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Building Child-Friendly Cities: Role of Infringement Incidents in Policy Agenda Setting

Author

Listed:
  • Bin Tang

    (South China Agricultural University, Guangdong Urban and Rural Public Safety and Digital Governance Key Laboratory)

  • Huimin Yu

    (Guangdong Urban and Rural Social Risk and Emergency Governance Research Center)

  • Dechen Zhu

    (South China Agricultural University, Guangdong Urban and Rural Public Safety and Digital Governance Key Laboratory)

Abstract

The protection of children’s welfare and rights is crucial to the stability and sustainable development of future society. While previous research has focused on implementing child-friendly city policies, the critical issue of policy agenda-setting for enhancing children’s rights has been largely overlooked. This study applies the multiple streams theory to analyse 20 cases of children’s rights violations from 2011 to 2023. By examining public opinion, authoritative media attitudes, think tank influence, and public protest as key variables, we investigate the interactions among problem, policy, and political streams. Using crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis, this study proposes an agenda-setting mechanism for child-friendly policies in the Chinese context, thereby enriching the application of the multiple streams theory. The findings reveal that high-profile incidents of children’s rights violations can shift government attention from passive to active engagement, accelerating the opening of the “policy window”. The emergence of child-friendly policy agendas stems from the confluence of multiple factors, manifesting a differentiated coupling trajectory predominantly shaped by the policy stream, with three distinct explanatory paths identified: the “media–public guiding” path, the “public opinion driving” path, and the “think tank leading” path.

Suggested Citation

  • Bin Tang & Huimin Yu & Dechen Zhu, 2025. "Building Child-Friendly Cities: Role of Infringement Incidents in Policy Agenda Setting," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 18(3), pages 1277-1303, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:18:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s12187-025-10232-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s12187-025-10232-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pappas, Ilias O. & Woodside, Arch G., 2021. "Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA): Guidelines for research practice in Information Systems and marketing," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    2. Page, Benjamin I. & Shapiro, Robert Y., 1983. "Effects of Public Opinion on Policy," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 77(1), pages 175-190, March.
    3. Birkland, Thomas A., 1998. "Focusing Events, Mobilization, and Agenda Setting," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 53-74, January.
    4. Lyu, YuWen & Chow, Julian Chun-Chung & Hwang, Ji-Jen, 2020. "Exploring public attitudes of child abuse in mainland China: A sentiment analysis of China’s social media Weibo," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
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