Assessing the influence of Environmental Impact Assessments on science and policy: an analysis of the Three Gorges Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Tullos, Desiree

2009-07-01

The need to understand and minimize negative environmental outcomes associated with large dams has both contributed to and benefited from the introduction and subsequent improvements in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. However, several limitations in the EIA process remain, including those associated with the uncertainty and significance of impact projections. These limitations are directly related to the feedback between science and policy, with information gaps in scientific understanding discovered through the EIA process contributing valuable recommendations on critical focus areas for prioritizing and funding research within the fields of ecological conservation and river engineering. This paper presents an analysis of the EIA process for the Three Gorges Project (TGP) in China as a case study for evaluating this feedback between the EIA and science and policy. For one of the best-studied public development projects in the world, this paper presents an investigation into whether patterns exist between the scientific interest (via number of publications) in environmental impacts and (a) the identification of impacts as uncertain or priority by the EIA, (b) decisions or political events associated with the dam, and (c) impact type. This analysis includes the compilation of literature on TGP, characterization of ecosystem interactions and responses to TGP through a hierarchy of impacts, coding of EIA impacts as "uncertain" impacts that require additional study and "priority" impacts that have particularly high significance, mapping of an event chronology to relate policies, institutional changes, and decisions about TGP as "events" that could influence the focus and intensity of scientific investigation, and analysis of the number of publications by impact type and order within the impact hierarchy. From these analyses, it appears that the availability and consistency of scientific information limit the accuracy of environmental impact

Cumulative Impacts of Energy and Climate Change Policies on Carbon Leakage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Varma, A.; Milnes, R.; Miller, K.; Williams, E. [AEA Technology plc, London (United Kingdom); De Bruyn, S.; Brinke, L. [CE Delft, Delft (Netherlands)

2012-02-15

Carbon leakage occurs when climate change policy aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions in one country leads to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions in a country that is not bound by these policies. Given that climate change is a global issue, carbon leakage impacts upon the effectiveness of climate change policies. This independent study examines the cumulative impact of climate change policies on carbon leakage. The report brings together findings and analysis from a wide range of primary literature in this area and where possible, conclusions relevant to the UK are drawn.

The impacts of carbon tax and complementary policies on Chinese economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Chuanyi; Tong, Qing; Liu, Xuemei

2010-01-01

Under the pressure of global warming, it is imperative for Chinese government to impose effective policy instruments to promote domestic energy saving and carbon emissions reduction. As one of the most important incentive-based policy instruments, carbon tax has sparked a lively controversy in China. This paper explores the impact of carbon tax on Chinese economy, as well as the cushion effects of the complementary policies, by constructing a dynamic recursive general equilibrium model. The model can describe the new equilibrium for each sequential independent period (e.g. one year) after carbon tax and the complementary policies are imposed, and thus describe the long-term impacts of the policies. The simulation results show that carbon tax is an effective policy tool because it can reduce carbon emissions with a little negative impact on economic growth; reducing indirect tax in the meantime of imposing carbon tax will help to reduce the negative impact of the tax on production and competitiveness; in addition, giving households subsidy in the meantime will help to stimulate household consumptions. Therefore, complementary policies used together with carbon tax will help to cushion the negative impacts of carbon tax on the economy. The dynamic CGE analysis shows the impact of carbon tax policy on the GDP is relatively small, but the reduction of carbon emission is relatively large. (author)

Workshop: Improving the Assessment and Valuation of Climate Change Impacts for Policy and Regulatory Analysis: Modeling Climate Change Impacts and Associated Economic Damages (2010 - part 1)

Science.gov (United States)

The purpose of this workshop Improving the Assessment and Valuation of Climate Change Impacts for Policy and Regulatory Analysis. focused on conceptual and methodological issues - integrated assessment modeling and valuation.

The Mass Media Influence on the Impact of Health Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cătălin BABA

2007-02-01

Full Text Available The theme of this study is a distinct examination of the issues regarding health policy, social representations and mass media. The analysis of the mass media influence on the impact of health policy leads to a portrayal of the related programs and the way they are received by citizens through mass media. Owing to the mass media quality to be an indicator of democracy it is very important to study its role in setting people daily agenda considering how it is able to maintain and create trends merely through recurrent messages. The issues frequently conveyed by media industry influences citizens’ interest with regard to community, producing effects on public policy. We must bear in mind that the more persistent in media they are, the more relevant for community this issues will be. The authors of the study put forward a method through which diverse programmes can be analysed. A comparative analysis of mass media and citizens’ social representations and its findings provide information about the influence between them. According to agenda setting theory and many international studies on health policy the authors conclude that mass media institution highly influence the impact of the health policy in health. Moreover, it is important to mention that the impact refers to all the stages of a policy-making: beginning with the problem identification and ending with the evaluation of the implementation process.

Does health intervention research have real world policy and practice impacts: testing a new impact assessment tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Gillian; Schroeder, Jacqueline; Newson, Robyn; King, Lesley; Rychetnik, Lucie; Milat, Andrew J; Bauman, Adrian E; Redman, Sally; Chapman, Simon

2015-01-01

There is a growing emphasis on the importance of research having demonstrable public benefit. Measurements of the impacts of research are therefore needed. We applied a modified impact assessment process that builds on best practice to 5 years (2003-2007) of intervention research funded by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council to determine if these studies had post-research real-world policy and practice impacts. We used a mixed method sequential methodology whereby chief investigators of eligible intervention studies who completed two surveys and an interview were included in our final sample (n = 50), on which we conducted post-research impact assessments. Data from the surveys and interviews were triangulated with additional information obtained from documentary analysis to develop comprehensive case studies. These case studies were then summarized and the reported impacts were scored by an expert panel using criteria for four impact dimensions: corroboration; attribution, reach, and importance. Nineteen (38%) of the cases in our final sample were found to have had policy and practice impacts, with an even distribution of high, medium, and low impact scores. While the tool facilitated a rigorous and explicit criterion-based assessment of post-research impacts, it was not always possible to obtain evidence using documentary analysis to corroborate the impacts reported in chief investigator interviews. While policy and practice is ideally informed by reviews of evidence, some intervention research can and does have real world impacts that can be attributed to single studies. We recommend impact assessments apply explicit criteria to consider the corroboration, attribution, reach, and importance of reported impacts on policy and practice. Impact assessments should also allow sufficient time between impact data collection and completion of the original research and include mechanisms to obtain end-user input to corroborate claims and reduce biases

The impacts of individualization on equity educational policies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guadalupe Francia

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The present article has as its aim to illustrate and discuss the impacts of individualization strategies on equity educational policies through the analysis of individualized teaching strategies applied within the framework of educational priority policies in Sweden. The methodology used in our research work includes: (a the study of research literature about the individualization of teaching implemented in the Swedish comprehensive compulsory school; and (b the study of research literature about educational priority policies aimed at children from socially and ethnically segregated areas. Comparative research of educational policies considers the individualization of teaching carried out in the Swedish comprehensive compulsory school as a relevant explanation for the successful application of equitable educational policies in that country. However, research studies published during the 2000s in Sweden show a more complex perspective regarding the effects of individualized teaching strategies. This contribution reviews European comparative research studies on individualization strategies followed in the context of equity policies. It raises questions about the lack of analyses referring to the impacts of individualization on schools located in socially and ethnically segregated areas. It argues that this ideology tends to reduce the issue of school failure to ethnic segregation and individualized teacher support. This article claims that Individualization strategies based on differentiated curricula for students run the risk of increasing the discrimination of students for reasons of language or ethnic background. Even though the present study focuses on the Swedish experience, it can lead to a better understanding of the impacts caused by individualization strategies on equity in other European countries.

Impact Analysis of Air Pollutant Emission Policies on Thermal Coal Supply Chain Enterprises in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaopeng Guo

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Spurred by the increasingly serious air pollution problem, the Chinese government has launched a series of policies to put forward specific measures of power structure adjustment and the control objectives of air pollution and coal consumption. Other policies pointed out that the coal resources regional blockades will be broken by improving transportation networks and constructing new logistics nodes. Thermal power takes the largest part of China’s total installed power generation capacity, so these policies will undoubtedly impact thermal coal supply chain member enterprises. Based on the actual situation in China, this paper figures out how the member enterprises adjust their business decisions to satisfy the requirements of air pollution prevention and control policies by establishing system dynamic models of policy impact transfer. These dynamic analyses can help coal enterprises and thermal power enterprises do strategic environmental assessments and find directions of sustainable development. Furthermore, the policy simulated results of this paper provide the Chinese government with suggestions for policy-making to make sure that the energy conservation and emission reduction policies and sustainable energy policies can work more efficiently.

Health and Juvenile Delinquency: Prescriptive Policy. Analysis As a Practical Art.

Science.gov (United States)

Flentje, H. Edward; Penner, Maurice J.

A case history of the development of a new Kansas state policy on juvenile delinquency illustrates the use of policy impact analysis and suggests four principles to follow in prescriptive policy analysis. A Kansas governor's task force on juvenile delinquency found evidence linking delinquency to undetected health problems (in sight, hearing,…

Equity Impacts of Environmental Policy

OpenAIRE

Antonio M. Bento

2013-01-01

This article surveys recent literature on the equity impacts of environmental policy. We focus on studies that look at the distribution of costs and benefits of alternative environmental policies. We also examine potentially important trade-offs between efficiency and equity that arise in the context of environmental policy, as well as transition effects. In many of the applications surveyed here, environmental policies can be regressive. Strategies are discussed to reduce this regressivity t...

Ex-Ante Impact Assessment & Value Network Analysis for SI: SIMPACT Policy Brief 1

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dhondt, S.; Ven, H. van de; Cressey, P.; Kaderabkova, A.; Luna, Á.; Moghadam Saman, S.; Castro Spila, J.; Terstriep, J.

2016-01-01

In this Policy Brief, a conceptual framework is presented to conduct an ex-ante impact assessment for social innovation. The building blocks for an ex-ante impact assessment are goal formulation; developing the relationships between inputs, outputs and outcomes; determining the role of stakeholders

The Impact of Privatization and Commercialization Policy on the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study examined the impact of privatization and commercialization policy on the attainment of millennium development goals in the Nigerian economy. To achieve this objective, an econometric analysis of ordinary least squares regression method was used. The results showed that the privatization and ...

Impact of entrepreneurship policies on opportunity to startup

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Davari

2017-09-01

Full Text Available During the previous decades, policy makers have formulated policies for developing entrepreneurship in different countries in order to decrease unemployment and poverty toward sustainable development. Some of these policies include encouraging people to be an entrepreneur, opportunity creation, educating new skills to entrepreneurs and so on. In recent years an appropriate context has been formed for entrepreneurship development in Iran and some programs have been executed. Therefore, formulating appropriate frameworks to guide Iranian government in this way is a necessity. This paper evaluates the impact of entrepreneurship policies on opportunity to startup in Iran. The results of path analysis indicate that supportive financial and non-financial actions influence positively on opportunity to startup. In addition, education and culture also influence positively on opportunity to startup. Finally, legislation also positively influences on opportunity to startup.

Water and growth: An econometric analysis of climate and policy impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Hassaan Furqan; Morzuch, Bernard J.; Brown, Casey M.

2017-06-01

Water-related hazards such as floods, droughts, and disease cause damage to an economy through the destruction of physical capital including property and infrastructure, the loss of human capital, and the interruption of economic activities, like trade and education. The question for policy makers is whether the impacts of water-related risk accrue to manifest as a drag on economic growth at a scale suggesting policy intervention. In this study, the average drag on economic growth from water-related hazards faced by society at a global level is estimated. We use panel regressions with various specifications to investigate the relationship between economic growth and hydroclimatic variables at the country-river basin level. In doing so, we make use of surface water runoff variables never used before. The analysis of the climate variables shows that water availability and water hazards have significant effects on economic growth, providing further evidence beyond earlier studies finding that precipitation extremes were at least as important or likely more important than temperature effects. We then incorporate a broad set of variables representing the areas of infrastructure, institutions, and information to identify the characteristics of a region that determine its vulnerability to water-related risks. The results identify water scarcity, governance, and agricultural intensity as the most relevant measures affecting vulnerabilities to climate variability effects.

Impact of Climate Change. Policy Uncertainty in Power Investment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blyth, W.; Yang, M.

2006-10-01

Climate change policies are being introduced or actively considered in all IEA member countries, changing the investment conditions and technology choices in the energy sector. Many of these policies are at a formative stage, and policy uncertainty is currently high. The objective of this paper is to quantify the impacts of climate change policy on power investment. We use Real Options Analysis approach in the study and model uncertain carbon price and fuel price with stochastic variables. The analysis compares the effects of climate policy uncertainty with fuel price uncertainty, showing the relative importance of these sources of risk for different technologies. This paper considers views on the importance of climate policy risk, how it is managed, and how it might affect investment behaviour. The implications for policymakers are analyzed, allowing the key messages to be transferred into policy design decisions. We found that in many cases, the dominant risks facing base-load generation investment decisions will be market risks associated with electricity and fuel prices. However, under certain conditions and for some technologies, climate policy uncertainty can be an important risk factor, creating an incentive to delay investment and raising investment thresholds. This paper concludes that government climate change policies to promote investment in low-carbon technologies should aim to overcome this incentive to delay by sending long-term investment signals backed up by strengthened international policy action to enhance domestic policy credibility

Administrator Perceptions of School Improvement Policies in a High-Impact Policy Setting

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MARIO S. TORRES

2008-10-01

Full Text Available This study investigated school administrators’ perceptions of school improvement policies in a high-impact policy environment by measuring the impact of accountability, site-based management, professional development, and scheduling reform on the three dependent variables of a academic outcomes, b staff morale, and c parent and community involvement. Using a convenience sampling method, 49 public school principals from Texas participated and an online survey was constructed to gather both quantitative (i.e., Likert scale and qualitative (i.e., open ended response data. The findings clearly point to principals, regardless of geographical district type and grade level school type, viewing less controversial and more intrinsically oriented policies (i.e., site-based management and professional development as having a greater positive impact on outcomes as a whole than more radical alternatives (i.e., accountability and time and schedule reform. The evidence suggests that more aggressive school improvement policy approaches are likely failing to generate enough convincing outcomes to generate high commitment and confidence from school leaders. Further studies may look at the interaction of policy impact with minority student enrollments and with subgroup populations.

The impact of Border policy effect on cross-border ethnic areas

Science.gov (United States)

Bie, Q. L.; Zhou, S. Y.; Li, C. S.

2013-11-01

Boundary effect analysis is related to border policy making in the cross-border ethnic area. The border effect literatures show that geographic boundaries have obvious impacts on economic, social and cultural relations in both sides of a nation border. Particularly in cross-border ethnic areas, each ethnic group has strong internal spatial structure relevance, and the boundary effect is more obvious. However, most of China's border areas are cross-border ethnic areas, each of border issues is unique. Under this perspective, we analyze the border effects of various boundaries can provide basis for formulating border management policies. For small scale of cross-border ethnic minority areas, how to formulate the boundary management policy is a good question to explore. This paper is demonstrated by a study of the impact of border management policies in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province at the border area to Burma. The comparative method is used to analysis the border management policies in past 50 decades for the border area of Yunnan Province .This research aims to define trends within border policy and its influences to national security. This paper also examines Wendy Brown's liberal theory of border management policy. We found that it is not suitable for Sino-Burma border area. The conclusion is that the changes or instability of international economic and political situation has more influence to this cross-border ethnic area, and only innovative policy will be effective in cross-border ethnic area. So the border management policies should reflect the change of international context.

The Impact of the FOMC's Monetary Policy Actions on the growth of Credit Risk: the Monetary Policy - Liquidity Paradox

OpenAIRE

Kwamie Dunbar

2008-01-01

Credit risk is influenced by interest rates and market liquidity. This paper examines the direct and indirect impacts of unexpected monetary policy shifts on the growth of corporate credit risk, with the aim of quantifying the size and direction of the response. The results surprisingly indicate that monetary policy and liquidity impulses move counter to each other in their effects on credit risk ("The monetary policy-liquidity paradox"). The analysis indicates that while contractionary monet...

Policy Implications Analysis: A Methodological Advancement for Policy Research and Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Madey, Doren L.; Stenner, A. Jackson

Policy Implications Analysis (PIA) is a tool designed to maximize the likelihood that an evaluation report will have an impact on decision-making. PIA was designed to help people planning and conducting evaluations tailor their information so that it has optimal potential for being used and acted upon. This paper describes the development and…

Irrigation water policy analysis using a business simulation game

Science.gov (United States)

Buchholz, M.; Holst, G.; Musshoff, O.

2016-10-01

Despite numerous studies on farmers' responses to changing irrigation water policies, uncertainties remain about the potential of water pricing schemes and water quotas to reduce irrigation. Thus far, policy impact analysis is predominantly based upon rational choice models that assume behavioral assumptions, such as a perfectly rational profit-maximizing decision maker. Also, econometric techniques are applied which could lack internal validity due to uncontrolled field data. Furthermore, such techniques are not capable of identifying ill-designed policies prior to their implementation. With this in mind, we apply a business simulation game for ex ante policy impact analysis of irrigation water policies at the farm level. Our approach has the potential to reveal the policy-induced behavioral change of the participants in a controlled environment. To do so, we investigate how real farmers from Germany, in an economic experiment, respond to a water pricing scheme and a water quota intending to reduce irrigation. In the business simulation game, the participants manage a "virtual" cash-crop farm for which they make crop allocation and irrigation decisions during several production periods, while facing uncertain product prices and weather conditions. The results reveal that a water quota is able to reduce mean irrigation applications, while a water pricing scheme does not have an impact, even though both policies exhibit equal income effects for the farmers. However, both policies appear to increase the variation of irrigation applications. Compared to a perfectly rational profit-maximizing decision maker, the participants apply less irrigation on average, both when irrigation is not restricted and when a water pricing scheme applies. Moreover, the participants' risk attitude affects the irrigation decisions.

Ex-Ante Impact Assessment & Value Network Analysis for SI: SIMPACT Policy Brief 1

OpenAIRE

Dhondt, S.; Ven, H. van de; Cressey, P.; Kaderabkova, A.; Luna, Á.; Moghadam Saman, S.; Castro Spila, J.; Terstriep, J.

2016-01-01

In this Policy Brief, a conceptual framework is presented to conduct an ex-ante impact assessment for social innovation. The building blocks for an ex-ante impact assessment are goal formulation; developing the relationships between inputs, outputs and outcomes; determining the role of stakeholders to achieve the objectives; calculating the impact; and deciding on the social innovation. These building blocks are sequentially interconnected to each other. In the brief, we present the experienc...

Interaction of the EU ETS and national climate policy instruments – Impact on biomass use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kautto, N.; Arasto, A.; Sijm, J.; Peck, P.

2012-01-01

Policy-makers apply multiple policy instruments simultaneously in the climate and energy policy field at both EU and Member State levels. This creates interactions between instruments that can be complementary and synergistic but also conflicting. This article focuses on the interactions of climate policy instruments and their impact on biomass use. The objectives are to examine interactions of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) with the main national climate policy instruments and to identify the influence of these on biomass use. The work draws experiences from seven EU countries (Austria, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom), with a special focus on Finland and Sweden. The analysis explores the effects of policy interactions and is based on an examination of literature, and interviews with biomass experts in research, industry and policy spheres. Results indicate that the combined effects of climate policy instruments have a tangible impact on biomass use, whereas the causal links to the EU ETS are difficult to assess separately. Policy impacts found include increased competition for biomass resources, changes in fuel mixes and a contribution to upward pressure on wood prices. Differences in these effects are linked to differing national policy mixes and energy-carrier portfolios – an example being the relative differences in the importance of peat to the energy mix in Finland and Sweden. Analysis and comparison of the effects in the selected countries can yield insight on how to improve the design of policy interventions that impact biomass use. This study confirms the importance of identifying interactions between policy instruments so as to recognise – and manage – synergies and conflicts. The development of more synergistic and coordinated policy instrument mixes would also be beneficial for the bioenergy field. -- Highlights: ► Combined effects of climate policy instruments have a tangible impact on biomass

41 CFR 101-25.111 - Environmental impact policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Environmental impact...-General Policies § 101-25.111 Environmental impact policy. (a) From time to time, Congress enacts... Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321). The objective of such legislation is, among other things, the...

Introduction to a special section: Impacts and implications of future-oriented technology analysis for policy and decision-making

OpenAIRE

Karel Haegeman; Jennifer C Harper; Ron Johnston

2010-01-01

Experiences of recent years place a premium, for governments and individuals, on being able to discern the possible shape of the future: what is likely to influence it, and what can be done to prepare for it. This special section is based on selected papers from the Third International Seville Seminar on Future-Oriented Technology Analysis, held 16–17 October 2008 at Seville, Spain, which addressed the challenge of increasing the impact of future-oriented technology analysis on policy and dec...

Institutional analysis for energy policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morris, F.A.; Cole, R.J.

1980-07-01

This report summarizes principles, techniques, and other information for doing institutional analyses in the area of energy policy. The report was prepared to support DOE's Regional Issues Identification and Assessment (RIIA) program. RIIA identifies environmental, health, safety, socioeconomic, and institutional issues that could accompany hypothetical future scenarios for energy consumption and production on a regional basis. Chapter 1 provides some theoretical grounding in institutional analysis. Chapter 2 provides information on constructing institutional maps of the processes for bringing on line energy technologies and facilities contemplated in RIIA scenarios. Chapter 3 assesses the institutional constraints, opportunities, and impacts that affect whether these technologies and facilities would in fact be developed. Chapters 4 and 5 show how institutional analysis can support use of exercises such as RIIA in planning institutional change and making energy policy choices.

Conceptual framework for describing selected urban and community impacts of federal energy policies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morris, F.A,; Marcus, A.A.; Keller, D.

1980-06-01

A conceptual framework is presented for describing selected urban and community impacts of Federal energy policies. The framework depends on a simple causal model. The outputs of the model are impacts, changes in the state of the world of particular interest to policymakers. At any given time, a set of determinants account for the state of the world with respect to an impact category. Application of the model to a particular impact category requires: establishing a definition and measure for the impact category and identifying the determinants of these impacts. Analysis of the impact of a particular policy requires the following: identifying the policy and its effects (as estimated by others), isolating any effects that themselves constitute an urban and community impact, identifying any effects that change the value of determinants, and describing the impact with reference to the new values of determinants. This report provides a framework for these steps. Three impacts addressed are: neighborhood stability, housing availability, and quality and availability of public services. In each chapter, a definition and measure for the impact are specified; its principal determinants are identified; how the causal model can be used to estimate impacts by applying it to three illustrative Federal policies (domestic oil price decontrol, building energy performance standards, and increased Federal aid for mass transit) is demonstrated. (MCW)

Economic analysis requirements in support of orbital debris regulatory policy

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, Joel S.

1996-10-01

As the number of Earth orbiting objects increases so does the potential for generating orbital debris with the consequent increase in the likelihood of impacting and damaging operating satellites. Various debris remediation approaches are being considered that encompass both in-orbit and return-to-Earth schema and have varying degrees of operations, cost, international competitiveness, and safety implications. Because of the diversity of issues, concerns and long-term impacts, there is a clear need for the setting of government policies that will lead to an orderly abatement of the potential orbital debris hazards. These policies may require the establishment of a supportive regulatory regime. The Department of Transportation is likely to have regulatory responsibilities relating to orbital debris stemming from its charge to protect the public health and safety, safety of property, and national security interests and foreign policy interests of the United States. This paper describes DOT's potential regulatory role relating to orbital debris remediation, the myriad of issues concerning the need for establishing government policies relating to orbital debris remediation and their regulatory implications, the proposed technological solutions and their economic and safety implications. Particular emphasis is placed upon addressing cost-effectiveness and economic analyses as they relate to economic impact analysis in support of regulatory impact analysis.

Economic impact analysis for global warming: Sensitivity analysis for cost and benefit estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ierland, E.C. van; Derksen, L.

1994-01-01

Proper policies for the prevention or mitigation of the effects of global warming require profound analysis of the costs and benefits of alternative policy strategies. Given the uncertainty about the scientific aspects of the process of global warming, in this paper a sensitivity analysis for the impact of various estimates of costs and benefits of greenhouse gas reduction strategies is carried out to analyze the potential social and economic impacts of climate change

Woodfuel in Rwanda: Impact on Energy, Poverty, Environment and Policy Instruments analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ernest Mazimpaka

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Rwanda’s geographical and socio-economic situations have shaped the energy situation and limited access to modern fuels. Woodfuel is the main source of energy for households and its trade a source of income and jobs in rural areas. Currently 85.2% of households’ land holding is less than 1 ha, insufficient to grow food and fuelwood for a household of the average size of 5.5 persons. Without well documented reports of the individual impact of each deforestation factor, woodfuels have been most blamed. This paper investigates how the current woodfuel industry impacts on energy, poverty and forests and analyses the woodfuel policy instruments. Considering woodfuel consumption under an only environmental or energy perspective has resulted in a search for a narrowly environmental or energy solution. Both failed to solve the problem of forest depletion. Current regulations limit the benefits traditionally derived from woodfuel commoditisation leading to a negative attitude towards policy instruments. The processes involved in producing charcoal and using it as a cooking fuel is inefficient and resource intensive. The barriers to large dissemination of improved cooking stoves include availability, relatively low cost of woodfuels, lack of improved stove diversity on the local market and weak government policy in regard to the woodfuel industry. Policies aiming to substitute or reduce woodfuel consumption, have not achieved the desired results and their implementations have not unarguably reduced deforestation. The paper recommends the community-based woodfuel production as sustainable management approaches to mobilise community support for sustainable forestry management and woodfuel production.

Impact of Fishery Policy on Fishery Manufacture Output, Economy and Welfare in Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Firmansyah; Oktavilia, Shanty; Sugiyanto, F. X.; Hamzah, Ibnu N.

2018-02-01

The fisheries sector and fish manufacturing industry are the bright prospect sectors of Indonesia, due to its huge potency, which has not been worked out optimally. In facts, these sectors can generate a large amount of foreign exchange. The Government has paid significant attention to the development of these sectors. This study simulates the impact of fishery policies on the production of fish manufacturing industry, national economic and welfare in Indonesia. By employing the Input-Output Analysis approach, impacts of various government policy scenarios are developed, covering fisheries technical policy, as well as infrastructure development policies in the fisheries sector. This study indicates that the policies in the fisheries sector increase the output of fishery, the production of fish manufacturing industry, the sectoral and national outputs, as well as the level of national income.

impacts of alternative farm policies on rural communities

Science.gov (United States)

J. Michael Bowker; James W. Richardson

1989-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe an LP/IO model for evaluating the economic impacts of alternative farm policies on rural communities and demonstrate its capabilities by analyzing the impacts of three farm policies on a rural community in Texas. Results indicate that in the noncrop sector, two groups of industries are most affected by farm policy. The first...

"Entrepreneurship policy: Trade-offs and impact in the EU"

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Murdock, Karen

2012-01-01

Based on the notion that trade-offs in public policies form the basis of the separation of managed and entrepreneurial economies; this paper investigates the impact of policy on actual entrepreneurship activity in these two categories of economies. Using data from 19 European Union member countries......, the impact that policy trade-offs in the goal, target, location and system of finance have on entrepreneurship activity is measured using ordinary least squares regression. The results indicate that while business regulation negatively impact entrepreneurship activity, the location of policy does not show...

Environmental impact assessment and end-of-life treatment policy analysis for Li-ion batteries and Ni-MH batteries.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yajuan; Chen, Bo; Huang, Kai; Wang, Xiang; Wang, Dong

2014-03-18

Based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Eco-indicator 99 method, a LCA model was applied to conduct environmental impact and end-of-life treatment policy analysis for secondary batteries. This model evaluated the cycle, recycle and waste treatment stages of secondary batteries. Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries and Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries were chosen as the typical secondary batteries in this study. Through this research, the following results were found: (1) A basic number of cycles should be defined. A minimum cycle number of 200 would result in an obvious decline of environmental loads for both battery types. Batteries with high energy density and long life expectancy have small environmental loads. Products and technology that help increase energy density and life expectancy should be encouraged. (2) Secondary batteries should be sorted out from municipal garbage. Meanwhile, different types of discarded batteries should be treated separately under policies and regulations. (3) The incineration rate has obvious impact on the Eco-indicator points of Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. The influence of recycle rate on Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries is more obvious. These findings indicate that recycling is the most promising direction for reducing secondary batteries' environmental loads. The model proposed here can be used to evaluate environmental loads of other secondary batteries and it can be useful for proposing policies and countermeasures to reduce the environmental impact of secondary batteries.

Environmental Impact Assessment and End-of-Life Treatment Policy Analysis for Li-Ion Batteries and Ni-MH Batteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yajuan Yu

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA and Eco-indicator 99 method, a LCA model was applied to conduct environmental impact and end-of-life treatment policy analysis for secondary batteries. This model evaluated the cycle, recycle and waste treatment stages of secondary batteries. Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH batteries and Lithium ion (Li-ion batteries were chosen as the typical secondary batteries in this study. Through this research, the following results were found: (1 A basic number of cycles should be defined. A minimum cycle number of 200 would result in an obvious decline of environmental loads for both battery types. Batteries with high energy density and long life expectancy have small environmental loads. Products and technology that help increase energy density and life expectancy should be encouraged. (2 Secondary batteries should be sorted out from municipal garbage. Meanwhile, different types of discarded batteries should be treated separately under policies and regulations. (3 The incineration rate has obvious impact on the Eco-indicator points of Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH batteries. The influence of recycle rate on Lithium ion (Li-ion batteries is more obvious. These findings indicate that recycling is the most promising direction for reducing secondary batteries’ environmental loads. The model proposed here can be used to evaluate environmental loads of other secondary batteries and it can be useful for proposing policies and countermeasures to reduce the environmental impact of secondary batteries.

Environmental Impact Assessment and End-of-Life Treatment Policy Analysis for Li-Ion Batteries and Ni-MH Batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yajuan; Chen, Bo; Huang, Kai; Wang, Xiang; Wang, Dong

2014-01-01

Based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Eco-indicator 99 method, a LCA model was applied to conduct environmental impact and end-of-life treatment policy analysis for secondary batteries. This model evaluated the cycle, recycle and waste treatment stages of secondary batteries. Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries and Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries were chosen as the typical secondary batteries in this study. Through this research, the following results were found: (1) A basic number of cycles should be defined. A minimum cycle number of 200 would result in an obvious decline of environmental loads for both battery types. Batteries with high energy density and long life expectancy have small environmental loads. Products and technology that help increase energy density and life expectancy should be encouraged. (2) Secondary batteries should be sorted out from municipal garbage. Meanwhile, different types of discarded batteries should be treated separately under policies and regulations. (3) The incineration rate has obvious impact on the Eco-indicator points of Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. The influence of recycle rate on Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries is more obvious. These findings indicate that recycling is the most promising direction for reducing secondary batteries’ environmental loads. The model proposed here can be used to evaluate environmental loads of other secondary batteries and it can be useful for proposing policies and countermeasures to reduce the environmental impact of secondary batteries. PMID:24646862

Residents' perceptions of tourism impacts and attitudes towards tourism policies.

OpenAIRE

Brida, J.G.; Disegna, Marta; Osti, L.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore residents' perceptions of tourism impacts and how they affect attitudes towards local tourism policies. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of community attachment and employment sector of residents. This study presents the results of a quantitative survey among residing families of a small mountain community located in the North-East of Italy. The findings reveal that residents perceptions on economic, environmental and socio-cultural impacts ...

Impact of EU agricultural policy on developing countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boysen, Ole; Jensen, Hans Grinsted; Matthews, Alan

2016-01-01

Despite substantial reforms, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is still criticised for its detrimental effects on developing countries. This paper provides updated evidence on the impact of the CAP on one developing country, Uganda. It goes beyond estimating macro-level economic effects...... by analysing the impacts on poverty. The policy simulation results show that eliminating EU agricultural support would have marginal but nonetheless positive impacts on the Ugandan economy and its poverty indicators. From the perspective of the EU’s commitment to policy coherence for development, this supports...... the view that further reducing EU Agricultural support would be positive for development....

Evolutions in food marketing, quantifying the impact, and policy implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Cairns, Georgina

2013-03-01

A case study on interactive digital marketing examined the adequacy of extant policy controls and their underpinning paradigms to constrain the effects of this rapidly emerging practice. Findings were interactive digital marketing is expanding the strategies available to promote products, brands and consumer behaviours. It facilitates relational marketing; the collection of personal data for marketing; integration of the marketing mix, and provides a platform for consumers to engage in the co-creation of marketing communications. The paradigmatic logic of current policies to constrain youth-oriented food marketing does not address the interactive nature of digital marketing. The evidence base on the effects of HFSS marketing and policy interventions is based on conceptualizations of marketing as a force promoting transactions rather than interactions. Digital technologies are generating rich consumer data. Interactive digital technologies increase the complexity of the task of quantifying the impact of marketing. The rapidity of its uptake also increases urgency of need to identify appropriate effects measures. Independent analysis of commercial consumer data (appropriately transformed to protect commercial confidentiality and personal privacy) would provide evidence sources for policy on the impacts of commercial food and beverage marketing and policy controls. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis | Page 2 ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

... to widen and deepen, so too does its impact on economic development. ... The outcomes of such efforts will subsequently inform policy discourse and ... Studies. Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis project : country experiences; Malaysia ... Asian outlook: New growth dependent on new productivity.

The economic value of fair use in copyright law: counterfactual impact analysis of fair use policy on private copying technology and copyright markets in Singapore

OpenAIRE

Ghafele, Roya; Gibert, Benjamin

2012-01-01

The counterfactual impact analysis of fair use amendments in Singapore undertaken here demonstrates that flexible fair use policy positively influences growth rates in private copying technology industries. In 2010, five years after the policy intervention, Singapore’s fair use amendments are correlated with a 3.33% increase in value-added (as % of GDP) for private copying technology industries. Prior to the amendment of fair use policies, private copying technology industries experienced - 1...

Methodology for Participatory Policy Analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geurts, J.L.A.; Joldersma, F.

2001-01-01

In the course of time it has become clear that policy analysts who use traditional formal modeling techniques have limited impact on policy making regarding complex policy problems. These kinds of problems require the analyst to combine scientific insights with subjective knowledge resources and to

Urban inequities; urban rights: a conceptual analysis and review of impacts on children, and policies to address them.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Carolyn

2012-06-01

This paper explores current conceptual understanding of urban social, environmental, and health inequality and inequity, and looks at the impact of these processes on urban children and young people in the 21st century. This conceptual analysis was commissioned for a discussion paper for UNICEF's flagship publication: State of the World's Children 2012: Children in an Urban World. The aim of the paper is to examine evidence on the meaning of urban inequality and inequity for urban children and young people. It further looks at the controversial policies of targeting "vulnerable" young people, and policies to achieve the urban MDGs. Finally, the paper looks briefly at the potential of concepts such as environment justice and rights to change our understanding of urban inequality and inequity.

Final environmental impact statement: US Spent Fuel Policy. Executive summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-05-01

The analysis of the environmental impacts for storage of domestic fuel shows that the impacts for the full range of alternatives considered are relatively small compared with available resources or background exposure of the population from natural radiation sources. The differences in impacts of storage of domestic fuel are attributed to the amount of fuel stored in Independent Spent Fuel Storage (ISFS) facilities, the storage time, and, to a lesser degree, the differences in spent fuel transportation. The differences between comparable alternatives of implementing the policy or not implementing the policy are small. The difference in impacts of storage of foreign fuel are attributed to the amount of fuel received under the policy and to the disposition mode analyzed. The impact of storage of foreign fuel (a small fraction of the amount of domestic fuel considered) is also small. As a result of the small differences in environmental impacts of all cases considered for foreign fuel, environmental impacts probably will not strongly influence the selection of the case that best meets US nonproliferation goals. Proliferation benefits of the various cases analyzed vary significantly. The structure and level of fee charged for storage of spent fuel will affect the degree of participation in the spent fuel storage program by utilities. However, the range of participation is within the range of alternatives analyzed in the draft EISs on storage of US and foreign fuels, for which the environmental effects were found to be relatively small. The fee computed on the basis of full recovery of government costs should not significantly affect the cost of generating nuclear power

Research That Counts: OECD Statistics and "Policy Entrepreneurs" Impacting on Australian Adult Literacy and Numeracy Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Stephen; Yasukawa, Keiko

2016-01-01

This paper analyses research that has impacted on Australia's most recent national policy document on adult literacy and numeracy, the National Foundation Skills Strategy (NFSS). The paper draws in part on Lingard's 2013 paper, "The impact of research on education policy in an era of evidence-based policy", in which he outlines the…

77 FR 68776 - Economic Impact Policy

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-16

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES Economic Impact Policy This notice is to inform the public..., Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Turkey, and United Kingdom. Interested parties may submit comments on this transaction by email to economic.impact...

Socio-economic impact analysis of new AECB regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rochman, E.H.

1985-06-01

The federal government's Socio-Economic Impact Analysis (SEIA) policy has been in effect since 1978. Under this policy, all new or amended regulations concerning health, safety, or fairness are subjected to a screening exercise which determines whether the regulations are 'major' or 'minor'. The costs and benefits of major regulations are analyzed in depth. This paper describes the SEIA policy and explains some of the basic concepts. Then the steps the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) follows in the analysis of new regulations are summarized. Finally, the AECB's past and forthcoming experience with the SEIA policy is discussed

Policy Analysis Reaches Midlife

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beryl A. Radin

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The field of policy analysis that exists in the 21st century is quite different from that found earlier phases. The world of the 1960s that gave rise to this field in the US often seems unrelated to the world we experience today. These shifts have occurred as a result of a range of developments – technological changes, changes in the structure and processes of government both internally and globally, new expectations about accountability and transparency, economic and fiscal problems, and increased political and ideological conflict.It is clear globalization has had a significant impact on the field. Shifts in the type of decisionmaking also have created challenges for policy analysts since analysts are now clearly in every nook and cranny in the decisionmaking world. Thus it is relevant to look at the work that they do, the skills that they require, and the background experience that is relevant to them.

Networks and Bargaining in Policy Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bogason, Peter

2006-01-01

A duscussion of the fight between proponents of rationalistic policy analysis and more political interaction models for policy analysis. The latter group is the foundation for the many network models of policy analysis of today.......A duscussion of the fight between proponents of rationalistic policy analysis and more political interaction models for policy analysis. The latter group is the foundation for the many network models of policy analysis of today....

An evaluation paradigm for cumulative impact analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Stakhiv, Eugene Z.

1988-09-01

Cumulative impact analysis is examined from a conceptual decision-making perspective, focusing on its implicit and explicit purposes as suggested within the policy and procedures for environmental impact analysis of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and its implementing regulations. In this article it is also linked to different evaluation and decision-making conventions, contrasting a regulatory context with a comprehensive planning framework. The specific problems that make the application of cumulative impact analysis a virtually intractable evaluation requirement are discussed in connection with the federal regulation of wetlands uses. The relatively familiar US Army Corps of Engineers' (the Corps) permit program, in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) responsibilities in managing its share of the Section 404 regulatory program requirements, is used throughout as the realistic context for highlighting certain pragmatic evaluation aspects of cumulative impact assessment. To understand the purposes of cumulative impact analysis (CIA), a key distinction must be made between the implied comprehensive and multiobjective evaluation purposes of CIA, promoted through the principles and policies contained in NEPA, and the more commonly conducted and limited assessment of cumulative effects (ACE), which focuses largely on the ecological effects of human actions. Based on current evaluation practices within the Corps' and EPA's permit programs, it is shown that the commonly used screening approach to regulating wetlands uses is not compatible with the purposes of CIA, nor is the environmental impact statement (EIS) an appropriate vehicle for evaluating the variety of objectives and trade-offs needed as part of CIA. A heuristic model that incorporates the basic elements of CIA is developed, including the idea of trade-offs among social, economic, and environmental protection goals carried out within the context of environmental

Regional Investment Policy Under The Impact Of Budget Limitations And Economic Sanctions

OpenAIRE

Avramenko, Yelena S.; Vlasov, Semyon V.; Lukyanov, Sergey A.; Temkina, Irina M.

2018-01-01

This article presents the results of research on the impact which budget limitations and economic sanctions have had on regional investment policy External sanctions and sluggish economic growth have affected the social and economic development of the region. Relying on the results of comparative and statistical analysis, the article demonstrates the need for altering the focus of current investment policy from quantitative growth to qualitative enhancement. The article analyses a new trend i...

Transformation of Croatian Disabled Policy: Analysis of Policy Goals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Petek

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The article is based on the idea of transformation of the policy-making mode of Croatian disabled policy, from the medical model, through the social model to the human rights model. The paper highlights 7 elements according to which these models differ, and which are structured into categories of problem-definition, goal-determination and then implementation of disabled policy. The analysis is focused on the goals of Croatian disabled policy, and is based on an interdisciplinary research project of political science, special education and social work. Empirical data were collected by document analysis, by interviewing relevant policy actors and by a survey with the members of representative bodies on all government levels. With the discourse analysis of documents, open coding of interviews and statistical analysis of data collected in the survey, the paper attempts, through the indicator of activity of persons with disability, to answer to what extent Croatian disabled policy is transformed into human rights policy.

Global climate change policies. An analysis of CDM policies with an adapted GTAP model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Shunli

2004-01-01

In the context of the relationships between spatial-economic interaction and global warming just discussed, this study aims to analyze the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) policies from an economic point of view. The research question of this study is formulated as follows: What will be the impacts of clirnate change policies, in particular CDM policies, on the economic performance of (groups of) countries in our global economic system, taking spatial interaction and general equilibrium effects into account? The purpose of addressing the issue of economic performance for (groups of) countries in the economic system is not just to identify winners and losers from international treaties. Rather, winning or losing may even determine the implementation and willingness of individual countries to participate in international environmental treaties, as illustrated by the recent withdrawal of the US from the Kyoto Protocol. By analyzing the economic impacts of an international environmental treaty for individual (groups of) countries, the framework that will be used to analyze this research question may be useful to determine the attractiveness of some global environmental policies, both for the world as a whole and for individual (groups of) countries. The research question will be answered by dividing it into six subquestions: (1) What is the position of CDM policies in the broad context of climate policy regimes?; (2) How should the relationship between human behavior and the physical environment be ideally modeled from an economic perspective? (3) How should the spatial dimension be incorporated in this framework of interaction between the economic and ecological system?; (4) How can climate change issues be incorporated in general equilibrium models in general, and in GTAP-E (extension of the Global Trade Analysis Project) in particular?; (5) How can CDM policies be implemented in the GTAP-E model?; and (6) What are the impacts of these climate change policies on

Data Envelopment Analysis of different climate policy scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bosetti, Valentina; Buchner, Barbara

2009-01-01

Recent developments in the political, scientific and economic debate on climate change suggest that it is of critical importance to develop new approaches able to compare policy scenarios for their environmental effectiveness, their distributive effects, their enforceability, their costs and many other dimensions. This paper discusses a quantitative methodology to assess the relative performance of different climate policy scenarios when accounting for their long-term economic, social and environmental impacts. The proposed procedure is based on Data Envelopment Analysis, here employed in evaluating the relative efficiency of eleven global climate policy scenarios. The methodology provides a promising comparison framework; it can be seen as a way of setting some basic guidelines to frame further debates and negotiations and can be flexibly adopted and modified by decision makers to obtain relevant information for policy design. Three major findings emerge from this analysis: (1) stringent climate policies can outperform less ambitious proposals if all sustainability dimensions are taken into account; (2) a carefully chosen burden-sharing rule is able to bring together climate stabilisation and equity considerations; and (3) the most inefficient strategy results from the failure to negotiate a post-2012 global climate agreement. (author)

Impact assessment and policy learning in the European Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruddy, Thomas F.; Hilty, Lorenz M.

2008-01-01

Governance for sustainable development requires policy coherence and Environmental Policy Integration, which are being hindered by difficulties coordinating the two separate impact assessment processes being conducted in the European Commission. One of them, the Commission-wide Impact Assessment process, looks primarily at EU-internal impacts, whereas the other one, Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) in DG Trade, looks outward to other countries and intergovernmental organizations. Ideally, the two processes should complement one another, especially as the two are set to continue being done in parallel. The paper uses a case study of the reform of the European sugar regime under a World Trade Organization ruling to demonstrate how the two impact assessment processes could better complement one another. Feedback from the experience had with existing trade agreements could then promote policy learning and inform the negotiations on new agreements. The number of new bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements is expected to continue rising, thus increasing the importance of the Commission-wide Impact Assessment process required for them

Healthy Food Procurement Policies and Their Impact

Science.gov (United States)

Niebylski, Mark L.; Lu, Tammy; Campbell, Norm R. C.; Arcand, Joanne; Schermel, Alyssa; Hua, Diane; Yeates, Karen E.; Tobe, Sheldon W.; Twohig, Patrick A.; L’Abbé, Mary R.; Liu, Peter P.

2014-01-01

Unhealthy eating is the leading risk for death and disability globally. As a result, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for population health interventions. One of the proposed interventions is to ensure healthy foods are available by implementing healthy food procurement policies. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence base assessing the impact of such policies. A comprehensive review was conducted by searching PubMed and Medline for policies that had been implemented and evaluated the impact of food purchases, food consumption, and behaviors towards healthy foods. Thirty-four studies were identified and found to be effective at increasing the availability and purchases of healthy food and decreasing purchases of unhealthy food. Most policies also had other components such as education, price reductions, and health interventions. The multiple gaps in research identified by this review suggest that additional research and ongoing evaluation of food procurement programs is required. Implementation of healthy food procurement policies in schools, worksites, hospitals, care homes, correctional facilities, government institutions, and remote communities increase markers of healthy eating. Prior or simultaneous implementation of ancillary education about healthy eating, and rationale for the policy may be critical success factors and additional research is needed. PMID:24595213

Community Health Workers Promote Civic Engagement and Organizational Capacity to Impact Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabo, Samantha; Flores, Melissa; Wennerstrom, Ashley; Bell, Melanie L; Verdugo, Lorena; Carvajal, Scott; Ingram, Maia

2017-12-01

Community health workers (CHW) have historically served to link structurally vulnerable populations to broad support systems. Emerging evidence suggests that CHWs engage in various forms of advocacy to promote policy and systems change. We assessed the impact of CHW community advocacy on community change, defined as civic engagement, organizational capacity and policy and systems change. Data are drawn from the 2014 National Community Health Worker Advocacy Survey (N = 1776) aimed to identify the state of the CHW profession, and their impact on health disparities through community advocacy and policy engagement. Our primary analysis used multiple linear regression to assess the association between CHW advocacy and community change. As predicted, there was a significant, positive association between CHW advocacy and change in community conditions. Additionally, both adjusted and sensitivity models had similar standardized beta estimates for advocacy, and adjusted R 2 statistics. CHW advocacy predicts positive change in community conditions and further advances the CHW Community Advocacy Framework designed to support and monitor CHW community advocacy to reduce health disparities through advocacy and policy change.

Assessing the impact of information and framing on support for climate policy action

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hatfield-Dodds, Steve

2007-01-01

Full text: A significant share of the public appears mislead by the way the economic impacts of emissions reductions are traditionally communicated. This misunderstanding is associated with reduced support for policy action, and risks long term climate impacts that would be avoided if results were communicated properly. Correct this basis appears likely to have a larger effect on attitudes than new research and information on the impacts of climate change. Government action to achieve deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions - like other major policy changes -depends on public support, which in turn depends on perceptions of policy impacts. This paper reports research exploring the effect of three factors on support for policy action: the way that policy impacts are described; the magnitude of these impacts, and additional information on climate change impacts, provided internally through the surveys and externally through the release of An Inconvenient Truth and media coverage of the Stern Report (2006). The research used split sample phone and internet surveys (n = 4264) conducted in Australia and New Zealand in four waves from April to December 2006. The study gives rise to four major findings: Support for policy action is sensitive to the magnitude of expected economic impacts, with predicted support varying from 27% to 84% across the different levels of policy impact presented; Current approaches to communicating policy impacts are associated with public support for policy action being 8-10% lower than it would be if policy impacts were well communicated. This bias may be corrected by describing policy impacts in terms of changes relative to current levels - stating that incomes continue to rise - as well as describing impacts relative to the base case; The reduction in support associated with these biases is much larger than the increase in support associated with providing credible additional information on the impacts of climate change; Significantly more than

Financing investments in renewable energy: the impacts of policy design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiser, Ryan H.; Pickle, Steven J.

1998-01-01

The costs of electric power projects utilising renewable energy technologies (RETs) are highly sensitive to financing terms. Consequently, as the electricity industry is restructured and new renewables policies are created, it is important for policymakers to consider the impacts of renewables policy design on RET financing. This paper reviews the power plant financing process for renewable energy projects, estimates the impact of financing terms on levelised energy costs, and provides insights to policymakers on the important nexus between renewables policy design and financing. We review five case studies of renewable energy policies, and find that one of the key reasons that RET policies are not more effective is that project development and financing processes are frequently ignored or misunderstood when designing and implementing renewable energy policies. The case studies specifically show that policies that do no provide long-term stability or that have negative secondary impacts on investment decisions will increase financing costs, sometimes dramatically reducing the effectiveness of the program. Within U.S. electricity restructuring proceedings, new renewable energy policies are being created, and restructuring itself is changing the way RETs are financed. As these new policies are created and implemented, it is essential that policymakers acknowledge the financing difficulties faced by renewables developer and pay special attention to the impacts of renewables policy design on financing. As shown in this paper, a renewables policy that is carefully designed can reduce renewable energy costs dramatically by providing revenue certainty that will, in turn, reduce financing risk premiums. (Author)

Impact of Minimum Driveway Spacing Policies on Safety Performance: An Integrated Traffic Micro-Simulation and Automated Conflict Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chu C. Minh

2014-09-01

Full Text Available A key strategy for successful access management is the adoption of driveway spacing guidelines that consider both safety and operations. The goal is to provide sufficient distance from one driveway to the next so that drivers can perceive and react to the conditions at each potential conflict point in succession. State DOTs across the country have adopted different driveway spacing standards that vary according to the access class and characteristics of the adjacent roadway, such as type of roadway, posted speed limit, and traffic volume. Utilizing the VISSIM microscopic traffic simulation tool and FHWA's Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM, this research examined safety implications of four different driveway spacing policies representing 13 states. The analysis involved calibrating the VISSIM model for an arterial roadway corridor in West Columbia, SC, and then using the calibrated model to simulate various operational changes to the corridor, including speed limits, traffic volumes, and the associated minimum driveway spacing criteria for the four different policies. SSAM was used to analyze vehicle trajectories derived from VISSIM to determine the number of conflict points. Experimental results indicate that posted speed limit and traffic volume are the primary impact factors for driveway safety, and thus, these parameters should be considered in establishing minimum driveway spacing. Findings from this study indicate that there are significant differences in safety impacts between the different driveway spacing policies adopted by various state DOTs.

A game theory analysis of green infrastructure stormwater management policies

Science.gov (United States)

William, Reshmina; Garg, Jugal; Stillwell, Ashlynn S.

2017-09-01

Green stormwater infrastructure has been demonstrated as an innovative water resources management approach that addresses multiple challenges facing urban environments. However, there is little consensus on what policy strategies can be used to best incentivize green infrastructure adoption by private landowners. Game theory, an analysis framework that has historically been under-utilized within the context of stormwater management, is uniquely suited to address this policy question. We used a cooperative game theory framework to investigate the potential impacts of different policy strategies used to incentivize green infrastructure installation. The results indicate that municipal regulation leads to the greatest reduction in pollutant loading. However, the choice of the "best" regulatory approach will depend on a variety of different factors including politics and financial considerations. Large, downstream agents have a disproportionate share of bargaining power. Results also reveal that policy impacts are highly dependent on agents' spatial position within the stormwater network, leading to important questions of social equity and environmental justice.

The Impact of Fiscal Policies on the Socioeconomic Determinants of Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Mosquera, Isabel; González-Rábago, Yolanda; Bacigalupe, Amaia; Suhrcke, Marc

2017-04-01

There has been considerable recent debate around the alleged impact of discretionary fiscal policies - especially austerity policies - on health and health inequalities. Assuming that most of the impact will have to run via the effect of fiscal policies on socioeconomic determinants of health (SDH), it is of interest to gain a further understanding of the relationship between fiscal policies and SDH. Therefore, the aim of this article is to review the recent evidence on the impact of discretionary fiscal policies on key SDH, i.e. income, poverty, education, and employment, in high income OECD countries. We find that there are no simple answers as to how fiscal policy affects those determinants of health. The effects of contractionary and expansionary fiscal policies on the analyzed SDH vary considerably across countries and will largely depend on the pre-crisis situation. Contractionary fiscal policies seem to have increased poverty, while their impact on income inequality will be influenced by the composition of the implemented measures. More empirical research trying to directly link fiscal policies to health outcomes, while taking into account of some of the mechanisms encountered here, would be worthwhile.

Economic Impact Assessment of Alternative Climate Policy Strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kemfert, C.

2001-10-01

This paper investigates the world economic implications of climate change policy strategies, especially the evaluation of impacts by an implementation of Clean Development Mechanisms, Joint Implementation and Emissions trading with a world integrated assessment model. Of special interest in this context are the welfare spill over and competitiveness effects that result from diverse climate policy strategies. In particular, this study elaborates and compares multi gas policy strategies and explores the impacts of the inclusion of sinks. Because of the recent decision of an isolated climate policy strategy by the United States of America, we examine the economic impacts of all world regions by a non cooperative and free rider position of the USA. It turns out that Clean Development Mechanisms and Joint Implementation show evidence of improvement in the economic development in the host countries and increase the share of new applied technologies. The decomposition of welfare effects demonstrates that the competitiveness effect including the spill over effects from trade have the strongest importance because of the intense trade relations between countries. Climatic effects have a significant impact within the next 50 years, cause considerable welfare losses to world regions and will intensify if some highly responsible nations like the USA do not reduce their emissions

Energy efficiency policies for space heating in EU countries: A panel data analysis for the period 1990–2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ó Broin, Eoin; Nässén, Jonas; Johnsson, Filip

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Space heating demand between 1990 and 2010 modelled using a panel of 14 EU countries. • The impacts of 260 efficiency polices affecting space heating demand are examined. • Regulatory policies found to have had a greater success than financial or informative. • High priority should be given to regulatory policies for space heating energy goals. - Abstract: We present an empirical analysis of the more than 250 space heating-focused energy efficiency policies that have been in force at the EU and national levels in the period 1990–2010. This analysis looks at the EU-14 residential sector (Pre-2004 EU-15, excluding Luxembourg) using a panel data regression analysis on unit consumption of energy for space heating (kWh/m 2 /year). The policies are represented as a regression variable using a semi-quantitative impact estimation obtained from the MURE Policy Database. The impacts of the policies as a whole, and subdivided into financial, regulatory, and informative policies, are examined. The correlation between the actual reductions in demand and the estimated impact of regulatory policies is found to be stronger than the corresponding correlations with the respective impacts of financial policies and informative polices. Together with the well-known market barriers to energy efficiency that exist in the residential sector, these findings suggest that regulatory policy measures be given a high priority in the design of an effective pathway towards the EU-wide goals for space heating energy

Realism in Foreign Policy Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wivel, Anders

2017-01-01

'Realism in Foreign Policy Analysis' traces how realist thinking on foreign policy has developed over the years and discusses the challenges and opportunities faced by various strands of realism when applied to foreign policy analysis....

Policy Reform Impact on Food Manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Celikkol, Pinar; Dunn, James W.; Stefanou, Spiro E.

2003-01-01

The impact of agricultural policies and their reform is of major concern when addressing issues of growth, innovation and consolidation in the food manufacturing sector. Growth is one of the forces fueling the globalization of food manufacturing activities. Market- and policy-driven forces present a myriad of opportunities to influence growth and reorientation of patterns at the nexus where food manufacturing links the food system. The productivity and international competitiveness of the foo...

Alternative policy impacts on US GHG emissions and energy security: A hybrid modeling approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarica, Kemal; Tyner, Wallace E.

2013-01-01

This study addresses the possible impacts of energy and climate policies, namely corporate average fleet efficiency (CAFE) standard, renewable fuel standard (RFS) and clean energy standard (CES), and an economy wide equivalent carbon tax on GHG emissions in the US to the year 2045. Bottom–up and top–down modeling approaches find widespread use in energy economic modeling and policy analysis, in which they differ mainly with respect to the emphasis placed on technology of the energy system and/or the comprehensiveness of endogenous market adjustments. For this study, we use a hybrid energy modeling approach, MARKAL–Macro, that combines the characteristics of two divergent approaches, in order to investigate and quantify the cost of climate policies for the US and an equivalent carbon tax. The approach incorporates Macro-economic feedbacks through a single sector neoclassical growth model while maintaining sectoral and technological detail of the bottom–up optimization framework with endogenous aggregated energy demand. Our analysis is done for two important objectives of the US energy policy: GHG reduction and increased energy security. Our results suggest that the emission tax achieves results quite similar to the CES policy but very different results in the transportation sector. The CAFE standard and RFS are more expensive than a carbon tax for emission reductions. However, the CAFE standard and RFS are much more efficient at achieving crude oil import reductions. The GDP losses are 2.0% and 1.2% relative to the base case for the policy case and carbon tax. That difference may be perceived as being small given the increased energy security gained from the CAFE and RFS policy measures and the uncertainty inherent in this type of analysis. - Highlights: • Evaluates US impacts of three energy/climate policies and a carbon tax (CT) • Analysis done with bottom–up MARKAL model coupled with a macro model • Electricity clean energy standard very close to

Impacts of Policies on Poverty: The Definition of Poverty

OpenAIRE

Bellù, Lorenzo Giovanni; Liberati, Paolo

2005-01-01

This module illustrates how poverty can be defined in the context of policy impact analysis. After reporting and discussing the definition of poverty as “the lack of, or the inability to achieve, a socially acceptable standard of living”, it discusses the mono-dimensional and multi-dimensional approaches to the definition of poverty. Furthermore, the module focuses on the absolute and the relative concept of poverty, also drawing some analogies and differences with the concept of food secu...

Turning the big knob: an evaluation of the use of energy policy to modulate future climate impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pielke, R.A. Jnr.; Klein, R.; Sarewitz, D.

2000-01-01

Conventional wisdom on climate change policy is straightforward: reducing greenhouse gas emissions will avoid the increased frequency and magnitude of climate impacts on environment and society that might occur if emissions are not controlled. The proponents of conventional wisdom widely consider energy policy to be the main policy tool available to decision makers to intentionally modulate future climate impacts. In this paper we challenge the notion that policy makers should intentionally use energy policy to modulate future climate impacts. The paper argues that policy makers may well make large changes in energy policy (and future emissions) without significantly affecting future climate impacts. In other words, even if a theoretical case could be made that energy policy could be used intentionally to modulate future climate, other factors will play a larger role in creating future impact.y and are arguably more amenable to policy change. To illustrate this conclusion, the paper presents a sensitivity analysis under the assumptions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the case of tropical cyclones. One implication of the paper's conclusions is that policy responses to extreme weather events should be decoupled from considerations of energy policy. This decoupling is not intended to diminish either the importance of responding to climate change or of energy policy. Rather, it is to emphasise that there are many responses under the rubric of adaptation that could play a much greater role in reducing societal vulnerability to losses. One of the implications of this change is that scientific uncertainty need not stand in the way of effective action because the measures proposed make sense under any future climate scenario. (author)

The Effect of Mitigation Policy on Regional Climate Impacts on the U.S. Electric Sector

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, S. M.; Sun, Y.; Strzepek, K.; McFarland, J.; Boehlert, B.; Fant, C.

2017-12-01

temperature-induced load but also by lessening water- and temperature-based performance constraints. Policy impacts are nuanced and region-specific, and this analysis underscores the importance of climate mitigation policy to regional electricity system planning decisions.

Modeling the impacts of environmental policies on agricultural imports

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Larson, B.A.; Scatasta, S.

2005-01-01

For current policy debates in agricultural and food industries, policy analysts need to evaluate the impacts of how proposed changes in domestic environmental regulations may alter agricultural trade in the future. Given the industry-specific nature of many policies issues, analysts need sector and

The National Environmental Policy Act and DOE's programmatic environmental impact statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wisenbaker, W.E.

1991-01-01

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 requires that all agencies of the federal government prepare a detailed statement on any action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Such a statement must include the environmental impact of the proposed action, any adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided should the proposed action be implemented, and alternatives to the proposed action. In requiring environmental statements, NEPA encourages viewing related actions collectively and looking at cumulative impacts. A programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) is a broad environmental analysis of a program or policy prepared when actions are connected and may have cumulative environmental impacts. The PEIS benefits include providing input into an agency's planning and decision making, assessing potential environmental consequences of a wide range of alternatives before options have been foreclosed, and allowing consideration of systemwide impacts of various alternatives early in the decision-making process. The US Department of Energy (DOE) will prepare its PEIS on Environmental Restoration and Waste Management program. The PEIS will consider programmatic issues and integrated approaches to the program; address national, program-wide alternatives rather than site-specific actions; and provide for subsequent NEPA documents of narrower scope to be prepared to address site-specific or project-specific actions

Analysis of the economic impact of different Chinese climate policy options based on a CGE model incorporating endogenous technological change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Ke; Wang Can; Chen Jining

2009-01-01

Abatement cost is the main concern for climate change mitigation and the key factor for mitigation cost is technological change. This study established an integrated economic, energy, environmental, dynamic, computable general equilibrium (CGE) model representing endogenous technological change for China's climate change policy analysis. This study analyzed and compared the economic impact of different approaches to mitigation commitments as well as the potential role of technological change in the formulation of mitigation targets and commitments, taking into account China's climate policy-making needs based on the current international climate negotiation process. The results show that, absolute emission limits similar to the Kyoto Protocol will seriously impede the future economic development of China, while the impact of an 80% reduction in carbon intensity, forecast for 2050 based on the 2005 level, is relatively small. Technological change can promote economic growth, improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon intensity per unit of output through the substitution of production factors. Consequently it can reduce marginal abatement cost and related GDP loss by mitigation. At the same time it can increase mitigation potentials and extend the emission reduction amount, showing that consideration of the impact of technological change when deciding the emission reduction targets is necessary.

The impact of tobacco control policies in Albania.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaloshnja, Eduard; Ross, Hana; Levy, David T

2010-12-01

To assess the impact of a tobacco control law adopted in Albania in 2007 and to estimate the share of illicit cigarettes on the market. Comparative analysis of two waves of a nationally representative household survey, one conducted before the new law went into effect and the other after 2 years. Official sales data were contrasted with the consumption estimate based on the survey. Smoking prevalence, quit attempts, exposure to cigarette advertising, exposure to second-hand smoke, total cigarette consumption, share of illicit packs among packs possessed by smokers. Despite the adoption of strong smoke-free policies and adverting restrictions, smoking prevalence in Albania has risen. The increase in prevalence has been driven by higher smoking rates among females (18.9% in 2007 vs 29.3% in 2009) and young adults (23.2% in 2007 vs 38.5% in 2009 among 18-19 year olds). Self-reported exposure to second-hand smoke and cigarette advertising have been reduced since 2007. The majority of respondents are still exposed to second-hand smoke and more than half are exposed to tobacco advertising. Nevertheless, there are signs that the consumption of illicit cigarettes is declining. The impacts of smoke-free policies and an advertising ban have been limited due to lack of enforcement and failure to adopt a comprehensive set of tobacco control measures. These measures should include sizeable and regular tobacco tax increases in excess of the general level of inflation and income growth. The decline in the share of illicit cigarettes should improve the effectiveness of the cigarette tax policy.

Assessing the impact of natural policy experiments on socioeconomic inequalities in health: how to apply commonly used quantitative analytical methods?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yannan Hu

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The scientific evidence-base for policies to tackle health inequalities is limited. Natural policy experiments (NPE have drawn increasing attention as a means to evaluating the effects of policies on health. Several analytical methods can be used to evaluate the outcomes of NPEs in terms of average population health, but it is unclear whether they can also be used to assess the outcomes of NPEs in terms of health inequalities. The aim of this study therefore was to assess whether, and to demonstrate how, a number of commonly used analytical methods for the evaluation of NPEs can be applied to quantify the effect of policies on health inequalities. Methods We identified seven quantitative analytical methods for the evaluation of NPEs: regression adjustment, propensity score matching, difference-in-differences analysis, fixed effects analysis, instrumental variable analysis, regression discontinuity and interrupted time-series. We assessed whether these methods can be used to quantify the effect of policies on the magnitude of health inequalities either by conducting a stratified analysis or by including an interaction term, and illustrated both approaches in a fictitious numerical example. Results All seven methods can be used to quantify the equity impact of policies on absolute and relative inequalities in health by conducting an analysis stratified by socioeconomic position, and all but one (propensity score matching can be used to quantify equity impacts by inclusion of an interaction term between socioeconomic position and policy exposure. Conclusion Methods commonly used in economics and econometrics for the evaluation of NPEs can also be applied to assess the equity impact of policies, and our illustrations provide guidance on how to do this appropriately. The low external validity of results from instrumental variable analysis and regression discontinuity makes these methods less desirable for assessing policy effects

Assessing the impact of natural policy experiments on socioeconomic inequalities in health: how to apply commonly used quantitative analytical methods?

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yannan; van Lenthe, Frank J; Hoffmann, Rasmus; van Hedel, Karen; Mackenbach, Johan P

2017-04-20

The scientific evidence-base for policies to tackle health inequalities is limited. Natural policy experiments (NPE) have drawn increasing attention as a means to evaluating the effects of policies on health. Several analytical methods can be used to evaluate the outcomes of NPEs in terms of average population health, but it is unclear whether they can also be used to assess the outcomes of NPEs in terms of health inequalities. The aim of this study therefore was to assess whether, and to demonstrate how, a number of commonly used analytical methods for the evaluation of NPEs can be applied to quantify the effect of policies on health inequalities. We identified seven quantitative analytical methods for the evaluation of NPEs: regression adjustment, propensity score matching, difference-in-differences analysis, fixed effects analysis, instrumental variable analysis, regression discontinuity and interrupted time-series. We assessed whether these methods can be used to quantify the effect of policies on the magnitude of health inequalities either by conducting a stratified analysis or by including an interaction term, and illustrated both approaches in a fictitious numerical example. All seven methods can be used to quantify the equity impact of policies on absolute and relative inequalities in health by conducting an analysis stratified by socioeconomic position, and all but one (propensity score matching) can be used to quantify equity impacts by inclusion of an interaction term between socioeconomic position and policy exposure. Methods commonly used in economics and econometrics for the evaluation of NPEs can also be applied to assess the equity impact of policies, and our illustrations provide guidance on how to do this appropriately. The low external validity of results from instrumental variable analysis and regression discontinuity makes these methods less desirable for assessing policy effects on population-level health inequalities. Increased use of the

The International Impact of US Unconventional Monetary Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lutz, Chandler

2015-01-01

Using a structural factor-augmented vector autoregression model and a large data set of daily time series, we study the impact of US unconventional monetary policy on British and German financial markets. Our findings indicate that a surprise US unconventional monetary policy easing leads...

Office of Integrated Assessment and Policy Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parzyck, D.C.

1980-01-01

The mission of the Office of Integrated Assessments and Policy Analysis (OIAPA) is to examine current and future policies related to the development and use of energy technologies. The principal ongoing research activity to date has focused on the impacts of several energy sources, including coal, oil shale, solar, and geothermal, from the standpoint of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. An additional project has recently been initiated on an evaluation of impacts associated with the implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The impacts of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act on energy supply constitute the principal research focus of OIAPA for the near term. From these studies a research approach will be developed to identify certain common elements in the regulatory evaluation cycle as a means of evaluating subsequent environmental, health, and socioeconomic impact. It is planned that an integrated assessment team examine studies completed or underway on the following aspects of major regulations: health, risk assessment, testing protocols, environment control cost/benefits, institutional structures, and facility siting. This examination would assess the methodologies used, determine the general applicability of such studies, and present in a logical form information that appears to have broad general application. A suggested action plan for the State of Tennessee on radioactive and hazardous waste management is outlined

Monetary Policy: Its Impact On The Profitability Of Banks In India

OpenAIRE

Punita Rao

2011-01-01

This purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of monetary policy on the profitability of banks in the context of financial sector reforms in India. We discuss the financial sector reforms and the implication of the banks, the various instruments of monetary policy in India, and the impact of monetary policy on the profitability of banks.

The Regional Impact of Monetary Policy in Indonesia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ridhwan, M.M.; de Groot, H.L.F.; Rietveld, P.; Nijkamp, P.

2014-01-01

This paper employs vector autoregressive (VAR) models to measure the impact of monetary policy shocks on regional output in Indonesia. We find substantial cross-regional variation in policy responses in terms of both magnitude as well as timing. Our work adds to the existing literature by providing

Palliative care policy analysis in Iran: A conceptual model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mojgan Ansari

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Palliative care programs are rapidly evolving for patients with life-threatening illnesses. Increased and earlier access for facilities is a subject of growing importance in health services, policy, and research. Aim: This study was conducted to explain stakeholders' perceptions of the factors affecting the design of such a palliative care system and its policy analysis. Methodology: Semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted following purposive sampling of the participants. Twenty-two participants were included in the study. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative-directed content analysis based on "policy analysis triangle" framework. Results: The findings showed the impact of four categories, namely context (political, social, and structural feasibility, content (target setting, process (attracting stakeholder participation, the standardization of care, and education management, and actors (the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, health-care providers, and volunteers in the analysis of the palliative care policies of Iran. Conclusion: In the past 6 years, attention to palliative care has increased significantly as a result of the National Cancer Research Network with the support of the Ministry of Health. The success of health system plan requires great attention to its aspects of social, political, and executive feasibility. Careful management by policymakers of different stakeholders is vital to ensure support for any national plan, but this is challenging to achieve.

The Impact of Debt Policy on Financial Performance of Romanian Listed Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicoleta BARBUTA-MISU

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of listed companies’ indebtedness on their financial performance. Theoretical research was relied on the specialty literature concerning the analysis of the capital structure and financial structure of the company based on calculation of the financial structure ratio and financial leverage. This paper focuses on the analysis of debt policy impact on companies’ financial performance using the financial leverage method. The financial leverage method reflects the influence of debt policy on company’s return on equity, as well as the ways it engages loans to finance operating assets so it can get higher return on equity. The main aim of this paper is to investigate and analyze the determinants of leverage effect and financial structure of companies that are operating in Romanian food industry, namely manufacturing of dairy products. The conclusion that emerges in this study is the importance of choosing and establishing funding sources by an enterprise, according to funding costs, in order to obtain the optimal combination between external financing resources and internal funding.

The Disparate Labor Market Impacts of Monetary Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, Seth B.; Rodgers, William M., III

2004-01-01

Employing two widely used approaches to identify the effects of monetary policy, this paper explores the differential impact of policy on the labor market outcomes of teenagers, minorities, out-of-school youth, and less-skilled individuals. Evidence from recursive vector autoregressions and autoregressive distributed lag models that use…

Impact of Attendance Policy on Adult College Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, Tracinal S.

2014-01-01

This qualitative evaluation focused on the problem of student attrition at a northern California college, its attendance policy, the policy's impact on previous students' decisions to persist in school, and on administrators' attempts to increase retention. The purpose for this study was to evaluate the participants' perceptions about their…

Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis | CRDI ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis. As the presence and influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) continues to widen and deepen, so too does its impact on economic development. However, much work needs to be done before the linkages between economic development ...

Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis. As the presence and influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) continues to widen and deepen, so too does its impact on economic development. However, much work needs to be done before the linkages between economic development ...

Nitrates in ground and drinking water: analysis of policies and regulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conrad, J

1986-05-01

On the societal level, risks are the result of collective processes of definition. Accepted risks are mainly the output and secondarily the (scientific) input of these processes. As a consequence, in this paper the question of risk management of the nitrate burden to ground and drinking water is analysed within the framework of comparative policy analysis. Various actors pursue their respective interests in different policy arenas within the given rules of the policy game. The impacts of the policy outputs on the policy addressees, namely farmers and water companies, (substantially) determine the level of actual risk. Different national regulatory styles and traditions towards nitrate regulation shape the policy outputs. Consequently, the assumption or normative postulate of a rational (scientific) risk assessment and risk management appears to be utterly heroic and, in the end, misleading.

Impact of forced separation policy on incarcerated postpartum mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Angelina N

2009-08-01

The number of incarcerated women in the United States is steadily increasing with 9% giving birth while serving time. Mothers and babies are routinely separated immediately and during most of the postpartum period. This qualitative study examines the impact of this policy by exploring the nature and meaning of the mother-infant bonding experience when the mothers know separation is coming. Twelve incarcerated postpartum mothers were interviewed during the early postpartum period about their antepartum and postpartum relationships with their babies. Qualitative data analysis produced four relational themes: (a) "a love connection," (b) "everything was great until I birthed," (c) "feeling empty and missing a part of me," and (d) "I don't try to think too far in advance." Results of this qualitative study provide information to professionals exploring gender-sensitive prison policies for the growing female population.

The labor impacts of policy change in health care: how federal policy transformed home health organizations and their labor practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Szasz, A

1990-01-01

Health care organizations are highly labor-intensive; policies designed to stimulate organizational change are likely to have labor impacts. This paper examines the labor effects of policy change in home health care. Major federal home care policy trends since 1980 have spurred the evolution of the typical home care provider toward greater organizational and market rationality. Greater managerial sophistication has introduced changes in management/labor relations. Survey data from the 1986 DRG Impact Study are used to show how the pressure of cost-containment policies has pushed agencies to cut labor costs by increasing workloads, managerial supervision, and control of the work process. Research on the effects of recent policy change in health care has to date focused primarily on potential client effects. Labor impacts are rarely examined and are poorly understood at the time that policy is made. Findings in this article suggest that these issues deserve greater, more systematic attention, because unanticipated labor impacts may prove to be significant impediments to the realization of intended policy goals.

Cost benefit analysis of two policy options for cannabis: status quo and legalisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Shanahan, Marian; Ritter, Alison

2014-01-01

To date there has been limited analysis of the economic costs and benefits associated with cannabis legalisation. This study redresses this gap. A cost benefit analysis of two cannabis policy options the status quo (where cannabis use is illegal) and a legalised-regulated option was conducted. A cost benefit analysis was used to value the costs and benefits of the two policies in monetary terms. Costs and benefits of each policy option were classified into five categories (direct intervention costs, costs or cost savings to other agencies, benefits or lost benefits to the individual or the family, other impacts on third parties, and adverse or spill over events). The results are expressed as a net social benefit (NSB). The mean NSB per annum from Monte Carlo simulations (with the 5 and 95 percentiles) for the status quo was $294.6 million AUD ($201.1 to $392.7 million) not substantially different from the $234.2 million AUD ($136.4 to $331.1 million) for the legalised-regulated model which excludes government revenue as a benefit. When government revenue is included, the NSB for legalised-regulated is higher than for status quo. Sensitivity analyses demonstrate the significant impact of educational attainment and wellbeing as drivers for the NSB result. Examining the percentiles around the two policy options, there appears to be no difference between the NSB for these two policy options. Economic analyses are essential for good public policy, providing information about the extent to which one policy is substantially economically favourable over another. In cannabis policy, for these two options this does not appear to be the case.

Cost benefit analysis of two policy options for cannabis: status quo and legalisation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marian Shanahan

Full Text Available AIMS: To date there has been limited analysis of the economic costs and benefits associated with cannabis legalisation. This study redresses this gap. A cost benefit analysis of two cannabis policy options the status quo (where cannabis use is illegal and a legalised-regulated option was conducted. METHOD: A cost benefit analysis was used to value the costs and benefits of the two policies in monetary terms. Costs and benefits of each policy option were classified into five categories (direct intervention costs, costs or cost savings to other agencies, benefits or lost benefits to the individual or the family, other impacts on third parties, and adverse or spill over events. The results are expressed as a net social benefit (NSB. FINDINGS: The mean NSB per annum from Monte Carlo simulations (with the 5 and 95 percentiles for the status quo was $294.6 million AUD ($201.1 to $392.7 million not substantially different from the $234.2 million AUD ($136.4 to $331.1 million for the legalised-regulated model which excludes government revenue as a benefit. When government revenue is included, the NSB for legalised-regulated is higher than for status quo. Sensitivity analyses demonstrate the significant impact of educational attainment and wellbeing as drivers for the NSB result. CONCLUSION: Examining the percentiles around the two policy options, there appears to be no difference between the NSB for these two policy options. Economic analyses are essential for good public policy, providing information about the extent to which one policy is substantially economically favourable over another. In cannabis policy, for these two options this does not appear to be the case.

Environmental policy performance revisited

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Daugbjerg, Carsten; Sønderskov, Kim Mannemar

2012-01-01

. On the basis of the typology, a hypothesis on their ability to expand green markets is generated and tested in a comparative analysis of the performance of organic food policies in Denmark, Sweden, the UK and the US, focusing on their impact on organic consumption. Our analysis demonstrates that cross......Studies of environmental policy performance tend to concentrate on the impact of particular policy institutions or of single policy instruments. However, environmental policies most often consist of a package of policy instruments. Further, these studies pay no or very little attention to policy...... instruments directed at the demand side of the market. Therefore this article develops a policy typology for government intervention aimed at creating green markets. The typology distinguishes between four types of policy based on the balance between the supply-side and demand-side policy instruments...

Impacts of low-carbon power policy on carbon mitigation in Guangdong Province, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Beibei; Dai, Hancheng; Wang, Peng; Xie, Yang; Chen, Li; Zhao, Daiqing; Masui, Toshihiko

2016-01-01

This paper analyzes the impacts of the low-carbon policy in the power sector of Guangdong Province in China on its energy and carbon emission targets by 2020, as well as their costs and co-benefits, using a regional CGE model with seven scenarios: business as usual (BaU), renewable energy (RE), renewable energy and natural gas (RE–NG), CAP only (CAP), CAP and RE–NG (CAP–RE–NG), carbon emission trading (ETS), and ETS with RE–NG (ETS–RE–NG). Analysis results reveal that provincial energy and carbon intensity targets can be achieved in the assumed carbon mitigation scenarios with carbon cap, ETS, and clean energy development policies. While the carbon constraint exerts negative impacts on the economy, GDP loss could be lowered by the ETS and RE policies. The RE scenario is more economically efficient than the ETS scenario, and coupling the RE and ETS scenarios appears to be the most economically efficient scenario to achieve the desired carbon and energy intensity targets. One of the benefits of the low-carbon policy is its improvement of the energy security of Guangdong in terms of reduced reliance on external coal and oil; in particular, Guangdong coal consumption could peak in 2017–2019. - Highlights: • This study analyzes the low carbon policy in the power sector in Guangdong of China. • The role of power sector in achieving carbon and energy intensity target is shown. • Renewable energy and natural gas are very important for Guangdong Province. • Additional efforts in other sectors are needed to achieve the intensity targets. • The mitigation cost and economic impacts are assessed under various policy settings.

Implementation lessons for school food policies and marketing restrictions in the Philippines: a qualitative policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Reeve, Erica; Thow, Anne Marie; Bell, Colin; Engelhardt, Katrin; Gamolo-Naliponguit, Ella Cecilia; Go, John Juliard; Sacks, Gary

2018-01-23

The school environment can enhance children's skills, knowledge and behaviours in relation to healthy eating. However, in many countries, unhealthy foods are commonly available in schools, and children can be exposed to aggressive marketing by the food industry. Taking the perspective of policymakers, this study aimed to identify barriers and enablers to effective school food policy development and implementation in the Philippines. In May 2016, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 policymakers and stakeholders involved in school food policymaking and implementation in the Philippines. The Health Policy Analysis Triangle was used to identify interview questions and to guide the thematic analysis. These included the political and socio-environmental context, strengths and limitations of existing policy content, roles and behaviours of actors, implementation processes, policy outcomes, and opportunities to improve policy coherence. The Department of Education's policy 'Orders' represented a relatively strong policy framework for the education sector of the Philippines. However, a lack of human and financial resources for implementation, planning, and policy enforcement limited the impact of the policy on the healthiness of school food provision. Ambiguity in policy wording allowed a wide interpretation of the foods eligible to be provided in schools, and led to difficulties in effective monitoring and enforcement. Food companies used existing relationships with schools to promote their brands and compromise the establishment of a stronger food policy agenda. We found a motivated group of actors engaging in policy-oriented learning and advocating for a stronger policy alternative so as to improve the school food environment. The adoption of policy mechanisms being used to promote healthy dietary practices in the school setting will be strengthened by more robust implementation planning processes, and resources to support implementation and enforcement

Deforestation, Leakage and Avoided Deforestation Policies: A Spatial Analysis

OpenAIRE

Philippe Delacote; Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson; Sébastien Roussel

2015-01-01

This paper analyses the impact of several avoided deforestation policies within a patchy forested landscape. Central is the idea that one neighbour's deforestation actions may impact the returns to deforestation in nearby patches. We determine the impact of each policy in terms of avoided deforestation and leakage levels at the landscape scale through modelling and simulations. Avoided deforestation policies at a landscape level are respectively: two Payment for Environmental Services (PES) p...

A harmonized calculation model for transforming EU bottom-up energy efficiency indicators into empirical estimates of policy impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horowitz, Marvin J.; Bertoldi, Paolo

2015-01-01

This study is an impact analysis of European Union (EU) energy efficiency policy that employs both top-down energy consumption data and bottom-up energy efficiency statistics or indicators. As such, it may be considered a contribution to the effort called for in the EU's 2006 Energy Services Directive (ESD) to develop a harmonized calculation model. Although this study does not estimate the realized savings from individual policy measures, it does provide estimates of realized energy savings for energy efficiency policy measures in aggregate. Using fixed effects panel models, the annual cumulative savings in 2011 of combined household and manufacturing sector electricity and natural gas usage attributed to EU energy efficiency policies since 2000 is estimated to be 1136 PJ; the savings attributed to energy efficiency policies since 2006 is estimated to be 807 PJ, or the equivalent of 5.6% of 2011 EU energy consumption. As well as its contribution to energy efficiency policy analysis, this study adds to the development of methods that can improve the quality of information provided by standardized energy efficiency and sustainable resource indexes. - Highlights: • Impact analysis of European Union energy efficiency policy. • Harmonization of top-down energy consumption and bottom-up energy efficiency indicators. • Fixed effects models for Member States for household and manufacturing sectors and combined electricity and natural gas usage. • EU energy efficiency policies since 2000 are estimated to have saved 1136 Petajoules. • Energy savings attributed to energy efficiency policies since 2006 are 5.6 percent of 2011 combined electricity and natural gas usage.

Impact of reserves information on formulating government policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekelund, M.W.; Anderson, B.; Khan, M.; Hudson, B.

1997-01-01

Policies regarding the development and production of Alberta's mineral resources such as oil, gas, and bitumen, are developed by the Alberta Ministry of Energy. The Ministry is divided into the Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) and the Department of Energy. The EUB deals with conservation, production measurement and reporting, environmental issues and some public utility issues. The Department of Energy deals with determining the appropriate fiscal and tenure regimes, market effectiveness issues and collection of Alberta's share of production. Reserve estimates are used for policy development and implementation purposes. The impact of some doubts regarding the reliability of reserves information and its impact on provincial policy recommendations were highlighted. Examples were drawn from bitumen reserves determination in the Athabasca Oil Sands area, enhanced oil recovery programs within the conventional oil sector, and royalty formulation within the conventional oil and gas sectors

The impact of uncertainty on optimal emission policies

Science.gov (United States)

Botta, Nicola; Jansson, Patrik; Ionescu, Cezar

2018-05-01

We apply a computational framework for specifying and solving sequential decision problems to study the impact of three kinds of uncertainties on optimal emission policies in a stylized sequential emission problem.We find that uncertainties about the implementability of decisions on emission reductions (or increases) have a greater impact on optimal policies than uncertainties about the availability of effective emission reduction technologies and uncertainties about the implications of trespassing critical cumulated emission thresholds. The results show that uncertainties about the implementability of decisions on emission reductions (or increases) call for more precautionary policies. In other words, delaying emission reductions to the point in time when effective technologies will become available is suboptimal when these uncertainties are accounted for rigorously. By contrast, uncertainties about the implications of exceeding critical cumulated emission thresholds tend to make early emission reductions less rewarding.

Impact of competitive electricity market on renewable generation technology choice and policies in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarkar, Ashok

1999-01-01

Market objectives based on private value judgments will conflict with social policy objectives toward environmental quality in an emerging restructured electricity industry. This might affect the choice of renewables in the future generation mix. The US electricity industry's long-term capacity planning and operations is simulated for alternative market paradigms to study this impact. The analysis indicates that the share of renewable energy generation sources would decrease and emissions would increase considerably in a more competitive industry, with greater impact occurring in a monopoly market. Alternative environmental policy options can overcome market failures and help achieve appropriate levels of renewable generation. An evaluation of these policies indicate their varying cost-effectiveness, with higher levels of intervention necessary if market power exists. (Author)

78 FR 6322 - Economic Impact Policy

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-30

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK Economic Impact Policy This notice is to inform the public that the Export..., France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Romania... comments on this transaction by email to economic[email protected] or by mail to 811 Vermont Avenue NW...

The effect of climate policy on the impacts of climate change on river flows in the UK

Science.gov (United States)

Arnell, Nigel W.; Charlton, Matthew B.; Lowe, Jason A.

2014-03-01

This paper compares the effects of two indicative climate mitigation policies on river flows in six catchments in the UK with two scenarios representing un-mitigated emissions. It considers the consequences of uncertainty in both the pattern of catchment climate change as represented by different climate models and hydrological model parameterisation on the effects of mitigation policy. Mitigation policy has little effect on estimated flow magnitudes in 2030. By 2050 a mitigation policy which achieves a 2 °C temperature rise target reduces impacts on low flows by 20-25% compared to a business-as-usual emissions scenario which increases temperatures by 4 °C by the end of the 21st century, but this is small compared to the range in impacts between different climate model scenarios. However, the analysis also demonstrates that an early peak in emissions would reduce impacts by 40-60% by 2080 (compared with the 4 °C pathway), easing the adaptation challenge over the long term, and can delay by several decades the impacts that would be experienced from around 2050 in the absence of policy. The estimated proportion of impacts avoided varies between climate model patterns and, to a lesser extent, hydrological model parameterisations, due to variations in the projected shape of the relationship between climate forcing and hydrological response.

Governing the transition to renewable energy: A review of impacts and policy issues in the small hydropower boom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelly-Richards, Sarah; Silber-Coats, Noah; Crootof, Arica; Tecklin, David; Bauer, Carl

2017-01-01

The transition to renewable energy technologies raises new and important governance questions. With small hydropower (SHP) expanding as part of renewable energy and climate mitigation strategies, this review assesses its impacts and identifies escalating policy issues. To provide a comprehensive literature review of small hydropower, we evaluated over 3600 articles and policy documents. This review identified four major concerns: (1) confusion in small hydropower definitions is convoluting scholarship and policy-making; (2) there is a lack of knowledge and acknowledgement of small hydropower’s social, environmental, and cumulative impacts; (3) small hydropower’s promotion as a climate mitigation strategy can negatively affect local communities, posing contradictions for climate change policy; and (4) institutional analysis is needed to facilitate renewable energy integration with existing environmental laws to ensure sustainable energy development. For readers interested in small hydropower, we clarify areas of confusion in definition and explain the corresponding impacts for distinct system designs. For a broader readership, we situate small hydropower implementation within international trends of renewable energy development – the contradictory impacts of climate change policy, emerging dynamics in energy finance, and reliance on market mechanisms. Our paper provides a timely contribution to scholarship on small hydropower and the transition to renewable energy. - Highlights: • Confusion in small hydropower definitions is convoluting small hydropower debates. • Small hydropower’s negative impacts are largely overlooked in policy discussions. • Small hydropower exemplifies paradoxical problems with climate change policy. • Policies needed to integrate renewable energy development with national environmental institutions.

Estimating the impact of alcohol policies on youth suicides.

Science.gov (United States)

Markowitz, Sara; Chatterji, Pinka; Kaestner, Robert

2003-03-01

Alcohol consumption has been identified as one of the most important risk factors for youth suicide. Previous research has shown a strong, empirical link between alcohol use and suicide. If alcohol use is a contributing factor in determining suicidal behaviors, then policies designed to reduce the alcohol consumption may succeed in reducing youth suicides as well. This paper looks at the role of alcohol-related policies in reducing completed suicides by American youths and young adults. This hypothesis comes from two well established relationships: i) the observed correlation between alcohol consumption and incidents of suicide, and ii) the negative relationship between the full price of alcohol and consumption. The alcohol policies examined are excise taxes on beer, measures of alcohol availability, and drunk driving laws. Data on completed suicides for each state in the United States are analyzed for the period 1976-1999. Negative binomial regressions are used to estimate a reduced form model of youth suicide. Suicides are analyzed by gender and age groups (ages 10-14, 15-19 and 20-24). The results indicate that increases in the excise tax on beer are associated with a reduced number of male suicides. This tax, however, has no impact on female suicides. Suicides by males ages 20-24 are positively related to the availability of alcohol, and negatively related to the presence of a 0.08 BAC (blood alcohol concentration) law and a zero tolerance law for drunk driving. Female suicides are not impacted by the availability of alcohol, although the drunk driving laws may impact suicides by teenage females. Policies designed to reduce alcohol consumption may have the unintended benefit of reducing suicides, particularly among young males. While this research shows that alcohol policies may be successful in reducing male suicides, such policies have little impact on female suicides. Future research should explore other potential types of policies and programs to reduce

The effectiveness of China's wind power policy: An empirical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Xiaoli; Li, Shujie; Zhang, Sufang; Yang, Rui; Liu, Suwei

2016-01-01

Along with China's rapid industrialization and urbanization, challenges in reducing pollution and CO_2 emissions are increasing. One of the major approaches to coordinate economic growth and environmental protection is to substitute coal-fired power with renewable energy. Since 2003, in order to promote wind power development, China has put in place many support policies which fall into either price policy category or non-price policy category. By using a variable intercept and mixed regression model with provincial panel data during 2001–2013, we analyzed the impacts of both categories on the increase of installed capacity in areas with different wind resources. We found that price policy and two non-price policies had positive impacts on the increase of wind power installation, price policy played a greater role than non-price policy did in promoting wind power development, and price policy was more effective in areas with poor wind resources, whilst non- price policy was more effective in areas with rich wind resources. Built on these findings, conclusions and policy recommendations are provided at the end of the paper. - Highlights: •We study the impact of price policy on China's new wind power capacity. •Four non-price policies impact on China's new wind power capacity is studied. •Price policy is more effective in wind power increase than non-price policy. •Price policy is more effective than non-price policy in wind non-rich areas. •Non-price policy is more effective than price policy in wind rich areas.

Ecological and economic impacts of forest policies: interactions across forestry and agriculture.

Science.gov (United States)

R.J. Alig; D.M. Adams; B.A. McCarl

1998-01-01

A linked model of the US forest and agriculture sectors was used to examine the economic and ecological impacts of two forest policies: a minimum harvest age limitation and a reduced public harvest policy. Simulated private responses to both policies indicate that landowners could undertake a range of adjustments to minimize their welfare impacts, but imposition of...

Impact, regulation and health policy implications of physician migration in OECD countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simoens Steven

2004-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the face of rising demand for medical services due to ageing populations, physician migration flows are increasingly affecting the supply of physicians in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD countries. This paper offers an integrated perspective on the impact of physician migration on home and host countries and discusses international regulation and policy approaches governing physician migration. Methods Information about migration flows, international regulation and policies governing physician migration were derived from two questionnaires sent to OECD countries, a secondary analysis of EUROSTAT Labour Force Surveys, a literature review and official policy documents of OECD countries. Results OECD countries increasingly perceive immigration of foreign physicians as a way of sustaining their physician workforce. As a result, countries have entered into international agreements regulating physician migration, although their success has been limited due to the imposition of licensing requirements and the protection of vested interests by domestic physicians. OECD countries have therefore adopted specific policies designed to stimulate the immigration of foreign physicians, whilst minimising its negative impact on the home country. Measures promoting immigration have included international recruitment campaigns, less strict immigration requirements and arrangements that foster shared learning between health care systems. Policies restricting the societal costs of physician emigration from developing countries such as good practice guidelines and taxes on host countries have not yet produced their expected effect or in some cases have not been established at all. Conclusions Although OECD countries generally favour long-term policies of national self-sufficiency to sustain their physician workforce, such policies usually co-exist with short-term or medium-term policies to attract foreign physicians

Temperature impacts on economic growth warrant stringent mitigation policy

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Frances C.; Diaz, Delavane B.

2015-02-01

Integrated assessment models compare the costs of greenhouse gas mitigation with damages from climate change to evaluate the social welfare implications of climate policy proposals and inform optimal emissions reduction trajectories. However, these models have been criticized for lacking a strong empirical basis for their damage functions, which do little to alter assumptions of sustained gross domestic product (GDP) growth, even under extreme temperature scenarios. We implement empirical estimates of temperature effects on GDP growth rates in the DICE model through two pathways, total factor productivity growth and capital depreciation. This damage specification, even under optimistic adaptation assumptions, substantially slows GDP growth in poor regions but has more modest effects in rich countries. Optimal climate policy in this model stabilizes global temperature change below 2 °C by eliminating emissions in the near future and implies a social cost of carbon several times larger than previous estimates. A sensitivity analysis shows that the magnitude of climate change impacts on economic growth, the rate of adaptation, and the dynamic interaction between damages and GDP are three critical uncertainties requiring further research. In particular, optimal mitigation rates are much lower if countries become less sensitive to climate change impacts as they develop, making this a major source of uncertainty and an important subject for future research.

Assessing the Impact of Financial Policies on Nigeria's Economic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Assessing the Impact of Financial Policies on Nigeria's Economic Growth. ... Furthermore, it calls for effective implementation and monitoring of financial policies as well as adequate supervision of the financial sector by the relevant authorities to avoid lopsided compliance with financial and monetary guidelines. Keywords: ...

The Impact of the Introduction of Web Information Systems (WIS) on Information Policies: An Analysis of the Canadian Federal Government Policies Related to WIS.

Science.gov (United States)

Dufour, Christine; Bergeron, Pierette

2002-01-01

Presents results of an analysis of the Canadian federal government information policies that govern its Web information systems (WIS) that was conducted to better understand how the government has adapted its information policies to the WIS. Discusses results that indicate new policies have been crafted to take into account the WIS context.…

78 FR 30920 - Economic Impact Policy

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-23

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES Economic Impact Policy This notice is to inform the public that the Export-Import Bank of the United States has received an application for a $650 million long... Asian Markets including: China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Interested parties may submit comments on this...

78 FR 37539 - Economic Impact Policy

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-21

... the export of approximately $74 million in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing equipment to a dedicated foundry in China. The U.S. exports will enable the dedicated foundry to increase existing 300mm (non-DRAM... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK Economic Impact Policy This notice is to inform the public that the Export...

78 FR 34660 - Economic Impact Policy

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-10

... guarantee to support the export of approximately $110.4 million worth of aluminum beverage cans and ends manufacturing equipment to China. The U.S. exports will enable the Chinese company to produce approximately 2.8... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK Economic Impact Policy This notice is to inform the public that the Export...

Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis | Page 4 ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis. As the presence and influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) continues to widen and deepen, so too does its impact on economic development. However, much work needs to be done before the linkages between economic development ...

Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis | Page 3 ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Statistical Compilation of the ICT Sector and Policy Analysis. As the presence and influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) continues to widen and deepen, so too does its impact on economic development. However, much work needs to be done before the linkages between economic development ...

The Heterogeneous Impacts of Groundwater Management Policies in the Republican River Basin of Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Hrozencik, R. A.; Manning, D. T.; Suter, J. F.; Goemans, C.; Bailey, R. T.

2017-12-01

Groundwater is a critical input to agricultural production across the globe. Current groundwater pumping rates frequently exceed recharge, often by a substantial amount, leading to groundwater depletion and potential declines in agricultural profits over time. As a result, many regions reliant on irrigated agriculture have proposed policies to manage groundwater use. Even when gains from aquifer management exist, there is little information about how policies affect individual producers sharing the resource. In this paper, we investigate the variability of groundwater management policy impacts across heterogeneous agricultural producers. To measure these impacts, we develop a hydroeconomic model that captures the important role of well capacity, productivity of water, and weather uncertainty. We use the model to simulate the impacts of groundwater management policies on producers in the High Plains aquifer of eastern Colorado and compare outcomes to a no-policy baseline. The management policies considered include a pumping fee, a quantity restriction, and an irrigated acreage fee. We find that well capacity and soil type affect policy impacts but in ways that can qualitatively differ across policy type. Model results have important implications for the distributional impacts and political acceptability of groundwater management policies.

A top-down bottom-up modeling approach to climate change policy analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuladhar, Sugandha D.; Yuan, Mei; Bernstein, Paul; Montgomery, W. David; Smith, Anne

2009-01-01

This paper analyzes macroeconomic impacts of U.S. climate change policies for three different emissions pathways using a top-down bottom-up integrated model. The integrated model couples a technology-rich, bottom-up model of the U.S. electricity sector with a fully dynamic, forward-looking general equilibrium model of the U.S. economy. Our model provides a unique and consistent modeling framework for climate change analysis. Because of the model's detail and flexibility, we use it to examine additional scenarios to analyze many of the major uncertainties surrounding the implementation and impact of climate change policies - the role of command-and-control measures, loss in flexibility mechanisms such as banking, limits on low-emitting technology, and availability of offsets. The results consistently demonstrate that those policies that combine market-oriented abatement incentives with full flexibility are the most cost-effective. (author)

Investigating the impact of agrarian policies on conflict and ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2011-07-14

Jul 14, 2011 ... Investigating the impact of agrarian policies on conflict and peacebuilding ... tourism industry, defusing the conflict impact of relative land scarcity. ... the idea — flowing from the increasingly influential "Economic Theory of War" ...

An intersectionality-based policy analysis framework: critical reflections on a methodology for advancing equity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hankivsky, Olena; Grace, Daniel; Hunting, Gemma; Giesbrecht, Melissa; Fridkin, Alycia; Rudrum, Sarah; Ferlatte, Olivier; Clark, Natalie

2014-12-10

In the field of health, numerous frameworks have emerged that advance understandings of the differential impacts of health policies to produce inclusive and socially just health outcomes. In this paper, we present the development of an important contribution to these efforts - an Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) Framework. Developed over the course of two years in consultation with key stakeholders and drawing on best and promising practices of other equity-informed approaches, this participatory and iterative IBPA Framework provides guidance and direction for researchers, civil society, public health professionals and policy actors seeking to address the challenges of health inequities across diverse populations. Importantly, we present the application of the IBPA Framework in seven priority health-related policy case studies. The analysis of each case study is focused on explaining how IBPA: 1) provides an innovative structure for critical policy analysis; 2) captures the different dimensions of policy contexts including history, politics, everyday lived experiences, diverse knowledges and intersecting social locations; and 3) generates transformative insights, knowledge, policy solutions and actions that cannot be gleaned from other equity-focused policy frameworks. The aim of this paper is to inspire a range of policy actors to recognize the potential of IBPA to foreground the complex contexts of health and social problems, and ultimately to transform how policy analysis is undertaken.

75 FR 28021 - Economic Impact Policy

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-19

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES Economic Impact Policy This notice is to inform the public that the Export-Import Bank of the United States has received an application for a $400 million long.... New Mexican production of ZSM will be sold in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. Interested parties...

76 FR 79679 - Economic Impact Policy

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-22

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES Economic Impact Policy This notice is to inform the public that the Export-Import Bank of the United States has received an application for a $74 million long..., locomotives and railcars to Canada. The U.S. exports will enable the Canadian mining company to increase...

77 FR 6563 - Economic Impact Policy

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-08

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES Economic Impact Policy This notice is to inform the public that the Export-Import Bank of the United States has received an application for a $1.74 billion loan... Australia. The U.S. exports will enable the Australian mining company to increase production by about 100...

76 FR 28225 - Economic Impact Policy

Science.gov (United States)

2011-05-16

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES Economic Impact Policy This notice is to inform the public that the Export-Import Bank of the United States has received an application for a $47 million long... services to Australia. The U.S. exports will enable the Australian mining company to produce, on average...

The impact of monetary policy on New Zealand business cycles and inflation variability

OpenAIRE

Nathan McLellan; Robert A Buckle; Kunhong Kim

2004-01-01

This paper uses the open economy structural VAR model developed in Buckle, Kim, Kirkham, McLellan and Sharma (2002) to evaluate the impact of monetary policy on New Zealand business cycles and inflation variability and the output/inflation variability trade-off. The model includes a forward-looking Taylor Rule to identify monetary policy and the impact of monetary policy is evaluated by deriving a monetary policy index using a procedure suggested by Dungey and Pagan (2000). Monetary policy ha...

The capital structure impact on forming company’s accounting policy

OpenAIRE

Česnavičiūtė, Giedrė

2011-01-01

KEWORDS: Accounting policy, accounting policy choice, disclosure of accounting policies, capital structure, financial leverage, legitimacy theory, agency theory, signal theory, stakeholder theory. The optimal structure of the capital has a huge impact assuring its goals and financial stability. The company’s appropriate situation of financial condition depends on the accounting policies formation as well. In this paper there was made the investigation of correlation of company’s capital struc...

The dynamics of technology diffusion and the impacts of climate policy instruments in the decarbonisation of the global electricity sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mercure, J.-F.; Pollitt, H.; Chewpreecha, U.; Salas, P.; Foley, A.M.; Holden, P.B.; Edwards, N.R.

2014-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of climate policy instruments for the decarbonisation of the global electricity sector in a non-equilibrium economic and technology diffusion perspective. Energy markets are driven by innovation, path-dependent technology choices and diffusion. However, conventional optimisation models lack detail on these aspects and have limited ability to address the effectiveness of policy interventions because they do not represent decision-making. As a result, known effects of technology lock-ins are liable to be underestimated. In contrast, our approach places investor decision-making at the core of the analysis and investigates how it drives the diffusion of low-carbon technology in a highly disaggregated, hybrid, global macroeconometric model, FTT:Power-E3MG. Ten scenarios to 2050 of the electricity sector in 21 regions exploring combinations of electricity policy instruments are analysed, including their climate impacts. We show that in a diffusion and path-dependent perspective, the impact of combinations of policies does not correspond to the sum of impacts of individual instruments: synergies exist between policy tools. We argue that the carbon price required to break the current fossil technology lock-in can be much lower when combined with other policies, and that a 90% decarbonisation of the electricity sector by 2050 is affordable without early scrapping. - Highlights: • Policy scenarios for decarbonising of the global electricity sector by 90%. • Strong synergies exist between different energy policy instruments. • Carbon pricing not a sufficient policy instrument for large emissions reductions. • Improved agent behaviour assumptions for energy modelling beyond cost-optimisation

An Analysis of Reconstituted Fluid Milk Pricing Policy

OpenAIRE

Glen D. Whipple

1983-01-01

This analysis suggests that alteration of the reconstituted fluid milk pricing provisions of federal and state milk market orders would have a substantial impact on market equilibrium. A reactive programming model of the U.S. milk market was used to simulate the effects of altered reconstituted fluid milk pricing policy. The solutions indicate that reconstituted fluid milk, as a lower cost alternative to fresh fluid milk, would make up a substantial portion of the fluid milk consumption in so...

Analysis of Department of Defense social media policy and its impact on operational security

OpenAIRE

Leonhardi, Eric V.; Murphy, Mark; Kim, Hannah

2015-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited The emergence and rapid adoption of social media by society has forced the Department of Defense (DOD) to adapt, and ultimately develop and incorporate, social media policy into its cybersecurity strategy. While social media has influenced DOD strategy, it has also had a direct impact on the organization’s operational security (OPSEC). DOD personnel using social media represent a potential OPSEC risk through the various ways and means ...

Changes in the Medicare home health care market: the impact of reimbursement policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Sunha; Davitt, Joan K

2009-03-01

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 introduced 2 new reimbursement structures, the Interim Payment System (IPS, 1997-2000) and the Prospective Payment System (PPS, begun October 2000) for Medicare home health agencies (HHAs) under the fee-for-service program. This article describes and compares the impact of these changes on the Medicare home health market from a period before the BBA through the IPS and PPS in relation to agency characteristics. A secondary analysis of 1996, 1999, and 2002 Provider of Services data was conducted on all Medicare-certified HHAs. Frequencies and rates of change were calculated by agency characteristics to describe changes in the number of active agencies through those years. Logistic regression models were used to compare factors associated with market exits under different payment systems. The results indicate dramatic but disproportional changes in response to the IPS and the PPS among Medicare home health care agencies. Agency closures were greater and market entries fewer during the IPS, but more branch offices/subunits were closed during the PPS. Proprietary and freestanding agencies experienced greater volatility throughout, with the greatest number of closures seen in Region VI (Dallas). These results demonstrate the direct impact of policy changes on the home health care market and highlight the need to evaluate policy changes to understand both intended and unintended impacts on health markets. Future research should analyze the effect of these policy changes on other healthcare providers and systems and their impact on health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries.

Gender Mainstreaming and Work-Family Reconciliation. An Analysis of Family Policies in Romania and Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana Crușmac

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Gender Mainstreaming (GM was introduced by the European Union (EU in 1997, as a strategy to achieve gender equality in all policy areas. Yet, European countries greatly diverge in their progress of implementation. We investigate the role GM played in Romanian and German policies aimed at achieving work-family reconciliation, using concepts from feminist policy analysis. Our analysis shows that pre-existing policies and discourse, the economic situation, as well as the relationship with the EU have shaped and impeded the implementation process of GM in both countries. While Germany slowly moves towards more egalitarian policies, GM as label and strategy did not succeed. In Romania, GM has only impacted work and family reconciliation indirectly through EU legislation.

Policy reforms, rice production and sustainable land use in China: A macro-micro analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heerink, N.; Qu, F.; Kuiper, M.H.; Shi Xiaoping, X.; Tan Shuhao,

2007-01-01

This paper presents a macro¿micro analysis of the impact of policy reforms in China on agricultural production, input use and soil quality change for a major rice-producing area, namely Jiangxi province. This is done in three steps. First, a quantitative assessment is made of the impact of market

Estimating Non-Market Impacts of Climate Change and Climate Policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rothman, D.S.; Amelung, B.; Polome, P.

2003-01-01

A number of studies over the past few decades have attempted to estimate the potential impacts of climate change and climate policy. For reasons related to, inter alia, our incomplete understanding of the workings of many natural and social systems, the tremendous spatial and temporal variability in these systems, and the long time frames over which the issue of climate change will play out, there are large degrees of uncertainty in these estimates. Some of the most rancorous debates, however, have focused on those studies that have attempted to place economic values on these impacts. This should not be surprising as the outcomes of these studies have played an important role in the debates over climate policy. Rightly or wrongly, the estimates presented in these studies are often held up against similar estimates of the costs of mitigating against climate change. The process of economic valuation of environmental and social issues is still relatively young, much less its application to the potential impacts of climate change and climate policy. Issues such as climate change push existing techniques to their limits, and possibly beyond. Among the topics that have raised the most concern are the choice of the proper baseline against which to make comparisons, the treatment of uncertainty in human and natural systems, incomplete accounting, the actual valuation of specific impacts, and the aggregation of impacts over time and across widely differing societies. Some of the more recent studies have tried to address these issues, albeit not always satisfactorily. One aspect that makes the economic valuation of environmental and social issues difficult is that it requires addressing impacts that are not typically associated with economic markets, so called nonmarket impacts. In addition to not being traded in markets, many of these impacts affect goods and services that have the characteristic of being public goods, i.e. it is not possible to restrict their use to a

FISCAL AUSTERITY POLICY IMPACT ON WELFARE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romina Pržiklas Družeta

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The ongoing global financial and economic crisis has caused a dramatic fall in growth, increased deficit, higher unemployment rates and strong price fluctuations. To achieve a balanced budget and reduce the national debt, the most of the national government have sacrificed the employment - one of the main indicators that reflect societies’ well-being and implemented fiscal austerity policy. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the literature on this topic and assess the short analysis of fiscal consolidation. Despite the ongoing debate and numerous studies no consensus about whether and when austerity is likely to be beneficial has been achieved. Further, there are still open issues to understand the impact of austerity on poverty and welfare because of the difficulty of defining poverty and welfare also. The main conclusion is that the emphasis should be placed on correctly defining austerity methodology in a broader economic and social context.

Transport policy and health inequalities: a health impact assessment of Edinburgh's transport policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorman, D; Douglas, M J; Conway, L; Noble, P; Hanlon, P

2003-01-01

Health impact assessment (HIA) can be used to examine the relationships between inequalities and health. This HIA of Edinburgh's transport policy demonstrates how HIA can examine how different transport policies can affect different population groupings to varying degrees. In this case, Edinburgh's economy is based on tourism, financial services and Government bodies. These need a good transport infrastructure, which maintains a vibrant city centre. A transport policy that promotes walking, cycling and public transport supports this and is also good for health. The HIA suggested that greater spend on public transport and supporting sustainable modes of transport was beneficial to health, and offered scope to reduce inequalities. This message was understood by the City Council and influenced the development of the city's transport and land-use strategies. The paper discusses how HIA can influence public policy.

Renewable heating: Perspectives and the impact of policy instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kranzl, Lukas; Hummel, Marcus; Müller, Andreas; Steinbach, Jan

2013-01-01

In the light of the EU directive for renewable energy (2009/28/EC) this paper deals with the question how various policy instruments could impact the development of renewable heating technologies. The paper applies the simulation model Invert/EE-Lab for the building related heat demand in selected European countries (Austria, Lithuania and United Kingdom). The resulting scenarios up to 2030 are compared to RES-Heat targets from literature, stakeholder consultation processes and the targets in the national renewable energy action plans submitted by EU Member States in 2010. The results demonstrate that use obligations for renewable heating can be effective in achieving RES-Heat market growth. However, in order to attain a balanced technology mix and more ambitious targets, policy packages are required combining use obligations with economic incentives and accompanying measures. Technology specific conclusions are derived. Moreover, conclusions indicate that the action plans are not always consistent with policy measures in place or under discussion. - Highlights: • Modeling of RES-Heat policies in the building sector. • Application of the model Invert/EE-Lab for the cases of AT, LT, UK. • RES-Heat use obligations are effective but should be integrated in policy packages. • The design of use obligations has substantial impact on the RES-H technology mix. • National renewable energy action plans are not always consistent with policies

Misconduct Policies in High-Impact Biomedical Journals

Science.gov (United States)

Bosch, Xavier; Hernández, Cristina; Pericas, Juan M.; Doti, Pamela; Marušić, Ana

2012-01-01

Background It is not clear which research misconduct policies are adopted by biomedical journals. This study assessed the prevalence and content policies of the most influential biomedical journals on misconduct and procedures for handling and responding to allegations of misconduct. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of misconduct policies of 399 high-impact biomedical journals in 27 biomedical categories of the Journal Citation Reports in December 2011. Journal websites were reviewed for information relevant to misconduct policies. Results Of 399 journals, 140 (35.1%) provided explicit definitions of misconduct. Falsification was explicitly mentioned by 113 (28.3%) journals, fabrication by 104 (26.1%), plagiarism by 224 (56.1%), duplication by 242 (60.7%) and image manipulation by 154 (38.6%). Procedures for responding to misconduct were described in 179 (44.9%) websites, including retraction, (30.8%) and expression of concern (16.3%). Plagiarism-checking services were used by 112 (28.1%) journals. The prevalences of all types of misconduct policies were higher in journals that endorsed any policy from editors’ associations, Office of Research Integrity or professional societies compared to those that did not state adherence to these policy-producing bodies. Elsevier and Wiley-Blackwell had the most journals included (22.6% and 14.8%, respectively), with Wiley journals having greater a prevalence of misconduct definition and policies on falsification, fabrication and expression of concern and Elsevier of plagiarism-checking services. Conclusions Only a third of top-ranking peer-reviewed journals had publicly-available definitions of misconduct and less than a half described procedures for handling allegations of misconduct. As endorsement of international policies from policy-producing bodies was positively associated with implementation of policies and procedures, journals and their publishers should standardize their policies globally in order to

Misconduct policies in high-impact biomedical journals.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xavier Bosch

Full Text Available It is not clear which research misconduct policies are adopted by biomedical journals. This study assessed the prevalence and content policies of the most influential biomedical journals on misconduct and procedures for handling and responding to allegations of misconduct.We conducted a cross-sectional study of misconduct policies of 399 high-impact biomedical journals in 27 biomedical categories of the Journal Citation Reports in December 2011. Journal websites were reviewed for information relevant to misconduct policies.Of 399 journals, 140 (35.1% provided explicit definitions of misconduct. Falsification was explicitly mentioned by 113 (28.3% journals, fabrication by 104 (26.1%, plagiarism by 224 (56.1%, duplication by 242 (60.7% and image manipulation by 154 (38.6%. Procedures for responding to misconduct were described in 179 (44.9% websites, including retraction, (30.8% and expression of concern (16.3%. Plagiarism-checking services were used by 112 (28.1% journals. The prevalences of all types of misconduct policies were higher in journals that endorsed any policy from editors' associations, Office of Research Integrity or professional societies compared to those that did not state adherence to these policy-producing bodies. Elsevier and Wiley-Blackwell had the most journals included (22.6% and 14.8%, respectively, with Wiley journals having greater a prevalence of misconduct definition and policies on falsification, fabrication and expression of concern and Elsevier of plagiarism-checking services.Only a third of top-ranking peer-reviewed journals had publicly-available definitions of misconduct and less than a half described procedures for handling allegations of misconduct. As endorsement of international policies from policy-producing bodies was positively associated with implementation of policies and procedures, journals and their publishers should standardize their policies globally in order to increase public trust in the

Evaluating the impacts of packaging policy in The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rouw, M.; Worrell, E.

2011-01-01

Packaging materials are one of the largest contributors to municipal solid waste production. This paper evaluates the material impacts packaging policy in The Netherlands in the period 1986–2007. Five different voluntary agreements were implemented over this period to reduce the environmental impact

Projected impacts of federal tax policy proposals on mortality burden in the United States: A microsimulation analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Daniel

2018-06-01

The public health consequences of federal income tax policies that influence income inequality are not well understood. I aimed to project the impacts on mortality of modifying federal income tax structures based on proposals by two recent United States (U.S.) Presidential candidates: Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders. I performed a microsimulation analysis using the latest U.S. Internal Revenue Service public-use tax file with state identifiers (2008 tax year), containing nationally-representative data from 139,651 tax returns. I considered five tax plan scenarios: 1) actual 2008 tax structures; proposals in 2016 by then-candidates 2) Trump and 3) Sanders; 4) a modified Sanders plan with higher top tax rates (75%); and 5) a modified Sanders plan with higher top rates plus revenue redistribution to lower-income households (Trump and Sanders plans, respectively. Under the modified Sanders plan including higher top rates, 68,919 (95% CI: 25,221-113,561) fewer deaths/year are projected. Under the modified Sanders plan with redistribution, 333,504 (95% CI: 192,897-473,787) fewer deaths/year are expected. Policies that both raise federal income tax rates and redistribute tax revenue could confer large reductions in the total number of annual deaths among Americans. In this era of high income inequality and growing public support to address the rich-poor gap, policymakers should consider joint federal tax and redistributive policies as levers to reduce the burden of mortality in the United States. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact assessment of land use policies: Introduction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bezlepkina, I.; Brouwer, F.M.; Reidsma, P.

2014-01-01

This special issue is built around a series of impact assessments of land use policies and sustainable development in developing countries, carried out in the EU-funded project LUPIS (Sixth framework programme, Global Change and Ecosystems, Contract 36955). The project targeted at the development

The potential impacts of climate-change policy on freshwater use in thermoelectric power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandel, Munish K.; Pratson, Lincoln F.; Jackson, Robert B.

2011-01-01

Climate change policy involving a price on carbon would change the mix of power plants and the amount of water they withdraw and consume to generate electricity. We analyze what these changes could entail for electricity generation in the United States under four climate policy scenarios that involve different costs for emitting CO 2 and different technology options for reducing emissions out to the year 2030. The potential impacts of the scenarios on the U.S. electric system are modeled using a modified version of the U.S. National Energy Modeling System and water-use factors for thermoelectric power plants derived from electric utility data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Under all the climate-policy scenarios, freshwater withdrawals decline 2-14% relative to a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario of no U.S. climate policy. Furthermore, water use decreases as the price on CO 2 under the climate policies increases. At relatively high carbon prices (>$50/tonne CO 2 ), however, retrofitting coal plants to capture CO 2 increases freshwater consumption compared to BAU in 2030. Our analysis suggests that climate policies and a carbon price will reduce both electricity generation and freshwater withdrawals compared to BAU unless a substantial number of coal plants are retrofitted to capture CO 2 . - Highlights: → We analyze the impact of climate change policy on water use for electricity generation. → Water use decreases with an increase in CO 2 allowance price. → Retrofitting of coal plants with CCS could increase water use considerably.

Universal Basic Education Policy: Impact on Enrolment and Retention

Science.gov (United States)

Iddrisu, Issah

2016-01-01

The universal basic education policy enshrined in the constitution of Ghana is aimed at making education accessible and affordable for all Ghanaian citizens. This paper sought to assess whether the universal basic education policy really have an impact on access at the basic level. The study was carried out on the premise that the universal basic…

Remotely Sensed Data for High Resolution Agro-Environmental Policy Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Welle, Paul

Policy analyses of agricultural and environmental systems are often limited due to data constraints. Measurement campaigns can be costly, especially when the area of interest includes oceans, forests, agricultural regions or other dispersed spatial domains. Satellite based remote sensing offers a way to increase the spatial and temporal resolution of policy analysis concerning these systems. However, there are key limitations to the implementation of satellite data. Uncertainty in data derived from remote-sensing can be significant, and traditional methods of policy analysis for managing uncertainty on large datasets can be computationally expensive. Moreover, while satellite data can increasingly offer estimates of some parameters such as weather or crop use, other information regarding demographic or economic data is unlikely to be estimated using these techniques. Managing these challenges in practical policy analysis remains a challenge. In this dissertation, I conduct five case studies which rely heavily on data sourced from orbital sensors. First, I assess the magnitude of climate and anthropogenic stress on coral reef ecosystems. Second, I conduct an impact assessment of soil salinity on California agriculture. Third, I measure the propensity of growers to adapt their cropping practices to soil salinization in agriculture. Fourth, I analyze whether small-scale desalination units could be applied on farms in California in order mitigate the effects of drought and salinization as well as prevent agricultural drainage from entering vulnerable ecosystems. And fifth, I assess the feasibility of satellite-based remote sensing for salinity measurement at global scale. Through these case studies, I confront both the challenges and benefits associated with implementing satellite based-remote sensing for improved policy analysis.

Decoupling among CSR policies, programs, and impacts : An empirical study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Graafland, Johan; Smid, Hugo

2016-01-01

There are relatively few empirical studies on the impacts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and programs. This article addresses the research gap by analyzing the incidence of, and the conditions that affect, decoupling (defined as divergence) among CSR policies, implementation of

Risk analysis and bioeconomics of invasive species to inform policy and management

Science.gov (United States)

David M. Lodge; Paul W. Simonin; Stanley W. Burgiel; Reuben P. Keller; Jonathan M. Bossenbroek; Christopher L. Jerde; Andrew M. Kramer; Edward S. Rutherford; Matthew A. Barnes; Marion E. Wittmann; W. Lindsay Chadderton; Jenny L. Apriesnig; Dmitry Beletsky; Roger M. Cooke; John M. Drake; Scott P. Egan; David C. Finnoff; Crysta A. Gantz; Erin K. Grey; Michael H. Hoff; Jennifer G. Howeth; Richard A. Jensen; Eric R. Larson; Nicholas E. Mandrak; Doran M. Mason; Felix A. Martinez; Tammy J. Newcomb; John D. Rothlisberger; Andrew J. Tucker; Travis W. Warziniack; Hongyan. Zhang

2016-01-01

Risk analysis of species invasions links biology and economics, is increasingly mandated by international and national policies, and enables improved management of invasive species. Biological invasions proceed through a series of transition probabilities (i.e., introduction, establishment, spread, and impact), and each of these presents opportunities for...

Policy analysis of multi-actor systems

CERN Document Server

Enserink, Bert; Kwakkel, Jan; Thissen, Wil; Koppenjan, Joop; Bots, Pieter

2010-01-01

Policy analysts love solving complex problems. Their favorite problems are not just technically complex but also characterized by the presence of many different social actors that hold conflicting interests, objectives, and perceptions and act strategically to get the best out of a problem situation. This book offers guidance for policy analysts who want to assess if and how their analysis could be of help, based on the premise that problem formulation is the cornerstone in addressing complex problems. This book positions policy analysis within the theories on processes of policy making, and f

Policy analysis: palliative care in Ireland.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Larkin, P

2014-03-01

Palliative care for patients with advanced illness is a subject of growing importance in health services, policy and research. In 2001 Ireland became one of the first nations to publish a dedicated national palliative care policy. This paper uses the \\'policy analysis triangle\\' as a framework to examine what the policy entailed, where the key ideas originated, why the policy process was activated, who were the key actors, and what were the main consequences. Although palliative care provision expanded following publication, priorities that were unaddressed or not fully embraced on the national policy agenda are identified. The factors underlying areas of non-fulfilment of policy are then discussed. In particular, the analysis highlights that policy initiatives in a relatively new field of healthcare face a trade-off between ambition and feasibility. Key policy goals could not be realised given the large resource commitments required; the competition for resources from other, better-established healthcare sectors; and challenges in expanding workforce and capacity. Additionally, the inherently cross-sectoral nature of palliative care complicated the co-ordination of support for the policy. Policy initiatives in emerging fields such as palliative care should address carefully feasibility and support in their conception and implementation.

Impact of monetary policy changes on the Chinese monetary and stock markets

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Yong; Luo, Yong; Xiong, Jie; Zhao, Fei; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

2013-10-01

The impact of monetary policy changes on the monetary market and stock market in China is investigated in this study. The changes of two major monetary policies, the interest rate and required reserve ratio, are analyzed in a study period covering seven years on the interbank monetary market and Shanghai stock market. We find that the monetary market is related to the macro economy trend and we also find that the monetary change surprises both of lowering and raising bring significant impacts to the two markets and the two markets respond to the changes differently. The results suggest that the impact of fluctuations is much larger for raising policy changes than lowering changes in the monetary market on policy announcing and effective dates. This is consistent with the “sign effect”, i.e. bad news brings a greater impact than good news. By studying the event window of each policy change, we also find that the “sign effect” still exists before and after each change in the monetary market. A relatively larger fluctuation is observed before the event date, which indicates that the monetary market might have a certain ability to predict a potential monetary change, while it is kept secret by the central bank before official announcement. In the stock market, we investigate how the returns and spreads of the Shanghai stock market index respond to the monetary changes. Evidences suggest the stock market is influenced but in a different way than the monetary market. The climbing of returns after the event dates for the lowering policy agrees with the theory that lowering changes can provide a monetary supply to boost the market and drive the stock returns higher but with a delay of 2 to 3 trading days on average. While in the bear market, the lowering policy brings larger volatility to the market on average than the raising ones. These empirical findings are useful for policymakers to understand how monetary policy changes impact the monetary and stock markets

Impacts of imports, government policy and technology on future natural gas supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allison, E.

2009-01-01

This presentation discussed the impacts of imports, government policy and technology on future natural gas supply. Specifically, it discussed projections of natural gas supply and demand; the potential impact of imports on United States natural gas supply; the potential impacts of government policy on natural gas supply and demand; and the impact of technological innovations on natural gas supply such as coalbed methane and methane hydrate. Specific government policies that were examined included the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009; and the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009. It was concluded that the United States demand for natural gas will expand and that the impact of pending clean energy legislation is unclear. In addition, each potential future resource will face constraints and new resources may come on line in the next 20 years. figs.

Public Policies Analysis and the Prince System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Behxhet Brajshori

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Public Policies present governmental sectorial policies and according to several scholars those are defined based on "what does the Government do". In fact, those are mandatory state's principles for the Government that aims the implementation of the strategy, objectives and Government's goals in the function of its promises' fulfilment towards the electors and all of the country's citizens. Public Policies Analysis has to do with the monitoring of government's agenda which directly can influence on a specific community. The idea of public policies analysis in linked with the need that the Government through statistical data has to prove what is being worked. Public Policies Analysis evolves in terms of design, implementation and public policies' effects. One of the methods for predicting the probability that a specifi c public policy will be implemented or not, is the Prince System. The Prince System, actually, presents a technique for assessing the relative support or opposition to a particular policy from individuals, groups or organizations.

Policy for Sustainable Entrepreneurship

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Watson, Rosina; Nielsen, Kristian Roed; Wilson, Hugh N.

open innovation with SME entrepreneurs, business execs, academics and policymakers via an online crowdsourcing event with 150 participants. Through inductive analysis of 1,696 text comments, five policy domains are identified: creating awareness/skills; building networks; funding/investing; measuring......Sustainable entrepreneurship—entrepreneurship with social and ecological gains as well as economic ones—can significantly address societal and environmental challenges, however, it is not clear how policy can support it. The authors develop a policy framework for sustainable entrepreneurship, using...... impact/performance; and innovating government. Contributions to entrepreneurship policy literature include measuring impact/performance and open policy innovation for entrepreneurship policy. Contributions to sustainability policy literature include empowering individuals as entrepreneurs and not just...

Empirical analysis of the solar incentive policy for Tennessee solar value chain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sawhney, Rapinder; Thakur, Kaveri; Venkatesan, Bharadwaj; Ji, Shuguang; Upreti, Girish; Sanseverino, John

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Tennessee solar value chain (TNSVC) is modeled to analyze effect of policy on demand. • TNSVC model replicates realistic scenarios to gauge the economic impact on state. • Simulation study determines that the TNSVC capacity is greater than demand. • Direct cash incentives have greater impact on demand than indirect incentives. • The model portrays a holistic approach to assist strategic energy policy analysis. - Abstract: The market for solar energy in the US has grown exponentially due to increased consumer demand resulting from price reduction via economies of scale, technological progress, and a variety of incentives from federal and state governments as well as utility companies. The installation of solar power in Tennessee has more than doubled each year from 2009 to 2011. In this paper, we focus on the behavior of the Tennessee Solar Value Chain (TNSVC) to study the factors that influence growth of solar industry in the state. The impact of existing incentives on the TNSVC is analyzed. The TNSVC is simulated based on inputs from on-site survey to estimate economic impact in terms of the number of jobs added and the tax revenue generated in the state. In addition, a sensitivity analysis for the impact on the TNSVC under different policies those may be adopted by the state of Tennessee in the future is conducted. This paper employs a holistic model which can predict PV installation demand, understand solar value chain capacity, and estimate the revenue generation. It should be noted that the method employed in this study is not unique to the solar energy industry in Tennessee. The data utilized in this study is a combination of public domain information and surveys of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and installers. This makes the model in this paper flexible enough to be applied to assess the solar value chain in other state or country

Reaching beyond Democracy in Educational Policy Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Leigh

2016-01-01

Educational policy analyses have tended toward either the impact of policies on student achievement or the furthering of progressive ideals, regularly theorized through concepts of democracy. In this theoretical essay, I suggest that democracy has become a vehicle for cauterized projects of individualized and contingent state status rather than…

Can policy ameliorate socioeconomic inequities in obesity and obesity-related behaviours? A systematic review of the impact of universal policies on adults and children.

Science.gov (United States)

Olstad, D L; Teychenne, M; Minaker, L M; Taber, D R; Raine, K D; Nykiforuk, C I J; Ball, K

2016-12-01

This systematic review examined the impact of universal policies on socioeconomic inequities in obesity, dietary and physical activity behaviours among adults and children. PRISMA-Equity guidelines were followed. Database searches spanned from 2004 to August 2015. Eligible studies assessed the impact of universal policies on anthropometric, dietary or physical activity-related outcomes in adults or children according to socioeconomic position. Thirty-six studies were included. Policies were classified as agentic, agento-structural or structural, and their impact on inequities was rated as positive, neutral, negative or mixed according to the dominant associations observed. Most policies had neutral impacts on obesity-related inequities regardless of whether they were agentic (60% neutral), agento-structural (68% neutral) or structural (67% neutral). The proportion of positive impacts was similar across policy types (10% agentic, 18% agento-structural and 11% structural), with some differences for negative impacts (30% agentic, 14% agento-structural and 22% structural). The majority of associations remained neutral when stratified by participant population, implementation level and socioeconomic position measures and by anthropometric and behavioural outcomes. Fiscal measures had consistently neutral or positive impacts on inequities. Findings suggest an important role for policy in addressing obesity in an equitable manner and strengthen the case for implementing a broad complement of policies spanning the agency-structure continuum. © 2016 World Obesity Federation.

Positioning women's and children's health in African union policy-making: a policy analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toure Kadidiatou

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background With limited time to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, progress towards improving women's and children's health needs to be accelerated. With Africa accounting for over half of the world's maternal and child deaths, the African Union (AU has a critical role in prioritizing related policies and catalysing required investments and action. In this paper, the authors assess the evolution of African Union policies related to women's and children's health, and analyze how these policies are prioritized and framed. Methods The main method used in this policy analysis was a document review of all African Union policies developed from 1963 to 2010, focusing specifically on policies that explicitly mention health. The findings from this document review were discussed with key actors to identify policy implications. Results With over 220 policies in total, peace and security is the most common AU policy topic. Social affairs and other development issues became more prominent in the 1990s. The number of policies that mentioned health rose steadily over the years (with 1 policy mentioning health in 1963 to 7 in 2010. This change was catalysed by factors such as: a favourable shift in AU priorities and systems towards development issues, spurred by the transition from the Organization of African Unity to the African Union; the mandate of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights; health-related advocacy initiatives, such as the Campaign for the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA; action and accountability requirements arising from international human rights treaties, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs, and new health-funding mechanisms, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Prioritization of women's and children's health issues in AU policies has been framed primarily by human rights, advocacy and accountability considerations, more by economic and health frames

Positioning women's and children's health in African union policy-making: a policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Toure, Kadidiatou; Sankore, Rotimi; Kuruvilla, Shyama; Scolaro, Elisa; Bustreo, Flavia; Osotimehin, Babatunde

2012-02-16

With limited time to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, progress towards improving women's and children's health needs to be accelerated. With Africa accounting for over half of the world's maternal and child deaths, the African Union (AU) has a critical role in prioritizing related policies and catalysing required investments and action. In this paper, the authors assess the evolution of African Union policies related to women's and children's health, and analyze how these policies are prioritized and framed. The main method used in this policy analysis was a document review of all African Union policies developed from 1963 to 2010, focusing specifically on policies that explicitly mention health. The findings from this document review were discussed with key actors to identify policy implications. With over 220 policies in total, peace and security is the most common AU policy topic. Social affairs and other development issues became more prominent in the 1990s. The number of policies that mentioned health rose steadily over the years (with 1 policy mentioning health in 1963 to 7 in 2010).This change was catalysed by factors such as: a favourable shift in AU priorities and systems towards development issues, spurred by the transition from the Organization of African Unity to the African Union; the mandate of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights; health-related advocacy initiatives, such as the Campaign for the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA); action and accountability requirements arising from international human rights treaties, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and new health-funding mechanisms, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.Prioritization of women's and children's health issues in AU policies has been framed primarily by human rights, advocacy and accountability considerations, more by economic and health frames looking at investments and impact. AU policies related

The impact of new member states on EU environmental policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Mikael Skou

1996-01-01

The fourth enlargement of the EU, with Sweden, Finland and Austria, which took effect on 1 January 1995, is by many expected to have a positive impact on the environmental policy dimension of the Union, which has been under strain since the Rio Summit in 1992.......The fourth enlargement of the EU, with Sweden, Finland and Austria, which took effect on 1 January 1995, is by many expected to have a positive impact on the environmental policy dimension of the Union, which has been under strain since the Rio Summit in 1992....

Health impact assessment of Roma housing policies in Central and Eastern Europe: A comparative analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Molnár, Ágnes; Ádám, Balázs; Antova, Temenujka; Bosak, Lubos; Dimitrov, Plamen; Mileva, Hristina; Pekarcikova, Jarmila; Zurlyte, Ingrida; Gulis, Gabriel; Ádány, Róza; Kósa, Karolina

2012-01-01

Marginalised Roma communities in European countries live in substandard housing conditions the improvement of which has been one of the major issues of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, the ongoing intergovernmental European Roma programme. The paper presents EU-funded health impact assessments of national Roma housing policies and programmes in 3 Central and Eastern European countries in light of the evaluation of a completed local project in a fourth CEE country so as to compare predicted effects to observed ones. Housing was predicted to have beneficial health effects by improving indoor and outdoor conditions, access to services, and socioeconomic conditions. Negative impacts were predicted only in terms of maintenance expenses and housing tenure. However, observed impacts of the completed local project did not fully support predictions especially in terms of social networks, satisfaction with housing and neighbourhood, and inhabitant safety. In order to improve the predictive value of HIA, more evidence should be produced by the careful evaluation of locally implemented housing projects. In addition, current evidence is in favour of planning Roma housing projects at the local rather than at the national level in alignment with the principle of subsidiarity. - Highlights: ► Predictive validity of HIA of national Roma housing policies – in light of current evidence – is low. ► Implemented housing projects should be comprehensively evaluated to improve reliability of HIA. ► Roma housing projects should be planned at the local rather than at the national level. ► HIA should be used to plan Roma housing projects at the local level.

Energy subsidies: lessons learned in assessing their impact and designing policy reforms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moltke, A. von; McKee, C.; Morgan, T.

2004-02-01

This book, which is based on the work carried out by the International Energy Agency and UNEP, explores the potential impacts of energy subsidies and provides guidelines for policy makers on how to implement reform of energy subsides. The background on energy subsidies is traced and an analytical framework is presented covering defining and measuring energy subsidies, the size of the subsidies, and analysis of the impact of subsidies and their reform. Energy subsidies in OECD countries, Czech and Slovak Republics, Russia, India, Indonesia, Korea, Iran and Senegal are examined along with the impact of removing energy subsidies in Chile, the findings of country case studies, and the design and implementation of energy subsidies reforms. Methodological approaches to analysing the economic, environmental and social effects of energy subsidy reform are considered in the Annex

An Analysis of China's Fertilizer Policies: Impacts on the Industry, Food Security, and the Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuxuan; Zhang, Weifeng; Ma, Lin; Huang, Gaoqiang; Oenema, Oene; Zhang, Fusuo; Dou, Zhengxia

2013-07-01

China has made remarkable strides in recent decades to grow enough food to feed 20% of the world's population with only 9% of the world's arable land. Meanwhile, the nation is experiencing exacerbated air and water pollution problems. Agricultural growth and the pollution aggravation are closely linked with policies affecting fertilizer production and use. Essentially nonexistent in 1950, China's fertilizer industry is now a robust conglomerate producing fertilizers in amounts that not only meet domestic demand but also contribute to international trade. The industry's growth stemmed from a series of policy progressions, featuring (i) a total control system with state ownership and central planning (1949-1984), (ii) a dual system of central planning and market adjustment (1985-1997), (iii) a market-driven system with government-mandated price caps (1998-2009), and (iv) a complete market-oriented system (since 2009). In conjunction with the policy changes were massive subsidy programs totaling more than $18 billion in 2010. The support policies and subsidies helped grow the industry and safeguard an adequate supply of fertilizers at affordable costs to farmers, but the artificially low-priced fertilizers also contributed to a nationwide trend of fertilizer overuse, leading to nutrient pollution. China needs innovative policies and programs to address food security and sustainability challenges. In this study, we review and analyze policies and programs related to China's fertilizer production and use in a 60-yr span (1950-2010) and discuss its impact on the development of the industry, food security, and pressing environmental issues. Finally, our study analyzes long-term trends in fertilizer use in China and offers some key viewpoints to stimulate debates among all stakeholders. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

The Impact of 2002 National Teacher Contract Policy Reform on Teacher Absenteeism in Lahore, Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Habib, Masooma

2010-01-01

Teacher absenteeism is a persistent problem in Pakistani government schools. Under a new policy, teachers hired in Pakistani schools after 2002 are hired on fixed term contracts that are renewed, in part, based on low absenteeism. This study uses qualitative analysis techniques to assess the impact of contractual hiring on teacher absenteeism…

Relating Actor Analysis Methods to Policy Problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van der Lei, T.E.

2009-01-01

For a policy analyst the policy problem is the starting point for the policy analysis process. During this process the policy analyst structures the policy problem and makes a choice for an appropriate set of methods or techniques to analyze the problem (Goeller 1984). The methods of the policy

Physical inactivity as a policy problem: applying a concept from policy analysis to a public health issue.

Science.gov (United States)

Rütten, Alfred; Abu-Omar, Karim; Gelius, Peter; Schow, Diana

2013-03-07

Despite the recent rapid development of policies to counteract physical inactivity (PI), only a small number of systematic analyses on the evolution of these policies exists. In this article we analyze how PI, as a public health issue, "translates" into a policy-making issue. First, we discuss why PI has become an increasingly important public health issue during the last two decades. We then follow Guy Peters and conceptualize PI as a "policy problem" that has the potential to be linked to policy instruments and policy impact. Analysis indicates that PI is a policy problem that i) is chronic in nature; ii) involves a high degree of political complexity; iii) can be disaggregated into smaller scales; iv) is addressed through interventions that can be difficult to "sell" to the public when their benefits are not highly divisible; v) cannot be solved by government spending alone; vi) must be addressed through a broad scope of activities; and vii) involves interdependencies among both multiple sectors and levels of government.We conclude that the new perspective on PI proposed in this article might be useful and important for i) describing and mapping policies to counteract PI in different contexts; ii) evaluating whether or not existing policy instruments are appropriate to the policy problem of PI, and iii) explaining the factors and processes that underlie policy development and implementation. More research is warranted in all these areas. In particular, we propose to focus on comparative analyses of how the problem of PI is defined and tackled in different contexts, and on the identification of truly effective policy instruments that are designed to "solve" the PI policy problem.

[Methods for health impact assessment of policies for municipal solid waste management: the SESPIR Project].

Science.gov (United States)

Parmagnani, Federica; Ranzi, Andrea; Ancona, Carla; Angelini, Paola; Chiusolo, Monica; Cadum, Ennio; Lauriola, Paolo; Forastiere, Francesco

2014-01-01

The Project Epidemiological Surveillance of Health Status of Resident Population Around the Waste Treatment Plants (SESPIR) included five Italian regions (Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Lazio, Campania, and Sicily) and the National Institute of Health in the period 2010-2013. SESPIR was funded by the Ministry of Health as part of the National centre for diseases prevention and control (CCM) programme of 2010 with the general objective to provide methods and operational tools for the implementation of surveillance systems for waste and health, aimed at assessing the impact of the municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment cycle on the health of the population. The specific objective was to assess health impacts resulting from the presence of disposal facilities related to different regional scenarios of waste management. Suitable tools for analysis of integrated assessment of environmental and health impact were developed and applied, using current demographic, environmental and health data. In this article, the methodology used for the quantitative estimation of the impact on the health of populations living nearby incinerators, landfills and mechanical biological treatment plants is showed, as well as the analysis of three different temporal scenarios: the first related to the existing plants in the period 2008-2009 (baseline), the second based on regional plans, the latter referring to MSW virtuous policy management based on reduction of produced waste and an intense recovery policy.

Financial impacts of UK's energy and climate change policies on commercial and industrial businesses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ang, Chye Peng; Toper, Bruce; Gambhir, Ajay

2016-01-01

This study provides a detailed case study assessment of two business sites in the UK, to understand the policy drivers of increases to their energy costs and energy bills, considering all current UK energy and climate change policies. We compare our findings to more generalised, theoretical calculations of the policy cost impact on energy costs and bills – we have found no other studies as comprehensive as ours in terms of policy coverage. We find that for one site the government has over-estimated the likely energy savings due to energy efficiency options. Such differences in estimates should be taken into account when considering the efficacy of climate change policies on future energy savings. The overall impact of energy and climate change policies on costs will be of the order 0.4% of total business costs by 2020. This provides an important metric for the near-term cost of mitigation to meet longer-term climate change goals. - Highlights: •Cumulative impacts of policies on energy prices and bills were studied. •Projected bills for one site are higher than those projected by the UK government. •Results of existing theoretical studies may not be fully representative. •Impact of policies is not considered significant with respect to competitiveness.

The Impact of Tobacco-Free School Policies on Youth Smoking Rates in Florida Public School Districts.

Science.gov (United States)

Terry, Amanda; Zhang, Ning Jackie

2016-02-01

Developing and implementing policies to curb and prevent youth tobacco use is of the utmost importance. In Florida, public school districts were authorized to develop tobacco-free school policies through an amendment to the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act in 2011. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of tobacco-free school policies on smoking rates among youth in Florida. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and a multiple regression analysis were used to determine whether the comprehensiveness and enforcement of tobacco-free school policies affect the youth smoking rates within Florida public school districts. The 2010 and 2014 youth smoking rates were calculated based on the Florida Youth Tobacco Survey results. The 2010 youth smoking rate and the inclusion of the enforcement component with provision of cessation resources were statistically significant predictors of the 2014 youth smoking rate. However, the comprehensiveness level of a policy and the inclusion of an enforcement component were not statistically significant predictors. The inclusion of an enforcement component with provision of cessation resources is important in efforts to reduce youth smoking rates. The content of the tobacco-free school policies seems to be less relevant to their effectiveness than the enforcement of the policies. © 2016, American School Health Association.

Preferential treatment and exemption policy impacts energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doelle, R.R.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on the preferential treatment and exemption policy of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for State and State Agencies which creates an anticompetitive and restraint of trade attitude in California against the development of alternative energy resources by the private sector when such development competes directly with state owned power generation under the State Water and Central Valley Water Projects, particularly in the area of water and power supply. The existing state water policy fails to address the effects of global warming and the adverse potential of the greenhouse effect in California, i.e. rising tides can seriously impact sea water intrusion problems of the San Francisco Bay-Delta Area by not only flooding agricultural lands in the Delta and Central Valley, but impacting the supply of water to large population areas in Southern and Northern California, especially when coupled with drought conditions. The California investigative research results herein reported demonstrates the fallacy of a preferential treatment and exemption policy in a free market economy, especially when such policy creates the potential for excessive state budget burdens upon the public in the face of questionable subsidies to special interest, i.e., allowing the resulting windfall profits to be passed onto major utilities and commingled at the expense of public interest so as to undermine the financial means for development of alternative energy resources. The cited Congressional and State Legislative Laws which provide the ways and means to resolve any energy or water resource problems are only as good as the enforcement and the commitment by the executive branch of government and the lawmakers to up-hold existing laws

The assessment on impact of essential drugs policy on primary health care system in rural areas of Shandong Province policy and regulation division of the Health Department of Shandong Province.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhuge; Shu, Defeng; Xia, Mei; Gao, Dehai; Lu, Dan; Huang, Ning; Tian, Xiaoqing; An, Limei; Li, Shixue; Li, Sheng

2015-01-01

At present, China has achieved an initial establishment and gradual implementation of a framework for national essential drugs policy. With the further implementation of the national essential drugs policy, it is not clear how the policy works, whether it achieves the original intention of essential drugs policy, and what impact essential drugs policy exerts on the primary health care system. In view of it, we conducted a field research on sample areas of Shandong Province to understand the conditions of the implementation of the essential drugs policy in Shandong Province. From three perspectives of medical institutions, patients and medical staff, this thesis analyzes the impact of essential drugs policy on village-level and township-level health service system, summarizes the effectiveness of implementing essential drugs policy, discovers the problems of various aspects and conducts an in-depth analysis of the causes, and puts forward feasible suggestions to provide reference for improving the essential drugs policy. The assessment results show that the implementation of essential drugs policy in Shandong Province has played a positive role in promoting the sound development of the primary health care system, changed the situation of covering hospital expenses with medicine revenue in the past, contributed to the return of medical institutions to public welfare, and reduced the patient's economic burden of disease. But there emerge many problems as follows: impact on the doctor's diagnosis and treatment due to incompleteness of drug types, and distribution not in place, patient loss and operational difficulty of village clinic. Thus, this thesis makes recommendations of drugs catalog formulation, drug procurement, sales and use, and meanwhile points out that the supporting financial compensation policy and performance appraisal policy and other measures in place are a prerequisite for a positive role of essential drugs policy.

IMPACT OF ROMANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION FUNDING POLICY ON UNIVERSITY EFFICIENCY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CRETAN Georgiana Camelia

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The issues of higher education funding policy and university operating efficiency are hot points on the actual public agenda worldwide as the pressures exercised upon the public resources increased, especially in the aftermath of the last economic crisis. Concerned with the improvement of the funding mechanism through which government allocates the public funds in order to meet the national core objectives within the area of higher education, the policy makers adjusted the funding policy by diversifying the criteria used in distributing the funds to public universities. Thus, the aim of this research is to underline both the impact and the consequences the public funding patterns of higher education have on the relative efficiency of public funded higher education institutions, across time. Moreover, the research conducted aims to determine whether the changes occurred within the Romanian public funding methodology of higher education institutions improved the relative efficiency scores of public funded universities, before and after the economic crisis of 2008. Thus, on one hand we have underlined the changes brought to the Romanian public funding mechanism of higher education during the years of 2007, 2009 and 2010 compared to the year of 2006, using the content analysis, and on the other hand we assessed and compared the relative efficiency scores of each selected public funded university using a multiple input - multiple output linear programming model, by employing the Data Envelopment Analysis technique. The findings of the research undertaken emphasized that a more performance oriented funding mechanism improves the efficiency scores of public universities. The results of the research undertaken could be used either by the policy makers within the area of higher education or by the administrative management of public universities in order to correlate the funding with the results obtained and/or the objectives assumed by both the

Foreign Policy: Approaches, Levels Of Analysis, Dimensions

OpenAIRE

Nina Šoljan

2012-01-01

This paper provides an overview of key issues related to foreign policy and foreign policy theories in the wider context of political science. Discussing the origins and development of foreign policy analysis (FPA), as well as scholarly work produced over time, it argues that today FPA encompasses a variety of theoretical approaches, models and tools. These share the understanding that foreign policy outputs cannot be fully explained if analysis is confined to the systemic level. Furthermore,...

Carbon Sequestration in Colorado's Lands: A Spatial and Policy Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, N.; Brazeau, A.; Browning, K.; Meier, R.

2017-12-01

Managing landscapes to enhance terrestrial carbon sequestration has significant potential to mitigate climate change. While a previous carbon baseline assessment in Colorado has been published (Conant et al, 2007), our study pulls from the existing literature to conduct an updated baseline assessment of carbon stocks and a unique review of carbon policies in Colorado. Through a multi-level spatial analysis based in GIS and informed by a literature review, we established a carbon stock baseline and ran four land use and carbon stock projection scenarios using Monte Carlo simulations. We identified 11 key policy recommendations for improving Colorado's carbon stocks, and evaluated each using Bardach's policy matrix approach (Bardach, 2012). We utilized a series of case studies to support our policy recommendations. We found that Colorado's lands have a carbon stock of 3,334 MMT CO2eq, with Forests and Woodlands holding the largest stocks, at 1,490 and 774 MMT CO2eq respectively. Avoided conversion of all Grasslands, Forests, and Wetlands in Colorado projected over 40 years would increase carbon stocks by 32 MMT CO2eq, 1,053 MMT CO2eq, and 36 MMT CO2eq, respectively. Over the 40-year study period, Forests and Woodlands areas are projected to shrink while Shrublands and Developed areas are projected to grow. Those projections suggest sizable increases in area of future wildfires and development in Colorado. We found that numerous policy opportunities to sequester carbon exist at different jurisdictional levels and across land cover types. The largest opportunities were found in state-level policies and policies impacting Forests, Grasslands, and Wetlands. The passage of statewide emission reduction legislation has the highest potential to impact carbon sequestration, although political and administrative feasibility of this option are relatively low. This study contributes to the broader field of carbon sequestration literature by examining the nexus of carbon stocks

Multilevel Analysis of the Impact of School-Level Tobacco Policies on Adolescent Smoking: The Case of Michigan

Science.gov (United States)

Paek, Hye-Jin; Hove, Thomas; Oh, Hyun Jung

2013-01-01

Background: In efforts to curb and prevent youth smoking, school tobacco policies have become an important and effective strategy. This study explores the degrees and types of tobacco-free school policy (TFSP) enforcement that are associated with adolescent smoking. Methods: A multilevel analysis was performed using 983 students who are nested in…

The Impact of Funding Policies on Higher Education in Jamaica

Science.gov (United States)

Nkrumah-Young, Kofi K.; Huisman, Jeroen; Powell, Philip

2008-01-01

This paper analyses the changes in the higher education funding policies and resource allocation models of the Jamaican government in the period 1962-2003. Throughout these four decades, four different systems were in force. This paper focuses particularly on the arguments for the funding policies and models and the impact of the models on the…

A PESTLE Policy Mapping and Stakeholder Analysis of Indonesia’s Fossil Fuel Energy Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satya Widya Yudha

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Indonesia has a long-standing history of reliance on fossil fuels, which reflects the country’s vast reserves of crude oil, natural gas, coal, and other resources. Consequently, the potential of Indonesia’s fossil energy industry is both complex and multi-layered. This paper aims to carry out a policy mapping and stakeholder analysis of Indonesia’s fossil energy industry, adopting a PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technology, Legal, and Environmental approach, which allows identification of multidisciplinary stakeholders and underlying relationships across the sector. The outcomes from the analysis indicated the importance of strategically aligning the stakeholders’ policies to the needs of other relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, the central and regional governments need to work closely in order to better sense if there is a change in the policy, be receptive to anticipating the potential impacts, and to avoid policies being executed in an isolated manner.

The role of social norms on preferences towards climate change policies: A meta-analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alló, Maria; Loureiro, Maria L.

2014-01-01

The present study provides a review of existing assessments of preferences for climate change mitigation and adaptation policies through a worldwide meta-analysis. In this study, we analyze the impact of social values and norms on preferences towards climate change adaptation and mitigation policies. In a sample of 58 international studies, we found that mitigation actions were preferred over adaptation actions, and that preferences towards climate change policies are affected by attitudes towards time and social norms. In particular, societies with a long-term orientation display greater support towards climate change policies. These results therefore reveal the role of social factors as being crucial in order to understand the acceptability of climate change policies at a worldwide level. - highlights: • Effective policy design is required in order to curb climate change. • Using a meta-analysis, we find that mitigation actions are preferred over adaptation actions. • Economic conditions play a crucial role for supporting efforts to combat climate change. • Cultural and social dimensions are relevant for the acceptability of climate policies. • Understanding social norms and cultural variables may help with the climate change debate

Monetary policy and regional output in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Rockenbach da Silva Guimarães

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This work presents an analysis of whether the effects of the Brazilian monetary policy on regional outputs are symmetric. The strategy developed combines the techniques of principal component analysis (PCA to decompose the variables that measure regional economic activity into common and region-specific components and vector autoregressions (VAR to observe the behavior of these variables in response to monetary policy shocks. The common component responds to monetary policy as expected. Additionally, the idiosyncratic components of the regions showed no impact of monetary policy. The main finding of this paper is that the monetary policy responses on regional output are symmetrical when the regional output decomposition is performed, and the responses are asymmetrical when this decomposition is not performed. Therefore, performing the regional output decomposition corroborates the economic intuition that monetary policy has no impact on region-specific issues. Once monetary policy affects the common component of the regional economic activity and does not impact its idiosyncratic components, it can be considered symmetrical.

Impacts of licensed premises trading hour policies on alcohol-related harms.

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, Jo-An; Prodan, Ante; Livingston, Michael; Knowles, Dylan; O'Donnell, Eloise; Room, Robin; Indig, Devon; Page, Andrew; McDonnell, Geoff; Wiggers, John

2018-07-01

Evaluations of alcohol policy changes demonstrate that restriction of trading hours of both 'on'- and 'off'-licence venues can be an effective means of reducing rates of alcohol-related harm. Despite this, the effects of different trading hour policy options over time, accounting for different contexts and demographic characteristics, and the common co-occurrence of other harm reduction strategies in trading hour policy initiatives, are difficult to estimate. The aim of this study was to use dynamic simulation modelling to compare estimated impacts over time of a range of trading hour policy options on various indicators of acute alcohol-related harm. An agent-based model of alcohol consumption in New South Wales, Australia was developed using existing research evidence, analysis of available data and a structured approach to incorporating expert opinion. Five policy scenarios were simulated, including restrictions to trading hours of on-licence venues and extensions to trading hours of bottle shops. The impact of the scenarios on four measures of alcohol-related harm were considered: total acute harms, alcohol-related violence, emergency department (ED) presentations and hospitalizations. Simulation of a 3 a.m. (rather than 5 a.m.) closing time resulted in an estimated 12.3 ± 2.4% reduction in total acute alcohol-related harms, a 7.9 ± 0.8% reduction in violence, an 11.9 ± 2.1% reduction in ED presentations and a 9.5 ± 1.8% reduction in hospitalizations. Further reductions were achieved simulating a 1 a.m. closing time, including a 17.5 ± 1.1% reduction in alcohol-related violence. Simulated extensions to bottle shop trading hours resulted in increases in rates of all four measures of harm, although most of the effects came from increasing operating hours from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. An agent-based simulation model suggests that restricting trading hours of licensed venues reduces rates of alcohol-related harm and extending trading hours of bottle

Impact of price deregulation policy on the affordability of essential medicines for women's health: a panel data analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Junjie; Wang, Liming; Liu, Chenxi; Zhang, Xinping

2017-12-01

A new policy which required deregulation on prices of off-patent medicines for women's health during procurement was introduced in China in September 2015. The current study examines this policy's impact on the affordability of essential medicines for women's health. Based on product-level panel data, a fixed effect regression model is employed by using procurement records from Hubei Centralist Tender for Drug Purchase platform. In the model, Affordability was measured with prices. The Competition consists of two parts: generic competition and therapeutic class competition which are measured with generic competitors and therapeutic substitutes. Instrument variable is used to deal with endogeneity. The policy helped control prices of essential medicines for women's health. Generic competition helped control prices, however, therapeutic class competition caused higher prices. The new policy helped enhance the affordability of essential medicines for women's health as expected, which provides empirical evidence on price deregulation. Besides, generic competition is important in price control despite strict regulatory system in China.

How do we define the policy impact of public health research? A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Alla, Kristel; Hall, Wayne D; Whiteford, Harvey A; Head, Brian W; Meurk, Carla S

2017-10-02

In order to understand and measure the policy impact of research we need a definition of research impact that is suited to the task. This article systematically reviewed both peer-reviewed and grey literature for definitions of research impact to develop a definition of research impact that can be used to investigate how public health research influences policy. Keyword searches of the electronic databases Web of Science, ProQuest, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Informit, PsycINFO, The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Google Scholar were conducted between August 2015 and April 2016. Keywords included 'definition' and 'policy' and 'research impact' or 'research evidence'. The search terms 'health', public health' or 'mental health' and 'knowledge transfer' or 'research translation' were used to focus the search on relevant health discipline approaches. Studies included in the review described processes, theories or frameworks associated with public health, health services or mental health policy. We identified 108 definitions in 83 publications. The key findings were that literature on research impact is growing, but only 23% of peer-reviewed publications on the topic explicitly defined the term and that the majority (76%) of definitions were derived from research organisations and funding institutions. We identified four main types of definition, namely (1) definitions that conceptualise research impacts in terms of positive changes or effects that evidence can bring about when transferred into policies (example Research Excellence Framework definition), (2) definitions that interpret research impacts as measurable outcomes (Research Councils UK), and (3) bibliometric and (4) use-based definitions. We identified four constructs underpinning these definitions that related to concepts of contribution, change, avenues and levels of impact. The dominance of bureaucratic definitions, the tendency to discuss but not define the concept of research impact, and the

Economic impacts of EU climate policy until 2020; EU:n ilmastopolitiikan talousvaikutukset vuoteen 2020

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rantala, O. E-mail: olavi.rantala@etla.fi

2012-07-01

The study evaluates the impacts of EU climate policy on the emission allowance price, electricity prices, the competitiveness of industry and macroeconomic developments in the third EU emission trading period 2013-2020. The economic impacts of climate policy on Finland are compared to the impacts on the entire EU area. It turns out that due to its cold climate and heating energy demand, higher export intensity of the economy and higher energy intensity of the industry Finland pays a higher price for EU climate policy in terms of output and employment losses than the EU on average. The study examines the macroeconomic effects of climate policy also in the more distant future, assuming that climate policy is tightened further in the 2020s. Climate policy implemented by emission trading means that the long-term economic growth in the EU area depends essentially on emission-free electricity production, and no longer on other growth factors, such as the labour supply and productivity growth. (orig.)

Transportation impact analysis gets a failing grade when it comes to climate change and smart growth

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-01

Transportation impact analysis performed to comply with environmental impact laws (i.e., the : California Environmental Quality Act or the National Environmental Policy Act) often focuses : on only one perspective about potential impacts. That perspe...

Feminist Policy Analysis: Expanding Traditional Social Work Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Kanenberg, Heather

2013-01-01

In an effort to move the methodology of policy analysis beyond the traditional and artificial position of being objective and value-free, this article is a call to those working and teaching in social work to consider a feminist policy analysis lens. A review of standard policy analysis models is presented alongside feminist models. Such a…

Powerplant productivity improvement study: policy analysis and incentive assessment. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1979-05-01

Policy options that the Illinois Commerce Commission might adopt in order to promote improved power plant productivity for existing units in Illinois are identified and analyzed. These policy options would generally involve either removing existing disincentives and/or adding direct incentives through the regulatory process. The following activities are reported: in-depth review of existing theoretical and empirical literature in the areas of power plant reliability, regulatory utility efficiency and performance incentives, and impacts of various regulatory mechanisms such as the Fuel Adjustment Clauses on productivity; contacts with other state public utility commissions known to be investigating or implementing productivity improvement incentive mechanisms; documentation and analysis of incentive mechanisms adopted or under consideration in other states; analysis of current regulatory practice in Illinois as it relates to power plant productivity incentives and disincentives; identification of candidate incentive mechanisms for consideration by the Illinois Commerce Commission; and analysis and evaluation of these candidates. 72 references, 8 figures.

Policy integration, coherence and governance in Dutch climate policy : a multi-level analysis of mitigation and adoption policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bommel, van S.; Kuindersma, W.

2008-01-01

This report assesses the integration of climate policy in Dutch public policy at the national, regional, local and area level. The national analysis focuses on the horizontal integration of climate policy in national government programmes, adaptation and mitigation strategies and specific policy

Equity impact of interventions and policies to reduce smoking in youth: systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Tamara; Platt, Stephen; Amos, Amanda

2014-11-01

A systematic review to assess the equity impact of interventions/policies on youth smoking. Biosis, Cinahl, Cochrane Library, Conference Proceedings Citation Index, Embase, Eric, Medline, Psycinfo, Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index and tobacco control experts. Published January 1995 to October 2013. Primary studies of interventions/policies reporting smoking-related outcomes in youth (11-25 years) of lower compared to higher socioeconomic status (SES). References were screened and independently checked. Studies were quality assessed; characteristics and outcomes were extracted. A narrative synthesis by intervention/policy type. Equity impact was assessed as: positive (reduced inequity), neutral (no difference by SES), negative (increased inequity), mixed (equity impact varied) or unclear.Thirty-eight studies of 40 interventions/policies were included: smokefree (12); price/tax (7); mass media campaigns (1); advertising controls (4); access controls (5); school-based programmes (5); multiple policies (3), individual-level cessation support (2), individual-level support for smokefree homes (1). The distribution of equity effects was: 7 positive, 16 neutral, 12 negative, 4 mixed, 1 unclear. All 7 positive equity studies were US-based: price/tax (4), age-of-sales laws (2) and text-messaging cessation support (1). A British school-based intervention (A Stop Smoking in Schools Trial (ASSIST)) showed mixed equity effects (neutral and positive). Most neutral equity studies benefited all SES groups. Very few studies have assessed the equity impact of tobacco control interventions/policies on young people. Price/tax increases had the most consistent positive equity impact. There is a need to strengthen the evidence base for the equity impact of youth tobacco control interventions. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Social Impact Management Plans: Innovation in corporate and public policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franks, Daniel M., E-mail: d.franks@uq.edu.au [Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, The University of Queensland, Sustainable Minerals Institute, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072 (Australia); Vanclay, Frank, E-mail: frank.vanclay@rug.nl [Department of Cultural Geography, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, The University of Groningen, P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen (Netherlands)

2013-11-15

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) has traditionally been practiced as a predictive study for the regulatory approval of major projects, however, in recent years the drivers and domain of focus for SIA have shifted. This paper details the emergence of Social Impact Management Plans (SIMPs) and undertakes an analysis of innovations in corporate and public policy that have put in place ongoing processes – assessment, management and monitoring – to better identify the nature and scope of the social impacts that might occur during implementation and to proactively respond to change across the lifecycle of developments. Four leading practice examples are analyzed. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards require the preparation of Environmental and Social Management Plans for all projects financed by the IFC identified as having significant environmental and social risks. Anglo American, a major resources company, has introduced a Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox, which requires mine sites to undertake regular assessments and link these assessments with their internal management systems, monitoring activities and a Social Management Plan. In South Africa, Social and Labour Plans are submitted with an application for a mining or production right. In Queensland, Australia, Social Impact Management Plans were developed as part of an Environmental Impact Statement, which included assessment of social impacts. Collectively these initiatives, and others, are a practical realization of theoretical conceptions of SIA that include management and monitoring as core components of SIA. The paper concludes with an analysis of the implications for the practice of impact assessment including a summary of key criteria for the design and implementation of effective SIMPs. -- Highlights: • Social impact management plans are effective strategies to manage social issues. • They are developed in partnership with regulatory agencies, investors and community. �

Social Impact Management Plans: Innovation in corporate and public policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franks, Daniel M.; Vanclay, Frank

2013-01-01

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) has traditionally been practiced as a predictive study for the regulatory approval of major projects, however, in recent years the drivers and domain of focus for SIA have shifted. This paper details the emergence of Social Impact Management Plans (SIMPs) and undertakes an analysis of innovations in corporate and public policy that have put in place ongoing processes – assessment, management and monitoring – to better identify the nature and scope of the social impacts that might occur during implementation and to proactively respond to change across the lifecycle of developments. Four leading practice examples are analyzed. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards require the preparation of Environmental and Social Management Plans for all projects financed by the IFC identified as having significant environmental and social risks. Anglo American, a major resources company, has introduced a Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox, which requires mine sites to undertake regular assessments and link these assessments with their internal management systems, monitoring activities and a Social Management Plan. In South Africa, Social and Labour Plans are submitted with an application for a mining or production right. In Queensland, Australia, Social Impact Management Plans were developed as part of an Environmental Impact Statement, which included assessment of social impacts. Collectively these initiatives, and others, are a practical realization of theoretical conceptions of SIA that include management and monitoring as core components of SIA. The paper concludes with an analysis of the implications for the practice of impact assessment including a summary of key criteria for the design and implementation of effective SIMPs. -- Highlights: • Social impact management plans are effective strategies to manage social issues. • They are developed in partnership with regulatory agencies, investors and community. �

Distributional impacts of state-level energy efficiency policies in regional electricity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahraei-Ardakani, Mostafa; Blumsack, Seth; Kleit, Andrew

2012-01-01

A number of U.S. states have passed legislation targeting energy efficiency and peak demand reduction. We study one such state, Pennsylvania, within the context of PJM, a regional electricity market covering numerous different states. Our focus is on the distributive impacts of this policy—specifically how the policy is likely to impact electricity prices in different areas of Pennsylvania and in the PJM market more generally. Such spatial differences in policy impacts are difficult to model and the transmission system is often ignored in policy studies. Our model estimates supply curves on a “zonal” basis within regional electricity markets and yields information on price and fuel utilization within each zone. We use the zonal supply curves estimated by our model to study regional impacts of energy-efficiency legislation on utilities both inside and outside of Pennsylvania. For most utilities in Pennsylvania, it would reduce the influence of natural gas on electricity price formation and increase the influence of coal. It would also save 2.1 to 2.8 percent of total energy cost in Pennsylvania in a year similar to 2009. The savings are lower than 0.5 percent in other PJM states and the prices may slightly increase in Washington, DC area. - Highlights: ► We model distributional impacts of energy efficiency and conservation policies. ► We use our model to study the impacts of Pennsylvania act 129. ► We estimate $235 million in annual savings for PA and $275 million for PJM. ► The prices decrease in most of the zones but the impacts are not uniform. ► The influence of coal on electricity prices increases relative to natural gas.

Planning nature in urbanized countries. An analysis of monetary and non-monetary impacts of conservation policy scenarios in the Netherlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frans J. Sijtsma

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Planning and conserving nature areas are challenging tasks in urbanized and intensively used countries like the Netherlands. This paper supports decision making and public policy debate about these tasks in both an empirical and a methodological way. Empirically, we explore policy alternatives by determining the potential consequences of different nature policy scenarios in the Netherlands. Methodologically, we employ a mixed monetary and non-monetary evaluation method known as multi-criteria cost-benefit analysis (MCCBA. We evaluate four new future directions of Dutch nature policy that address four dominant stakeholder demands: biodiversity conservation, the provision of ecosystem services, recreational potential as well as economic gains. To balance compact presentation of evaluation outcomes on the one hand and information richness of results on the other, we distinguish between two impact indicator sets: three “headline” and ten “elaborate” indicators. Using these indicators we discuss the quantitative assessment of the four nature policy scenarios by comparing them to two other scenarios, reflecting the 2010 stand-still baseline situation (2010 as well as a reference policy (Trend. In total, we evaluate six scenarios; four present new directions and two reflect existing or recently (2010 halted practices. Our findings first of all show that even in an urbanized country like the Netherlands, with its intensive competition among land use functions, serious gains in national and international biodiversity are possible. Second, we find that it is doubtful whether stimulating the provision of regulating ecosystem services in a country which applies intensive and profitable agricultural techniques is beneficial. Other countries or areas that are less suitable for intensive agricultural practices may be more logical for this. Finally we demonstrate that increasing urban recreational green space − a common challenge for many urban areas

Planning nature in urbanized countries. An analysis of monetary and non-monetary impacts of conservation policy scenarios in the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Sijtsma, Frans J; van der Bilt, Willem G M; van Hinsberg, Arjen; de Knegt, Bart; van der Heide, Martijn; Leneman, Hans; Verburg, René

2017-03-01

Planning and conserving nature areas are challenging tasks in urbanized and intensively used countries like the Netherlands. This paper supports decision making and public policy debate about these tasks in both an empirical and a methodological way. Empirically, we explore policy alternatives by determining the potential consequences of different nature policy scenarios in the Netherlands. Methodologically, we employ a mixed monetary and non-monetary evaluation method known as multi-criteria cost-benefit analysis (MCCBA). We evaluate four new future directions of Dutch nature policy that address four dominant stakeholder demands: biodiversity conservation, the provision of ecosystem services, recreational potential as well as economic gains. To balance compact presentation of evaluation outcomes on the one hand and information richness of results on the other, we distinguish between two impact indicator sets: three "headline" and ten "elaborate" indicators. Using these indicators we discuss the quantitative assessment of the four nature policy scenarios by comparing them to two other scenarios, reflecting the 2010 stand-still baseline situation (2010) as well as a reference policy (Trend). In total, we evaluate six scenarios; four present new directions and two reflect existing or recently (2010) halted practices. Our findings first of all show that even in an urbanized country like the Netherlands, with its intensive competition among land use functions, serious gains in national and international biodiversity are possible. Second, we find that it is doubtful whether stimulating the provision of regulating ecosystem services in a country which applies intensive and profitable agricultural techniques is beneficial. Other countries or areas that are less suitable for intensive agricultural practices may be more logical for this. Finally we demonstrate that increasing urban recreational green space - a common challenge for many urban areas - can only be achieved at

Social Cost Benefit Analysis for Environmental Policy-Making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Zeeuw, A.; In t Veld, R.; Van Soest, D.; Meuleman, L.; Hoogewoning, P.

2008-01-01

Review of the theoretical literature and the current debate on the valuation of environmental goods and services, on the discounting of future benefits and costs, and on how social cost benefit analysis (SCBAs) can be integrated in the policy and decision making process. It is concluded that SCBA can be a good decision support method in environmental policy-making if it is transparent and if all impacts are taken into account. Furthermore, the SCBA process should be participative, and politicians must be prepared to take responsibility for the assumptions behind the SCBA, including the assumptions on valuation and on the discount rate. Such a political role makes each SCBA a unique product of a politically responsible actor, and makes it possible for other stakeholders to have calculated an alternative SCBA based on their own assumptions. This Background Study also contains the proceedings of the international SCBA conference organised by RMNO on 16-17 January 2008

Parameter uncertainty in CGE Modeling of the environmental impacts of economic policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abler, D.G.; Shortle, J.S.; Rodriguez, A.G.

1999-01-01

This study explores the role of parameter uncertainty in Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modeling of the environmental impacts of macroeconomic and sectoral policies, using Costa Rica as a case for study. A CGE model is constructed which includes eight environmental indicators covering deforestation, pesticides, overfishing, hazardous wastes, inorganic wastes, organic wastes, greenhouse gases, and air pollution. The parameters are treated as random variables drawn from prespecified distributions. Evaluation of each policy option consists of a Monte Carlo experiment. The impacts of the policy options on the environmental indicators are relatively robust to different parameter values, in spite of the wide range of parameter values employed. 33 refs

Parameter uncertainty in CGE Modeling of the environmental impacts of economic policies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abler, D.G.; Shortle, J.S. [Agricultural Economics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA (United States); Rodriguez, A.G. [University of Costa Rica, San Jose (Costa Rica)

1999-07-01

This study explores the role of parameter uncertainty in Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modeling of the environmental impacts of macroeconomic and sectoral policies, using Costa Rica as a case for study. A CGE model is constructed which includes eight environmental indicators covering deforestation, pesticides, overfishing, hazardous wastes, inorganic wastes, organic wastes, greenhouse gases, and air pollution. The parameters are treated as random variables drawn from prespecified distributions. Evaluation of each policy option consists of a Monte Carlo experiment. The impacts of the policy options on the environmental indicators are relatively robust to different parameter values, in spite of the wide range of parameter values employed. 33 refs.

Strategic Choice Analysis by Expert Panels for Migration Impact Assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kourtit, K.; Nijkamp, P.

2011-01-01

International migration is a source of policy and research interest in many countries. This paper provides a review of experiences and findings from migration impact assessment worldwide. Various findings are briefly summarised in the context of a systematic migration SWOT analysis for five distinct

The Impact of Conventional and Unconventional Monetary Policy on Investor Sentiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lutz, Chandler

2015-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between monetary policy and investor sentiment across conventional and unconventional monetary policy regimes. During conventional times, we find that a surprise decrease in the fed funds rate leads to a large increase in investor sentiment. Similarly, when...... the fed funds rate is at its zero lower bound, research results indicate that expansionary unconventional monetary policy shocks also have a large and positive impact on investor mood. Together, our findings highlight the importance of both conventional and unconventional monetary policy...... in the determination of investor sentiment....

Monetary Policy Analysis in Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Vesna

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The paper focuses on analysing monetary policy in Serbia. The National Bank of Serbia chose inflation targeting, which sets price stability as the main objective of monetary policy. To achieve this goal, the central bank uses different monetary policy instruments which analysis can provide us with the understanding of the main directions of their actions but also of the limitations of its application. Only through improvement of both instruments and monetary policy the central bank will create a better foundation for achieving monetary stability. In addition, the implementation of exchange rate policy is entrusted to the National Bank of Serbia, as the main regulator of the financial system. A mere use of managed floating exchange rate, as the chosen exchange rate regime, is an appropriate solution in the current economic circumstances and in accordance with the desired objective of monetary policy.

Impact of Scheduling Policies on Control System Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schiøler, Henrik; Ravn, Anders Peter; Nielsen, Jens Frederik Dalsgaard

2003-01-01

It is well known that jitter has an impact on control system performance, and this is often used as an argument for static scheduling policies, e.g. a time triggered architecture. However, it is only completion jitter that seriously disturbs standard linear control algorithms in a way similar to ...

The Impact of Active Labour Market Policy on Post-Unemployment Outcomes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blasco, Sylvie; Rosholm, Michael

While job search theory predicts that active labour market policies (ALMPs) can affect post-unemployment outcomes, empirical evaluations investigating transition rates have mostly focused on the impact of ALMPs on exit rates from the current unemployment spell. We use a social experiment, which w......, the positive impact of the treatment becomes smaller but remains significant. 80% of the global impact of intensification acts through the direct channel for men.......While job search theory predicts that active labour market policies (ALMPs) can affect post-unemployment outcomes, empirical evaluations investigating transition rates have mostly focused on the impact of ALMPs on exit rates from the current unemployment spell. We use a social experiment, which...... was conducted in Denmark in 2005-6, to investigate the effects of a dramatic intensification of ALMPs on reemployment stability. We investigate the nature of this impact. We estimate a duration model with lagged duration dependence to separately identify "indirect" (via shorter unemployment duration...

Assessing the Impact of the ECB's Monetary Policy on the Stock Markets: A Sectoral View

OpenAIRE

Konstantin Kholodilin; Alberto Montagnoli; Oreste Napolitano; Boriss Siliverstovs

2008-01-01

This paper analyzes the response of the European stock markets to the monetary policy shocks by the European Central Bank using the heteroskedasticity based approach of Rigobon (2003). We find that monetary policy tightening has a heterogeneous impact on the Euro Area sectors on the day the monetary policy is publicly announced. Furthermore, we provide statistical evidence against the use of the popular event study approach when assessing the impact of monetary policy shocks on the stock mark...

The impact of donor policies in Europe: a steady increase, but not everywhere.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coppen, R.; Friele, R.D.; Gevers, J.K.M.; Blok, G.A.; Zee, J. van der

2008-01-01

Background: Transplantable organs are scarce everywhere. Therefore, countries have developed policies to support the efficient use of potential donors. Nevertheless, the shortage of organs remains. Were these policies in vain? The aim of this study is to assess the impact of donor policies on donor

A new robustness analysis for climate policy evaluations: A CGE application for the EU 2020 targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermeling, Claudia; Löschel, Andreas; Mennel, Tim

2013-01-01

This paper introduces a new method for stochastic sensitivity analysis for computable general equilibrium (CGE) model based on Gauss Quadrature and applies it to check the robustness of a large-scale climate policy evaluation. The revised version of the Gauss-quadrature approach to sensitivity analysis reduces computations considerably vis-à-vis the commonly applied Monte-Carlo methods; this allows for a stochastic sensitivity analysis also for large scale models and multi-dimensional changes of parameters. In the application, an impact assessment of EU2020 climate policy, we focus on sectoral elasticities that are part of the basic parameters of the model and have been recently determined by econometric estimation, alongside with standard errors. The impact assessment is based on the large scale CGE model PACE. We show the applicability of the Gauss-quadrature approach and confirm the robustness of the impact assessment with the PACE model. The variance of the central model outcomes is smaller than their mean by order four to eight, depending on the aggregation level (i.e. aggregate variables such as GDP show a smaller variance than sectoral output). - Highlights: ► New, simplified method for stochastic sensitivity analysis for CGE analysis. ► Gauss quadrature with orthogonal polynomials. ► Application to climate policy—the case of the EU 2020 targets

Climate change impacts on urban wildfire and flooding policy in Idaho: a comparative policy network perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Lindquist, E.; Pierce, J. L.

2013-12-01

Numerous frameworks and models exist for understanding the dynamics of the public policy process. A policy network approach considers how and why stakeholders and interests pay attention to and engage in policy problems, such as flood control or developing resilient and fire resistant landscapes. Variables considered in this approach include what the relationships are between these stakeholders, how they influence the process and outcomes, communication patterns within and between policy networks, and how networks change as a result of new information, science, or public interest and involvement with the problem. This approach is useful in understanding the creation of natural hazards policy as new information or situations, such as projected climate change impacts, influence and disrupt the policy process and networks. Two significant natural hazard policy networks exist in the semi-arid Treasure Valley region of Southwest Idaho, which includes the capitol city of Boise and the surrounding metropolitan area. Boise is situated along the Boise River and adjacent to steep foothills; this physiographic setting makes Boise vulnerable to both wildfires at the wildland-urban interface (WUI) and flooding. Both of these natural hazards have devastated the community in the past and floods and fires are projected to occur with more frequency in the future as a result of projected climate change impacts in the region. While both hazards are fairly well defined problems, there are stark differences lending themselves to comparisons across their respective networks. The WUI wildfire network is large and well developed, includes stakeholders from all levels of government, the private sector and property owner organizations, has well defined objectives, and conducts promotional and educational activities as part of its interaction with the public in order to increase awareness and garner support for its policies. The flood control policy network, however, is less defined

Water use impacts of future transport fuels: role of California's climate policy & National biofuel policies (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Teter, J.; Yeh, S.; Mishra, G. S.; Tiedeman, K.; Yang, C.

2013-12-01

In the coming decades, growing demand for energy and water and the need to address climate change will create huge challenges for energy policy and natural resource management. Synergistic strategies must be developed to conserve and use both resources more efficiently. California (CA) is a prime example of a region where policymakers have began to incorporate water planning in energy infrastructure development. But more must be done as CA transforms its energy system to meet its climate target. We analyze lifecycle water use of current and future transport fuel consumption to evaluate impacts & formulate mitigation strategies for the state at the watershed scale. Four 'bounding cases' for CA's future transportation demand to year 2030 are projected for analysis: two scenarios that only meet the 2020 climate target (business-as-usual, BAU) with high / low water use intensity, and two that meet long-term climate target with high / low water use intensity (Fig 1). Our study focuses on the following energy supply chains: (a) liquid fuels from conventional/unconventional oil & gas, (b) thermoelectric and renewable generation technologies, and (c) biofuels (Fig 2-3). We develop plausible siting scenarios that bound the range of possible water sources, impacts, and dispositions to provide insights into how to best allocate water and limit water impacts of energy development. We further identify constraints & opportunities to improve water use efficiency and highlight salient policy relevant lessons. For biofuels we extend our scope to the entire US as most of the biofuels consumed in California are and will be produced from outside of the state. We analyze policy impacts that capture both direct & indirect land use effects across scenarios, thus addressing the major shortcomings of existing studies, which ignore spatial heterogeneity as well as economic effects of crop displacement and the effects of crop intensification and extensification. We use the agronomic

The Impact of Fiscal Policy on Poverty in Ethiopia: A Computable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ethiopia has implemented various fiscal policy reforms in the past decade. Most of these reforms center on indirect taxes and pro-poor expenditure patterns. This study investigates the economy-wide impacts of these fiscal policy changes on poverty. To this effect, the study used a static computable general equilibrium ...

Cost benefit analysis of policy measures in the transport sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buus Kristensen, N [COWI (Denmark)

1996-12-01

The Government has introduced a national target for the reduction of CO{sub 2} emissions from the transport sector, which aims to stabilize emissions at the 1988 level, by the year 2005. This target was first formalized in the Government`s 1990 transport action plan, and later repeated in `Traffic 2005`, published in December 1993. The latter document also makes reference to six strategies, which the Government proposed in order to attain the national target. The majority of the transport policy measures will impact on CO{sub 2} emissions from the sector, even if they are targeted at different objectives, e.g. road safety, air pollution, time savings, etc. A long-list of potential measures, which might be adopted with the primary purpose is to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions, has been identified from the six overall strategies. The measures identified have been subjected to detailed analyses, to ascertain all the potential impacts. The main emphasis has been on clarifying the potential efficacy of each of the measures in reducing CO{sub 2} emissions, and the social costs in a wide sense. The analysis assumes that each policy measure is implemented separately. A methodology is developed that presents the respective consequences in commensurate terms. Similar calculations are undertaken for two different combinations of policy measures. (EG)

The Impact of Monetary Policy on Bank Credit During Economic Crisis: Indonesia's Experience

OpenAIRE

Mongid, Abdul

2008-01-01

The monetary policy mechanism by which monetary policy was transmitted to thereal economy had emerged as the pivotal discussion topic recently. This paper tried to discussthe impact of Bank Indonesia’s monetary policy on loan bank. By using simple loan bankframework we concluded that monetary policies were able to influence loan bank. Themonetary variables such as discount rate policy, base money and exchange rate policy werevery important in determining the banking credit. As the credit was ...

Clean Energy Policy Analyses: Analysis of the Status and Impact of Clean Energy Policies at the Local Level

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busche, S.

2010-12-01

This report takes a broad look at the status of local clean energy policies in the United States to develop a better understanding of local clean energy policy development and the interaction between state and local policies. To date, the majority of clean energy policy research focuses on the state and federal levels. While there has been a substantial amount of research on local level climate change initiatives, this is one of the first analyses of clean energy policies separate from climate change initiatives. This report is one in a suite of reports analyzing clean energy and climate policy development at the local, state, and regional levels.

Clean Energy Policy Analyses. Analysis of the Status and Impact of Clean Energy Policies at the Local Level

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busche, S. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2010-12-01

This report takes a broad look at the status of local clean energy policies in the United States to develop a better understanding of local clean energy policy development and the interaction between state and local policies. To date, the majority of clean energy policy research focuses on the state and federal levels. While there has been a substantial amount of research on local level climate change initiatives, this is one of the first analyses of clean energy policies separate from climate change initiatives. This report is one in a suite of reports analyzing clean energy and climate policy development at the local, state, and regional levels.

Growing Stem Cells: The Impact of Federal Funding Policy on the U.S. Scientific Frontier

Science.gov (United States)

Furman, Jeffrey L.; Murray, Fiona; Stern, Scott

2012-01-01

This paper articulates a citation-based approach to science policy evaluation and employs that approach to investigate the impact of the United States' 2001 policy regarding the federal funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. We evaluate the impact of the policy on the level of U.S. hESC research, the U.S. position at the knowledge…

Combination of equilibrium models and hybrid life cycle-input–output analysis to predict the environmental impacts of energy policy scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Igos, Elorri; Rugani, Benedetto; Rege, Sameer; Benetto, Enrico; Drouet, Laurent; Zachary, Daniel S.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The environmental impacts of two energy policy scenarios in Luxembourg are assessed. • Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) and Partial Equilibrium (PE) models are used. • Results from coupling of CGE and PE are integrated in hybrid Life Cycle Assessment. • Impacts due to energy related production and imports are likely to grow over time. • Carbon mitigation policies seem to not substantially decrease the impacts’ trend. - Abstract: Nowadays, many countries adopt an active agenda to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions by moving towards less polluting energy generation technologies. The environmental costs, directly or indirectly generated to achieve such a challenging objective, remain however largely underexplored. Until now, research has focused either on pure economic approaches such as Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) and partial equilibrium (PE) models, or on (physical) energy supply scenarios. These latter could be used to evaluate the environmental impacts of various energy saving or cleaner technologies via Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. These modelling efforts have, however, been pursued in isolation, without exploring the possible complementarities and synergies. In this study, we have undertaken a practical combination of these approaches into a common framework: on the one hand, by coupling a CGE with a PE model, and, on the other hand, by linking the outcomes from the coupling with a hybrid input–output−process based life cycle inventory. The methodological framework aimed at assessing the environmental consequences of two energy policy scenarios in Luxembourg between 2010 and 2025. The study highlights the potential of coupling CGE and PE models but also the related methodological difficulties (e.g. small number of available technologies in Luxembourg, intrinsic limitations of the two approaches, etc.). The assessment shows both environmental synergies and trade-offs due to the implementation of

On the development and use of farm models for policy impact assessment in the European Union – A review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reidsma, Pytrik; Janssen, Sander; Jansen, Jacques; Ittersum, van Martin K.

2018-01-01

Farm models are potentially relevant tools for policy impact assessment. Governments and international organizations use impact assessment (IA) as an ex-ante policy process and procedure to evaluate impacts of policy options as part of the introduction of new policies. IA is increasingly used. This

Health impact assessment of transport policies in Rotterdam: Decrease of total traffic and increase of electric car use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tobollik, Myriam; Keuken, Menno; Sabel, Clive; Cowie, Hilary; Tuomisto, Jouni; Sarigiannis, Denis; Künzli, Nino; Perez, Laura; Mudu, Pierpaolo

2016-01-01

Background: Green house gas (GHG) mitigation policies can be evaluated by showing their co-benefits to health. Method: Health Impact Assessment (HIA) was used to quantify co-benefits of GHG mitigation policies in Rotterdam. The effects of two separate interventions (10% reduction of private vehicle kilometers and a share of 50% electric-powered private vehicle kilometers) on particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), elemental carbon (EC) and noise (engine noise and tyre noise) were assessed using Years of Life Lost (YLL) and Years Lived with Disability (YLD). The baseline was 2010 and the end of the assessment 2020. Results: The intervention aimed at reducing traffic is associated with a decreased exposure to noise resulting in a reduction of 21 (confidence interval (CI): 11–129) YLDs due to annoyance and 35 (CI: 20–51) YLDs due to sleep disturbance for the population per year. The effects of 50% electric-powered car use are slightly higher with a reduction of 26 (CI: 13–116) and 41 (CI: 24–60) YLDs, respectively. The two interventions have marginal effects on air pollution, because already implemented traffic policies will reduce PM 2.5 and EC by around 40% and 60% respectively, from 2010 to 2020. Discussion: The evaluation of planned interventions, related to climate change policies, targeting only the transport sector can result in small co-benefits for health, if the analysis is limited to air pollution and noise. This urges to expand the analysis by including other impacts, e.g. physical activity and well-being, as a necessary step to better understanding consequences of interventions and carefully orienting resources useful to build knowledge to improve public health. - Highlights: • We estimated co-benefits of greenhouse gas reduction policies from 2010 to 2020. • The city scale health impact assessment base on real transport policy scenarios. • Effects of particulate matter, elemental carbon and noise on health are assessed. • The effects are rather

Health impact assessment of transport policies in Rotterdam: Decrease of total traffic and increase of electric car use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tobollik, Myriam, E-mail: mtobollik@uni-bielefeld.de [School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld (Germany); German Environment Agency, Section Exposure Assessment and Environmental Health Indicators, Corrensplatz 1, 14195 Berlin (Germany); Keuken, Menno [Netherlands Applied Research Organization (TNO), Utrecht (Netherlands); Sabel, Clive [School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol (United Kingdom); Cowie, Hilary [Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh (United Kingdom); Tuomisto, Jouni [National Institute for Health and Welfare Kuopio, Kuopio (Finland); Sarigiannis, Denis [Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki (Greece); Künzli, Nino; Perez, Laura [Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel (Switzerland); University of Basel, Basel (Switzerland); Mudu, Pierpaolo, E-mail: mudup@ecehbonn.euro.who.int [WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Bonn (Germany)

2016-04-15

Background: Green house gas (GHG) mitigation policies can be evaluated by showing their co-benefits to health. Method: Health Impact Assessment (HIA) was used to quantify co-benefits of GHG mitigation policies in Rotterdam. The effects of two separate interventions (10% reduction of private vehicle kilometers and a share of 50% electric-powered private vehicle kilometers) on particulate matter (PM{sub 2.5}), elemental carbon (EC) and noise (engine noise and tyre noise) were assessed using Years of Life Lost (YLL) and Years Lived with Disability (YLD). The baseline was 2010 and the end of the assessment 2020. Results: The intervention aimed at reducing traffic is associated with a decreased exposure to noise resulting in a reduction of 21 (confidence interval (CI): 11–129) YLDs due to annoyance and 35 (CI: 20–51) YLDs due to sleep disturbance for the population per year. The effects of 50% electric-powered car use are slightly higher with a reduction of 26 (CI: 13–116) and 41 (CI: 24–60) YLDs, respectively. The two interventions have marginal effects on air pollution, because already implemented traffic policies will reduce PM{sub 2.5} and EC by around 40% and 60% respectively, from 2010 to 2020. Discussion: The evaluation of planned interventions, related to climate change policies, targeting only the transport sector can result in small co-benefits for health, if the analysis is limited to air pollution and noise. This urges to expand the analysis by including other impacts, e.g. physical activity and well-being, as a necessary step to better understanding consequences of interventions and carefully orienting resources useful to build knowledge to improve public health. - Highlights: • We estimated co-benefits of greenhouse gas reduction policies from 2010 to 2020. • The city scale health impact assessment base on real transport policy scenarios. • Effects of particulate matter, elemental carbon and noise on health are assessed. • The effects are

Impact of socially responsible human resources policies on intellectual capital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesus Barrena-Martínez

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This research focuses on the benefits that social responsibility can report on the area of human resources, examined the impact of a socially responsible configuration of human resource policies and practices in the generation value process for the company, and more specifically in its intellectual capital. Design/methodology/approach: The study performed a regression analysis, testing the individual effects of socially responsible human resource policies on intellectual capital, broken down into three main variables such as human, social and organizational capital. Findings: The results shed light on how the introduction of socially responsible aspects in the management of human resources can facilitate the exchange of knowledge, skills and attitudes human--capital; lead to improvements in communication, trust, cooperation among employees social-capital and, in turn, generates an institutionalized knowledge encoded in the own organizational culture –organizational capital–. Research limitations/implications: The study only provides information from large companies with over 250 employees. Practical implications: There are important implications in the measure of corporate social responsibility concerns in the area of human resources. Social implications: Also important intangible effects on non-economic variables are confirmed, such as intellectual capital. Originality/value: The value of the study lies in its novelty, testing socially responsible configurations of human resources as well as the direct effects of different policies on intellectual capital.

Economic, welfare and environmental impact of feed-in tariff policy: A case study in Iran

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabatabaei, Sharareh Majdzadeh; Hadian, Ebrahim; Marzban, Hossein; Zibaei, Mansour

2017-01-01

Following a particular attention given to environmental issues over the last few decades, establishing proper developmental policies to increase electricity production from renewable energy (RE) has not only been an important issue but also a challenge for many countries. Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Policy is one of the tools that is being used to facilitate the development of RE. This research evaluated the economic, welfare and environmental impact of this policy on Iran's economy. Therefore, after developing an Economic-Energy-Environmental (E3) type of Hybrid General Equilibrium model, the effect of FIT policy was examined under different scenarios in order to find an optimal condition in which 10% of electrical energy could be produced from renewable resources. The comparison between the results showed that the application of subsidies to RE and the way the government finances these subsidies can affect the results of FIT policy. Meanwhile, regardless of the role considered for the impact of environmental factors, our policies under the scenario of technology neutral is the most efficient, as it has less impact on the decline of GDP of different sectors and also has less financial cost for government. - Highlights: • E3 type of Hybrid CGE model is used under two different financing policies. • Technology neutral and technology specific scenarios are applied to these policies. • Results show the effect of our policies and scenarios on the efficiency of FIT policy. • This efficiency comes from the impact on GDP balance and government's financial cost. • The results show that, the scenario of technology neutral is the most efficient.

National Language Policy and Its Impacts on Second Language Reading Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Azmi, Mohd Nazri Latiff

2013-01-01

This research concentrates on Malaysian language policy and its impacts on the development of English language (regarded as a second language in Malaysia) specifically on reading culture. The main objectives of this research are to investigate the weaknesses and strengths of the policy and also to come out with recommendations to improve the…

The Asymmetric Effects of Monetary Policy and Bank Credits in Taiwan Banking Industry - A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis

OpenAIRE

Jui-Chuan Chang; Ching-Chuan Tsong; Chieh-Tsung Wu

2010-01-01

This paper investigates whether distributional effect arising from the impact of monetary policy on bank credits will be different when monetary policy is asymmetric. Methodologically, we use a set of high frequency panel data for Taiwan commercial banks and adopt Arellano and Bond's (1991) generalized method of moments approach to conduct our empirical analysis. First of all, we investigate whether there exist the distributional effects of monetary policy on bank lending behavior which is as...

IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON MACROECONOMIC POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clementina IVAN-UNGUREANU

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Globalization – the growing integration of economies and societies around the world – has been one of the most hotly-debated topics in international economics over the past few years. Rapid growth and poverty reduction in some countries that were poor 20 years ago have been positive aspects of globalization. But globalization has also generated significant international opposition to concerns about increased inequality and environmental degradation. There are many definitions of globalization. One of them could be: globalization is an ecosystem in which economic potential is no longer defined or contained by political and geographic boundaries. Economic activity has no bounds in a globalized economy. A globalized world is one where goods, services, financial capital, machinery, money, workers and ideas migrate to wherever they are most valued and can work together most efficiently, flexibly and securely. Where does economic policy come into play in this world? This paper presents some aspects of globalization and the impact on the new strategy of macroeconomics policy.

Analysis of National and EU Policies Supporting CSR and Impact

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moon, Jeremy; Slager, Rieneke; Anastasiadis, Stephanos

. These policies tend to reflect a general trend from endorsement (e.g. rhetoric, conferences, networks, awards, labeling, public procurement); through facilitation (e.g. subsidies, tax incentives); and partnership (e.g. governmental collaboration with business organizations and, very often, also with civil...... society organizations); to mandate (e.g. for accounting or reporting standards). However, the trajectories between and combinations of these policy types also vary among countries (see below). Collectively they tend to reflect broader trends in new governance which stress participation, networks...

Social Analysis in Development Interventions: Policy Artefact or Constructive Transformation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SUSANNA PRICE

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Recently attention has focused on the role of social researchers in the processes of construction and transmission of knowledge about global poverty and its reduction. This paper examines some of the formative efforts by pioneering social researchers in development institutions to step into the realm of policy making to construct processes for project preparation and management through social analysis. Before 1970 development planners invoked ‘social' or ‘human' factors only as an excuse to explain away project failures - they designed and implemented development projects in the absence of any strategies or regulatory frameworks for managing their social impacts. Recognizing that project investments represent induced change and constitute a social process in themselves, pioneering social researchers constructed policies and procedures to introduce sociological content and method into the project cycle and so re-order social outcomes. Were such constructs merely policy artefacts? Even as the constructs helped to shift the statements of the development discourse towards ‘people oriented' poverty reduction, new modalities appeared which tested the limits of the agreed methods. Institutions may forget, neglect, contest or re-write the documents if in perceived conflict with the institutional ‘core business'. Yet those pioneering efforts created institutional space for, and understanding of, social analysis, with a measure of flow-on international recognition. Tracking social analysis in several international institutions and in a significant emerging economy, China, this paper highlights not only a history full of lessons to be learned where social analysis is not practiced systematically but also outlines some future challenges.

The uneven impact of the European Employment Strategy on member states' employment policies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simonsen, Mikkel Mailand

2008-01-01

policies to varying degrees, but that the impact, generally speaking, has been limited. In the article, the author examines the impact of the strategy as a result of peer pressure and key actors' strategic use of the strategy and shows how these mechanisms work. Factors that can explain why greater impact......In the mid-1990s, EU member states decided to coordinate their national employment policies through a common European Employment Strategy (EES). Building on a systematic comparative study of four member states, the author argues that the strategy has influenced the member states' employment...

The impact of fiscal and monetary policies on unemployment problem in Nigeria (managerial economic perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nick Attamah

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the impact of fiscal and Monetary Policies on Unemployment Problem in Nigeria and covers the periods 1980 to 2013. To achieve this, fiscal policy was captured here by government expenditures and revenues respectively while monetary policy was proxied by broad Money Supply (M2, Interest and Exchange rates respectively. The methodology adopted was econometric analysis employing OLS techniques and unit roots of the series were examined using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller after which the co-integration tests was conducted using the Engle Granger approach. Error correction models were estimated to take care of the short run dynamics. It was found that while government expenditure had a positive relationship with unemployment problem in Nigeria, the result of government revenue was negative and insignificant on unemployment problem. For monetary policy, it was found that money supply and exchange rate had positive and significant impact while interest rate has only a positive relationship on unemployment problem in Nigeria. This meets the a priori expectation. The study also revealed that increases in interest and exchange rates escalate unemployment by increasing cost of production which discourages the private sector from employing large workforce. On the other hand, national productivity measured by real GDP had a negative and significant impact on unemployment rate in Nigeria. This paper recommends that for an effective combat to unemployment problem in Nigeria, there should be a systematic diversion of strategies, thus more emphasis should be laid on aggressively pursuing entrepreneurial development and increased productivity. Again government should aggressively focus on investment, employment generation and economic growth that has mechanism to trickle does to the masses

Impact of the zero-markup drug policy on hospitalisation expenditure in western rural China: an interrupted time series analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Caijun; Shen, Qian; Cai, Wenfang; Zhu, Wenwen; Li, Zongjie; Wu, Lina; Fang, Yu

2017-02-01

To assess the long-term effects of the introduction of China's zero-markup drug policy on hospitalisation expenditure and hospitalisation expenditures after reimbursement. An interrupted time series was used to evaluate the impact of the zero-markup drug policy on hospitalisation expenditure and hospitalisation expenditure after reimbursement at primary health institutions in Fufeng County of Shaanxi Province, western China. Two regression models were developed. Monthly average hospitalisation expenditure and monthly average hospitalisation expenditure after reimbursement in primary health institutions were analysed covering the period 2009 through to 2013. For the monthly average hospitalisation expenditure, the increasing trend was slowed down after the introduction of the zero-markup drug policy (coefficient = -16.49, P = 0.009). For the monthly average hospitalisation expenditure after reimbursement, the increasing trend was slowed down after the introduction of the zero-markup drug policy (coefficient = -10.84, P = 0.064), and a significant decrease in the intercept was noted after the second intervention of changes in reimbursement schemes of the new rural cooperative medical insurance (coefficient = -220.64, P markup drug policy in western China. However, hospitalisation expenditure and hospitalisation expenditure after reimbursement were still increasing. More effective policies are needed to prevent these costs from continuing to rise. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Representations of women and drug use in policy: A critical policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Natalie; Bull, Melissa

2018-06-01

Contemporary research in the drugs field has demonstrated a number of gender differences in patterns and experiences of substance use, and the design and provision of gender-responsive interventions has been identified as an important policy issue. Consequently, whether and how domestic drug policies attend to women and gender issues is an important question for investigation. This article presents a policy audit and critical analysis of Australian national and state and territory policy documents. It identifies and discusses two key styles of problematisation of women's drug use in policy: 1) drug use and its effect on women's reproductive role (including a focus on pregnant women and women who are mothers), and 2) drug use and its relationship to women's vulnerability to harm (including violent and sexual victimisation, trauma, and mental health issues). Whilst these are important areas for policy to address, we argue that such representations of women who use drugs tend to reinforce particular understandings of women and drug use, while at the same time contributing to areas of 'policy silence' or neglect. In particular, the policy documents analysed are largely silent about the harm reduction needs of all women, as well as the needs of women who are not mothers, young women, older women, transwomen or other women deemed to be outside of dominant normative reproductive discourse. This analysis is important because understanding how women's drug use is problematised and identifying areas of policy silence provides a foundation for redressing gaps in policy, and for assessing the likely effectiveness of current and future policy approaches. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Global impacts of U.S. bioenergy production and policy: A general equilibrium perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Samuel Garner

The conversion of biomass to energy represents a promising pathway forward in efforts to reduce fossil fuel use in the transportation and electricity sectors. In addition to potential benefits, such as greenhouse gas reductions and increased energy security, bioenergy production also presents a unique set of challenges. These challenges include tradeoffs between food and fuel production, distortions in energy markets, and terrestrial emissions associated with changing land-use patterns. Each of these challenges arises from market-mediated responses to bioenergy production, and are therefore largely economic in nature. This dissertation directly addresses these opportunities and challenges by evaluating the economic impacts of U.S. bioenergy production and policy, focusing on both existing and future biomass-to-energy pathways. The analysis approaches the issue from a global, economy-wide perspective, reflecting two important facts. First, that large-scale bioenergy production connects multiple sectors of the economy due to the use of agricultural land resources for biomass production, and competition with fossil fuels in energy markets. Second, markets for both agricultural and energy commodities are highly integrated globally, causing domestic policies to have international effects. The reader can think of this work as being comprised of three parts. Part I provides context through an extensive review of the literature on the market-mediated effects of conventional biofuel production (Chapter 2) and develops a general equilibrium modeling framework for assessing the extent to which these phenomenon present a challenge for future bioenergy pathways (Chapter 3). Part II (Chapter 4) explores the economic impacts of the lignocellulosic biofuel production targets set in the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard on global agricultural and energy commodity markets. Part III (Chapter 5) extends the analysis to consider potential inefficiencies associated with policy

Impacts of Changing Marijuana Policies on Alcohol Use in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Guttmannova, Katarina; Lee, Christine M.; Kilmer, Jason R.; Fleming, Charles B.; Rhew, Isaac C.; Kosterman, Rick; Larimer, Mary E.

2015-01-01

Background Marijuana policies are rapidly evolving. In the United States, recreational use of marijuana is now legal in four states and medical marijuana is legal in 23 states. Research evaluating such policies has focused primarily on how policies affect issues of price, access to, use, and consequences of marijuana. Due to potential spillover effects, researchers also need to examine how marijuana policies may impact use and consequences of alcohol. Methods The current paper is a critical review of articles evaluating alcohol outcomes associated with marijuana decriminalization, medical marijuana legalization, and non-medical or recreational marijuana legalization. We identified articles and reports through (1) online searches of EBSCO host database including Academic search premier, Econlit, Legal collection, Medline, Psych articles, and PsycINFO, as well as PubMed and Google Scholar databases; (2) review of additional articles cited in papers identified through electronic searches; and (3) targeted searches of state and local government records regarding marijuana law implementation. We reviewed studies with respect to their data sources and sample characteristics, methodology, and the margin of alcohol and marijuana use, timing of policy change, and the aspects of laws examined. Results The extant literature provides some evidence for both substitution (i.e., more liberal marijuana policies related to less alcohol use as marijuana becomes a substitute) and complementary (i.e., more liberal marijuana policies related to increases in both marijuana and alcohol use) relationships in the context of liberalization of marijuana policies in the United States. Conclusions Impact of more liberal marijuana policies on alcohol use is complex, and likely depends on specific aspects of policy implementation, including how long the policy has been in place. Further, evaluation of marijuana policy effects on alcohol use may be sensitive to the age group studied and the

Impact of stakeholders' interests on financial accounting policy-making : the case of Lithuania

OpenAIRE

Rudžionienė, Kristina

2006-01-01

This paper analyses the expectations of particular stakeholder groups’ impact on corporate financial accounting policy-making in Lithuanian enterprises from Stakeholder theory perspective. Companies should seek to present a true and fair view of their financial performance and results while making financial accounting policy because stakeholders need informative and truthful accounting data for making right decisions. On the basis of empirical results it could be stated that the impact of dif...

Analysis of federal and state policies and environmental issues for bioethanol production facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

McGee, Chandra; Chan Hilton, Amy B

2011-03-01

The purpose of this work was to investigate incentives and barriers to fuel ethanol production from biomass in the U.S. during the past decade (2000-2010). In particular, we examine the results of policies and economic conditions during this period by way of cellulosic ethanol activity in four selected states with the potential to produce different types of feedstocks (i.e., sugar, starch, and cellulosic crops) for ethanol production (Florida, California, Hawaii, and Iowa). Two of the four states, Iowa and California, currently have commercial ethanol production facilities in operation using corn feedstocks. While several companies have proposed commercial scale facilities in Florida and Hawaii, none are operating to date. Federal and state policies and incentives, potential for feedstock production and conversion to ethanol and associated potential environmental impacts, and environmental regulatory conditions among the states were investigated. Additionally, an analysis of proposed and operational ethanol production facilities provided evidence that a combination of these policies and incentives along with the ability to address environmental issues and regulatory environment and positive economic conditions all impact ethanol production. The 2000-2010 decade saw the rise of the promise of cellulosic ethanol. Federal and state policies were enacted to increase ethanol production. Since the initial push for development, expansion of cellulosic ethanol production has not happened as quickly as predicted. Government and private funding supported the development of ethanol production facilities, which peaked and then declined by the end of the decade. Although there are technical issues that remain to be solved to more efficiently convert cellulosic material to ethanol while reducing environmental impacts, the largest barriers to increasing ethanol production appear to be related to government policies, economics, and logistical issues. The numerous federal and state

Economic and Policy Review

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The NESG Economic and Policy Review (EPR) is a quarterly publication of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), established to serve as an avenue for constructive analysis of economic policies and their impacts on different aspects of the business and economic environment. The EPR aims to provide unbiased, ...

The Impact of Trade Policy on Industry Concentration in Switzerland

OpenAIRE

Burghardt, Dirk

2013-01-01

This paper studies the impact of trade policy on industry concentration. Based on the Swiss Business Census, concentration levels for all four-digit manufacturing industries in Switzerland are calculated. Then the effect of a bilateral reduction in technical barriers to trade with the European Union is estimated. Adopting a difference-in-differences approach, it turns out that concentration in affected industries with low R&D intensity increased significantly following the policy change. This...

Impacts of the Fukushima Daiichi Accident on Nuclear Development Policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vance, Robert; Henderson, David; ); Moore, Laurie

2017-01-01

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident has had an impact on the development of nuclear power around the world. While the accident was followed by thorough technical assessments of the safety of all operating nuclear power plants, and a general increase in safety requirements has been observed worldwide, national policy responses have been more varied. These responses have ranged from countries phasing out or accelerating decisions to phase out nuclear energy to countries reducing their reliance on nuclear power or on the contrary continuing to pursue or expand their nuclear power programs. This study examines changes to policies, and plans and attempts to distinguish the impact of the Fukushima Daiichi accident from other factors that have affected policy-making in relation to nuclear energy, in particular electricity market economics, financing challenges and competition from other sources (gas, coal and renewables). It also examines changes over time to long-term, quantitative country projections, which reveal interesting trends on the possible role of nuclear energy in future energy systems. (authors)

Impact of monetary policy on the volatility of stock market in pakistan

OpenAIRE

Abdul Qayyum; Saba Anwa

2010-01-01

This paper addresses the linkages between the monetary policy and the stock market in Pakistan. The estimation technique employed includes Engle Granger two step procedure and the bivariate EGARCH method. The results indicate that any change in the monetary policy stance have a significant impact on the volatility of the stock market. Thus contributing to the ongoing debate in the monetary policy rule literature regarding the proactive and reactive approach.

Electricity conservation policies and sectorial output in Pakistan: An empirical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehmood Mirza, Faisal; Bergland, Olvar; Afzal, Naila

2014-01-01

Government of Pakistan has taken several measures in recent years for conserving electricity to reduce its electricity shortfall. In this context, this study attempts to quantify the impact of different electricity conservation policies on value-added of industrial and services sectors in Pakistan. Results indicate that unanticipated shocks to electricity consumption and technical efficiency form a positive relationship while electricity price has a negative relationship with value-added in industrial and services sectors in the long run. Direct electricity conservation policies and policies that aim at increasing electricity prices will have an adverse impact on value-added of both the sectors. Policies that induce improvements in energy efficiency will have a positive impact on the sectorial output in the long run. Therefore, the government should not pursue direct consumption curtailment polices to mitigate the electricity crisis rather steps should be taken to enhance energy efficiency in the economy. This can be done by setting targets for reducing energy intensity in both the sectors. Moreover, energy efficiency should be incorporated in the mainstream of energy policy and specific laws should be enacted to establish institutions and develop methods to help in effective conservation and efficient consumption of limited energy resources. - Highlights: • We quantify impact of electricity conservation policies on sectorial value added. • Shocks to electricity consumption and technical efficiency positively affect the output. • Shocks to electricity price negatively affects value-added in the long run. • Policies inducing improvements in energy efficiency positively affect the output

An Analysis of the Policy Coverage and Examination of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

environmental-impact topics in the Further Education and Training (FET) ... Data sources were the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) documents and ..... and the environment, the impact of coal mining, and the effects on the ...

A Retrospective Analysis of the Benefits and Impacts of U.S. Renewable Portfolio Standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiser, Ryan H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Barbose, Galen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Heeter, Jenny [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mai, Trieu [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bird, Lori [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bolinger, Mark [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Carpenter, Alberta [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Heath, Garvin [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Keyser, David [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Macknick, Jordan [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mills, Andrew [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Millstein, Dev [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2017-07-31

This report, the second in the series, analyzes historical benefits and impacts of all state RPS policies, in aggregate, employing a consistent and well-vetted set of methods and data sets. The analysis focuses on three specific benefits: greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and water use. It also analyzes three other impacts: gross job additions, wholesale electricity market price suppression, and natural gas price suppression. These are an important subset, but by no means a comprehensive set, of all possible effects associated with RPS policies. These benefits and impacts are also subject to many uncertainties, which are described and, to the extent possible, quantified within the report.

41 CFR 105-53.141 - Office of Policy Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Management Regulations System (Continued) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION 53-STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS Central Offices § 105-53.141 Office of Policy Analysis. The Office of Policy Analysis, headed by..., independent, objective information concerning management policies and programs, and technical and analytical...

Influencing policy through impact evaluation in Latin America and ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

IDRC's Supporting Inclusive Growth (SIG) program supports the strengthening of research capacity, to generate and use evidence that contributes to informed public dialogue and policymaking. Impact Evaluation for Policy Making: A Close Look at Latin American Countries with Weaker Research Capacities, the fourth title ...

Impact of US biofuel policy on US corn and gasoline price variability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McPhail, Lihong Lu; Babcock, Bruce A.

2012-01-01

Despite a large number of studies that examine the influence of biofuels and biofuel policy on commodity prices, the impact of biofuel policy on commodity price variability is poorly understood. A good understanding of biofuel policy’s impact on price variability is important for mitigating food insecurity and assisting policy formation. We examine how U.S. ethanol policies such as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) mandates and the blend wall affect the price variability of corn and gasoline. We first present an analytical and graphical framework to identify the effect and then use stochastic partial equilibrium simulation to measure the magnitude of the impacts. We show that RFS mandates and the blend wall both reduce the price elasticity of demand for corn and gasoline and therefore increase the price variability when supply shocks occur to the markets. This has important implications for policy actions with respect to maintaining or changing the current RFS mandates and/or blend wall in the US. -- Highlights: ► The RFS is found to lead to less elastic demand for corn and gasoline. ► Thus the RFS is also found to lead to more volatile corn and gasoline prices when supply shocks occur. ► The ethanol blend wall is found to lead to less elastic corn and gasoline demand. ► Thus the blend wall is also found to lead to more volatile corn and gasoline prices.

Impacts of a United States' biofuel policy on New Zealand's agricultural sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saunders, Caroline; Kaye-Blake, William; Marshall, Liz; Greenhalgh, Suzie; De Aragao Pereira, Mariana

2009-01-01

The rise in oil prices has spurred interest in biofuels. Policies in the United States like the renewable fuel standard (RFS) have led to an expansion of ethanol production, while the New Zealand government has mandated a minimum level of biofuel sales. The research used a partial equilibrium model of international trade to quantify the price and farmgate income effects of the US RFS policy. The goal was to examine the competition between food and biofuel production and to quantify the impact of the policy on the agricultural sector in New Zealand. The RFS policy has a significant impact on corn prices, but a small effect on livestock prices and production. There thus appears to be little conflict between food and fuel uses for corn at the level of the RFS mandate. New Zealand's pasture-based livestock sector benefits from the use of corn for ethanol production: it receives better prices for its products, but does not face the same input cost increases as competitors. The results suggest that New Zealand faces an interesting decision: it could support investment in biofuels research, or benefit from the biofuels boom through the indirect impacts on demand and prices for meat and milk. (author)

Evaluation of caregiver-friendly workplace policy (CFWPs) interventions on the health of full-time caregiver employees (CEs): implementation and cost-benefit analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Allison M; Tompa, Emile; Lero, Donna S; Fast, Janet; Yazdani, Amin; Zeytinoglu, Isik U

2017-09-20

Current Canadian evidence illustrating the health benefits and cost-effectiveness of caregiver-friendly workplace policies is needed if Canadian employers are to adopt and integrate caregiver-friendly workplace policies into their employment practices. The goal of this three-year, three study research project is to provide such evidence for the auto manufacturing and educational services sectors. The research questions being addressed are: What are the impacts for employers (economic) and workers (health) of caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s) for full-time caregiver-employees? What are the impacts for employers, workers and society of the caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s) in each participating workplace? What contextual factors impact the successful implementation of caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s)? Using a pre-post-test comparative case study design, Study A will determine the effectiveness of newly implemented caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s) across two workplaces to determine impacts on caregiver-employee health. A quasi-experimental pre-post design will allow the caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s) to be tested with respect to potential impacts on health, and specifically on caregiver employee mental, psychosocial, and physical health. Framed within a comparative case study design, Study B will utilize cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis approaches to evaluate the economic impacts of the caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s) for each of the two participating workplaces. Framed within a comparative case study design, Study C will undertake an implementation analysis of the caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s) in each participating workplace in order to determine: the degree of support for the intervention(s) (reflected in the workplace culture); how sex and gender are implicated; co-workers' responses to the chosen intervention(s), and

Impact of school peanut-free policies on epinephrine administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartnikas, Lisa M; Huffaker, Michelle F; Sheehan, William J; Kanchongkittiphon, Watcharoot; Petty, Carter R; Leibowitz, Robert; Hauptman, Marissa; Young, Michael C; Phipatanakul, Wanda

2017-08-01

Children with food allergies spend a large proportion of time in school but characteristics of allergic reactions in schools are not well studied. Some schools self-designate as peanut-free or have peanut-free areas, but the impact of policies on clinical outcomes has not been evaluated. We sought to determine the effect of peanut-free policies on rates of epinephrine administration for allergic reactions in Massachusetts public schools. In this retrospective study, we analyzed (1) rates of epinephrine administration in all Massachusetts public schools and (2) Massachusetts public school nurse survey reports of school peanut-free policies from 2006 to 2011 and whether schools self-designated as "peanut-free" based on policies. Rates of epinephrine administration were compared for schools with or without peanut-restrictive policies. The percentage of schools with peanut-restrictive policies did not change significantly in the study time frame. There was variability in policies used by schools self-designated as peanut-free. No policy was associated with complete absence of allergic reactions. Both self-designated peanut-free schools and schools banning peanuts from being served in school or brought from home reported allergic reactions to nuts. Policies restricting peanuts from home, served in schools, or having peanut-free classrooms did not affect epinephrine administration rates. Schools with peanut-free tables, compared to without, had lower rates of epinephrine administration (incidence rate per 10,000 students 0.2 and 0.6, respectively, P = .009). These data provide a basis for evidence-based school policies for children with food allergies. Further studies are required before decisions can be made regarding peanut-free policies in schools. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Carbon Policies for Electricity Networks with High Penetration of Green Generation

Science.gov (United States)

Feijoo, Felipe A.

In recent decades, climate change has become one of the most crucial challenges for humanity. Climate change has a direct correlation with global warming, caused mainly by the green house gas emissions (GHG). The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. (EPA) attributes carbon dioxide to account for approximately 82% of the GHG emissions. Unfortunately, the energy sector is the main producer of carbon dioxide, with China and the U.S. as the highest emitters. Therefore, there is a strong (positive) correlation between energy production, global warming, and climate change. Stringent carbon emissions reduction targets have been established in order to reduce the impacts of GHG. Achieving these emissions reduction goals will require implementation of policies like as cap-and-trade and carbon taxes, together with transformation of the electricity grid into a smarter system with high green energy penetration. However, the consideration of policies solely in view of carbon emissions reduction may adversely impact other market outcomes such as electricity prices and consumption. In this dissertation, a two-layer mathematical-statistical framework is presented, that serves to develop carbon policies to reduce emissions level while minimizing the negative impacts on other market outcomes. The bottom layer of the two layer model comprises a bi-level optimization problem. The top layer comprises a statistical model and a Pareto analysis. Two related but different problems are studied under this methodology. The first problem looks into the design of cap-and-trade policies for deregulated electricity markets that satisfy the interest of different market constituents. Via the second problem, it is demonstrated how the framework can be used to obtain levels of carbon emissions reduction while minimizing the negative impact on electricity demand and maximizing green penetration from microgrids. In the aforementioned studies, forecasts for electricity prices and production cost

Factors Impacting Bank Net Interest Margin and the Role of Monetary Policy: Evidence from Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammed Hasan Yılmaz

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In this study, we investigate factors affecting net interest margin (NIM of commercial banks in Turkey. Especially, our results highlight the relation between unconventional monetary policy shocks and bank margins. To this end, first, we conduct an identification analysis about which parameters of asymmetric interest corridor framework are important in explaining variations in NIM. Using industry-level data, we show that there exists a pass through from BIST interbank overnight repo/reverse repo market rate and weighted average cost of funding (WACF to bank loan and deposit rates. As a result of reduced-form Vector Autoregression (VAR analysis we find the existence of a transmission mechanism from BIST rate and WACF to commercial loan rate, consumer loan rate and deposit rate. Same pass through to loan and deposit rates is also shown in individual bank level with the Panel Vector Autoregression (Panel VAR analysis in the case of 16 commercial banks in Turkey during the period 2011Q1-2016Q1. After the identification analysis, we examine the relationship between NIM and policy rates through System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM techniques by controlling bank specific, industry related and macroeconomic factors. We find that a change in the monetary policy rate has significant and positive impact on NIM. Among bank-specific factors, equity ratio and operating expenses are found to be significantly affecting NIM during the sample period. Our empirical findings also stress the significance of lag values of NIM. Estimations conducted with standardized variables indicate that economic significance of lag values and bank specific variables are larger than that of policy.

Dynamic analysis of policy drivers for bioenergy commodity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeffers, Robert F.; Jacobson, Jacob J.; Searcy, Erin M.

2013-01-01

Biomass is increasingly being considered as a feedstock to provide a clean and renewable source of energy in the form of both liquid fuels and electric power. In the United States, the biofuels and biopower industries are regulated by different policies and have different drivers, which impact the maximum price the industries are willing to pay for biomass. This article describes a dynamic computer simulation model that analyzes future behavior of bioenergy feedstock markets given policy and technical options. The model simulates the long-term dynamics of these markets by treating advanced biomass feedstocks as a commodity and projecting the total demand of each industry, as well as the market price over time. The model is used for an analysis of the United States bioenergy feedstock market that projects supply, demand, and market price given three independent buyers: domestic biopower, domestic biofuels, and foreign exports. With base-case assumptions, the biofuels industry is able to dominate the market and meet the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets for advanced biofuels. Further analyses suggest that United States bioenergy studies should include estimates of export demand in their projections, and that GHG-limiting policy would partially shield both industries from export dominance. - Highlights: ► We model a United States bioenergy feedstock commodity market. ► Three buyers compete for biomass: biopower, biofuels, and foreign exports. ► The presented methodology improves on dynamic economic equilibrium theory. ► With current policy incentives and ignoring exports, biofuels dominates the market. ► Overseas biomass demand could dominate unless a CO 2 -limiting policy is enacted.

Energy-environment policy goals and instruments and electricity demand response. A framework for the analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rio, Pablo del; Hernandez, F.

2004-01-01

The environment and energy realms have traditionally been two major focus of attention of EU and Member State (MS) policy. This attention has intensified in recent years as a response to, both, internal and external events and strategies (i.e., the Kyoto Protocol). In this context, the EU and its MS have set ambitious goals in the environmental and energy contexts and are already implementing packages of policies and measures. Both policies interact. Although there might be conflicts between both, there are also mutually reinforcing effects with significant policy implications. Actually, as stated in the Amsterdam Treaty, environmental protection is one of the major goals of energy policy (together with 'security of supply' and 'competitive energy systems'). On the other hand, the energy sector is instrumental in the success of environmental policy. In this context, a wide array of measures are currently being implemented in the EU and its MS which have a more or less direct impact on the electricity market. Particularly, Demand Side Management (DSM) activities, promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E) and measures aimed at the mitigation of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are arguably three major instruments which have the potential to contribute to energy and environmental goals. The effectiveness and impact of there measures depends to a large extent on the demand response in the electricity market. Some of there measures affect the electricity demand curve, while others do not have a direct impact on the demand curve but affect the quantity of electricity demand by displacing the electricity supply curve. In turn, the effectiveness of energy and environmental policies may be different when electricity demand response varies (i.e., different elasticity demand). This paper entails an initial effort to provide a theoretical framework for the analysis of the interactions between electricity demand response and the above mentioned energy

A Nuclear Waste Management Cost Model for Policy Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Barron, R. W.; Hill, M. C.

2017-12-01

Although integrated assessments of climate change policy have frequently identified nuclear energy as a promising alternative to fossil fuels, these studies have often treated nuclear waste disposal very simply. Simple assumptions about nuclear waste are problematic because they may not be adequate to capture relevant costs and uncertainties, which could result in suboptimal policy choices. Modeling nuclear waste management costs is a cross-disciplinary, multi-scale problem that involves economic, geologic and environmental processes that operate at vastly different temporal scales. Similarly, the climate-related costs and benefits of nuclear energy are dependent on environmental sensitivity to CO2 emissions and radiation, nuclear energy's ability to offset carbon emissions, and the risk of nuclear accidents, factors which are all deeply uncertain. Alternative value systems further complicate the problem by suggesting different approaches to valuing intergenerational impacts. Effective policy assessment of nuclear energy requires an integrated approach to modeling nuclear waste management that (1) bridges disciplinary and temporal gaps, (2) supports an iterative, adaptive process that responds to evolving understandings of uncertainties, and (3) supports a broad range of value systems. This work develops the Nuclear Waste Management Cost Model (NWMCM). NWMCM provides a flexible framework for evaluating the cost of nuclear waste management across a range of technology pathways and value systems. We illustrate how NWMCM can support policy analysis by estimating how different nuclear waste disposal scenarios developed using the NWMCM framework affect the results of a recent integrated assessment study of alternative energy futures and their effects on the cost of achieving carbon abatement targets. Results suggest that the optimism reflected in previous works is fragile: Plausible nuclear waste management costs and discount rates appropriate for intergenerational cost

78 FR 69669 - Intent To Conduct a Detailed Economic Impact Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-20

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK Intent To Conduct a Detailed Economic Impact Analysis This notice is to inform... guarantee, the value of the transaction, and the amount of new foreign production capacity are not included... date this notice appears in the Federal Register. James C. Cruse, Senior Vice President, Policy and...

The Impact of Assessment Policy on Learning: Replacement Exams or Grade Dropping

Science.gov (United States)

MacDermott, Raymond J.

2013-01-01

Instructors often debate the merits of alternate grading policies such as dropping the lowest exam or offering an additional exam to replace the lowest score. To date, there has been little research conducted on the impact of these policies on performance. In this study, the author investigates student performance in intermediate macroeconomics…

Value/impact analysis for evaluating alternative mitigation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kastenberg, W.E.; Catton, I.; Castle, J.N.; Dooley, J.L.; Hammond, R.P.

1988-01-01

Methods are developed for assessing the cost effectiveness of proposed systems and strategies for mitigating the consequences of severe nuclear accidents. Such mitigation systems consist mostly of devices for improving the ability of a reactor containment to survive such an accident and retain all radioactive materials. Value/impact analysis is applied to the system with and without mitigation, using the population dose averted by mitigation as the value of benefit, and the dollar cost of the containment improvements as the impact. Other considerations affecting such analyses include ways of monetizing public health risk, economic discounting, and the effect of interdiction policy and other post-accident recovery costs

Equity impact of population-level interventions and policies to reduce smoking in adults: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Tamara; Platt, Stephen; Amos, Amanda

2014-05-01

There is strong evidence about which tobacco control policies reduce smoking. However, their equity impact is uncertain. The aim was to assess the effectiveness of population-level interventions/policies to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in adult smoking. Systematic review of studies of population-level interventions/policies reporting smoking-related outcomes in adults of lower compared to higher socioeconomic status (SES). References were screened and independently checked. Studies were quality assessed. Results are presented in a narrative synthesis. Equity impact was assessed as: positive (reduced inequality), neutral (no difference by SES), negative (increased inequality), mixed (equity impact varied) or unclear. 117 studies of 130 interventions/policies were included: smokefree (44); price/tax (27); mass media campaigns (30); advertising controls (9); cessation support (9); settings-based interventions (7); multiple policies (4). The distribution of equity effects was: 33 positive, 36 neutral, 38 negative, 6 mixed, 17 unclear. Most neutral equity studies benefited all SES groups. Fourteen price/tax studies were equity positive. Voluntary, regional and partial smokefree policies were more likely to be equity negative than national, comprehensive smokefree policies. Mass media campaigns had inconsistent equity effects. Cigarette marketing controls were equity positive or neutral. Targeted national smoking cessation services can be equity positive by achieving higher reach among low SES, compensating for lower quit rates. Few studies have assessed the equity impact of tobacco control policy/interventions. Price/tax increases had the most consistent positive equity impact. More research is needed to strengthen the evidence-base for reducing smoking inequalities and to develop effective equity-orientated tobacco control strategies. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Probabilistic Decision Tools for Determining Impacts of Agricultural Development Policy on Household Nutrition

Science.gov (United States)

Whitney, Cory W.; Lanzanova, Denis; Muchiri, Caroline; Shepherd, Keith D.; Rosenstock, Todd S.; Krawinkel, Michael; Tabuti, John R. S.; Luedeling, Eike

2018-03-01

Governments around the world have agreed to end hunger and food insecurity and to improve global nutrition, largely through changes to agriculture and food systems. However, they are faced with a lot of uncertainty when making policy decisions, since any agricultural changes will influence social and biophysical systems, which could yield either positive or negative nutrition outcomes. We outline a holistic probability modeling approach with Bayesian Network (BN) models for nutritional impacts resulting from agricultural development policy. The approach includes the elicitation of expert knowledge for impact model development, including sensitivity analysis and value of information calculations. It aims at a generalizable methodology that can be applied in a wide range of contexts. To showcase this approach, we develop an impact model of Vision 2040, Uganda's development strategy, which, among other objectives, seeks to transform the country's agricultural landscape from traditional systems to large-scale commercial agriculture. Model results suggest that Vision 2040 is likely to have negative outcomes for the rural livelihoods it intends to support; it may have no appreciable influence on household hunger but, by influencing preferences for and access to quality nutritional foods, may increase the prevalence of micronutrient deficiency. The results highlight the trade-offs that must be negotiated when making decisions regarding agriculture for nutrition, and the capacity of BNs to make these trade-offs explicit. The work illustrates the value of BNs for supporting evidence-based agricultural development decisions.

Economic impact of integrated policies to respond to threats of global climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanson, D.A.

1994-01-01

This paper describes the Argonne Multisector Industry Growth Assessment Model (AMIGA), which is a tool for policy impact analysis in the context of the economy as a whole and its individual sectors. AMIGA is currently being used by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to help understand and evaluate these DOE programs, including more efficient motor vehicle programs. The steps being taken under the US Climate Change Action Plan are being assessed using AMIGA. However, because AMIGA represents prices of goods and services and the wages of workers, AMIGA has the capability to represent incentive approaches to greenhouse gas emissions reductions such as a carbon tax. The ''best'' policy option in a ''second-best'' world may be a mix, or bundle of incentives, voluntary programs, and command-and-control regulations. Detailed reports on model documentation and simulation studies will be available from the author

Education Policy in Poland: The Impact of PISA (and Other International Studies)

Science.gov (United States)

Bialecki, Ireneusz; Jakubowski, Maciej; Wisniewski, Jerzy

2017-01-01

The impact of the PISA study on Polish education policy has been significant, but probably different from any other country. Poland has not experienced the so-called "PISA shock," but its education system has been benefiting considerably from PISA. For experts and policy makers, it has been a useful and reliable instrument that has made…

Influencing policy through impact evaluation in Latin America and ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

And there are growing concerns about the ethics of implementing some types of IE. This paper explores recent IE practice in Latin America and reviews more than 300 impact evaluations in 21 countries. It examines the policy issues covered and methodologies used; the research actors and implementing agencies involved; ...

ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF ENERGY POLICIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela ȘTEȚ

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper highlights some of the issues raised by the implementation of energy policies and the fiscal measures in the energy sector and it aims to identify the impact of energy policies at regional level. It is emphasized, along with the environmental impact of the use of renewable resources and economic and social effects on sustainable regional development which can generate state intervention through direct and indirect, financial and non-financial instruments. Given the complex energy profile of Romania, the paper reveals also, the problems that have had to face in the last two decades and the impact of energy policies of Romanian governments. The research is based on an analysis of statistics, publications in energy sector, as well as primary and specific legislation.

ADAM adaptation and mitigation strategies: supporting European climate policy. Deliverable D3 of work package M1 (code D-M1.3). ADAM 2-degree scenario for Europe - policies and impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schade, Wolfgang; Jochem, Eberhard; Barker, Terry [and others

2009-07-31

ADAM research identifies and appraises existing and new policy options that can contribute to different combinations of adaptation and mitigation strategies. These options address the demands a changing climate will place on protecting citizens and valuable ecosystems - i.e., adaptation - as well as addressing the necessity to restrain/control humankind's perturbation to global climate to a desirable level - i.e., mitigation. The work package Mitigation 1 (Ml) has the core objective to simulate mitigation options and their related costs for Europe until 2050 and 2100 respectively. The focus of this deliverable is on the period 2005 to 2050. The long-term period until 2100 is covered in the previous deliverable D2, applying the POLES model for this time horizon. The analysis constitutes basically a techno-economic analysis. Depending on the sector analyzed it is either directly combined with a policy analysis (e.g. in the transport sector, renewables sector) or the policy analysis is performed qualitatively as a subsequent and independent step after the techno-economic analysis is completed (e.g. in the residential and service sectors). The book includes the following chapters: scenarios and macroeconomic assumptions; methodological issues analyzing mitigation options; the integrated global energy model POLES and its projections for the reference and 2 deg C scenarios; forest and basic materials sector; residential sector in Europe; the service (tertiary) and the primary sectors in Europe; basic products and other manufacturing industry sectors; transport sectors in Europe; renewable sector in Europe; conversion sector in Europe; syntheses and sectoral analysis in Europe; macroeconomic impacts of climate policy in the EU; the effects of the financial crisis on baseline simulations with implications for climate policy modeling: an analysis using the global model E3MG 2008-2012; conclusions and policy recommendations.

ADAM adaptation and mitigation strategies: supporting European climate policy. Deliverable D3 of work package M1 (code D-M1.3). ADAM 2-degree scenario for Europe - policies and impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schade, Wolfgang; Jochem, Eberhard; Barker, Terry (and others)

2009-07-31

ADAM research identifies and appraises existing and new policy options that can contribute to different combinations of adaptation and mitigation strategies. These options address the demands a changing climate will place on protecting citizens and valuable ecosystems - i.e., adaptation - as well as addressing the necessity to restrain/control humankind's perturbation to global climate to a desirable level - i.e., mitigation. The work package Mitigation 1 (Ml) has the core objective to simulate mitigation options and their related costs for Europe until 2050 and 2100 respectively. The focus of this deliverable is on the period 2005 to 2050. The long-term period until 2100 is covered in the previous deliverable D2, applying the POLES model for this time horizon. The analysis constitutes basically a techno-economic analysis. Depending on the sector analyzed it is either directly combined with a policy analysis (e.g. in the transport sector, renewables sector) or the policy analysis is performed qualitatively as a subsequent and independent step after the techno-economic analysis is completed (e.g. in the residential and service sectors). The book includes the following chapters: scenarios and macroeconomic assumptions; methodological issues analyzing mitigation options; the integrated global energy model POLES and its projections for the reference and 2 deg C scenarios; forest and basic materials sector; residential sector in Europe; the service (tertiary) and the primary sectors in Europe; basic products and other manufacturing industry sectors; transport sectors in Europe; renewable sector in Europe; conversion sector in Europe; syntheses and sectoral analysis in Europe; macroeconomic impacts of climate policy in the EU; the effects of the financial crisis on baseline simulations with implications for climate policy modeling: an analysis using the global model E3MG 2008-2012; conclusions and policy recommendations.

EU climate policy impact in 2020. With a focus on the effectiveness of emissions trading policy in an economic recession scenario

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graus, W.; Sreenivasamurthy, U.; Wesselink, B.

2009-06-01

PBL's Environmental Balance 2009 provides information on the current status and trends of environmental and climate policies. Ecofys contributes to the climate policy section of the report by developing the following three indicators: (1) ex-post and ex-ante policy impacts until 2020 at EU level (wedge diagram); (2) business-as-usual emissions of EU ETS sectors until 2020, revised for the current economic recession; (3) a latest literature review of EUA (EU emission allowances) price band expected until 2020. Based on the latter two analyses, a brief note on the impact of the current economic recession on the effectiveness of the EU emission trading scheme until 2020 is presented.An economic recession of two years or longer will considerably decrease the effectiveness of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in stimulating low-carbon technologies. In order to meet EU climate targets in the longer term, new governmental policies will be needed to compensate for this.

Impact of the joint-stock reform of commercial banks on the effectiveness of monetary policy in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang Xianming

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Over the past decade, the Chinese government has conducted the joint-stock reform of state-owned commercial banks. The joint-stock reform improves the marketization level of the ownership structure of commercial banks and consequently leads to impacts on the effectiveness of monetary policy. This paper first presents the impacting mechanisms of the joint-stock reform of commercial banks on the effectiveness of monetary policy and then constructs an empirical model to test those impacts. The empirical results show that the increasing degree of joint-stock reform of commercial banks enhances the effectiveness of expansionary monetary policy but weakens the effectiveness of contractionary monetary policy in China.

Moderation of Policy-Making? : Science and Technology Policy Evaluation Beyond Impact Measurement—the Case of Germany

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuhlmann, Stefan

1998-01-01

In the field of science and technology policies, for the most part, evaluation procedures are utilized as a way of measuring the scientific and technological quality or the socio-economic impacts of publicly funded research. Beyond this practice, could evaluation procedures be used as a medium for

The impact of foresight on environmental science and technology policy in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Meulen, Barend

1999-01-01

Globalisation, high tech development and environmental issues have made policy makers aware again of the possibilities of future studies for policy making. However, the lack of systematic knowledge about their impact is a major obstruction to a proper use of future studies. Especially since future

A policy hackathon for analysing impacts and solutions up to 20 metres sea-level rise

Science.gov (United States)

Haasnoot, Marjolijn; Bouwer, Laurens; Kwadijk, Jaap

2017-04-01

We organised a policy hackathon in order to quantify the impacts accelerated and high-end sea-level rise up to 20 metres on the coast of the Netherlands, and develop possible solutions. This was done during one day, with 20 experts that had a wide variety of disciplines, including hydrology, geology, coastal engineering, economics, and public policy. During the process the problem was divided up into several sub-sets of issues that were analysed and solved within small teams of between 4 to 8 people. Both a top-down impact analysis and bottom-up vulnerability analysis was done by answering the questions: What is the impact of sea level rise of x meter?; and How much sea level rise can be accommodated with before transformative actions are needed? Next, adaptation tipping points were identified that describe conditions under which the coastal system starts to perform unacceptably. Reasons for an adaptation tipping point can be technical (technically not possible), economic (cost-benefits are negative), or resources (available space, sand, energy production, financial). The results are presented in a summary document, and through an infographic displaying different adaptation tipping points and milestones that occur when the sea level rises up to 20 m. No technical limitations were found for adaptation, but many important decisions need to be taken. Although accelerated sea level rise seems far away it can have important consequences for short-term decisions that are required for transformative actions. Such extensive actions require more time for implementation. Also, other action may become ineffective before their design life. This hackathon exercise shows that it is possible to map within a short time frame the issues at hand, as well as potentially effective solutions. This can be replicated for other problems, and can be useful for several decision-makers that require quick but in-depth analysis of their long-term planning problems.

Health impact assessment as an agent of policy change: improving the health impacts of the mayor of London's draft transport strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mindell, J; Sheridan, L; Joffe, M; Samson-Barry, H; Atkinson, S

2004-03-01

To increase the positive and mitigate the negative health impacts of the mayor's draft transport strategy for London. A rapid prospective health impact assessment (HIA) of the penultimate draft of the strategy, using a review commissioned by the regional director of public health; an appraisal of congestion charging; and a participatory workshop. Two audits of changes were performed to assess the impact on policy of the HIA process. Regional government policy development. Recommendations from the rapid HIA were fed back into the drafting process. Changes (a) between the penultimate draft and the draft for public consultation and (b) between that and the final mayoral strategy. The draft transport strategy published for consultation differed in a number of respects from the previous version. Almost all the recommendations from the HIA were incorporated into the final strategy. Significant changes included promoting sustainable travel plans for workplaces and schools; giving priority to infrastructure and services that benefit London's deprived communities; increased emphasis on promoting walking and cycling and reducing reliance on private cars; and a commitment to track the health impacts of the final strategy and its implementation. Specific additions included re-allocating road space. HIA was successful in influencing the transport strategy for London, resulting in several improvements from a health viewpoint. HIA is an effective method both for bringing about significant change in policy proposals and in increasing policy makers' understanding of determinants of health and hence in changing attitudes of policy makers.

Temporal trends in childhood mortality in Ghana: impacts and challenges of health policies and programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gbenga A. Kayode

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Following the adoption of the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4 in Ghana to reduce under-five mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015, efforts were made towards its attainment. However, impacts and challenges of implemented intervention programs have not been examined to inform implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 (SDG 3.2 that seeks to end preventable deaths of newborns and children aged under-five. Thus, this study aimed to compare trends in neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality over two decades and to highlight the impacts and challenges of health policies and intervention programs implemented. Design: Ghana Demographic and Health Survey data (1988–2008 were analyzed using trend analysis. Poisson regression analysis was applied to quantify the incidence rate ratio of the trends. Implemented health policies and intervention programs to reduce childhood mortality in Ghana were reviewed to identify their impact and challenges. Results: Since 1988, the annual average rate of decline in neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality in Ghana was 0.6, 1.0, and 1.2%, respectively. From 1988 to 1989, neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality declined from 48 to 33 per 1,000, 72 to 58 per 1,000, and 108 to 83 per 1,000, respectively, whereas from 1989 to 2008, neonatal mortality increased by 2 per 1,000 while infant and under-five mortality further declined by 6 per 1,000 and 17 per 1,000, respectively. However, the observed declines were not statistically significant except for under-five mortality; thus, the proportion of infant and under-five mortality attributed to neonatal death has increased. Most intervention programs implemented to address childhood mortality seem not to have been implemented comprehensively. Conclusion: Progress towards attaining MDG 4 in Ghana was below the targeted rate, particularly for neonatal mortality as most health policies and programs targeted infant and under-five mortality

Towards increased policy relevance in energy modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Worrell, Ernst; Ramesohl, Stephan; Boyd, Gale

2003-07-29

Historically, most energy models were reasonably equipped to assess the impact of a subsidy or change in taxation, but are often insufficient to assess the impact of more innovative policy instruments. We evaluate the models used to assess future energy use, focusing on industrial energy use. We explore approaches to engineering-economic analysis that could help improve the realism and policy relevance of engineering-economic modeling frameworks. We also explore solutions to strengthen the policy usefulness of engineering-economic analysis that can be built from a framework of multi-disciplinary cooperation. We focus on the so-called ''engineering-economic'' (or ''bottom-up'') models, as they include the amount of detail that is commonly needed to model policy scenarios. We identify research priorities for the modeling framework, technology representation in models, policy evaluation and modeling of decision-making behavior.

Evaluation and Policy Analysis: A Communicative Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cynthia Wallat

1997-07-01

Full Text Available A major challenge for the next generation of students of human development is to help shape the paradigms by which we analyze and evaluate public policies for children and families. Advocates of building research and policy connections point to health care and stress experiences across home, school, and community as critical policy issues that expand the scope of contexts and outcomes studied. At a minimum, development researchers and practitioners will need to be well versed in available methods of inquiry; they will need to be "methodologically multilingual" when conducting evaluation and policy analysis, producing reports, and reporting their interpretations to consumer and policy audiences. This article suggests how traditional approaches to policy inquiry can be reconsidered in light of these research inquiry and communicative skills needed by all policy researchers. A fifteen year review of both policy and discourse processes research is presented to suggest ways to conduct policy studies within a communicative framework.

Policy Impact on the Chinese Stock Market: From the 1994 Bailout Policies to the 2015 Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang-Chao Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available From the 1994 bailout policies to the 2015 Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, the policy impact on the Chinese stock market has changed over time. By May 2015, global investors can directly invest in a more legalized and normalized Chinese stock market, whereas they are still concerned about the policy-oriented market and its attendant risks. In this study, we employ the family of GARCH models to investigate the structural changes in risks with the implementation of a series of policies. Our results show that although many policies improve or stabilize the stock market, certain policies lead to substantial volatility. Among them, macro-control policies and transaction cost adjustments are a double-edged sword, which should be used with caution. Furthermore, with opening-up policies being launched recently, the Chinese stock market has entered a new stage in which it affects international capital markets. However, the increased risks, which may result in a sharp turnaround, cause worry.

Human resource for health reform in peri-urban areas: a cross-sectional study of the impact of policy interventions on healthcare workers in Epworth, Zimbabwe.

Science.gov (United States)

Taderera, Bernard Hope; Hendricks, Stephen James Heinrich; Pillay, Yogan

2017-12-16

The need to understand how healthcare worker reform policy interventions impact health personnel in peri-urban areas is important as it also contributes towards setting of priorities in pursuing the universal health coverage goal of health sector reform. This study explored the impact of post 2008 human resource for health reform policy interventions on healthcare workers in Epworth, a peri-urban community in Harare, Zimbabwe, and the implications towards health sector reform policy in peri-urban areas. The study design was exploratory and cross-sectional and involved the use of qualitative and quantitative methods in data collection, presentation, and analysis. A qualitative study in which data were collected through a documentary search, five key informant interviews, seven in-depth interviews, and five focus group discussions was carried out first. This was followed by a quantitative study in which data were collected through a documentary search and 87 semi-structured sample interviews with healthcare workers. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically whilst descriptive statistics were used to examine quantitative data. All data were integrated during analysis to ensure comprehensive, reliable, and valid analysis of the dataset. Three main factors were identified to help interpret findings. The first main factor consisted policy result areas that impacted most successfully on healthcare workers. These included the deployment of community health workers with the highest correlation of 0.83. Policy result areas in the second main factor included financial incentives with a correlation of 0.79, training and development (0.77), deployment (0.77), and non-financial incentives (0.75). The third factor consisted policy result areas that had the lowest satisfaction amongst healthcare workers in Epworth. These included safety (0.72), equipment and tools of trade (0.72), health welfare (0.65), and salaries (0.55). The deployment of community health volunteers impacted

The Near-Term Impacts of Carbon Mitigation Policies on Manufacturing Industries

OpenAIRE

Morgenstern, Richard; Shih, Jhih-Shyang; Ho, Mun; Zhang, Xuehua

2002-01-01

Who will pay for new policies to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in the United States? This paper considers a slice of the question by examining the near-term impact on domestic manufacturing industries of both upstream (economy-wide) and downstream (electric power industry only) carbon mitigation policies. Detailed Census data on the electricity use of four-digit manufacturing industries is combined with input-output information on interindustry purchases to paint a ...

The impact of fiscal policy on government bond spreads in emerging markets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ante Žigman

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Spreads on government bonds are a collective expression of differences in the level of development, risk, expected returns and other essential characteristics of states or regions the bond yields of which we wish to compare. At issue here is a collective expression of factors that work on the bond supply and demand side. These are for example the political environment (or political risks, expected return, economic risks, expected inflation, expected change in the exchange rate, solvency, way in which the bonds of a given state fi t into the portfolios of the major investors and so on. The paper identifies the influence of fiscal and non-fiscal factors on movements in spreads on government bonds in emerging markets. The possibility of isolating fiscal from non-fiscal influences on spreads and the identification of the nature of fiscal impacts can be of great importance for the conduct of fiscal policy. The results obtained can be used for an optimisation of fiscal policy so as to avoid negative impacts on yields (i.e. a growth in yields, that is, a growth in the costs of government borrowing. This paper enlarges the line of research by querying whether the structure of deficit financing (domestic or foreign has an impact on bond yields in emerging markets, and how this impact is reflected on the other determinants of fiscal policy.

The impact of the member states on EU environmental policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Mikael Skou

1996-01-01

This paper explores the impact of the fourth enlargement (with Sweden, Austria and Finland) on the European Union's environmental policy. This is done by comparing the priorities and strategies of the newcomers with those of the former environmental pioneers (Germany, Netherlands and Denmark)....

Evaluation of caregiver-friendly workplace policy (CFWPs interventions on the health of full-time caregiver employees (CEs: implementation and cost-benefit analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allison M. Williams

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Current Canadian evidence illustrating the health benefits and cost-effectiveness of caregiver-friendly workplace policies is needed if Canadian employers are to adopt and integrate caregiver-friendly workplace policies into their employment practices. The goal of this three-year, three study research project is to provide such evidence for the auto manufacturing and educational services sectors. The research questions being addressed are: What are the impacts for employers (economic and workers (health of caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s for full-time caregiver-employees? What are the impacts for employers, workers and society of the caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s in each participating workplace? What contextual factors impact the successful implementation of caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s? Methods Using a pre-post-test comparative case study design, Study A will determine the effectiveness of newly implemented caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s across two workplaces to determine impacts on caregiver-employee health. A quasi-experimental pre-post design will allow the caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s to be tested with respect to potential impacts on health, and specifically on caregiver employee mental, psychosocial, and physical health. Framed within a comparative case study design, Study B will utilize cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis approaches to evaluate the economic impacts of the caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s for each of the two participating workplaces. Framed within a comparative case study design, Study C will undertake an implementation analysis of the caregiver-friendly workplace policy intervention(s in each participating workplace in order to determine: the degree of support for the intervention(s (reflected in the workplace culture; how sex and gender are implicated; co

A methodology for evaluating environmental impacts of railway freight transportation policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez, Ignacio; Rodriguez, Javier; Buron, Jose Manuel; Garcia, Alberto

2009-01-01

Railway freight transportation presents a degree of complexity which frequently makes impossible to model it with sufficient precision. Currently, energetic and environmental impacts of freight transportation are usually modelled following average data, which do not reflect the characteristics of specific lines. These models allow qualitative approximations which may be used as criteria for designing high-level transportation policies: road-train modal shift, regional energetic planning or environmental policies. This paper proposes a methodology for estimating railway consumption associated to a specific railway line which yields a new degree of precision. It is based on estimating different contributions to railway consumption by a collection of factors, mobility, operation, or infrastructure-related. This procedure also allows applying the methodology for designing transportation policies in detail: evaluating impact of modal shift, consumption and pollutant emissions on a specific line, as well as the effect of building tunnels, reducing slopes, improving traffic control, etc. A comparison of the estimations given by the conventional approach and the proposed methodology is offered, as well as further comments on the results.

Policy modeling for energy efficiency improvement in US industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worrell, Ernst; Price, Lynn; Ruth, Michael

2001-01-01

We are at the beginning of a process of evaluating and modeling the contribution of policies to improve energy efficiency. Three recent policy studies trying to assess the impact of energy efficiency policies in the United States are reviewed. The studies represent an important step in the analysis of climate change mitigation strategies. All studies model the estimated policy impact, rather than the policy itself. Often the policy impacts are based on assumptions, as the effects of a policy are not certain. Most models only incorporate economic (or price) tools, which recent studies have proven to be insufficient to estimate the impacts, costs and benefits of mitigation strategies. The reviewed studies are a first effort to capture the effects of non-price policies. The studies contribute to a better understanding of the role of policies in improving energy efficiency and mitigating climate change. All policy scenarios results in substantial energy savings compared to the baseline scenario used, as well as substantial net benefits to the U.S. economy

DEVELOPING STATE POLICIES SUPPORTIVE OF BIOENERGY DEVELOPMENT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kathryn Baskin

2005-04-30

Working within the context of the Southern States Biobased Alliance (SSBA) and with officials in each state, the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB) is identifying bioenergy-related policies and programs within each state to determine their impact on the development, deployment or use of bioenergy. In addition, SSEB will determine which policies have impacted industry's efforts to develop, deploy or use biobased technologies or products. As a result, SSEB will work with the Southern States Biobased Alliance to determine how policy changes might address any negative impacts or enhance positive impacts. In addition to analysis of domestic policies and programs, this project will include the development of a U.S.-Brazil Biodiesel Pilot Project. The purpose of this effort is to promote and facilitate the commercialization of biodiesel and bioenergy production and demand in Brazil.

DEVELOPING STATE POLICIES SUPPORTIVE OF BIOENERGY DEVELOPMENT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kathryn Baskin

2004-10-31

Working within the context of the Southern States Biobased Alliance (SSBA) and with officials in each state, the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB) is identifying bioenergy-related policies and programs within each state to determine their impact on the development, deployment or use of bioenergy. In addition, SSEB will determine which policies have impacted industry's efforts to develop, deploy or use biobased technologies or products. As a result, SSEB will work with the Southern States Biobased Alliance to determine how policy changes might address any negative impacts or enhance positive impacts. In addition to analysis of domestic policies and programs, this project will include the development of a U.S.-Brazil Biodiesel Pilot Project. The purpose of this effort is to promote and facilitate the commercialization of biodiesel and bioenergy production and demand in Brazil.

Climate policy impacts on the competitiveness of energy-intensive manufacturing sectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bassi, Andrea M. [Millennium Institute, 2111 Wilson Blvd, Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22201 (United States); University of Bergen, Postboks 7800, 5020 Bergen (Norway); Yudken, Joel S. [High Road Strategies, LLC, 104 N. Columbus Street, Arlington, VA 22203 (United States); Ruth, Matthias [University of Maryland, 3139 Van Munching Hall, College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

2009-08-15

This study examines the impacts of energy price changes resulting from different carbon-pricing policies on the competitiveness of selected US energy-intensive industries. It further examines possible industry responses, and identifies and provides a preliminary evaluation of potential opportunities to mitigate these impacts. The industry sectors investigated - steel, aluminum, chemicals and paper - are among the largest industrial users of fossil fuels in the US economy. The results of this examination show that climate policies that put a price on carbon could have substantial impacts on the competitiveness of US energy-intensive manufacturing sectors over the next two decades, if climate regulations are applied only in the United States, and no action is taken to invest in advanced low- and no-carbon technologies. The extent of these impacts will vary across industries, depending on their energy intensities, the mix of energy sources they rely on and how energy is used in production activities (heat and power, feedstock). Of relevance is also the speed and rigor with which industries adopt new technologies and retire (or replace) old ones. Other factors affecting these impacts include an industry's vulnerability to foreign imports and its ability to pass through cost increases to its customers in the face of international market competition. (author)

Climate policy impacts on the competitiveness of energy-intensive manufacturing sectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bassi, Andrea M.; Yudken, Joel S.; Ruth, Matthias

2009-01-01

This study examines the impacts of energy price changes resulting from different carbon-pricing policies on the competitiveness of selected US energy-intensive industries. It further examines possible industry responses, and identifies and provides a preliminary evaluation of potential opportunities to mitigate these impacts. The industry sectors investigated - steel, aluminum, chemicals and paper - are among the largest industrial users of fossil fuels in the US economy. The results of this examination show that climate policies that put a price on carbon could have substantial impacts on the competitiveness of US energy-intensive manufacturing sectors over the next two decades, if climate regulations are applied only in the United States, and no action is taken to invest in advanced low- and no-carbon technologies. The extent of these impacts will vary across industries, depending on their energy intensities, the mix of energy sources they rely on and how energy is used in production activities (heat and power, feedstock). Of relevance is also the speed and rigor with which industries adopt new technologies and retire (or replace) old ones. Other factors affecting these impacts include an industry's vulnerability to foreign imports and its ability to pass through cost increases to its customers in the face of international market competition.

IMPACT OF POLICIES AND PUBLIC FINANCING INSTRUMENTS ON R&D INVESTMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steliana SANDU

2007-06-01

Full Text Available This paper is based on the Romania country review, produced as internal working papers for the research project “Monitoring and analysis of policies and public financing instruments conducive to higher levels of R&D investment”. The aim of the project is to serve as support for policy developments in Europe, notably in the framework of CREST activities. It is running by a consortium of 7 partners:· UNU-MERIT (The Netherlands, consortium leader·Technopolis (The Netherlands· PREST – University of Manchester (United Kingdom· ZEW (Germany· Joanneum Research (Austria· Wiseguys Ltd. (United Kingdom and INTRASOFT International (Luxembourg. Each country review provides expert’s view on the policy mix and its is to provide an exploratory analysis of the current policy mixes in place and detect the most important areas of interactions between instruments as well as new modes of policy governance that are particularly adapted (or detrimental for the building of policy mixes.

Evaluation of Health Equity Impact of Structural Policies: Overview of Research Methods Used in the SOPHIE Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunst, Anton E

2017-07-01

This article briefly assesses the research methods that were applied in the SOPHIE project to evaluate the impact of structural policies on population health and health inequalities. The evaluation of structural policies is one of the key methodological challenges in today's public health. The experience in the SOPHIE project was that mixed methods are essential to identify, understand, and predict the health impact of structural policies. On the one hand, quantitative studies that included spatial comparisons or time trend analyses, preferably in a quasi-experimental design, showed that some structural policies were associated with improved population health and smaller health inequalities. On the other hand, qualitative studies, often inspired by realist approaches, were important to understand how these policies could have achieved the observed impact and why they would succeed in some settings but fail in others. This review ends with five recommendations for future studies that aim to evaluate, understand, and predict how health inequalities can be reduced through structural policies.

Analysis of High Plains Resource Risk and Economic Impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tidwell, Vincent C. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Vargas, Vanessa N [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Jones, Shannon M [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Dealy, Bern Caudill [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Shaneyfelt, Calvin [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Smith, Braeton James [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Moreland, Barbara Denise [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2016-04-01

The importance of the High Plains Aquifer is broadly recognized as is its vulnerability to continued overuse. T his study e xplore s how continued depletions of the High Plains Aquifer might impact both critical infrastructure and the economy at the local, r egional , and national scale. This analysis is conducted at the county level over a broad geographic region within the states of Kansas and Nebraska. In total , 140 counties that overlie the High Plains Aquifer in these two states are analyzed. The analysis utilizes future climate projections to estimate crop production. Current water use and management practices are projected into the future to explore their related impact on the High Plains Aquifer , barring any changes in water management practices, regulat ion, or policy. Finally, the impact of declining water levels and even exhaustion of groundwater resources are projected for specific sectors of the economy as well as particular elements of the region's critical infrastructure.

Applying air pollution modelling within a multi-criteria decision analysis framework to evaluate UK air quality policies

Science.gov (United States)

Chalabi, Zaid; Milojevic, Ai; Doherty, Ruth M.; Stevenson, David S.; MacKenzie, Ian A.; Milner, James; Vieno, Massimo; Williams, Martin; Wilkinson, Paul

2017-10-01

A decision support system for evaluating UK air quality policies is presented. It combines the output from a chemistry transport model, a health impact model and other impact models within a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework. As a proof-of-concept, the MCDA framework is used to evaluate and compare idealized emission reduction policies in four sectors (combustion in energy and transformation industries, non-industrial combustion plants, road transport and agriculture) and across six outcomes or criteria (mortality, health inequality, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, crop yield and air quality legal compliance). To illustrate a realistic use of the MCDA framework, the relative importance of the criteria were elicited from a number of stakeholders acting as proxy policy makers. In the prototype decision problem, we show that reducing emissions from industrial combustion (followed very closely by road transport and agriculture) is more advantageous than equivalent reductions from the other sectors when all the criteria are taken into account. Extensions of the MCDA framework to support policy makers in practice are discussed.

Use and Impacts of Campbell Systematic Reviews on Policy, Practice, and Research

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, Brandy R.; Dell, Nathaniel A.

2018-01-01

Aim: This study examines use and impacts of systematic reviews produced by the Campbell Collaboration's Social Welfare Coordinating Group (SWCG) on practice, policy, and research. Methods: A mixed-method research design was used to examine impacts of 52 systematic reviews published by the SWCG. We conducted author surveys and retrieved multiple…

A Policy Analysis Perspective on Ecological Restoration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Baker

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Using a simple stages model of the policy process, we explore the politics of ecological restoration using an array of examples drawn across sector, different size and scale, and from different countries. A policy analysis perspective reveals how, at both the program and project levels, ecological restoration operates within a complex and dynamic interplay between technical decision making, ideologies, and interest politics. Viewed through the stages model, restoration policy involves negotiating nature across stages in the policy making process, including agenda setting, policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. The stages model is a useful heuristic devise; however, this linear model assumes that policy makers approach the issue rationally. In practice, ecological restoration policy takes place in the context of different distributions of power between the various public and private actors involved at the different stages of restoration policy making. This allows us to reiterate the point that ecological restoration is best seen not only as a technical task but as a social and political project.

An analysis of the impact of Renewable Portfolio Standards on residential electricity prices

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Andrew James

A Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) has become a popular policy for states seeking to increase the amount of renewable energy generated for consumers of electricity. The success of these state programs has prompted debate about the viability of a national RPS. The impact that these state level policies have had on the price consumers pay for electricity is the subject of some debate. Several federal organizations have conducted studies of the impact that a national RPS would have on electricity prices paid by consumers. NREL and US EIA utilize models that analyze the inputs in electricity generation to examine the future price impact of changes to electricity generation and show marginal increases in prices paid by end users. Other empirical research has produced similar results, showing that the existence of an RPS increases the price of electricity. These studies miss important aspects of RPS policies that may change how we view these price increases from RPS policies. By examining the previous empirical research on RPS policies, this study seeks to identify the controls necessary to build an effective model. These controls are utilized in a fixed effects model that seeks to show how the controls and variables of interest impact electricity prices paid by residential consumers of electricity. This study utilizes a panel data set from 1990 to 2014 to analyze the impact of these policies controlling for generating capacity, the regulatory status of utilities in each state, demographic characteristics of the states, and fuel prices. The results of the regressions indicate that prices are likely to be higher in states that have an RPS compared to states that do not have such a policy. Several of the characteristics mentioned above have price impacts, and so discussing RPS policies in the context of other factors that contribute to electricity prices is essential. In particular, the regulatory status of utilities in each state is an important determinate of price as

One stop crisis centres: A policy analysis of the Malaysian response to intimate partner violence.

Science.gov (United States)

Colombini, Manuela; Ali, Siti Hawa; Watts, Charlotte; Mayhew, Susannah H

2011-06-21

This article aims to investigate the processes, actors and other influencing factors behind the development and the national scale-up of the One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) policy and the subsequent health model for violence-response. Methods used included policy analysis of legal, policy and regulatory framework documents, and in-depth interviews with key informants from governmental and non-governmental organisations in two States of Malaysia. The findings show that women's NGOs and health professionals were instrumental in the formulation and scaling-up of the OSCC policy. However, the subsequent breakdown of the NGO-health coalition negatively impacted on the long-term implementation of the policy, which lacked financial resources and clear policy guidance from the Ministry of Health. The findings confirm that a clearly-defined partnership between NGOs and health staff can be very powerful for influencing the legal and policy environment in which health care services for intimate partner violence are developed. It is critical to gain high level support from the Ministry of Health in order to institutionalise the violence-response across the entire health care system. Without clear operational details and resources policy implementation cannot be fully ensured and taken to scale.

The GEO-3 Scenarios 2002-2032. Quantification and Analysis of Environmental Impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakkes, J.; Potting, J.; Kemp-Benedict, E.; Raskin, P.; Masui, T.; Rana, A.; Nellemann, C.; Rothman, D.

2004-01-01

The four contrasting visions of the world's next three decades as presented in the third Global Environment Outlook (GEO-3) have many implications for policy - from hunger to climate change and from freshwater issues to biodiversity. The four scenarios analysed are Markets First, Policy First, Security First, Sustainability First. Presenting a deeper analysis than the original GEO-3 report, this Technical Report quantifies the impacts of the scenarios for all 19 GEO 'sub-regions', such as Eastern Africa and Central Europe. Regional impacts are discussed in the context of sustainable development. The report summary compares the impacts of the four scenarios across regions - and for the world as a whole - in the light of internationally agreed targets including those in the Millennium Declaration where applicable. It provides an account of the analytical methods, key assumptions, models and other tools, along with the approaches used in the analyses. Based on the methods and results, the report looks back on the process of producing the forward-looking analysis for GEO-3. Were all analytical centres on the same track? Did the approach adopted for GEO-3 contribute to the overall GEO objective of strengthening global-regional involvement and linkages?

Impacts of subsidy policies on vaccination decisions in contact networks

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hai-Feng; Wu, Zhi-Xi; Xu, Xiao-Ke; Small, Michael; Wang, Lin; Wang, Bing-Hong

2013-07-01

To motivate more people to participate in vaccination campaigns, various subsidy policies are often supplied by government and the health sectors. However, these external incentives may also alter the vaccination decisions of the broader public, and hence the choice of incentive needs to be carefully considered. Since human behavior and the networking-constrained interactions among individuals significantly impact the evolution of an epidemic, here we consider the voluntary vaccination on human contact networks. To this end, two categories of typical subsidy policies are considered: (1) under the free subsidy policy, the total amount of subsidy is distributed to a certain fraction of individual and who are vaccinated without personal cost, and (2) under the partial-offset subsidy policy, each vaccinated person is offset by a certain amount of subsidy. A vaccination decision model based on evolutionary game theory is established to study the effects of these different subsidy policies on disease control. Simulations suggest that, because the partial-offset subsidy policy encourages more people to take vaccination, its performance is significantly better than that of the free subsidy policy. However, an interesting phenomenon emerges in the partial-offset scenario: with limited amount of total subsidy, a moderate subsidy rate for each vaccinated individual can guarantee the group-optimal vaccination, leading to the maximal social benefits, while such an optimal phenomenon is not evident for the free subsidy scenario.

Policy-Making Theory as an Analytical Framework in Policy Analysis: Implications for Research Design and Professional Advocacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheldon, Michael R

2016-01-01

Policy studies are a recent addition to the American Physical Therapy Association's Research Agenda and are critical to our understanding of various federal, state, local, and organizational policies on the provision of physical therapist services across the continuum of care. Policy analyses that help to advance the profession's various policy agendas will require relevant theoretical frameworks to be credible. The purpose of this perspective article is to: (1) demonstrate the use of a policy-making theory as an analytical framework in a policy analysis and (2) discuss how sound policy analysis can assist physical therapists in becoming more effective change agents, policy advocates, and partners with other relevant stakeholder groups. An exploratory study of state agency policy responses to address work-related musculoskeletal disorders is provided as a contemporary example to illustrate key points and to demonstrate the importance of selecting a relevant analytical framework based on the context of the policy issue under investigation. © 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.

Likely social impacts of proposed national-level policy initiatives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piernot, C.A.; Rothweiler, M.A.; Levine, A.; Crews, R.

1981-03-01

The results are described of an investigation of likely social effects of enacting nine proposed national-level policy initiatives to accelerate development and use of solar energy. This study is part of the Technology Assessment of Solar Energy Systems (TASE) project supported by the US Department of Energy. The report presents general social impact information about the variety of ways in which the American people could be affected by enactment of these initiatives. It identifies the effects of each initiative on individuals, groups, organizations, communities, and society as a whole. In addition, it provides a framework for organizing a myriad of impact information into a set of conceptually exclusive impact categories. It illustrates that social impacts means effects on people as individuals, groups, organizations, and communities as well as on the infrastructure of society. Finally, it demonstrates the importance of specifying an audience of impact with a case example from the residential rental market.

The impact of possible climate catastrophes on global warming policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baranzini, Andrea; Chesney, Marc; Morisset, Jacques

2003-01-01

Recent studies on global warming have introduced the inherent uncertainties associated with the costs and benefits of climate policies and have often shown that abatement policies are likely to be less aggressive or postponed in comparison to those resulting from traditional cost-benefit analyses (CBA). Yet, those studies have failed to include the possibility of sudden climate catastrophes. The aim of this paper is to account simultaneously for possible continuous and discrete damages resulting from global warming, and to analyse their implications on the optimal path of abatement policies. Our approach is related to the new literature on investment under uncertainty, and relies on some recent developments of the real option in which we incorporated negative jumps (climate catastrophes) in the stochastic process corresponding to the net benefits associated with the abatement policies. The impacts of continuous and discrete climatic risks can therefore be considered separately. Our numerical applications lead to two main conclusions: (i) gradual, continuous uncertainty in the global warming process is likely to delay the adoption of abatement policies as found in previous studies, with respect to the standard CBA; however (ii) the possibility of climate catastrophes accelerates the implementation of these policies as their net discounted benefits increase significantly

The impact of monetary policy on financing of Czech firms

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Aliyev, Ruslan; Hájková, D.; Kubicová, I.

2015-01-01

Roč. 65, č. 6 (2015), s. 455-476 ISSN 0015-1920 Institutional support: PRVOUK-P23 Keywords : monetary policy transmission * broad credit view * external finance Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 0.449, year: 2015 http://journal.fsv.cuni.cz/mag/article/show/id/1343

Assessing the Impact of Current National Policies to Reduce Salt ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Assessing the Impact of Current National Policies to Reduce Salt and Trans Fatty Acids in Argentina ... The Codex Alimentarius, or international food safety standards, will also decrease trans fatty acids (TFA) ... Researchers will develop a strategy to share results with policymakers and other stakeholders. ... Journal articles.

The Impact of Policy and Legislation on Maori Children with Special Needs in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Fortune, Kiri

2013-01-01

The purpose of this article is to review literature related to the impact of policy and legislation on Maori children with special needs. The historical perceptions of disability for Maori will be discussed and the impacts of western influences and policy will be reviewed. The article investigates relevant studies and literature, both national and…

Impacts of Sugar Import Policy on Sugar Production in Indonesia

OpenAIRE

Suryantoro, Agustinus; Susilo, Albertus Magnus; Supriyono, Supriyono

2013-01-01

Production of sugar unful lled consumption of Indonesia society. The lack of consumption and productionhave ful lled by import. Assumption national consumption 2,7 million ton, Indonesia will import sugar in 2013predicted about 300.000 ton (Tempo.co, August, 21, 2012).The aims in general of this research are to understand the impact of sugar import policy on sugar production.Especially (1) to understand the factors that in uence sugar import price, (2) to understand impact of sugarimport pric...

Evaluating the Impacts of School Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies on Child Health. PRGS Dissertation

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Meenakshi Maria

2010-01-01

This dissertation evaluates the impact of elementary school policies on child health behaviors and obesity in the United States. Two chapters address nutrition policies, two chapters address physical activity policies, and a final chapter estimates the health care cost savings associated with a decline in childhood obesity prevalence. The use of…

The Impact of Irish Policy and Legislation on How Adults with Learning Disabilities Make Choices

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, Eileen; Griffiths, Colin

2016-01-01

This paper reflects the impact of policy and legislation in the context of how adults with learning disabilities make choices. Following an overview of policies which have improved choice for people with learning disability in the United Kingdom, this paper reviews "choice" in current Irish policy and legislation. This paper, while…

Scenarios, policies and impacts for the linked transport and energy systems. Results of the European TRIAS project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schade, Wolfgang; Helfrich, Nicki [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (ISI), Karlsruhe (Germany); Krail, Michael [Karlsruhe Univ. (T.H.) (Germany). Inst. fuer Wirtschaftspolitik und Wirtschaftsforschung; Fiorello, Davide; Fermi, Francesca [TRT Trasporti e Territori, Milan (Italy); Schade, Burkhard [European Commission Seville (ES). Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS)

2008-07-01

High oil prices and the growing awareness that this will not be a temporary but a permanent situation fosters the search for alternative fuels and new technologies to propel the transport system, which, so far, in Europe depends to more than 96% on fossil fuels. Two of these alternatives would be hydrogen and biofuels that both can be generated from a number of different sources including a number of non-fossil and renewable sources. The TRIAS project combined four models (ASTRA, POLES, VACLAV, Regio-SUSTAIN) to analyse the impacts of different policies that would foster the diffusion of alternative fuels into the transport system. The impact analysis covers the fields of transport, energy, environment, technology and economy. The basic conclusions that can be drawn are that such policies, if they are formulated in an appropriate manner, could stimulate investments and economic development on the one hand and on the other hand would have the potential to generate positive impacts in terms of reductions of CO{sub 2} emissions and increase of security of energy supply due to reduced imports of fossil fuels and the use of a greater diversity of fuels for transport. (orig.)

Implications of China's Open-Door Policy for Families: A Family Impact Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Quach, Andrew S.; Anderson, Elaine A.

2008-01-01

China's open-door policy (ODP) was created in 1978 as a response to the severe economic depression affecting the country after the Cultural Revolution. The policy was designed to restore China's financial status and lift the nation out of destitution. By all accounts, the ODP has been successful in improving the country's monetary condition.…

The EU sustainable energy policy indicators framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Streimikiene, Dalia; Sivickas, Gintautas

2008-11-01

The article deals with indicators framework to monitor implementation of the main EU (European Union) directives and other policy documents targeting sustainable energy development. The main EU directives which have impact on sustainable energy development are directives promoting energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources, directives implementing greenhouse gas mitigation and atmospheric pollution reduction policies and other policy documents and strategies targeting energy sector. Promotion of use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvements are among priorities of EU energy policy because the use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency improvements has positive impact on energy security and climate change mitigation. The framework of indicators can be developed to establish the main targets set by EU energy and environmental policies allowing to connect indicators via chain of mutual impacts and to define policies and measures necessary to achieve established targets based on assessment of their impact on the targeted indicators representing sustainable energy development aims. The article discusses the application of indicators framework for EU sustainable energy policy analysis and presents the case study of this policy tool application for Baltic States. The article also discusses the use of biomass in Baltic States and future considerations in this field.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE PRACTICES OF THE STATE YOUTH POLICY IN THE MODERN WORLD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. A. Samohvalov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this article the author examines a number of foreign cases of practical realization of state youth policy for example the USA, Germany and the Republic of Kazakhstan. The choice of these cases is due to the fact that these countries have an extensive practice of state youth policy. The second factor in the choice of case studies is the fundamental difference between the political systems of countries and as a consequence of the institutional arrangements and the technological features of established models of state youth policy. And fi nally, the third factor is that these States represent different political and cultural traditions. These differences between the traditions have an impact on the diversity of the state youth policy (as the US are a classic example of Western «pluralist» system of youth policy; Germany – West European model of youth policy; Kazakhstan is a bright representative of an effective model of youth policy in the former Soviet Union. Special attention is given to General and specifi c features identified on the basis of comparative analysis, the study of foreign models of youth policy, as well as possible their application in the process of realization of the state youth policy of the Russian Federation.

Coal transport demand in Western Europe and Japan: Impacts of energy market liberalisation and climate policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golombek, Rolf; Kittelsen, Sverre A.C.; Maestad, Ottar

2005-12-01

Western Europe and Japan are among the main importers of coal. Climate policies following the Kyoto agreement are creating pressure to substitute away from coal and turn to less emission intensive energy sources. At the same time, liberalizations of energy markets in Europe and Japan are likely to cause reduced electricity prices, which will boost the overall demand for electricity. This paper analyses the combined effect of electricity market liberalization and climate policies on the international coal trade. Using the numerical equilibrium model LIBEMOD, we find that while liberalization of electricity markets will imply a large increase in aggregate coal transport demand, the negative impact of climate policies may be even larger, in particular if Russia and Ukraine utilise their market power in the market for emission permits. If this market power is exploited, the total effect of liberalisation and climate policy - when including the impact of general economic growth - is a 20% reduction in aggregate coal transport between 2000 and 2010. Further, impacts differ markedly between Western Europe and Japan. A main difference is that liberalisation has a much more positive - and climate policies have a much stronger negative - impact on steam coal demand in Western Europe than in Japan

Health impact assessment of transport policies in Rotterdam: Decrease of total traffic and increase of electric car use.

Science.gov (United States)

Tobollik, Myriam; Keuken, Menno; Sabel, Clive; Cowie, Hilary; Tuomisto, Jouni; Sarigiannis, Denis; Künzli, Nino; Perez, Laura; Mudu, Pierpaolo

2016-04-01

Green house gas (GHG) mitigation policies can be evaluated by showing their co-benefits to health. Health Impact Assessment (HIA) was used to quantify co-benefits of GHG mitigation policies in Rotterdam. The effects of two separate interventions (10% reduction of private vehicle kilometers and a share of 50% electric-powered private vehicle kilometers) on particulate matter (PM2.5), elemental carbon (EC) and noise (engine noise and tyre noise) were assessed using Years of Life Lost (YLL) and Years Lived with Disability (YLD). The baseline was 2010 and the end of the assessment 2020. The intervention aimed at reducing traffic is associated with a decreased exposure to noise resulting in a reduction of 21 (confidence interval (CI): 11-129) YLDs due to annoyance and 35 (CI: 20-51) YLDs due to sleep disturbance for the population per year. The effects of 50% electric-powered car use are slightly higher with a reduction of 26 (CI: 13-116) and 41 (CI: 24-60) YLDs, respectively. The two interventions have marginal effects on air pollution, because already implemented traffic policies will reduce PM2.5 and EC by around 40% and 60% respectively, from 2010 to 2020. The evaluation of planned interventions, related to climate change policies, targeting only the transport sector can result in small co-benefits for health, if the analysis is limited to air pollution and noise. This urges to expand the analysis by including other impacts, e.g. physical activity and well-being, as a necessary step to better understanding consequences of interventions and carefully orienting resources useful to build knowledge to improve public health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Impacts of Internationalization on Quality Assurance Policy: A Comparative Study of Finland and Taiwan

OpenAIRE

LIU, PO-YUN

2008-01-01

Internationalization and quality assurance have become the central considerations of higher education development currently. The aim of this research is to explore and compare the impacts of internationalization on quality assurance policy in Finland and Taiwan. To achieve this aim, the general impacts of internationalization on quality assurance policy have been discussed first. Next, the empirical research of Finland and Taiwan are conducted by qualitative interviews of higher education pol...

Open Access Journal Policies: A Systematic Analysis of Radiology Journals.

Science.gov (United States)

Narayan, Anand; Lobner, Katie; Fritz, Jan

2018-02-01

The open access movement has pushed for greater access to scientific knowledge by expanding access to scientific journal articles. There is limited information about the extent to which open access policies have been adopted by radiology journals. We performed a systematic analysis to ascertain the proportion of radiology journals with open access options. A search was performed with the assistance of a clinical informationist. Full and mixed English-language diagnostic and interventional radiology Web of Science journals (impact factors > 1.0) were included. Nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, physics, and solicitation-only journals were excluded. Primary outcome was open access option (yes or no) with additional outcomes including presence or absence of embargo, complete or partial copyright transfer, publication fees, and self-archiving policies. Secondary outcomes included journal citations, journal impact factors, immediacy, Eigenfactor, and article influence scores. Independent double readings were performed with differences resolved by consensus, supplemented by contacting editorial staff at each journal. In all, 125 journals were identified; review yielded 49 journals (39%, mean impact factor of 2.61). Thirty-six of the journals had open access options (73.4%), and four journals were exclusively open access (8.2%). Twelve-month embargoes were most commonly cited (90.6%) with 28.6% of journals stating that they did not require a complete transfer of copyright. Prices for open access options ranged from $750 to $4,000 (median $3,000). No statistically significant differences were found in journal impact measures comparing journals with open access options to journals without open access options. Diagnostic and interventional radiology journals have widely adopted open access options with a few radiology journals being exclusively open access. Copyright © 2017 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Socio-compatible energy policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renn, O.; Albrecht, G.; Kotte, U.; Peters, H.P.; Stegelmann, H.U.

1985-01-01

The socio-compatibility project comprises three central analytical elements: 1) The arborescent value analysis: Eminent social groups (such as the trade-unions or the ecological institutes) were questioned on their values and criteria applied to evaluate different energy systems. 2) The energy system and scenario impact analysis: Indicators deduced from the arborescent value analysis serve to approximately cover the value dimensions affected by above criteria. 3) Impact analysis weighing executed by a group of arbitrarily chosen citizens. All reflections considered, it is evident that none of the energy policies discussed may claim the title 'socio-compatible'. The individual, i.e. neither scientist nor politician, cannot decide upon the socio-compatibility of one or the other concept. An altogether socially compatible solution accepted and classified as such by different social groups may only crystallize and be set against different options by the political formation of opinion. The studys' primary concern lies in furnishing information, i.e. aids for politicians having to decide on energy policies. Above all the study aimed at finding out about reactions, social protest, opposition or approval to be coped with by those who, having the say in political matters, want to speak up for one of the energy policies under public discussion. (orig./HSCH) [de

Policy Analysis, International Relations, and European Governance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Mads Christian Dagnis; Tatham, Michaël

2017-01-01

The article highlights the rationale of the special issue in terms of its objectives and guiding principles. It maps different evolutions and challenges within three analytical streams (1) regarding the field of policy analysis, (2) concerning the interaction between domestic and international...... affairs, and (3) with regards to the transformation of European Union governance in troubled times. These three research avenues highlight how not only European governance itself has evolved in a changing world, but also how the analysis of interests, institutions, and policy-making has morphed...

Assessment of health risks of policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ádám, Balázs; Molnár, Ágnes; Ádány, Róza; Bianchi, Fabrizio; Bitenc, Katarina; Chereches, Razvan; Cori, Liliana; Fehr, Rainer; Kobza, Joanna; Kollarova, Jana

2014-01-01

The assessment of health risks of policies is an inevitable, although challenging prerequisite for the inclusion of health considerations in political decision making. The aim of our project was to develop a so far missing methodological guide for the assessment of the complex impact structure of policies. The guide was developed in a consensual way based on experiences gathered during the assessment of specific national policies selected by the partners of an EU project. Methodological considerations were discussed and summarized in workshops and pilot tested on the EU Health Strategy for finalization. The combined tool, which includes a textual guidance and a checklist, follows the top-down approach, that is, it guides the analysis of causal chains from the policy through related health determinants and risk factors to health outcomes. The tool discusses the most important practical issues of assessment by impact level. It emphasises the transparent identification and prioritisation of factors, the consideration of the feasibility of exposure and outcome assessment with special focus on quantification. The developed guide provides useful methodological instructions for the comprehensive assessment of health risks of policies that can be effectively used in the health impact assessment of policy proposals. - Highlights: • Methodological guide for the assessment of health risks of policies is introduced. • The tool is developed based on the experiences from several case studies. • The combined tool consists of a textual guidance and a checklist. • The top-down approach is followed through the levels of the full impact chain. • The guide provides assistance for the health impact assessment of policy proposals

Assessment of health risks of policies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ádám, Balázs, E-mail: badam@cmss.sdu.dk [Unit for Health Promotion Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Niels Bohrs Vej 9, DK-6700 Esbjerg (Denmark); Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, P.O. Box 9, H-4012 Debrecen (Hungary); Molnár, Ágnes, E-mail: MolnarAg@smh.ca [Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, P.O. Box 9, H-4012 Debrecen (Hungary); Centre for Research on Inner City Health, Keenan Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael' s Hospital, Victoria 209, Rm. 3-26.22, M5B 1C6 Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Ádány, Róza, E-mail: adany.roza@sph.unideb.hu [Department of Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, P.O. Box 9, H-4012 Debrecen (Hungary); Bianchi, Fabrizio, E-mail: Fabriepi@ifc.cnr.it [Unit of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Council of Research, Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa (Italy); Bitenc, Katarina, E-mail: katarina.bitenc@ivz-rs.si [National Institute of Public Health, Trubarjeva 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Chereches, Razvan, E-mail: razvan.m.chereches@gmail.com [Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences, Babes-Bolyai University, Strada Mihail Kogalniceanu 1, 3400 Cluj (Romania); Cori, Liliana, E-mail: liliana.cori@ifc.cnr.it [Unit of Environmental Epidemiology, Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Council of Research, Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa (Italy); Fehr, Rainer, E-mail: rainer.fehr@uni-bielefeld.de [NRW Centre for Health, Westerfeldstr. 35-37, 33611 Bielefeld (Germany); Kobza, Joanna, E-mail: koga1@poczta.onet.pl [Public Health Department, Silesian Medical University, 18 Medykow Street, 40-752 Katowice (Poland); Kollarova, Jana, E-mail: janakollarova@yahoo.com [Department of Health Promotion, Regional Public Health Authority, Ipelska 1, 04011 Kosice (Slovakia); and others

2014-09-15

The assessment of health risks of policies is an inevitable, although challenging prerequisite for the inclusion of health considerations in political decision making. The aim of our project was to develop a so far missing methodological guide for the assessment of the complex impact structure of policies. The guide was developed in a consensual way based on experiences gathered during the assessment of specific national policies selected by the partners of an EU project. Methodological considerations were discussed and summarized in workshops and pilot tested on the EU Health Strategy for finalization. The combined tool, which includes a textual guidance and a checklist, follows the top-down approach, that is, it guides the analysis of causal chains from the policy through related health determinants and risk factors to health outcomes. The tool discusses the most important practical issues of assessment by impact level. It emphasises the transparent identification and prioritisation of factors, the consideration of the feasibility of exposure and outcome assessment with special focus on quantification. The developed guide provides useful methodological instructions for the comprehensive assessment of health risks of policies that can be effectively used in the health impact assessment of policy proposals. - Highlights: • Methodological guide for the assessment of health risks of policies is introduced. • The tool is developed based on the experiences from several case studies. • The combined tool consists of a textual guidance and a checklist. • The top-down approach is followed through the levels of the full impact chain. • The guide provides assistance for the health impact assessment of policy proposals.

Sector-based political analysis of energy transition: Green shift in the forest policy regime in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sergent, Arnaud

2014-01-01

This article examines energy transition political process from a sector-based approach, through the analysis of recent shift in the French forest policy regime. We demonstrate that, since 2007, energy transition policies have led to a harvesting turn within the French forest policy framework, meaning that priority is given to wood mobilisation, mainly for biomass uses. In addition, our findings suggest that the political authority wielded by the state over forest policy has shifted from forest administrative services to energy agencies and local authorities. Finally, we show that, although implementation of the harvesting turn is a cause of sectoral and inter-sectoral tensions, energy transition challenge also contributes to a process of (re)institutionalisation of mediation relationships among forestry stakeholders and wood-based industries representatives. The article concludes by arguing that sectors should retain relevant institutional frameworks for actors when choosing political arrangements required for implementing energy transition policy. - Highlights: • Implementing energy transition policy potentially challenges sector-based politics. • We propose a policy regime framework and socio-political investigations. • We analyse the political impact of energy transition policy on French forest sector. • Shifts occur in sectoral policy framework, authority, and mediation relationships

Interpretation and Analysis of Privacy Policies of Websites in India

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dhotre, Prashant Shantaram; Olesen, Henning; Khajuria, Samant

2016-01-01

the conditions specified in the policy document. So, ideally the privacy policies should be readable and provide sufficient information to empower users to make knowledgeable decisions. Thus, we have examined more than 50 privacy policies and discussed the content analysis in this paper. We discovered...... on information collection methods, purpose, sharing entities names and data transit. In this study, the 11 % privacy policies are compliance with privacy standards which denotes other privacy policies are less committed to support transparency, choice, and accountability in the process of information collection...... that the policies are not only unstructured but also described in complicated language. Our analysis shows that the user data security measures are nonspecific and unsatisfactory in 57% privacy policies. In spite of huge amount of information collection, the privacy policies does not have clear description...

Researching Education Policy in a Globalized World: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Lingard, Bob

2009-01-01

This paper shows how globalization has given rise to a number of new theoretical and methodological issues for doing education policy analysis linked to globalization's impact within critical social science. Critical policy analysis has always required critical "reflexivity" and awareness of the "positionality" of the policy analyst. However, as…

Equality machineries matter: The impact of women's political pressure on European social care policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bleijenbergh, I.L.; Roggeband, C.M.

2007-01-01

This study examines the impact of feminist pressure and European Union (EU) policies on national policy changes, such as the introduction or extension of public childcare provision, parental leave, and part-time work legislation. We compared six countries on the basis of Qualitative Comparative

Public R&D Policy Impact Evaluation:Propensity Score Matching and Structural Modeling Estimations

OpenAIRE

Ilbeigi, Alireza

2017-01-01

This dissertation is about public research and development (R&D) subsidies to support private firms doing innovative activities and quantitative impact evaluation of the policy on total factor productivity (TFP) change and additional R&D effort. Public R&D subsidization as a public R&D policy, beside different types of public interventions, has been widely used by governments to stimulate private R&D. These policies aim to fill the gap between the private and social rates of returns by encour...

The impact of consumer returns policies on consignment contracts with inventory control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hu, W.; Li, Y.; Govindan, Kannan

2014-01-01

, and then the retailer sets her retail price for selling the product. The vendor gets paid based on net sold units and salvages unsold units as well as returned items in a secondary market. Under the framework, we study and compare two different consignment arrangements: the retailer/vendor manages consignment inventory...... (RMCI/VMCI) programs. To study the impact of return policy, we discuss a consignment contract without return policy as a benchmark. We show that whether or not the vendor offers a return policy, it is always beneficial for the channel to delegate the inventory decision to the vendor. We find...

The Impact of Fiscal Policy on Poverty in Ethiopia: A Computable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Daniel

study investigates the economy-wide impacts of these fiscal policy changes on poverty. ... of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the 1990s and ..... factors of production (labor, land, livestock and capital), 7 institutions (an.

Seasonal influenza vaccination in China: Landscape of diverse regional reimbursement policy, and budget impact analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Juan; Atkins, Katherine E; Feng, Luzhao; Pang, Mingfan; Zheng, Yaming; Liu, Xinxin; Cowling, Benjamin J; Yu, Hongjie

2016-11-11

To explore the current landscape of seasonal influenza vaccination across China, and estimate the budget of implementing a national "free-at-the-point-of-care" vaccination program for priority populations recommended by the World Health Organization. In 2014 and 2016, we conducted a survey across provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to collect information on regional reimbursement policies for influenza vaccination, estimated the national uptake using distributed doses of influenza vaccines, and evaluated the budget using population size and vaccine cost obtained from official websites and literatures. Regular reimbursement policies for influenza vaccination are available in 61 mutually exclusive regions, comprising 8 provinces, 45 prefectures, and 8 counties, which were reimbursed by the local Government Financial Department or Basic Social Medical Insurance (BSMI). Finance-reimbursed vaccination was offered mainly for the elderly, and school children for free in Beijing, Dongli district in Tianjin, Karamay, Shenzhen and Xinxiang cities. BSMI-reimbursement policies were limited to specific medical insurance beneficiaries with distinct differences in the reimbursement fractions. The average national vaccination coverage was just 1.5-2.2% between 2004 and 2014. A free national vaccination program for priority populations (n=416million), would cost government US$ 757million (95% CI 726-789) annually (uptake rate=20%). An increasing number of regional governments have begun to pay, partially or fully, for influenza vaccination for selected groups. However, this small-scale policy approach has failed to increase national uptake. A free, nationwide vaccination program would require a substantial annual investment. A cost-effectiveness analysis is needed to identify the most efficient methods to improve coverage. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Environmental impact analysis: the first five years of the National Environmental Policy Act in the USA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thorold, O

1975-11-01

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 was the first comprehensive law to subject decisions to an assessment of total environmental consequence and instill environmental attitudes throughout government. All agencies must submit impact projections of proposed as well as alternative actions. Twenty-one states have passed similar legislation. A review of the Act's provisions for oversight, court action, timing, content, and commenting procedures is followed by a five-year evaluation. Because NEPA is generally felt to be a realistic approach to decision making and not a substitute for other kinds of environmental control, Mr. Thorold feels the American experience has been positive and is worth modifying for other countries. The Act lacked a ''grandfather clause,'' which caused a difficult transition period while agencies coped with both new and existing projects and developed standards for identifying and reviewing impacts. As agencies recognized that delays from lawsuits often resulted from inadequate impact statements, the quality improved to meet the strict guidelines of the Council on Environmental Quality. Joint efforts of agencies, universities, consulting firms, and private groups have cooperated to improve environmental forecasting and promote full communication. The costs of preparing statements and those of abandoned projects are felt to be conservative when compared to the costs of pursuing inappropriate projects. (21 references) (DCK)

The Impact of the Regional Policy on the European Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romeo-Victor Ionescu

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, EU28 operates in a very sensitive socio-economic environment. This is why the paper faces to the idea of changing the political approach in the EU. In order to support this idea, two essential common policies (Regional Policy and Cohesion Policy are analyzed, using pertinent indicators, as GDP per capita, gross value added and labor productivity. A comparative analysis covers EU28 and Euro area. On the other hand, the regional analysis points out the economic disparities between NUTS2 regions. The intermediate conclusions of the analysis led to a cluster approach for the Member States. Moreover, the forecasting procedures applied to the above three economic indicators led to the same idea: an EU more divided than integrated. The main conclusion of the paper is that the present economic approach has to be change into another focused on maintaining and, after that, decreasing the present European socio-economic disparities.

UNPACKING THE DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF FAMILY PLANNING POLICIES IN CHINA: ANALYSIS OF PARITY PROGRESSION RATIOS FROM RETROSPECTIVE BIRTH HISTORY DATA, 1971-2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Min; Falkingham, Jane; Padmadas, Sabu S

2018-01-10

Although China's family planning programme is often referred to in the singular, most notably the One-Child policy, in reality there have been a number of different policies in place simultaneously, targeted at different sub-populations characterized by region and socioeconomic conditions. This study attempted to systematically assess the differential impact of China's family planning programmes over the past 40 years. The contribution of Parity Progression Ratios to fertility change among different sub-populations exposed to various family planning policies over time was assessed. Cross-sectional birth history data from six consecutive rounds of nationally representative population and family planning surveys from the early 1970s until the mid-2000s were used, covering all geographical regions of China. Four sub-populations exposed to differential family planning regimes were identified. The analyses provide compelling evidence of the influential role of family planning policies in reducing higher Parity Progression Ratios across different sub-populations, particularly in urban China where fertility dropped to replacement level even before the implementation of the One-Child policy. The prevailing socioeconomic conditions in turn have been instrumental in adapting and accelerating family planning policy responses to reducing fertility levels across China.

Consumer energy conservation policy. An analytical approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McDougall, G.H.G.; Ritchie, J.R.B.

1984-06-01

To capture the potential energy savings available in the consumer sector an analytical approach to conservation policy is proposed. A policy framework is described and the key constructs including a payoff matrix analysis and a consumer impact analysis are discussed. Implications derived from the considerable amount of prior consumer research are provided to illustrate the effect on the design and implementation of future programmes. The result of this analytical approach to conservation policy - economic stability and economic security - are goals well worth pursuing.

New Jersey's natural gas shortage: a policy analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cecil, J.L.; Morell, D.

1976-12-01

The public policy problems associated with New Jersey's natural gas shortage are extremely complex and rather difficult to examine. They involve a blend of technology, politics and economics; of regulatory mandates and profit-motivated initiatives; of Federal and state interaction and conflict. To understand the state's gas shortage and to lay the basis for recommending measures to deal with it, information about the basic technology, the organization of the gas industry, the national regulatory posture, and the possible causes of the gas shortage encompasses Part I of the overall study. In Part II, the analysis turns from the national level to a direct examination of New Jersey's gas situation. In Part III, Chapter VIII, the following are considered: the state's supply of natural gas, distribution of these supply volumes within New Jersey by the four major gas utilities, and gas consumption patterns within the state as a whole and then for each major consuming sector (electric utility, industrial, commercial, and residential). This chapter concludes with an analysis of the impacts of the gas shortage to date in New Jersey, and of its probable effects in the near-term. In the final chapter, some tentative conclusions and broad suggestions are advanced for public policies to mitigate the gravity of the state's position with respect to natural gas. Analysis proceeds, in turn, through consideration of possible state actions in several areas: increasing total interstate gas supplies; increasing New Jersey's share of whatever national total exists; making greater (or more effective) use of alternate fuels; and moderating demand for gas through aggressive conservation policies. Some short-term measures to cope better with whatever level of gas shortage exists in the state at any particular time are suggested. 151 references. (MCW)

The Impact of Transport Mode and Carbon Policy on Low-Carbon Retailer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Zheng

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Low-carbon retail has become a strategic target for many developed and developing economies. This study discusses the impact of transport mode and carbon policy on achieving this objective. We investigated the retailer transportation mode, pricing, and ordering strategy, which all consider carbon-sensitive demand under the carbon cap-and-trade policy. We analyzed the optimal decision of retailer and their maximum profit affected by transport mode and cap-and-trade policy parameters. Results show that the two elements (cap-and-trade policy and consumer low-carbon awareness could encourage the retailer to choose low-carbon transportation. The two elements also influence the profit and optimal decision of retailer. Finally, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the applicability of the model.

An In-Depth Analysis of Adult Learning Policies and Their Effectiveness in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

European Union, 2015

2015-01-01

Adult learning policies, like any other policies, need to be effective: they need to reach their objectives and attain the desired impacts, which should be carefully defined. Understanding the performance of policies allows policy makers to change and improve them. A growing body of research and statistics provides important insights into how…

EU climate policy up to 2020. An economic impact assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boehringer, Christoph [Department of Economics, University of Oldenburg (Germany); Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) Mannheim (Germany); Loeschel, Andreas [Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) Mannheim (Germany); Moslener, Ulf [KfW Development Bank, Frankfurt (Germany); Rutherford, Thomas F. [Center for Energy Policy and Economy (CEPE), ETH Zuerich (Switzerland)

2009-07-01

In its fight against climate change the EU is committed to reducing its overall greenhouse gas emissions to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. To meet this commitment, the EU builds on segmented market regulation with an EU-wide cap-and-trade system for emissions from energy-intensive installations (ETS sectors) and additional measures by each EU Member State covering emission sources outside the cap-and-trade system (the non-ETS sector). Furthermore, the EU has launched additional policy measures such as renewable energy subsidies in order to promote compliance with the climate policy target. Basic economic reasoning suggests that emission market segmentation and overlapping regulation can create substantial excess costs if we focus only on the climate policy target. In this paper, we evaluate the economic impacts of EU climate policy based on numerical simulations with a computable general equilibrium model of international trade and energy use. Our results highlight the importance of initial market distortions and imperfections as well as alternative baseline projections for the appropriate assessment of EU compliance cost. (author)

EU climate policy up to 2020: An economic impact assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boehringer, Christoph, E-mail: boehringer@uni-oldenburg.d [Department of Economics, University of Oldenburg (Germany); Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) Mannheim (Germany); Loeschel, Andreas [Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) Mannheim (Germany); Moslener, Ulf [KfW Development Bank, Frankfurt (Germany); Rutherford, Thomas F. [Center for Energy Policy and Economy (CEPE), ETH Zuerich (Switzerland)

2009-07-01

In its fight against climate change the EU is committed to reducing its overall greenhouse gas emissions to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. To meet this commitment, the EU builds on segmented market regulation with an EU-wide cap-and-trade system for emissions from energy-intensive installations (ETS sectors) and additional measures by each EU Member State covering emission sources outside the cap-and-trade system (the non-ETS sector). Furthermore, the EU has launched additional policy measures such as renewable energy subsidies in order to promote compliance with the climate policy target. Basic economic reasoning suggests that emission market segmentation and overlapping regulation can create substantial excess costs if we focus only on the climate policy target. In this paper, we evaluate the economic impacts of EU climate policy based on numerical simulations with a computable general equilibrium model of international trade and energy use. Our results highlight the importance of initial market distortions and imperfections as well as alternative baseline projections for the appropriate assessment of EU compliance cost.

EU climate policy up to 2020. An economic impact assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehringer, Christoph; Loeschel, Andreas; Moslener, Ulf; Rutherford, Thomas F.

2009-01-01

In its fight against climate change the EU is committed to reducing its overall greenhouse gas emissions to at least 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. To meet this commitment, the EU builds on segmented market regulation with an EU-wide cap-and-trade system for emissions from energy-intensive installations (ETS sectors) and additional measures by each EU Member State covering emission sources outside the cap-and-trade system (the non-ETS sector). Furthermore, the EU has launched additional policy measures such as renewable energy subsidies in order to promote compliance with the climate policy target. Basic economic reasoning suggests that emission market segmentation and overlapping regulation can create substantial excess costs if we focus only on the climate policy target. In this paper, we evaluate the economic impacts of EU climate policy based on numerical simulations with a computable general equilibrium model of international trade and energy use. Our results highlight the importance of initial market distortions and imperfections as well as alternative baseline projections for the appropriate assessment of EU compliance cost. (author)

Photovoltaic power: public policies and economic impacts. The French choices in the international context (1973-2013)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ricaud, Alain

2013-01-01

This article summarizes 40 years of international public policies in favour of solar cells development and deployment with their economic impacts: strengths and weaknesses of solar energy and its societal impact; French R and D, financial support, competition and national energy policy; the US pioneering role; the Japanese take over; the German example; the European Union federating role; the Chinese leading position

Photovoltaic power: public policies and economic impacts. The French choices in the international context 1973-2013

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ricaud, Alain

2013-06-01

This article summarizes 40 years of international public policies in favour of solar cells development and deployment with their economic impacts: strengths and weaknesses of solar energy and its societal impact; French R and D, financial support, competition and national energy policy; the US pioneering role; the Japanese take over; the German example; the European Union federating role; the Chinese leading position

THE IMPACT OF MONETARY POLICY ON BANK CREDIT DURING ECONOMIC CRISIS: INDONESIA’S EXPERIENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Mongid

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The monetary policy mechanism by which monetary policy was transmitted to thereal economy had emerged as the pivotal discussion topic recently. This paper tried to discussthe impact of Bank Indonesia’s monetary policy on loan bank. By using simple loan bankframework we concluded that monetary policies were able to influence loan bank. Themonetary variables such as discount rate policy, base money and exchange rate policy werevery important in determining the banking credit. As the credit was very important to influencesthe economic activitiy, the result provided evidence that monetary policy was important as atool to control economic activity via credit channel. The validity of this study challenged thehypotheses that monetary policy was death. However, monetary policy maker should carefullyconsider the soundness of the banking industry because it was a strategic partner for monetaryauthority to control the economic activities.

Economic analysis of different supporting policies for the production of electrical energy by solar photovoltaics in western European Union countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dusonchet, Luigi; Telaretti, Enrico

2010-01-01

Within various renewable energy technologies, photovoltaics (PV) today attracts considerable attention due to its potential to contribute a major share of renewable energy in the future. However, PV market development is, undoubtedly, dependent on the political support of any given country. In this paper, after a brief analysis of national support policies in PV technology in western European Union (EU) countries, the authors perform an economic analysis of the main support mechanisms as implemented in the same countries, based on the calculation of the cash flow, the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) indices. The analysis shows that in some situations support policies can be inconvenient for the owner of the PV-based generation system and that, in many cases, the differences between the implementation of the same support policy in different countries, can give rise to significantly different results. The analysis carried out in this work could help: ·to assess the impact of PV energy policies in different western European member states; ·renewable energy companies to identify potential PV markets and investigate the policy landscape across western EU countries.

Energy exporters and climate change. Potential economic impacts of climate policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wit, R.C.N.

1997-06-01

This review paper has been written on a commission by the Royal Institute of International Affairs (RIIA) in London and is part of a project to investigate the possible impact of greenhouse gas mitigation policies on energy markets and therefore on countries exporting oil, gas and coal. The aim of the project conducted by RIIA is to achieve a better understanding of the role of energy exporters in international climate change negotiations on the road towards the second Conference of Parties in Kyoto at the end of 1997 and the underlying national strategies. All four 'economy'-oriented global model studies reviewed in this paper indicate that CO2-reduction policies would cause wide differences in welfare effects across regions. It appears that energy-exporting countries would suffer the greatest welfare losses. Although several policy instruments can be implemented to achieve CO2-emission reductions, only carbon taxes are considered in the models. The model results show that if world level CO2 emissions are approximately stabilized at their 1990 levels, the cumulative losses in GDP of energy exporters generally range between 3% and 12% by 2010. It should be strongly emphasized that the sign and magnitude of the economic impact of CO2 policy on energy exporters depend critically on how the policy instrument is designed. In the case of a carbon tax the following factors are crucial: (1) the choice between a consumption and a production tax, (2) whether it is based on a global or unilateral agreement, (3) the mode of revenue redistribution among countries and (4) whether emission trading is allowed. 27 refs

Policy research and analysis organizations: an account of recent ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Drawing from interviews, archival documents and a range of other sources, this article takes stock of key public policy research and analysis organizations in Ethiopia. It sheds light on the significance of professionalization of policy analysis and its contributions to closing the gap between knowledge and policymaking, offers ...

Evaluating the impact of regional development policies on future landscape services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Willemen, L.; Hein, L.; Verburg, P.H.

2010-01-01

In this paper we analyse the potential impact of an integrated policy package for the Gelderse Vallei region in the Netherlands on seven landscape services (residential use, intensive livestock husbandry, drinking water supply, attractiveness for overnight tourism, habitat provision for rare,

The impact of government policy on preference for NEVs: The evidence from China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xian; Wang, Ke; Hao, Yu; Fan, Jing-Li; Wei, Yi-Ming

2013-01-01

To reduce gasoline consumption and emissions, the Chinese government has introduced a series of preferential policies to encourage the purchase of new energy vehicles (NEVs). However, enthusiasm for the private purchase of NEVs appears to be very low. This timely paper addresses the need for an empirical study to explore this phenomenon by identifying purchase motivations of potential NEV consumers and examining the impact of government policies introduced to promote NEVs in China. A questionnaire survey was carried out. The acceptance of NEVs is measured in three different logistic models: the willingness of consumers to purchase NEVs, the purchasing time, and the acceptable price. The results showed that financial benefits, performance attributes, environmental awareness and psychological needs are the four most important factors influencing consumers’ acceptance of NEVs. Among these, performance attributes rather than financial benefits are the most important indicator. The moderating effect of government policies to relations between purchasing intention, time and price is not strong as respected while the policy implications are clear that the ‘public awareness of government policy’ functions as a moderator in the process of acceptance. These findings could give some hints to the government to make better NEV industry policy. - Highlights: • This paper timely studies the private purchasing behaviors of NEVs in China. • Purchase motivations of NEVs and the impact of government policies are examined. • Performance attribute is the most important indicator to acceptance of NEVs. • The moderating effect of government policies is not strong as respected

Understanding the impact of school tobacco policies on adolescent smoking behaviour: A realist review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreuders, Michael; Nuyts, Paulien A. W.; van den Putte, Bas; Kunst, Anton E.

2017-01-01

Background: Secondary schools increasingly implement school tobacco policies (STPs) to decrease adolescents' smoking. Recent studies suggested that STPs' impact depends on their implementation. We examined adolescents' cognitive and behavioural responses to STPs that impact adolescents' smoking and

Understanding the impact of school tobacco policies on adolescent smoking behaviour: A realist review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreuders, M.; Nuyts, P.A.W.; van den Putte, B.; Kunst, A.E.

Background Secondary schools increasingly implement school tobacco policies (STPs) to decrease adolescents' smoking. Recent studies suggested that STPs' impact depends on their implementation. We examined adolescents' cognitive and behavioural responses to STPs that impact adolescents' smoking and

One stop crisis centres: A policy analysis of the Malaysian response to intimate partner violence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Watts Charlotte

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This article aims to investigate the processes, actors and other influencing factors behind the development and the national scale-up of the One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC policy and the subsequent health model for violence-response. Methods Methods used included policy analysis of legal, policy and regulatory framework documents, and in-depth interviews with key informants from governmental and non-governmental organisations in two States of Malaysia. Results The findings show that women's NGOs and health professionals were instrumental in the formulation and scaling-up of the OSCC policy. However, the subsequent breakdown of the NGO-health coalition negatively impacted on the long-term implementation of the policy, which lacked financial resources and clear policy guidance from the Ministry of Health. Conclusion The findings confirm that a clearly-defined partnership between NGOs and health staff can be very powerful for influencing the legal and policy environment in which health care services for intimate partner violence are developed. It is critical to gain high level support from the Ministry of Health in order to institutionalise the violence-response across the entire health care system. Without clear operational details and resources policy implementation cannot be fully ensured and taken to scale.

The crediting policies of Micro-Financial Institutions in Kosovo and their impact in the development of agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr.Sc Drita Konxheli

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Agriculture is a very important sector of Kosovo economy. Seeing the big agriculture sector’s need for crediting, this paper is focused on credit policies of micro financial institutions, by emphasizing their impact in the development of agriculture. Since the number of micro financial institutions in Kosovo is quite big and analyzing the crediting policies of all of them is impossible, for comparing analyzes this paper focuses in three of them.  Several clients of the micro financial institutions were surveyed to check the impact that the loans they took had on the development of their agricultural activity. The survey includes the entire territory of Kosovo, meaning, clients of different regions were surveyed including minority-inhabited zones. Micro loan has become a support for many farmers, artisans and traders of various Kosovo rural zones. The micro loan makes it possible to have access to financial services for funding small projects in the field of agriculture, cattle-raising or in service sectors, such as artisans, small grocery shops, etc. The main goals of this research is to analyze the credit policies of MFIs operating in Kosovo and their impact in development of agriculture; a comparative analyses of impact of these credit policies in development of agriculture and identification of new crediting policies that might impact further agricultural development.

The near-term impacts of carbon mitigation policies on manufacturing industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morgenstern, Richard D.; Ho Mun; Shih, J.-S.; Zhang Xuehua

2004-01-01

Who pays for new policies to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions in the United States? This paper considers a slice of the question by examining the near-term impact on domestic manufacturing industries of both upstream (economy-wide) and downstream (electric power industry only) carbon mitigation policies. Detailed Census data on the electricity use of four-digit manufacturing industries are combined with input-output information on inter-industry purchases to paint a detailed picture of carbon use, including effects on final demand. Regional information on electricity supply and use by region is also incorporated. A relatively simple model is developed which yields estimates of the relative burdens within the manufacturing sector of alternative carbon policies. Overall, the principal conclusion is that within the manufacturing sector (which by definition excludes coal production and electricity generation), only a small number of industries would bear a disproportionate short-term burden of a carbon tax or similar policy. Not surprisingly, an electricity-only policy affects very different manufacturing industries than an economy-wide carbon tax

Estimating the Potential Impact of Tobacco Control Policies on Adverse Maternal and Child Health Outcomes in the United States Using the SimSmoke Tobacco Control Policy Simulation Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy, David; Mohlman, Mary Katherine; Zhang, Yian

2016-05-01

Numerous studies document the causal relationship between prenatal smoking and adverse maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes. Studies also reveal the impact that tobacco control policies have on prenatal smoking. The purpose of this study is to estimate the effect of tobacco control policies on prenatal smoking prevalence and adverse MCH outcomes. The US SimSmoke simulation model was extended to consider adverse MCH outcomes. The model estimates prenatal smoking prevalence and, applying standard attribution methods, uses estimates of MCH prevalence and relative smoking risks to estimate smoking-attributable MCH outcomes over time. The model then estimates the effect of tobacco control policies on adverse birth outcomes averted. Different tobacco control policies have varying impacts on the number of smoking-attributable adverse MCH birth outcomes. Higher cigarette taxes and comprehensive marketing bans individually have the biggest impact with a 5% to 10% reduction across all outcomes for the period from 2015 to 2065. The policies with the lowest impact (2%-3% decrease) during this period are cessation treatment, health warnings, and complete smoke-free laws. Combinations of all policies with each tax level lead to 23% to 28% decreases across all outcomes. Our findings demonstrate the substantial impact of strong tobacco control policies for preventing adverse MCH outcomes, including long-term health implications for children exposed to low birth weight and preterm birth. These benefits are often overlooked in discussions of tobacco control. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Why Have Tobacco Control Policies Stalled? Using Genetic Moderation to Examine Policy Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Jason M.

2012-01-01

Background Research has shown that tobacco control policies have helped produce the dramatic decline in use over the decades following the 1964 surgeon general’s report. However, prevalence rates have stagnated during the past two decades in the US, even with large tobacco taxes and expansions of clean air laws. The observed differences in tobacco control policy effectiveness and why policies do not help all smokers are largely unexplained. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the importance of genetics in explaining response to tobacco taxation policy by testing the potential of gene-policy interaction in determining adult tobacco use. Methods A moderated regression analysis framework was used to test interactive effects between genotype and tobacco policy in predicting tobacco use. Cross sectional data of US adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) linked with genotype and geocodes were used to identify tobacco use phenotypes, state-level taxation rates, and variation in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (CHRNA6) genotype. Tobacco use phenotypes included current use, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and blood serum cotinine measurements. Results Variation in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor was found to moderate the influence of tobacco taxation on multiple measures of tobacco use. Individuals with the protective G/G polymorphism (51% of the sample) responded to taxation while others had no response. The estimated differences in response by genotype were C/C genotype: b = −0.016 se  = 0.018; G/C genotype: b = 0.014 se  = 0.017; G/G genotype: b = −0.071 se 0.029. Conclusions This study provides novel evidence of “gene-policy” interaction and suggests a genetic mechanism for the large differences in response to tobacco policies. The inability for these policies to reduce use for individuals with specific genotypes suggests alternative methods may be needed to further reduce use

Impact of insurance sector activity on economic growth – A meta-analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zuzana Richterková

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to compute the overall effect size concerning the impact of insurance sector activity on economic growth. The connection of insurance activity and economic growth has been a widely investigated topic due to numerous papers and research attempts performed so far. The results, however, often differ among individual studies. Therefore a comprehensive analysis of the significance of causality from insurance activity, measured by insurance premium, to business cycle fluctuation, is well-required. Using 10 published and unpublished studies, we conduct a meta-analysis of the literature on the impact of insurance activity on economic growth. Insurance premium is taken as the measure of insurance activity. The combined significance test of individual t-statistics is employed. The calculation of the effect size allows understand the true effect relying on synthesis of so far published research with significantly higher amount of observations and better precision. Our results confirm positive effect of insurance activity on economic growth and are particularly important for policy makers who set the policy towards subjects in the insurance market.

Consumer energy - conservation policy: an analytical approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McDougall, G.H.G.; Ritchie, J.R.B.

1984-06-01

To capture the potential energy savings available in the consumer sector an analytical approach to conservation policy is proposed. A policy framework is described, and the key constructs including a payoff matrix analysis and a consumer impact analysis are discussed. Implications derived from the considerable amount of prior consumer research are provided to illustrate the effect on the design and implementation of future programs. The result of this analytical approach to conservation policy (economic stability and economic security) are goals well worth pursuing. 13 references, 2 tables.

The Impact of Hospital Visiting Hour Policies on Pediatric and Adult Patients and their Visitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Lisa; Medves, Jennifer; Harrison, Margaret B; Tranmer, Joan; Waytuck, Brett

Policies concerning restricted or open visiting hours are being challenged in health care institutions internationally, with no apparent consensus on the appropriateness of the visiting hour policies for pediatric and adult patients. The rules that govern practice are often based on the institutional precedent and assumptions of staff, and may have little or no evidence to support them. Policy and practice related to visiting hours is of pressing concern in Canada, and in Ontario specifically, following the reaction to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 and subsequent changes in visiting policies in most health care settings. A systematic investigation of the impact of hospital visiting hours on visitors (including patients, families, and significant others) would inform decision-makers who are responsible for hospital policies about the best available evidence. The objective of this review was to appraise and synthesize the best available evidence on the impact of hospital visiting hours on patients and their visitors. Types of participants This review considered studies that included both pediatric and adult hospital patients and their visitors. Participants were either patients, visitors, or health care providers in the following hospital settings: medical/surgical units, critical care (ICU, CCU, NICU), pediatrics, maternity, or general hospital wards.Articles were excluded if participants came from the following settings: post-operative and post-anaesthesia care units (PACU), dementia wards, long-term care settings or retirement homes, or delivery rooms. PACUs were excluded because there are aspects of the presence of visitors to these units that are very specific, and differ from the general visits to patients who are not in the immediate post-operative stage. Dementia wards, long-term care settings and retirement homes were excluded because these were considered to be their "home", so visiting would be quite different from that on

The GEO-3 Scenarios 2002-2032. Quantification and Analysis of Environmental Impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bakkes, J.; Potting, J. (eds.) [National Institute for Public Health and the Environment RIVM, Bilthoven (Netherlands); Henrichs, T. [Center for Environmental Systems Research CESR, University of Kassel, Kassel (Germany); Kemp-Benedict, E.; Raskin, P. [Stockholm Environment Institute SEI, Boston, MA (United States); Masui, T.; Rana, A. [National Institute for Environmental Studies NIES, Ibaraki (Japan); Nellemann, C. [United Nations Environment Programme UNEP, GRID Global and Regional Integrated Data centres Arendal, Lillehammer (Norway); Rothman, D. [International Centre for Integrative Studies ICIS, Maastricht University, Maastricht (Netherlands)

2004-07-01

The four contrasting visions of the world's next three decades as presented in the third Global Environment Outlook (GEO-3) have many implications for policy - from hunger to climate change and from freshwater issues to biodiversity. The four scenarios analysed are Markets First, Policy First, Security First, Sustainability First. Presenting a deeper analysis than the original GEO-3 report, this Technical Report quantifies the impacts of the scenarios for all 19 GEO 'sub-regions', such as Eastern Africa and Central Europe. Regional impacts are discussed in the context of sustainable development. The report summary compares the impacts of the four scenarios across regions - and for the world as a whole - in the light of internationally agreed targets including those in the Millennium Declaration where applicable. It provides an account of the analytical methods, key assumptions, models and other tools, along with the approaches used in the analyses. Based on the methods and results, the report looks back on the process of producing the forward-looking analysis for GEO-3. Were all analytical centres on the same track? Did the approach adopted for GEO-3 contribute to the overall GEO objective of strengthening global-regional involvement and linkages?.

Analysis on policies text of air pollution control in Beijing

Science.gov (United States)

ZHANG, Yujuan; WANG, Wen; ZHANG, Wei

2017-04-01

Air pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems, and it is also the inevitable result of the extensive economic development mode. The matter of air pollution in Beijing is becoming more and more serious since 2010, which has a great impact on the normal social production, living and human health. These hazards have been highly valued by the whole society. More than 30 years have been pasted since controlling the air pollution and the system of policies was relatively complete. These policies have improved the quality of atmospheric and prevented environment further deterioration. The policies performance is not obvious. It is urgent trouble to improve policy performance. This paper analyzes the 103 policies text of air pollution control in Beijing, and researches status, history and problems, and put forward suggestions on policy improvement and innovation at last.

Impact of NOx Emission Reduction Policy on Hospitalizations for Respiratory Disease in New York State

Science.gov (United States)

To date, only a limited number of studies have examined the impact of ambient pollutant policy on respiratory morbidities. This accountability study examined the effect of a regional pollution control policy, namely, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) nitrogen oxides ...

An integrated economic and distributional analysis of energy policies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Labandeira, Xavier [Facultade de CC. Economicas, University of Vigo, 36310 Vigo (Spain); Labeaga, Jose M. [Instituto de Estudios Fiscales, Avda. Cardenal Herrera Oria 378, 28035 Madrid (Spain); Rodriguez, Miguel [Facultade de CC. Empresariais e Turismo, University of Vigo, 32004 Ourense (Spain)

2009-12-15

Most public policies, particularly those in the energy sphere, have not only efficiency but also distributional effects. However, there is a trade-off between modelling approaches suitable for calculating those impacts on the economy. For the former most of the studies have been conducted with general equilibrium models, whereas partial equilibrium models represent the main approach for distributional analysis. This paper proposes a methodology to simultaneously carry out an analysis of the distributional and efficiency consequences of changes in energy taxation. In order to do so, we have integrated a microeconomic household demand model and a computable general equilibrium model for the Spanish economy. We illustrate the advantages of this approach by simulating a revenue-neutral reform in Spanish indirect taxation, with a large increase of energy taxes that serve an environmental purpose. The results show that the reforms bring about significant efficiency and distributional effects, in some cases counterintuitive, and demonstrate the academic and social utility of this approximation. (author)

An integrated economic and distributional analysis of energy policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labandeira, Xavier; Labeaga, Jose M.; Rodriguez, Miguel

2009-01-01

Most public policies, particularly those in the energy sphere, have not only efficiency but also distributional effects. However, there is a trade-off between modelling approaches suitable for calculating those impacts on the economy. For the former most of the studies have been conducted with general equilibrium models, whereas partial equilibrium models represent the main approach for distributional analysis. This paper proposes a methodology to simultaneously carry out an analysis of the distributional and efficiency consequences of changes in energy taxation. In order to do so, we have integrated a microeconomic household demand model and a computable general equilibrium model for the Spanish economy. We illustrate the advantages of this approach by simulating a revenue-neutral reform in Spanish indirect taxation, with a large increase of energy taxes that serve an environmental purpose. The results show that the reforms bring about significant efficiency and distributional effects, in some cases counterintuitive, and demonstrate the academic and social utility of this approximation. (author)

Foreign direct investment and liberalization policies in Pakistan: An empirical analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rana Ejaz Ali Khan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available To enhance the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI and ultimately to increase the economic growth, the countries have implemented a variety of financial and trade liberalization policies in the last three decades. Pakistan also initiated such type of policies. This study makes an analysis of the impact of liberalization (financial and trade in Pakistan, on the inflow of FDI using the time series data of 1971–2009. The DF-GLS test is used to determine the level of integration, and autoregressive distributed lag model to examine the long-run relationship. The results indicate that liberalization indicators, like financial liberalization index and trade openness along with real interest rate, negatively affect the inflow of FDI in Pakistan. Tax revenue of product also negatively affects the FDI. On the other hand, the gross fixed capital formation, infrastructure, and inflation positively influence the FDI in Pakistan. The market size (proxied by real gross domestic product has shown insignificant effect on FDI.

Health and Wellness Policy Ethics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank J. Cavico

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This perspective is an ethical brief overview and examination of “wellness” policies in the modern workplace using practical examples and a general application of utilitarianism. Many employers are implementing policies that provide incentives to employees who lead a “healthy” lifestyle. The authors address how these policies could adversely affect “non-healthy” employees. There are a wide variety of ethical issues that impact wellness policies and practices in the workplace. The authors conclude that wellness programs can be ethical, while also providing a general reflective analysis of healthcare challenges in order to reflect on the externalities associated with such policies in the workplace.

Health and Wellness Policy Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Cavico, Frank J.; Mujtaba, Bahaudin G.

2013-01-01

This perspective is an ethical brief overview and examination of “wellness” policies in the modern workplace using practical examples and a general application of utilitarianism. Many employers are implementing policies that provide incentives to employees who lead a “healthy” lifestyle. The authors address how these policies could adversely affect “non-healthy” employees. There are a wide variety of ethical issues that impact wellness policies and practices in the workplace. The authors conclude that wellness programs can be ethical, while also providing a general reflective analysis of healthcare challenges in order to reflect on the externalities associated with such policies in the workplace. PMID:24596847

Developing research about extreme events and impacts to support international climate policy

Science.gov (United States)

Otto, Friederike; James, Rachel; Parker, Hannah; Boyd, Emily; Jones, Richard; Allen, Myles; Mitchell, Daniel; Cornforth, Rosalind

2015-04-01

Climate change is expected to have some of its most significant impacts through changes in the frequency and severity of extreme events. There is a pressing need for policy to support adaptation to changing climate risks, and to deal with residual loss and damage from climate change. In 2013, the Warsaw International Mechanism was established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to address loss and damage in developing countries. Strategies to help vulnerable regions cope with losses from extreme events will presumably require information about the influence of anthropogenic forcing on extreme weather. But what kind of scientific evidence will be most useful for the Warsaw Mechanism? And how can the scientific communities working on extreme events and impacts develop their research to support the advance of this important policy? As climate scientists conducting probabilistic event attribution studies, we have been working with social scientists to investigate these questions. Our own research seeks to examine the role of external drivers, including greenhouse gas emissions, on the risk of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding, and drought. We use large ensembles of climate models to compute the probability of occurrence of extreme events under current conditions and in a world which might have been without anthropogenic interference. In cases where the models are able to simulate extreme weather, the analysis allows for conclusions about the extent to which climate change may have increased, decreased, or made no change to the risk of the event occurring. These results could thus have relevance for the UNFCCC negotiations on loss and damage, and we have been communicating with policymakers and observers to the policy process to better understand how we can develop our research to support their work; by attending policy meetings, conducting interviews, and using a participatory game developed with the Red Cross

The distribution of economic impacts among rural households: A general equilibrium evaluation of regional water policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wernstedt, K.

1991-01-01

This study focuses on the relative distribution among urban and rural household income classes on the economic impacts of two water-related policies in the Columbia River Basin in the northwestern US. The two policies involve: (1) strategies to improve downstream anadromous fish migrations currently hindered by hydropower operations; and (2) proposals to transfer water from irrigation to hydropower generation. A regional input-output model traces the economic effects of the initial demand and price changes through the entire region. The model incorporates price changes in both a short-run (all endogenous prices are fixed) and a longer-run framework based on a Cobb-Douglas representation (all prices can vary). The analysis suggests that the construction of facilities to enhance fish migration and the physical transport of fish have opposite relative effects. The former benefits rural households, while the latter benefits urban households. Electricity price increases resulting from altered hydropower operations harm middle-income rural households, in the short-run. In the longer-run, electricity price increases seem to favor relatively all rural households. Changes associated with the water transfer policy also include electricity price alterations, as well as price and demand changes for agricultural products. Rural households benefit relative to urban households from agricultural product final demand increases, and tend to lose relatively with agricultural price and demand decreases. The inclusion of secondary impacts allows decision makers to asses the income effects of a project across a wider segment of the population, while the incorporation of short-and longer-run economic frameworks allows policy makers to assess both immediate and future income changes

Biofuel supply chain, market, and policy analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Leilei

Renewable fuel is receiving an increasing attention as a substitute for fossil based energy. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has employed increasing effort on promoting the advanced biofuel productions. Although the advanced biofuel remains at its early stage, it is expected to play an important role in climate policy in the future in the transportation sector. This dissertation studies the emerging biofuel supply chain and markets by analyzing the production cost, and the outcomes of the biofuel market, including blended fuel market price and quantity, biofuel contract price and quantity, profitability of each stakeholder (farmers, biofuel producers, biofuel blenders) in the market. I also address government policy impacts on the emerging biofuel market. The dissertation is composed with three parts, each in a paper format. The first part studies the supply chain of emerging biofuel industry. Two optimization-based models are built to determine the number of facilities to deploy, facility locations, facility capacities, and operational planning within facilities. Cost analyses have been conducted under a variety of biofuel demand scenarios. It is my intention that this model will shed light on biofuel supply chain design considering operational planning under uncertain demand situations. The second part of the dissertation work focuses on analyzing the interaction between the key stakeholders along the supply chain. A bottom-up equilibrium model is built for the emerging biofuel market to study the competition in the advanced biofuel market, explicitly formulating the interactions between farmers, biofuel producers, blenders, and consumers. The model simulates the profit maximization of multiple market entities by incorporating their competitive decisions in farmers' land allocation, biomass transportation, biofuel production, and biofuel blending. As such, the equilibrium model is capable of and appropriate for policy analysis, especially for those policies

German Energiewende and the heating market – Impact and limits of policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauermann, Klaas

2016-01-01

The German Energiewende envisages achieving a climate-neutral building stock in 2050 by means of two major pillars of regulation. First, residential buildings should consume 80% less primary energy and second; the remaining energy demand should be covered primarily with renewables. This paper simulates the future German heating market under different policy scenarios in order to evaluate the impact and limits of recent and conceivable policies. The investigation is based upon a dual model approach, linking a residential heating model to a discrete choice model. The major finding is that current regulations are not suitable for the achievement of governmental targets. Scenario calculations show that additional carbon emission reductions, triggered by the current regulatory regime, are falling short of expectations. In terms of economic efficiency, all calculated policy alternatives outperform the regulation currently in place. This allows to draw the conclusion that carbon emission reductions can be achieved without a major increase in cost. The model results highlight two policy implications. First, a rising mandatory share of renewables in the heating market is needed for target achievement and can be cost effectively. Second, renewable obligations for heating systems must include the existing building stock to achieve the postulated political targets. - Highlights: •The residential heating market accounts for major share of carbon emissions. •The disregard of the building stock weakens the impact of recent regulation. •Current regulation preserves a heating market dominated by fossil fuels. •A significant renewable share can be achieved through direct regulation. •Alternative policy leads to emission reductions without major increases in costs.

Government, politics and health policy: A quantitative analysis of 30 European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackenbach, Johan P; McKee, Martin

2015-10-01

Public health policies are often dependent on political decision-making, but little is known of the impact of different forms of government on countries' health policies. In this exploratory study we studied the association between a wide range of process and outcome indicators of health policy and four groups of political factors (levels of democracy, e.g. voice and accountability; political representation, e.g. voter turnout; distribution of power, e.g. constraints on the executive; and quality of government, e.g. absence of corruption) in contemporary Europe. Data on 15 aspects of government and 18 indicators of health policy as well as on potential confounders were extracted from harmonized international data sources, covering 30 European countries and the years 1990-2010. In a first step, multivariate regression analysis was used to relate cumulative measures of government to indicators of health policy, and in a second step panel regression with country fixed effects was used to relate changes in selected measures of government to changes in indicators of health policy. In multivariate regression analyses, measures of quality of democracy and quality of government had many positive associations with process and outcome indicators of health policy, while measures of distribution of power and political representation had few and inconsistent associations. Associations for quality of democracy were robust against more extensive control for confounding variables, including tests in panel regressions with country fixed effects, but associations for quality of government were not. In this period in Europe, the predominant political influence on health policy has been the rise of levels of democracy in countries in the Central & Eastern part of the region. In contrast to other areas of public policy, health policy does not appear to be strongly influenced by institutional features of democracy determining the distribution of power, nor by aspects of political

Economic and policy analysis for solar PV systems in Indiana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Jinho; Tyner, Wallace E.

2014-01-01

In recent years, the energy market in the US and globally is expanding the production of renewable energy. Solar energy for electricity is also expanding in the US. Indiana is one of the states expanding solar energy with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Therefore, we conduct benefit cost analysis with several uncertain input variables to determine the economics of adopting solar PV systems in Indiana based on policy instruments that could increase adoption of solar PV systems. The specific objectives are analyses of the cost distribution of solar PV systems compared with grid electricity in homes and estimating the probability that solar can be cheaper than electricity from grids under different policy combinations. We first do the analysis under current policy and then the analysis under potential policy options for a variety of scenarios. Also, the results inform government policy makers on how effective the alternative policies for encouraging solar PV systems are. The results show that current policies are important in reducing the cost of solar PV systems. However, with current policies, there is only 50–50 chance of solar being cheaper than electricity from grids. If potential policies are implemented, solar PV systems can be more economical than grid electricity. - Highlights: • We investigate the economics of solar PV systems based on policy instruments. • We do scenario analyses under different combinations of policies. • We examine the probability of solar being cheaper than grid electricity for each scenario. • With current policies, there is 50–50 chance of solar being cheaper than the grid. • With depreciation and carbon tax, solar is much more economical than the grid

Technical support document: Energy conservation standards for consumer products: Dishwashers, clothes washers, and clothes dryers including: Environmental impacts; regulatory impact analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1990-12-01

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act as amended (P.L. 94-163), establishes energy conservation standards for 12 of the 13 types of consumer products specifically covered by the Act. The legislation requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to consider new or amended standards for these and other types of products at specified times. This Technical Support Document presents the methodology, data and results from the analysis of the energy and economic impacts of standards on dishwashers, clothes washers, and clothes dryers. The economic impact analysis is performed in five major areas: An Engineering Analysis, which establishes technical feasibility and product attributes including costs of design options to improve appliance efficiency. A Consumer Analysis at two levels: national aggregate impacts, and impacts on individuals. The national aggregate impacts include forecasts of appliance sales, efficiencies, energy use, and consumer expenditures. The individual impacts are analyzed by Life-Cycle Cost (LCC), Payback Periods, and Cost of Conserved Energy (CCE), which evaluate the savings in operating expenses relative to increases in purchase price; A Manufacturer Analysis, which provides an estimate of manufacturers' response to the proposed standards. Their response is quantified by changes in several measures of financial performance for a firm. An Industry Impact Analysis shows financial and competitive impacts on the appliance industry. A Utility Analysis that measures the impacts of the altered energy-consumption patterns on electric utilities. A Environmental Effects analysis, which estimates changes in emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides, due to reduced energy consumption in the home and at the power plant. A Regulatory Impact Analysis collects the results of all the analyses into the net benefits and costs from a national perspective. 47 figs., 171 tabs. (JF)

A Comparative Analysis of Climate-Risk and Extreme Event-Related Impacts on Well-Being and Health: Policy Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Amin, Abul Quasem; Wiesböck, Laura; Mugabe, Paschal; Aparicio-Effen, Marilyn; Fudjumdjum, Hubert; Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose

2018-01-01

There are various climate risks that are caused or influenced by climate change. They are known to have a wide range of physical, economic, environmental and social impacts. Apart from damages to the physical environment, many climate risks (climate variability, extreme events and climate-related hazards) are associated with a variety of impacts on human well-being, health, and life-supporting systems. These vary from boosting the proliferation of vectors of diseases (e.g., mosquitos), to mental problems triggered by damage to properties and infrastructure. There is a great variety of literature about the strong links between climate change and health, while there is relatively less literature that specifically examines the health impacts of climate risks and extreme events. This paper is an attempt to address this knowledge gap, by compiling eight examples from a set of industrialised and developing countries, where such interactions are described. The policy implications of these phenomena and the lessons learned from the examples provided are summarised. Some suggestions as to how to avert the potential and real health impacts of climate risks are made, hence assisting efforts to adapt to a problem whose impacts affect millions of people around the world. All the examples studied show some degree of vulnerability to climate risks regardless of their socioeconomic status and need to increase resilience against extreme events. PMID:29438345

A Comparative Analysis of Climate-Risk and Extreme Event-Related Impacts on Well-Being and Health: Policy Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Filho, Walter Leal; Al-Amin, Abul Quasem; Nagy, Gustavo J; Azeiteiro, Ulisses M; Wiesböck, Laura; Ayal, Desalegn Y; Morgan, Edward A; Mugabe, Paschal; Aparicio-Effen, Marilyn; Fudjumdjum, Hubert; Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose

2018-02-13

There are various climate risks that are caused or influenced by climate change. They are known to have a wide range of physical, economic, environmental and social impacts. Apart from damages to the physical environment, many climate risks (climate variability, extreme events and climate-related hazards) are associated with a variety of impacts on human well-being, health, and life-supporting systems. These vary from boosting the proliferation of vectors of diseases (e.g., mosquitos), to mental problems triggered by damage to properties and infrastructure. There is a great variety of literature about the strong links between climate change and health, while there is relatively less literature that specifically examines the health impacts of climate risks and extreme events. This paper is an attempt to address this knowledge gap, by compiling eight examples from a set of industrialised and developing countries, where such interactions are described. The policy implications of these phenomena and the lessons learned from the examples provided are summarised. Some suggestions as to how to avert the potential and real health impacts of climate risks are made, hence assisting efforts to adapt to a problem whose impacts affect millions of people around the world. All the examples studied show some degree of vulnerability to climate risks regardless of their socioeconomic status and need to increase resilience against extreme events.

A Comparative Analysis of Climate-Risk and Extreme Event-Related Impacts on Well-Being and Health: Policy Implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Walter Leal Filho

2018-02-01

Full Text Available There are various climate risks that are caused or influenced by climate change. They are known to have a wide range of physical, economic, environmental and social impacts. Apart from damages to the physical environment, many climate risks (climate variability, extreme events and climate-related hazards are associated with a variety of impacts on human well-being, health, and life-supporting systems. These vary from boosting the proliferation of vectors of diseases (e.g., mosquitos, to mental problems triggered by damage to properties and infrastructure. There is a great variety of literature about the strong links between climate change and health, while there is relatively less literature that specifically examines the health impacts of climate risks and extreme events. This paper is an attempt to address this knowledge gap, by compiling eight examples from a set of industrialised and developing countries, where such interactions are described. The policy implications of these phenomena and the lessons learned from the examples provided are summarised. Some suggestions as to how to avert the potential and real health impacts of climate risks are made, hence assisting efforts to adapt to a problem whose impacts affect millions of people around the world. All the examples studied show some degree of vulnerability to climate risks regardless of their socioeconomic status and need to increase resilience against extreme events.

Impacts of Bioenergy Policies on Land-Use Change in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanley U. Okoro

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, bioenergy policies have increased the competition for land as well as the risk of adverse environmental impacts resulting from deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs. Primary land-use objectives confronting society today include meeting the growing demand for agricultural products, especially energy crops, preserving essential ecosystem services for human well-being and long-run agrarian production, and contributing to the climate policy target. Here, future agricultural, societal and environmental consequences of bioenergy policies under different global climate and societal development scenarios were assessed using a novel Forest and Agricultural Sector Optimization Model for Nigeria (NGA–FASOM. The results reveal that, in Nigeria, meeting emission reduction requires an implementation of a minimum carbon price of $80/ton within the forest and agricultural sectors. A carbon price alone is not sufficient to preserve the remaining forests and pasture land in Nigeria when bioenergy is subsidized. Furthermore, the result shows that subsidy on bioenergy does not have any significant effect on the total social welfare. The findings in this study provide a guide for policymakers in designing appropriate policies addressing bioenergy industry issues in Nigeria.

Education Policy and "Friedmanomics": Free Market Ideology and Its Impact on School Reform

Science.gov (United States)

Fiala, Thomas J.; Owens, Deborah Duncan

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of neoliberal ideology, and in particular, the economic and social theories of Milton Friedman on education policy. The paper takes a critical theoretical approach in that ultimately the paper is an ideological critique of conservative thought and action that impacts twenty-first century education…

A Danish case. Portfolio evaluation and its impact on energy efficiency policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Togeby, M.; Dyhr-Mikkelsen, K. [Ea Energy Analyses, Frederiksholms Kanal 4, 1220 Copenhagen K (Denmark); Larsen, A.E. [Department of Society and Globalisation, Roskilde University, Universitetsvej 1, 4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Bach, P. [Danish Energy Agency, Amaliegade 44, 1256 Copenhagen K (Denmark)

2012-01-15

A political agreement from 2005 stated that an evaluation of the entire Danish energy efficiency policy portfolio must be carried out before the end of 2008, with the aim to assess the following: (1) Is the policy portfolio sufficient to meet the energy efficiency targets? (2) Do the policies enable the national goals to be met in a cost-effective manner? (3) Is the overall design of the policy portfolio appropriate? The evaluation gave recommendations on how to improve and develop the portfolio, mainly using cost-effectiveness as criteria. The evaluation was completed in December 2008, and this paper presents the main findings and the subsequent impact on Danish policy. A key lesson learned is the importance of including all energy efficiency policies in the evaluation. Examining the entire portfolio of policies (as opposed to only selected policies) gave way to findings that would otherwise not have been captured. With its broad perspective, the evaluation found that the policy instruments prioritised the commercial and industrial sectors less than the household and public sectors. The recommendations made by the authors contributed to the implementation of new taxes for the commercial and industrial sectors together with the reform of the Electricity Saving Trust to a Centre for Energy Savings charged with energy savings within all sectors, except transport - both which have been important steps towards a more cost-effective solution.

Global Zero and Deterrence Credibility : A Critical Analysis of Obama`s Nuclear Policy and Extended Nuclear Deterrence Credibility on the Korean Peninsula

OpenAIRE

Ganss, Mathias

2012-01-01

This thesis is a qualitative case study analysis of the whether the nuclear policies of President Obama has weakened the U.S. extended nuclear deterrence credibility on the Korean Peninsula. To answer this, the thesis employs two strategies: First, two variables are discussed; a nuclear capabilities-variable; and a nuclear policy-variable. The purpose is to assess the impact the New START treaty has on U.S. nuclear capabilities, and to assess the implications of Obama`s nuclear policy, expres...

The impact of policies regulating alcohol trading hours and days on specific alcohol-related harms: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez-Ramirez, Diana C; Voaklander, Donald

2018-02-01

Evidence supports the expectation that changes in time of alcohol sales associate with changes in alcohol-related harm in both directions. However, to the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive systematic reviews had examined the effect of policies restricting time of alcohol trading on specific alcohol-related harms. To compile existing evidence related to the impact of policies regulating alcohol trading hours/days of on specific harm outcomes such as: assault/violence, motor vehicle crashes/fatalities, injury, visits to the emergency department/hospital, murder/homicides and crime. Systematic review of literature studying the impact of policies regulation alcohol trading times in alcohol-related harm, published between January 2000 and October 2016 in English language. Results support the premise that policies regulating times of alcohol trading and consumption can contribute to reduce injuries, alcohol-related hospitalisations/emergency department visits, homicides and crime. Although the impact of alcohol trading policies in assault/violence and motor vehicle crashes/fatalities is also positive, these associations seem to be more complex and require further study. Evidence suggests a potential direct effect of policies that regulate alcohol trading times in the prevention of injuries, alcohol-related hospitalisations, homicides and crime. The impact of these alcohol trading policies in assault/violence and motor vehicle crashes/fatalities is less compelling. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Interactions between renewable energy policy and renewable energy industrial policy: A critical analysis of China's policy approach to renewable energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Sufang; Andrews-Speed, Philip; Zhao, Xiaoli; He, Yongxiu

2013-01-01

This paper analyzes China's policy approach to renewable energies and assesses how effectively China has met the ideal of appropriate interactions between renewable energy policy and renewable energy industrial policy. First we briefly discuss the interactions between these two policies. Then we outline China's key renewable energy and renewable industrial policies and find that China's government has well recognized the need for this policy interaction. After that, we study the achievements and problems in China's wind and solar PV sector during 2005–2012 and argue that China's policy approach to renewable energies has placed priority first on developing a renewable energy manufacturing industry and only second on renewable energy itself, and it has not effectively met the ideal of appropriate interactions between renewable energy policy and renewable energy industrial policy. Lastly, we make an in-depth analysis of the three ideas underlying this policy approach, that is, the green development idea, the low-carbon leadership idea and indigenous innovation idea. We conclude that Chinas' policy approach to renewable energies needs to enhance the interactions between renewable energy policy and renewable energy industrial policy. The paper contributes to a deeper understanding of China's policy strategy toward renewable energies. -- Highlights: •Interactions between renewable energy policy and renewable energy industrial policy are discussed. •China's key renewable energy and renewable energy industrial policies are outlined. •Two empirical cases illustrate China's policy approach to renewable energies. •We argue that China needs to enhance the interactions between the two policies. •Three ideas underlie China's policy approach to renewable energies