Since more than thirty years, the European Cohesion Policy aims to reduce economic disparities and support regional development by funding local-orientated projects. However, the citizens’ awareness of Cohesion Policy follows an unexpected longitudinal pattern characterised by a notable decrease after an initial increase. Although researchers have been investigating the relationship between policy implementation and public awareness, a lack of systemic comprehension of the underlying mechanisms is evident. Using system dynamics, we develop a causal model to explain the roots of the declining awareness towards policy interventions. The findings highlight how citizens initially manifest a high collective attention to Cohesion Policy that tends to decay over time. These dynamics, combined with the citizens’ inherent tendency to lose information saved in their long-term individual memory, could elucidate the system's behaviour. This novel system dynamics application provides policy-makers with operational guidelines for developing efficient communication strategies to improve policy awareness.
Titolo: | Building a dynamic theory of citizens’ awareness of European Cohesion Policy interventions |
Autore/i: | Giovanni Cunico; Eirini Aivazidou; Edoardo Mollona |
Autore/i Unibo: | |
Anno: | 2021 |
Rivista: | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2020.07.017 |
Abstract: | Since more than thirty years, the European Cohesion Policy aims to reduce economic disparities and support regional development by funding local-orientated projects. However, the citizens’ awareness of Cohesion Policy follows an unexpected longitudinal pattern characterised by a notable decrease after an initial increase. Although researchers have been investigating the relationship between policy implementation and public awareness, a lack of systemic comprehension of the underlying mechanisms is evident. Using system dynamics, we develop a causal model to explain the roots of the declining awareness towards policy interventions. The findings highlight how citizens initially manifest a high collective attention to Cohesion Policy that tends to decay over time. These dynamics, combined with the citizens’ inherent tendency to lose information saved in their long-term individual memory, could elucidate the system's behaviour. This novel system dynamics application provides policy-makers with operational guidelines for developing efficient communication strategies to improve policy awareness. |
Data stato definitivo: | 2020-12-07T12:36:34Z |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 1.01 Articolo in rivista |