Does neighborhood matter? Assessing recent evidence

Abstract

This article synthesizes findings from a wide range of empirical research into how neighborhoods affect families and children. It lays out a conceptual framework for understanding how neighborhoods may affect people at different life stages. It then identifies methodological challenges, summarizes past research findings, and suggests priorities for future work.

Despite a growing body of evidence that neighborhood conditions play a role in shaping individual outcomes, serious methodological challenges remain that suggest some caution in interpreting this evidence. Moreover, no consensus emerges about which neighborhood characteristics affect which outcomes, or about what types of families may be most influenced by neighborhood conditions. Finally, existing studies provide little empirical evidence about the causal mechanisms through which neighborhood environment influences individual outcomes. To be useful to policy makers, future empirical research should tackle the critical question of how and for whom neighborhood matters.     

EU Counterterrorism and the European Neighbourhood Policy: An Appraisal of the Southern Dimension

Terrorists trained on European soil, but originating from the Middle East, attacked the world's only superpower on September 11, 2001. Countering this terrorist threat has become an increasingly significant part of European Foreign Policy. At the same time, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) has become an increasingly important dimension of European Foreign Policy. This article examines the extent to which counterterrorism has occupied a prominent place in the ENP, with a particular focus on the Southern Mediterranean ENP partners. The findings of this article suggest that, despite the commonly held view in the literature that security issues, in particular terrorism, have dominated the ENP agenda, counterterrorism cooperation between the European Union (EU) and its Southern Mediterranean ENP partners has not advanced as much as might have been expected.     

Preventive and Repressive Strategies to Limit the Number of Commercial Robberies in Denmark

In this article, the impact of preventive and repressive measures to limit the number of commercial robberies is evaluated. This is done by analysing national statistics, register data, police documents and interview material of inmates convicted for commercial robbery. Preventive measures are met by counterstrategies. The effect of the introduction of paint cartridges - after detonation the bills are rendered unusable because of paint damage - is documented. The effect is, however, not a longlasting one. Arrest is a crucial marker in the decision to continue or to desist from commercial robbery. The arrest rate is high. Most convicted commercial robbers have a tendency to continue with crime after arrest and completion of sentence, but only a few continue with commercial robbery. The empirical data do not allow for a definitive conclusion on whether it is the offender's perception of the probability of future arrests, or of the severity of their outcomes that is responsible for desisting from commercial robbery. Both factors presumably influence this decision, but perceptions concerning the likelihood of arrest are likely to be more important.     

Culture,Closeness, or Commerce? Policy Diffusion and Social Spending Dynamics

In a globalized world where trans‐ and supranational networks, communication and the exchange of information gain in importance, national political decision making processes do not occur independently from each other. Policy diffusion is assumed to become more and more relevant also for welfare state development. This paper explicitly focuses on the policy diffusion among 21 OECD countries in the period between 1980 and 2007 looking at social spending dynamics. The empirical findings of the spatial regressions clearly indicate that spatial patterns in social spending dynamics are driven by policy diffusion processes. In fact, economic interdependencies define the pathways of diffusion. Trading partners move in the same direction regarding social policy behavior. Surprisingly, cultural and geographical proximity are less relevant for the diffusion processes, at least in terms of social spending dynamics.     

Who Receives Media Attention in South Korea: Analysing Internal and External Pluralism in the News Coverage of Policy Debates

The mass media in democracies plays an important role in portraying key policy debates and viewpoints, ultimately shaping how citizens and political actors understand policy problems. How diverse are the policy perspectives represented in the news? Research in comparative political communication typically points to two ways through which pluralism is maintained in the news coverage of policy debates—internally and externally. Using 1,341 Dong-A and 1,205 Hankyoreh Daily front-page newspaper stories published in Korea in the year 2008, this article examines the circumstances under which internal and external pluralism in the news is limited in a democratic media system. Specifically, the article argues that a unique newsgathering process relying heavily on government sources for policy-relevant information, as well as relatively weak and unstable ties between news outlets and political/social organizations significantly restrict the diversity of voices appearing in the news in Korea. Such attention patterns offer a partial explanation for rapidly declining trust in print newspapers among the Korean public, and raise concerns about whose views are actually reflected in public policy debates in the news.     

Analysing Local Policy Agendas: How Dutch Municipal Executive Coalitions Allocate Attention

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of the allocation of attention to policy problems on the local level, focusing on the executive agenda of six municipalities in the Netherlands over a 25-year period. It reveals that there is specifically a local politics of attention, showing differences between national and local policy agendas in specific policy areas. We did not find evidence that the political composition of the local executive coalitions leads to agenda differences, revealing the more problem-oriented and pragmatic nature of local politics. We did find evidence of an effect of institutional arrangements between national and local government on shifting patterns of attention, such as due to decentralisation. This shows that the local politics of attention is limited in scope and conditioned by the functions of local government and the institutional arrangements of policy making in the Dutch decentralised unitary state and that rearrangements affect these patterns of attention.     

Taiwan's Quest for Independence: Progress on the Margins for Recognition of Statehood

This article describes many substantive transformations in politics, national self-identification, and economy Taiwan has undergone over the last decade and offers an alternative approach to expediting de jure state status. The transformations speak to significant progress ‘on the margins’ for attaining international recognition. The disjuncture between liberal democracies clinging to an antiquated ‘One-China’ foreign policy approach and the realties of the situation is widening. An alternative avenue to state recognition acknowledges advancements on the margins that justify Taiwan's recognition by others. At the same time, however, Taiwan must hold self-proclamation in abeyance until the breadth of recognition it receives becomes an irresistible force with which the PRC must reckon. The recent transformations coupled with mainland China's growing force projection capability indicate the time is ripe and appropriate to recognize Taiwan's statehood. The United States would be remiss in its avowed commitment and leadership responsibilities for democratic enlargement by not recognizing Taiwan.     

Networks in the Policy Process: An International Perspective

Abstract

This article (and more broadly this special issue) indicate that various types of policy networks, including governance networks, social networks, proto‐networks, and issue networks are defining the way that policy processes take place in various parts of the world. By focusing on network behavior in Africa, eastern Europe, and Denmark, it is clear that interorganizational cohesion, accesibility, trust generation, and “framing” issues are central to understanding network policy outcomes. Important implications regarding links between network characteristics and democracy are also suggested.     

新型现代农业区建设与城乡一体化

在中国的城乡一体化进程中,提出了缩小城乡差距,城市支持农村,让农民平等参与现代化进程共享现代化成果的目标。该文在分析了推进城乡一体化发展中面临的现代农业的发展空间、城市无地可种和农村腹地边缘化等问题的基础上,提出了基本农田驻城发展都市休闲农业区,发展国营农场壮大现代农业区,村办农场同家庭承包有机结合复兴传统农业区,营造城乡三元结构有序推进城乡一体化发展的政策建议。     

The Second Time as Tragedy? Welfare Reform under Thatcher and the Coalition

The welfare reforms of the Coalition government are marked by the legacy of Thatcherism. Social security reforms in the 1980s reshaped the system towards reliance on means‐tested benefits. Negative policy feedback created by the opacity and perverse effects of means‐testing has made these benefits an easy target for the Coalition, at least so far as working age people are concerned. Different policy feedbacks affect policy towards old age pensions. The government is locked into promoting private pensions, and is extending this commitment with automatic enrolment. To make private pensions pay, it has to reverse the slide to means‐testing. The implication is that the pronounced bias against the working poor and in favour of older people in Coalition policy is not simply a matter of electoral preferences: rather, it reflects the political effects of previous policy decisions.