scholarly journals Party government and policy responsiveness. Evidence from three parliamentary democracies

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimiter Toshkov ◽  
Lars Mäder ◽  
Anne Rasmussen
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Party Government ◽  
Parliamentary Democracies ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

AbstractDoes party government moderate the responsiveness of public policy to public opinion? Analysing a new dataset, we examine whether the ability of governments to respond to the public on 306 specific policy issues in Denmark, Germany and the UK is affected by the extent of coalition conflict and by the fit of the considered policy changes with the government preferences. We find a systematic but relatively weak positive impact of public support on the likelihood and speed of policy change. Contrary to expectations, a higher number of coalition partners are not associated with fewer policy changes nor with weaker responsiveness to public opinion. We also find no evidence that responsiveness to public opinion is necessarily weaker for policy changes that go against the preferences of the government. Rather, it appears that public and government support for policy change are substitute resources.

Financial incentives and psychiatric services in Australia: an empirical analysis of three policy changes

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. Doessel ◽  
Roman W. Scheurer ◽  
David C. Chant ◽  
Harvey Whiteford
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Psychiatric Services ◽  
Separate Determination ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Special Cases ◽  
Medicare Benefit ◽  
Commonwealth Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
New Item

Australia has a national, compulsory and universal health insurance scheme, called Medicare. In 1996 the Government changed the Medicare Benefit Schedule Book in such a way as to create different financial incentives for consumers or producers of out-of-hospital private psychiatric services, once an individual consumer had received 50 such services in a 12-month period. The Australian Government introduced a new Item (319) to cover some special cases that were affected by the policy change. At the same time, the Commonwealth introduced a ‘fee-freeze’ for all medical services. The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it is necessary to describe the three policy interventions (the constraints on utilization, the operation of the new Item and the general ‘fee-freeze’.) The new Item policy was essentially a mechanism to ‘dampen’ the effect of the ‘constraint’ policy, and these two policy changes will be consequently analysed as a single intervention. The second objective is to evaluate the policy intervention in terms of the (stated) Australian purpose of reducing utilization of psychiatric services, and thus reducing financial outlays. Thus, it is important to separate out the different effects of the three policies that were introduced at much the same time in November 1996 and January 1997. The econometric results indicate that the composite policy change (constraining services and the new 319 Item) had a statistically significant effect. The analysis of the Medicare Benefit (in constant prices) indicates that the ‘fee-freeze’ policy also had a statistically significant effect. This enables separate determination of the several policy changes. In fact, the empirical results indicate that the Commonwealth Government underestimated the ‘savings’ that would arise from the ‘constraint’ policy.

UK policy for the conservation and rural economy of the hills and uplands

1994 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
G. F. Waters
Keyword(s):  
Rural Economy ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Environmental Benefit ◽  
Economic Support ◽  
The Government ◽  
Hill Farming ◽  
Grant Scheme

AbstractThere has been a long history, nearly 50 years, of support by the government for farming in the upland areas and the modern schemes continue the essential features of support that have been developed over the years. However the justification for the support has changed with time, from maximizing production to more social issues. It is now being recognized that the hill farmer's efforts have helped create and maintain one of our most attractive national assets and it is this environmental benefit which increasingly provides much of the justification for continued public support for hill farming. So the government's policies are important in two respects: the vital rôle of economic support and the encouragement of farmers to manage their land with greater concern for the environment.On the economic front, one of the most important ways that support is provided to upland farming is through HLCAs. Also vitally important are the EC sheepmeat regime and the changes made to that regime and the EC beef regime in the recent CAP reform settlement.The government's encouragement of farmers to manage their land with greater concern for the environment is increasing in importance and there are a number of ways in which this encouragement is delivered. The government has built on the success of Environmentally Sensitive Areas. As well as ESAs, there are other schemes available to farmers such as the Farm and Conservation Grant Scheme. In addition, an opportunity to develop a coherent framework for the delivery of a number of environmental schemes has presented itself as a result of the CAP reform. However, Government support should not be thought of as the only source of extra income for hill farmers. The farmer and the farmer's family should use every opportunity open to them to maximize their income.

A beta bailout: the near future of state intervention

Soundings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (75) ◽  
pp. 37-54
Author(s):  
Craig Berry ◽  
Daniel Bailey ◽  
Katy Jones
Keyword(s):  
State Intervention ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Social Infrastructure ◽  
Active Labour Market Policy ◽  
Employment Opportunities ◽  
New Public ◽  
Active Labour ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Near Future

This article asks what kind of state intervention is needed for a post-Covid recovery. The government bailout will seek to sustain a modified form of neoliberalism, but what is needed is a bailout for society from the wreckage of the neoliberal paradigm. The outlines of a strategy for the UK economy are presented: at its heart is a radical industrial policy that prioritises social infrastructure, a green transition and providing quality employment opportunities, while paying particular attention to the functioning of the foundational economy. An active labour market policy (ALMP) is also needed, which turns away from a focus on conditionality for those on benefits, and instead focuses support on industries less affected by the pandemic and its implications for demand, including through securing a workforce that is ready to populate them. Conditionality should, on the other hand, be imposed on firms receiving government support. Bailout 2.0 must also involve intervention designed to create new public assets, managed via new forms of democratic ownership.

The Impact of Economic Coercion on Public Opinion: The Case of US–China Currency Relations

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 1555-1583
Author(s):  
Dimitar Gueorguiev ◽  
Daniel McDowell ◽  
David A. Steinberg
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
External Threats ◽  
Economic Coercion ◽  
The Impact

In recent years, the United States has increasingly tried to change other governments’ economic policies by threatening to punish those countries if they do not change course. To better understand the political consequences of these tactics, this paper examines how external threats influence public support for policy change in targeted states. We consider three mechanisms through which economic coercion might alter public opinion: by changing individuals’ interests, by activating their national identities, and by providing them with new information about a policy’s distributive effects. To test these rival explanations, we focus on the case of China–US currency relations. Using data from a survey experiment of Chinese internet users, we find strong support for the informational updating theory. Our evidence suggests that economic coercion can reduce support for policy change because it leads individuals to update their beliefs about who wins and loses from economic policy changes.

Corruption and the Public Service Ethos in Mid-Victorian Administration: The Case of Leonard Horner and the Factory Office*

2020 ◽  
Vol 135 (575) ◽  
pp. 860-891
Author(s):  
Ian Cawood
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Political Corruption ◽  
The Public ◽  
Victorian Britain ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Government ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Changing Attitudes

Abstract While the problem of political corruption in mid-nineteenth century Britain has been much studied, the experience of corrupt behaviour in public bodies, both new and long established, is comparatively neglected. This article takes the example of one of the first inspectorates set up after the Great Reform Act, the Factory Office, to examine the extent of corrupt practices in the British civic state and the means whereby it was addressed. It examines the changing processes of appointment, discipline and promotion, the issues of remuneration and venality, and the relationships between inspectors, workers, factory owners, the government and the wider civil service, and the press and public opinion. The article argues that the changing attitudes of the inspectors, especially those of Leonard Horner, were indicative of a developing ‘public service ethos’ in both bureaucratic and cultural settings and that the work of such unsung administrators was one of the agencies through which corrupt behaviour in the civic structures of Victorian Britain was, with public support, challenged. The article concludes that the endogenous reform of bureaucratic practice achieved by the factory inspectorate may even be of equal significance as that which resulted from the celebrated Northcote–Trevelyan Report of 1854.

scholarly journals Responsibilization and Sexual Stigma Under Austerity: Surveying Public Support for Government-Funded PrEP in England

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 643-653
Author(s):  
Timothy Hildebrandt ◽  
Leticia Bode ◽  
Jessica S. C. Ng
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sexual Stigma ◽  
The Government ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
Media Narratives

Abstract Introduction Under austerity, governments shift responsibilities for social welfare to individuals. Such responsibilization can be intertwined with pre-existing social stigmas, with sexually stigmatized individuals blamed more for health problems due to “irresponsible” sexual behavior. To understand how sexual stigma affects attitudes on government healthcare expenditures, we examine public support for government-provisioned PrEP in England at a time when media narratives cast the drug as an expensive benefit for a small, irresponsible social group and the National Health Service’s long-term sustainability was in doubt. Methods This paper uses data from an original survey (N = 738) conducted in September 2016, when public opinion should be most sensitive to sexual stigma. A survey experiment tests how the way beneficiaries of PrEP were described affected support for NHS provision of it. Contrary to expectations, we found that support was high (mean = 3.86 on a scale of 1 to 5) irrespective of language used or beneficiary group mentioned. Differences between conditions were negligible. Discussion Sexual stigma does not diminish support for government-funded PrEP, which may be due to reverence for the NHS; resistance to responsibilization generally; or just to HIV, with the public influenced by sympathy and counter-messaging. Social policy implications Having misjudged public attitudes, it may be difficult for the government to continue to justify not funding PrEP; the political rationale for contracting out its provision is unnecessary and flawed. With public opinion resilient to responsibilization narratives and sexual stigma even under austerity, welfare retrenchment may be more difficult than social policymakers presume.

When and why do ideas matter? The influence of framing on opinion formation and policy change

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olli E. Kangas ◽  
Mikko Niemelä ◽  
Sampo Varjonen
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Popular Opinion ◽  
Power Resource ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Specific Policy

A growing field of discursive institutionalism has argued for the importance of ideas and discourse in policy changes. The aim of the study is to analyse framing effects empirically by examining how, and to what extent, competing frames can shape public opinion on the implementation of a specific policy change. The case study focuses on the administration of social assistance in Finland. Results indicate that the framing of ideas shapes public opinion. Analyses show that some types of frames are more effective than others. To be successful, a politician must simplify the issue and appeal to moral sentiments rather than present too many difficult ‘factual’ viewpoints. Our study also emphasizes that even frames that succeed in shaping popular opinion may fail if powerful political actors oppose reform. Therefore, we argue that the interplay between the ‘old’ power resource approach and the ‘new’ ideational approach should be taken into account when explaining institutional changes.

scholarly journals Public Opinion about the UK Government during COVID-19 and Implications for Public Health: A Topic Modelling Analysis of Open-Ended Survey Response Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam Wright ◽  
Alexandra Burton ◽  
Alison McKinlay ◽  
Andrew Steptoe ◽  
Daisy Fancourt
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Topic Modelling ◽  
Response Data ◽  
Modelling Analysis ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Survey Responses

Confidence in the central UK Government has declined since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while this may be linked to specific government actions to curb the spread of the virus, understanding is still incomplete. Examining public opinion is important, as research suggests that low confidence in government increases the extent of non-compliance with infection-dampening rules (for instance, social distancing); however, the detailed reasons for this association are still unclear. To understand public opinion on the central UK government during COVID-19, we used structural topic modelling, a text mining technique, to extract themes from over 4000 free-text survey responses, collected between 14 October and 26 November 2020. We identified eleven topics, among which were topics related to perceived government corruption and cronyism, complaints about inconsistency in rules and messaging, lack of clear planning, and lack of openness and transparency. Participants reported that elements of the government's approach had made it difficult to comply with guidelines (e.g., changing rules) or were having impacts on mental wellbeing (e.g., inability to plan for the future). Results suggested that consistent, transparent communication and messaging from the government is critical to improving compliance with measures to contain the virus, as well as protecting mental health during health emergencies.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study on the Factors and Process of the Changes in the Labor Policy -Analysis on the Revisions in the Labor Relations Law-

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (0) ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
Seonil Cho
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Labor Policy ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Labor Management ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
The Government

The purpose of this study is to analyze the reason and process of labor policy changes in Korea. For this purpose, I analyzed three cases which were made respectively in 1980, 1987, and 1997. An analytical tool for policy change process is basically modified from the view point of policy making process theory, adaptable to the Korean situation. In the authoritative government period, political factors were most influential to changes in the labor policy. But through the process of democratization, socio-economic factors are more influential on the change of labor-management relations acts than that of others. Besides, the changes in the policy making process and the policy contents are mainly affected by the power relations among labor-management-government. Also, the government took the initiative in the process of labor policy making. Accordingly, political factors were most influential on the agenda-setting phase of labor policy changes. But because of the democratization of society and the growth of the private sector, the role of government is increasingly restricted. As a result, the three participants of the labor policy change are now interacting strategically. Therefore, Policy change is mainly determined by the power balance among labor-management-government relations. Korean labor-management relations acts are generally outlined by the macro-factors such as political, economic and social factors. The revision of labor-management relations acts are less affected by the characteristics of the policy making system. The revision of individual labor-management relations acts are more affected by the economic factors, while that of the collective labor-management relations acts are more affected by political factors.

scholarly journals Snap elections increase political trust: a quasi-experiment from the UK

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart James Turnbull-Dugarte
Keyword(s):  
Political Trust ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Parliamentary Democracies ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Conservative Government ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right ◽  
Positive Effect

Snap elections, those triggered by incumbents in advance of their original date in the electoral calendar, are a common feature of parliamentary democracies. In this paper we ask: do snap elections influence citizens' trust in the government? Theoretically, we argue that providing citizens with an additional means of endorsing or rejecting the incumbent - giving voters a chance to ''have their say'' - can be interpreted by citizens as normatively desirable and demonstrative of the incumbents desire to legitimise their agenda by (re)-invigorating their political mandate. Leveraging the quasi-experimental setting provided by the coincidental timing of the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May's, shock announcement of early elections in April 2017 with the fieldwork for the Eurobarometer survey, we demonstrate that the announcement of snap elections has a sizeable and significant positive effect on political trust. These, on average, positive effects, however, mask asymmetric responses among citizens. Whilst eurosceptics and voters on the right of the ideological spectrum - those most inclined to support the incumbent May-led Conservative government - became more trusting, no such changes in trust were observed amongst left-wing or non-eurosceptic respondents. Our study advances the understanding of a relatively understudied yet not uncommon political phenomenon, providing causal evidence that snap elections have implications for political trust.

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