Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies最新文献

Nepalʼs 2015 federal constitution empowers local governments with significant autonomy, power, and resources for local policymaking, developmental programs, and public services. This research examines this new landscape of local governance as experienced during the first electoral tenure from 2017 to 2022, exploring the quality of local democracy in Nepal. Designed as interpretive research and analysed through a set of participatory democracy frameworks, the findings uncover mixed progress in the capacity of local democratic institutions to utilise constitutionally guaranteed power and resources. The findings of this study offer fresh academic and professional insights on Nepalʼs local democracy, participatory governance, and federalism.

Despite extensive research on the impact of various factors on entrepreneurship, the role of housing debt remains underexplored, particularly in emerging economies. Using data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), this study identifies a significant negative effect of housing debt on entrepreneurship after controlling for a comprehensive set of individual and household characteristics, as well as regional and year fixed effects. To delve deeper into the underlying mechanisms, we present direct evidence that housing debt amplifies risk aversion while imposing capital and credit constraints. Furthermore, we offer indirect evidence suggesting that housing debt exerts a stronger negative impact on employer entrepreneurship than on self-employment entrepreneurship, and a more pronounced negative effect on active entrepreneurship compared to passive entrepreneurship. Overall, this study addresses gaps in research on the impact of housing debt on entrepreneurship and provides insights into the underlying mechanisms by revealing how housing debt amplifies risk aversion, imposes capital and credit constraints, and disproportionately affects employer entrepreneurship over self-employment entrepreneurship, as well as active entrepreneurship over passive entrepreneurship.

This article offers an in-depth analysis of the meaning and scope of biosafety and biosecurity in China, thereby relating domestic debates to global developments, exploring notions of safety and security in public policy more broadly and embedding a key policy initiative, Chinaʼs new Biosecurity Law, into attempts by Chinaʼs leadership to develop a holistic national security strategy. The article finds that biotic threats have more recently been reframed as matters of national security, in ways that undeniably go beyond conventional understandings of biosecurity and that blur the boundaries to more accident-focused biosafety measures. Given Chinaʼs political and economic importance this apparent trend to securitise biotic risks is likely to impact on global trade relations, international transport and passenger traffic, not the least in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Carbon tax is widely regarded as an effective and efficient method to reduce carbon emissions. However, the introduction of carbon tax has faced resistance from the public and interest groups. In this article, we examine the determinants of public support for carbon taxation in South Korea. While the expected cost of the carbon tax on individual citizens appears to be the most important determinant of preferences towards carbon tax, we also find that the public support changes depending on the design of the revenue recycling system. The public is more likely to support a carbon tax scheme that is earmarked to support the energy-poor population compared to one that uses tax revenues for general government expenditures. The use of carbon tax revenues to create green sector jobs appears to significantly increase the support for carbon tax compared to the use of revenue for the general environment budget. Our findings suggest that while opposition towards carbon tax exists, certain design features such as universal carbon dividends can alleviate some resistance from the public.

Transboundary fine dust has been a leading cause of dispute between China and Korea since the mid-2010s. This study observes that transboundary fine dust is not purely an environmental issue, but rather mixed with political and diplomatic challenges. Despite the emerging bilateral and multilateral efforts to tackle this issue, this research sheds light on how political and diplomatic factors have undermined the outcomes of environmental negotiations between China and Korea. We highlight three dimensions of policy-based studies: scientific joint research on source-receptor relationships, interstate environmental negotiations, and multilateral environmental institutions in Northeast Asia. This study argues that transboundary fine dust cooperation has been extensively entangled with national political interests and proceeded via diplomatic channels, leading to the current absence of binding agreements and policy commitments. Therefore, a steady process of de-linking environmental cooperation and diplomatic fluctuations would be the best direction to proceed in a long-term perspective.

Notwithstanding the increasing place of tourism exports, the rural sector and its agricultural production remain important contributors to Fijiʼs economy. But their contribution is compromised by policies and institutions that distort the farm sectorʼs resource use, with too many resources employed by sugar and livestock producers at the expense of other farmers and producers of non-farm products. Subsidies to the sugar industry could be used instead to boost investment in rural public goods such as infrastructure and agricultural research. That would benefit a much larger proportion of rural people, many of whom are below the poverty line. So too would a lowering of tariffs on imports of meat and milk products. And by thereby lowering food prices in urban areas, such re-purposing of support would benefit their poorest households most. It would also lower the prices of high-protein livestock products and nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables, which could well improve nutrition and health.

Existing research suggests that housing demolition negatively affects labour supply through the wealth effect of the demolition compensation. However, there is limited research on the gender differences in the impact of housing demolition on labour force participation. This study investigates the effects of housing demolition on labour force participation, with a specific focus on the gender difference. Using data from the Chinese Family Panel Studies, this study reveals a significant decline in labour force participation resulting from housing demolition, primarily driven by females. Moreover, housing demolition exerts a stronger effect on the labour force participation of married women, who tend to take on more responsibilities for household chores, while its impact on married men is less evident. These findings offer valuable insights into the issue of labour shortage and underscore the importance of reducing the traditional gender-based division of household labour.

The global COVID-19 vaccination has been marred by the problem of inequity. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Indonesia, must overcome global and local barriers to provide doses to their population. Due to a lack of domestic R&D capability, Indonesia relied on global vaccine producers that are subject to the whims of their own governments. Ensuring equitable access domestically was also a challenge as public sector resources were limited. Using the four dimensions of vaccine access to examine Indonesiaʼs COVID-19 inoculation campaign reveals gaps in the governmentʼs perception of vaccination inequity. While the administration fervently advocates for global vaccination equity, local barriers received minimal attention. Indonesiaʼs case highlights how domestic political dynamics can stymie a global effort and that resolving vaccination inequity requires lowering both global and local barriers. Finally, LMICs should also consider including private sector resources in their pandemic response to complement their limited public sector resources.

The Pacific Small Island Developing State (SIDS) of Kiribati has met the formal, minimal criteria for graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category of the United Nations on multiple occasions from 2003 to 2018. Nevertheless, in light of both structural, long-standing constraints and severe more recent challenges – such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the exacerbation of the climate crisis – that past assessments took into only partial consideration, the country still appears, at present, unready to lose the support measures that come with the LDC inclusion and to graduate, once and for all, with sustained “momentum.” The analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats conducted in this paper suggests the need to further delay any decisions on graduation until more holistic, thorough readiness assessments can be conducted on the basis of new, additional indicators closely reflecting the full range of vulnerabilities that Kiribati, and other similar SIDS, currently face.

Chinese diplomacy has been proactive under Xi Jinping and overseas Chinese are an important target. A better understanding of how overseas Chinese perceive Chinese diplomacy can increase our knowledge, but it is under-studied in the literature. To fill part of this gap, this research focuses on the Pacific region where Chinaʼs activities have triggered growing geostrategic competition between traditional powers and China. Based on a survey of 182 ordinary overseas Chinese in Fiji and Tonga, this paper examines Chinese diasporaʼs perceptions of three aspects that are related to Chinaʼs diplomacy, including the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Pacific bilateral relations, and old-new Chinese issues. The survey reveals nuances in ordinary overseas Chinese views about Chinaʼs diplomacy, especially the concerns and apathy among some of them. It suggests that ordinary overseas Chinese support for Chinaʼs diplomacy is unlikely to grow substantially unless their views about this diplomacy become more positive.