Transferring transport policy problems: the instrumental role of social concerns in policy transfer

ABSTRACT

The paper investigates the overlooked role of problem setting in policy setting and transfer. The prevalent rational approach to urban mobility issues in fact privileges problem solving over problem setting, overlooking the role of problems in policy transfer processes. Reviewing institutional and academic works, the paper develops a comparative reading of Bogotá and Santiago, two Southern cities that justified their mobility policies referring to social issues. The analysis shows that social concerns have played an instrumental role in aligning the problem to its solution and justifying the adoption of an already selected strategy.

KEYWORDS:

• Policy transfer
• problem setting
• wicked problems
• transport policy

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Francesca Blanc, Giancarlo Cotella, Marcin Dąbrowski, Gabriel Silvestre and Guillermo Jajamovic, as well as the anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by CEDEUS – Centro de Desarrollo Urbano Sustentable (ANID/FONDAP/15110020) and by Dirección de Investigación, Vicerrectoría de Investigación, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, through the Concurso Inicio 2020.