Quantitative analysis of China’s selenium-enriched policy texts: Based on a three-dimensional framework of “theme–instrument–effectiveness”

Pengfei Xu, Xiongchao Xu, Qing Wang, Wenrong Ye and Jianli Luo

PLOS ONE, 2026, vol. 21, issue 10, 1-26

Abstract: Selenium, as an essential trace element for human health, plays a critical role in antioxidant defense, immune regulation, and disease prevention. With approximately 72% of China’s soil area being selenium-deficient, developing the selenium-enriched industry has become a strategic priority for local governments under the “Healthy China” and Rural Revitalization initiatives. While existing research has extensively explored selenium’s scientific mechanisms and industrial development pathways, a critical research gap remains in the systematic quantitative evaluation of selenium-enriched policy texts. This study addressed this gap by conducting a comprehensive quantitative analysis of 42 selenium-enriched policy documents issued in China from 2009 to 2025. Employing a three-dimensional analytical framework of “policy theme–policy instrument–policy effectiveness” integrated with Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling, content analysis, and the Policy Modeling Consistency (PMC) index model, this study reveals three key findings: (1) Current policies heavily emphasize industrial cultivation and brand building while paying insufficient attention to long-term selenium resource management and cross-regional coordination; (2) Policy instruments predominantly rely on supply-side inputs and indirect market cultivation, with weak direct stimulation of consumer health demand; (3) While policy design demonstrates good operationality (average PMC index = 6.9), it exhibits deficiencies in long-term strategic planning and national-level top-level design. This study provides actionable insights for policymakers to strengthen national top-level design, balance short-term industrial growth with long-term resilience construction, and optimize policy tool configurations to stimulate endogenous market vitality for the high-quality development of the selenium-enriched industry.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0360381

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0360381

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