Public preference for sustainable land use policies – Empirical results from multinomial logit model analysis

Public preferences for sustainable land use policy instruments and the motivations behind such preferences are important to make appropriate policies. Based on survey data (n = 309) from northeastern Somalia, we examined preferences for a set of land use policy instruments relative to no policy (i.e. the current status quo) and how cultural worldviews predict such preferences. We used a multinomial logit model to analyze the comparative evaluation of choices due to its interpretability and robustness to violations of normality. Overall, the results show that the respondents are likely to consent to all types of land use policy instruments relative to no policy and are more inclined to market-based and informational policy instruments. Specifically, preferences for regulatory policy instruments are positively associated with hierarchy and egalitarian worldviews and are negatively associated with fatalism and individualistic worldviews with only hierarchy and fatalism are significant. The market-based policy instrument is desirable to all cultural worldviews except fatalism, but only egalitarian and individual worldviews are significant. Preferences for informational policy instruments are positively associated with all cultural worldviews but only egalitarian worldviews showed a significant effect. Although there are some contradictions, these results are broadly consistent with the proposition of the cultural theory of risk. This study highlights that preferences for land use policies are heterogeneous with cultural worldviews mainly explaining the sources of this heterogeneity. It is evident that the respondents were willing to consent to land use policies relative to the status quo of no policy and indicates the need for concerted effort to reduce land degradation and deforestation in the country. We, therefore, recommend that policymakers incorporate the different ways that humans perceive and interpret social-environmental relations into policy decisions to achieve sustainable policy outcomes.

Market power and food loss at the producer-retailer interface of fruit and vegetable supply chains in Germany

Food loss and waste are associated with an unnecessary consumption of natural resources and avoidable greenhouse gas emissions. The United Nations have thus set the reduction of food loss and waste on the political agenda by means of the Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3. The German Federal Government committed itself to this goal by implementing the National Strategy for Food Waste Reduction in 2019. However, this policy approach relies heavily on voluntary action by involved actors and neglects the possible role of power imbalances along the food supply chain. While current research on food loss and waste in industrialised countries predominantly focuses on the consumer level, this study puts emphasis on the under-researched early stages of the food supply chain from the field to retailers’ warehouses. Based on 22 expert interviews with producers, producer organisations and retailers, this article identifies major inter-stage drivers of food loss in the supply chains for fresh fruit and vegetables in Germany. Its main novelty is to demonstrate how market power imbalances and risk shifting between powerful and subordinate actors can reinforce the tendency of food loss on the part of producers further up the supply chain. Results indicate that prevalent institutional settings, such as contractual terms and conditions, trading practices, ordering processes, product specifications, and communication privilege retailers and encourage food loss. The mechanisms in which these imbalances manifest, go beyond the European Commission’s current legislation on Unfair Trading Practices. This study suggests a research agenda that might help to formulate adjusted policy instruments for re-structuring the German fruit and vegetable markets so that less food is wasted.

ANALISIS PERAN PEMERINTAH DAN MASYARAKAT DALAM SEKTOR EKONOMI MELALUI FINALISASI KEBIJAKAN

One of the processes carried out by the government and the community to manage existing resources through collaboration between the government and the private sector is one of the meanings of economic development. This is done in the context of creating job opportunities as well as efforts to encourage economic growth in a region. Thus, it is important for the government and the community to play a role in solving macroeconomic problems. The final objective of this research is to analyze in depth the concept of the three-sector economy, the rationality of the role of government and society, the scope of the government's role, government policy instruments and an overview of al-hisbah. This study uses a literature study where information is obtained through a collection of books, a collection of scientific works, several theses, encyclopedias, a little information from the internet and even other sources. Research shows that in the economy three sectors are played by 3 roles including households, companies and the government. The rationality of the government's role is based on the consequences of collective obligations, and the failure of the market to realize falah. The analysis of the government's role includes: the role of allocation, distribution, stabilization, the role of the state in overcoming externalities and the role of the state related to the implementation of Islamic morality. There are also three policies that cover, among others: fiscal policy, monetary policy, and supply-side policy. Some basic thinking about the role of society consists of the consequences of fardhu kifayah, the existence of public property rights and the failure of the market and government. While hisbah is an institution controlled by the government through individual efforts specifically assigned to solve problems related to the moral, religious and economic fields.

The Precautionary Principles of the Potential Risks of Compound Events in Danish Municipalities

The risk of compound events describes potential weather and climate events in which the combination of multiple drivers and hazards consolidate, resulting in extreme socio-economic impacts. Compound events affecting exposed societies can therefore be deemed a crucial security risk. Designing appropriate preparation proves difficult, as compound events are rarely documented. This paper explores the understanding and practices of climate risk management related to compound events in specific Danish municipalities vulnerable to flood hazards (i.e., Odense, Hvidovre, and Vejle). These practices illuminate that different understandings of compound events steer risk attitudes and consequently decisions regarding the use of different policy instruments. Through expert interviews supported by policy documents, we found that the municipalities understand compound events as either a condition or situation and develop precautionary strategies to some extent. Depending on their respective geographical surroundings, they observe compound events either as no clear trend (Odense), a trend to be critically watched (Hvidovre), or already as a partial reality (Vejle). They perceive flood drivers and their combinations as major physical risks to which they adopt different tailor-made solutions. By choosing a bottom-up approach focusing on local governance structures, it demonstrated that the mismatch between responsibility and capacity and the ongoing separation of services related to climatic risks in the Danish municipality context need to be critically considered. The findings highlight that the complex challenge of compound events cannot be solved by one (scientific) discipline alone. Thus, the study advocates a broader inclusion of scientific practices and increased emphasis on local focus within compound event research to foster creative thinking, better preparation, and subsequently more effective management of their risks.

Policy integration, problem-solving, and the coronavirus disease crisis: lessons for policy design

The coronavirus disease pandemic has exposed differences in the capacity of governments around the world to integrate and coordinate different policy instruments into a coherent response. In this article, we conceptualize and empirically examine policy integration in responses to the coronavirus disease crisis in 35 countries. We then discuss how the interplay between restrictions, health protection, and economic policy has been articulated between, on the one hand, a policy design based on the complementarity of pro-public health and pro-economy measures, implying an integrated response, and, on the other, a policy design based on the perception of an inherent trade-off between the two. Finally, we discuss three implications from our analysis of policy integration against the coronavirus disease crisis for the post-COVID state: (a) the normalization and adaptation of integrated crisis responses; (b) the possible acceleration and “catching up” of problem-solving capacity as governments may use the crisis as an instance to put into place new social policies; and (c) policy integration as an accelerator of policy complexity and resistance against technocracy in the post-COVID state.

Coordination on networks with farsighted and myopic agents

We study a coordination game on a fixed connected network where players have to choose between two projects. Some players are moderate (i.e. they are ex-ante indifferent between both projects) while others are stubborn (i.e. they always choose the same project). Benefits for moderate players are increasing in the number of neighbors who choose the same project. In addition, players are either farsighted or myopic. Farsighted players anticipate the reactions of others while myopic players do not. We show that, when all players are farsighted, full coordination among the moderate players is reached except if there are stubborn players for both projects. When the population is mixed, the set of stable strategy profiles is a refinement of the set of Nash equilibrium strategy profiles. In fact, turning myopic players into farsighted ones eliminates gradually the inefficient Nash equilibria. Finally, we consider a social planner who can improve coordination by means of two policy instruments: adding links to the network (socialization) and/or turning myopic players into farsighted ones (education).

Enabling Nature-Based Solutions to Build Back Better—An Environmental Regulatory Impact Analysis of Green Infrastructure in Ontario, Canada

The application of green infrastructure in the built environment delivers a nature-based solution to address the impacts of climate change. This study presents a qualitative evidence synthesis that evaluates policy instruments which enable the use and implementation of green infrastructure, using Ontario, Canada as a case study. Unpacking the elements of the policy landscape that govern green infrastructure through environmental regulatory impact analysis can inform effective implementation of this nature-based solution and support decision-making in public policy. This environmental regulatory impact analysis is based on a systematic review of existing policy instruments, contextual framing in a continuum of coercion, and identification of alignment with relevant UN SDGs. Enabling widespread usage of green infrastructure in the built environment could be a viable strategy to build back better, localize the UN SDGs, and address multiple climate change impacts.

Russia’s banking sector during the pandemic

Quarantine and self-isolation have become a new challenge for the Russian economy, changed many areas of our life, revealed new weaknesses in the banking system and monetary regulation of the economy, and also become a good test for the post-crisis financial system. In this article using a systematic approach to the study of information, analytical and graphical methods the dynamics of the Russian banking sector during the development of the coronavirus pandemic and the specifics of recovery from the crisis have been investigated. The innovations and improvements brought about by the pandemic have been studied. The Central Bank of Russia’s monetary policy instruments used to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the real economy in general and on the banking sector in particular have been reviewed. The features of anti-crisis measures taken by the monetary authorities in our country have been revealed.