Ziyuan Kexue (Jan 2023)
Mechanism of transforming the local experience in ecological product value realization into national policies: The case of Lishui City, Zhejiang Province
Abstract
[Objective] The transformation of local experiences into national policies is an important topic in China’s public policy research. The existing research mainly focuses on the transformation and diffusion of economic and social policies, and lacks the investigation of the whole process of multi-attribute policy innovation and diffusion. [Methods] From the perspective of policy innovation and diffusion, this study focused on the ecological product value realization policy with dual economic and social policy attributes, built an analytical framework for such policy innovation and diffusion, and conducted an in-depth investigation on the complete process of policy innovation and diffusion of ecological product value realization in Lishui City of Zhejiang Province, as China’s first pilot city of ecological product value realization. [Results] The results show that: (1) The existence of dual economic and social attributes created a compliance space for the innovation and diffusion of policies of ecological product value realization, thus presenting a special innovation and diffusion mechanism under the two-way promotion of the central and local governments. (2) The local innovation of ecological product value realization was shaped by the internal driving factors of the needs for economic and social development, policy entrepreneurs, as well as natural resources endowment, and the external influence of vertical environment and horizontal experience in the policy network. (3) The transformation of ecological product value realization policy showed a spiral rising mechanism. The formal bureaucratic system and the semi-structured system shortcut were the two core structures embedded in this mechanism. [Conclusion] Based on this, the role of policy entrepreneurs in the innovation and diffusion of local experience in realizing the value of ecological products in the future must be valued. Local governments should seize and create opportunities for communication horizontally and vertically in the policy network according to local conditions, and strive for seeking the support of formal bureaucracy, in order to achieve the goal of reducing reform costs and promoting the construction of ecological civilization.
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