Characteristics of Policy Regulation in Public Data Authorized Operation: An Analysis Based on the Institutional Grammar Tool

The development and utilization of public data contribute to the reform of market-based allocation of data. Following the issuance of the “National Twenty Articles on Data”, many local governments have initiated efforts to establish a policy system for Public Data Authorized Operation (PDAO) to unlock the value of public data. The successive release of relevant policies has marked the gradual maturation and institutionalization of working mechanisms and governance models in this domain. To ensure the effective implementation of PDAO, policies are pivotal and must be sufficiently binding while also incorporating reasonable incentive and penalty mechanisms. However, current research in this emerging field is insufficient to address the characteristics of policy regulation in PDAO. Understanding the regulatory characteristics of the existing policies can provide a solid foundation for accurately recognizing local government policy systems related to PDAO, thereby providing a basis for optimizing relevant policies. Given that the Institutional Grammar Tool (IGT) is a well-established theoretical framework for analyzing the functions of institutions and institutional diversity, this paper applies IGT to a diagnostic analysis of PDAO policies. By adapting coding rules in the specific context of PDAO, this paper conducted IGT-based coding of 21 policy documents issued by local governments. The process identified 1,362 institutional statements, which were classified into three categories: AIC, ADIC, and ADICO. The result shows that shared strategies dominate, followed by norms, and with rules being the least common. Additionally, the PDAO participants are diversified, while policies emphasize their obligations and responsibilities. Punitive measures outnumber incentives, and there are hierarchical and geographical variations in the distribution of these institutional statements. Furthermore, this paper integrates the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework's rule typology and multi-level choice approaches to delineate the overall regulatory characteristics of local government policies with respect to PDAO in China. Through classifying and discussing different types of rules(Position Rules, Boundary Rules, Choice Rules, Information Rules, Payoff Rules, and Aggregation Rules), this paper finds implicit links among rules and identifies several features across these types. The various types of rules within the PDAO policy system are interconnected and do not exist in isolation. Based on the research findings, this paper offers several recommendations, including optimizing the allocation of rights and responsibilities among relevant stakeholders, establishing a robust system for co-creating and sharing the value of public data, etc. These suggestions seek to enhance the effectiveness of PDAO policies and are expected to facilitate the process of unlocking the full potential of public data.