Understanding Policy Instruments as Rules of Interaction in Social-Ecological System Frameworks

Government interventions to manage and improve trade-offs in social and ecological systems are made through various policy instruments.The conditions of the social ecological system(SES)are a function of the cumulatively implemented policy instruments.Although both policy instruments and social ecological system frameworks have played important roles in theoretical developments in resource management,they have largely been considered in isolation from each other.By including policy instruments into the SES framework,the proposed conceptual model serves as a template to examine how governing takes place by deciphering:1)how the biophysical system has been understood in resource governance;2)how the social system has been set up in resource governance;and 3)how the trade-offbetween dynamic biophysical and social systems has been managed in the governance of SESs.This model can assist identifying any absent,overlapping or contradictory policy instruments in the governance of an SES.

A Study of China’s Air Pollution Prevention and Control Policy Framework from a Policy Instrument Perspective

Environmental pollution caused by rapid economic development like that seen in China over the past twenty years poses various threats to human health. People have started to place much more of an emphasis on environmental security, working to find a balance between sustainability and economic growth. In recent years, air pollution has emerged as a highly discussed topic of social and environmental relevance in China, due in part to persistent smog that affects everyday life and causes serious harm to human health. Although air pollution is normally associated with human activity, is can be caused by natural processes such as eruptions and forest fires, but is always characterized by the release of certain substances into the atmosphere which, when present in certain concentrations or for given durations, can harm human health, daily life, productivity, and other aspects. In humans, it mainly affects the respiratory system, notably the lungs, as well as the immune system. A series of studies both in China and overseas have shown, in certain cases, even low concentrations of air pollution can pose a great threat to human health. In this study, we conducted an analysis of air quality policies, focusing on the 2018 revision of the People’s Republic of China’s Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution(LPCAP). We utilized the content analysis method and Strauss and Corbin’s grounded theory to construct a policy framework, demarcate analysis units, code and classify policy texts, determine descriptive statistics, and analyze dimensional interactions. We used two dimensions(basic policy instruments classified as demand-, supply-, and environment-side;and air carrying capacity) to quantify and analyze the LPCAP, which enabled us to analyze the deficiencies and conflicts within policy instruments. The results show a higher utilization frequency of environment-side policy instruments, particularly regulation management and strategic measures. This reflects efforts by the government to create a favorable environment for improving air quality. Additionally, supply-side policy instruments are used far less frequently than environment-side policy instruments. Air quality legal policies and pollution control measures mainly consist of environment-side policy instruments;ecological thinking and air quality policies that are based mainly on supply-side and environment-side policy instruments;and social coordination policies that mainly use environment-side policy instruments. Based on the results of this study, we recommend an increase in the number of supply-and demand-side policy instruments, particularly the latter which includes promoting ecological thinking amongst citizens, to optimize and improve air pollution prevention and control policies.

Performance of the combination of decarbonisation policy instruments and implications for carbon neutrality in China

Decarbonisation is a complex systemic issue that involves multiple market failures.Thus,the integrated application of multiple policy instruments is required.This study used the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis(fsQCA)method to explore the causality relationship between decarbonisation policies with reference to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)and the decoupling elasticity of Tapio from a configuration perspective.We found that taxation and regulation are the critical drivers of decoupling,while information and public goods and services are ancillary.Three decoupled policy mixes were tabled,each focusing on a)taxation,b)taxation and economic instruments,and c)trading system and regulations.In contrast,the execution of information and voluntary instruments,as well as the non-implementation of the tax,are essential to non-decoupling.Three combinations that are negative for decoupling were also introduced:a)trade and economic incentives,b)trade,information and voluntary instruments,and c)information,public goods and services,and voluntary instruments.The most valuable policy mix for China is the implementation of taxes,trade,economic and regulations with the provision of auxiliary decarbonised information and public goods and services.The following processes are involved:a)integrate regulations with economic policies for more flexibility;b)introduce the carbon tax and a tax rebate policy to complement the carbon market policy based on research into the feasibility and cost-effectiveness;c)provide information and public services mainly on the consumption side;and d)recommend voluntary policies for innovative practices.On the basis of more cases and a configuration perspective,this study offers various policy mixes that are conducive or not to decoupling and suggestions for optimising China’s decarbonisation policy.We also offered a way to measure the intensity of the decarbonisation policy with respect to the carbon emission structure of sectors.

CEO Power, CEO Age and the Policy Instrument Property of State-Owned-Enterprises

In this paper, we examine the relationship between CEO power, CEO age and the efficiency of policy implementation in listed corporations controlled by each province＇s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission （SASAC） in China. We find that CEOs with more power implement policy are more efficiently. We also find that younger powerful CEOs will act more effectively than their older competitors. The reason for the difference is that younger powerful CEOs in state-owned companies are incentivized to implement their policy tasks to gain promotions or political capital. Our results are important to future SOE reform and to understanding the characteristics of SOEs as policy instruments.

The evolution of central environmental protection inspection policy attention in China: An investigation based on inspection reports

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

How Will Different Types of Regional Innovation Policy and Their Mixes Affect the Innovation Performance of Enterprises: An Empirical Study Based on Shenzhen

Evaluating the functional boundary of different types of innovation policy instruments and their mixes on innovation performance of enterprises is an important but unresolved key issue.This paper,based on the systematically carding the quantization of 155 innovation policies issued by Shenzhen governmental departments from 2011 to 2019,analyzed the characteristics from different types of innovation instruments and their mixes.The results show that Shenzhen governmental has constantly enriched innovation policy instruments for encouraging enterprise innovation,but there are structural unbalances in the issued innovation policy manifested as follows:firstly supply-side policy and environmental-side policy were promulgated more than demand-side policy;secondly the specific instruments employed by Shenzhen governmental were also uneven in different type of innovation policy,like supply-side policy focused on the instruments of government procurement and R&D outsourcing,demand-side policy employed human resource training,innovation infrastructure and fiscal support most,and environmental-side policy main used target planning,intellectual property protection and financial support.This study expands and understanding empirical implementation of different reginal innovation policy instruments,and has implication for Shenzhen governmental in improving the applicability ability of policies in the enterprises innovation.

Bio-Economic Strategy to Combat Non-Point Pollution in China

While non-point pollution from agriculture has become an increasingly serious problem in China, some progress has been made in studying the causal biophysical processes. However, few studies have assessed the economic consequences of non-point pollution in China or the policy options that could be employed to combat it. In this work a sustainable strategy to control non-point pollution from crop production, which involved taxing excessive inputs of irrigation water and fertilizer, was proposed. The approach taken to assess these measures combined biophysical and economic models,having a trade-off between economic returns and an improved environment. A proven and practical spatially referenced water and nutrient management model was used to determine the quantities of excessive irrigation water and fertilizer for specific soil and land use. Also, a set of indicators were proposed for evaluating the effects of agricultural economic output and agricultural practices on the environment.

Agricultural Support Policies and Public Budgeting in Turkey

Agriculture is a leading strategic sector in Turkey as it is in entire world. Despite this strategic significance, risks, and uncertainties, the dependence on natural conditions turns agriculture into a disadvantaged sector. Just because of these disadvantages, agriculture is protected by various support policies throughout the world. Agricultural policies of Turkey have initiated with institutionalization policies of the Republican period and progressed through product supports, input supports, and low-interest credit implementations of the planned period. These policies experienced serious reforms at the beginning of 2000s. Within the scope of Agricultural supports and Reforms Implementation Project （ARIP）, agricultural supports tried to be gathered under a single roof and Direct Income Support （DIS） implementations started. The DIS implementations lasted for eight years and terminated in 2008. The aim of this study is to examine agricultural supports in Turkey and their shares in the public budget. As material, macroeconomic data are used in this study. The data consist of transfers from the ministry of food, agriculture, and livestock to agriculture and budget numbers. The results of the study reveal that current agricultural policy tools are implemented as area-based supports, subsidiary payments, rural development, and agricultural insurance supports. The budget allocated to agriculture and the share of agricultural supports in Gross Domestic Product （GDP） of Turkey does not exhibit much change in years. Considering the policies and supports provided in developed countries and especially in European Union （EU） countries, it recommend for Turkey that the share of agricultural supports in total budget should be increased to levels in those countries.

China’s Monetary Policy Framework in the Past 70 Years:1949-2019

In this paper,we review the historical transformation of China’s monetary policy framework in a systematical way in the past 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China,from the five dimensions of money creation mechanism,monetary policy objective,monetary policy instrument,monetary policy rule and monetary policy transmission channel.We then focus on the current policy framework and suggest its major characteristics:the base money creation mechanism is undergoing fundamental structural changes and the credit system is becoming more and more complex;the multip1e objectives of the monetary policy are prone to conflict with each other;quantitative tools and price-based tools coexist while the validity of various new structural tools still needs to be tested;the monetary policy decisions are mainly discretionary and clear quantitative rules have not been formed;the monetary policy transmission is still dominated by bank credit channels,and the transmission to real economy is partially blocked.In the end,we outline the four major challenges facing China’s existing monetary policy framework and put forward policy recommendations for its transformation in the future.