Capacity‐Learning Paradox: How Hong Kong and Singapore's Crisis Responses Shape and Are Shaped by Policy Capacities.

This study examines the paradoxical relationship between policy learning and capacity: governments need certain capacities to learn effectively, yet these same capacities often emerge from previous learning experiences. Through a comparative analysis of Hong Kong and Singapore's responses to SARS an...

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Publicado en:Review of Policy Research Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 1 - 17
Autores principales: Sharma, Shubham, Wu, Xun, Papyshev, Gleb
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Mar2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Mar2026
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        atl: Capacity‐Learning Paradox: How Hong Kong and Singapore's Crisis Responses Shape and Are Shaped by Policy Capacities.
      aug:
        au:
          Sharma, Shubham
          Wu, Xun
          Papyshev, Gleb
        affil:
          Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft, Delft, the Netherlands
          Innovation, Policy and Entrepreneurship Thrust, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
          Division of Social Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
      su:
        Hong Kong (China)
        Singapore
        Policy sciences
        Organizational learning
        Emergency management
        COVID-19
        Hongkongers
        SARS-CoV-2
      sug:
        subj:
          Policy sciences
          Organizational learning
          Emergency management
          Hong Kong (China)
          Singapore
          Other Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities
          Other municipal protective services
          Emergency and Other Relief Services
          Other federal protective services
          Other provincial protective services
          COVID-19
          Hongkongers
          SARS-CoV-2
      keyword:
        accountability
        capacity building
        crisis management
        policy capacity
        policy learning
        aprendizaje de políticas
        capacidad política
        desarrollo de capacidades
        gestión de crisis
        rendición de cuentas
        危机管理
        政策学习
        政策能力
        能力建设
        问责
        accountability
        capacity building
        crisis management
        policy capacity
        policy learning
        aprendizaje de políticas
        capacidad política
        desarrollo de capacidades
        gestión de crisis
        rendición de cuentas
        危机管理
        政策学习
        政策能力
        能力建设
        问责
      ab: This study examines the paradoxical relationship between policy learning and capacity: governments need certain capacities to learn effectively, yet these same capacities often emerge from previous learning experiences. Through a comparative analysis of Hong Kong and Singapore's responses to SARS and COVID‐19, we demonstrate how policy learning requires and manifests as enhanced analytical, operational, and political capacities. Our research reveals three key findings. First, learning outcomes materialize as enhanced capacities rather than just cognitive shifts and accumulated knowledge, as evidenced by both cities' institutional developments following SARS. Second, the effectiveness of learning processes depends heavily on existing capacities, particularly political capacity, which enables or constrains the deployment of analytical capacities. Third, capacity development is not linear—while both cities addressed many capacity gaps identified during SARS, COVID‐19 exposed new vulnerabilities in areas like cross‐border coordination and inclusive crisis management. These findings advance theoretical understanding of policy learning by showing how it manifests through changes in capacities. They also highlight the interdependence of different capacity types, particularly how political capacity enables or constrains the effectiveness of analytical and operational capabilities. For practitioners, our analysis emphasizes the importance of balanced capacity development and maintaining strong political trust alongside technical capabilities for effective crisis management.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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