scholarly journals The policy operations room: Analyzing path-dependent decision-making in wicked socio-ecological disruptions

2022 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 105567
Author(s):  
Janne I. Hukkinen ◽  
Jussi T. Eronen ◽  
Nina Janasik ◽  
Sakari Kuikka ◽  
Annukka Lehikoinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Path Dependent

Path Dependence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Hegmon
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Path Dependence ◽  
General Level ◽  
Historical Contingency ◽  
Difficult Decision ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Path Dependent ◽  
Historical Sequences ◽  
Lock In

Path dependence concepts, thus far, have seen little application in archaeology, but they have great potential. At a general level, these concepts provide tools for theorizing historical sequences, such as patterns of settlement on a landscape and divergent historical traditions. Potential applications include issues of historical contingency in the late Rio Grande, settlement in the Mesa Verde region, and divergent trajectories in the post-Chaco period. Specific concepts from path dependence theory, including lock-in and critical junctures, are illustrated by an analysis of the growth of Hohokam irrigation, which exhibited a path-dependent trajectory. As archaeological study of path dependence builds awareness of the importance of decision-making on the future, it contributes to difficult decision-making in today’s world.

scholarly journals A Model of Path-Dependence in Decisions over Multiple Propositions

2004 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTIAN LIST
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
Propositional Logic ◽  
Path Dependence ◽  
Strategic Voting ◽  
Sequential Decision ◽  
Sequential Decisions ◽  
Sequential Decision Process ◽  
Path Dependent ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient

I model sequential decisions over multiple interconnected propositions and investigate path-dependence in such decisions. The propositions and their interconnections are represented in propositional logic. A sequential decision process is path-dependent if its outcome depends on the order in which the propositions are considered. Assuming that earlier decisions constrain later ones, I prove three main results: First, certain rationality violations by the decision-making agent—individual or group—are necessary and sufficient for path-dependence. Second, under some conditions, path-dependence is unavoidable in decisions made by groups. Third, path-dependence makes decisions vulnerable to strategic agenda setting and strategic voting. I also discuss escape routes from path-dependence. My results are relevant to discussions on collective consistency and reason-based decision-making, focusing not only on outcomes, but also on underlying reasons, beliefs, and constraints.

scholarly journals The Italian energy transition in a multilevel system: between reinforcing dynamics and institutional constraints

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Rosaria Di Nucci ◽  
Andrea Prontera
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Path Dependent ◽  
Modes Of Governance ◽  
Current Energy

AbstractThe article analyses drivers as well as coordination mechanisms and instruments for the energy transition in Italy from a multilevel governance perspective. It addresses the structural constraints that influenced the decision-making processes and organisation of the Italian energy sector and the socio-technical challenges opened up by enhancing renewables. The current energy system is making the move from a centralised, path-dependent institutional and organisational structure to a more fragmented and pluralistic one. Renewables and decentralised patterns of production and consumption are key elements of this paradigmatic shift, which is paralleled by a multiplication of decision-making arenas and actors. These actors follow different interests, problem understandings and green growth narratives, increasing the complexity of governing the energy transition. Against this background, community-based renewable energy policy is assuming a very important role and Italy is putting efforts to establish an enabling framework in line with the requirements of the European Union. The goal of this strategy is to foster a positive link between acceptance of the energy transition and decentralised local activities. In the conclusion we address problems and barriers to new modes of governance, and discuss possible approaches to improved cooperation.

The Sociology of Refugee Migration

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 387-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Scott FitzGerald ◽  
Rawan Arar
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
World Systems ◽  
Household Economy ◽  
World Systems Theory ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Mutual Engagement ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Global North ◽  
Path Dependent

Theorization in the sociology of migration and the field of refugee studies has been retarded by a path-dependent division that we argue should be broken down by greater mutual engagement. Excavating the construction of the refugee category reveals how unwarranted assumptions shape contemporary disputes about the scale of refugee crises, appropriate policy responses, and suitable research tools. Empirical studies of how violence interacts with economic and other factors shaping mobility offer lessons for both fields. Adapting existing theories that may not appear immediately applicable, such as household economy approaches, helps explain refugees’ decision-making processes. At a macro level, world systems theory sheds light on the interactive policies around refugees across states of origin, mass hosting, asylum, transit, and resettlement. Finally, focusing on the integration of refugees in the Global South reveals a pattern that poses major challenges to theories of assimilation and citizenship developed in settler states of the Global North.

scholarly journals Policy and institutional enablers of public–private partnerships in the electricity sector in Uganda: a multi-level and path dependence perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-70
Author(s):  
Moses Onyoin ◽  
Christopher Bovis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Path Dependence ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
Public Private Partnerships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
The Status ◽  
Path Dependent

PurposeThis paper explains the evident disproportionality in the levels of adoption of the modality of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in Uganda by tracing the peculiar preconditions and enablers of the model's relative high adoption in the electricity sector.Design/methodology/approachKey conceptual suggestions from historical institutionalism (HI), critical juncture and path dependence are used to orient the data collection and analysis. The direct experiences and perceptions of key informants involved in policy, regulation and operations in the electricity sector are thematically analyzed.FindingsThe primacy of specific policy, institutional decisions and actions sequentially undertaken at the international, national and sectorial levels in shaping the conceivability and possibility of PPP modality is foregrounded. In particular, international advisory for the changed role of the state and the government's subsequent decision to enact and reenact specific institutional frameworks at the national and sectorial levels created important disruptions to the status quo and paved a new and relatively stable institutional path conducive for private sector participation.Research limitations/implicationsTheoretically, the paper demonstrates the ability and power of HI to support the exploration and framing of multilevel and path-dependent explanations of institutional development and policy adoption. Practically, suggestions in terms of policy, legal and regulatory enablers for the adoption of PPP are made to shape practitioners' decision-makingPractical implicationsPractically, suggestions in terms of policy, legal and regulatory enablers for the adoption of PPP are made to shape practitioners' decision-making.Originality/valueThe importance of considering factor combinations and sequences in explaining the emergence, adoption and proliferation of public policy instruments and phenomena is underscored. In addition, the discourse on PPPs is moved beyond rationalization on how to even out their adoption (and subsequently the associated benefits) across sectors.

scholarly journals Post-Socialist Urban Futures: Decision-Making Dynamics behind Large-Scale Urban Waterfront Development in Belgrade and Bratislava

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branislav Machala ◽  
Jorn Koelemaij
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
World City ◽  
Capital Cities ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
Path Dependent ◽  
Urban Waterfront ◽  
Under Construction ◽  
Private Investors

This article discusses the implementation of two large-scale urban waterfront projects that are currently under construction in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) capital cities of Belgrade and Bratislava. Against the backdrop of postsocialist urban studies and recent reflections on urban or ‘world-city’ entrepreneurialism (Golubchikov, 2010), we reveal how both elite-serving projects are being shaped according to their very own structure and agency relations. Our comparative analysis unravels the power-geometry of the decision-making processes that reshape urban planning regulations of both transforming waterfronts. The path-dependent character of “multiple transformations” (Sykora & Bouzarovski, 2012) in the CEE region can, even after three decades, still be traced within the institutional environments, which have been adapting to the existing institutional architecture of global capitalism. Yet, at the same time, the dynamic globalization of this part of the world intensifies its further attractiveness for transnational private investors. As a consequence, public urban planning institutions are lagging behind private investors’ interests, which reshape the temporarily-fixed flows of capital on local waterfronts into landscapes of profits, politics and power. We argue that suchlike large urban developments, focused on promoting urban growth, accelerate the dual character of these cities. Thus, while the differences between both investigated case studies are being highlighted, we simultaneously illustrate how national and local state actors respectively paved the way for private investors, and how this corresponds to similar overarching structural conditions as well as outcomes.

scholarly journals Cultural patterns of corrupt decision-making in Russian organizations

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-406
Author(s):  
Alexander Fürstenberg ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Organizational Context ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Cultural Patterns ◽  
Legal Requirements ◽  
Whistle Blowing ◽  
Organizational Corruption ◽  
Cultural Concepts ◽  
Path Dependent ◽  
The One

The persistence of corruption in Russia is seen in path-dependent political structures on the one hand, while, on the other hand, concrete corruption-promoting mechanisms can be theoretically described at the level of the actor. The former approach lacks a general explanation of corruption, while the latter lacks the immanent possibility of embedding corrupt practices in specific cultural patterns. Recent approaches in organizational research promise a fruitful connection of both via the idea of organizational corruption, which explains corruption as a normalization process in an organizational context. The present article aims at extending this approach by an analytical model of decision-making in organizations based on a neo-institutional framework. Decision-making situations will be constructed in the activity structure of organizations as the tension between formal-legal requirements and the legitimate goals of the organization as set out in the formal structure. Depending on whether decisions are oriented in accordance or or against legal requirements and the legitimate goals of the organization, a compliant decision, individual corruption, organizational corruption or whistle blowing becomes more likely. Thus, the link between different cultural concepts in Russia and corruption are systematically highlighted and integrated into the present model. It is shown that culturalhistorical patterns cannot be generalized to Russia, but often only promote corruption when specifically embedded in organizations.

Precedent and Doctrine in a Complicated World

2017 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEVEN CALLANDER ◽  
TOM S. CLARK
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Judicial Process ◽  
Case Selection ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Legal Outcomes ◽  
The Law ◽  
Path Dependent

Courts resolve individual disputes and create principles of law to justify their decisions and guide the resolution of future cases. Those tasks present informational challenges that affect the whole judicial process. Judges must simultaneously learn about (1) the particular facts and legal implications of any dispute; (2) discover the doctrine that appropriately resolves the dispute; and (3) attempt to articulate those rules in the context of a single case so that future courts may reason from past cases. We propose a model of judicial learning and decision making in which there is a complicated relationship between facts and legal outcomes. The model has implications for many of the important questions in the judicial process, including the dynamics of common law development, the path-dependent nature of the law, and optimal case selection by supervisory courts.

Discarding optimality: Throwing out the baby with the bathwater?

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Simen ◽  
Fuat Balcı
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Reward Rate ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Standard Observer ◽  
Rate Maximization ◽  
Reward Rate Maximization ◽  
Descriptive Standard ◽  
Observer Model

AbstractRahnev & Denison (R&D) argue against normative theories and in favor of a more descriptive “standard observer model” of perceptual decision making. We agree with the authors in many respects, but we argue that optimality (specifically, reward-rate maximization) has proved demonstrably useful as a hypothesis, contrary to the authors’ claims.

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