How Negative Externalities Shape the Policy of Local Governments:A Case of the Elevator Installation Policy for Ageing Populations inOld Residential Compounds
The negative externality is the key to grass-roots governance.Based on 207 documents on the Elevator Installation Policy from 114 cities across China,this paper dynamically identifies the two policy orientations of local governments and their policy shifts in dealing with negative externalities.Then it analyzes the approaches of governance corresponding to the two policy orientations and the inherent social governance dilemmas.Results show that negative externality is embedded in the policies of local governments,manifested as differentiated choices and inter-temporal changes of policy orientations in the introduction of the first policy and the subsequent policy revision.Specifically,68.42%of the sample cities initially launched the policy"strictly",while the proportion of cities that ultimately choosing a"loose"policy reached 71.05%after the adjustment of policy orientation.Besides,50 cities shifted from"strict"to"loose"and the root cause is not the"top-down"hierarchical task pressure,but the previous policy practice that provides effective information for local governments to recognize the potential scale of risks brought by negative externalities,thereby enhancing their control over potential conflicts risks.In promoting the social governance practice of solving the problem of elevator installation in old residential compounds,dealing with negative externalities should not overly rely on policy regulation.Enhancing the governance capacity in tackling negative externalities requires focusing on risk predictions,simultaneous promotion of activities that generate positive and negative externalities and dual regeneration of communities.
negative externalitiessocial governancepolicy behaviorthe Elevator Installation Policy in old residential compounds
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
