IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/policy/v49y2016i4d10.1007_s11077-016-9253-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thick narratives and the persistence of institutions: using the Q methodology to analyse IWRM reforms around the Yellow River

Author

Listed:
  • Ching Leong

    (National University of Singapore)

  • Raul Lejano

    (New York University)

Abstract

A dominant form of integrated water resources management (IWRM) assumes that existing parochial path dependencies need to be overcome to transform fragmented, contested regimes into the integrative design of IWRM. This paper is an exploratory study of stakeholder perceptions around China’s Yellow River, which has been hailed as a successful case of IWRM. We find that while water reforms have ostensibly achieved a programme that adheres to the formal discourse of IWRM, subjective perceptions of the stakeholders, as revealed by the Q methodology, still display elements of a localized, fragmented narrative, requiring constant negotiation. Primary elements of the discourse include the following positions: (1) localized, contextual approaches to governance persist; (2) market efficiency and environmental protection are seen as competing goals; and (3) technology creates new gains, but constant negotiation is needed to distribute them fairly. These narratives show that rather than “overturning” old paths, the water reforms created a deliberatory arena in which old and new ideas meld into what we refer to as a “thick” institutional narrative. Our work provides a new perspective on policy change, as well as the persistence of institutional life.

Suggested Citation

  • Ching Leong & Raul Lejano, 2016. "Thick narratives and the persistence of institutions: using the Q methodology to analyse IWRM reforms around the Yellow River," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 49(4), pages 445-465, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:policy:v:49:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s11077-016-9253-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11077-016-9253-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11077-016-9253-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11077-016-9253-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Edwyna Harris, 2011. "The Impact of Institutional Path Dependence on Water Market Efficiency in Victoria, Australia," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(15), pages 4069-4080, December.
    2. Toddi A. Steelman & Lynn A. Maguire, 1999. "Understanding participant perspectives: Q-methodology in national forest management," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(3), pages 361-388.
    3. Farhad Mukhtarov & Andrea Gerlak, 2014. "Epistemic forms of integrated water resources management: towards knowledge versatility," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 47(2), pages 101-120, June.
    4. David, Paul A, 1985. "Clio and the Economics of QWERTY," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 332-337, May.
    5. Geraint Ellis & John Barry & Clive Robinson, 2007. "Many ways to say 'no', different ways to say 'yes': Applying Q-Methodology to understand public acceptance of wind farm proposals," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 517-551.
    6. Laurence E. Lynn, 1999. "A place at the table: Policy analysis, its postpositive critics, and future of practice," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(3), pages 411-425.
    7. Lawrence A. Boland, 1979. "Knowledge and the Role of Institutions in Economic Theory," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 957-972, December.
    8. Jordi Gallego-Ayala & Dinis Juízo, 2014. "Integrating Stakeholders’ Preferences into Water Resources Management Planning in the Incomati River Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(2), pages 527-540, January.
    9. Qiang Zhang & Chong-Yu Xu & Tao Yang, 2009. "Variability of Water Resource in the Yellow River Basin of Past 50 Years, China," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 23(6), pages 1157-1170, April.
    10. Dan Durning, 1999. "The transition from traditional to postpositivist policy analysis: A role for Q-methodology," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(3), pages 389-410.
    11. Raul Lejano & Savita Shankar, 2013. "The contextualist turn and schematics of institutional fit: Theory and a case study from Southern India," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 46(1), pages 83-102, March.
    12. G. Raadgever & E. Mostert & N. Giesen, 2012. "Learning from Collaborative Research in Water Management Practice," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(11), pages 3251-3266, September.
    13. Chun Xia & Claudia Pahl-Wostl, 2012. "The Development of Water Allocation Management in The Yellow River Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(12), pages 3395-3414, September.
    14. Arjan Hijdra & Jos Arts & Johan Woltjer, 2014. "Do We Need to Rethink Our Waterways? Values of Ageing Waterways in Current and Future Society," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(9), pages 2599-2613, July.
    15. Basem Shomar & Mohamed Darwish & Candace Rowell, 2014. "What does Integrated Water Resources Management from Local to Global Perspective Mean? Qatar as a Case Study, the Very Rich Country with No Water," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 28(10), pages 2781-2791, August.
    16. Boland, Lawrence A & Newman, Geoffrey, 1979. "On the Role of Knowledge in Economic Theory," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(32), pages 71-80, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yoshinori Nakagawa & Tatsuyoshi Saijo, 2020. "Visual Narrative for Taking Future Generation’s Perspective," Working Papers SDES-2020-8, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Jul 2020.
    2. Raymond Yu Wang & Tao Liu & Heping Dang, 2018. "Bridging critical institutionalism and fragmented authoritarianism in China: An analysis of centralized water policies and their local implementation in semi‐arid irrigation districts," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(4), pages 451-465, December.
    3. Pauline Pedehour & Marianne Lefebvre, 2023. "Combining digital technologies and incentives for water conservation: A Q-method study to understand preferences of French irrigators," Post-Print hal-04626643, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. N. Exel & G. Graaf & P. Rietveld, 2011. "“I can do perfectly well without a car!”," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 383-407, May.
    2. Setiawan, Andri D. & Cuppen, Eefje, 2013. "Stakeholder perspectives on carbon capture and storage in Indonesia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1188-1199.
    3. Olsson, Ola, 2000. "A Microeconomic Analysis of Institutions," Working Papers in Economics 25, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    4. Farhad Mukhtarov & Andrea Gerlak & Robin Pierce, 2017. "Away from fossil-fuels and toward a bioeconomy: Knowledge versatility for public policy?," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 35(6), pages 1010-1028, September.
    5. Francine Sanders Romero, 2001. "The Policy Analysis Course: Toward a Discipline Consensus," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 771-779.
    6. Malcolm Rutherford, 1987. "Wesley Mitchell: Institutions and Quantitative Methods," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 63-73, Jan-Mar.
    7. Runge, C. Ford, 1981. "Institutions and Common Property Externalities: The Assurance Problem in Economic Development," Faculty and Alumni Dissertations 206835, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    8. Maarten Wolsink, 2004. "Policy Beliefs in Spatial Decisions: Contrasting Core Beliefs Concerning Space-making for Waste Infrastructure," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(13), pages 2669-2690, December.
    9. Matthew Cotton & Patrick Devine-Wright, 2011. "Discourses of Energy Infrastructure Development: A Q-Method Study of Electricity Transmission Line Siting in the UK," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 43(4), pages 942-960, April.
    10. Kouam, H & Mua, K, 2023. "Development of Innovation in Economics," MPRA Paper 118020, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 08 Jun 2023.
    11. Huaranca, Laura Liliana & Iribarnegaray, Martín Alejandro & Albesa, Federico & Volante, José Norberto & Brannstrom, Christian & Seghezzo, Lucas, 2019. "Social Perspectives on Deforestation, Land Use Change, and Economic Development in an Expanding Agricultural Frontier in Northern Argentina," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Dimitra Syrou & Iosif Botetzagias, 2022. "Stakeholders’ Perceptions Concerning Greek Protected Areas Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-23, March.
    13. Ghoochani Omid M. & Bakhshi Azadeh & Cotton Matthew & Nejad Azar Hashemi & Ghanian Mansour, 2015. "Environmental values in the petrochemical industry: A Q-method study in South West Iran," Environmental & Socio-economic Studies, Sciendo, vol. 3(4), pages 1-10, December.
    14. Ya Li, 2015. "Think tank 2.0 for deliberative policy analysis," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 48(1), pages 25-50, March.
    15. N C B Nath, 2008. "Suggesting Effective Policy Frames for Chronic Poverty Alleviation in India," Working Papers id:1804, eSocialSciences.
    16. Vecchio, Yari & Di Pasquale, Jorgelina & Del Giudice, Teresa & Pauselli, Gregorio & Masi, Margherita & Adinolfi, Felice, 2022. "Precision farming: what do Italian farmers really think? An application of the Q methodology," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    17. McNicholas, Grace & Cotton, Matthew, 2019. "Stakeholder perceptions of marine plastic waste management in the United Kingdom," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 77-87.
    18. Christine Corlet Walker & Angela Druckman & Claudio Cattaneo, 2020. "Understanding the (non-)Use of Societal Wellbeing Indicators in National Policy Development: What Can We Learn from Civil Servants? A UK Case Study," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 150(3), pages 911-953, August.
    19. Daniel Dufourt, 1993. "L'économie politique," Post-Print halshs-01273102, HAL.
    20. Eunjin Lee & Shi-Chul Lee, 2017. "Examining the internal features of Korea’s Green Commitment in Mongolia," International Review of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 380-404, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:policy:v:49:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s11077-016-9253-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.