The Misuse of Culture

2020 ◽  
pp. 75-85
Author(s):  
Robert Klitgaard
Keyword(s):  
Policy Design ◽  
South Sudan ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Stereotypes ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Design And Implementation

An obstacle to applying cultural knowledge is the fear of misuse and misunderstanding. Histories of cultural categories becoming cultural stereotypes have left behind scars and sensitivity, and this has lead some scholars to abandon the concept of “culture” altogether. Applying cultural knowledge is also deterred by chronic tension between accepting cultures as they are (trait-taking) or trying to change them (trait-making). Either way, one faces criticism. What’s more, a scholar’s ethnographic nuances may be misappropriated in practice and, in some cases, be bowdlerized by fellow academics. A detailed example from South Sudan conveys the dangers of misuse and misunderstanding. No wonder many anthropologists (and others) shy away from policy design and implementation.

scholarly journals [Ir]rationality, Happiness, and Benefit-Cost Analysis: Introduction to the Special Issue

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Behavioral Economics ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Benefit Cost Analysis ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Societal Welfare ◽  
Benefit Cost ◽  
The Relationship

Behavioral economics and happiness research have many important implications for the conduct of benefit-cost analysis as well as for policy design and implementation. By identifying ways in which we may act irrationally and providing new perspectives on the relationship between our circumstances and our sense of well-being, this research raises numerous questions regarding the evaluation of individual and societal welfare and the desirability of alternative policies. In this special issue, we present a series of articles that explore these concerns and provide significant new insights.

scholarly journals A Content Analysis of Public Policy Design and Implementation in Slovenia: Weighing Strategic and Normative Factors

2021 ◽  
pp. 70-88
Author(s):  
Žiga KOTNIK ◽  
Dalibor STANIMIROVIĆ
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Policy Cycle ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Strategic Factors ◽  
Normative Factors

"Policy processes are complex systems and require an in-depth and comprehensive analysis. Especially, factors that affect public policy design and implementation, as two important stages of the public policy cycle, have not been sufficiently explored. The aim of the paper is to analyze the relationship between two critical factors that influence the design and implementation of public policies in the case of Slovenia, namely strategic factors and normative factors, and offer a basis for comparison with similar countries. Based on twenty-two structured interviews with prominent public policy experts in Slovenia and content analysis of the responses, the findings reveal that, although strategic factors are identified by the interviewees as the most critical, the role of normative factors is also important and should not be underestimated. For various reasons, in practice, normative factors often turn out to be crucial."

Poor Policy Design and Implementation

2016 ◽  
pp. 31-50
Author(s):  
Giliberto Capano ◽  
Marino Regini ◽  
Matteo Turri
Keyword(s):  
Policy Design ◽  
Design And Implementation

Big Data, Semantics, and Policy-Making

2019 ◽  
pp. 154-178
Author(s):  
Lamyaa El Bassiti
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Semantic Technologies ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Data Semantics ◽  
Policy Argument

At the heart of all policy design and implementation, there is a need to understand how well decisions are made. It is evidently known that the quality of decision making depends significantly on the quality of the analyses and advice provided to the associated actors. Over decades, organizations were highly diligent in gathering and processing vast amounts of data, but they have given less emphasis on how these data can be used in policy argument. With the arrival of big data, attention has been focused on whether it could be used to inform policy-making. This chapter aims to bridge this gap, to understand variations in how big data could yield usable evidence, and how policymakers can make better use of those evidence in policy choices. An integrated and holistic look at how solving complex problems could be conducted on the basis of semantic technologies and big data is presented in this chapter.

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