Policy transfer,contagion effects and intra-party reform

ABSTRACT

This article examines the extent to which the Australian Labor Party (ALP) engaged in a process of policy transfer, learning from the UK Labour Party, when it reformed its federal leadership selection process in 2013. Bringing together insights from both the public policy and party organisations literature, the article develops an empirical framework for identifying instances of policy transfer (or contagion effects) that consists of three criteria: intention, motivation and implementation, which can examined through various types of empirical data (including interviews, documentary, and network analysis). Applying this framework to the ALP reforms, the article concludes that while it is possible to see evidence of a general shift to a similar, more inclusive selection process, policy transfer is more difficult to substantiate. There were clear differences in the specifics of how the process would work, and a temporal disjoint between when actors sought information about UK practices and when the reforms actually occurred.     

A Psychology of Immigration

The discipline of psychology has much to contribute to our understanding of immigrants and the process of immigration. A framework is proposed that lays out two complementary domains of psychological research, both rooted in contextual factors, and both leading to policy and program development. The first (acculturation) stems from research in anthropology and is now a central part of cross- cultural psychology; the second (intergroup relations) stems from sociology and is now a core feature of social psychology. Both domains are concerned with two fundamental issues that face immigrants and the society of settlement: maintenance of group characteristics and contact between groups. The intersection of these issues creates an intercultural space, within which members of both groups develop their cultural boundaries and social relationships. A case is made for the benefits of integration as a strategy for immigrants and for multiculturalism as a policy for the larger society. The articles in this issue are then discussed in relation to these conceptual frameworks and empirical findings.     

Population ecology and niche seeking in the development of gay and lesbian rights groups

This paper explores the formation of groups within the framework of the population ecology literature. Specifically, I argue that newly formed groups’ target membership bases and policy agendas will become more focused as the density of interest groups in a population increases, though groups will not necessarily continue this focused trend once the density of the population has reached its upper limits. To test this theory, I utilize Nownes’ [Nownes, A. J. (2004). The population ecology of interest group formation: Mobilizing for gay and lesbian rights in the United States, 1950–1998. British Journal of Political Science, 34, 49–67] dataset on the population ecology of gay and lesbian rights groups and a typology of groups that Bosso [Bosso, C. J. (2005). Environment, Inc.: From Grassroots to Beltway. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas] used in explaining the focus of environmental rights groups. I find that as the population of gay and lesbian groups became more dense, the groups that formed tended to narrow down their potential membership populations. However, the results were different for a newly formed group's policy agenda. While niche seeking occurred during the rapid growth of groups in the 1970s and the early 1980s, groups that formed after growth leveled off in the mid-1980s balanced their agendas between being too broad and too narrow. This important finding indicates that niche seeking does not always occur in very dense interest populations.     

An international trade model to capture linkages among supply-constrained economies

The development of a country's domestic and international markets depends on its own actions as much as on those of its trading partners. The study of market linkages is thus vital for policy making. Borrowing from the conceptual framework of Leontief's input-output analysis and from the national accounts equation, this paper presents a new model to calculate multilateral trade multipliers while minimizing data requirements. The novelty of the approach consists in the column-wise (supply-oriented) normalization of trade as opposed to the row-wise (demand-oriented) normalization that prevails in the literature. The explanatory power of the model has been successfully tested on data that refer to 1973–1974. Divergence from reality inevitably reflects the great fluidity that characterized trade during that period. Although most successful when applied to trade among supply-oriented economies (such as those of socialist or developing countries), at present empirical tests have been run only for a handful of OECD and OPEC countries.     

Money demand stability: A case study of Nigeria

Monetary policy in Nigeria aims is to achieve price and monetary stability. During the 1980s and 1990s, monetary targeting was the dominant monetary policy framework in Nigeria. However, in 2006 the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) adopted the new monetary policy framework through which short-term interest rates are adjusted to achieve stability in the value of the domestic currency. This paper has presented an empirical investigation into the demand for Nigerian real narrow money (M1) over the period 1960–2008 in an attempt to identify whether the CBN were right to adopt the new monetary policy framework. In doing so, we estimate alternative (canonical and extended) specifications of M1 demand using structural change methods. Our results suggest that the canonical specification is well-determined. Although the money demand relationship went through a regime shift in 1986, it is largely stable. These findings favour the use of supply of money as an instrument of monetary policy, thus lending limited support for the new monetary policy framework.     

Frame evolution: A new approach to understanding changes in diversity reforms at public universities in the United States

University diversity policy in the past two decades has shifted from rationales that focused on social justice to ones that emphasize educational excellence [Lipson, D. (2007, Fall). Embracing diversity: The institutionalization of affirmative action as diversity management at UC-Berkeley, UT-Austin, and UW-Madison. Law & Social Inquiry, 32(4), 985–1026; Moreno, J. F., Smith, D. G., Parker, S., Clayton-Pedersen, A. R., & Teraguchi, D. H. (2006). Using multiple lenses: An examination of the economic and racial/ethnic diversity of college students. Report from the James Irvine Foundation Campus Diversity Initiative; Moses, M. S., & Chang, M. J. (2006). Toward a deeper understanding of the diversity rationale. Educational Researcher, 35(1), 6–11; Skrenty, J. D. (2002). The minority rights revolution. Princeton University Press]. The consensus among diversity scholars is that this shift has taken place as a result of Federal court decisions restricting the use of affirmative action in admissions. This paper sheds new light on these shifts in rationale by proposing a new theory of frame evolution. I developed this, an extension to Snow et al.’s [Snow, D. A., et al. (1986). Frame alignment processes, micromobilization, and movement participation. American Sociological Review, 51(4), 464–481] theory of frame alignment, as a way to show how policy discourses evolve to accommodate changing demands. I argue that policy frames tend to evolve in a sequential pattern of accommodation, consolidation, and bridging. In-depth interview data with 41 diversity advocates at four public universities in the United States reveal three stages in the frame evolution process: the first motivated by a need to accommodate existing institutional norms, the second motivated by a need to build a core constituency of supporters, and the third with the aim of converting those “on the fence” into policy supporters. In the case of higher education diversity policy, the three stages equate to a maintenance frame, a social justice frame, and an excellence frame.     

From Assistance to Prevention: Categorizing Young Carer Support Services in Australia,and International Implications

Young people who provide unpaid care for a relative with chronic illness or disability are a growing focus of public policy and research in Australia and internationally. Support services for these young carers have emerged, but not enough is known about their effectiveness. This article develops an analytical framework that categorizes young carer support services according to their goals and the types of intervention provided. The analytical framework is based on Australian data. It is applied to young carer support services available in Australia but may be applicable to other countries. The aim of the framework is to provide a structure for assessing the effectiveness of current services in supporting young carers by clarifying service goals and identifying gaps in existing service provision. The framework contributes to conceptual discussions about young carer supports, and it can be used to guide future policy development. The article draws on Australian and international literature as well as findings from a recent Australian study on young carers. The proposed framework groups young carer support services according to three overarching goals: assisting young people who provide care; mitigating the care‐giving responsibility; and preventing the entrenchment of a young person's caring role. The framework is applied to an audit of Australian support services for young carers, illustrating how it can be used to assess existing supports for young carers and inform future policy development. The findings suggest that most services in Australia fall into the categories of assistance and mitigation, while few contain preventative elements.     

Conceptualising the politics of social protection expansion in low income countries: The intersection of transnational ideas and domestic politics

The growing literature on social protection in low income developing countries has tended to focus on definitional debates, policy design and impact evaluations, with relatively little consideration of the ways in which politics shape policy. This article argues that politics needs to be at the centre of efforts to understand social protection and outlines a new conceptual framework for investigating this, with a particular focus on explaining the variation in progress made by low income countries in adopting and implementing social protection. We propose that an adapted ‘political settlements’ framework that incorporates insights from the literatures on welfare state development – notably ‘power constellations’ theory, discursive institutionalism and global policy networks – can help frame political commitment to social protection as flowing from the interaction of domestic political economy and transnational ideas. Importantly, this approach situates social protection within a broader political and policy context, and highlights the influence of underlying power relations at multiple levels.     

Metagovernance,political demand and policy advice: a case from Brazil

ABSTRACT

There has been a call for a “second wave” of scholarship on policy advice to expand our understanding of the relational dynamics within a policy advisory system (PAS). In this article, we use a case from Brazil to address two key gaps in the PAS literature – the lack of attention to systems of network governance and the current predominance of “Westminster” empirical cases. To better understand the impact of policy advice within a system of networked governance, we apply the frame of “metagovernance” – the steering of governance networks. We then introduce and employ the concepts of funnelling, political brokering and gate-keeping to better understand how policy advice is shaped, modified and then either rejected or accepted. The contribution of the article is that, while much of the existing PAS literature describes the contours and key actors within an advisory system, we develop new conceptual scaffolding to better understand the trajectories and impact of policy advice, and the interplay between actors and agents, within a broader system of metagovernance.     

Culture,Place of Origin,and Service Delivery for Latino Older Adult Immigrants: The Case of Puerto Rican Older Adults

ABSTRACT

A conceptual model for the design and implementation of effective social services for Latino older adult immigrants in the United States is proposed in this article. Built on the stage-of-migration framework (Drachman, 1992 Drachman, D. 1992. A stage-of-migration framework for service to immigrant populations. Social Work, 37: 68–72. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), the model presented shows how the premigration service experience of Latino older adults can be used as a basis for service design and implementation in the country of immigration. The case of Puerto Rican older adult immigrants is used to illustrate how the model can be applied to understand present service utilization and develop future programs that are useful and culturally sensitive for Latino older adult immigrants.     

Policy simulations with a macroeconometric model of the Indian economy

In this paper, the results of various dynamic policy simulations are analyzed within the context of a macroeconometric model of the Indian economy. The model contains 35 equations and offers a consistent framework for policy analysis. It is considerably expanded on the side of the fiscal sector and usefully incorporates the interdependence between monetary and fiscal sectors and gives due attention to supply side considerations. Magnitudes of effects of sustained policy changes are analyzed for the period 1964–1965 to 1974–1975. Impact multipliers and elasticities are also analyzed. Government expenditures variables and deficit financing are shown to have substantial impact on the system whereas changes in tax-rates, discount-rates, and liquidity ratios for commercial banks are shown to have only a marginal impact. The model is used for exploring the growth potential of the economy in a forecast period of five years under alternative assumptions regarding policy options.     

Understanding Children and Adolescents’ Victimizations at Multiple Levels: An Ecological Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT

This article examines children and adolescent exposure to violence in various contexts. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify the definitions and types of violence reported in studies on victimization using the ecological systems framework. Sources included research studies and/or reports from scholarly journals (n = 140), books (n = 9), conferences/workshops (n = 5), and Web sources, such as Uniform Crime Reports (n = 23). The findings indicated that research differed in terminologies, conceptual and operational definitions, sample sizes, and age group classification for children and adolescents. Furthermore, studies lacked focus on the co-occurrence and interrelatedness of victimization and how these factors might affect the outcomes. Many studies employed a cross-sectional design, which limits strong conclusions about the temporal order of victimization experiences and outcomes. Future research efforts need more consistency among researchers in conceptual and operational definitions and the use of more rigorous designs. Increased holistic assessments are critical for effective prevention and intervention strategies for at-risk children and adolescents.     

From Street‐level Bureaucrats to Street‐level Policy Entrepreneurs? Central Policy and Local Action in Lottery‐funded Community Cancer Care

Recent contributions to the policy implementation literature have applied Kingdon's model of ‘policy windows’ to the implementation of policy on health inequalities in the UK, and have identified the key role played by ‘policy entrepreneurs’ at local as well as national level. Despite this, the picture that emerges is of frustration of central policy intentions at the local level, alongside frustration of local aspirations by the centre. This article explores the relationship between central policy and local implementation in the context of a Lottery‐funded initiative to develop community cancer care in the UK. We examine the relationships: between the BIG Lottery Fund and central government; between BIG and the cancer care projects it funded; and between the projects and their local economy of cancer care. We found evidence of success both in vertical cascading of policy and in local policy innovation; 83 per cent of projects succeeded in obtaining continuation funding at the end of their Lottery funding. We suggest that this was due, in part, to two features of Lottery funding and accountability that combined to differentiate it from the other policy initiatives studied. They meant that projects were ‘buffered’ not just from national policy churn, but also from competing local priorities. In the ‘protected space’ that was thus formed, ‘street‐level policy entrepreneurs’ played a key role in developing cancer care innovations for adoption by mainstream funding agencies.     

How does policy advice of the international monetary fund differ along the income of advised countries?

ABSTRACT

The policy advice literature has paid little attention to the role of international organizations in policy advisory systems. This article offers a systematic analysis of policy advice provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the framework of the IMF’s regular Article IV consultations. The article argues that the content of IMF advice differs according to the income of the advised countries. Content analyses of the Article IV consultation reports of 18 countries show correlations between the gross national income (GNI) of the advised countries and the function of advice in the policy cycle, the specificity of advice, the recommended policy instruments and the targeted policy issues. Results show that the IMF rather points to policy problems, advices on policy goals and focuses on improving implementation when advising lower income countries. When advising higher income countries, the IMF’s advice focuses on means and specific policy tools.     

A Client Satisfaction Measure of Homecare Services for Older Adults

Client satisfaction can be used as an indicator for service quality. Without concrete feedback from clients, however, the usefulness of client satisfaction data for service improvement can be limited. This study described the development of a client satisfaction measure that can be used to provide concrete feedback for service providers. Based on a conceptual framework proposed in the literature, the Client Satisfaction: Home Care (CSAT-HC) uses a client-centered perspective to measure client satisfaction for homecare services for older adults. A survey of 200 older adults receiving homecare services provided by a social service agency in a large U.S. Midwest city was conducted to assess the psychometric properties of CSAT-HC. Results based on the 156 completed surveys show that CSAT-HC has good validity (correlation r = .62 with a popular client satisfaction measure) and test-retest reliability (r = .75). These results indicate that CSAT-HC is a valid and reliable client satisfaction measure; and therefore, providers of homecare services for older adults can use CSAT-HC to obtain client feedback for quality assurance or program evaluation purpose. Future research may use CSAT-HC to explore the potential influences of quality of homecare services on the well-being of older adult clients.     

The optimal adjustment to mineral-supply disruptions: The case of aluminum in Taiwan

Although most primary commodities seem to be in over supply, a basic question remains: what is the impact of critical mineral-supply restrictions on the economies of mineral-importing nations? This article develops a framework that can be easily used to analyze the potential impact of a mineral-supply restrictions and to formulate an adjustment pattern of a small-size, Taiwan-type economy on a sector-by-sector basis. The model presented here generalizes I-O analysis through a linear-programming framework. An iterative solution procedure is incorporated into the model so that the results are more practical and flexible for use by policy makers. A corresponding restricted resource-allocation function is derived the LP-model solution, which allows the policy maker to readily construct an adjustment strategy.     

Children in Secure Accommodation

Correspondence to Professor Robert Harris, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Department of Social Policy and Professional Studies, The University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX. Summary This paper describes the characteristics of a sample of children(N = 399) being held in secure accommodation in eleven localauthorities prior to the implementation of the Children Act1989. It is argued that secure accommodation cannot be divorcedfrom other aspects of child care policy and practice; that anyconfidence that problems of excessive or variable usage canbe removed by more restrictive legislation is largely misplaced;that when social workers resort to secure accommodation it isoften through a combination of ‘worry’ about anunpredictable child and uncertainty as to what else to do; andthat since not all children in secure accommodation wish toleave it (and the more secure accommodation constitutes goodquality child care the more children are likely to want to stay)a ‘rights’ framework, though necessary, is not asufficient moral or conceptual basis for developing secure accommodationpolicy and practice.     

Distinctive policy diffusion patterns,processes and actors: drawing implications from the case of sport in international development

This article examines the diffusion of “Sport for Development and Peace” (SDP) across sub-Saharan Africa following global policy impetus provided by international organizations, including the United Nations, since the start of the twenty-first century. In so doing, the article centres on a geographical region that has been unconsidered in the policy diffusion literature and, particularly, responds to calls for research into the effects of policy characteristics on diffusion mechanisms and patterns. This rationale beget methods that differed from the predominant use of quantitative, dichotomous indicators of policy diffusion, instead integrating data from global, international and national policy documents, from a review of SDP literature, and from stakeholder interviews in Ghana and Tanzania. Patterns of increasing governmental engagement with, but limited implementation of, SDP policies contrasted with the significant expansion of SDP provision by diverse NGOs. In turn, these patterns represented the varying influence of different diffusion mechanisms on state and non-state actors. Compared with the diffusion of other types of policies, these findings indicated the effects of an instrumental, malleable but complex global policy model for SDP diffusion. There is, therefore, significant value in further research that examines how policy diffusion may depend on the configuration of particular policy characteristics, mechanisms and actors.     

政策实施成本与上下级政府讨价还价的发生机制——基于四东县休禁牧案例的分析

讨价还价是中国上下级政府互动关系中很重要的一种形式。本文详细记述了四东县草原休禁牧政策实施过程中上下级政府的多轮讨价还价，县政府制定政策，政策严格落实导致政府与民众的冲突频发，乡镇政府以冲突为策略与县政府讨价还价，最终获得了相对宽松的执行空间。本文使用实施成本分析框架解释了讨价还价行为的发生机制，执行过程成本、上级施加成本、民众施加成本高昂，致使乡镇政府只能选择与上级讨价还价。随着社会冲突的加剧，乡镇政府的讨价还价能力相对提高，使得双方的协议点从严格执行端向宽松执行端移动。执行无僵局、协议点左右摆动、短期均衡与讨价还价的交替发生是政策执行中上下级政府讨价还价的基本特征。