Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies最新文献

{"title":"Novel virus, novel response: Local discretion and responses to COVID-19 in Hebei Province, China","authors":"Hong Gao,&nbsp;Adam Tyson,&nbsp;Guangxin Cheng","doi":"10.1002/app5.342","DOIUrl":"10.1002/app5.342","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Chinese Communist Party is consolidating one party rule under the leadership of Xi Jinping. Beijing seeks to rule by central mandate while limiting local autonomy. The central government response to the COVID-19 public health emergency reinforces this view. In January 2020 Beijing established the Central Epidemic Response Leading Group to mobilise a comprehensive nationwide policy effort to contain the virus. The exceptional nature of the COVID-19 national emergency allows the central government to project power over local authorities and leverage over citizens, but we argue that this is a short-term phenomenon because local disease control initiatives remain important, with local authorities adapting national policies to meet constituent needs. There are degrees of policy discretion and divergence at the subnational level that enable context-specific responses to the virus within China’s strict bureaucratic hierarchy. Primary data derives from interviews and observations in Nancun village, Hebei Province, conducted from January to April 2020. Evidence from Nancun explains how local authorities interpret the edicts and mandates of the central government.</p>","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"9 1","pages":"5-22"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2022-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/app5.342","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48915341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Governance networks in the delivery of public healthcare services in the Pacific: Implementation of the Bougainville Healthy Communities Programme","authors":"Lhawang Ugyel","doi":"10.1002/app5.340","DOIUrl":"10.1002/app5.340","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Networks play a vital role in the delivery of public services, especially in countries where governments are constrained by capacity and funds. This study develops a framework of governance networks based on two dimensions: at the national and community levels, and within the governmental and non-governmental sectors. Based on the framework, this article analyses the governance networks of the Bougainville Healthy Communities Programme (BHCP) and their nature of integration and collaboration. BHCP mainly operates as a public healthcare advocacy program in Bougainville, an underdeveloped autonomous region of Papua New Guinea. BHCP’s success reveals that the nature of interaction among the various actors is key to making governance networks work. Its experience demonstrates that governance networks are important in the effective delivery of services, particularly in countries where the governments face financial and human resources shortages.</p>","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"9 1","pages":"23-38"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-12-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/app5.340","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45311006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Finteching remittances in paradise: A path to sustainable development","authors":"Hongjoo Hahm,&nbsp;Tientip Subhanij,&nbsp;Rui Almeida","doi":"10.1002/app5.341","DOIUrl":"10.1002/app5.341","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The costs of sending remittances to Pacific small island developing states (SIDS) are among the highest in the world. Tackling this issue is crucial not only for economic and social development, but also for improving financial inclusion. This article analyses fintech adoption in remittance services, namely the adoption of alternative payment methods in transferring money by using the internet or mobile phones, in the Pacific. It introduces an original framework to assess the current landscape of fintech in the remittance sector and draws tailored policy recommendations. The framework is conceptualised through a ladder with five rungs: availability, accessibility, awareness, literacy and trust. Based on the ladder analysis, the authors observe the lack of basic digital infrastructure and digital platforms in many Pacific SIDS. Where the technological landscape is better developed, fintech services have established strong footholds, but there is a need for greater awareness to broaden its appeal and customer base. The benefits of fintech platforms are high, especially in the context of lower remittance costs which constitute an unduly large share of GDP in Pacific SIDS. The basic infrastructure needed to develop fintech services are equally important for the overall sustainable development of Pacific SIDS. The article observes fintech services in the Pacific are a means for financial inclusion of the unbanked, that can accelerate the economic and social development of the SIDS, and countries in the Pacific region are at different stages in their readiness for fintech adoption.</p>","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"8 3","pages":"435-453"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/app5.341","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47671165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The politics of undermining national fee-free education policy: Insights from Papua New Guinea","authors":"Grant W. Walton,&nbsp;Husnia Hushang","doi":"10.1002/app5.339","DOIUrl":"10.1002/app5.339","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Around the world, policymakers have found it difficult to sustain fee-free education policies. This article shows how politicians can significantly undermine national fee-free education policies by redirecting resources to subnational administrations, where funds can be used to shore up political support. To do so it examines changes to political support towards Papua New Guinea’s longest running fee-free education policy. The Tuition Fee Free (TFF) policy was introduced in 2012 under the government of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill before the policy was abolished, and the subsidy supporting it reduced, in 2019 by a new government led by Prime Minister James Marape. Following the introduction of the TFF policy in 2012, national politicians empowered subnational governments to control TFF subsidies, while education and other funding had started to flow to newly created district administrations. This paved the way for politicians to maintain fee-free education policy in some subnational administrations when the Marape government cut the TFF subsidy. This article suggests that in Papua New Guinea, as in some other developing countries, politicians are incentivised to administer fee-free education policies at subnational rather than national administrative scales. Sustaining universal fee-free education policies will require changing these incentives.</p>","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"8 3","pages":"401-419"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/app5.339","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45795804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What parliamentarians think about Australia's post-COVID-19 aid program: The emerging ‘cautious consensus’ in Australian aid","authors":"Benjamin Day,&nbsp;Tamas Wells","doi":"10.1002/app5.338","DOIUrl":"10.1002/app5.338","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian Government has been ambiguous in the way it has communicated the aid budget. On some occasions, it has sought to downplay increases in aid spending, while at other times it has sought to downplay cuts to aid spending. We draw on interviews with federal parliamentarians and key informants to understand these dynamics, in the context of obtaining their views on changes to Australia's post-COVID-19 aid policy. We find evidence that a new political consensus is forming around Australian aid. While this ‘cautious consensus’ countenances aid spending increases, motivated in part by humanitarian concerns but especially by anxiety about increasing Chinese influence in the region, these priorities are tempered by considerable concern about public backlash at a time of significant economic challenges for Australian citizens. Based on this evidence, we define the contours of an emerging ‘cautious consensus’ by showing how it will differ from the earlier ‘golden consensus’ era of Australian aid.</p>","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"8 3","pages":"384-400"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/3a/8b/APP5-8-384.PMC8653146.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39809662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nationalism and economic openness: The cross-country evidence","authors":"Robert Breunig,&nbsp;Vishesh Agarwal,&nbsp;Sadia Arfin,&nbsp;Samuel Weldeegzie,&nbsp;Tong Zhang","doi":"10.1002/app5.337","DOIUrl":"10.1002/app5.337","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Using cross-country data, we find little evidence that economic openness has an impact on the level of nationalism in countries. We use three waves of the World Values Survey from 1999 through 2014 combined with data on economic openness from the Penn World Tables. Across all three waves, we find no statistically significant relationship between economic openness and nationalism. However, there is evidence for a negative association between economic openness and nationalism from 2001 to 2007 and a positive association between 2007 and 2014. This corresponds to the rising nationalistic and anti-trade sentiment evident throughout the world despite the general trend of increasing economic openness.</p>","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"8 3","pages":"420-434"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/app5.337","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42852554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Timor-Leste economic survey: The end of petroleum income","authors":"Charles Scheiner","doi":"10.1002/app5.333","DOIUrl":"10.1002/app5.333","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As Timor-Leste nears the end of its petroleum-exporting era, the transition to a sustainable economy has become even more challenging due to partisan political competition, disastrous flooding and the pandemic. This article describes the current economic context, and deteriorating trends. After a brief discussion of the political situation and the impacts of COVID-19, it explores expenditure and income trends in recent state budgets, with a particular focus on dependency on oil and gas revenues and their investments, which pay for 80% of state spending and may run out within a decade. It then assesses in detail revenue prospects from current and future oil and gas activities, including Greater Sunrise and the planned Tasi Mane petroleum infrastructure project. The analysis shows that it is highly likely that resource revenue will continue to decline. Diversification is not an option; it is the only way forward.</p>","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"8 2","pages":"253-279"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/app5.333","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41471655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Foreword to Special Issue: Malaria elimination in the Asia-Pacific","authors":"Dr Sarthak Das","doi":"10.1002/app5.336","DOIUrl":"10.1002/app5.336","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;The path to malaria elimination in the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing 21 countries spanning from Afghanistan to Vanuatu, is at an unprecedented crossroad. To be certain, there has been remarkable progress over the past decade. Countries such as Sri Lanka and China have been certified as having eliminated malaria; Malaysia, Bhutan and Timor-Leste are on the cusp of elimination with zero to very few indigenous cases reported in the past 2 to 3 years. The Greater Mekong Subregion has achieved dramatic success: Cambodia has reported zero deaths since 2018 while there has been a reduction of 60%–90% of &lt;i&gt;P. falciparum&lt;/i&gt; malaria cases across the subregion from 2020 to 2021, despite COVID-19 disruptions (World Health Organization, &lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;).At the same time, with the 2030 goal of elimination committed to by 21 Heads of State firmly before us, there remains much work to be done in the decade ahead. Together, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea account for over 80% of the total region's malaria burden (World Health Organization, &lt;span&gt;2020&lt;/span&gt;). Indeed, there are several key challenges ahead.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Many of the highest pockets of endemicity are in the hardest-to-reach communities. Surveillance remains a high order of priority in need of strengthening particularly in rural and remote areas. While remarkable progress has been made with regards to &lt;i&gt;P. falciparum&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;P. vivax&lt;/i&gt; continues to present considerable challenges in terms of case management and treatment. Policy reform in areas such as making malaria a notifiable disease still needs robust advocacy efforts. In an era of diminishing resources, malaria elimination efforts increasingly need ways to maximise the long-term benefit of donor funding while increasing domestic resources for malaria and health systems strengthening in the long term.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This special issue entitled &lt;i&gt;Malaria elimination in the Asia-Pacific&lt;/i&gt; provides critical evidence in many of the areas outlined above, such as reaching hard-to-reach populations, the adequate treatment of &lt;i&gt;P. vivax&lt;/i&gt;, examining donor support and policy reform. Wangdi et al. (&lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;) emphasise the importance of ensuring access to effective interventions for patients at risk in border or forested areas through, for example, mobile clinics, screening posts and village volunteers. Burkot and Gilbert (&lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;) offer a country perspective from the Solomon Islands on the impact of foreign aid on malaria elimination efforts with recommendations for future priorities on the integration of malaria services within the general health system. Ruwanpura et al. (&lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;) summarise the missing gaps in data that can help inform a safer and more effective radical cure for &lt;i&gt;P. vivax&lt;/i&gt; malaria, including for example on the cost-effectiveness of novel treatment options. Finally, Lamy et al. (&lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;) explain why making malaria a notifiable disease is an essential policy milestone for coun","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"8 2","pages":"171-172"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/app5.336","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44593005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The politics of funding universal healthcare: Diverting local tobacco taxes to subsidise the national health scheme in Indonesia","authors":"Abdillah Ahsan,&nbsp;Elisabeth Kramer,&nbsp;Nadhila Adani,&nbsp;Askar Muhammad,&nbsp;Nadira Amalia","doi":"10.1002/app5.334","DOIUrl":"10.1002/app5.334","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In Indonesia, the national universal health coverage scheme (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional [JKN]) has consistently overspent against its budget since it was introduced in 2014. In 2017, a new regulation diverted 37.5% of tobacco tax revenue collected at the district and city level to the central government in order to increase government contributions to the JKN. Through a review of policy documents and interviews and focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders, this article explores the history of the JKN and its relationship to local tobacco taxes. Offering an ex-post assessment of the policy and its implementation, we find it negative on three fronts: funding for local anti-smoking initiatives and services was cut, the procedures for implementing the policy were complex and time-consuming, and it did not contribute as much as anticipated to the JKN. These findings underscore potential pitfalls of politically motivated policy that fails to consider implementation and impact. We recommend that the policy be revoked, and local tobacco tax revenue reallocated to its initial purpose, which includes promoting local smoking prevention programs and health service delivery.</p>","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"8 3","pages":"351-366"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/app5.334","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46808284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Malaria elimination in the Asia-Pacific: Going the last mile","authors":"Vivian Lin,&nbsp;Tikki Pangestu","doi":"10.1002/app5.335","DOIUrl":"10.1002/app5.335","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;There has been good progress in the bid to eliminate malaria from the Asia-Pacific region by 2030. Malaria elimination has been certified by the World Health Organization in Sri Lanka and China, is expected to be certified in Malaysia, and is within reach in Bhutan and Timor-Leste. The countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion have also made good progress and reached many milestones of success. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened derailment of these impressive gains as countries in the region divert their attention and resources to combating the pandemic.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Much of the success in malaria control can be attributed to the vertical nature of the malaria program both at the global level and national level. That is, a program with clear objectives, quantifiable targets, focused on a single condition, and implemented with centralised management and dedicated means (staff, funds, etc). The last mile to elimination, however, is posing new challenges and new approaches are needed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;First, we need to tackle the challenge of reaching the hardest to reach communities. For example, those living in remote, rural areas, ethnic minorities and other marginalised sections of the population tend to have access difficulties and therefore the most limited contact with health services, lower levels of education and health literacy, and suffer poorer health for many conditions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Second, we need to go beyond rolling out standard technical, vertical approaches and carry out a review of all demand- and supply-side factors. We need to understand better the social and cultural factors shaping health behaviours in communities, the role of community organisations and networks in providing trusted advice, and community perceptions of the health system. We need to reflect on shortfalls in current program implementation, including reviewing important policy barriers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Third, we need to mainstream public health services and integrate better with the rest of the health system in order to tackle the elimination task. This approach should emphasise integrated, people-centred services, delivered where people live. Primary health care is the pivotal point for individual and community services, where case identification and treatment can occur for individuals, health education can be done for patients and for the community, and population outreach and environmental interventions can be carried out.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Fourth, we need to keep our minds open to new innovations which can help us achieve the elimination goal, including the potentially important results of recent vaccine trials and new therapeutic agents.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Finally, and importantly, we need to sustain political will and commitment in the face of competing priorities and reduced resources as countries continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. In the initial period of the pandemic, many countries focused their scarce resources on COVID-19 services, even to the neglect of other health issues. With t","PeriodicalId":45839,"journal":{"name":"Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies","volume":"8 2","pages":"173-175"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2021-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/app5.335","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"51144921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}