching competences increase for both groups over time, and traditionally trained teachers feel a higher need for support in the three main teacher tasks of tracking student progress, giving students feedback, and establishing classroom routines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
39. Connecting policy change, experimentation, and entrepreneurs: advancing conceptual and empirical insights.
- Author
-
McFadgen, Belinda K.
- Subjects
- *
ENTREPRENEURSHIP , *CLIMATE change , *WATER management , *SUSTAINABILITY , *ECOSYSTEMS - Abstract
With global environmental problems worsening, policy makers and nonstate actors are looking for viable solutions through policy innovation, entrepreneurship, and experimentation. Research into the use of experiments to innovate is increasing, but the role of experimentation in policy change has yet to be specifically addressed in the context of climate governance. My aim is to improve understanding by examining how entrepreneurs, key agents of change, might use experiments to advance their climate innovations. Policy entrepreneurs can benefit in several ways from using experiments, including assessing public response to new ideas and learning. I address the question: What role can experiments play in an entrepreneur's change strategies? To answer this, a set of 18 policy experiments from Dutch water management was analyzed to understand how the policy experiments functioned as 4 different policy change strategies. The results revealed that organizers use experiments to evaluate their preformed ideas, to soften local communities to the idea of experimentation, to build broad but centrally controlled coalitions, and to link with influential political actors and national programs to maintain visibility and relevance. These insights formed a list of suggestions that the experiment organizers identified as key to the change strategies. Based on this, a number of recommendations about design choices were made for entrepreneurs who want to experiment. Analyzing experiments as change strategies contributes a novel perspective on how policy experiments function as venues for invention and provides useful suggestions on how experiments can be designed to improve their influence over policy-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
40. Principle-guided Policy Experimentation in China: From Rural Tax and Fee Reform to Hu and Wen's Abolition of Agricultural Tax.
- Author
-
Wang, Guohui
- Subjects
- *
AGRICULTURAL taxes , *ECONOMIC policy , *SOCIAL justice , *LOCAL government , *FINANCE - Abstract
The abolition of Agricultural Tax in 2005 was a major policy of the early Hu–Wen administration. But how and why did it happen? Drawing on abundant media reports, archive documents and internal speeches by key policymakers, as well as on the author's interviews, this article argues that this reform was pushed through (the "how") by "principle-guided policy experimentation" with origins in the period of Jiang Zemin's leadership. Not only does this show policy continuities from the Jiang–Zhu era into the Hu–Wen period, it also reveals a different process of policy experimentation from that identified by Sebastian Heilmann in the economic policy arena. Under principle-guided policy experimentation, Chinese central decision makers first reached consensus on the principle of the Rural Tax and Fee Reform (RTFR) drawing on policy learning from prior bottom-up local experimentation, and then formulated and implemented an experimental programme from the top-down, funding it in order to encourage local governments to participate. The evidence suggests that international, political (rural instability), economic and fiscal considerations came to explain leaders' decisions (the "why") on tax reform as much as their individual preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
41. A holistic overview of the progress of China’s low-carbon city pilots.
- Author
-
Li, Huimin, Wang, Jie, Yang, Xiu, Wang, Yufei, and Wu, Tong
- Subjects
CITIES & towns ,CARBON & the environment ,PILOT projects ,CLIMATE change ,EMISSIONS (Air pollution) - Abstract
Highlights • We investigate the progress of 32 of China’s low-carbon pilot cities based on official self-assessment reports. • A quantitative measure covering the majority of emission sectors was carried out. • Many policies and institutions including legislation, emissions control, carbon certification and green credit were explored. • There are several obstacles to local experiments’ diffusion nationwide. • We provide three policy recommendations from the perspective of policy diffusion. Abstract Since 2010 China has launched three batches of low-carbon pilot cities to explore feasible local policies or actions that can be replicated on a larger scale. Based on their official self-assessment reports, this study investigates the progress of 32 pilot sites from the initial two batches. Indicators of progress include: establishing a comprehensive governance system to guarantee the implementation of low-carbon strategies, plans and actions; implementing a carbon emission statistics system; carrying out low-carbon actions covering the majority of emission sectors and having produced positive consequences for local low-carbon development; exploring new policies and institutions including legislation, emissions control, carbon certification and green credit schemes, that lead to the formulation of national policies. Despite some defects in the experiments, the progress from these pilot sites has laid an important foundation for the advancement of national low-carbon development. Based on this analysis, this study provides recommendations for policy diffusion: to integrate more constraints and incentives into low-carbon pilot sites; to establish a policy assessment system to identify effective local experiments; and to summarize and share these best practices across the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
42. User-Oriented Policies in European HEIs: Triggering a Participative Process in Today’s Digital Turn—An OpenU Experimentation in the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
- Author
-
Cherif, Marco Renzo Dell’Omodarme and Yasmine
- Subjects
inclusion ,user-oriented approach ,pedagogical relation ,participative process ,social distributed learning ,reflexive approach ,students ,peripheral learning ,policy experimentation ,university leadership ,legitimate peripheral participation - Abstract
As European higher education institutions (HEIs) increasingly grapple with new challenges, the importance and difficulty of massification, democratization, and inclusion have been reinforced by the recent pandemic crisis and the simultaneous need for pedagogical continuity. Meeting these challenges not only implies a profound change in organization and teaching practices, which need to focus on user-centered quality learning, but also raises questions about financing, management, and governance. Using results from two participative experiments conducted in the French University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in the framework of the OpenU (Online Pedagogical Resources in European Universities) project, the authors present ethical and practical issues that currently face inclusive and user-oriented policies in the European higher education area. Through this paper, we argue that creating an imaginative and inclusive participative process is as essential today in the spirit of evidence-based policies supporting digital education as it is partial. We furthermore present emerging results on current needs, as well as incentives to increase participation. Such results ultimately allow us to draw conclusions and recommendations for institutional and national policymakers to further improve user-oriented policies.
- Published
- 2022
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
43. A system dynamics-based framework for examining Circular Economy transitions
- Abstract
Decision-makers in the public policy and business arenas need tools to deal with multiple sources of complexity in Circular Economy (CE) transitions. System Dynamics (SD) facilitates coping with increased complexity by enabling closed-loop thinking via identifying the causal structures underlying behaviour and permitting to proactively experiment with the system through simulation. This research aims to propose and test an SD-based framework for examining CE transitions to supporting decision-making at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. Two inductive model-based cases studies led to formalising the framework, finally tested in a third deductive model-based case study. The framework is built upon the well-known stages for building SD simulation models and complemented with domain-specific activities, guiding questions, and expected outcomes when examining CE transitions. The SD-based framework is the first modelling-oriented prescriptive approach to help researchers and practitioners examining CE transitions on their journeys to understand and facilitate changes through SD simulation models.
- Published
- 2022
44. “Pioneers but not guinea pigs”: experimenting with climate change adaptation in French coastal areas.
- Author
-
Rocle, Nicolas and Salles, Denis
- Subjects
- *
CLIMATE change , *POLICY sciences , *SOCIAL innovation , *EXPERIMENTS , *SOCIAL adjustment , *INSTITUTIONALISM (Religion) , *SUSTAINABLE development - Abstract
Uncertainty surrounding climate change has encouraged policy makers to engage in flexible and exploratory policies and forms of policy making. The article examines the potential of experimentation in devising coastal adaptation policies, taking into account its political dimensions. We analysed a multi-level experiment, funded by the French Ministry for the Environment from 2012 to 2015, where coastal municipalities volunteered to simulate the implementation of planned retreat as an adaptation strategy. Using insights from discursive institutionalism, we tracked developments throughout the experiment period. We highlight a combined process of governance experiment, allowing social innovation at local and regional scales, and a more strategic tool for the state, governing and steering local coastal policy with new instruments. We shed light on a particular policy entrepreneur (a public organization dealing with coastal management) playing at the intersection of these two forms, and in the interplay of policy scales. Although the experiment contributed to the innovation of legal and economic instruments and produced policy feedbacks in local planning and governance, learning capacities of the multi-scale architecture are still moderate to make planned retreat a reality in the near future. The conclusion considers performative and interpretive effects of policy experiments as further research questions to explore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
45. The changing dynamics of policy experiment in Singapore: does the 2011 general election make a difference?
- Author
-
Lee, Celia, Ma, Liang, and Zhou, Yishu
- Subjects
- *
GOVERNMENT policy , *TECHNOLOGICAL innovations , *PUBLIC sector , *CREATIVE ability in technology ,SINGAPOREAN politics & government, 1990- - Abstract
The city-state of Singapore is proactive in harnessing policy experimentation to incubate innovations, transfer knowledge and facilitate collaborations across different public sectors. Given the country’s strong knack for pragmatism, international practices and lessons are usually first tested and adapted in policy experiments before scaling up to nationwide policies. Singapore’s practice of policy experimentation, however, has also demonstrated evolution over time. This article reviews the evolving role of experimentation in Singapore’s policy decision-making and implementation, and analyses pilot programmes in public housing to elicit the key attributes and commonalities of its policy experiments. It finds that policy experiments have been increasingly used after the 2011 general election, which witnessed a radical political rebalancing in Singapore’s governance history. Pilot projects have thus transformed from a utilitarian to citizen-centric, design-thinking approach after 2011. Pilot programmes are used for multiple purposes in policy innovations, among which civil service mentoring, knowledge transfer and cross-boundary collaboration are the values primarily pursued. The article discusses the contributions of the findings to the literature and policy implications for practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
46. State rescaling, policy experimentation and path dependency in post-Mao China: a dynamic analytical framework.
- Author
-
Lim, Kean Fan
- Subjects
ECONOMICS ,POLITICAL economic analysis ,POLITICAL science & economics ,POLICY sciences ,PATH dependence (Social sciences) - Abstract
Copyright of Regional Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
47. Connecting policy change, experimentation, and entrepreneurs: advancing conceptual and empirical insights
- Author
-
Belinda K. McFadgen
- Subjects
bricolage ,climate adaptation ,dutch water management ,policy change strategies ,policy entrepreneur ,policy experimentation ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 ,Ecology ,QH540-549.5 - Abstract
With global environmental problems worsening, policy makers and nonstate actors are looking for viable solutions through policy innovation, entrepreneurship, and experimentation. Research into the use of experiments to innovate is increasing, but the role of experimentation in policy change has yet to be specifically addressed in the context of climate governance. My aim is to improve understanding by examining how entrepreneurs, key agents of change, might use experiments to advance their climate innovations. Policy entrepreneurs can benefit in several ways from using experiments, including assessing public response to new ideas and learning. I address the question: What role can experiments play in an entrepreneur's change strategies? To answer this, a set of 18 policy experiments from Dutch water management was analyzed to understand how the policy experiments functioned as 4 different policy change strategies. The results revealed that organizers use experiments to evaluate their preformed ideas, to soften local communities to the idea of experimentation, to build broad but centrally controlled coalitions, and to link with influential political actors and national programs to maintain visibility and relevance. These insights formed a list of suggestions that the experiment organizers identified as key to the change strategies. Based on this, a number of recommendations about design choices were made for entrepreneurs who want to experiment. Analyzing experiments as change strategies contributes a novel perspective on how policy experiments function as venues for invention and provides useful suggestions on how experiments can be designed to improve their influence over policy-making processes.
- Published
- 2019
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
48. Local Climate Governance under the Shadow of Hierarchy: Evidence from China’s Yangtze River Delta.
- Author
-
Miao, Bo and Li, Yu-wai Vic
- Subjects
- *
CLIMATE change , *ENVIRONMENTAL policy - Abstract
This study examines the making of local climate governance in the Chinese setting where central-local inter-governmental relations continue to play critical part in almost every policy domain. Through analysing the climate responses of the three provincial-level governments at the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), the paper argues that the process of “experimentation under hierarchy” is relevant to understanding the evolving of the subnational climate regime in the YRD region. We find the preponderance of the central authorities in initiating national climate strategies and galvanising responses at the local level. Meanwhile, provincial governments have been able to leverage climate plans and actions to achieve their own gains. These findings suggest that any optimism about subnational climate activism in a Chinese setting has to be mixed with caution. In fact, the shadow of hierarchical authority structure lingers and plays important part in the initiation of subnational response and spurring climate responses and innovations from below. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
49. Tackling Chinese Upgrading Through Experimentalism and Pragmatism: The Case of China's Wind Turbine Industry.
- Author
-
KIRKEGAARD, Julia Kirch
- Subjects
WIND turbines ,WIND power industry ,PRAGMATISM ,ECONOMIC development ,RENEWABLE energy sources ,ECONOMICS - Abstract
This paper examines the development of China's wind turbine industry, shedding light on the Chinese mode of disruptive industrial upgrading through policy pragmatism and fragmented, experimental governance. Based on a historical analysis of China's wind turbine industry, the paper highlights three distinct phases, which are all marked by their own inbuilt and potentially self-disruptive impasses and associated crises. In turn, these impasses have forced the Chinese government into radical and flexible interventions, which have spurred on Chinese companies to creatively find new ways to develop and upgrade. The paper illustrates the transformation of Sino-foreign relations by China's non-linear upgrading approach, particularly during the Chinese wind power industry's quality crisis, and its development model. It also discusses the implications this examination of China's approach has for the literatures on China, upgrading, and catch-up. Finally, the paper calls on future studies to enquire further into China's distinct mode of industrial upgrading and its embeddedness in China's institutional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
50. Unfolding policies for innovation intermediaries in China: A discourse network analysis.
- Author
-
Chadwick (Chengwei) Wang and Luhao Wang
- Subjects
- *
TECHNOLOGICAL innovation policy , *BUSINESS incubators , *HIGH technology industries , *FEDERAL government , *LOCAL government , *TECHNOLOGICAL innovations - Abstract
China initiated the innovation intermediaries' policies as early as the reform of the science and technology regime in the 1980s, but it is still difficult to figure out how these policies worked. Incubator policies are employed to test this hypothesis, while articles in People's Daily (1995-2014) are used to explore the interactive mechanism between central and local government in the context of policy experimentation and tournament system. Behind all continuity and discontinuity, it is found that the invitation-oriented idea is never changed, and the incubators are framed to be the panacea to achieve similar economic output when falling behind even with the input of the same policies. The problem roots deeply in the diffusion of 'model experience' advocated by the central government, where the conduct and creativity of local governments are so profoundly shaped or even constrained during the benchmarking, that it is forgotten that adjustments must be made for local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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