Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Policy Instruments (policy + instruments)
Kinds of Policy Instruments Selected AbstractsThe Rise of ,New' Policy Instruments in Comparative Perspective: Has Governance Eclipsed Government?POLITICAL STUDIES, Issue 3 2005Andrew Jordan Governance is a term in good currency, but there are still too few detailed empirical analyses of the precise extent to which it has or has not eclipsed government. This article explores the temporal and spatial characteristics of the governance transition by charting the deployment of new policy instruments in eight industrialised states and the European Union. The adoption and implementation of (,old' and ,new') policy instruments offer a useful analytical touchstone because governance theory argues that regulation is the quintessence of government. Although there are many ,new' environmental policy instruments in these nine jurisdictions, this article finds that the change from government to governance is highly differentiated across political jurisdictions, policy sectors and even the main instrument types. Crucially, many of the new policy instruments used require some state involvement (that is, ,government'), and very few are entirely devoid of state involvement (that is, pure ,governance'). Far from eclipsing government, governance therefore often complements and, on some occasions, even competes with it, although there are some cases of fusion. Future research should thus explore the many complex and varied ways in which government and governance interact in public policy-making. [source] Market-Based Policy Instruments, Irrigation Water Demand, and Crop Diversification in the Bow River Basin of Southern AlbertaCANADIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2010Lixia He This paper investigates two market-based policy instruments, short-term water trading and volumetric water pricing, in a jurisdiction where historical water allocations are based on the seniority of appropriative water rights. The analysis identifies the potential effects of alternative surface water allocations on crop choices and on producer incomes in three irrigation districts in the Bow River Sub-basin of the South Saskatchewan River. The short-run effects of these alternative policy instruments are examined in scenarios where seasonal water supplies are reduced by 10,30% relative to the 2003 water usage levels. An important contribution of the paper is to present a computational, positive mathematical programming model that integrates both irrigation decisions and specific crop choices when characterizing agents' optimal responses to moderate water scarcity. The numerical results illustrate the manner in which the use of these market-based economic instruments can increase the irrigated land area and economic welfare relative to the allocations made based only on the seniority of water rights. Under full information with no transactions costs, the use of water pricing for allocation purposes can achieve the same production outcomes as could be reached under short-term water trading. However, the distribution of potential monetary gains and losses among agents would vary considerably across policies. Le présent article étudie deux instruments de politique fondés sur le marché, soit le commerce de l'eau à court terme et l'établissement du prix de l'eau en fonction du volume, dans une province où l'attribution de l'eau est historiquement fondée sur l'ancienneté des droits d'appropriation de l'eau. L'analyse a exposé les effets potentiels de divers moyens d'attribution de l'eau de surface sur le choix des cultures et le revenu des producteurs dans trois districts d'irrigation situés dans le sous-bassin de la rivière Bow qui s'écoule dans le sous-bassin de la rivière Saskatchewan Sud. Nous avons examiné les effets à court terme de ces moyens dans des scénarios où les approvisionnements saisonniers en eau ont été réduits de 10 à 30 p. 100 par rapport aux niveaux d'utilisation de l'eau établis en 2003. Le présent article visait, entre autres, à présenter un modèle de programmation mathématique positive intégrant à la fois les décisions concernant l'irrigation et le choix de cultures spécifiques au moment de caractériser les réactions optimales des agents face à une rareté modérée de l'eau. Les résultats numériques ont montré de quelle façon l'utilisation de ces instruments économiques fondés sur le marché pouvait accroître les superficies irriguées et le bien-être économique comparativement à l'attribution de l'eau fondée sur l'ancienneté des droits d'appropriation de l'eau. Selon les renseignements complets sans coûts de transaction, le recours à l'établissement du prix de l'eau en fonction du volume et le commerce de l'eau à court terme peuvent permettre d'obtenir les mêmes résultats en matière de production. Toutefois, la répartition des pertes et des gains éventuels entre les agents varieraient considérablement d'une politique à l'autre. [source] The role of policy instruments for promoting combined heat and power production with low CO2 emissions in district heating systemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 6 2005Å. Marbe Abstract Policy instruments clearly influence the choice of production technologies and fuels in large energy systems, including district heating networks. Current Swedish policy instruments aim at promoting the use of biofuel in district heating systems, and at promoting electric power generation from renewable energy sources. However, there is increasing pressure to harmonize energy policy instruments within the EU. In addition, natural gas based combined cycle technology has emerged as the technology of choice in the power generation sector in the EU. This study aims at exploring the role of policy instruments for promoting the use of low CO2 emissions fuels in high performance combined heat and power systems in the district heating sector. The paper presents the results of a case study for a Swedish district heating network where new large size natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) combined heat and power (CHP) is being built. Given the aim of current Swedish energy policy, it is assumed that it could be of interest in the future to integrate a biofuel gasifier to the CHP plant and co-fire the gasified biofuel in the gas turbine unit, thereby reducing usage of fossil fuel. The goals of the study are to evaluate which policy instruments promote construction of the planned NGCC CHP unit, the technical performance of an integrated biofuelled pressurized gasifier with or without dryer on plant site, and which combination of policy instruments promote integration of a biofuel gasifier to the planned CHP unit. The power plant simulation program GateCycle was used for plant performance evaluation. The results show that current Swedish energy policy instruments favour investing in the NGCC CHP unit. The corresponding cost of electricity (COE) from the NGCC CHP unit is estimated at 253 SEK MWh,1, which is lower than the reference power price of 284 SEK MWh,1. Investing in the NGCC CHP unit is also shown to be attractive if a CO2 trading system is implemented. If the value of tradable emission permits (TEP) in such as system is 250 SEK tonne,1, COE is 353 SEK MWh,1 compared to the reference power price of 384 SEK MWh,1. It is possible to integrate a pressurized biofuel gasifier to the NGCC CHP plant without any major re-design of the combined cycle provided that the maximum degree of co-firing is limited to 27,38% (energy basis) product gas, depending on the design of the gasifier system. There are many parameters that affect the economic performance of an integrated biofuel gasifier for product gas co-firing of a NGCC CHP plant. The premium value of the co-generated renewable electricity and the value of TEPs are very important parameters. Assuming a future CO2 trading system with a TEP value of 250 SEK tonne,1 and a premium value of renewable electricity of 200 SEK MWh,1 COE from a CHP plant with an integrated biofuelled gasifier could be 336 SEK MWh,1, which is lower than both the reference market electric power price and COE for the plant operating on natural gas alone. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] IS CORPORATE R&D INVESTMENT IN HIGH-TECH SECTORS MORE EFFECTIVE?CONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 3 2010RAQUEL ORTEGA-ARGILÉS This paper discusses the link between R&D and productivity across the European industrial and service sectors. The empirical analysis is based on both the European sectoral OECD data and on a unique micro-longitudinal database consisting of 532 top European R&D investors. The main conclusions are as follows. First, the R&D stock has a significant positive impact on labor productivity; this general result is largely consistent with previous literature in terms of the sign, the significance, and the magnitude of the estimated coefficients. More interestingly, both at sectoral and firm levels the R&D coefficient increases monotonically (both in significance and magnitude) when we move from the low-tech to the medium- and high-tech sectors. This outcome means that corporate R&D investment is more effective in the high-tech sectors and this may need to be taken into account when designing policy instruments (subsidies, fiscal incentives, etc.) in support of private R&D. However, R&D investment is not the sole source of productivity gains; technological change embodied in gross investment is of comparable importance on aggregate and is the main determinant of productivity increase in the low-tech sectors. Hence, an economic policy aiming to increase productivity in the low-tech sectors should support overall capital formation. [source] Local authorities, climate change and small and medium enterprises: identifying effective policy instruments to reduce energy use and carbon emissionsCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2008Jaryn Bradford Abstract This paper discusses potential policy options available to local and municipal authorities, to achieve reductions in energy usage and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Researchers conducted surveys with 112 SMEs, and the results have been used to disaggregate the category of ,SME' into sub-sectors based on industrial sector, two measurements of employee size and annual turnover. A statistical analysis identifies key characteristics and behaviours of the sub-sectors of firms and discusses the type of policy measure these groups of SMEs would probably respond to. The key results of the research indicate that categories of firms differ in terms of energy use behaviours, internal constraints and attitudes toward possible policy options. The paper presents a ,policy matrix' to represent the most and least likely policy options to achieve energy savings from different categories of SMEs. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Policy Space: What, for What, and Where?DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 4 2009Jörg Mayer This article examines how developing countries can use, and enlarge, existing policy space, without opting out of international commitments. It argues that: (i) a meaningful context for policy space must extend beyond trade policy and include macroeconomic and exchange-rate policies that will achieve developmental goals more effectively; (ii) policy space depends not only on international rules but also on the impact of international market conditions and policy decisions taken in other countries on the effectiveness of national policy instruments; and (iii) international integration affects policy space through several factors that pull in opposite directions; whether it increases or reduces policy space differs by country and type of integration. [source] New alternative and complementary environmental policy instruments and the implementation of the Water Framework DirectiveENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 6 2008Andy Gouldson Abstract Based on a study conducted for the Environment Agency for England and Wales, we discuss the contribution that new alternative and complementary environmental policy instruments might make to the realization of the objectives of the EU's Water Framework Directive. Following a survey that identified nearly 100 examples where alternative and complementary instruments are currently being applied in the UK, we categorize such instruments as information-based approaches, private and voluntary regulation or support and capacity building measures. Examples are given of each category of instrument before further findings on the preconditions for the successful application of such measures are presented. These preconditions relate to levels of commitment from key groups, levels of stakeholder understanding, the role of the lead actor, the importance of timing, the need to deliver a clear message, the importance of enforcement, the role of the media and the importance of social capital in key networks. We conclude that alternative and complementary measures have significant potential to contribute to the realization of the Water Framework Directive's objectives, but only where these preconditions are met. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Wind power policy options in finland , analysis of energy policy actors' viewsENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 4 2006Vilja Varho Abstract Governments around the world are responding to the environmental problems caused by energy production by promoting wind power and other renewable forms of energy. Country specific political and ideological issues affect the choice of policy instruments. For example, although Finland and Sweden are already part of the same Nordic electricity market, they use different renewable energy policy instruments. The views about suitable policy instruments also vary within the Finnish energy sector. This paper is based on analysis of interviews with 25 energy sector actors that affect wind power policy in Finland. They used a number of process-oriented and value-based criteria to evaluate policies. Emphasis on deregulated market conditions was found to be strong, and to limit methods that are considered appropriate for supporting wind power. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Politics, industry and the regulation of industrial greenhouse-gas emissions in the UK and GermanyENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 4 2004Ian Bailey This paper assesses the impact of ,new' environmental policy instruments (NEPIs), such as eco-taxes, tradable permits and environmental agreements, on the politics of regulating industrial greenhouse-gas emissions. Intense academic debate surrounds the extent to which environmental policy is driven by the public interest, public choices between actor and stakeholder interests, or embedded institutional traditions. However, the effects on environmental politics of the recent shift from direct regulation to NEPIs remain seriously under-researched. Surveys and interviews with industry and policy-makers on the implementation of United Kingdom and German climate policy indicate that, although economic pressures do influence the design of policy instruments, public choice is far from dominant; nor are industry reactions to particular NEPIs uniform between countries. This suggests that national institutional traditions are far more influential in informing policy choices and industry reactions to policy innovations than is often acknowledged. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley &,Sons, Ltd and ERP,Environment. [source] Voluntary environmental policy instruments: two Irish success stories?ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2002Brendan Flynn Voluntary environmental policy instruments have attracted much interest in recent years, yet they remain firmly established only in the industrial setting of the typical environmental policy ,leader' states such as the Netherlands or Germany. This paper examines two Irish examples of innovative voluntary agreements, a farm plastic recycling scheme and a bird conservation project. These both suggest that the voluntary approach can be applied successfully outside the typical industrial sector. Noteworthy in explaining the emergence of the two case studies here was a policy transfer effect from the UK, involving organized Irish farming interests and Irish bird conservationists. A fear of impending state legislation, which is often cited as a vital precondition for successful voluntary approaches, was actually less important than the autonomous initiative of the interest groups themselves. It is suggested that a more important role for the state lies in ensuring good policy co-ordination. A concluding discussion examines the general problems and potential of relying on interest groups to transfer and implement innovative voluntary environmental policy instruments. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment [source] Voluntary agreements with emission trading options in climate policyENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 4 2001Johan Albrecht Recent political and corporate initiatives indicate that voluntary agreements and emission trading will play a crucial role in climate policy. We show that when emission trading is integrated as an option in voluntary agreement contracts, the overall efficiency of the use of flexible climate policy instruments is strongly increased. The emission trading option, formalized as a CO2 allowance call option contract that can be traded, provides clear incentives to overcomply with the target of the voluntary agreement. The option mechanism also delivers a market price for eventual non-compliance, based on differences in abatement costs. With an example, we illustrate that the option mechanism can result in stimulating financial benefits for the firms that are most successful in reducing emissions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [source] Combining policy instruments to curb greenhouse gas emissionsENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 3 2001Olivier Bahn The Kyoto Protocol has set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for selected countries. To comply with these reduction requirements, decision-makers may use market-based instruments on a national or international basis. This paper advocates the combining of national emission taxes with international trade of emission permits. As a numerical application, this paper analyses macro-economic impacts of such a strategy for Switzerland. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [source] The Birth of the CAP Die Geburt der GAP La naissance de la PACEUROCHOICES, Issue 2 2008David R. Stead Summary The Birth of the CAP Fifty years ago, a Conference was held at Stresa which could be said to be the single event that most appropriately marks the birth of the CAP. Although five policy objectives had been written into the 1957 Treaty of Rome, these have been widely criticised for being vague and contradictory, and the Treaty contained very few stipulations on the specific policy instruments to be adopted. The Stresa Conference made important, but incomplete, progress towards finalising the policy framework. Most notably, it was generally agreed to avoid a level of price support that created unwanted commodity surpluses and inhibited structural adjustment. But these good intentions, and the positive ,European spirit' of the Conference, began to unravel as soon as the fraught decisions were taken on the details of unifying the protectionist agricultural policies of six different countries. In particular, the decision to fix the initial level of common cereals prices at the upper end of the national spread set an unsatisfactory reference point for other support prices; and an attempt to introduce a genuine common structural policy was rejected. At the turn of the 1970s, the CAP was clearly unbalanced and protectionist, but the Community's first fully-fledged common policy had been constructed. Il y a cinquante ans, s'est tenue à Stresa une Conférence qui pourrait être considérée comme l'évènement unique qui marque le mieux la naissance de la PAC. Bien que cinq objectifs pour l'action publique aient été inscrits dans le Traité de Rome en 1957, leur caractère imprécis et contradictoire a fait l'objet de nombreuses critiques et le Traité ne comportait que de très rares indications sur les instruments de politique à adopter. La Conférence de Stresa a permis de réaliser des progrès importants mais incomplets dans la définition du cadre de l'action publique. Intéressant à noter, il a généralement été convenu d'éviter un niveau de soutien des prix qui engendrerait des surplus excessifs de produits de base et empêcherait l'ajustement structurel. Mais ces bonnes intentions, ainsi que l'esprit "européen" positif de la Conférence, ont commencéà se dissoudre dès que des décisions problématiques furent prises sur le détail de l'uniformisation des politiques agricoles protectionnistes de six pays différents. En particulier, la décision consistant à fixer le niveau initial des prix communs des céréales à la borne supérieur du spectre des prix nationaux a constitué un point de référence peu satisfaisant pour les autres prix de soutien; et la tentative d'introduire une vraie politique commune des structures a avorté. Au tournant des années soixante dix, la PAC était nettement déséquilibrée et protectionniste, mais la première politique complètement commune de la Communautéétait en place. Vor 50 Jahren fand in Stresa eine Konferenz statt, bei welcher es sich wohl um das einzige Ereignis handelt, welches am zutreffendsten als Geburtstag der GAP betrachtet werden kann. Obgleich die politische Zielsetzung bereits 1957 in den Römischen Verträgen festgelegt worden war, standen diese wegen ihrer vagen Formulierung und Widersprüchlichkeit häufig im Kreuzfeuer der Kritik. Die Verträge enthielten nur sehr wenige konkrete Vereinbarungen im Hinblick auf die einzuführenden politischen Instrumente. Durch die Konferenz in Stresa konnten wichtige, jedoch unvollständige, Fortschritte bei der Ausarbeitung der politischen Rahmenbedingungen erzielt werden. Vor allem gab es den allgemeinen Konsens, dass es aufgrund der Preisstützung nicht zu unerwünschten Überschüssen bei Agrarprodukten und zu einer Hemmung der Strukturanpassungen kommen dürfe. Diese guten Absichten und die "europäische Gesinnung" der Konferenz schwanden jedoch, als die bedeutsamen Entscheidungen hinsichtlich der Einzelheiten für die Vereinheitlichung der protektionistischen Agrarpolitiken der sechs verschiedenen Länder getroffen wurden. Insbesondere die Entscheidung, das Anfangsniveau der gemeinsamen Preise für Getreide an der oberen Grenze der nationalen Preisspannen festzumachen, legte einen unbefriedigenden Referenzpunkt für die übrigen Stützpreise fest. Der Vorschlag, eine originär gemeinsame Strukturpolitik einzuführen, wurde abgelehnt. Um 1970 war die GAP eindeutig unausgewogen und protektionistisch; der Entwurf der ersten vollständigen gemeinsamen Politik der Gemeinschaft war jedoch abgeschlossen. [source] The midterm review and the new challenges for EU agricultureEUROCHOICES, Issue 3 2002Tassos Haniotis Summary The Midterm Review and the New Challenges for EU Agriculture The Brussels Summit agreement of October 2002 on the financing of the CAP opens the way for a final agreement on enlargement and defines the level of the agricultural budget for the next financial perspective. Answering the how much question allows the debate to focus on the how question of support for EU agriculture. To these questions the Commission had responded with its Midterm Review of July 2002. Although proposals will have to be adapted in view of the new financial perspective, the fundamental issues addressed in the Midterm Review remain unchanged as these reflect the gradual shift from supply driven to demand driven orientations for the CAR The citizens of the EU seem to agree that EU agriculture should, at the same time, be competitive and promote the highest environmental, product quality and animal welfare standards. This apparent paradox implies, on the one hand, the need for lower prices and, on the other hand, higher production costs. To resolve this dilemma the underlying philosophy of the Midterm Review is to shift the policy debate onto the efficiency of the available policy instruments in meeting their stated objectives. Thus the need for safety-net market support, decoupled income support and strengthened rural development. La revue à mi parcours et les nouveaux défis de l'agriculture européenne Grâce à l'accord obtenu sur le financement de la PAC au sommet de Bruxelles d'octobre 2002, la voie est maintenant ouverte à un accord final sur l,élargissement et sur la définition du budget agricole pour les prochaines échéances. Répondre à la question "à quel niveau" permet au débat de se centrer sur le "comment" soutenir l'agriculture européenne. La commission a donné sa réponse à ces questions dans sa "revue à mi-parcours". Même si les propositions en question devront faire l'objet d'ajustements aux nouvelles perspectives budgétaires, les problèmes fondamentaux posés par la revue à mi-parcours demeurent, dans la mesure où elles reflètent le passage graduel d'un pilotage de PAC par l'offre à un pilotage par la demande. Les citoyens de l'UE semblent d'accord pour dire que l'agriculture doit être à la fois compétitive, et obtenir les plus hauts standards possibles en matière de qualité et de bien-être animal. Ce paradoxe apparent implique d'un côté, des prix plus bas, et de l'autre, des coûts de production plus élevés. Pour résoudre ce conflit, la philosophie sous-jacente à la "revue à mi-parcours" consiste à faire glisser le débat politique sur la question de l'efficacité des instruments disponibles et de leur aptitude à atteindre les objectifs ainsi fixés. D'où le besoin d'un filet de sécurité sur les marchés, d'un soutien découplé pour les revenus et d'un renforcement du développement rural. Die Zwischenbewertung und die neuen Herausforderungen an die Landwirtschaft der EU Das Abkommen vom Brüsseler Gipfel im Oktober 2002 zur Finanzierung der GAP eröffnet die Möglichkeit einer endgültigen Einigung im Hinblick auf die Erweiterung und legt die Höhe des Agrarhaushalts für die kommende Finanzplanungsperiode fest. Durch die Festlegung kann sich die Debatte nun der Frage widmen, auf welche Art und Weise die Landwirtschaft der EU unterstützt werden soil. Diesen beiden Aspekten hatte die Kommission in der Zwischenbewertung vom Juli 2002 Rechnung getragen. Obwohl die Vorschläge angesichts der neuen Finanzplanungsperiode angepasst werden müssen, bleiben die grundlegenden, in der Zwischenbewertung angesprochenen Probleme bestehen, da diese den schrittweisen Übergang der GAP von der Angebotsorientierung hin zur Nachfrageorientierung widerspiegeln. Die EU-Bürger stimmen scheinbar darin überein, dass die Landwirtschaft der EU gleichermaßen wettbewerbsfähig sein und die höchsten Standards im Hinblick auf die Umwelt, die Produktqualität und den Tierschutz erreichen sollte. Dieser offenkundige Widerspruch erfordert einerseits niedrigere Preise und zieht andererseits höhere Produktionskosten nach sich. Zur Auflösung dieses Dilemmas sieht es der der Zwischenbewertung zugrunde liegende Ansatz vor, den Fokus der politischen Debatte darauf zu richten, wie effizient die verfügbaren Politikmaßnahmen zum Erreichen der Zielsetzung beitragen. Daraus ergibt sich die Notwendigkeit für eine Marktstützung als Sicherheitsnetz, für eine entkoppelte Einkommensstützung und für eine intensivere Entwicklung des ländlichen Raums. [source] National Qualification Frameworks: from policy borrowing to policy learningEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, Issue 2 2010BORHENE CHAKROUN This article takes up the issue of the internationalisation of Vocational Education and Training (VET) reforms, expressed in the way policy instruments such as National Qualifications Frameworks (NQF) are introduced in the European Training Foundation's (ETF) partner countries. There is an international debate and different perspectives regarding NQFs. These perspectives have largely talked past each other. The article brings together these perspectives and highlights the issues at stake in this field. Through the analysis of ETF interventions in different regions, the article makes a case for new approaches of intervention, namely policy learning, that aim at enabling national stakeholders and that are conducive for home-grown VET policies. The discussion is broad in scope, not only because the article reviews developments in qualifications frameworks across-regions, but also because it highlights the complex interaction of the global and local development when introducing NQFs and the impact of such reforms on VET systems. [source] SARS in Canada and China: Two Approaches to Emergency Health PolicyGOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2007JAMES LAWSON China and Canada addressed the transnational 2003 SARS outbreak within a common, multilevel network of public-health expertise. The two countries deployed distinct public-health strategies, and faced distinct levels of resistance. This article addresses this comparison. During this epidemic "state of exception," both countries adopted emergency policy instruments and overall policy styles. However, Chinese emergency boundary policing corresponded better to everyday experience than did hospital-based screening in Canada, and China's policing targeted collectivities where Canada emphasized individual case tracking. While Canadian efforts were smaller in scale and faced infrastructural deficiencies, prior campaigns to address endemic health problems formed a basis for compliant popular subject positions. Power/resistance relations and their cultivation during endemic conditions must become the center of analyzing effective approaches to emergency planning. [source] The Hidden Politics of Administrative Reform: Cutting French Civil Service Wages with a Low-Profile InstrumentGOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2007PHILIPPE BEZES The article addresses internal and hidden politics of changes in bureaucracies by focusing on the introduction and use of policy instruments as institutional change without radical or explicit shifts in administrative systems. Beneath public administrative reforms, it examines the use of "low-profile instruments" characterized by their technical and goal-oriented dimension but also by their low visibility to external actors due to the high complexity of their commensurating purpose and the automaticity of their use. The core case study of the paper offers a historical sociology of a technique for calculating the growth of the French civil service wage bill from the mid-1960s to the 2000s. The origins, uses, and institutionalisation of this method in the French context are explored to emphasize the important way of governing the bureaucracy at times of crisis through automatic, unobtrusive, incremental, and low-profile mechanisms. While insisting on the salience of techniques for calculating, measuring, classifying, and indexing in the contemporary art of government, it also suggests the need for observing and explaining "everyday forms of retrenchment" in bureaucracies. [source] Governing Standards: The Rise of Standardization Processes in France and in the EUGOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2007OLIVIER BORRAZ The rise of standardization processes highlights two different paths toward a regulatory state. Within the EU, the New Approach serves as a model for co-regulation, and European standards have become instruments of supranational governance. In France, standardization is much more part of a renegotiation of the state's role and influence in a changing society. In both cases, standardization was undertaken with other motives; yet it evolved to answer the strains and constraints exerted upon regulatory processes in the two polities. As such, standards are a case for unintentionality in policy instruments. [source] The role of policy instruments for promoting combined heat and power production with low CO2 emissions in district heating systemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH, Issue 6 2005Å. Marbe Abstract Policy instruments clearly influence the choice of production technologies and fuels in large energy systems, including district heating networks. Current Swedish policy instruments aim at promoting the use of biofuel in district heating systems, and at promoting electric power generation from renewable energy sources. However, there is increasing pressure to harmonize energy policy instruments within the EU. In addition, natural gas based combined cycle technology has emerged as the technology of choice in the power generation sector in the EU. This study aims at exploring the role of policy instruments for promoting the use of low CO2 emissions fuels in high performance combined heat and power systems in the district heating sector. The paper presents the results of a case study for a Swedish district heating network where new large size natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) combined heat and power (CHP) is being built. Given the aim of current Swedish energy policy, it is assumed that it could be of interest in the future to integrate a biofuel gasifier to the CHP plant and co-fire the gasified biofuel in the gas turbine unit, thereby reducing usage of fossil fuel. The goals of the study are to evaluate which policy instruments promote construction of the planned NGCC CHP unit, the technical performance of an integrated biofuelled pressurized gasifier with or without dryer on plant site, and which combination of policy instruments promote integration of a biofuel gasifier to the planned CHP unit. The power plant simulation program GateCycle was used for plant performance evaluation. The results show that current Swedish energy policy instruments favour investing in the NGCC CHP unit. The corresponding cost of electricity (COE) from the NGCC CHP unit is estimated at 253 SEK MWh,1, which is lower than the reference power price of 284 SEK MWh,1. Investing in the NGCC CHP unit is also shown to be attractive if a CO2 trading system is implemented. If the value of tradable emission permits (TEP) in such as system is 250 SEK tonne,1, COE is 353 SEK MWh,1 compared to the reference power price of 384 SEK MWh,1. It is possible to integrate a pressurized biofuel gasifier to the NGCC CHP plant without any major re-design of the combined cycle provided that the maximum degree of co-firing is limited to 27,38% (energy basis) product gas, depending on the design of the gasifier system. There are many parameters that affect the economic performance of an integrated biofuel gasifier for product gas co-firing of a NGCC CHP plant. The premium value of the co-generated renewable electricity and the value of TEPs are very important parameters. Assuming a future CO2 trading system with a TEP value of 250 SEK tonne,1 and a premium value of renewable electricity of 200 SEK MWh,1 COE from a CHP plant with an integrated biofuelled gasifier could be 336 SEK MWh,1, which is lower than both the reference market electric power price and COE for the plant operating on natural gas alone. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The potential role for economic instruments in drought management,IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue 4 2004Stephen Merrett changement du climat; gestion des sécheresses; irrigation; prix de l'eau Abstract Climate change in the twenty-first century will likely reduce the return period of drought events, indicating that drought management will be even more important in the future than it is already. In the case of England's Anglian region it is shown that two principal institutions are responsible for drought management,the Environment Agency and Anglian Water Services (AWS). The region has a fast-growing population of more than 5 million people, it has 58% of the most productive agricultural land in England and Wales, and in some summers irrigation can make up 50% of water use. An examination of the drought plans of the Agency and AWS demonstrates that in both cases the policy instruments that they deploy to manage drought are informational, infrastructural and regulatory. In neither case would they use water pricing as a management tool. Moreover, the government's drought plan guidelines for the water utilities make no reference to economic instruments of drought management nor do they suggest that utilities should review the economic impact on their customers of regulatory action. The principal issues that would arise if water charging were to be deployed as a drought management instrument are then reviewed. The paper concludes by proposing that national government should evaluate the feasibility, costs, benefits and risks of replacing the regulatory instruments of drought management by economic instruments. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Avec les changements climatiques prévus au vingt-et-unième siècle les périodes de sècheresse deviendront probablement plus fréquentes et la gestion de ces sécheresses deviendra plus problématique. Cet article indique que dans la région Anglian de l'Angleterre deux institutions ont la responsabilité de cette gestion: "the Environment Agency" et "Anglian Water Services". Un examen des plans d'action pour la sécheresse de ces deux institutions montre que, dans les deux cas, les instruments qui seront déployés seront soit informationels soit infrastructurels soit règlementaires. Il n'y a pas dans ces plans une seule référence au prix de l'eau comme instrument de gestion. De même les conseils du gouvernement national pour la préparation de ces plans ignorent les instruments économiques. L'article conclut que le gouvernement doit réviser la faisabilité des instruments de gestion des sécheresses, et d'estimation de leurs coûts et bénéfices pour introduire davantage d'instruments économiques. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The transmission mechanism in a changing worldJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMETRICS, Issue 1 2007Michael Artis The paper aims to identify those factors that cause changes in the speed and strength of the international transmission of output shocks from the USA to specified European economies. These factors are identified through the use of generalized impulse response functions conditioned on histories defined by an abrupt transition VAR. The chosen transition variables comprise changes in exchange rates, financial prices, international capital flows, trade links and monetary policy instruments. Besides the identification of asymmetric responses, the proposed model is useful in analyzing the strong effect of the recent US recession on the European economies and changes in business cycle synchronization over time. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] CAPITALIZATION OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT IN AGRICULTURAL LAND PRICES: WHAT DO WE KNOW?JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 4 2009Laure Latruffe Abstract The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of existing literature, both theoretically and empirically, on the extent to which agricultural subsidies do translate into higher land values and rents and finally benefit landowners instead of agricultural producers. Our review shows that agricultural support policy instruments contribute to increasing the rental price of farmland, and that the extent of this increase closely depends on the level of the supply price elasticity of farmland relative to those of other factors/inputs on the one hand, and on the range of the possibilities of factor/input substitution in agricultural production on the other hand. The empirical literature shows that land prices and rents have in general a significant positive and inelastic response to government support. Such inelastic response is thought to reflect the uncertain future of the farm programmes. And in general, studies have indicated that land prices are more responsive to government-based returns than to market-based returns. [source] Design and Analysis of Bioenergy NetworksJOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2009A Complex Adaptive Systems Approach Summary This article presents a new methodology for designing industrial networks and analyzing them dynamically from the standpoint of sustainable development. The approach uses a combination of optimization and simulation tools. Assuming "top-down" overarching control of the network, we use global dynamic optimization to determine which evolutionary pathways are preferred in terms of economic, social, and environmental performance. Considering the autonomy of network entities and their actions, we apply agent-based simulation to analyze how the network actually evolves. These two perspectives are integrated into a powerful multiscale modeling framework for evaluating the consequences of new policy instruments or different business strategies aimed at stimulating sustainable development as well as identifying optimal leverage points for improved performance of the network in question. The approach is demonstrated for a regional network of interdependent organizations deploying a set of bioenergy technologies within a developing-economy context. [source] Debt Stabilizing Fiscal RulesJOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMIC THEORY, Issue 5 2010PHILIPPE MICHEL Unstable government debt dynamics can typically be stabilized around a certain target level of debt by adjustments in various fiscal instruments, like government spending, transfers, or taxes. This paper investigates properties of debt stabilizing rules which link the needed budgetary adjustments to the state of the economy. The paper establishes that the magnitude of the target level of long-run debt is a key determinant of whether it is possible to find a rule of this type that can be implemented under all available fiscal instruments. Specifically, considering linear feedback rules, the paper demonstrates that there may well exist a critical target level of debt beyond which this is no longer possible. From an applied perspective, this finding is of particular relevance in the context of a monetary union with decentralized fiscal policies. Depending on the target level of debt, there might be a conflict between a common fiscal framework that tracks deficit developments as a function of the state of the economy and the unrestricted choice of fiscal policy instruments at the national level. [source] Optimal Monetary Policy, Taxes, and Public Debt in an Intertemporal EquilibriumJOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMIC THEORY, Issue 3 2002Bertrand Crettez This article is devoted to a study of the optimal monetary and fiscal policies within the framework of an overlapping generations model with cash-in-advance constraints. We first characterize the intertemporal equilibrium. Then we show how to decentralize the optimal growth path using available policy instruments (i.e., labor income and capital taxes, public debt, money supply). Between the four instruments: wages and capital taxes, debt and monetary policy, one is redundant among the three last which implies that the Friedman Rule is only a special case. [source] Verifying the Multi-Dimensional Nature of Metropolitan Land Use: Advancing the Understanding and Measurement of SprawlJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 3 2005Jackie Cutsinger Common patterns of variation in these indices across metropolitan areas are discerned using correlation and factor analyses. We find that: (1) seven principal components best summarize the dimensions of housing and employment land uses, (2) metro areas often exhibit both high and low levels of sprawl-like patterns across the seven components, and (3) housing and employment aspects of sprawl-like patterns differ in nature. Thus, land use patterns prove multi-dimensional in both theory and practice. Exploratory analyses indicate: (1) little regional variation in land use patterns, (2) metro areas with larger populations are more dense/continuous with greater housing centrality and concentration of employment in the core, (3) older areas have higher degrees of housing concentration and employment in the core, (4) constrained areas evince greater density/continuity, and (5) inter-metropolitan variations in several dimensions of land use patterns are not well explained by population, age, growth patterns, or topographical constraints on development. Results imply that policymakers must carefully unravel which land use dimension is causing undesirable outcomes, and then devise precise policy instruments to change only this dimension. [source] Mammals, agri-environment schemes and set-aside , what are the putative benefits?MAMMAL REVIEW, Issue 4 2007D. W. MACDONALD ABSTRACT 1The impacts of agricultural intensification on farmland wildlife have been the subject of increasing concern, particularly over the last two decades. Population declines have occurred for a number of mammalian species, sometimes drastically so, and changes in farming practice are believed to be significant contributory factors. 2The major policy instruments for delivering environmental benefits on farmland are agri-environment schemes. These encourage farmers to adopt more environmentally sensitive farming practices to promote farmland biodiversity. Additionally, compulsory set-aside, which reduces agricultural surplus, could also have positive impacts on wildlife. In this paper we consider some of the putative benefits of agri-environment schemes and set-aside for mammals. 3We review how establishment and management options within agri-environment schemes and set-aside might affect habitat resources for mammals. For example, conservation headlands increase plant and invertebrate resources within the crop edge for mammals such as wood mice. Grassy field margins can support communities of smaller mammals, and hedgerows may act as important commuting and hunting routes. Their potential will depend on factors such as seed mixtures used, timing and severity of cutting, and length of time they have been in place. 4At a farm level, habitat heterogeneity may be increased through organic agriculture, which is supported by some agri-environment schemes. Studies suggest significant benefits to mammals, including wood mice and bats. However, it is increasingly recognized that effective conservation of farmland mammals must seek solutions at the landscape scale, addressing such issues as habitat connectivity between farms. One approach may be the better targeting of scheme agreements. 5We suggest that agri-environment schemes and set-aside can contribute to the conservation of mammals on farmland. Recent policy changes are likely to have further positive impacts on farmland wildlife but appropriate mammal monitoring programmes must be developed rigorously to assess their effects. [source] ON OPTIMAL ENVIRONMENTAL TAXATION AND ENFORCEMENT: INFORMATION, MONITORING AND EFFICIENCYNATURAL RESOURCE MODELING, Issue 1 2001CARLOS MARIO GÓMEZ GÓMEZ ABSTRACT. The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the narrowing of the distance between formal theory and practical environmental policy design. We formulate a general and comprehensive theoretical model in order to take into account the different informational and technological problems which characterize the definition and implementation of environmental taxes in a second best world where there also are distortionary taxes. Having formalized these problems, we present a general model which allows us to discuss the existence of efficient and implementable environmental quality objectives and policy instruments, and to analyze many particular cases. [source] Advancement of renewables in Bangladesh and Thailand: Policy intervention and institutional settingsNATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 3 2006Sk Noim Uddin Abstract This article reviews and analyses the advancement of renewable sources of energy in Bangladesh and Thailand in terms of policy intervention and institutional settings. Since renewable forms of energy emit far smaller amounts of greenhouse gas compared with fossil fuels, their use should mitigate climate change impacts while contributing to the provision of energy services. The article turns first to a review of energy,environment trends and the potential for renewables in these two nations. It then discusses strategies for the advancement of renewables. It is argued that further significant efforts can be made towards the advancement of renewables in Bangladesh and Thailand. These two nations could also learn from the experience in industrialized nations and other developing nations with regard to requisite policy instruments and processes. A number of barriers remain to the advancement of renewables, especially in terms of policy arrangements, institutional settings, financing mechanisms and technologies. Resources, cooperation and learning are required in order to overcome such barriers and to foster the development of necessary policy measures. Implementation of the clean development mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, and replication and adaptation of effective strategies from other settings are possible avenues for this. [source] Agroecosystem modeling and optimal economic decisions: Implications for sustainable agricultureOPTIMAL CONTROL APPLICATIONS AND METHODS, Issue 1 2008Craig A. Bond Abstract We adapt a biogeochemical model of an agroecosystem to account for optimal economic behavior on the part of agricultural producers. Two institutional management regimes are considered: one in which a representative producer does not account for stock pollution caused by use of agricultural inputs, and one in which the externality is internalized. Comparative statics of the steady state of the former problem are analyzed in order to gain insight into the effects of potential policy and technological changes. Results show that a more realistic ecosystem component that includes nutrient cycling can qualitatively change optimal management practices relative to a one-state representation, potentially rendering systems ,unsustainable' under some criteria and leading to policy instruments that exacerbate, rather than mitigate, external damages or the resource base. Moreover, the qualitative effect of changes in model parameters are not necessarily uniform across different agricultural systems, implying that a prescription for the so-called ,sustainable' management under one system may have unintended consequences under another system. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||