Policy transfer in critical perspective

Abstract

The world of public policy is becoming increasingly small due to dramatic changes in global communications, political and economic institutional structures, and to nation states themselves. This article evaluates the implications of these changes and challenges for both the study and the practice of policy transfer and provides an understanding of the relationship between systemic globalizing forces and the increasing scope and intensity of policy transfer activity. It provides: an explanation of policy transfer as a process of organizational learning; an insight into how and why such processes are studied by policy scientists; and an evaluation of its use by policy practitioners. The article argues that the limits of policy transfer analysis as a descriptive, explanatory and prescriptive theory of policy change can be addressed through the development of a multi-level ‘action based’ approach to the study of policy transfer.

Keywords:

• diffusion
• emulation
• globalization
• logical frameworks
• multi-level analysis
• organizational learning
• policy learning
• policy science
• policy transfer
• public sector
• social learning
• structure and agency

Notes

1. Note, however, that since the turn of the century the academic study of policy transfer from developed countries to the developing world and between developing countries has increased in scope and intensity (see Evans 2004b).

2. For examples of voluntary policy transfer see James's (2001) account of the transfer of ‘business-like’ central government agencies or Jones and Newburn's (2001) study of US influences on British crime control policy.

3. See Evans 2004a, chapters 6, 7 and 8.

4. See the Cabinet Office's overview of the Professional skills of government programme at: http://psg.civilservice.gov.uk/