Summary Public diplomacy's scholarship and practice are evolving and seeking to adapt to the expanding interests, expectations, connectivity and mobility of the publics that have come to define the field in an organic fashion. The characteristic distinction between international and domestic publics as the key to defining the practice of public diplomacy is increasingly challenged by public audiences that are no longer constrained by such traditional delineations. The attention on the involvement of domestic publics in public diplomacy, or its domestic dimension, has to be understood within this context. This article aims to cast further light on public diplomacy's domestic dimension, with Canada and Australia — two countries that have much in common — as the launch pads for discussion. The article's first section investigates the approach and development of public diplomacy's domestic dimension in both countries and draws out the similarities and differences. The second section identifies the opportunities, challenges and tendencies in its practice as well as the conceptual implications. The article finds that while differences in approach remain, Canada and Australia have more in common than not when it comes to involving domestic audiences in international policy, especially in recent years. Their practice of public diplomacy's domestic dimension appears to be resilient and adaptive in nature, although it has been subject to fluctuations resulting from changes in the political climate, leadership styles and governmental preferences, and resource availability. Additionally, reconceptualizing public diplomacy with a domestic dimension and constructivist underpinnings opens the window on norms that are taken for granted in diplomacy and offers the potential for a more inclusive view and practice — a better fit for its time.
Ethiopia has experienced an impressive growth acceleration over the past decade. This was achieved on the back of an economic strategy emphasizing public infrastructure investment supported by heterodox macro-financial policies. This paper identifies the drivers of Ethiopia's recent growth episode and examines the extent to which they were typical or unique. It combines country-specific information with the results of a cross-country panel regression model. We find that Ethiopia's growth is explained well by factors correlating with growth in a broad range of countries in recent decades, including public infrastructure investment, restrained government consumption, and a conducive external environment. On the other hand, we argue that the policy mix that supported very high levels of public investment in Ethiopia was, to some extent, unique. Interestingly, macroeconomic imbalances due to this heterodox policy mix only moderately held back growth which helps explain why Ethiopia was able to grow so fast in spite of their presence: their negative effects were quantitatively much less important than the positive growth drivers they helped to achieve. The results suggest that "getting infrastructure right" may outweigh moderate shortcoming in the macro framework at early stages of development. We further relate this country-specific finding to the recent growth literature.
The current report compares Canadian provinces across three policy/program dimensions demonstrated to reduce alcohol-related problems among 15–24-year-olds. The dimensions, Legal Drinking Age, Server and Manager Training/Challenge and Refusal Programs, and Drinking and Driving, were assessed using specified indicators with provincial scores reflecting the percentage of the ideal attained. National means for each dimension were also calculated. Legal Drinking Age attained the highest national mean at 75% of the ideal; Server and Manager Training/Challenge and Refusal Programs achieved 61%; Drinking and Driving achieved 34% of the ideal. Results specify how provinces can increase prevention impact through evidence-based policy and program measures.
The most effective policy to address environmental externalities from vehicular fuel use is an appropriate fuel tax. Instead of raising fuel taxes, Canada's provincial and federal governments prefer to subsidize the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles and the accelerated retirement of old vehicles. Are these programs effective? Can they be improved? We argue that subsidies for hybrids and electric vehicles are not cost-effective and instead recommend building on Canada's brief and modest experience with "feebates." While British Columbia's pioneering accelerated vehicle retirement program is cost-effective, its success rests significantly on inducing participants to switch from personal vehicles to alternative transportation modes. Policy refinements will be needed to adapt the lessons learnt from this program to less favourable conditions elsewhere in Canada.
Umweltrechtliche Regulierung bedient sich - auch unter europarechtlichem Einfluss - verstärkt ökonomischer Instrumente. Im Bereich des Abfallrechts wurde in diesem Zusammenhang lange über die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen kommunaler Verpackungssteuern gestritten. In jüngerer Zeit sind kommunale Abfallgebühren in den Fokus der Aufmerksamkeit gerückt. Ihre Ausformung bewegt sich in einem Spannungsverhältnis allgemeiner gebührenrechtlicher Grundsätze (Kostendeckungsprinzip), verfassungsrechtlicher Prinzipien (Verhältnismäßigkeitsprinzip, Gleichheitsgrundsatz), landesgesetzlicher Vorgaben und kommunaler Satzungshoheit. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellt sich die Frage, inwieweit Abfallgebühren im Spannungsfeld dieser Vorschriften Vermeidungsanreize enthalten und hierdurch Bestandteil eines Abgabenregulierungsrechts werden können.
Poverty is not a neutral phenomenon, nor are social inclusion programmes neutrally conceived, designed and implemented.Their ultimate nature is built upon ideas, values, actors, politics and economic constraints.This topical book is one of the first to examine the social and political construction of anti-poverty programmes in Central Eastern Europe and their transformation from communist rule to the current economic crisis. It covers the approach towards the 'parasite' poor through to Guaranteed Minimum Income Schemes and illustrates how the distinction between different categories of 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor has evolved over the years as the result of changing paradigms, combined with the pressure exerted by domestic and international actors, the European Union and the World Bank among others. This text breaks new ground for social policy students and scholars interested in understanding how differently post-communist welfare states have represented, legitimised and dealt with poverty, need and social justice in accordance with divergent normative frameworks constructed at national level
Prior research considers the extent to which public assistance recipients' charitable activity differs from the habits of the general population. Although receiving public assistance is negatively associated with donating money, the relationship to volunteering is unclear. In response to challenges overcoming selection bias, we conducted a multivariate cluster‐based subgroup analysis to reduce bias in our claims about the ways in which public assistance receipt affects charitable activity. This innovative approach to dealing with the problem of selection bias has implications and applications across the social sciences.
This paper looks in detail at the impact of e-government change on public administration in the UK, particularly structures and processes associated with New Public Management (NPM) models. The authors describe the key characteristics of NPM change in the UK, and investigate the complexities of the relationship between public administrative regime change and achieving policy goals. They present four possible scenarios for change towards e-government models, focusing particularly on the transformational impact of e-government on existing NPM structures and processes in the UK. The paper draws on examples from abroad such as Australia and the US.