Policy transfer capacity: The role of individuals, organizations and systems on the adoption and internationalization of policy instruments

Abstract

Contemporary policymaking has been characterized by both a progressive state involvement in the internationalization of domestic policies and the intensification of influence of global agendas which demand that states implement new practices posed by multilateral agencies. Policy transfer literature has focused on different aspects of actors’ agency, but there is lack of knowledge about the microdynamics of state capacities that enable policy transfer. At the same time, the capacity literature has paid little attention to the transnationalization of public action. This paper undertakes a theoretical discussion engaging the two literatures and proposes an analytical model to examine policy transfer capacity.

Keywords:

• Development cooperation
• policy internationalization
• policy transfer
• policy capacity
• policy instruments

Notes

1 The four main types of dynamic capacity to respond to Covid-19 found by Mazzucato and Kattel (2020) are capacity to adapt and learn; capacity to align public services and citizen needs; capacity to govern resilient production systems; and capacity to govern data and digital platforms” (p. 2).

2 The examples were extracted from workshops carried out in an event that had more than 100 participants from multilateral agencies, Brazilian federal agencies, NGOs and Academia. The report was produced by the Laboratory of International Public Policies (Laboppi – Laboratório de Políticas Públicas Internacionais) of the São Paulo Federal University (Unifesp – Universidade Federal de São Paulo).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Osmany Porto de Oliveira

Osmany Porto de Oliveira is Assistant Professor in the International Relations Department at the Federal University of São Paulo. His research centers on policy transfer, development cooperation and urban policy. He edited the “Handbook of Policy Transfer, Diffusion and Circulation” (Edward Elgar, 2021) and is Associate Editor of Policy Sciences.

Natália Massaco Koga

Natália Massaco Koga is a Researcher at the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) and Professor in Government and Development at the Brazilian National School of Public Administration (Enap), with research interest in policy capacity, evidence informed policymaking, bureaucracy and democracy.