Policy Learning, Policy Failure, and the Mitigation of Policy Risks: Re-Thinking the Lessons of Policy Success and Failure

Policy failures are often assumed to be unintentional and anomalous events about which well-intentioned governments can learn why they occurred and how they can be corrected. These assumptions color many of the results from contemporary studies of policy learning which remain optimistic that ongoing policy problems can be resolved through technical learning and lesson drawing from comparative case studies. Government intentions may not be solely oriented toward the creation of public value and publics may not abide by government wishes, however, and studies of policy learning need to take these “darksides” of policy-making more seriously if the risks of policy failure are to be mitigated.

Womenomics and Migrant Workers Policy: Can They Solve Labor Shortage in Japan?

Aging population threatens economic conditions in Japan which results in a condition of labor shortage, furthermore the government provides Womenomics’ and accepting migrant workers policy to solve the issue. This research aims to give an understanding about Japan’s labor shortage condition and how it can be solved by Womenomics and accepting migrant workers. Therefore, this research emphasized the labor shortage conditions and the failure factors of Womenomics’ and accepting migrant workers in Japan. Essentially, this study applied the qualitative case study method by referring to the literature review conducted by previous studies. The findings of this research are meant providing suggestions to Japan’s government about how important it is to enforce appropriate policies to tackle labor shortages and to minimize policy failure of policy implementation.

Public Policy Failure: A Study of Home Industry Food Production Certification Policy

There is an increasing concentration of Public Administration scientists on measuring whether policy succeeds or fails. It is no longer clear how best to ensure that the policy process from formulation to policy implementation is the best and more effective way. Including in the Home Industry Food, Production Certificate Policy (SPP-IRT) is taken as a locus. Study of the Home Industry of Ground Coffee in Nagari Koto Tuo, Tanah Datar Regency. The policy on offering SPP-IRT has undergone several changes, but it will not be effective. It will fail to provide quality assurance and food safety. the increase in IRTPs who have certificates does not increase. The research method used in this study uses a qualitative approach with a case study research design. The results showed that providing Food Home Industry Certification (IRTP) with the case in the provision of IRTP Coffee Powder certificates in Nagari Koto Tuo showed that the policy failures included tolerable policy criteria. Modest loss when it happens does not fundamentally hold back the goals the proponents want to achieve, and the minor opposition and criticism that occurs is almost non-existent in this SPP-IRT-related policy.

The Seville-Bonanza Canal: A public policy failure

During the sixties, the idea of building a canal to promote the economic development of Seville through the river gained momentum. The initiative –already started in 1953– sought to create an industrial conurbation between the Andalusian capital and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. It was supported by various industrial and commercial sectors of Seville, as well as by local political-administrative institutions. The initiative was also fostered by the Chief of State, general Franco. However, that project actually failed. ¿How such a strong public policy could have been thwarted despite of the support of the dictatorial regime?

Narratives

Stories pervade society and play a role in helping us to simplify and make sense of new innovations such as smart grids. Narratives are useful to study not only because of the things, people and organisations that they speak to but also because of the things that are not said—the silences. There are many narratives about smart grids and in this chapter I explore three examples: a global industry narrative about households and their willingness to participate in smart grids; a narrative of policy failure about a smart grid project in the State of Victoria, Australia; and narratives that compete with smart grids, including the hydrogen economy and off-grid energy futures.

The construction of a growth-oriented global climate agenda: a critical historical analysis

By the end of 2019, more than 11,000 world scientists declared Planet Earth is facing a climate emergency, which signals the failure of the global climate agenda (GCA). Since it took off thirty years ago, emissions have continued to increase at the planetary level. We add to the literature focusing on the economic and political dimensions shaping the GCA. In particular, we examine its economic growth roots under the umbrella of sustainable development (SD) or green growth to shed some light on whether the rules driving the world economy are shaping it. Such rules are built on the growth ideology fuelling the current extractivist socioeconomic metabolism, which in turn lies behind the socioecological crisis. We review the main international climate-focused events and document a shift in the guiding principles of climate politics from the 1980s onwards under which growth is no longer viewed as a driver of climate change (CC) but as its solution. We argue that the strategy to promote growth-based SD represents the main cause of policy failure. Indeed, the result is a policy that is highly reliant on technological solutions and market-based instruments and leads to the belief that green growth is both possible and the solution to CC. Such a belief restricts the debate to the economy’s ‘decarbonisation’ and CC adaptation and overlooks other important socio-political aspects involve in climate action.