JNRPR Special Issue: Institutional Entropy: Causes, Consequences, and Corrective Measures

Call for Papers

Recent years have witnessed a significant increase in the decline and fall of natural resources (e.g., water, energy, forestry, minerals, fisheries) institutions, in the US and globally, due to the corrosive impact of institutional entropy. The purpose of this special issue is to examine in detail the causes and consequences of institutional entropy and also suggest possible corrective measures.

Gopalakrishnan (2005) defines institutional entropy as “the progressive decrease in effectiveness and efficiency (of the institutions) in performing the goals and objectives as originally envisioned and set-forth.” He goes on to point out that the intrusion of entropy “causes disarray in the inner workings of the affected institutions and, thus, renders them diminished in their ability to perform at peak efficiency.”

Entropy, slowly but surely, penetrates, corrodes, and compromises the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions and renders them dysfunctional, over a period of time. Gopalakrishnan, in his research-in-progress (2018-), has identified the key elements of institutional efficiency and effectiveness. These include: 1) institutional resilience or adaptability, 2) institutional robustness or diminished vulnerability, 3) institutional autonomy, 4) institutional relevance, 5) institutional accountability, 6) institutional risk-taking, and 7) institutional innovation.

Institutions, that fail to keep up with social, economic, technological, environmental, political, and cultural changes that inevitably accompany the passage of time, render themselves severely vulnerable to entropy. Depending on the intensity of entropy, several of the key attributes of institutional efficiency and effectiveness, noted above, are compromised and institutional sustainability is imperiled with the passage of time.

The objective of this special issue is to shed light on the process and progression of institutional entropy. We are seeking original contributions that will clarify and illuminate all aspects of institutional entropy, using historical surveys, institutional analysis, econometric investigations, empirical reviews, and more. Policy-rich, cross-disciplinary, and transnational papers, including case studies, are welcome.

Submit your paper online

Please prepare your paper in accordance with the guidelines posted at http://www.editorialmanager.com/jnrpr under “Instructions for Authors.” Inquiries may be directed to the Editor-in-Chief at: jnrpr@press.psu.edu.

Deadline: June 2019

Editor-in-Chief:
Professor (Emeritus) Chennat Gopalakrishnan, University of Hawaii at Manoa, U.S.A.

Guest Editors:
Chennat Gopalakrishnan, University of Hawaii at Manoa, U.S.A.
Laura M. McCann, University of Missouri, U.S.A.
 

Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research: Special Issue: Institutional Entropy: Causes, Consequences, and Corrective Measures

Guest Editors: Chennat Gopalakrishnan, University of Hawaii at Manoa, U.S.A; Jason Levy, University of Hawaii at West Oahu, U.S.A

Call for Papers

Recent years have witnessed a significant increase in the decline and fall of natural resources (e.g., water, energy, forestry, minerals, fisheries) institutions, in the US and globally, due to the corrosive impact of institutional entropy. The purpose of this special issue is to examine in detail the causes and consequences of institutional entropy and also suggest possible corrective measures.

Gopalakrishnan (2005) defines institutional entropy as “the progressive decrease in effectiveness and efficiency (of the institutions) in performing the goals and objectives as originally envisioned and set-forth.” He goes on to point out that the intrusion of entropy “causes disarray in the inner workings of the affected institutions and, thus, renders them diminished in their ability to perform at peak efficiency.”

Entropy, slowly but surely, penetrates, corrodes, and compromises the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions and renders them dysfunctional, over a period of time. Gopalakrishnan, in his research-in-progress (2018-), has identified the key elements of institutional efficiency and effectiveness. These include: 1) institutional resilience or adaptability, 2) institutional robustness or diminished vulnerability, 3) institutional autonomy, 4) institutional relevance, 5) institutional accountability, 6) institutional risk-taking, and 7) institutional innovation.

Institutions, that fail to keep up with social, economic, technological, environmental, political, and cultural changes that inevitably accompany the passage of time, render themselves severely vulnerable to entropy. Depending on the intensity of entropy, several of the key attributes of institutional efficiency and effectiveness, noted above, are compromised and institutional sustainability is imperiled with the passage of time.

The objective of this special issue is to shed light on the process and progression of institutional entropy. We are seeking original contributions that will clarify and illuminate all aspects of institutional entropy, using historical surveys, institutional analysis, econometric investigations, empirical reviews, and more. Policy-rich, cross-disciplinary, and transnational papers, including case studies, are welcome.

Submit your paper online

Please prepare your paper in accordance with the guidelines posted at http://www.editorialmanager.com/jnrpr under “Instructions for Authors.” Inquiries may be directed to the Editor-in-Chief at: jnrpr@press.psu.edu.

Deadline: 15th January, 2019

Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research Special Issue* Effective Management of Natural Disasters: Conceptual, Empirical Issues and Case Studies

Guest Editor: Chennat Gopalakrishnan, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA

Call for Papers: Recent years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the human and economic impacts of natural disasters. Between 2003 and 2013, they have resulted in total economic damages of $1.5 trillion, 1.1 million deaths, and impacted the lives of 2 billion people. Furthermore, it is worth noting that there has been a steady increase in the intensity and frequency of natural disasters, 2017 representing a case in point. Water disasters have accounted over the years for a significant proportion of natural disasters in the U.S. and globally.

Ossified governance structures, polycentric decision-making entities, entropy-ridden institutions, cascading conflict scenarios, deep-seated and wide-ranging internal feuds and precariously perched, top-heavy decision agencies significantly add to the complexity of policy domains in the natural disasterscape. Against this bleak backdrop, well-intentioned policies stumble into a collision course, making the emergence of workable policies exceedingly difficult.

We have identified five broad categories of natural disaster policies for an in-depth study: risk management; vulnerability assessment; capacity building and resilience; disaster risk reduction-development linkage; and institutional design.

Possible topics include:

• policy frameworks for natural disaster management
• risk reduction and management
• vulnerability (including climate-induced) reduction and assessment
• capacity-building and resilience
• disaster risk reduction-development linkage
• institutional entropy reduction
• polycentric decision making
• and disaster governance-disaster policy nexus

We are seeking original contributions that will explore and shed light on the five policy areas noted above and related topics, using historical surveys, institutional analysis, econometric investigations and theoretical discussions. Policy-rich cross-disciplinary and transnational papers that examine the cause and consequence of water disasters are especially welcome. We are specially looking for case studies of recent natural disasters in the U.S and elsewhere. Of particular interest to us are case studies of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Sandy.

Submit your papers online: Please prepare your papers in accordance with the guidelines posted at http://www.editorialmanager.com/jnrpr under “Instructions for Authors.” Inquiries may be directed to the Editor-in-Chief at: jnrpr@press.psu.edu. Deadline: May 1, 2018

Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research: Call for Papers

Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research addresses a broad range of natural resource fields including water, minerals, energy, fisheries and forestry in a synthesizing fashion, rather than stand-alone specialty areas. It also publishes papers on the natural resource implications of climate change, natural disasters and biodiversity loss, among others.

We are looking for papers based on original research focusing on policy implications and perspectives of natural resource allocation, planning and management. A sampling of suggested topics follows:

• Natural resource policy broadly defined - scope and dimensions
• Holistic vs. sector specific approach
• Policy framework - components, sequencing, linkages, integration, robustness
• Conceptual/theoretical paradigms - rationale and evolutionary perspectives
• Country studies, case studies, case histories, survey paper
• Natural resource policy modeling
• Natural resource institutions - design and implementation
• Natural resource policy crafting - ownership, allocation, planning, development, markets and pricing, conservation
• Natural resources and political externalities; public choice and rent- seeking
• Natural resource use and environmental quality
• Public-private partnership issues
• Natural resources and institutional entropy
• Transboundary, transnational, and transgenic resources
• Natural resource policy - efficiency, equity, and sustainability
• Trigger issues - climate change, natural disasters, human disasters, deforestation, endangered species, invasive species, and environmental pollution.

We are also looking for special issue proposals on topics in the natural resources policy field that are in the forefront of current discourse, such as integrated disaster risk management, alternative energy sources with special focus on bio-energy, water privatization, climate change and natural resource institutions.

Submit your papers online
Please prepare your papers in accordance with the guidelines posted at http://www.editorialmanager.com/jnrpr under “Instructions for Authors.” Inquiries may be directed to the Editor-in-Chief at: jnrpr@press.psu.edu.