What types of public policy promote greater happiness among citizens? Many governments justify pro-market policies on the basis of offering their citizens ‘choice and control’. Today’s post by Patrick Flavin, Alexander C. Pacek and Benjamin Radcliff presents results from an analysis of survey data across 21 industrialised democracies between 1981 and 2007. They find that in countries where governments intervene more frequently in the economy, insulating citizens from market fluctuations, there is a higher degree of self-reported happiness among citizens. While the authors note that these findings cannot strictly be taken as evidence that social democratic policies are better in a normative sense overall, the results suggest that more research is needed on the impact of a country’s political context on the happiness of its citizens. This article was originally published on the LSE EUROPP - European Politics and Policy – blog.
Read MoreImplementation of almost any policy now requires actions and engagement across multiple organisational domains with government, public, private and community partners. In today's post, Gemma Carey, Helen Dickinson and Sue Olney look to feminist theory for new ideas on how policy actors can navigate and influence the dynamic and increasingly complex policy implementation environment.
Read MoreWhen our politicians frame the discussion around welfare users by using such language as "dole bludgers" it is a deliberate tactic to validate punishing them - as we have seen with the Centrelink debt debacle and the accusations by staff that a faulty system was deliberately implemented. In today's post, Paul Michael Garrett explains how language use frames public opinion in the U.K. in unhelpful ways. Have ideologically underpinned debates, portraying those on welfare as being lazy and having an easy life, become part of collective public perceptions? With 2016 marking the 40th anniversary of the publication of Raymond Williams’ Keywords, an interrogation of the taken-for-grantedness of specific words used to support a neoliberal agenda is timely. Here, he looks at ‘welfare dependency’. This blog originally appeared on the London School of Economics' British Politics and Policy blog; the original can be viewed here.
Read MoreDETOXING DEMOCRACY: Citizen deliberation is a powerful tool for legitimisation, but can it become institutionalised? Just as Yarra Valley Water consulted its community in a way that encouraged their close deliberation on the issues, agencies could cultivate councils of people reflective of community makeup for ongoing capacity to reflect community deliberation.
Read MoreIn recent years, think tanks have been beset by financial constraints, increased competition, and, more recently, a growing questioning of, and popular dissatisfaction with, the role of the ‘expert’ itself. Marcos Gonzalez Hernando, Diane Stone and Hartwig Pautz examine each of these challenges and find that, at a time of huge over-supply of (occasionally dubious) evidence and policy analysis from a variety of sources, think tanks have an opportunity to reinvent themselves as organisations able to discern the reliability and usefulness of policy advice.
Read MorePublic servants should at least be aware of the human rights treaties to which Australia is party and the obligations they entail, says Gillian Triggs — and many do want to know how to do their jobs better. David Donaldson writes for The Mandarin
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In 2008, for the first time in the history of the United States, more than 1% of the adult American adult population was incarcerated. The prison population had increased approximately sevenfold since 1970, the US imprisoned more types of criminal offenders than any other country, and it kept them in prison longer. Here Jo Luetjens reports on work with her ANZSOG colleague Prof Michael Mintrom on how design thinking drove the introduction of an investment approach in the US state of Kansas. Early results are promising, and many other states have since taken up this approach.
Read MoreIt might sound strange, but the tragic voyage of the second fleet, which killed 40% of the convicts on board, holds a lesson for contemporary governments about the consequences of perverse incentives. Here The Mandarin's David Donaldson reports on the work of ANZSOG scholars Gary Sturgess, George Argyrous and Sara Rahman.
Read MoreTomorrow is Human Rights Day. Each year the international community commemorates that day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Australia played a leading role in its development and reach. On its 68th anniversary, Patrick Emerton from the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law reminds us why human rights are more important than ever, and why governments must not forget their role.
Read MoreDistrust between government and citizens goes both ways, but deliberative democracy offers opportunities in this age of individualism. The convenors of SA’s citizens’ juries, Emily Jenke and Emma Lawson consider how government can recover the trust of citizens.
Read MoreDr John Butcher (ANZSOG Adjunct Research Fellow) recently addressed the Australian and New Zealand Third Sector Research Conference. His presentation offered expert reflections on the practical challenges of cross sector collaboration, and outlined the contribution of his recent open access ANZSOG/ANU Press book The Three Sector Solution: Delivering public policy in collaboration with not-for-profits and business.
Read MoreKirsty Nowlan, Executive Director, Social Policy and Advocacy at the Benevolent Society examines the major reforms being proposed for the NSW child protection system.
Read MoreIn this blog Simon Duffy explores the question of how to narrow the gap between public services (the official welfare state) and the community. He asks whether it is possible for use to develop a pro-community welfare state, one which works in harmony with its citizens, not against them.
Read MoreComplexity theorists often make bold claims about its potential to represent a scientific revolution that it will change the way we think about, and study, the natural and social world. In public policy. In this post, Paul Cairney and Robert Geyer talk about their new Handbook of Complexity and Public Policy, and how it suggests complexity can offer us new insights and normative tools to respond to a wicked world in novel and pragmatic ways.
Read MoreIt’s no longer enough for researchers to simply publish their findings. To have a real world impact on an issue like tobacco control, researchers need to work in partnership with policy makers, experts and the community, says Emily Banks from @SaxInstitute.
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Ageism, or the devaluing of older people, differently impacts on women due to the overlay of sexist attitudes on women’s worth. Additionally, lower-status employment and financial insecurity can create an environment whereby older women are particularly vulnerable to instances of elder abuse. Today’s Scorecard identifies key areas for an improved policy response.
Read MoreSpecialised health and human services have ‘credence attributes’ that make it difficult for users to discern the quality of care they receive. Thu-Trang Tran from the University of Melbourne argues that recent behavioural economic research and theories on the credence attributes of goods and services fundamentally challenge assumptions underpinning the Productivity Commission’s recommendations for the future of human services and add another layer of important considerations that must be factored into any design of market and regulatory reforms.
Read MoreIn today's video post, Professor Robyn Keast discusses what sets collaboration apart in the '5 Cs' of inter-organisational relationships - competition, cooperation, coordination, collaboration and consolidation. Her presentation builds on her post published on this blog in September: Think outside the 'Blue Box': Three reasons it matters for authentic collaboration.
Read MoreIn an environment of "post-truth politics" and hybrid governance, how can we ensure that those working in the public sector are trusted, equipped and encouraged to weigh up evidence, to negotiate consensus among different stakeholders and to design public policy and public services that promote the public good? Thu-Trang Tran, a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, explains why we should be looking for - and cultivating - wisdom in public administration.
Read MoreThe Attorney-General and Solicitor-General's office have been locked in a high stakes political battle over the provision of advice to the Federal Government. In this post, Jennifer Duxbury (@duxburyjen) at the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra, asks, what is the relationship between law and politics in our democracy? This post originally appeared on The Policy Space.
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