Search

The article offers the author's insights on the search of New Zealand for a comfortable relationship with the U.S. under the collective security agreement Australian, New Zealand, and U.S. (ANZUS) treaty. Topics discussed include the prohibition of nuclear-armed vessels by former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange, the vision of diplomat Alan Watt, and the global diplomacy with Washington, District of Columbia.

This article responds to the 2014 American Political Science Association Annual Conference’s theme of “Politics After the Digital Revolution.” It first gives a brief assessment of how the discipline of political science has reacted to the digital revolution. It then seeks to couch the putative revolution in Thorstein Veblen’s theory of a “machine process” in order to recast it less as a discrete phenomenon to be dealt with by the discipline, but instead as part of an evolutionary process of social change that instils habits of mind of those who are subject to it, and who in turn, influence the machine process itself in a co-determinant manner. This article offers the synthesis of Veblen and the Frankfurt School to theorize how the digital revolution might be critically assessed in its evolutionary framework, and speaks towards an evolutionary critical theory for analysing political society beyond discrete events. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the mechanics of interventions announced and implemented by South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, focusing on the "Green Paper on land Reform 2011." Topics include the legal aspects linked to land tenure in general and sub-programmes, the restructuring of South African Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, and land tenure security legislation and policy. It suggests that the mechanics of intervention still need further engineering.

Governments are increasingly pushing researchers to engage in activities with societal impact, emphasizing the need for research dissemination and engagement with the broader public. This study addresses this imperative by investigating the multifaceted factors that influence social media attention, particularly on Twitter, for scientific research. Using Altmetric data and employing multiple linear regression analysis, this paper explores the determinants of Twitter mentions for research outputs. The study shows that certain factors have a significant impact on the level of engagement. In particular, the presence of research in mainstream news emerges as the most influential factor, highlighting the power of media coverage in increasing research visibility. In addition, research topics that align with highly topical issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, also garner significant attention on Twitter. Conversely, the influence of expert recommendations and the consolidation of knowledge in the form of review articles have a relatively weaker impact on Twitter mentions. In addition, this study underscores that public policy references in reports and citations within Wikipedia have limited influence in driving social media attention. Interestingly, mentions in patent applications do not have a significant impact in this context. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the dynamics of research dissemination in the digital age and sheds light on the nuanced factors that can enhance or diminish its societal impact on Twitter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of COVID-19, universities, national innovation systems (NIS) and global value chains (GVCs), this paper explores systemic barriers (trends and factors) that influence digital learning innovation (DLI) in Africa. The study used the PRISMA framework and Scopus data for a systematic literature review (SLR) and a bibliometric analysis spanning 2000–2021. It also mapped universities globally and in Africa based on Webometrics (Jan 2022) and the Global Innovation Index (Feb 2022) data using a typology. A broad SLR on digital learning extracted two African samples of 2,640 and 4,669. A narrow SLR on DLI, Innovation Systems (IS) and Innovation Barriers (IB) extracted 221 studies. The broad SLR showed that Africa (with the exception of South Africa continentally and Kenya regionally) lags globally in digital learning literature. It also identified country, affiliation (university) and funding sponsor as three possible factors that influence DLI. The narrow SLR revealed a gap in the literature on DLI – IS – IB and a low emphasis on GVCs. From the literature, this paper proposes a conceptual model spanning DLI – IS – IB and a typology of systemic barriers to inform future research. It also provides unique empirical data to inform DLI and GVC focused public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate how embedding accounting techniques of cost and budgeting within the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) potentially perpetuates colonial practices for Australian First Nations people living in remote areas. Further, the paper aims to explore how accounting might help to integrate the unique modes of accountability First Nations people have over disability care into the NDIS funding system. Ultimately, the aim is to discern whether accounting practices can be mobilised as a means to decolonising the NDIS framework. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a qualitative methodology to analyse public hearings from the Australian Disability Royal Commission. Drawing on Bhabha's (1994) concept of the "third space", this study investigates how accounting techniques can be used to potentially decolonise the NDIS. This study also borrows Bhabha's (1994) concept of the third space to explore the potential for decolonising the NDIS through accounting techniques. Findings: Findings show that the accounting techniques pertaining to funding and costs embedded within the NDIS contribute to displacing and disconnecting First Nations people from their cultural practices and ways of life. Further, the analysis reveals that the NDIS funding system could help to decolonise the NDIS space if it were modified to incorporate First Nations' perspectives on accountability for disability care. Originality/value: The case of the NDIS exposes glimpses of colonisation in contemporary Australia, where Western institutional and economic systems dominate over the structure and authority of the practice. In this paper, this study demonstrates that the accounting system used by the NDIS plays a role in marginalising First Nations people. However, accounting, as a technology of negotiation, could also be mobilised to enhance accountability for disability care outcomes and pave the way for decolonising public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents comments of the author on the transport White Paper. The British Deputy Prime Minister's proposals, as revealed in the July 1998 White Paper, fall far short of the rhetoric one recalls from the 1997 general election campaign, or even of the promises that followed it. The railways are not to be renationalized; the buses are not to be re-regulated and area-wide local authority franchising is not even mentioned. All the same, the politicians' urge to meddle runs throughout the document and the liberty of entrepreneurs to seek out and satisfy demand is still to be overseen by those whom scholar Deepak Lal calls the Platonic guardians. The search for a definitive meaning of the word integration is abandoned in favor of a list of four possible interpretations. There is to be a new Commission for Integrated Transport and there are to be local transport plans will be the key to the delivery of integrated transport locally. So the Commission and the local authorities will have to work out the meaning of the word for themselves. The White Paper is being followed by a collection of daughter papers which might, just possibly, throw more light on the question. A policy based upon an indeterminate concept such as this can hardly be expected to make things better for everyone.

De Economist is calling for papers for a special issue on "Inequality in the Housing Market." The editors are seeking empirical and theoretical submissions on housing and inequality. The special issue aims to address the interactions between cyclical market developments, government policies, and housing outcomes at the macro and micro level. Topics of interest include the implications of housing for wealth inequality, neighborhood effects and inequality, social rent assistance, homeownership, financial risks in the housing market, housing markets and the growth of cities, telework, pricing in the housing market, intergenerational mechanisms of housing, and housing affordability and energy. The deadline for submission is March 31, 2024. [Extracted from the article]

Colombian industrial sector is widely recognized as a good example of a diversified economy. At present, Colombian government is seeking to deepen this outstanding feature by favouring activities in new sectors intensive in knowledge and capital. Biotechnology offers an opportunity to integrate its great biological diversity into research and development (R&D) activities. A public policy paper published last year depicts a set of activities considered essential to achieve the consolidation of biotechnological sector in Colombia. On the other hand, past and current activities deployed in the context of so called Bio Trade initiatives have demonstrated to offer little space to R&D activities by public sector research institutions. This paper aims to illustrate the importance of up-stream research undertaken by public sector research institutions as well as the relevance of Intellectual property management as enabling tools for the consolidation of biotechnological sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this paper is on how the state sets up discriminatory structures, how immigrants work out ways of managing those structures and how in this process they construct flexible and innovative identities. Two main issues are explored. The first is the relationship between state control and exclusion and immigrant resistance. The paper shows how, despite increased surveillance and digital nets mounted by European states to keep immigrants out of their territory, the British state is ambivalent towards irregular immigrants. At the same time, it is in the interstices of ambiguity that immigrants, by buying, renting and borrowing documents, have found ways through their networks and communities to resist or get around exclusionary and contradictory regulations. Second, the paper is concerned with the construction of innovative and flexible identities. The research reveals how immigrants occupy rebellious spaces and construct identities in difficult situations at the intersection of self and structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the idea that the evaluation of public policies is witnessing a remarkable enlargement of its domain, in four relevant dimensions- its object, effect, methods, and data.Regarding the objects of evaluation, policy makers are increasingly interested not only in the evaluation of the content of policies (output) or the result (outcome), but also on a broader notion of impact, which includes direct and indirect effects, on the sub-system under analysis and on society at large. Regarding the effects of policies, the paper calls the attention on the rising of the notion of conditionality, requiring more flexible and sophisticated approaches for in itinere evaluation. With respect to new methods, the paper discusses new developments in counterfactual methods, robust nonparametric approaches (robust and conditional), as well as methods to deal with non commensurable indicators. Finally, the implications for evaluation of policies of the availability of microdata from public sources are examined. In all these devekopments new challenges are identified, calling for advanced methodological and quantitative work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2006, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) initiated the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) as part of the NIH Roadmap Initiative, in order to improve the conduct and impact of NIH's clinical and translational research portfolio. The CTSA program is intended not only to transform the training programs and research infrastructure at individual academic institutions, but also to create a nation-wide collaborative consortium to transform the biomedical research enterprise. In January 2009, the NIH CTSA National Consortium adopted Strategic Goals to maximize the CTSAs' impact on the Nation's healthcare and health. Of these, the CTSA Strategic Goal 4 is to promote the translation of the results of clinical and translational research into practice and public policy. To advance this goal, a committee was constituted to focus on the organization and development of the CTSA Consortium's comparative effectiveness research (CER) capacity, an increasingly important component of research translation into practice and policy. This Committee's Workgroups took on a number of deliverables in service of this objective, including producing this White Paper on how the CTSA Consortium might best facilitate CER, for NIH's Institutes and Centers (ICs), other Federal agencies, outside stakeholders, and the healthcare system overall. This White Paper offers some specific suggestions for how the CTSA Consortium might support this emerging and crucial national effort to generate, synthesize, and disseminate CER in order to improve healthcare decision-making and health outcomes. Important points of reference for this White Paper are two Congressionally mandated reports on CER released at the end of June 2009, one by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and another by the Federal Coordinating Council for CER (FCC-CER). The definitions of CER by each report, and their recommendations for the CER enterprise, are highly germane to the purpose of this CTSA Consortium White Paper. The CER definition used in the IOM Report was, "The generation and synthesis of evidence that compares the benefits and harms of alternative methods to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor a clinical condition or to improve the delivery of care. The purpose of CER is to assist patients, clinicians, purchasers, policy makers, and the public to make informed decisions that will improve health care at both the individual and population levels."… [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: The United States' first National Physical Activity Plan is now under development. This plan follows the release of new physical activity guidelines and seeks to address the nation's ongoing physical inactivity and obesity crisis. For this plan to be successful, all facets of American culture need to unify behind its recommendations and action steps. Guidance for this plan involves active participation from a variety of sectors, including the park, recreation, fitness, and sport (PRFS) sector. Purpose: In this white paper, we discuss the potential of the PRFS sector in addressing America's physical inactivity. Specifically, we provide a brief description, history, and scope of the PRFS sector; present evidence concerning linkages between this sector and physical activity; and discuss existing challenges and emerging opportunities for promoting physical activity. We conclude by suggesting PRFS recommendations to promote physical activity based on anticipated effectiveness, reach, scope, and sustainability. Methods: Academic articles, professional reports, and physical activity plans were reviewed to summarize the evidence concerning PRFS sector strategies for increasing physical activity. Recommendations: Based on our review, we propose several sector-specific proximity, place, program, partnership, promotion, people, policy, and performance indicator recommendations for improving physical activity in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This summary paper for the symposium provides a brief overview of the papers by Craig Veitch, John Beard and Max Kamien that deal with the environmental, socioeconomic and political descriptors of ‘rurality’. Those three papers deal with a number of fundamental truths about rural and remote health, including the fact that internal migration is an important and poorly understood factor in determining community and health outcomes. A brief treatment of the issue suggests that selective internal migration is likely to mean that the burden of illness in rural and remote areas is even higher than that suggested by the published figures. The paper then asserts that thinking in the rural and remote health sector in Australia focuses largely on the negative aspects of the current characteristics of rural areas. A self-evident definition of ‘rurality’ is offered that has it defined by the set of factors that currently characterise places, communities and individuals outside the major cities. The paper suggests that each of these characteristics has an upside or benefit, as well as a downside or risk, and that giving greater attention to the former will provide a better basis for informing rural health policy and practice than the deficit view alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article enquires into the connections between gender and discourses of the nuclear weapons state. Specifically, we develop an analysis of the ways in which gender operates in the White Paper published by the UK government in 2006 on its plans to renew Trident nuclear weapons (given the go-ahead by the Westminster Parliament in March 2007). We argue that the White Paper mobilizes masculine-coded language and symbols in several ways: firstly, in its mobilization of techno-strategic rationality and axioms; secondly, in its assumptions about security; and, thirdly, in its assumptions about the state as actor. Taken together, these function to construct a masculinized identity for the British nuclear state as a “responsible steward.” However, this identity is one that is not yet securely fixed and that, indeed, contains serious internal tensions that opponents of Trident (and of the nuclear state more generally) should be able to exploit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To level the playing field in employment, the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities require state parties to ensure the provision of reasonable accommodation in the workplace. The international literature shows that barriers to workplace accommodation (WA) provision arise during recruitment, hiring, and retention. In this paper, we complement prior research by examining how WA is represented in policy documents targeting disability and employment in Norway over the past 50 years. Bacchi's policy analysis framework inspired the analysis and discussion. The analysis reveals a pattern over three time periods: 1) segregation, including the state applying a holistic approach and responsibility for WA; 2) integration, including an activation approach stimulating employer responsibility; and 3) inclusion, including holding employers more responsible. The results lead us to ask whether too much financial responsibility and work-inclusion efforts to increase employment among disabled people are currently left up to employers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of complex and changeable uncertain environments, corporate resilience is the crucial foundation for survival and sustainable development, and enhancing corporate resilience becomes an important goal for governments. In this context, this paper investigates the impact of government subsidies, as a typical government tool, on corporate resilience in crises. Based on the panel data of 2315 listed companies in China Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share market during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper finds that: (1) government subsidies received before and during the crises can both enhance corporate resilience in crises. (2) Government subsidies enhance corporate resilience by alleviating financial constraints and boosting confidence. (3) The crises improve the efficiency of subsidies used by corporates, resulting in the enhancement of subsidies received during the crises being more pronounced than those received before the crises. This paper deepens the understanding of government subsidies' roles in crises, enriches the literature on government subsidies and corporate resilience, and provides a reference for improving government subsidies policy and enhancing corporate resilience. The government should increase government subsidies to mitigate the negative impact of uncertainty shocks on corporates and improve corporates' ability to respond to risks, and pay attention to the timing of subsidies to maximize the efficiency of government subsidies at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the political importance of public parts in light of the British government's White Paper program. Problems in achieving ideals for parks and open spaces; Impact of the neglect of public open spaces; Sources of funding for the development of public open spaces according to the White Paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has become an impactful science superpower, but it is asserted that its influence provides it with disproportionate benefits that some national research policies have not thus far appreciated. To create context, Web of Science data are used to analyse research collaborations between the UK and China: trends in volume of output between 1981 and 2019; citation impact; and comparative performance across research fields. UK–China collaboration increased from fewer than 100 co-authored papers before 1990, to 750 per year in 2000, 3,324 in 2010, and 16,267 papers (10.9 per cent of UK output) in 2019. UK–China collaboration is concentrated in technology-based fields: in some (e.g. telecommunication), over 30 per cent of UK papers are in collaboration with Chinese-based researchers. The paper discusses the policy consequences to the UK of this indicative dependency, arguing that exiting from such collaborations is ill advised, provided the risks, perceived or real, are mapped, managed, and mitigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study in Scotland, United Kingdom of prioritizing protection of children from secondhand smoke exposure (SHSE) in a private space where smoke-free public places are enforced. It discusses the difficulty of political acceptability in enforcing the issue and the intervention over parental autonomy to smoke in their own home. The article also reports on the findings based on the study used called Reducing Families' Exposure to Secondhand Smoke (REFRESH) project.

Background On 11 January 2009, Taiwan expanded its smoke-free legislation to all indoor public places and workplaces. This study examined the impact of this policy on secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in adult non-smokers, across gender and socioeconomic status groups (SES). Methods An annual sample of about 13 000-14 000 non-smokers was drawn from cross-sectional nationwide data of Taiwan Adult Tobacco Behavior Surveys during 2005-2011. Logistic regressions were used to analyse the aggregate data to estimate the association between the 2009 smoke-free legislation and SHS exposures in homes and workplaces. Interaction terms were used to examine the impact of the 2009 smoke-free policy on reducing differences in SHS exposure across gender, education and income groups. Results The 2009 policy reduced the odds of SHS exposure in homes in 2009 (OR=0.76, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.84) and in workplaces (year 2009: OR=0.49, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.62; year 2010: OR=0.79, 95% CI 0.66 to 0.95). The model with interaction terms showed that men were more likely than women to be exposed to workplace SHS (OR=2.02, 95% CI 1.80 to 2.27) but were less likely to be exposed to home SHS (OR=0.79, 95% CI 0.73 to 0.86). SHS exposure in homes was significantly related to lower socioeconomic status, but the 2009 smoke-free policy reduced the difference in SHS exposure across education levels. Conclusions The 2009 smoke-free policy reduced the SHS exposure for non-smokers. However, this impact on home SHS did not persist after 2009, and the effect of protection was unequal across gender and SES groups. Thus, further enforcement of smoking restrictions would be needed to reduce the risk of SHS exposure and improve protection against SHS risk among parts of the population with lower socioeconomic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To describe relationships between tobacco-related environments and disparities in smoking by sexual orientation. METHODS: We examined three aspects of state-level tobacco environments, which were derived from the ImpacTeen State Level Tobacco Control Policy and Prevalence Database: (1) tobacco price and tax data and tobacco control funding; (2) tobacco control policies and (3) tobacco prevalence and norms data. This information was linked to individual-level data on sexual orientation, tobacco use and nicotine dependence in Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (N=34 653; 577 LGB respondents), a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of adults in the USA. RESULTS: Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults in states with more restrictive tobacco environments were less likely to have ever smoked (AOR=0.78, 95% CI 0.62 to 1.00) and to currently smoke (AOR=0.77, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.99) than LGB adults in more permissive tobacco environments. Further, sexual orientation disparities in past and current smoking, as well as in current nicotine dependence, were lower in states with the most restrictive tobacco environments. Results were robust to adjustment for confounders at the individual and state levels. CONCLUSIONS: Restrictive state-level tobacco environments are correlates of smoking behaviours among LGB adults in the USA; such environments could potentially reduce social inequalities in smoking based on sexual orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Information and communication technology (ICT) has been proposed as a means to facilitate environmental sustainability. Dematerialisation is one potential way of doing this. For books, this could be realized through using e-book readers, which share many of the qualities of printed media and have notably low-energy requirements during use. The main aim of this study was to analyse the environmental impacts of an e-book read on an e-book reader, and to identify key issues determining the magnitude of the impact. A second aim was to compare the e-book product system with a paper book product system using a life cycle perspective. Materials and methods: A screening LCA was performed on an e-book produced and read in Sweden. The e-book reader was assumed to be produced in China. The data used were general data from Ecoinvent 2.0 and site-specific data from companies participating in the study, whenever average data were not available. Results and discussion: The results showed that production of the e-book reader was the life cycle step contributing most to the environmental impact of the system studied, although data on the e-ink screen were lacking. The disposal phase leads to avoided impact as materials are recycled; however, these results are less certain due to limited data availability. When the e-book was compared with a paper book, the results indicated that the number of books read on the e-book reader during its lifetime was crucial when evaluating its environmental performance compared with paper books. The results indicate that there are impact categories and circumstances where paper books are preferable to e-books from an environmental perspective and vice versa. Conclusions: There is no single answer as to which book is better from an environmental perspective according to the results of the current study. To improve the e-book environmental performance, an e-book reader should be used frequently, the life time of the device should be prolonged, as far as possible, and when not in use anymore, the device should be disposed of in a proper way, making material recycling possible. In addition, the production of the e-reader should be energy efficient and striving towards minimisation of toxic and rare substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the web site Selected Papers of William L. White, located at www.williamwhitepapers.com, from William L. White, senior research consultant, Chestnut Health Systems/Lighthouse Institute.

How can we help our students to think clearly and plan wisely so that they can write better stylistics papers? This article evaluates a set of rhetorical pedagogical guidelines that I made for my own undergraduate stylistics students in an attempt to address this question. The article primarily reproduces the guidelines I designed, but also a questionnaire that I drew up, and, crucially, reports the responses of the subjects in that questionnaire. It is hoped that such data might lead to better testing methods and ultimately an improved set of stylistics guidelines so that students can be empowered to perform better, with increased confidence and motivation, in the undergraduate stylistics classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Removing user fees in primary health care services is one of the most critical policy issues being considered in Africa. User fees were introduced in many African countries during the 1980s and their impacts are well documented. Concerns regarding the negative impacts of user fees have led to a recent shift in health financing debates in Africa. Kenya is one of the countries that have implemented a user fees reduction policy. Like in many other settings, the new policy was evaluated less that one year after implementation, the period when expected positive impacts are likely to be highest. This early evaluation showed that the policy was widely implemented, that levels of utilization increased and that it was popular among patients. Whether or not the positive impacts of user fees removal policies are sustained has hardly been explored. We conducted this study to document the extent to which primary health care facilities in Kenya continue to adhere to a 'new' charging policy 3 years after its implementation. Methods: Data were collected in two districts (Kwale and Makueni). Multiple methods of data collection were applied including a cross-sectional survey (n = 184 households Kwale; 141 Makueni), Focus Group Discussions (n = 12) and patient exit interviews (n = 175 Kwale; 184 Makueni). Results: Approximately one third of the survey respondents could not correctly state the recommended charges for dispensaries, while half did not know what the official charges for health centres were. Adherence to the policy was poor in both districts, but facilities in Makueni were more likely to adhere than those in Kwale. Only 4 facilities in Kwale adhered to the policy compared to 10 in Makueni. Drug shortage, declining revenue, poor policy design and implementation processes were the main reasons given for poor adherence to the policy. Conclusion: We conclude that reducing user fees in primary health care in Kenya is a policy on paper that is yet to be implemented fully. We recommend that caution be taken when deciding on how to reduce or abolish user fees and that all potential consequences are carefully considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper reviews current literature on evidence-based treatment guidelines for TMJ disorders. Treatment of TMJ disorders may be non-invasive and/or surgical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

♦ Argues that white papers are increasingly prevalent but have received little discussion in technical communication forums ♦ Reports research on their audiences, purposes, content, the people and processes creating them, and the ways in which they are evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the implications for family policy of the proposed new changes to the registration of births, marriages and deaths, contained in the British government White Paper Civil Registration: Vital Change (2002). It ask whether, and to what extent, the changes proposed are 'facilitative; or 'persuasive'. It is argued that, whilst the changes are in part designed to facilitate more diverse patterns of partnering and parenting now evident in the population there are limitations, for example in respect of same sex partnerships. There are also clearly 'persuasive' elements. These are consistent with changes in family policy which focus more on the individuals than on the nuclear family as the focus of policy, which are tolerant of different forms of partnering, but which place supporting parenthood as the highest priority. Changes in civil registration are seen as an essential condition for implementing other types of changes in the family policy arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aftermath of recent populist upheavals in Europe, nationalist economic policies challenge the overly positive view on economic integration and the reduction of trade barriers established by standard economic theory. For quite a long time the great majority of economists supported trade liberalisation policies, at least those actively engaged in policy advice or public debates. In this paper, we examine the elite economics discourse on trade policies during the last 20 years regarding specific characteristics of authors, affiliations, citation patterns, the overall attitude towards trade, as well as the methodological approach applied in these papers. Our analysis yields the following results: First, the hierarchical structure of economics also manifests in the debate about trade. Second, while we found some indications of a shift towards more empirically oriented work, quite often empirical data is solely used to calibrate models rather than to challenge potentially biased theoretical assumptions. Third, top economic discourses on trade are predominantly characterised by a normative bias in favour of trade-liberalisation-policies. Forth, we found that other-than-economic impacts and implications of trade policies (political, social and cultural as well as environmental issues) to a great extent either remain unmentioned or are rationalised by means of pure economic criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health inequalities research has a long history in the United Kingdom, and the development of government policies that are intended to explicitly address the existing health inequalities has been gathering pace since the Labour Party returned to power in 1997. In this paper, using the influential Acheson Report as a reference point, one of us (D.N.) describes how health inequalities policies have been developed, and the other (A.O.) assesses how, ideally, such policies ought to be developed. Although progress in the development of health inequalities policies has been made, the policies, and the evidence that has informed them, have been less than ideal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper explores the impact of digital transformation (DT) on new business creation in the case of European Union member states over the period 2015-2020 by employing several econometric techniques such as Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and quantile regression (QR). The results of OLS regression indicate a positive and significant link between DT and entrepreneurial activity. However, the quantile regression results highlight a parameter heterogeneity in the effect of DT on entrepreneurial activity. Furthermore, the magnitude of the impact is greater at the higher size quantiles of the new business density distribution. Overall, the empirical findings highlight the key role of DT in developing public policies aimed to spur entrepreneurial activity. Thus, this paper brings significant contributions to the extant literature on the macro determinants of firm creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]