cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291945
title: Police killings and violent crime

description: Abstract A common view among policy makers in Public Security in Rio de Janeiro is that the patrolling pattern based on police raids, regularly associated with the use of lethal force, is both necessary and effective to reduce crime. In order to examine this issue, this article presents econometric exercises to assess in what extent a greater number of police killings is correlated with subsequent variations in criminal indicators. The analysis covers the period from 2003 to 2019 and indicates no correlation between increases in the use of lethal force by the police and reductions in crime rates at the local level. On the contrary, in some cases, a significant and positive correlation is observed, which means more police killings are correlated with greater criminal activity, although the magnitudes of the effects are rather reduced. On the other hand, we show that police killings are associated with greater operational results, as measured by drugs and weapons seizure. The results are consistent with a patrolling pattern that prioritizes the combat of retail markets for illicit drugs.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291943
title: Policies, Children, and Road Safety: contributions from the WPR approach to policy analysis

description: Abstract We consider public attention to child safety in traffic from the Foucault-inspired approach What’s The Problem Represented to Be? (WPR) by Carol Bacchi, whose premise lies in using policy texts and policy proposals to access problematizations through which we are governed. It highlights a potential to rethink conventional emphases in agenda setting and in policy-making processes. The WPR approach suggests that in the internalization of children’s safety discourse, the ‘problem’ of traffic is not given a priori, but is also produced discursively in the context of policies and policy proposals with practical effects on the daily lives of children in urban areas.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291941
title: Courts of accounts divergent methodologies and its impacts on personnel expenditure rules

description: Abstract This article describes how Brazilian Courts of Accounts at the subnational level diverge with the National Secretariat of Treasury of the Ministry of Economy, on how to measure the personnel expenditure cap, a rule according to the Fiscal Responsibility Law of 2001. Since the Courts of Accounts can decide how to measure the personnel expenditure rule in their jurisdictions, the article describes how those decisions, presented in the Fiscal Management Report from 2016 to 2018, diverge with the federal standards described in the Manual of Fiscal Reports (MDF) and compiled in the System of Public Sector Fiscal and Accounting Information (Siconfi). It concludes that some Courts of Accounts would exceed the personnel expenditure cap if they adopted the federal standards described by the central government, which indicates the existence of fiscal accountability practices with a contagious effect upon subnational entities under its jurisdiction, increasing the risks of fiscal imbalances in the federation.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291939
title: Saving more than R$ 85 billion of the Brazilian Social Security System: the case of the PRBI

description: Abstract Since 2016, the number of recipients of incapacity allowance in Brazil has been continuously falling. This article presents the program of incapacity benefits assessment (PRBI) to help understand the dynamics around incapacity allowance and similar benefits. The study shows that the PRBI can save more than R$ 85 billion of the budget allocated to social security in the country.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291937
title: Advocacy coalition formation and key actors within the policy

description: Abstract The article discusses advocacy coalition formation and the roles of key actors in science, technology and innovation (ST&I) policies for social inclusion in a subnational context. The policy subsystem category and concept of advocacy coalition are used in the context of the advocacy coalition framework and address the need to understand the influences of key actors (policy broker and policy entrepreneur) on it. The policy subsystem was outlined using case-oriented research and the discourse was analyzed in order to understand the policy actors’ beliefs. The analysis of two cases of ST&I policy processes for social inclusion (assistive technology and social technology) highlighted policy broker and policy entrepreneur key roles in the emergence of policy subsystems, but had different effects on advocacy coalition formation. The policy entrepreneur had a closer relationship with advocacy coalition building when setting up regular mechanisms to share beliefs and policy-oriented learning, as well as taking initiatives to coordinate the collective action of members in the early advocacy coalition. Although relevant in agenda setting and maintaining a specific social inclusion agenda in the policy process, the policy broker did not achieve a positive relationship with advocacy coalition building. The article corroborates the possibility of incorporating the concept of policy entrepreneur in analyses of the advocacy coalition framework and highlights this actor’s characteristics through this analytical model.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291933
title: Policy learning and policy change: exploring possibilities on the Advocacy Coalition Framework

description: Abstract This article aims to advance the discussion about the influence of knowledge and policy learning on policy change, taking the Advocacy Coalition Framework as reference. We propose unlinking the comprehension of learning through change in two perspectives. First, we suggest apprehending the relation between knowledge and policy learning, through the use of knowledge, assuming that different forms of learning are possible, depending on the context of decision-making. Then, relying on the contributions of the theory of gradual institutional change, we suggest using the notion of institutional dynamics, in order to capture the explanatory power of knowledge and policy learning both in stasis and change situations. We aim to contribute to diminish the skepticism presented in the literature about the influence of knowledge and policy learning in the policy process.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291930
title: Raw-data-for-Fe-H.xlsx

description: Raw data for Fe-H
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291929
title: Stories in the agenda: a Narrative Policy Framework study

description: Abstract This study applies the “Narrative Policy Framework” (NPF) to the affirmative action policy process of the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPEL) and proposes theoretical intersection between the NPF and agenda setting literature, seeking to find out the role of policy narratives in policy processes. NPF is an empiric-oriented framework that posits that the policy-makers’ stories have generalizable components and are built and crafted in accordance to their ideas. These are policy narratives, and are at the center of the policy process. By analyzing formulation stages of public policy and referring to ideas and narratives, the NPF refers to the agenda setting literature and provides means for empirical research of agenda setting concepts. The study undertook analysis of regulatory outputs and semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that policy narratives have affected institutional regulatory outputs regarding UFPel’s affirmative action policies.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291927
title: Narrative reinventions as cognitive mechanisms for public policy stability: the case of anti-drug policy in Colombia

description: Abstract Public policies face major challenges to their consolidation and stability that force rulers to make significant political efforts to keep them alive. Some of these challenges occur by the adjustment of the policy’s idea as an attempt to reduce the possible difficulties caused by public confrontation, thus better adapting them to the reference frame of the actors. Such is the case of Colombia’s drug control policy which did not have sufficient legitimacy to be carried out, despite international pressure, but it was later coupled to the international agenda as a national need. By using the critical discourse analysis, this study verifies how the discursive transformation of this policy took place and the cognitive mechanisms used to reinterpret it as a matter of national security and not international co-responsibility, which allowed consolidation of the current prohibitionist strategy. The results of the study reveal an interpretation of the drug trafficking problem as a threat to the institutional order, which reduces the confrontation capacity of the critics of the proposed policy.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291923
title: Parliament’s (lack of) agenda-setting power over the executive decision agenda: evidence from Belgium, France and Portugal

description: Abstract One of the functions of parliamentary questions in modern legislatures is to pressure executives to pay attention to specific issues. But can these questions effectively influence executive decisions? There is surprisingly little empirical research in this area. Adopting an agenda-setting perspective, this article examines the extent to which issue attention in oral parliamentary questions influences the issues addressed in the weekly meetings of the Council of Ministers in three countries (Belgium, France and Portugal). Our findings suggest that the agenda-setting power of parliaments vis-à-vis the executive is usually weak in the contexts studied here. In Belgium, we find evidence that the executive does pick up on issues debated in parliament but that the media seems to play a crucial role in focusing attention. These conclusions testify to the dominance of the executive power in many Western democracies. The findings also demonstrate that agenda-setting patterns are more complex than single-country studies often suggest, and that comparative research is the way forward.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291921
title: The Colombian Political Agendas Project: analysing presidential attention during the administrations of Uribe and Santos (2002-2018)

description: Abstract This article has two interrelated objectives: to introduce the Colombian Political Agendas Project (COL-PAP) and offer an exploratory example of the applications of its databases. As a prelude, we describe some characteristics of the Colombian political system and the presidents analyzed. The study presents the objectives of COL-PAP, the creation of the codebook and the databases built so far, with special attention to the databases gathering bills and CONPES documents. The example discussed explores the dynamics of presidential attention in the period 2002-2018, especially the attention distributed among public policy issues over time, and its allocation among instruments. The study shows that attention varies among issues, but also that it is assigned differently between instruments, according to the opportunity structure they offer. Inspired in the discussion and findings related to the databases built so far for COL-PAP, the study suggests future lines of research for Colombia, Latin America, and the CAP in general.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291919
title: Case study: what did Rafael Correa say? Comparing political attention across 10 years of the Ecuadorian president’s discourses

description: Abstract The “citizen revolution” was a political project executed mainly between 2007 and 2016 by the former president of the Republic of Ecuador, Rafael Correa Delgado, under the paradigm of 21st century socialism. The main characteristic of this project was to introduce a new political agenda to the country that was differentiated from past agendas, by focusing on issues such as the recognition of new rights, improvements to education, instituting a new economic model, and strengthening government and sovereignty, among others. Under this context, this work aims to analyze the political attention of the ex-president, explaining why some issues are more important than others, and why they varied over time. Based on a conceptual framework that takes ideas from the agenda-setting theory, the areas on which the political agenda concentrates are measured by the Shannon entropy index, and its various changes are explained as the results of preferences, institutional factors, and external events. The analysis is based on extensive database analyses of 10 years (covering Rafael Correa’s presidency) of government speeches, which are coded according to the methodology of the Comparative Agendas Project (CAP). To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first work to apply the CAP methodology in Ecuador.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291917
title: The comparative agendas project in Latin America: data and coding

description: Abstract This paper introduces the Comparative Agendas Project system of coding as well as a wealth of gathered and in process data from Latin America using this established and reliable system for capturing policy attention comparatively and over time. While this is not the first introduction of the coding system, it is the first introduction aimed at Latin America and a new type of political system beyond North American and European democracies. First, we present an overview of the Comparative Agendas Project (CAP) and the Master Codebook used to create comparative policy attention data across countries, over time, and between agendas. These details of CAP are discussed for Latin America in general and for Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador, countries that recently started to gather data using these coding.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291915
title: Agenda dynamics in Latin America: theoretical and empirical opportunities

description: Abstract The Comparative Agendas Project (CAP) collects, organizes, and makes freely available millions of bits of information concerning the objects of government attention over long periods of time (often back to the Second World War) for more than 25 political systems, worldwide. As researchers affiliated with the CAP expand their projects into Latin America, they confront some challenges similar to those from other regions, and some unique to their national political systems. In this introductory essay, we explore the background of the CAP and the opportunities posed by its expansion into Latin American political systems.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291911
title: COVID-19 in prisons: a study of habeas corpus decisions by the São Paulo Court of Justice

description: Abstract Brazil has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Global South-a pandemic that disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, especially those detained and imprisoned. Legal institutions are struggling to respond. In this paper, we focus on the National Council of Justice’s Recommendation 62, issued March 17, 2020, which recommends that judges take several measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection in prisons. We test this recommendation’s impact by looking at habeas corpus decisions in the São Paulo Court of Justice. The exploratory findings presented here indicate that Recommendation 62 has little impact on habeas decisions. In general, citing the recommendation does not lead the Court to grant early release or house arrest to those detained, and most habeas actions are decided against petitioners. This is true even when petitioners claim to be part of a risk group, or their alleged offense did not involve violence or serious threat-factors that should favor habeas relief under Recommendation 62.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291909
title: Street-level bureaucracy in the pandemic: the perception of frontline social workers on policy implementation

description: Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the strategic role of social care policy to minimize the effects of this health crisis and its consequences on the poorest and most vulnerable population. This article analyzes the perception of street-level bureaucrats in the Brazilian social care network on how the pandemic has affected their performance and professional routine. The research was based on a survey, consultations with representatives of municipal social care services, and analysis of government regulations. The results show that social workers feel unprotected and unable to provide adequate responses to the pandemic’s increasing and urgent demands, revealing a lack of institutional support to act appropriately. The professionals also reported substantial changes in their working dynamics, particularly in their relationship with the attended population, one of the main pillars of the Brazilian social care network. These elements directly affect the provision of social care services and their potential to combat the adverse effects of the crisis.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291907
title: How are refugees affected by Brazilian responses to COVID-19?

description: Abstract Refugees are forcibly displaced people who fled their home countries due to persecutions because of their religion, nationality, political opinion, race, or being part of a particular social group. Brazilian Law 9474/1997 recognizes people who are fleeing a situation of severe and generalized violation of human rights as refugees. According to Brazilian law and Constitution, refugees have the same rights as Brazilians. However, my research with 29 refugees living in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro shows that refugees are disproportionately affected by the Brazilian responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article discusses how refugees in Brazil are affected by federal responses to the pandemic. I conducted 29 semi-structured phenomenological interviews with refugees between March 27, 2020, and April 06, 2020. These interviews were analyzed considering responses adopted by the Brazilian government (at the federal level) to respond to COVID-19. I conclude that refugees are affected by the closure of the borders and their rights to documentation, healthcare, and social assistance (the emergency benefit) are violated.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291904
title: Government actions against the new coronavirus: evidence from the Brazilian states

description: Abstract Since the declaration of the global pandemic due to the new coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2) by the World Health Organization (WHO), on March 11, 2020, several measures have been taken by governments around the world regarding social distancing. In Brazil, state governments took the lead in decreeing measures to close schools, suspend public events, and restrict businesses. This article aims to analyze the differences between the Brazilian state governments regarding implementing non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to combat the coronavirus, based on the calculation of a government action index. Analysis of 367 decrees of 25 state executives was conducted in the first two months of the pandemic in the country. The preliminary results of this analysis suggest different levels of rigor in measures to confront COVID-19 by Brazilian governments. Some states stood out for their proactive adoption of stricter social distancing policies, even before confirming the first case of the disease.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291902
title: Statistical method to determine the need for hospitalization of COVID-19 patients

description: Abstract The growth rate of COVID-19 is causing worldwide concern. The development of indirect methods used to determine hospitalizations only for necessary cases is of fundamental importance to prevent overcrowding in the health system. The general objective of this article is to propose a statistical method, based on logistic regression, capable of indicating whether a patient who tests positive for COVID-19 should be directed to home isolation or be admitted to a hospital, based on blood tests and age. The data was collected from 5,645 blood tests of patients in March and April 2020. Based on the use of the independent variables ‘C-reactive protein,’ ‘neutrophils,’ and ‘monocytes,’ as well as the age of the patient affected by COVID-19, it is possible to predict with a reasonable degree of accuracy whether, upon arriving at the hospital and testing positive, the individual should be recommended to isolate at home or be admitted to a healthcare facility.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291900
title: Actions by the Courts of Accounts to minimize effects of coronavirus

description: Abstract This study aims to highlight the efforts made by the Brazilian Courts of Accounts (CAs) during the COVID-19 pandemic to collaborate with its jurisdictional authorities, civil servants, and society to face its effects. Descriptive and qualitative research was carried out, analyzing the legislation issued by the CAs to evaluate their actions. Among the findings, it was observed that the CAs took administrative and pedagogical measures to protect the public, such as the suspension or restriction of face-to-face service. Also, the courts suspended collective events, face-to-face meetings, and travel, adopted telework, limited expenditures and distance learning courses. Among the procedural measures, Plenary Sessions or Chambers, procedural deadlines, and remittance of accounts were suspended. Finally, the activities of guidance and monitoring were conducted under a series of guidelines and recommendations created collaboratively with other agencies and branches of government, guiding public spending, the acquisition and contracting of services with no bidding requirements, among other procedures. It is concluded that the set of measures implemented by the CAs shows a change in the traditional status of subsequent control of public accounts - which gives rise to punitive action - for prior and concurrent control, with recommendations, inspections, and monitoring, when the manager still has instruments to amend errors and avoid waste and misapplication of public resources.
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14291898
title: Transparency, corruption, and mismanagement: an analysis of Brazilian municipalities

description: Abstract Does institutional commitment to public transparency reduce corruption and public mismanagement? The regulation of freedom of information laws (FOI) reduces the cost of accessing public information and the control of government officials over it, allowing for monitoring of the government. Thus, greater transparency improves government performance. To test the hypothesis, we used linear regression models for 320 Brazilian municipalities. We employ three measures of municipality institutional commitment to public transparency: FOI regulation in the municipality; the degree to which the local level regulation was based on the national law’s provisions; and time the municipality took to adhere to the legislation, as a measure of institutionalization of public transparency. As a performance measure, we consider corruption and mismanagement irregularities identified in the audit reports of the Comptroller General of Brazil (2011-2015), with classification using unsupervised machine learning. The results are threefold: the municipalities’ adherence to FOI is still very low; in the municipalities that regulated the law locally, transparency is not seen to be associated with government performance; only economic development and quality of bureaucracy have a negative correlation with the number of irregularities. These results indicate that the effort towards more transparent management has not yet generated the expected results.