VALORAÇÃO DE ATIVOS E MULTAS AMBIENTAIS: ANÁLISE SIMULADA DE EMPREENDIMENTOS HOTELEIROS EM ÁREAS PROTEGIDAS

O crescimento desordenado e a ausência de políticas públicas mais eficientes levaram a uma diversificação quanto ao uso dos recursos naturais, principalmente no que se refere à água para o saneamento básico. O marco regulatório estabelecido na década de 1980 registrou as políticas públicas para o meio ambiente, que trouxeram avanços sobre o tema, desencadeando uma série de ações voltadas tanto para a estrutura burocrática e da prevenção, quanto solução para os problemas de degradação e esgotamento dos recursos naturais. Com o advento das leis específicas de proteção aos mananciais e mediante a lei 13.579/09 do Estado de São Paulo que trata sobre a área da Billings, percebeu-se um avanço na questão do gerenciamento para proteção e desenvolvimento de acordo com as características da região. Instrumentos de políticas públicas para conter as ações referentes aos danos causados ao meio ambiente, como a lei contra crimes ambientais foram às ações práticas do Estado para conter tais ações. O Objetivo desta pesquisa é analisar as possíveis discrepâncias entre as penalidades financeiras aplicadas na ocorrência das infrações ambientais e os modelos de valoração dos ativos ambientais, utilizando a simulação de implantação de um hotel em áreas de proteção e recuperação de manancial no Município de São Bernardo do Campo no Estado de São Paulo. O desenvolvimento da pesquisa se baseou no método de custo de reposição (MCR) para dimensionar os possíveis impactos gerados por um empreendimento hoteleiro e seu respectivo valor econômico. Posteriormente, os impactos ambientais foram relacionados com a legislação do município para determinar os valores das possíveis penalidades aplicáveis ao dano causado. Dentre os resultados levantados, verificou-se uma significativa discrepância entre a valoração econômica e as multas aplicáveis, sendo que nos impactos referentes a impermeabilidade do solo e contaminação do lençol freático, com diferenças superiores em relação às penalidades de R$ 804.922,78 e R$ 453.333,33 respectivamente. A partir da metodologia aplicada na pesquisa, observou-se que as penalidades incidentes em casos de danos ao meio ambiente, muitas vezes não atinge o objetivo, que é inibir a ação do infrator, pois o real custo econômico não é medido na aplicação do valor da multa.

Standing in front of bulldozers? Explaining policy stability in land use planning

Policy towards planning presents scholars of politics and public policy with a significant puzzle. Since 1947, there has been a surprising level of stability in the system used to plan the use of land. On the other hand, there has been growing evidence that insufficient land has been released for development. The paper considers the question why, in spite of the planning system demonstrably failing to allocate sufficient land, fundamental reform of the system has not been achieved. In answering the question, the paper considers in particular attempts at reform under the Labour governments from 1997 to 2010. It argues that there is an interplay of interests, ideas and institutions: public attitudes, the interests of certain sections of the population, and institutions which are responsive to these attitudes and interests combined to stymie policy reform. As a consequence, radical reform was not achieved, and the paper concludes that attempt to find a technical “fix” to the planning system are unlikely to succeed. A diagnosis recognising the political and distributive nature of the problem will be required.

Understanding policy convergence in Britain and Germany: towards a framework for analysis

This introduction considers reasons why public policies might be expected to converge between Britain and Germany, arguing that the inter-related forces of globalisation, Europeanisation, policy transfer (in various guises) and the election of centre-left governance in 1997 and 1998 could be expected to lead to such convergence. It then outlines important reasons why such convergence may not occur, due to the radically different institutional settings, as well as 'path dependence' and the resilience of established institutions all playing a role in continuing divergence in a number of important areas of public policy.

Exploring innovation in policy-making within central government:the case of the UK's Highways Agency

The first and main contribution of this article is its access to the decision-making processes which drive innovation in policy-making within central government. The article will present a detailed case history of how the innovation came about and conclude by highlighting analytic possibilities for future research. The policy in focus is the UK’s Traffic Management Act 2004, which passed responsibility for managing incidents on major roads from the police to the Highways Agency (HA), and has been interpreted as a world first in traffic management. The article tracks the Traffic Management Act 2004 from problem identification to a preliminary evaluation. It is then suggested that future research could explain organizational change more theoretically. By taking a longitudinal and multi-level approach, the research falls into a processual account of organizational change. The second contribution of the article is to highlight two novel ways in which this approach is being applied to policy-making, through an institutional processualist research programme on public management reform and empirical investigations using complex systems to explain policy change.

Professionals, discretion and public sector reform in the UK:re-visiting Lipsky

Purpose – Seeks to examine how far Michael Lipsky's theory of discretion as it relates to public sector professionals as “street-level bureaucrats” is still applicable in the light of public sector reform and in particular the introduction of increased managerial control over professionals. Design/methodology/approach – The main thesis in Lipsky's work, Street-Level Bureaucracy, that street-level bureaucrats devise their own rules and procedures to deal with the dilemmas of policy implementation is linked to public sector reform over the past 25 years or so. The article differentiates between three forms of discretion, rule, task and value and assesses the extent to which these different forms of discretion have been compromised by reform. Examples are drawn principally from the literature on school teachers and social workers Findings – The findings suggest that the rule-making (hence bureaucratic) capacity of professionals at street-level is much less influential than before although it is questionable whether or not the greater accountability of professionals to management and clarity of the targets and objectives of organisations delivering public policy has liberated them from the dilemmas of street-level bureaucracy. Research limitations/implications – The work has focussed on the UK and in particular on two professions. However, it may be applied to any country which has undergone public sector reform and in particular where “new public management” processes and procedures have been implemented. There is scope for in-depth studies of a range of occupations, professional and otherwise in the UK and elsewhere. Practical implications – Policy makers and managers should consider how far the positive aspects of facilitating discretion in the workplace by reducing the need for “rule-making” to cope with dilemmas have been outweighed by increased levels of bureaucracy and the “de-skilling” of professionals. Originality/value – Lipsky's much cited and influential work is evaluated in the light of public sector reform some 25 years since it was published. The three forms of discretion identified offer the scope for their systematic application to the workplace.

Public administration in an age of austerity:the future of the discipline

Reflecting changes in the nature of governance, some have questioned whether Public Administration is now an historical anachronism. While a legitimate debate exists between sceptics and optimists, this special issue demonstrates grounds for optimism by indicating the continuing diversity and adaptability of the field of Public Administration. In this introduction, we first sketch the variety of intellectual traditions which comprise the field of modern Public Administration. We then consider institutional challenges facing the subject given considerable pressures towards disciplinary fragmentation, and ideological challenges arising from a new distrust of public provision in the UK. Despite these challenges, Public Administration continues to provide a framework to analyse the practice of government and governance, governing institutions and traditions, and their wider sociological context. It can also directly inform policy reform - even if this endeavour can have its own pitfalls and pratfalls for the 'engaged' academic. We further suggest that, rather than lacking theoretical rigour, new approaches are developing that recognise the structural and political nature of the determinants of public administration. Finally, we highlight the richness of modern comparative work in Public Administration. Researchers can usefully look beyond the Atlantic relationship for theoretical enhancement and also consider more seriously the recursive and complex nature of international pressures on public administration. © The Author(s) 2012 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

The role of experts in policy making

As public policy issues increasingly have a technical aspect to them an interactive relationship has developed between science and policy. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the two aspects of this relationship: the influence of science on policy and the influence of policy implications on science. Most existing studies in this area treat only one or other of these aspects. Furthermore, they tend to provide interesting case study material but very little theoretical analysis. This thesis attempts to overcome these problems by dealing with both aspects of the interaction between science and policy and by providing theoretical models of this relationship. The thesis combines the theoretical development of these models with the analysis of three empirical case studies: the controversy in Britain over smoking and health; the application of educational psychology to the development of education policy in Britain; the controversy over the health effect of lead in the environment. The theoretical models are developed in Part 1. In Part 2 the empirical case studies are presented and in Part 3 the theoretical material is assessed in the light of these case studies. The main thesis of this study is that there is a fundamental mismatch between science and policy-making. Criticism is always essential in science. However, when science is involved in the policy process, either scientific claims are not subjected to a significant level of criticism or they are scrutinized so closely that no view achieves general consensus and conflicting advice results. In this situation, contrary to the traditional view, science can generate uncertainty. The role which science plays in the policy process is influenced by this level of criticism, by the context of political power and by the progress of an issue through the various stages of the policy process.

Promoting competitive markets:the role of public procurement

The study presented here examines how public procurement agencies address establishing and maintaining competitive markets; a topic still in its academic infancy. Cases are used to address impediments and improve understanding of strategic priorities in managing for competitive markets. Public policy academics have observed many competing policies in the wider public sector. Specifically, this paper identifies a need for research on supplier incentives at a market level, on the post contract management of suppliers and as an important sub-set, key supplier relationship management, along with professional development.

Regional policy variation in Germany:the diversity of living conditions in a 'unitary federal state'

The German federal system is conventionally understood as highly co-ordinated between federal and regional governments and aimed at producing a 'uniformity' of living conditions. This view has increasingly been challenged as new work focuses on innovation and diversity at the regional level, and also as a consequence of reforms to the federal system that took place in 2006. This contribution attempts to establish a more systematic basis for assessing and explaining the scope and significance of regional policy variation in Germany. Our findings suggest that - despite institutional structures that foster intense co-ordination between central and regional governments and apparent popular preferences for uniformity of policy outcomes - the extent of policy variation in Germany is much greater than conventionally understood and driven both by structural factors and partisan choices at the regional level. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.

Policy on the hoof:the handling of the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001

The foot and mouth disease (FMD) epidemic of 2001 was a disaster for sections of the agricultural industry, a number of businesses and for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF), which met its demise as a government department during the crisis, being replaced by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). There were some 2,030 confirmed cases and over four million animals slaughtered. It caused the postponement of local elections and of a general election. From a public policy perspective it raised questions about contingency planning, the adjustment of policy to take account of change and how to manage a crisis. This article focuses on the background to the crisis and how it was handled.

Pre-adoption market reaction to IFRS 9:a cross-country event-study

We are the first to examine the market reaction to 13 announcement dates related to IFRS 9 for over 5400 European listed firms. We find an overall positive reaction to the introduction of IFRS 9. The regulation is particularly beneficial to shareholders of firms in countries with weaker rule of law and a smaller divergence between local GAAP and IAS 39. Bootstrap simulations rule out the possibility that sampling error or data mining are driving our findings. Our main findings are also robust to confounding events and the extent of the media coverage for each event. These results suggest that investors perceive the new regulation as shareholder-wealth enhancing and support the view that stronger comparability across accounting standards of European firms is beneficial to international investors and outweighs the costs of poorer firm-specific information.