Theorizing Norm-Driven Policy Change

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh Raymond
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Emissions Trading ◽  
Sudden Change ◽  
Policy Choice ◽  
Punctuated Equilibrium Theory ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Policy Alternative ◽  
Specific Policy ◽  
Conceptual Overview

Policy scholars acknowledge that norms affect policy choice, but have not fully articulated a theory of how norms can serve as a catalyst for sudden policy change. After reviewing existing efforts to theorize non-incremental policy change, the chapter offers an initial account of a theory of norm-driven policy change that could better predict policy change as well as stability in the future. The crux of the theory is based on the new idea of normative reframing, or using a new issue frame to portray an issue in terms of an alternative norm that supports a new policy alternative. This idea of new normative frames draws on and expands ideas from Baumgartner and Jones’ Punctuated Equilibrium Theory in trying to improve our ability to explain and predict sudden policy change. The chapter concludes with a conceptual overview of how the process of normative reframing helps explain the sudden change toward auctions in emissions trading policies related to climate change, and allows for better predictions of other specific policy changes in general.

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 Punctuated equilibrium or incrementalism in policymaking: What we can and cannot learn from the distribution of policy changes

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 205316801987139
Author(s):  
Bruce A. Desmarais
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Punctuated Equilibrium ◽  
Punctuated Equilibrium Theory ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Time Variance ◽  
Heavy Tailed Distribution ◽  
Heavy Tailed ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Normally Distributed

Theories in political science are most commonly tested through comparisons of means via difference tests or regression, but some theoretical frameworks offer implications regarding other distributional features. I consider the literature on models of policy change, and their implications for the thickness of the tails in the distribution of policy change. Change in public policy output is commonly characterized by periods of stasis that are punctuated by dramatic change—a heavy-tailed distribution of policy change. Heavy-tailed policy change is used to differentiate between the incrementalism and punctuated equilibrium models of policy change. The evidentiary value of heavy-tailed outputs rests on the assumption that changes in inputs are normally distributed. I show that, in order for conventional assumptions to imply normally distributed inputs, variance in the within-time distribution of inputs must be assumed to be constant over time. I present this result, and then present an empirical example of a possible aggregate policy input—a major public opinion survey item—that exhibits over-time variation in within-time variance. I conclude that the results I present should serve as motivation for those interested in testing the implications of punctuated equilibrium theory to adopt more flexible assumptions regarding, and endeavor to measure, policy inputs.

Parties on the Left, Parties on the Right: Electoral Competition and Citizenship Policy Change in Europe

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
John Graeber
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Spatial Competition ◽  
Electoral Competition ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Left Party ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The Right ◽  
Restrictive Policy

Abstract In recent decades, citizenship policies in Europe have changed significantly: some governments have introduced restrictive new requirements for citizenship, while others have made citizenship more accessible. What explains this variation? Despite a burgeoning literature on both comparative citizenship and spatial competition among parties, scholarship on this question remains in its infancy and primarily focused on the influence of the far right. Expanding on this growing research, this article argues that citizenship policy change results from electoral competition on both sides of the political spectrum, in conjunction with governments’ ideological orientation. Using new data on citizenship policies across sixteen European countries from 1975 to 2014, the author demonstrates that left-of-center governments facing increasing levels of left party competition are associated with more accessible policy changes, while increasing levels of party competition from the far right yield more restrictive policy changes under not only right-of-center governments, but also centrist and left-of-center governments as well.

scholarly journals A room with a view: a special issue with a special perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-210
Author(s):  
Simone Borghesi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Emissions Trading ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Climate Policies

AbstractThe present article describes the main insights deriving from the papers collected in this special issue which jointly provide a ‘room with a view’ on some of the most relevant issues in climate policy such as: the role of uncertainty, the distributional implications of climate change, the drivers and applications of decarbonizing innovation, the role of emissions trading and its interactions with companion policies. While looking at different issues and from different angles, all papers share a similar attention to policy aspects and implications, especially in developing countries. This is particularly important to evaluate whether and to what extent the climate policies adopted thus far in developed countries can be replicated in emerging economies.

scholarly journals Why We Should Use the Gini Coefficient to Assess Punctuated Equilibrium Theory

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Constantin Kaplaner ◽  
Yves Steinebach
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Gini Coefficient ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Punctuated Equilibrium ◽  
Equilibrium Theory ◽  
Punctuated Equilibrium Theory ◽  
The Gini Coefficient ◽  
Precise Measure

Abstract Punctuated Equilibrium Theory posits that policy-making is generally characterized by long periods of stability that are interrupted by short periods of fundamental policy change. The literature converged on the measure of kurtosis and L-kurtosis to assess these change patterns. In this letter, we critically discuss these measures and propose the Gini coefficient as a (1) comparable, but (2) more intuitive, and (3) more precise measure of “punctuated” change patterns.

Domestic Constraints on Foreign Policy Change in Belarus

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-55
Author(s):  
Paul Hansbury
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Group Competition ◽  
Domestic Constraints ◽  
Foreign Policy Change ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Policy Shifts

Abstract After 2014 the relationship between Russia and its ally Belarus was strained. Russia was dissatisfied with Belarus’s foreign policy and sought to influence the latter’s international affairs. This article considers the extent of change and continuity in Belarus’s foreign policy, and thus whether Russia’s criticisms reflect consequential shifts, covering the period 2016–2019. The analysis begins with the removal of EU sanctions, which afforded Belarus new opportunities, and ends before the protest movement that emerged ahead of the election in 2020. The study considers three policy areas: international trade; diplomacy more broadly; and foreign policy concerns for prestige. The article argues that Belarus made appreciable policy changes in response to structural pressures in the period 2016–2019, but the parameters of these foreign policy shifts were necessarily highly constrained by domestic interest group competition which prevents Belarus distancing itself from Russia. It concludes with a brief reflection on how the 2020 election protests and repressions affect the dynamics described.

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.

scholarly journals The Impact of Home Gardening amidst Climate Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-23
Author(s):  
Froilan D. Mobo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Sudden Change ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Ozone Layer ◽  
Home Gardening ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Town

Today’s climate is unpredictable there are so many natural calamities which took place in our country which is the Philippines, two weeks ago because of the sudden changes of the weather in the Province of Zambales, the Philippines a strong tornado hits the town of Castillejos, Zambales which some of the electrical wirings were severely damaged because of the sudden change of the climate. The researcher is thinking of implementing a home gardening to each Municipality in our Province. By doing this it can help lessen the pollution in the air and it will help heal our Ozone Layer faster. The empirical evidence for the benefits of gardening and the advocate of the development and testing of socio-ecological models of community resilience through the impact of community gardens, especially in urban areas is highly effective(Okvat & Zautra, 2011). As lessening the air pollution will have a greater impact on our Ozone Layer no to deplete but it will heal the would faster. The present study revealed that local experiences in the face of climate change adaptation have merits that need special consideration(Anik & Khan, 2012). Also, the Researcher will implement this project in the Municipality of Subic, Zambales.

scholarly journals Principles of Kyoto and Emissions Trading Systems: A Primer for Energy Lawyers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Evans
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Emissions Trading ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Trading Systems ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Legislative Authority ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Potential Impact

The Kyoto Protocol defines new emissions standards to be met by the international community in respect of greenhouse gases, the aim of which is to curb the present trend of adverse climate change. The specific responses of ratifying governments to bring about the desired changes will significantly impact citizenry and industry alike. This article addresses the issues surrounding emissions trading systems as market-based policy instruments that may ultimately contribute to Canada s legislative response to the Kyoto standards. Central to this question is the need to familiarize legal practitioners with the implications of climate change and the range of policy responses available to government in the context of emissions trading systems. The author examines responses open to the governments of Canada and Alberta through a review of the international reaction to climate change, the role of emissions trading in environmental regulation generally and the anticipated use of emissions trading to comply with the Kyoto Protocol in the future. The author presents an in-depth analysis of the principles underlying the design of domestic emissions trading systems, of the legislative authority surrounding their implementation and of the need for affected businesses to strategically plan for ensuing changes. The author concludes that while Canada has not yet adopted a policy on domestic emissions trading systems in respect of the Kyoto Protocol, the potential impact of emission standards on domestic sources is pronounced, meriting an inspection of the design features that may form a pan of such trading schemes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document