The Dark Side of Policy Responsiveness: State Action on Climate Change

The Forum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-222
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Causal Reasoning ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
The Impact

AbstractClimate change is an ever-growing problem that requires a network of policy solutions. There exists variation in state-level responses to climate change, firmly placing it within the context of state-level representation. There are various explanations for policy outcomes at the state level, including public opinion, institutional control, interest group activity, among others. With respect to climate change, another potential explanation provided by scholars for the variation in policy responses is the degree of risk posed by climate change to a particular state. However, climate change serves as a somewhat unique policy position as it is highly visible and has been a polarizing issue in American political discourse. This paper analyzes how risk, political control, and opinion affect policy responses to climate change. Employing multiple measures for state-level action on climate change as well as state-level opinion on the existence and perceived threat of climate change, this analysis theorizes that given the polarized nature of the climate change debate in the United States, public opinion on the realities of climate change and partisan control of state government influences policy outcomes more so than any level of quantified threat from climate change. The causal reasoning for this dual effect is the impact of citizen demands and overarching party ideologies. Even when controlling for wealth, energy industry activity, and political lobbying within states, findings indicate a strong relationship between citizen opinion and partisan control on state-level action on climate change, posing a challenge for combatting long-term impacts of climate change.

Public Opinion, Domestic Structure, and Foreign Policy in Liberal Democracies

1991 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 479-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Risse-Kappen
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
The Impact

The paper discusses the role of public opinion in the foreign policy-making process of liberal democracies. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, public opinion matters. However, the impact of public opinion is determined not so much by the specific issues involved or by the particular pattern of public attitudes as by the domestic structure and the coalition-building processes among the elites in the respective country. The paper analyzes the public impact on the foreign policy-making process in four liberal democracies with distinct domestic structures: the United States, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Japan. Under the same international conditions and despite similar patterns of public attitudes, variances in foreign policy outcomes nevertheless occur; these have to be explained by differences in political institutions, policy networks, and societal structures. Thus, the four countries responded differently to Soviet policies during the 1980s despite more or less comparable trends in mass public opinion.

scholarly journals Shooting from the ‘Scrip: Scope of Practice Laws and Access to Immunizations in the Pharmacy Setting

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 444
Author(s):  
Charles Stoecker
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
National Level ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Scope Of Practice ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Behavioral Risk ◽  
Influenza Immunization ◽  
Immunization Rates ◽  
The Impact

In the past two decades, most states in the United States have added authorization for pharmacists to administer some vaccinations. Expansions of this authority have also come with prescription requirements or other regulatory burdens. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of these expansions on influenza immunization rates in adults age 65 and over. A panel data, differences-in-differences regression framework to control for state-level unobserved confounders and shocks at the national level was used on a combination of a dataset of state-level statute and regulatory changes and influenza immunization data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Giving pharmacists permission to vaccinate had a positive impact on adult influenza immunization rates of 1.4 percentage points for adults age 65 and over. This effect was diminished by the presence of laws requiring pharmacists to obtain patient-specific prescriptions. There was no evidence that allowing pharmacists to administer vaccinations led patients to have fewer annual check-ups with physicians or not have a usual source of health care. Expanding pharmacists’ scope of practice laws to include administering the influenza vaccine had a positive impact on influenza shot uptake. This may have implications for relaxing restrictions on other forms of care that could be provided by pharmacists.

Regaining Control? The Political Impact of Policy Responses to Refugee Crises

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Omer Solodoch
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Control ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Immigration And Asylum ◽  
Border Controls ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In response to the political turmoil surrounding the recent refugee crisis, destination countries swiftly implemented new immigration and asylum policies. Are such countercrisis policies effective in mitigating political instability by reducing anti-immigrant backlash and support for radical-right parties? The present study exploits two surveys that were coincidentally fielded during significant policy changes, sampling respondents right before and immediately after the change. I employ a regression discontinuity design to identify the short-term causal effect of the policy change on public opinion within a narrow window of the sampling period. The findings show that both Swedish border controls and the EU–Turkey agreement significantly reduced public opposition to immigration in Sweden and Germany, respectively. In Germany, support for the AfD party also decreased following the new policy. Public opinion time trends suggest that the policy effects were short lived in Sweden but durable in Germany. These effects are similar across different levels of proximity to the border and are accompanied by increasing political trust and a sense of government control over the situation. The findings have implications for understanding the impact of border controls on international public opinion, as well as for assessing the electoral effect of policy responses to global refugee crises.

Trust in Government and the American Public’s Responsiveness to Rising Inequality

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 790-804 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
State Level ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Combine Data ◽  
Election Studies ◽  
The Relationship

The United States has become increasingly unequal. Income inequality has risen dramatically since the 1970s, yet public opinion toward redistribution has remained largely unchanged. This is puzzling, given Americans’ professed concern regarding, and knowledge of, rising inequality. I argue that trust in government can help to reconcile this. I combine data on state-level income inequality with survey data from the Cumulative American National Election Studies (CANES) from 1984 to 2016. I find that trust in government conditions the relationship between inequality and redistribution, with higher inequality prompting demand for government redistribution, but only among politically trustful individuals. This holds among conservatives and non-conservatives and among the affluent and non-affluent. These findings underscore the relevance of political trust in shaping attitudes toward inequality and economic redistribution and contribute to our understanding of why American public opinion has not turned in favor of redistribution during an era of rising income inequality.

scholarly journals Growing climatic sensitivity of U.S. agriculture linked to technological change and regional specialization

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (12) ◽  
pp. eaat4343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Ortiz-Bobea ◽  
Erwin Knippenberg ◽  
Robert G. Chambers
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Specialty Crops ◽  
Regional Specialization ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Climatic Sensitivity

A pressing question for climate change adaptation is whether ongoing transformations of the agricultural sector affect its ability to cope with climatic variations. We examine this question in the United States, where major increases in productivity have fueled most of agricultural production growth over the past half-century. To quantify the evolving climate sensitivity of the sector and identify its sources, we combine state-level measures of agricultural productivity with detailed climate data for 1960–2004. We find that agriculture is growing more sensitive to climate in Midwestern states for two distinct but compounding reasons: a rising climatic sensitivity of nonirrigated cereal and oilseed crops and a growing specialization in crop production. In contrast, other regions specialize in less climate-sensitive production such as irrigated specialty crops or livestock. Results suggest that reducing vulnerability to climate change should consider the role of policies in inducing regional specialization.

scholarly journals Impacts of Storm Surges on a Changing Climate: a Global Bibliometric Analysis of the Coastal Zone

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Bastos Leal ◽  
Luís Eduardo de Souza Robaina ◽  
André de Souza De Lima
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Coastal Zone ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
R Package ◽  
The United States ◽  
Average Temperature ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Coastal Research

Abstract An increase in the global mean sea is predicted during the 21st century as a consequence of global average temperature projections. In addition, changes in the strength of atmospheric cyclonic storms may alter the development of storm surges, exacerbating the risks to coastal communities. Based on the fact that the interest and range of papers are growing on this topic, this study aims to present the global scientific production status of studies that have correlated climate change and the impact of storm surges on the coastal zone leading to erosion and flooding (inundation) via a bibliometric analysis. We analyzed 429 papers published in journals between 1991 and February 2021 from the Scopus database. Through the VOSviewer and Bibliometrix R package, we describe the most relevant countries, affiliations, journals, authors, and keywords. Our results demonstrate that there has been an exponential growth in the research topic, and that authors from the United States and the United Kingdom are the most prolific. Among the 1454 authors found, 10 researchers published at least 5 papers on the topic and obtained at least 453 citations in the period. The most represented journals were the Journal of Coastal Research, Climatic Change, and Natural Hazards. We also found, and discuss, the lack of standardization in the choice of keywords, of which climate change, storm surge, and sea level rise are the most frequent. Finally, we have written a guide to facilitate the authors' bibliographic review.

A Pathway to Racial Equity: Student Debt Cancellation Policy Designs

2021 ◽  
pp. 232949652110246
Author(s):  
Raphaël Charron-Chénier ◽  
Louise Seamster ◽  
Thomas M. Shapiro ◽  
Laura Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Student Debt ◽  
Racial Equity ◽  
Racial Wealth Gap ◽  
Consumer Finances ◽  
Debt Cancellation ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
The Impact

Student debt in the United States has had a disproportionate negative impact on black and Latinx borrowers. We argue that analyses of plans proposing student debt cancellation should therefore foreground their potential impact on racial equity. To do so, we use data from the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances and model the impact of debt cancellation on four key policy outcomes (reach, impact on the most vulnerable borrowers, borrower wealth gains, and impact on racial wealth gaps). We examine universal policy designs as well as designs that incorporate an income eligibility threshold as a means of targeting benefits toward less affluent borrowers. We find that cancellation amounts ranging from $50,000 to $75,000 yield the most desirable outcomes, especially when paired with a relatively low household income eligibility cutoff at between $100,000 and $150,000. Such policies would cancel roughly half of all outstanding student debt without substantially expanding the racial wealth gap, while still reaching a large majority of borrowers and leading to substantial wealth gains, especially for black households.

Spatial Analyses of Obesity and Poverty

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Drewnowski
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Healthy Foods ◽  
Distribution Of Wealth ◽  
Dietary Behaviours ◽  
Political District ◽  
The Impact ◽  
System Methodology ◽  
Zip Code

Obesity in the United States is a socio-economic issue. Recent advances in geographic information system methodology can provide a better understanding of the impact of neighbourhood deprivation on access to healthy foods, diet quality and selected health outcomes. Whereas state-level Centers for Disease Control maps are still best known, newer approaches have mapped obesity at different levels of geographic aggregation: county, political district, zip code or census tract. This chapter examines data from the new Seattle Obesity Study, which permits the mapping of dietary behaviours and health outcomes at the property parcel tax level – the finest level of geographic resolution possible. Analysis suggests that food-consumption patterns also show a spatial distribution, broadly following the geographic distribution of wealth and social class.

State-Level Cyberbullying Policy

2016 ◽  
pp. 62-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramona Sue McNeal ◽  
Susan M. Kunkle ◽  
Lisa Dotterweich Bryan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Policy Adoption ◽  
Legislative Action ◽  
Bullying Laws ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cyberbullying Policy

Cyberbullying is the use of information technology to deliberately hurt, taunt, threaten or intimidate someone. Currently, there are no federal statutes in the United States which directly address this problem. The response of the states has varied from attempting to use existing anti-bullying laws to limit cyberbullying to passing new laws that specifically target cyberbullying behavior. An important question is, “why are some states taking a lead in combating this cybercrime through new laws while others are relying on existing laws?” The literature on policy adoption suggests politics, resources and public need are important factors in predicting why certain states are more likely to enact government policies. This chapter analyzes the impact of these factors and others on policy adoption by exploring the level of legislative action to update existing cyberbullying laws for 2009 through 2014.

scholarly journals Taken by Storm: Hurricanes, Migrant Networks, and US Immigration

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parag Mahajan ◽  
Dean Yang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
International Migration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Migrant Networks ◽  
Disaster Impacts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Natural Disaster Impacts ◽  
Us Immigration

Do negative shocks in origin countries encourage or inhibit international migration? What roles do networks play in modifying out-migration responses? The answers to these questions are not theoretically obvious, and past empirical findings are equivocal. We examine the impact of hurricanes on a quarter century of international migration to the United States. Hurricanes increase migration to the United States, with the effect’s magnitude increasing in the size of prior migrant stocks. We provide new insights into how networks facilitate legal, permanent US immigration in response to origin country shocks, a matter of growing importance as climate change increases natural disaster impacts. (JEL F22, J15, Q54, Z13)

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document