scholarly journals Tensions in State-Local Intergovernmental Response to Emergencies: The Case of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce D. McDonald ◽  
Christopher B Goodman ◽  
Megan E. Hatch
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Executive Order ◽  
Local Response ◽  
Response System ◽  
Uniform State ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
The U.S

The U.S. emergency and disaster response system is designed to operate bottom-up, meaning responses are intended to begin at the local level with state and federal governments stepping in to assist as needed. The response to the current COVID-19 outbreak, however, has been something else entirely, as each level of government competes with the others over resources and authority. Some states preferred a local response with state support, while other states took a more uniform, state-mandated response enabled by state preemption of local actions. The latter has revealed an often-dormant means of state preemption of local ordinances: the executive order preemption. Local government managers will have to be creative in balancing responsiveness to their constituents in this time of crisis while also being constrained by their states. The administrative choices are likely to have both immediate and long-term consequences for future emergencies.

Toward an Auto-adaptive System

2019 ◽  
pp. 76-91
Author(s):  
Louise K. Comfort
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Adaptive Performance ◽  
Response System ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
System P ◽  
Community Residents ◽  
The Status ◽  
Response Systems ◽  
Technical Capacity

This chapter evaluates the findings and analysis for the response system that is moving toward auto-adaptation. None of the 12 disaster response systems included in this study met fully the characteristics specified for the class of auto-adaptive response systems. Yet the earthquake response system that evolved in Lushan County, Ya'an Municipality, Sichuan Province, China, following the earthquake of April 20, 2013, was clearly moving in that direction. The Lushan earthquake illustrated the change in overall system performance in China when ordinary citizens could communicate freely with one another at the local level regarding the status of response operations following the earthquake. Using cell phones, residents could share their direct observations of conditions requiring urgent action and actions taken or not taken to assist those injured or who suffered damage from the earthquake. This change in the technical capacity for communication among community residents altered their capacity to engage in collaborative response to the earthquake. Consequently, it shaped the four basic conditions that led to adaptive performance: (1) articulation of common meanings; (2) trust between leaders and citizens; (3) resonance between response system and the environment in which it operates; and (4) sufficient resources to sustain collective action.

scholarly journals The Incoherence of Institutional Reform: Decentralization as a Structural Solution to Immediate Political Needs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Paul Faguet ◽  
Mahvish Shami
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Institutional Reforms ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
Main Effects ◽  
Structural Solution

AbstractInstitutional reforms are structural changes in the rules and norms of authority, with effects that are long-term and unpredictable on government, politics, and society. But leaders may undertake them to solve unrelated, discrete, short-term political problems. Understanding the latter is key to understanding the characteristics of many real reforms, and hence their fate. We introduce the concept of instrumental incoherence and use it to construct a theory of decentralization where reform is motivated by orthogonal objectives. We show that reformers’ incentives map onto the specifics of reform design via their side effects, not their main effects, which in turn lead to the medium- and long-term consequences eventually realized. We characterize downwardly accountable decentralization, which ties the hands of the center to empower local voters, vs. upwardly accountable decentralization, which ties the hands of local government to empower the center. We use these ideas to explain highly divergent outcomes in two extreme cases, Bolivia and Pakistan, using detailed, original evidence. Our analysis likely extends to a broader class of reforms where the incentives of agents pursuing a change, and the effects of that change, are highly asymmetric in time and dimension.

Current Issues Regarding the Incident Command System in the Philippines

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miho Ohara ◽  
◽  
Hisaya Sawano
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Incident Command System ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Response System ◽  
Local Government Level ◽  
Government Level

The First Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee on Disaster Management Meeting established a framework for ASEAN-US cooperation on the Disaster Management Program in 2003, focusing on capability building for the Incident Command System (ICS). The ICS was then adopted as part of the on-scene disaster response system in the Republic of the Philippines as enacted by the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act in 2010. This study investigates the process of adopting the ICS, its current status, and future issues through interview surveys of local and national governments in the Philippines. After adopting and implementing of the ICS as the national disaster response system for the Philippines is investigated, the current status of the ICS at the local government level is surveyed in a flood-prone area of the Pampanga River basin in central Luzon. Results show that the ICS has been adopted on all levels of government – national, regional, provincial, municipal, and barangay, i.e., the country’s smallest administrative division. Each local government level has incorporated the ICS into its contingency plan. Several issues related to future disaster response planning and capacity building are then reviewed.

scholarly journals What is technology assessment?

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (S1) ◽  
pp. 7-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Banta
Keyword(s):  
Health Technology Assessment ◽  
Technology Assessment ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Health Technology ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Alternatives ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
The U.S

Technology is generally defined as “science or knowledge applied to a definite purpose.” Technology assessment has been defined as a form of policy research that examines short- and long-term consequences (for example, societal, economic, ethical, legal) of the application of technology. The goal of technology assessment was said to be to provide policy makers with information on policy alternatives. Health technology assessment (HTA) grew out of this field and was developed in the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment (OTA). However, the OTA was closed in 1995. The links between technology assessment and health technology assessment were more-or-less lost after the dissolution of OTA, and few workers in the field of HTA seem familiar with the roots of the field in the more general and social-oriented technology assessment.

Using NYC 311 Call Center Data to Assess Short- and Long-Term Needs Following Hurricane Sandy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Adriana Eugene ◽  
Naomi Alpert ◽  
Wil Lieberman-Cribbin ◽  
Emanuela Taioli
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Call Center ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Open Data ◽  
General Information ◽  
Hurricane Sandy ◽  
Initial Event ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Objectives: Hurricane Sandy made landfall across New York City (NYC) in October 2012, but the long-term consequences of the storm are still not fully understood. We analyzed NYC data to quantify the extent of Hurricane Sandy-related concerns over time. Methods: Data on NYC 311 Call Center inquiries were downloaded from the NYC Open Data website (October 29, 2012 to May 26, 2020) to provide information about Sandy-related calls using the keywords “Hurricane” and “Sandy”. Results: In the first 2 wk after Hurricane Sandy, 15.6% of 311 calls were related to the storm. From 2012 to 2020, the volume of inquiries decreased from 87,209 to 25. The majority of calls in 2012 (49,181; 56%) was requesting general Hurricane Sandy information, and in 2020 assistance with property restoration (20; 79%) Conclusions: The long-term consequences of Hurricane Sandy in NYC persist into 2020, almost 8 y after the initial event. The needs of Hurricane Sandy victims have changed over time from requiring general information regarding closures, property destruction and immediate disaster relief to aid with legal, financial, and mental health consequences. Disaster response policy-makers must understand the changing needs of NYC residents to provide resources and prepare for future disasters.

scholarly journals The Role of Commercial Banks in Financing Debt of Local Government Units

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-33
Author(s):  
Adam Żabka ◽  
Beata Hoza
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Capital Market ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Secondary Markets ◽  
Low Activity

The authors of the paper present the results of their research in the structure of resources used to cover financial deficit of institutions of public finance sector on central and local level. The authors also evaluate the consequences triggered by application of different methods of financing. The aim of the paper is to analyse the reasons of low activity of local government units in obtaining financial resources directly from the capital market as compared to the State Treasury and commercial enterprises. By means of tools used in comparative analysis the authors juxtapose the most important parameters of primary and secondary markets of long-term debt securities issued by local government units, the State Treasury and commercial enterprises.

scholarly journals Administrative capacity and long-term policy making at the Icelandic local level

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Marín Hlynsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Professional Skills ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Administrative Capacity ◽  
Policy Direction

Leach and Wilson (2002) identified four key tasks of local government leaders. Building on their initiative, this paper examines the task of developing strategic and policy direction at the Icelandic local level from the viewpoint of the Icelandic mayor. In addition, it explores the administrative capacity of Icelandic local governance. Individuals occupying mayoral positions in Iceland always serve as heads of administration. At times, mayors are council members (political mayors), while other times they are hired based on their professional skills (manager-mayors). The findings suggest that mayors of both types play crucial roles in long-term policy making. However, the study shows that the daily work of manager-mayors is often hindered by fragmentation and lack of specialisation within the administration as well as by the laymen rule upon which the council-committee system is based.

scholarly journals Disparities in Disruptions to Postsecondary Education Plans During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AERA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233285842110454
Author(s):  
Ran Liu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Representative Data ◽  
Household Vulnerability ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
Education Plans ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The U.S

This study examines disruptions to postsecondary education plans in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using nationally representative data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey from August 2020 through March 2021, we investigate the prevalence, forms, reasons, and disparities of education disruption across different sociodemographic groups. While nearly three in four households report education plan disruption, the forms and reasons are drastically different. Black and Latinx respondents are more likely to report plan cancellation, while Whites are more likely to report taking classes in different formats. Non-White groups are more likely to cancel plans due to health or financial concerns, while Whites are more likely to cancel plans due to concerns about changes to campus life. Results also reveal nuanced intersections of race, type of education plans, and household vulnerability in affecting education disruption, pointing to the necessity of well-targeted initiatives to address long-term consequences and resulting inequality.

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