Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Policy Directions (policy + direction)
Selected AbstractsEvidence-based policy or policy-based evidence?DRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 4 2007The role of evidence in the development, implementation of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative Abstract Issues. Evidence-based policy is promoted as the ideal in drug policy, yet public policy theorists suggest that policy-based evidence may be a more fitting analogy, where evidence is used selectively to support a predetermined policy direction. Approach. The following paper assesses the resonance of this notion to the development of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative (IDDI), an apparently pragmatic reform adopted in Australia in 1999 through the Federal Coalition ,Tough on Drugs' strategy. It utilises interviews with key informants from the Australian drug policy arena conducted in 2005 to assess the role of evidence in the design and implementation of the IDDI. Key Findings. The current paper shows that while policy-makers were generally supportive of the IDDI and viewed drug diversion as a more pragmatic response to drug users, they contend that implementation has suffered through a selective and variable emphasis upon evidence. Most notably, the IDDI is not premised upon best-practice objectives of reducing harm from drug use, but instead on ,Tough on Drugs' objectives of reducing drug use and crime. Implications. This paper contends that policy-based evidence may facilitate the adoption of pragmatic reforms, but reduce the capacity for effective reform. It therefore has both functional and dysfunctional elements. Conclusion. The paper concludes that greater attention is needed to understanding how to mesh political and pragmatic objectives, and hence to maximise the benefits from policy-based evidence. [Hughes CE. Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence? The role of evidence in the development and implementation of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative. Drug Alcohol Rev 2007;26:363,368] [source] The Economic Impact of International Migration within The UK EconomyECONOMIC OUTLOOK, Issue 4 2006Article first published online: 13 NOV 200 There is a vociferous debate regarding the extent, impact and future policy direction of international migration. This has intensified following the expansion of the European Union and the accession of the eight Central and Eastern European countries. This article explores the recent trends in net migration, looking particularly at the impact at the sectoral and regional level. It finds that foreign workers appear to have had a significant economic impact in filling skills gaps and in helping to arrest population decline in those regions where previously this had been a fact of economic life. [source] Deploying the Classic ,Community Method' in the Social Policy Field: The Example of the Acquired Rights DirectiveEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 2 2009Gavin Barrett The use of the Community method of legislation, in particular the deployment of directives, has for a long time been at the core of EC labour market policy. This article seeks to reflect on the lessons to be learned from the experience of the adoption and operation of one particularly significant directive, namely the Acquired Rights Directive, and on the experience of its transposition in one Member State, Ireland. Among features noted at the EU level are the watering down of the Commission's initial legislative ambitions; the substantial lacunae, failures to address issues and ambiguities incorporated in the text of the directive, the consequent enlarged role for the Court of Justice and the apparent difficulty in changing policy direction in the event of errors being made. As regards the Irish experience of transposing the directive, lessons learnt have included the importance of the means of implementation chosen by the Member State; the obstructive effect which national industrial relations systems may have on the evolution of a common European approach; the significance which attaches to national sanctions and enforcement mechanisms; the importance attaching to the degree of collective organisation in workplaces where the implementing legislation is sought to be relied upon; and the potential which the implementation of a directive has for disruption of the harmony of a national policy approach. Finally, the use of a form of social dialogue in the implementation of employment-related directives in Ireland is also commented upon. [source] RESEARCH AND EVALUATION: The Rudd Government's Employment Services Agenda: Is it Post-NPM and Why is that Important?AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 3 2010Gaby Ramia Perhaps the most potent symbol of the Howard government's faith in New Public Management (NPM) was the Job Network. Interrogating the Rudd government's replacement package, this article assesses whether the recent restructuring of employment services constitutes a post-NPM environment. It is argued that there are major post-NPM elements, seen most clearly in: the softening of jobseeker sanctions; greater deliberation on policy direction and results; a more inclusive employment super-ministry and reliance on other ,horizontal' governance reforms; and enhanced government resources for multiple-disadvantage clients. However, categorising these changes as post-NPM is problematic because the steering mechanism remains the market-based contract, a central NPM characteristic. Theoretical difficulties in applying paradigmatic concepts to services provide additional barriers to conclusive assessments, though the Rudd government's employment services regime provides a basis for taking stock in the post-NPM debate. [source] Transport and environment: policy directions for europeENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 3 2001Robert Tinch Transport externalities are among the most important environmental problems affecting quality of life in Europe. Forecasts suggest that past environmental improvements may now be rolled back by traffic growth, and current traffic trends are not sustainable. The theory of environmental policy proposes pricing external costs at their marginal social costs as one solution. Although full marginal social cost pricing is impracticable, advances in tolling technology and environmental valuation mean that it is now a viable option to approximate such charging. There are signs that the European Commission and other bodies are starting to favour pricing over regulatory instruments. However, often overlooked is the potential for non-convexities in the transport sector or between transport and the rest of the economy. For example it may be that small increases in resources for public transport would not result in welfare gains, whereas large increases would. Non-convexities would mean that market forces under marginal social cost pricing might lead away from the optimal transport system. This is one reason why pricing instruments cannot in themselves be a panacea for transport externalities or bring about a sustainable transport system. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [source] Reforming pensions: Principles, analytical errors and policy directionsINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 2 2009Nicholas Barr Abstract This article, sets out a series of principles for pension design rooted in economic theory: pension systems have multiple objectives, analysis should consider the pension system as a whole, analysis should be framed in a second-best context, different systems share risks differently, and systems have different effects by generation and by gender. That discussion is reinforced by identification of a series of widespread analytical errors , errors that appear in World Bank work, but by no means only in World Bank work: tunnel vision, improper use of first-best analysis, improper use of steady-state analysis, incomplete analysis of implicit pension debt, incomplete analysis of the impact of funding (including excessive focus on financial flows, failure to consider how funding is generated, and improper focus on the type of asset in trust funds), and ignoring distributional effects. The second part of the article considers implications for policy: there is no single best pension design, earlier retirement does little or nothing to reduce unemployment, unsustainable pension promises need to be addressed directly, a move from pay-as-you-go towards funding in a mandatory system may or may not be welfare improving, and implementation matters , policy design that exceeds a country's capacity to implement it is bad policy design. We illustrate the ranges of designs of pension systems that fit the fiscal and institutional capacity constraints typical at different levels of economic development. The potential gains from simplicity imply that a country capable of implementing an administratively demanding plan does not necessarily gain from doing so. New Zealand has a simple pension system through choice, not constraint. [source] Old age protection in India: Problems and prognosisINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY REVIEW, Issue 2 2002Ranadev Goswami This paper reviews the current state of the Indian pension system. The Indian experience could potentially influence policy decisions in other developing countries, especially those with similar reliance on the national provident fund system. Institutional features of various retirement benefit schemes are highlighted and their deficiencies are discussed. It is argued that low coverage level, underperformance of provident fund schemes due to investment restrictions, and financial difficulties in administering unfunded public pension programmes have rendered the current system ineffective and unsustainable. The failed experiments with ad hoc reform initiatives in the recent past further emphasize the need for a structural and lasting change. The paper concludes with some policy directions for reforming the Indian pension system. [source] Governance in Houston: Growth Theories and Urban PressuresJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 5 2003Igor Vojnovic This research will present a historical review of the role of local government and then examine two theoretical interpretations, the public choice and political economy perspectives, in explaining Houston's governance and public policy directions. The work will also show that recent events in Houston that might initially appear to contradict the city's historical development practices, such as greater ethnic sensitivity and increasing concern for the environment, have in no way challenged the city's pro-growth agenda. The new directions in Houston's policy are simply a reflection of a different growth strategy reflecting changing demographics in the city and the new reality of Houston's diversifying economy. [source] The Asian Financial Crisis: An East Asian PerspectiveASIAN-PACIFIC ECONOMIC LITERATURE, Issue 1 2000Jesus P. Estanislao Two views dominate the academic discussion of the root cause of the Asian crisis: the ,panic-illiquidity' view and the ,moral hazard-structural' view. This paper traces the factors that contributed to the build-up of financial vulnerabilities across the affected economies and compares these two accounts of the crisis. The paper argues that the two views are complementary in that policy prescriptions derived from one that disregard the prescriptions from the other would be incomplete. It summarises the medium and long-term post-crisis policy directions at the national, regional and international levels. [source] Attitudes of the Victorian oral health workforce to the employment and scope of practice of dental hygienistsAUSTRALIAN DENTAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2008M Hopcraft Abstract Background: Increasing the number of dental hygienists and expanding their scope of practice are two policy directions that are currently being explored to increase the supply of dental services in the context of projected oral health workforce shortages in Australia. Understanding factors relating to the employment of hygienists and the attitudes of the oral health workforce to dental hygiene practice are important in this policy debate. Methods: A postal survey of a random sample of Victorian dentists, periodontists, orthodontists and hygienists was undertaken in 2006. Dentists and specialists were grouped into those whose practice employed or did not employ a hygienist. Data on the attitudes of dentists, specialists and hygienists towards various aspects of dental hygiene practice were explored. Results: A response rate of 65.3 per cent was achieved. Hygienists believed that their employment made dental care more affordable (53.7 per cent) and improved access to dental care (88.1 per cent), while few dentists believed hygienists made care more affordable. Most hygienists believed they were capable of diagnosing periodontal disease and dental caries and formulating a treatment plan, but there was less support from employers and non-employers. Dentists were strongly opposed to independent practice for dental hygienists, although there was qualified support from employers for increasing the scope of practice for hygienists. Conclusions: Dentists who worked with hygienists acknowledged their contribution to increasing practice profitability, efficiency and accessibility of dental services to patients. Hygienists and employers supported increasing the scope of dental hygiene practice, however the majority of non-employers opposed any expansion. [source] | |||||||||||||