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A mid-century net zero target creates a challenge for reducing the emissions of emissions-intensive, trade-exposed sectors with high cost mitigation options. These sectors include aluminium, cement, chemicals, iron and steel, lime, pulp and paper and petroleum refining. Available studies agree that decarbonization of these sectors is possible by mid-century if more ambitious policies are implemented soon. Existing carbon pricing policies have had limited impact on the emissions of these sectors because their marginal abatement costs almost always exceed the tax rate or allowance price. But emissions trading systems with free allowance allocations to emissions-intensive, trade-exposed sectors have minimized the adverse economic impacts and associated leakage. Internationally coordinated policies are unlikely, so implementing more ambitious policies creates a risk of leakage. This paper presents policy packages a country can implement to accelerate emission reduction by these sectors with minimal risk of leakage. To comply with international trade law the policy packages differ for producers whose goods compete with imports in the domestic market and producers whose goods are exported. Carbon pricing is a critical component of each package due its ability to minimize the risk of adverse economic impacts on domestic industry, support innovation and generate revenue. The revenue can be used to assist groups adversely impacted by the domestic price and production changes due to carbon pricing and to build public support for the policies.

ABSTRACT: Disinfection byproducts (DBPs), residual compounds formed from the chemical disinfection of drinking water, can cause a host of damaging public health and environmental impacts. This study evaluates the landscape of regulations designed to reduce the occurrence and/or impact of DBPs, focusing on regulations issued by the US states. Drawing on a systematic search of state administrative codes and agency websites, we first identify the presence, absence, and layering of DBP-related regulations. We then evaluate the number and types of policy tools – the specific approaches required by each regulation, such as monitoring requirements, economic incentives, and required treatment technologies – to identify how DBPs are being managed and how states cluster with relatively more and less robust regulatory frameworks. Finally, we evaluate the relationship between the regulatory approach and the frequency of drinking water quality violations for DBP compounds. While most states have at least one DBP-specific regulation, these vary substantially in their comprehensiveness. The most-used policy tools (monitoring, compliance schedules, and reporting) directly reflect federal regulations; few states have adopted innovative tools such as collaboration or financial incentives. We observe no relationship between regulatory efforts and water quality violations, suggesting that current policy implementation may not adequately address the complex risk of DBPs.

Nature-based solutions (NbSs) are recognised as relevant to spatial planning in addressing societal challenges, although their uptake is limited and fragmented to some case studies, and difficulties emerge from their implementation and operationalisation. The research developed a literature review to investigate how NbS has been considered for its implementation and operationalisation in spatial planning and how NbS has been included across different policy instruments and used to address climate change adaptation (CCA). The results highlighted: Firstly, the review contributed to bridge the gap in NbS implementation and operationalisation by proposing a novel three-dimensional categorisation system to guide the selection of suitable NbS principles to address societal challenges; secondly, this study still revealed gaps in some policy areas, despite the effort to extensively apply NbS across diverse policy instruments to CCA. Overall, the review further emphasises the need for future research focused on monitoring and evaluating NbS's effectiveness to CCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crossing departmental boundaries and improving the efficiency of policy instruments are potential solutions to break the dilemma of public affairs governance and shift to collaborative governance. It is necessary to re-examine the internal connection mechanism between intergovernmental relations and policy tools. This study used textual analysis to deconstruct 178 water pollution control policies from 1984 to 2020, provided an overview of 16 control sectors and 30 policy instruments; then used social network analysis to characterize the structure of the water pollution control network, discussed the principles of reciprocity and priority of cross-sector cooperation, the shift in preference in the choice of policy instruments, and the institutional logic of the "sector-instrument" interface. First, the network characteristics of the governance body evolves from "one-core multiple" to "multiple synergy." The means of the degree, closeness and betweenness centrality of the current policy stage are 0.79, 0.85, and 0.04, respectively. Second, the selective preference of policy instruments will shift from command-and-control preference to a balanced choice of multiple policy instruments. The mean values of degree, closeness and betweenness centrality in the current policy stage are 0.79, 0.92, and 0.01, respectively. Thirdly, the sectoral collaboration and policy instruments both follow the "relationship-interaction-synergy" process in the evolution of policy elements. The structural characteristics of the network change from "loose" in the policy construction stage to "decentralized-coupled" in the policy innovation stage to "core-edge" in the institutional innovation stage, and the current the network density is 69.14 and the connection degree is 0.93. This study enriches the knowledge of water pollution governance policy design and policy implementation, and provides ideas to consider the relationship between governance sectors and the embeddedness of instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the use of recycled water is essential for environmental sustainability. A key part of promoting the use of recycled water is effectively increasing the public's intention to adopt it. This research attempts to explore the factors that influence the public's intention to adopt recycled water. It therefore introduces the baseline water stress indicator and extends the survey area to areas of high water stress. Based on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI), a new research model is developed from the perspective of "information disclosure (knowledge)–psychological factors (persuasion)–adoption intention (decision)", and the moderating role of policy instruments is considered. Structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis are used to empirically analyze 724 valid questionnaires. The results indicate that psychological factors (trust, awareness of water environment protection, herd mentality) have multiple parallel mediating effects between recycled water information disclosure and adoption intention, and herd mentality is the key factor influencing the public's intention to adopt recycled water. Command-and-control policy instruments inhibit adoption intention, while economic incentives and publicity-and-guidance policy instruments promote adoption intention. These findings can help policymakers seek and adopt effective policy measures and provide a reference for popularizing and promoting recycled water in areas with high water stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of the article are to assess the legal conditions for improving energy efficiency in the energy-intensive food industry in Poland, including the rules for financing enterprises from public funds, and to assess the extent of state aid for these enterprises in their pursuit of energy saving goals. A critical analysis of the literature and of legal regulations on energy efficiency in EU and Polish law has been performed. The analysis of state aid is based on SUDOP data, and it takes into account the time span, the food industry structure, the enterprise size, the type and purpose of aid granted, and the degree of aid concentration. The conducted research showed that the largest share of state aid is received by energy-intensive industries, i.e., meat, fruit and vegetables, and dairy products (65.5%), and by large- and medium-sized enterprises (82.4%). This aid was allocated through various programmes and in various forms, the most important of which were subsidies. The aid focused on three objectives, i.e., promotion of energy from renewable sources, high-efficiency cogeneration, and measures supporting energy efficiency. The study shows the development of legislation on energy efficiency and possibilities for financing investments, both at the EU and national levels. Tightening climate policy will enhance the importance of energy efficiency in the food industry, which should be reflected in an increase in the relatively low current level of this aid (amounting to 0.04% of total state aid and 0.17% of aid for environmental protection and energy purposes). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence on urban governance has expanded but is fragmented and inadequate. It fails to articulate the complexity of urban governance in a way that would facilitate effective urban transitions. Using a conceptual-cognitive lens, this article describes a method to move away from governance solutions based on functional silos to those based on multidimensional, sustainable systems. Based on a combination of concepts from public policy, governance, public administration, and urban service management, it frames the problem of urban governance as a comprehensive conceptual-cognitive map of the domain. The study validates the framework through expert feedback and the mapping of the literature on urban governance in India between 2018 and 2020. The monad map and theme map emphasise the ontology's applicability as a methodological tool for evidence generation. The analysis reveals a need to reconfigure urban governance pathways to work towards a sustainable future. The article concludes by offering new conceptual constructs of governance pathways to enhance the policies and practices that shape such transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European soils and their status is a matter of concern that has entered the policy arena and the objective to restore soil health is part of the Soil strategy to 2030. Aim of this study is to explore the integration of the concept of soil health and the provision of soil ecosystem service by conducting i) a content analysis of EU policies and ii) a scoping review of literature over policy instruments for soil governance. Results show a focus on soil fertility, mainly soil organic matter, while services such as conservation of biodiversity or cultural heritage still appear underrepresented. Findings are reinforced by the gap in literature, providing little evidence of policy instruments contributing to soil health. A more coordinated effort among policy sectors is required to prioritize soil health in the EU; invesitgating the role of market-based instruments could complement what public policies are lacking.

Policy design studies typically focus on broad policy goals and the types of tools that governments use to realize them. There is however limited scholarly understanding of how these goals and tools are operationalized “on-the-ground.” In this paper, we apply Capano and Howlett’s 2024 Framework on the Micro-Dimensions of Policy Design to understand how universal health coverage goals in the United States, Singapore, and Thailand are operationalized. The framework unpacks the “nuts and bolts” of policy design particularly the specification of policy targets and tools. A comparative analysis of three programs (Obamacare in the US, Medisave in Singapore, and Universal Coverage Scheme in Thailand) demonstrates how similar high-level policy goals are pursued through different tools and settings. Studying these micro dimensions provides insights into the actual operational ways in which high-level objectives are translated into impacts at the ground level. From an applied point of view, a comparative focus on the dimensions of the micro level of policy design is useful for generating evidence and informing health policy debates about what works or does not work on-the-ground.

Three aspects of policy success – programme implementation, policy solution feasibility and political legitimacy and support – need to be at the front of mind when policies are formulated. Many uncertainties endemic to policy-making surround these issues and present considerable public management challenges. Many of these problems, however, are linked to the poor conceptualization and understanding of policy content on the part of policy-makers, something for which policy scholars must share some blame. This is especially true with respect to the existing literature on the micro-level aspects of policies; the level at which goals and policy instruments are concretely implemented in the form of specific policy targets and tool calibrations. While these latter subjects have been examined in the past by luminaries such as Eleanor Ostrom, Guy Peters, Peter Hall and Lester Salamon, their insights into this level of policy-making have been glossed over in the mainstream policy sciences and the significance of their work for real-world policy analysis insufficiently appreciated. This article sets out a framework of policy calibrations and specifications that reconciles and incorporates these insights in order to enhance the chances of policy success through improved policy design.

Local knowledge (LK) is often overlooked in the decision-making process during landscape restoration process. In this study, we focus on the Zicuirán-Infiernillo Biosphere Reserve as a case study. We propose a framework to incorporate LK into public policy instruments for implementing restoration interventions in Mexican protected natural areas (PNAs). Through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and informal talks, conducted with residents from two communities located in the buffer zone and the border area of the reserve, we gathered valuable insights regarding the following: (1) the inhabitants' LK of the ecology and contributions of tropical dry forest, (2) the socioeconomic and environmental issues identified by these communities in their localities, (3) ecological and socioeconomic actions suggested by the residents to recover the forest or halt its degradation, and (4) the role of institutions and local organizations in restoration and conservation processes. Our findings indicate that residents recognized changes in species distribution and identified native trees that are tolerant to drought. Moreover, they acknowledged the beneficial contributions provided by forests, including climate and water cycle regulation, oxygen supply, and raw materials. Local people also demonstrated their awareness of environmental and socioeconomic issues and proposed activities to reverse vegetation cover loss and halt forest degradation. While reforestation emerged as the primary solution for forest recovery, assisted natural regeneration and natural regeneration were also suggested. Based on our results, we propose a framework that emphasizes a robust knowledge exchange among stakeholders, for facilitating the inclusion of LK in an ecological restoration-based education program. It is crucial for Mexican public policy instruments operating in PNAs to consider local knowledge to enhance the effectiveness of ecological restoration.

Ambition to leverage the power of nature-based solutions (NbS) to address global challenges such as the interlinked climate change and biodiversity crises has reached unprecedented levels. Despite a growing consensus around the potential benefits of NbS, this ambition has not translated into sufficient actionable progress in practice. Cities, increasingly recognized as centres of transformative capacity, have become a focal point for achieving NbS ambitions. Nevertheless, the transition from theoretical discourse to practical implementation has been slow, with NbS frequently being overlooked until recently in political agendas. A key obstacle to progress is the lack of action-oriented research grounding theoretical discussions in empirical evidence on NbS policy design and application. This paper seeks to address these knowledge gaps by: (i) defining criteria for good practices in urban NbS policy design and implementation; (ii) assessing policy instruments from the Urban Governance Atlas (UGA) against these criteria using mixed statistical and qualitative methods; and (iii) identifying potential pathways and actionable measures to promote the adoption of good practices in practice. Drawing on the diverse UGA examples, with a particular focus on Europe and the CELAC region, the paper identifies seven good practice criteria and outlines four potential pathways and related actions to guide the development of NbS policy instruments across varied urban contexts. Concrete recommendations around actionable knowledge aim to tap the transformative potential of NbS in addressing pressing global issues.

In the context of world education digitalization, the Chinese government has formulated China's education digitalization strategy. The education digitalization policy tools of provincial governments are an important factor affecting the effectiveness of education digitalization policies. In this study, a text quantification and content analysis is conducted on educational digital policy documents released by eight provinces of China during the 14th Five-Year Plan period in China. This is based on a two-dimensional analysis framework of "instruments-value" using instrument types and policy principles, and NVivo software. The research outcomes reveal the following: (1) The distribution of educational digital policy instrument types is uneven, with an excess of supply-side instruments and a noticeable shortage of demand-side instruments. (2) Different policy instruments exhibit varying degrees of preference in implementing policy principles. There is a stronger emphasis on technology application and balanced development, while the emphasis on service principles promoting diverse participation is relatively weaker. (3) The policy instruments that facilitate interaction between policymakers and educational entities require further strengthening. In light of these findings, local governments in China should strengthen the use of demand-side policy instruments to achieve comprehensiveness and sustainability in educational digitalization. Policymakers should pay more attention to the demands of educational entities to shift educational digitalization from being technology driven to being demand driven. Furthermore, policy instrument selection should adhere to the value of serving and supporting individuals and reinforce the concept of multi-participation in their development, ultimately improving the precision and coordination of policies, and achieving a harmonious integration of technological and value aspects of policy instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the Pressure–State–Response model and the experience materials of waste gas emission prevention and control in industrialized nations, we construct the PSR framework for stationary waste gas emissions (WGEs) in this study, identifying five pressure factors and six policy instruments. Using a moderated chain mediating established by structural equation modeling measurement, we examined the effects of pressures and responses to stationary WGEs. The key conclusions are that (1) pressures were brought on by the heavy industry proportion, the energy consumption intensity, the coal consumption proportion, and the industrial labor productivity, while the pressure was significantly reduced by green technology. (2) The heavy industry proportion was the most effective negative mediator, while energy consumption parameters including energy consumption intensity and coal consumption proportion failed to produce the desired results from policy instruments on stationary WGEs. (3) Command-and-control policy instruments led to the greatest direct impacts on the fall of stationary WGEs, whereas information-based policy instruments led to the greatest indirect impacts on the decline of stationary WGEs. These findings may provide important policy recommendations for nations that are rapidly industrializing. (1) We suggest that technology and industrial internal structure should be significant regulatory issues. (2) In addition to maintaining command-and-control policy instruments, we advise the government to give information-based instruments more consideration. (3) We also suggest that before the adoption of market-based instruments, thorough plans and experimental subsidies be prepared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central environmental protection inspection (CEPI) system in China is a significant institutional innovation in national environmental governance. The CEPI applies a joint supervision strategy to address salient environmental issues and strictly enforce the environmental responsibilities of local governments. This study collects and organizes CEPI inspection reports covering three stages that encompass the first round, the “look back”, and the second round, applying text analysis to obtain sample data and conduct statistical quantification of word frequency in inspection reports and identify notable changes. The study explores the allocation of CEPI attention between policy objectives and the intensity of policy instruments. We determine that in conjunction with public opinion feedback, the CEPI conducts targeted inspections and focuses more on pollutant governance, which has high severity and can be addressed quickly. The CEPI fills the gap of normalized governance with a campaign-style governance approach. Regarding the intensity of policy measures, the CEPI primarily uses economic incentive policy instruments, supplemented by command-and-control and public guidance approaches, advancing the sustainability of regulatory effectiveness through economic, social, and political activities. This study extends knowledge in the field of CEPI policy priorities and implementation, expanding the literature related to outcomes of environmental policy in developing countries.

International trends promoting school diversity and choice have reshaped education across Europe, leading towards a multiplicity in ownership structures and varied governance configurations. More recently, this can also be seen in European countries with a long history of state-owned and governed public schools, such as in the Nordic states. The aim of this article is to explore autonomy and curriculum control in teacher's work in public and independent schools within a country context where there are long traditions of 'one public school for all'. The article draws on interviews with school leaders and teachers on a Waldorf school, an IB school, and a Norwegian public school as well as analysis of local school documents. The analysis shows that varying school contexts present both different and overlapping characteristics of curriculum control and teacher autonomy. All schools have accommodated to educational outcome governed regimes, however, teacher autonomy in the school context appears to differ. Teacher autonomy is more related to teachers' practices, not the educational outcomes required. The study shows how policies intending for the standardisation of schooling may work in conflict with policy intentions of educational diversity, provided by independent schools of different character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent global and regional assessments of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) show that Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) are under an alarming threat due to the continuing loss of biodiversity. These assessments call for increasing conservation efforts and a more sustainable use of biodiversity to enhance the chances of halting biodiversity loss and reversing current trends. One of the strategies to achieve change is to mainstream biodiversity into sectoral policies. Mainstreaming, a concept that can be traced back to the Brundtland report, promotes the integration of the environment into political, societal, and economic planning and decision-making. Based on the review of key studies undertaken during the regional assessment for Europe and Central Asia, we develop a stepwise approach to analyze the current status of mainstreaming of biodiversity and NCP. The approach can be used both for policy design purposes and diagnostic evaluations. It demonstrates that mainstreaming has the potential to improve the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as well as the sustained provision of NCP. However, based on the status of implementation across Europe and Central Asia, we conclude that mainstreaming needs to be pursued and implemented in a stronger and more systematic way. The results of our assessment provide important input to national strategies and policies but also to the ongoing process of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity while developing the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments, businesses, and civil society organizations have diverse policy tools to incentivize adaptation. Policy tools can shape the type and extent of adaptation, and therefore, function either as barriers or enablers for reducing risk and vulnerability. Using data from a systematic review of academic literature on global adaptation responses to climate change (n = 1549 peer-reviewed articles), we categorize the types of policy tools used to shape climate adaptation. We apply qualitative and quantitative analyses to assess the contexts where particular tools are used, along with equity implications for groups targeted by the tools, and the tools’ relationships with transformational adaptation indicators such as the depth, scope, and speed of adaptation. We find diverse types of tools documented across sectors and geographic regions. We also identify a mismatch between the tools that consider equity and those that yield more transformational adaptations. Direct regulations, plans, and capacity building are associated with higher depth and scope of adaptation (thus transformational adaptation), while economic instruments, information provisioning, and networks are not; the latter tools, however, are more likely to target marginalized groups in their design and implementation. We identify multiple research gaps, including a need to assess instrument mixes rather than single tools and to assess adaptations that result from policy implementation. Key policy insights Information-based approaches, networks, and economic instruments are the most frequently documented adaptation policy tools worldwide. Direct regulations, plans, and capacity building are associated with higher depth and scope of adaptation, and thus more transformational adaptation. Capacity building, economic instruments, networks, and information provisioning approaches are more likely to target specific marginalized groups and thus equity challenges. There are many regions and sectors where certain tools are not widely documented (e.g. regulations and plans in Africa and Asia), representing a key research gap.

The aims of the article are to assess the legal conditions for improving energy efficiency in the energy-intensive food industry in Poland, including the rules for financing enterprises from public funds, and to assess the extent of state aid for these enterprises in their pursuit of energy saving goals. A critical analysis of the literature and of legal regulations on energy efficiency in EU and Polish law has been performed. The analysis of state aid is based on SUDOP data, and it takes into account the time span, the food industry structure, the enterprise size, the type and purpose of aid granted, and the degree of aid concentration. The conducted research showed that the largest share of state aid is received by energy-intensive industries, i.e., meat, fruit and vegetables, and dairy products (65.5%), and by large- and medium-sized enterprises (82.4%). This aid was allocated through various programmes and in various forms, the most important of which were subsidies. The aid focused on three objectives, i.e., promotion of energy from renewable sources, high-efficiency cogeneration, and measures supporting energy efficiency. The study shows the development of legislation on energy efficiency and possibilities for financing investments, both at the EU and national levels. Tightening climate policy will enhance the importance of energy efficiency in the food industry, which should be reflected in an increase in the relatively low current level of this aid (amounting to 0.04% of total state aid and 0.17% of aid for environmental protection and energy purposes).

The transition of energy systems requires policy frameworks and instruments to make both energy suppliers and consumers contribute to the common goal of emission reductions and to fairly allocate costs and benefits among market actors and the government. Assuming that market actors – suppliers and consumers adhering to their economic interests – would benefit from cooperating to mitigate emissions, this study applies a game theory-based approach to investigate the interaction between a local electricity supplier and a group of heating consumers not connected to district heating. Selected policy instruments are tested, and their consequences are analyzed in the context of a representative Nordic municipality. The results show that the auction-based Contract for Difference policy instrument is the most suitable one in the studied Nordic context to achieve significant levels of CO2 emissions reduction. It creates a higher level of strategic interaction between the actors, that would be lacking otherwise, under the form of transfer payments from consumers to supplier, and avoids costs to the general taxpayer. While this is sufficient to promote the investments in renewables by the supplier, additional subsidy policies are required to enable the heating consumers to invest in more capital-intensive energy efficiency measures or biomass heating.

To solve issues related to sustainable mobility, and in particular to the sale of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), public policy has to produce a change in the behaviour of citizens. Scholarly research has mainly investigated the causal power of policy instruments individually, while few studies address how interactions of different types of policy instrument can causally affect individual behaviour. Building on the policy design literature, a specific combination of positive and negative inducements can put in motion a mechanism that can change individual behaviour desirably, by narrowing the possible choices of the policy takers to a single and clear behavioural pattern. In order to test whether the interaction effect takes place, we will analyse the policy mixes adopted by five Italian regions to reduce environmental pollution in the period 2000-2005. Qualitative comparative analysis will be used to identify which combinations of policy instrument were more effective in inducing environmental-friendly consumer behaviours.

ABSTRACTRecent global and regional assessments of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) show that Nature’s Contributions to People (NCP) are under an alarming threat due to the continuing loss of biodiversity. These assessments call for increasing conservation efforts and a more sustainable use of biodiversity to enhance the chances of halting biodiversity loss and reversing current trends. One of the strategies to achieve change is to mainstream biodiversity into sectoral policies. Mainstreaming, a concept that can be traced back to the Brundtland report, promotes the integration of the environment into political, societal, and economic planning and decision-making. Based on the review of key studies undertaken during the regional assessment for Europe and Central Asia, we develop a stepwise approach to analyze the current status of mainstreaming of biodiversity and NCP. The approach can be used both for policy design purposes and diagnostic evaluations. It demonstrates that mainstreaming has the potential to improve the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as well as the sustained provision of NCP. However, based on the status of implementation across Europe and Central Asia, we conclude that mainstreaming needs to be pursued and implemented in a stronger and more systematic way. The results of our assessment provide important input to national strategies and policies but also to the ongoing process of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity while developing the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

After tentative efforts during the 1990s, the past two decades have seen a rapid increase in the number of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation policies, initially in a few frontrunner countries and more recently spreading globally. Over the same period, GHG emissions have continued to rise, but the rate of growth has recently slowed. Are mitigation policies having an effect? To explore this question, we review and synthesize the empirical literature on the impact of mitigation policies on three key outcomes: GHG emissions, proximate emission drivers like energy intensity and land use, and low-carbon technologies. Our key contribution to the available literature lies in establishing an empirically based track record of climate action, focusing on methodologically sound ex post studies. We find that mitigation policies have had a discernible impact on emissions and multiple emission drivers. Most notably, they have led to reductions in energy use, declines in deforestation rates, as well as cost reductions and capacity expansions of low-carbon technologies in many instances. Furthermore, implemented policies to date are likely to have reduced global emissions by several billion tons of CO2eq per year compared to a world without mitigation policies. In the light of current ambitions on climate action falling short of what is required to limit global warming to the Paris temperature goals, we conclude that there is ample evidence of policy instruments with demonstrable impacts, but that efforts need to be hugely strengthened and expanded. Also, far more attention is required to policy monitoring, evaluation, and learning so as to strengthen the basis for future policy and the attribution of its impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective flood risk management (FRM) requires a mix of policy instruments that reduces, shares, and manages flood risk. The social acceptability of these policy instruments—the degree of public support or opposition to their use—is an important consideration when designing an optimal mix to achieve FRM objectives. This paper examines public attitudes toward FRM policy instruments based on a national survey of Canadians living in high-risk areas. Respondents were asked their views on flood maps, disaster assistance, flood insurance, flood risk disclosure and liability, and property buyouts. The results indicate that all five policy instruments have high social acceptability, but they must be calibrated to ensure access to flood risk information and achieve a fair distribution of FRM costs among key stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments worldwide have announced stimulus packages to remobilize the labor force after COVID-19 and therefore to cope with the COVID-19-related recession. However, it is still unclear how to facilitate large-scale work resumption. This paper aims to clarify the issue by analyzing the large-scale prefecture-level dataset of human mobility trajectory information for 320 million workers and about 500,000 policy documents in China. We model work resumption as a collective behavioral change due to configurations of capacity, motivation, and policy instruments by using qualitative comparative analysis. We find that the effectiveness of post-COVID-19 recovery stimulus varied across China depending on the fiscal and administrative capacity and the policy motivation of the prefecture. Subnational fiscal and procurement policies were more effective for the wholesale and retail sector and the hotel and catering sector, whereas the manufacturing and business services sectors required more effort regarding employment policies. Due to limited prefectural capacity and wavering policy motivation, the simultaneous adoption of fiscal, employment, and procurement policy interventions endangered post-COVID-19 work resumption. We highlight the necessity of tailored postcrisis recovery strategies based on local fiscal and administrative capacity and the sectoral structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs) have been playing a prominent role in the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement in advocating for and supporting the development of governmental OER policies. Research shows that IGOs perform multiple roles in influencing national and global education policy processes and possess multiple policy instruments with which they can assert their influence. We adopted the conceptual framework of policy instruments to understand the types of policy instruments applied by the selected IGOs. We carried out semi-structured interviews with representatives from four important IGOs. Results show that the selected IGOs collectively used discursive dissemination, funding, technical assistance, standard-setting and coordinative functions OER policy instruments to influence the development of governmental OER policies. We report on the perceived and observed successes of these IGOs OER policy instruments and the related challenges. We discuss relevant findings and their implications for further research and activities of IGOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bohai Sea is the only inland sea in China and serves as an important carrier for the Bohai Sea Economic Zone. However, it is also one of the areas with serious marine environmental pollution. This paper selects the policy text concerning Marine environmental pollution control issued by the central and local governments from 1996 to 2022 as the research object. Based on the three policy instruments of government environmental regulation, market incentive mechanisms and public participation, and using a content analysis method to encode and quantify the text content, it was found that the Bohai Sea marine environmental governance suffers from issues such as a singular concept of the use of policy instruments, imbalance in the proportion of their use, and insufficient supervision in the event of their use. Consequently, it is recommended to adopt diversified policy concepts, optimize the structure of policy instruments, and strengthen in-process supervision in the governance of the Bohai Sea marine environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The OECD's education agenda has been marked since the 1990s by monitoring quality and manufacturing problems and solutions for the so-called knowledge economy. Among the instruments used by the OECD is "PISA for Schools" (Pisa-S), an assessment applied directly to schools worldwide since 2011. In Portugal, it was implemented in 2019 under the designation of "PISA for schools in the municipalities" (PISA-M), claiming to create opportunities for collaborative work between schools to promote the success of local educational policies and the quality of student learning. Taking PISA-M as a policy instrument and building on Coburn problem-framing typology, in this article, the revision of PISA-S to PISA-M is reread to analyze the regulatory rationale for the educational system that PISA-M encodes. This research draws on data from OECD PISA/PISA-S/PISA-M websites and two public hearings with the Portuguese PISA-M coordination in the Portuguese parliament and with education unionists, and in existing research relating to PISA-S. Overall, PISA-M appears to be an instrument to reframe local school governance and teacher professional development practices by capturing problematizations and solutions raised on education, teachers' development, and how school education should be ordered and coordinated at a municipal scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on the co-operation between the Swedish National Agency for Education and school actors at the municipal level, examined from the latter’s perspective, within the context of a state-initiated school improvement programme, namely Co-operation for the Best School Possible (CBS). Co-operation between different levels of the school system is a neglected but essential aspect to analyse in a decentralised system such as Sweden’s, which is showing signs of re-centralisation. Empirically, the article is based on interviews with local actors in a small municipality participating in CBS. The interviews were part of a case study, and the analysis was guided by the theory of soft governance, Vedung’s concepts of sticks, carrots, and sermons as policy instruments, and Weick’s concept of sensemaking. Sensemaking, evident in the case study as a retrospective communicative notion, was employed to capture the local actors’ stories of how they perceived CBS. The connection with past experiences also played a part in their sensemaking since a clear history exists and was noted between the state and municipal levels. In conclusion, the analysis shows that CBS used sticks, carrots and sermons to steer municipal school actors towards the right path as regards school improvement.

In the context of world education digitalization, the Chinese government has formulated China’s education digitalization strategy. The education digitalization policy tools of provincial governments are an important factor affecting the effectiveness of education digitalization policies. In this study, a text quantification and content analysis is conducted on educational digital policy documents released by eight provinces of China during the 14th Five-Year Plan period in China. This is based on a two-dimensional analysis framework of “instruments-value” using instrument types and policy principles, and NVivo software. The research outcomes reveal the following: (1) The distribution of educational digital policy instrument types is uneven, with an excess of supply-side instruments and a noticeable shortage of demand-side instruments. (2) Different policy instruments exhibit varying degrees of preference in implementing policy principles. There is a stronger emphasis on technology application and balanced development, while the emphasis on service principles promoting diverse participation is relatively weaker. (3) The policy instruments that facilitate interaction between policymakers and educational entities require further strengthening. In light of these findings, local governments in China should strengthen the use of demand-side policy instruments to achieve comprehensiveness and sustainability in educational digitalization. Policymakers should pay more attention to the demands of educational entities to shift educational digitalization from being technology driven to being demand driven. Furthermore, policy instrument selection should adhere to the value of serving and supporting individuals and reinforce the concept of multi-participation in their development, ultimately improving the precision and coordination of policies, and achieving a harmonious integration of technological and value aspects of policy instruments.

Evidence on urban governance has expanded but is fragmented and inadequate. It fails to articulate the complexity of urban governance in a way that would facilitate effective urban transitions. Using a conceptual-cognitive lens, this article describes a method to move away from governance solutions based on functional silos to those based on multidimensional, sustainable systems. Based on a combination of concepts from public policy, governance, public administration, and urban service management, it frames the problem of urban governance as a comprehensive conceptual-cognitive map of the domain. The study validates the framework through expert feedback and the mapping of the literature on urban governance in India between 2018 and 2020. The monad map and theme map emphasise the ontology’s applicability as a methodological tool for evidence generation. The analysis reveals a need to reconfigure urban governance pathways to work towards a sustainable future. The article concludes by offering new conceptual constructs of governance pathways to enhance the policies and practices that shape such transitions.

Intergovernmental Organisations (IGOs) have been playing a prominent role in the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement in advocating for and supporting the development of governmental OER policies. Research shows that IGOs perform multiple roles in influencing national and global education policy processes and possess multiple policy instruments with which they can assert their influence. We adopted the conceptual framework of policy instruments to understand the types of policy instruments applied by the selected IGOs. We carried out semi-structured interviews with representatives from four important IGOs. Results show that the selected IGOs collectively used discursive dissemination, funding, technical assistance, standard-setting and coordinative functions OER policy instruments to influence the development of governmental OER policies. We report on the perceived and observed successes of these IGOs OER policy instruments and the related challenges. We discuss relevant findings and their implications for further research and activities of IGOs.

This article focuses on the co-operation between the Swedish National Agency for Education and school actors at the municipal level, examined from the latter's perspective, within the context of a state-initiated school improvement programme, namely Co-operation for the Best School Possible (CBS). Co-operation between different levels of the school system is a neglected but essential aspect to analyse in a decentralised system such as Sweden's, which is showing signs of re-centralisation. Empirically, the article is based on interviews with local actors in a small municipality participating in CBS. The interviews were part of a case study, and the analysis was guided by the theory of soft governance, Vedung's concepts of sticks, carrots, and sermons as policy instruments, and Weick's concept of sensemaking. Sensemaking, evident in the case study as a retrospective communicative notion, was employed to capture the local actors' stories of how they perceived CBS. The connection with past experiences also played a part in their sensemaking since a clear history exists and was noted between the state and municipal levels. In conclusion, the analysis shows that CBS used sticks, carrots and sermons to steer municipal school actors towards the right path as regards school improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing means for classifying new energy industry policies are mainly based on the theory of policy instruments and manual encoding, which are highly subjective, less reproducible, and inefficient, especially when dealing with large-scale policy texts. Based on the theory of policy instrument, the research tried to apply the automatic classification model based on BERT to new energy industry policies to improve its classification efficiency and accuracy. A new energy industry policy classification model was established to train on policy texts and to compare the policy classification effects with the other two commonly used text classification models. The model comparison results show that the BERT model achieves higher precision, recall, and F1 score, indicating a better classification effect. Furthermore, adding topic sentences to training texts can effectively improve the classification effect of the BERT model. The policy classification results show that environmental policies are the most prevalent in new energy industry policies, while demand-side policy instruments are underutilized. Among the 11 types of subdivided policies, the application of goal planning policies is overflowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study focused on one of the formulas for assessing social metabolism, specifically derived from individual variables. The formula was utilized as a framework for analyzing agricultural activities and combatting food vulnerability in urban communities. Bandung, the capital city of West Java in Indonesia, has implemented an urban agricultural program called Buruan SAE, using a policy formulation oriented towards food self-sufficiency for low-income citizens. This program utilized a policy formulation that involved using empty residential land owned by low-income citizens, distributing food to surrounding residents indiscriminately, and working towards anticipating nutritional vulnerability (stunting). However, the implementation had the opposite effect and pushed urban agriculture into becoming stagnant and undeveloped. This study aims to use individual rift theory as the analytic axiom to discuss the stagnation in the implementation of policy. The analysis was performed using a social monitoring method to form policy instruments that analyze Buruan SAE's stagnation in Bandung City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet healthcare is a crucial component of the healthcare industry's digital transformation and plays a vital role in achieving China's Healthy China strategy and promoting universal health. To ensure the development of internet healthcare is guided by scientifically sound policies, this study analyzes and assesses current policy texts, aiming to identify potential issues and inadequacies. By examining 134 national-level policy documents, utilizing multiple research methods, including policy bibliometrics, content analysis, and the PMC Index Model, the study investigates policy characteristics, distribution of policy instruments, and evaluation outcomes related to internet healthcare. The study findings reveal that internet healthcare policies place emphasis on enhancing service quality, driving technological innovation, and promoting management standardization. Although policy instruments align with the current stage of internet healthcare development in China, they are plagued by imbalances in implementation. While policies are generally well-formulated, there are discernible discrepancies among them, necessitating the reinforcement and refinement of certain provisions. Hence, it is imperative to strategically optimize the amalgamation and implementation of policy instruments while concurrently endeavoring to achieve a dynamic equilibrium in policy combinations. Furthermore, policymakers should diligently refine the policy content pertaining to its nature and effectiveness in order to fully maximize policy utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic instruments are political tools created to promote environmental stewardship by influencing consumption and production patterns, fostering technological innovation, and improving the environment; however, if current failures in their formulation or implementation persist, they can negatively impact the environment and society. This research aims to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of economic instruments by extracting these aspects from the forest policy documents of the EU, Austria, and the Czech Republic using the qualitative content analysis method. It has been found that the EU channels its resources from economic instruments through various financing programs that make distribution more effective and align with the environmental objectives of the EU. Additionally, the SWOT analysis indicates that the economic instruments applied in the EU present significant differences in the application and management of forests and the performance of the financial instruments according to the national strategies and action plans used. These identified challenges, limitations, and improvement areas allow for generating suggestions that policymakers can apply concerning the use, implementation, dissemination, and access processes of financing mechanisms for sustainable forest management in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pest and disease control outsourcing has become an effective means to restore damaged arable land and guarantee agroecological benefits. However, it is adopted at a relatively low rate in China. The purpose of this study is to explore, from the perspective of government intervention, behavioral logic, and the game relationship among farmers, service organizations and the government in the pest and disease control outsourcing system as well as the endogenous motivation of each subject. The results indicate that when the degree of policy implementation is low, the government's policy is ineffective, but, after reaching a certain level, the higher the degree of policy implementation is, the stronger the farmers' willingness to choose outsourcing control and the service organizations' willingness to provide positive control services are, and the faster the stable state of tripartite joint pest and disease control is formed. In the case of implementing a single policy tool, the convergence rate of each party that implements the regulatory policy alone is fast but may be unstable, while the rate is slow but more stable when a guidance- or incentive-based policy is solely applied. The effect of a combination of policy tools being applied is much better than that of a single policy tool being applied. The simultaneous implementation of the three types of policy tools can form a policy system with both positive and negative mechanisms, which can maximize the complementary and superposition effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article examines the design dynamics and process of the Brazilian National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (EBIA). We argue that Brazil has a long history of policies for digital development, covering a range of policies that encourage research and development and deploy AI-based digital technologies in industry and governments. Specifically for the AI policy, we analyze how these policies are fragmented into different initiatives without an approach to integrating the instruments and their mixes. We analyze how and why the Brazilian National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence design fails to implement and create an integrated perspective of these policies. This perspective for AI policy in Brazil results in fragmentation and failures to involve actors in the formulation and implementation process. The article concludes that the Brazilian perspective for artificial intelligence, emerging with EBIA, reproduces a situation of path dependence without promoting significant policy changes for the development and application of this technology in society.

鑑於國際閱讀評比與國內閱讀力調查報告屢屢提及我國閱讀教育表現呈現城鄉差距的情況，本研究從教育治理的理論觀點出發，分析臺灣地方政府推動閱讀教育之策略與治理特性，進而探究改善閱讀教育城鄉差異的可能途徑。研究採取多重個案研究法，依據極端案例抽樣、 最大變異抽樣與理論為本抽樣等三原則，篩選出四個個案縣市，並針對2010～2020年中央與地方政府的政策與官方文件，挑選符合重要政治性抽樣、準則抽樣和資料適足性等三個原則之政策文本，進行內容分析。本研究的主要結論為：一、縣市閱讀教育治理的城鄉特性：（一）閱讀表現優異的個案縣市展現法制治理特性；（二）閱讀表現優異的都會個案傾向反映市場治理特性；（三）偏鄉地方政府政治能力會影響閱讀教育治理策略的多元化。二、閱讀教育城鄉差異的改善途徑：（一）偏鄉地方可藉由政治能力填補政府技術能力的不足；（二）偏鄉地方可透過網絡治理彌補政府技術能力的不足。本研究亦根據研究結果對於當前教育政策實務與未來研究提出建議。 Research Background and Purposes International studies and domestic education surveys have identified considerable gaps in reading performance between the rural and urban regions of Taiwan. In contrast to extant studies, the present study, from a macroscopic perspective, explored possible explanations for the urban-rural discrepancies and focused on government intervention for improving adult reading ability and student reading performance. Based on theories of governance and public policy, the developed an analytical framework to understand the strategies adopted by local governments in Taiwan to promote reading education, identify the characteristics of local reading education governance in Taiwan, and suggest potential approaches to resolving rural-urban differences in reading education. Theoretical Perspectives and Framework This study considered governance as a dynamic process of power exercise and decision-making. In a democracy, governance refers to an interactive process through which the government, stakeholders, and civil society determine educational policies and affairs. Specifically, the study defined education governance as the collective behavior of the government and relevant actors in the formation and implementation of educational policies. If stakeholders from the public, the private, and the third sectors become progressively involved in developing education policies, governments may no longer be the sole and dominant policy actors in the education domain. Accordingly, this study considered reading education governance in Taiwan to be the collective interaction process between the government and relevant stakeholders on reading education policy development. Because policy instruments or tools are perceived as a governmental approach to achieving policy goals and addressing policy problems, scholars have viewed education governance from the perspective of public policy as involving the process of selecting and implementing policy instruments. This study developed an analytical framework for education governance, which comprises two key components, namely governance models and governance strategies. Both components were determined by Christopher Hood’s NATO (nodality-authority-treasure-organization) model, which is regarded as the most representative classification structure in the literature on public administration and policy. The NATO model covers almost all aspects of government actions that may affect the people through four approaches and accordingly divides policy instruments into four categories: (1) nodality, (2) authority, (3) treasure, (4) and organization. Furthermore, the present study divided governance models into four categories depending on which types of policy instruments are selected and implemented by the government. The main categories of education governance in the classification framework are outlined as follows: (1) legal governance, which relies on the legitimacy of law orders to generate control and obedience, reflects the administrative logic of the traditional bureaucratic system; (2) corporatist governance, in which the government plans and negotiates education policies under organizational and national systems, reflects the characteristics of traditional public administration; (3) market governance, in which the government prefers to adopt market mechanisms to generate competition and incentives, reflects the logic of new public management that emphasizes flexible principles and efficient methods to achieve policy goals; and (4) network governance, in which the government prefers operations not related to bureaucratic or hierarchical principles, involves the collaborative interaction of multiple actors in the educational domain. Research Methods Because of the lack of literature on how local governments govern reading education, this study adopted an exploratory research orientation to obtain a comprehensive understanding of this topic. A comparative case study approach was applied to provide a more thorough description of the change in governance and policies regarding reading education. Specifically, the study adopted focused case comparisons and followed the principle of multiple-case holistic analysis. To expand the depth and breadth of research data, this study applied a two-stage intentional sampling method. The first stage involved extreme or deviant case sampling to extract useful information from successful case experiences. This stage entailed searching for local counties and cities with excellent reading performance. The second stage involved selecting cases that offer valuable insights into the understanding of governance characteristics and strategies related to local government promotion of reading education. The cases were selected from those that stood out in the first stage based on the principles of maximum variation sampling. In addition, the principle of theory-based sampling was adopted for case selection in the second stage. Finally, the study selected four cases that exhibited considerable differences in their local governments in terms of governance capacity. This study perceives governance capability as a collective term that refers to a government’s political capability and technical capability and is a crucial factor affecting the choice and effectiveness of governance strategies. In accordance with the principles of sampling politically important cases, criterion sampling, and data sufficiency, this study collected prominent policy and official documents published during 2010-2020 by four individual local governments and then conducted a comparative content analysis. Research Results and Implications The study yielded five major findings. First, all cases with high performance reflected the features of legal governance when promoting reading education. Second, reading education in urban counties with high performance was inclined to exhibit strategies relating to market governance. Third, local governments’ political capacity was influential in the diversification of governance strategies for promoting reading education in rural counties. Fourth, rural counties could compensate for their insufficient technical capacity with political capacity. Fifth, rural counties could compensate for their insufficient political capacity through network governance. The study findings can contribute to the understanding of differences in local governments’ governance strategies and characteristics related to the promotion of reading education. This study argues that when local governments prefer to use bidding and tax incentives as policy instruments for achieving their policy goals and attach great importance to the effective use of resources and the control of cost efficiency, their local communities would be more vulnerable to problems of sacrificing social justice in the governance process. In addition, local governments in rural regions with insufficient financial resources and funds for education still produce effective reading education governance if the local government and council heads are affiliated with the same political party; this is because affiliation with the same political party engenders a considerable degree of political capacity for local governments. Finally, the introduction of civil assistance and resources would contribute to narrowing the rural-urban gap in reading education and performance through the implementation of specific governance strategies (such as setting up interdisciplinary teams, promoting private sector sponsorship and cooperation, and implementing other organizational policy tools that demonstrate the characteristics of network governance).