Identifying tax-setting responses from local fiscal policy programs

Purpose: Municipalities play a crucial role in shaping local environments and opportunities for health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA), yet there is a lack of systematic, evidence-based assessment tools to guide and inform their efforts. By applying a standardised set of HEPA-aligned indicators, this research addresses a critical gap in understanding how local policies, infrastructure, and programmes contribute to the promotion of active lifestyles. Aim: To evaluate the current state of sports development within selected Latvian municipalities by applying a set of indicators aligned with the Health-Enhancing Physical Activity (HEPA) framework, with the purpose of identifying strengths, gaps, and opportunities to support evidence-based policy and programme improvements that promote physical activity and public health at the local level. Methods: The methodology included a self-designed sports statistics questionnaire development and the application of mathematical statistics, with data processing performed using SPSS software. To assess the development of sports in Latvian municipalities, it was essential to establish relevant statistical indicators. A sports statistics questionnaire was designed, incorporating key dimensions such as sports infrastructure, governance, and economic factors. This questionnaire was subsequently tested through a pilot study conducted in three municipalities: Liepāja, Ludza, and Saulkrasti. The study was conducted within the framework of the national research programme “Innovations, methodologies and recommendations for the development and management of the sports sector in Latvia” (IMRSportsLV) (VPP-IZM-Sports-2023/1-0001). Results: HEPA-aligned indicators are used to compare how well municipalities promote health-enhancing physical activity: presence of local physical activity policies, budget allocations for sports and HEPA initiatives, infrastructure, and environment, levels of participation in organised and informal physical activity, number of sports clubs and events, regular data collection on PA and sports, existence of local evaluation systems, use of data to guide policy. Conclusion: If these equity, health impact and monitoring, policy and programme data indicators are not measured, municipalities risk creating ineffective, inequitable, and unsustainable sports policies. Measuring these areas is essential to ensure that sports and physical activity benefit all segments of the population, contribute to public health goals, and are guided by real evidence rather than assumptions.

Pneumatic Artificial Muscle (PAM) is an attractive device to be used as an actuator for humanoid robots because of its high power-to-weight ratio and good flexibility. However, both the modeling and the controlling of PAM-driven robots are challenging due to the high nonlinearities of a PAM's air pressure dynamics and its mechanical structure. This paper focuses on applying Reinforcement Learning (RL) to the control of a PAM-driven robots without our knowledge of its model. We propose a new RL algorithm, Local Update Dynamic Policy Programming (LUDPP), as an extension of Dynamic Policy Programming (DPP). This algorithm exploits the nature of smooth policy update of DPP to considerably reduce the computational complexity in both time and space: at each iteration, this algorithm only updates the value function locally throughout the whole state-action space. We applied LUDPP to control one finger (2 DOFs with a 12-dimensional state-action space) of Shadow Dexterous Hand, a PAM-driven humanoid robot hand. Experimental results suggest that our method can achieve successful control of such a robot with a limited computational resource whereas other conventional value function based RL algorithms (DPP, LSPI) cannot.

This paper investigates whether the tenure in the mayoral office influences local fiscal policy. Utilizing data from Polish municipalities and employing a Regression Discontinuity Design focusing on close local elections, we identify the non-linear effects of a mayor’s tenure on fiscal outcomes. Our findings reveal that fiscal policies conducted by highly experienced mayors serving a third or higher term are associated with increased investment spending, higher levels of EU funding, and higher fiscal balances compared to policy of newly elected mayors. Notably, this effect is not observed among less experienced incumbent mayors serving their second term.

Guaranteed admission programs are a type of college access program that provide students who meet certain criteria (e.g., a minimum GPA) with guaranteed admission to one or more colleges. This paper studies guaranteed admission agreements between California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) and its local school district to evaluate if smaller scale, local guaranteed admission programs have comparable impacts on college enrollment rates to previously studied state-wide programs. Employing a regression discontinuity (RD) design around the program’s GPA cutoff conditional on students satisfying other program requirements, this paper finds that the program significantly increased enrollment at CSUSM and at any California State University (CSU) and increased (not significantly) the likelihood of students enrolling at four-year institutions compared to two-year alternatives. In addition, the program disproportionally affected students from underrepresented backgrounds (e.g., first-generation, nonwhite, and low-income backgrounds), suggesting that local guaranteed admission programs also have the potential to increase representation at four-year public institutions and encourage underrepresented students to enroll at higher-quality postsecondary institutions. KEYWORDS: Guaranteed Admission; College Enrollment; College Admissions; College Access; Higher Education; California State University; Education Policy; Local Policy

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are regarded as the key policy agenda for national, regional, and local government to combat climate change impacts and promote sustainable development. For example, in Perth and Peel metropolitan area, the capital city of Western Australia, there has been a shift of policy setting from that of a sprawling city to a denser city, while maintaining and promoting its ecosystem services and achieving sustainable city goals. Residential verge gardens have been widely adopted in recent years by communities and local governments in the Perth metropolitan area. This study reviews the motivations and drivers for the uptake of verge gardens in metropolitan suburbs and identifies potential policy responses. The City of Bayswater local government area was surveyed for this research. The study considers a mixed-methods approach, including site auditing and a questionnaire survey for local residents who have transformed their verges. A total of 534 verge gardens were audited on residential lots, and 166 valid questionnaire responses were received from residents. The site-audit of the verge gardens in Bayswater found that native vegetation is the dominant verge garden of choice, followed by the ornamental garden, with food production (plants/vegetables) seeming to be the least popular option. Regarding the motivations and drivers, the study has found that social (e.g., aesthetics, flowers, social interactions, and social mimicry), environmental (e.g., attracting wildlife and birds and environmental practice waterwise garden), and personal (easy maintenance) drivers are the primary motivators for residents to adopt verge gardens. Whilst the on-ground surveys were prior to COVID-19, the article includes how this topic could relate to pandemic-resilient urban spaces. As local governments look towards supporting the sustainable outcome goals, the observations of this study will be helpful for developing local government policy and community programs in the promotion and uptake of verge gardens in Australian cities.

State and local fiscal policy and growth at the border

During the last 20 years some keywords have been extensively used in international debate about local development policies: bottom-up approach, territoriality, policy integration, partnership, cooperation and negotiation among actors and interests. The use of these keywords hides a variety of cultural approaches, theories and practices; this means that we should study local development processes and policies analysing and deconstructing these theoretical approaches in specific situations and experiences. Within this framework, the article critically discuss local development policies involving “fragile” areas like those of the mountains in Lombardy. Reference will be made mainly to the results of a research-action activity on the integrated local development programmes (PISL) for the Objective 2 areas of the Region financed during the period of European structural funds programming 2000-2006.

Background: Vision loss due to chronic eye diseases remains a significant public health challenge. Early detection through screening programs may reduce the burden of vision loss. This study aimed to assess the detection rate of eye diseases (glaucoma, AMD, and diabetic retinopathy), including those newly detected during opportunistic screening and ophthalmological consultations within the local government health policy program "Good Vision for Mazovians" in Mazovia, Poland. Material and methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of medical data from the registry of the Ophthalmology Department of the Międzylesie Specialist Hospital in Warsaw, which implemented the local government preventive program "Good Vision for Mazovians. Data from 1812 individuals (aged 18-92 years) participating in the "Good Vision for Mazovians" preventive program were analyzed. Results: Most participants were female (59.7%), aged over 60, and took medications regularly (62.7%). Excluding subjects with prior diagnosis of eye conditions, the detection rate was 38 suspected cases (3.8%) of glaucoma cases, 84 suspected cases of AMD (4.6%), and 21 suspected cases of diabetic retinopathy (1.2%). Most participants had not visited an ophthalmologist in the past two years (58.6%), reported low or average knowledge of eye health, had difficulty accessing ophthalmology services in their region (57%), and identified long waiting times for appointments as the main barrier to care (83.5%). Conclusions: Opportunistic screening for eye diseases in populations with limited access to eye care should be considered as a method for detecting common causes of irreversible visual impairment, particularly AMD. Older adults and individuals without higher education appear to face the greatest barriers to accessing ophthalmology services and may benefit the most from targeted opportunistic screening initiatives.

Identifying Tax-Setting Responses from Local Fiscal Policy Programs

Previous research has found that there is no uniform budget constraint for local governments: politically favoured local governments receive additional funds and are subject to less fiscal discipline. If so, the fair distribution between beneficiaries and cost bearers of the local fiscal policy is not realised. The paper focuses on this phenomenon in the light of political clientelism. We conduct an analysis regarding the Hungarian local government system between 2006 and 2018 to capture the political patterns in local fiscal policy and central granting policy. Local governments in opposition were underfinanced in terms of discretionary and EU funds, and since 2012 they have also had limited access to credit markets to obtain additional funds. Favoured municipalities enjoy more funds and can deliver more projects to their citizens – at the expense of unfavoured ones. The latter struggle to establish a fair distribution of the burdens between beneficiary generations.

Abstract. This paper investigates the effects of local fiscal policy on the location decisions of 3,763 establishments that began operations in Maine between 1993 and 1995. Empirical results, estimated from Poisson and negative binomial regression models, indicate that businesses favor municipalities that spend high amounts on public goods and services, even when these expenditures are financed by an increase in local taxes. This suggests that a local fiscal policy of reduced government spending, to balance a tax cut, may attract fewer new businesses than a policy featuring additional spending and higher taxes.

Background. The use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarette) offers potential to facilitate cigarette smoking cessation, yet potentially increases risk of cigarette smoking initiation. This relationship has been primarily modeled in mathematical ways that often do not represent real-world complexities, which could inform decisions regarding local prevention programs or policies. Aims. To develop a model of cigarette and e-cigarette use that combines current research on tobacco use and incorporates real-world geographic and demographic data. Method. We used a platform for developing agent-based models with demographic information representative of the population in Pennsylvania. We developed three models of cigarette and e-cigarette use. The primary outcome for each was the total number of users for cigarette, e-cigarette, and total nicotine. The first model applied current cigarette and e-cigarette data, the second tested the effect of implementing a program of e-cigarette education and policies, and the third considered a social contagion factor, where local schools functioned as a transmission vector. Results. The baseline and social contagion models found an overall decline in cigarette use but an increase in e-cigarette and total nicotine use. The education/policies model had declines in all categories. Sensitivity analysis suggested the importance of nuanced e-cigarette/cigarette interactions when modeling tobacco use. Discussion. Public health campaigns that focus on reducing youth e-cigarette usage can have a large effect. Social contagion should be strongly considered when studying e-cigarette spread. Conclusion. Targeted public health campaigns focused on reducing school prevalence of e-cigarette use may be particularly valuable.

Environmental issues are interesting subjects that are related to the earth’s sustainability. While Garbage is basically an obstacle, it also has the potential to prevent environmental damage and increase the community's economy if it is well managed. This research aims to analyze local government policies in waste management based on the value of ecological justice to achieve natural preservation. The research method used is qualitative with primary data from interviews and observations supported by laws and regulations related to waste management. The research was conducted in Kuningan Regency and Ciamis Regency. The results showed that the Ciamis local government policy in waste management was equipped with local regulations, government officials, infrastructure, community participation, and program innovation, namely waste sorting, waste bank, maggot, and garbage alms. The conclusion is that local government policies, especially in Kuningan, still need improvement related to optimizing the role of the local government in institutional and funding of waste management and increasing public education regarding waste management. Good waste management can create environmental sustainability and community welfare.

Urban decline is a wicked problem that conventional tools of local government planning are not scoped to solve once and for all. Accordingly, local public policy and community development programs are increasingly aimed at mitigating symptoms rather than cause(s) of decline. These “palliative” efforts attempt to improve quality of life for existing residents in order to lower the probability of further decline. This research note describes a palliative policy from Buffalo, NY, and proposes a methodological strategy that uses Geographic Information Systems and difference-in-differences analysis to study its effects. Preliminary analysis suggests that the policy might be contributing to blight reduction in a targeted neighborhood. These pilot findings open the door for future empirical researchers to replicate the proposed methodology for longer time horizons in the study neighborhood, as well as to analyze palliative interventions in most any neighborhood where they are being deployed to treat symptoms of urban decline.

Hypnosedatives are used extensively in older people, although their usage has fallen since the early 1970s. Increasing consumer concerns now risk underuse of these drugs, even in appropriate situations. High quality prescribing of hypnosedatives requires consideration of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of these drugs, an understanding of their adverse effects, efficacy and clinical situations in which they may be of use, and an appreciation of the role of non-pharmacological therapy. If these issues are adequately addressed, hypnosedatives can be used effectively to treat insomnia and some anxiety disorders. Hypnosedative prescribing can be improved through regular audits, and the development of a local prescribing policy and educational programmes.