Entrepreneurship in the Policy Process: Linking Behavior and Context through a Systematic Review of the Policy Entrepreneurship Literature

How do different policy environments influence the choice of policy entrepreneurship (PE) strategies? Using data collected from a systematic review of the PE literature, the authors identify subcomponents of the three streams of the policy process and empirically test the relationship between dominance of each stream and PE strategies. Findings show that when the political and policy streams dominate, policy entrepreneurs focus on policy formation and policy implementation strategies and not on problem identification and policy evaluation strategies. Surprisingly, there is no correlation between dominance of the problem stream and PE strategies. This should lead to the normative claim that PE is not necessarily a positive phenomenon. The article concludes with suggestions for future research.     

A Y-chromosome STR marker should be added to commercial multiplex STR kits

Abstract:  Autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) analysis has become highly relevant in the identification of victims from mass disasters and terrorist attacks. In such events, gender misidentification can be of grave consequences, yet the list reporting amelogenin amplification failure using STR multiplex kits continues to grow. Presented here are three such examples. In the first case, we present two male suspects who demonstrated amelogenin Y-deficient results using two commercial kit procedures. The presence of their Y chromosomes was proven by obtaining a Y-haplotype. The second case demonstrated a profile from a third male suspect where only the Y homolog of the XY pair was amplified. In events such as mass disasters or terrorist attacks, timely and reliable high throughput DNA typing results are essential. As the number of reported cases of amplification failure at the amelogenin gene continues to grow, we suggest that the incorporation of a better gender identification tool in commercial kits is crucial.     

Policy entrepreneurship in developing countries: A systematic review of the literature

What can be learned from two decades of studies on policy entrepreneurship in developing countries? Policy entrepreneurship is a rapidly evolving analytical concept. A growing number of studies exploring public policy in developing countries use policy entrepreneurship as an explanatory theoretical concept. However, a substantial part of this research relies on qualitative case study analysis, lacking a comprehensive overview of the concept of policy entrepreneurship. This paper conducts a systematic review of the literature on policy entrepreneurship in developing countries. A total of 47 papers addressing policy entrepreneurship in the developing world, published between 1993 and 2017, have been analysed. The purpose and contribution of this paper are to offer a clearer picture of policy entrepreneurship in the developing world by concentrating on two aspects. First, we describe the characteristics of the studies on policy entrepreneurship in the developing world. Second, we analyse such studies, identifying the lessons that can be drawn on the phenomenon of policy entrepreneurship in the developing world. We conclude with an agenda for future studies, examining new theoretical, methodological, and empirical opportunities to advance the understanding of policy entrepreneurship in developing countries.