Matching mechanism in global public goods games: a case of climate protection

In the setting of dealing with climate change, this article designs a matching mechanism for global public goods provision with the aggregative game approach. Given endowment and the technology of each country, we propose the conditions under which the matching mechanism is able to guarantee full participation and Pareto efficient provision, respectively, in the cases with certain and uncertain preference information. These conditions cannot only be adopted in international negotiation and cooperation, but also refines the theory of matching game. In comparative static analyses, we discover that: First, changes of initial stock of climate goods produce a wealth effect and the crowd-out effect is less than 1. Second, climate tax policies affect the supply and welfare of each country only when they produce wealth effects, and if tax revenue is transferred into climate goods with more advanced technology, they will produce positive wealth effects. Third, modifying matching plans dynamically and appropriately can urge countries to improve technology, and especially given a Pareto optimal mechanism, adjusting the matching plan to keep marginal rates of transformation unchanged as technology changes is still able to ensure full participation and efficient supply of climate goods.     

认知资源对公众城市气象灾害防御支付意愿的影响研究——基于南京市暴雨灾害防御的实证

城市气象灾害防御措施的改进是防灾减灾的有效手段,但如何在辨识公众支付意愿的基础上,构建多方成本分担的灾害防御制度是解决问题的关键。从成本分担的视角出发,以南京暴雨灾害防御为例,分析公众对增强型城市气象灾害防御的支付意愿及认知资源在其中的重要作用。通过构建由Probit模型和有序Probit模型组成的递归混合模型,探讨认知资源和经济资源在公众支付决策中的重要性。研究表明:认知资源的作用十分明显,且随着公众对暴雨灾害风险感知、防御措施了解程度、防御制度认可程度的提高,公众支付意愿越强。而暴雨灾害风险感知又受到灾害趋势认知和经历的共同影响,这两个变量分别影响风险感知的广度和深度,但受教育程度对风险感知深度的影响并不显著。核心建议是从满足公众对城市暴雨灾害风险、防御措施、灾害趋势等知识的需求,政府应该加强暴雨灾害科普宣传的主动性、提升主管和协同部门的公信力;规范科普知识内容、拓宽科普渠道。     

Does Engagement in Advocacy Hurt the Credibility of Scientists? Results from a Randomized National Survey Experiment

It is often assumed that issue advocacy will compromise the credibility of scientists. We conducted a randomized controlled experiment to test public reactions to six different advocacy statements made by a scientist—ranging from a purely informational statement to an endorsement of specific policies. We found that perceived credibility of the communicating scientist was uniformly high in five of the six message conditions, suffering only when he advocated for a specific policy—building more nuclear power plants (although credibility did not suffer when advocating for a different specific policy—carbon dioxide limits at power plants). We also found no significant differences in trust in the broader climate science community between the six message conditions. Our results suggest that climate scientists who wish to engage in certain forms of advocacy have considerable latitude to do so without risking harm to their credibility, or the credibility of the scientific community.     

Insurance sector management of climate change adaptation in three Nordic countries: the influence of policy and market factors

The insurance industry is important for facilitating climate change adaptation. Insurance companies’ involvement is, however, influenced by national adaptation policy. The literature suggests that especially policy factors – government interventions, political priorities and public–private cooperation – and market factors – cost offset, cost mitigation, planning flexibility and business opportunities – shape private actor approaches. To increase the understanding of insurance company involvement in adaptation, this study examines how insurance companies’ approaches are influenced by policy and market factors in three countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The study found that the policy factors tested significantly shaped the approaches of the companies assessed, while market factors currently appear less influential. This is likely due to the absence of climate risk and adaptation in political debates and among insurance policyholders. The study discusses the potential role of the insurance industry in adaptation governance and suggests how barriers facing insurance companies could be overcome.     

Local governments in the driving seat? A comparative analysis of public and private responsibilities for adaptation to climate change in European and North-American cities

The division of responsibilities between public and private actors has become a key governance issue for adaptation to climate change in urban areas. This paper offers a systematic, comparative analysis of three empirical studies which analysed how and why responsibilities were divided between public and private actors for the governance of local urban climate adaptation. For 20 governance arrangements in European and North-American cities, the divisions of responsibilities and the underlying rationales of actors for those divisions were analysed and compared. Data were gathered through content analysis of over 100 policy documents, 97 in-depth interviews and 2 multi-stakeholder workshops. The comparative analysis reveals that local public authorities are the key actors, as they bear the majority of responsibilities for climate proofing their cities. In this stage of policy emergence, local authorities are clearly in the driving seat. It is envisaged that local public authorities need to more actively engage the different private actors such as citizens, civil society and businesses through governance networks along with the maturation of the policy field and the expected acceleration of climate impacts in the coming decades.     

Patronage and access to a legacy city farmers’ market: a case study of the relocation of the Flint,Michigan, market

This study examines the effects of relocating the Flint Farmers’ Market, a large and successful market in the medium-sized legacy city of Flint, Michigan. Over the course of a year, market patrons and vendors were surveyed to explore questions about the scale of the market, patron demographics, reasons for visiting the market, seasonal variations in outcomes, and healthy food access. The results indicate that the relocated, downtown market is successful in large part because it satisfies multiple needs – it provides access to fresh, local produce; it provides lunch options for downtown workers and students; and it serves as a community gathering space. The study further demonstrates that farmers’ markets in legacy cities can serve a large region, attract diverse customers, and remain sustainable year-round, even in northern climates. These findings should be of interest to planners, policy-makers, and market managers who are considering opening or relocating a farmers’ market as a means of supporting community health, well-being, and economic development.     

战略环境影响评价中公众参与方法研究与案例分析

公众参与有效性是衡量战略环境影响评价质量的一个重要指标,它对于提高环境管理水平具有重要的意义。本文在对比项目环境影响评价的基础上,系统阐述了战略环境影响评价公众参与的内容、对象、方式、时机、实施主体、数据处理及信息反馈,初步建立了战略环境影响评价公众参与的方法与体系,并结合典型案例进行了战略环境影响评价公众参与的过程分析。     

南四湖供用水管理机制的完善

南四湖的供用水管理尚存在诸多不完善之处,诸如供用水管理权限不清、用水纠纷、法治建设落后于实际需要、执法难等问题一直困扰着当地经济和社会的发展。采取完善法治、优化现有管理体制、改善行政执法条件等措施,将有利于完善南四湖供用水管理机制,有利于南四湖水资源的管理与利用,促进当地经济和社会的可持续发展。     

The evolution of municipal waste management in Europe: how different are national regimes?

The 1994 European Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste allowed a diversity of conceptions of waste management to be developed and tested in various countries. Such a diversity may raise drawbacks related to the achievement of the single market and the European law of competition. The paper describes the main differences in waste management regimes in five countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Greece. This comparative approach allows us, first, to identify four main variables in order to characterize policy regimes, explaining the degree of orientation of waste regimes to cost-effectiveness. Second, we will show that implementation has resulted, in each country, in learning, correction and self-regulation, thus reducing the initial divergences between national regimes. Hence, efficient harmonization of waste management regimes may be achieved unexpectedly in a soft way without passing stringent European directives. Moreover, if policy-makers were to adopt explicitly the option of experimenting with competing organizational and policy concepts, as an approach to European harmonization, it would reveal, by 2004, the cost-effectiveness of alternative solutions at a time when European policy has to be reconsidered. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

公众参与自然资源管理的实践模式——基于国内外典型案例的对比研究

在自然资源管理过程中引入公众参与是为了满足公众自身利益,提高决策的科学性,最终达到自然资源效率提升和可持续利用的双重目标。选取发达国家和发展中国家具有代表性的典型案例,进行对比分析;侧重于主导发起主体的不同,归纳出三种参与模式,进而对模式特点、模式间比较以及模式的整体演变过程进行阐析;以发展中国家中国为例,提出在中国实施公众参与自然资源的措施建议和路径导向。结论如下:①发达国家公众参与自然资源管理模式呈现出参与行为的法律化、参与主导的非政府化、参与意识的增强化和参与主体的广泛化特点,而发展中国家的参与模式则呈现出参与主导的政府化、参与意识的淡薄化和参与途径的单一化特点;②依据发起主体不同,公众参与自然资源管理的模式分为政府主导发起型参与、非政府主导发起型参与和公众自觉发起型参与,并按照参与认知水平的提升而不断演进;③在中国实施公众参与自然资源过程中,要提升公众参与认知水平,强化法律保障建设,转变主导发起者角色,拓宽参与途径,从而实现自然资源的可持续利用。