Government to Citizens (G2C) communication and use of social media in the post-disaster reconstruction phase

Post-disaster reconstruction (PDR) poses specific and complex challenges that government agencies have to deal with. Existing crisis management and communication models as well as literature on social media adoption by public organisations tend to focus on the critical stage, neglecting the issues that arise when the social, physical and cultural environments affected by a disaster have to be rebuilt. Conversely, this paper presents some preliminary findings on the Government to Citizen (G2C) communications and social media usage in PDR settings. The PDR process that followed the earthquakes in Emilia-Romagna (Northern Italy) in 2012 was used as a case study. Data derived from field notes and multiple-choice questionnaires revealed that government agencies provided information mainly about housing and infrastructure and financing and that they addressed this information to all citizens, although information was sometimes targeted specifically to business people, homeowners and members of community-based groups. Government officers gave preference to face-to-face contacts, Web portals and printed material. Social media were used predominantly as additional means of communication of PDR-related information, thus underrating their potential for community engagement and G2C bidirectional communication. In the discussions, findings are integrated into and validated against literature and communication theories.     

为何加速经济增长可以弱化环境污染压力

"增长极限说"认为可以通过降低经济增速来实现自然资源和环境的保护。本文基于特征化事实和实证分析表明,中国经济增长伴随环境污染压力,而在经济阶段性加速增长期间并不必然对环境污染施加更大的压力,相反可以引致环境质量的提高。本文从地方政府机制转变的角度,考察了经济加速增长下的环境污染压力弱化的作用机制。研究结果表明,在经济阶段性加速增长期间,地方制度质量显著提高,地方政府为政治晋升而对经济增长绩效考核压力显著减轻,同时地方税收收入也会显著提高。因此,经济阶段性加速增长期间的这三种作用机制可以使得地方政府把引致经济增长的重点向改善环境方面偏移,从而在短期内显著地缓解经济增长对环境污染的压力。本文的研究结论为众多学者质疑"增长极限说"提供理论和实证依据,随后本文提出了相应的政策建议。     

Clashing coalitions: a discourse analysis of an artificial groundwater recharge project in Finland

The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of the dynamics of knowledge production in the context of large-scale environmental projects causing local conflict. In particular, the paper analyses the discourse coalitions that formed around an artificial groundwater recharge project for the Turku Region in Finland. The material for this study consists of over 400 articles and opinion pieces which were collected from local and regional newspapers between 1999 and 2010. The articles were analysed by using Hajer's [1995. The politics of environmental discourse. Ecological modernisation and the policy process. Oxford, UK: Clarendon] discursive framework, and the analysis was complemented with the concept of knowledge coalition by Van Buuren and Edelenbos [2004. Conflicting knowledge. Why is joint knowledge production such a problem? Science and Public Policy, 31 (4), 289–299]. Results of the study indicate that knowledge coalitions were formed among the researchers, lay residents, and policy-makers, and they all utilised similar expertise-based factual arguments to support their cause. Thus, the paper participates in the academic discussion on the use and interpretation of expert knowledge in environmental policy-making by reshaping the division between experts and lay residents.     

Sustainability in the USA and New Zealand: explaining and addressing the implementation gap in local government

This paper describes the frustrating reality of sustainability implementation in the USA and New Zealand (NZ), an early adopter of sustainability mandates. Local government has a key role in implementation, but has been slow to uptake sustainable practices. We surveyed senior planners in small to medium-sized local government agencies in both countries to identify which features of local government support (or hinder) sustainability in practice.

Environmentally sustainable practices are not well entrenched in either country. In the USA, the framing of sustainability and public support are significant predictors of implementation. However, sustainability is rarely a priority. In NZ, local government capacity is the main driver of implementation. We recommend that planners promote sustainability values, reconcile economic development goals with sustainability (e.g., green economy model), and translate public support for sustainability into institutional priorities. NZ localities also need increased capacity and US localities need continued Federal and State support.     

地方政府竞争与环境规制:基于区域开放的异质性研究

随着全球化推进,各国开始不断消减贸易壁垒,环境规制程度跟着提升,各级地方政府作为环境规制相关政策执行者,国家的环境治理直接受到其环境规制策略影响。论文围绕地方政府恶性竞争导致的环境规制失灵问题,采用变截距GLS方法和Hansen提出的"门槛回归"模型,并利用我国29个省级单位2000-2013年面板数据,将地方政府竞争作为门槛变量,分析在不同门槛值下地方政府竞争、区域开放对工业环境规制的影响,并进一步研究财政收支分权和贸易政策对这种影响是否存在积极或恶化作用,力求从根本上解决地方政府恶性竞争,实现环境有效规制。研究表明:在样本期间内,财政收入分权度较低、财政支出分权度较高、贸易开放度高、金融开放度高和制度环境不完善的地区,地方政府竞争对工业环境规制的促进作用更加凸显。全国和东部地区地方政府竞争对工业环境规制呈边际递减的促进作用,中部地区表现出地方政府竞争对工业环境规制非单调性,西部地区存在对工业环境规制呈边际递减的抑制作用。总之,样本期间内地方政府竞争程度有助于全国和东部地区环境进行有效规制,中部地区跨越门槛值后环境规制失灵,西部地区则存在较严重环境规制失灵问题。为了规避环境规制失灵,我们应提高外商投资的进入环境门槛,地方政府在治理环境时,应削减对自己地区的行政垄断,推动各级地方政府跨区域环境保护合作,并由较高层级的政府来承担环境规制的财政支出责任,不断降低地方政府恶性竞争导致的环境规制失灵。     

企业环境信息公开与政府监管策略的演化博弈分析

由于企业与消费者、投资者、政府等利益相关者之间存在着信息不对称,而真实的企业环境信息是利益相关者做出决策的必要前提,所以具有良好环境行为的企业愿意公开真实的环境信息,但同时也会使不具有良好环境行为的企业有动机公开虚假的环境信息以谋取额外收益,进而导致企业环境信息的信号传递失效。针对此问题,本文考虑了相关主体的有限理性特征,构建了企业是否真实公开环境信息与政府监管行为交互的演化模型,分析了不同参数的变化对系统演化结果的影响,并通过数值实验模拟了不同初始状态和参数设置下的系统演化过程,得出了一定的结论。研究表明:初始状态时的政府监管概率、政府的监管成本、对企业公开虚假环境信息的惩罚、政府选择监管策略的收益、企业真实公开环境信息的收益和企业的伪装效果系数对系统的演化结果具有重要影响,通过政策手段对这些参数进行调控可以引导系统向良好模式演化,使企业公开真实的环境信息,达到环境信息的信号传递作用。     

Investigating supportive conditions for participation in voluntary environmental programs

Voluntary environmental programs (VEPs) are commonly construed as contracts between industry and government that encourage businesses to voluntarily mitigate their environmental impacts beyond legal requirements. This research explores conditions under which polluting firms are likely to participate in VEPs. We analyze 34 comparable VEPs whose shared goal is to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, with focus on the alleged influences of three factors drawn from existing scholarship: government supervision; economic instruments; and public disclosure of participants' environmental records. The statistical results show a greater effect from government supervision than complete voluntarism and the positive effect of financial subsidies on firms' participation in VEPs. Although recent debates over regulatory reform have been oriented towards vesting greater discretion in regulatees to better address environmental harms, the findings imply that even in a highly privatized form of regulation, government oversight and assistance are necessary for promoting this new mode of environmental regulation.     

政府环保类引导基金的运行管理模式研究

本文基于国内已有的相关政府引导基金和环保基金的运行管理模式,经分析和比较提出适合中央和地方层面环保类引导基金的运行管理模式。除了要符合基金运作的一般规律,本文认为中央层面设立政府环保类引导基金适合契约制形式,引导基金内只有中央财政出资,按照母基金参股子基金的方式来运作,同时达到撬动社会资本和引入先进基金管理公司的目的;地方层面设立相应基金适合采用有限合伙制形式,直接吸引社会资本与政府共同建立引导基金,投资方式以直接投资为主、参股子基金为辅,可以发挥金融机构的融资优势和环保类专业机构的技术和经验优势。     

“后补贴”时代地方政府新能源汽车补贴策略研究

新能源汽车补贴是政府为了发展新能源汽车产业所采取的一项激励政策。现有文献虽在微观层面上研究了政府补贴对新能源汽车推广的影响,但多将补贴政策限定为固定额度的政府补贴,未考虑中国特殊的两级政府补贴政策尤其是地方政府补贴对新能源汽车推广的影响,且在补贴政策的设计上未与新能源汽车的实际推广目标相结合。基于"后补贴"时代的地方政府既要实现新能源汽车推广目标又要保证补贴政策合理退坡的双重现实要求。本文依据当前中央政府为新能源汽车提供固定补贴,地方政府提供配套比例补贴以及制定价格补贴比例上限的现实情形,综合考虑新能源汽车成本、充电桩建设情况、消费者初始效用、中央政府补贴等因素对地方新能源汽车推广的影响,构建了地方政府为实现既定新能源汽车推广目标的最优补贴策略模型。研究表明:(1)对于不同效用水平的消费者,地方政府价格补贴比例上限和配套比例补贴对新能源汽车零售价格所起的作用不同;(2)地方政府补贴政策只有在小于或等于其最优配套比例或价格补贴比例上限时才会对新能源汽车推广产生正向影响。最后,还结合北京新能源汽车推广的实际情况进行了数值模拟,给出了在不同新能源汽车成本、充电桩建设情况、消费者初始效用下北京市政府为实现新能源汽车推广目标的最优补贴策略。数值模拟结果表明,当前北京新能源汽车存在地方配套比例过高、价格补贴比例上限过高等问题。在后补贴时代,北京市政府可依据新能源汽车成本下降、充电设施逐步完善、消费者初始效用提升等因素变化,对补贴进行适当退坡。数值模拟表明,所构造的最优补贴策略模型对后补贴时代地方政府新能源汽车补贴政策的制定具有较高的参考价值。     

风险社会下的政府环境责任刍议

随着人类逐步迈入风险社会,生态环境事故产生的诱因更多地集中于科学技术,且对相关事故进行责任认定难度巨大.政府在处理相关问题时可能面对经济发展和环境保护相冲突以及决策的知识性匮乏等问题,这就要求在新社会背景下从积极和消极两方面对政府的环境责任进行有效的重构.