From rules to collaborative practice: When regulatory mechanisms drive collective co-production

The paper develops an analysis of latent spaces of co-production enacted by the government. Based on a survey and interviews, the authors identified the elements of co-production logics which emerged from the interactions of members of Brazilian municipal health councils. Collective co-production emerges when members adhere to a set of norms and values which are favourable to co-operation. The paper explains how councils’ regulatory mechanisms can drive the understanding of their members in relation to co-production and its benefits.     

Which type of producer organization is (more) inclusive? Dynamics of farmers’ membership and participation in the decision‐making process

Producer organizations (POs) provide benefits to smallholders by alleviating market access challenges. However, whether all farmers benefit from a PO is still a question. Limited evidence is available on whether POs are inclusive of poor farmers. Even if the poor join, do they participate in decision‐making? We conducted interviews with 595 smallholder dairy farmers in Kenya. We distinguish three groups; members of a bargaining PO, members of a processing PO and non‐members. We show that membership is related to the structural characteristics of the organization: processing POs favor membership of farmers that are wealthier, more educated and more innovative. As to participation in the decision‐making process: older, male and specialized farmers have a higher chance of being involved than poor farmers. Factors distinguishing farmer participation in decision‐making between bargaining and processing POs are highlighted. We find that a bargaining PO is more inclusive of all groups of farmers, while women and poor farmers are excluded from decision‐making in a processing PO. Our findings contribute to policymaking on inclusive development.     

An assessment of stakeholders’ participation in land use planning process of Luapula Province Planning Authority

The legal framework of Zambia has laws that support participatory land use planning process but there are no guidelines on how it should be done. Thus, the research aims at assessing if the Luapula Province Planning Authority (LPPA) has a land use planning process that incorporates effective stakeholders’ participation.The research is based on secondary data, especially the land use planning process in the Urban and Regional Planning (URP) Act No. 3 of 2015 of the Laws of Zambia and the participatory land use planning process of Kilimanjaro Region.The data analysed show that there is lack of effective stakeholders’ participation in the LPPA land use planning process; the LPPA land use planning process does not have the provision to capacity build stakeholders during the land use planning process; lack of participatory land use planning guidelines; the institutional framework under customary authority is not part of the land use planning process and the LPPA land use planning process is a top-down approach.The conclusions state that the legal and institutional frameworks in existence are inadequate for effective stakeholders’ participation in land use planning process of LPPA. In addition, the stakeholders are not incorporated in the LPPA land use planning process in terms of decision making but incorporated as reactants to the decisions made by the public authorities.The recommendations are that a National Land Use Planning Commission composed of representatives from stakeholder groups needs to be established. In addition, some sections of the URP Act No. 3 of 2015 of the Laws of Zambia need amendment inorder to have continuous feedback between the land use plan makers (planning firm(s) and planning authority) and the stakeholders. Furthermore, Village Councils must be given power to make decision by establishing them as Village Planning Authorities.     

全球价值链嵌入对工资差距的影响——基于全球价值链参与度及地位指数视角

近年来，全球价值链已经成为世界经济发展的重要特征。与此同时，不同技术劳动力之间工资差距的扩大成为学界关注的焦点。为研究全球价值链嵌入对各国不同技术劳动力间工资差距的影响，本文采用全球价值链参与度指数以及全球价值链地位指数作为刻画全球价值链嵌入水平的指标，构建计量经济学模型进行实证研究。研究结果显示，发展中国家制造业参与度及地位指数的提高均缩小了不同技术劳动力间工资差距，服务业参与度的提高缩小了工资差距，服务业地位指数的提高扩大了工资差距；发达国家制造业参与度的提高扩大了工资差距，地位指数的提高缩小了工资差距，服务业参与度和地位指数的提高均缩小了工资差距。选取在全球价值链所处位置不同的五个国家（中国、印度、墨西哥、美国、日本），对这些国家全球价值链嵌入对工资差距的影响进行研究，结果显示：对于处于全球价值链下游的中国和印度，参与度的提高缩小了制造业的工资差距，扩大了服务业工资差距；对于处于全球价值链中游的墨西哥和处于全球价值链上游美国和日本，参与度的提高扩大了制造业以及服务业的工资差距；而地位指数的变化对制造业及服务业工资差距的影响在这五个国家间存在差异。     

Impact of farmer self-identity and attitudes on participation in agri-environment schemes

Influencing farmers to make positive contributions to the environment is one of the goals of agri-environment schemes (AESs). Understanding the drivers of farmer behaviour and the choices they make with regards to AESs is important as this aids policy makers in creating schemes that have a wider scope and are more likely to achieve environmental goals. Past studies have identified the importance of farmer self-identity and attitudes in decisions made on farms. Little emphasis has been put on modelling the relationship between self-identity and attitudes towards schemes and the resulting impact on participation in voluntary AESs. Using Ireland as a case-study, this paper employs a survey of 1000 farms to look at participation in AESs through the lens of farmer perceived self-identity and their attitudes towards schemes. A relatively novel approach of combining factor analysis, to generate a self-identity typology, with an AES participation regression model is implemented. The model results suggest that self-identity and attitudes have a significant impact on AES participation. Neighbouring farmers’ viewpoints also have a significant and positive impact on the participation decision made by farmers.     

数字化时代的公众参与遗产保护：基于 福州复园路的观察

中国的遗产保护体系传统上以政府和相关机构为主体。近年来，公众对遗产保护的参与意愿显著增强，并成为主流遗产保护体系的重要补充。与此同时，移动互联网的快速发展、遥感和无人机倾斜摄影等数字技术的全面普及，为公众参与遗产保护提供了新的平台和技术支撑。通过对福州复园路街区“拓路”与“保护”争端的全程参与和观察，从公众意愿、参与能力和反馈渠道3个方面，分析数字化时代公众参与遗产保护模式的变化，并进一步探讨了数字技术应用方向的变革和公众参与的未来走向。研究认为，在数字化时代，信息平台的开放与共享，是实现多方平等对话的基础；数字技术的创新创意利用，是提升公众参与的积极性和能力的途径；基于网络和新媒体，构建多元的公众意见反馈渠道，是引入群体智慧、实现全流程“众规”的必要条件。研究结果可为我国新时期文化遗产保护的公众参与提供启示与借鉴。     

The role of customer behavior in forming perceived value at restaurants: A multidimensional approach

With the increasing involvement of customers at restaurants, their behaviors have become an indispensable part in formation of perceptions of value. To examine such a subtle and complicated process, this study applies a multi-layer/multi-dimension approach to examine how customer behavior predicts perceived value, which in turn leads to satisfaction. Particularly, customer behavior, assessed with a hierarchical framework, includes two dimensions: participation behavior (with four sub-dimensions: information seeking, information sharing, responsible behavior, personal interaction) and citizenship behavior (with four sub-dimensions: feedback, advocacy, helping, and tolerance). Customer perceived value consists of three dimensions: economic, individual, and relational values. Data collected from 514 respondents reflect those with dining experience at restaurants. The results show that a customer’s perception of value gains greater impact from citizenship behavior than participation behavior. The findings of the study contribute to the evolving knowledge of customer behavior and offer industry practitioners’ effective marketing strategies to maximize customer value.     

Quantum Artificial Intelligence: A “precautionary” U.S. approach?

Quantum Computing (QC) and Quantum Artificial Intelligence (QAI) are two powerful new technologies whose potential impacts are just starting to be appreciated. As important as they are likely to be, their implications are still little known. This article's purpose is an attempt to provide a policy space within which to begin fill that void.It presents a non-technical introduction to the concept of quantum mechanics in general, to the unique characteristics of sub-atomic particles, to quantum applications, and to QC and QAI in particular. The development of fully functioning quantum information technologies is in its early stages, but is being pursued aggressively. One of the most salient of these is Quantum Artificial Intelligence (QAI) – a fusion of QC and AI -- which some see as potentially threatening. There is little in established telecommunications or information policies to inform our approach to its capabilities.The article notes some of the challenges to development of quantum-based information technologies and considers the scope of global competition to the U.S. in this field, especially from China. It reviews the treatment of “Quantum Information Science” in U.S. policy. It describes the current policy environment and the range of new measures which might be available, if needed, to incorporate QAI into an overall information policy regime.In conclusion the article reviews the debate over adoption of the “precautionary principle” for QAI, an approach to policy when it must deal with weakly understood causes of potentially catastrophic or irreversible events. It sets out the arguments pro and con, and in the absence of an immediate resolution proposes adoption of a policy space in which stakeholders can address their salient concerns, without materially impairing technological progress and commercial viability.     

Income and social communication: The demographics of stock market participation

This paper analyses the determinants of stock market participation decisions using officially compiled aggregate stock account opening data in China. Different from the literature that often focuses on one particular dimension, our paper systematically evaluates the relative importance of disposable income, demographic variables, macroeconomic factors, stock market conditions and social communication on both the level and the change of the participation rate. We find that the level of the participation rate is predominately determined by the income factor, followed by various measures of social communication. Social communication plays the most important role in the change of the participation rate, acting as a multiplier to stimulate stock market participation. The effects are more pronounced in high‐income, high‐education, high‐population‐density groups and during the bull market period.     

Determination of the international maize price: What is the growing role of Brazil and Ukraine?

This paper examines the relationships among maize prices for four countries to determine if newly emerging exporters, Brazil and Ukraine, influence the international price of maize. Our work focuses on each market's participation in the price discovery process rather than trying to determine a price leader. We find that the United States plays the largest role in price discovery, followed by Argentina, Brazil, and Ukraine. We also search for export thresholds and find that Ukraine's contribution to price discovery rises slightly when an export threshold of 2.3 million tons is reached. No export thresholds were found for Brazil. Export thresholds for Argentina were found but only have a minor impact on price relationships. We also found that price relationships vary considerably across seasons of the year.