Linda Courtenay Botterill

Turtles all the way down: bounded rationality in an evidence-based age

Evidence-based policy-making (EBPM) has become both a catch-cry and aspiration of governments. Drawing on ‘the evidence’, governments seek to focus on ‘what works’ and so avoid the pitfalls of policy driven by ideology or values. Critics of EBPM remind us that the policy process remains messy and uncertain and that while research may deliver the latest scientific evidence, it is not always translated effectively into policy. We argue that the problems with EBPM run much deeper. This is not only because of the way in which knowledge is employed by policy-makers but because of the way in which knowledge is collected and communicated to policy-makers. It is well understood that policy actors are boundedly rational and this impacts upon the way in which evidence is used in the policy process. What has not been clearly articulated and is the focus of this article is that bounded rationality applies equally to the production of evidence. Drawing on the work of Polish microbiologist Ludwick Fleck we discuss how the process of systematically collecting and communicating evidence can undermine the aspirations of EPBM. We illustrate this argument with reference to recent policy debates about obesity.

The Multiple Meanings of 'Resilience': An Overview of the Literature

‘resilience is in danger of becoming a vacuous buzzword from overuse and ambiguity’ (Rose 2007: 384) ‘Resilience’ is widely used in public policy debate in Australia in contexts as diverse as drought policy, mental fitness in the Australian Defence Force, and in discussion around the Australian economys performance during the global financial crisis. The following paper provides an overview of the use of the term ‘resilience’ in the academic literature in both the natural and social sciences. The key conclusion from this research is that the term is highly ambiguous, it is used for different purposes in different contexts and in some cases the understandings of the term are diametrically opposed. The malleability of the term suggests that it might be politically risky if employed in policy debate unless clearly defined in each instance.

Drought triggers and declarations: science and policy considerations for drought risk management

This paper explores the value of triggers and declarations in the management of drought, bringing together two disciplinary perspectives, those of the public policy scholar and the climate scientist. These two perspectives highlight the complexity of the development and use of triggers in drought risk management by drawing on the experience of the United States, which has the most sophisticated system of drought triggers in the world, and that of Australia that has the most developed and longest standing national drought policy based on principles of risk management. The paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of triggers in managing drought, concluding that triggers are useful risk management tools at the individual level but become problematic and can lead to perverse outcomes when linked to some forms of government support programs.

Signs of Countrymindedness: A Survey of Attitudes to Rural Industries and People

Some political scientists have argued that ‘countrymindedness’, a set of tenets about the importance of agriculture and rural life, is of decreasing political and social importance. There has been little empirical research to test this, so the authors conducted an exploratory survey of attitudes to rural industries and people. The results reveal that there are some differences in attitudes according to age, location, country of birth and voting intention, which fit with the ‘decline of countrymindedness’ thesis. Contrary to that, however, there is still a tendency to attribute stereotypical countryminded characteristics to rural people, strong support for farmers’ production methods, and very strong belief in the importance of agriculture to the future of the nation. Most surprisingly is that there is quite strong support for providing more government assistance to agriculture, at odds with the market liberalism of the last 30 years.

From Disaster Response to Risk Management

From disaster response to risk management , From disaster response to risk management , کتابخانه دیجیتال جندی شاپور اهواز

Responding to Farm Poverty in Australia

In May 2005, the Commonwealth announced changes to the eligibility criteria for a number of farm welfare payments which have resulted in farmers receiving such payments on more generous terms than other disadvantaged groups in the community. The changes passed largely unremarked by the media or political commentators. Farm welfare programs are developed independently of the general welfare safety net and are based on assumptions about the nature, extent and causes of farm poverty. No comprehensive empirical research has been conducted into farm poverty since the Henderson Inquiry of the 1970s. This paper discusses the issue of farm poverty in Australia and how it fits into the broader welfare debate, and proposes a way forward to develop more effective and equitable farm welfare programs.In May 2005, the Commonwealth announced changes to the eligibility criteria for a number of farm welfare payments which have resulted in farmers receiving such payments on more generous terms than ...

Rural Policy Assumptions and Policy Failure: The Case of the Re‐establishment Grant

For 30 years successive Commonwealth governments have offered grants to encourage marginal farmers to quit farming. The grants have increased in generosity over time but there has only ever been a limited uptake of the program. This paper considers the assumptions policy-makers have made about farmers’ behaviour in formulating these programs and compares these with sociological evidence about farmers’ incentive structures. This case study provides an example of how the failure to take account of a sufficiently broad range of values when formulating policy can undermine policy objectives from the outset.

Government Responses to Farm Poverty: The policy development process

Over recent years, the issue of farm poverty has been addressed by Government through a number of schemes, including the Drought Relief Payment, the Farm Household Support Scheme and, more recently, the Farm Family Restart program. The effectiveness of these types of programs can be influenced by the nature of the policy development process which led to their creation. This paper will examine the policy development process in the area of farm income support, and discuss how the solutions to particular policy difficulties are shaped by the structures and processes of Government and the broader policy community, comprising farm representatives and other interested lobby groups.

Wheat Marketing in Transition

Preface 1. Introduction 2. Australian Wheat Industry Policy in Context 3. The Birth of Collective Wheat Marketing 4. From Orderly Marketing to Deregulation 1948-1988 5. From Domestic Deregulation to Privatisation 6. The Monopoly Wheat Exporter and the Dictator 7. The Aftermath of Oil-for-Food and the Death of an Institution 8. Lessons and Reflections Index

Engaging with private sector standards: a case study of GLOBALG.A.P.

There is now a fairly substantial literature on private global business regulation which focuses on the rise of non-governmental and private regulatory systems alongside traditional state-based systems. These private systems cross national borders and impact on international trade which, in the intergovernmental realm, is governed by the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In this article, the authors argue that while in principle private global regulatory trade regimes do not fall under WTO jurisdiction, in practice they are difficult to keep separate. They therefore have the potential to become a concern within the WTO, not only in legal terms, but also from a political perspective because private global regulatory schemes may (re)introduce the distortions into international trade that WTO rules sought to remove. In some cases, a hybridisation of standards occurs as private standards are recognised by public regulatory structures. National governments may find themselves squeezed between their international obligations and the pressures of their citizens, either to respond to consumer concerns themselves and risk being in conflict with their international obligations or to respond to producers seeking action against ‘private red tape’ which is nominally beyond the scope of the WTO. The article takes as its case study an international business-to-business agri-food standards body, GLOBALG.A.P., and explores the issues that arise for global trade governance from the growth in private regulation.