Ideas, federalism and policy feedback: an institutionalist approach

ABSTRACT

Federalism and policy feedback are central issues within the institutionalist tradition, but scholars who study the role of ideas within that tradition have paid surprisingly limited attention to these two issues. More specifically, within the public policy literature, little has been published about the relationship between federalism and the ideational dimension of policy feedback. The objective of this article is to explore this relationship at the theoretical level before illustrating basic analytical claims about it through empirical work. The empirical sections draw on two case studies from Canada to illustrate the interaction between federalism and ideational policy feedback over time: provincial social policy, with a focus on Quebec, and the federal National Energy Program, with a focus on its impact on Alberta. The analysis stresses the role of identity formation in mediating the connection between ideational and institutional processes in federal political systems.

KEYWORDS:

• federalism
• ideas
• institutions
• institutionalism
• policy feedback
• politics
• Canada

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank Jörg Broschek and the anonymous reviewers for theirhis useful comments and suggestions.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 French-language quotation translated by the authors: ‘n’acceptera pas que les retraités du Québec aient moins que ceux du reste du pays’.

2 French language quotation translated by the authors: ‘Le gouvernement doit entendre raison et prendre des décisions qui vont dans l’intérêt de la population. En 1966, Jean Lesage avait vu juste en proposant la mise en place d’un régime de retraite propre au Québec, ce régime a maintenant besoin d’être amélioré afin de jouer pleinement son rôle.’

3 French language quotation translated by the authors: ‘acceptions qu’un retraité québécois ait moins qu’un retraité de l’Alberta, du Nouveau-Brunswick, de la Colombie-Britannique, de la Nouvelle-Écosse ou de n’importe quelle autre province canadienne’.

4 French-language quotation translated by the authors: ‘La CSQ ne peut accepter que les retraités du Québec obtiennent moins que les autres retraités du Canada.’

5 French-language quotation translated by the authors: ‘la bonification de leur Régime des rentes sera franchement plus faible que le Régime de pensions du Canada pour les autres citoyens du pays. Un retraité du Québec va recevoir 2176 $ de moins qu’un retraité du Nouveau-Brunswick ou de l’Ontario.’

6 Manitoba (1870), Saskatchewan (1905) and Alberta (1905) were all denied access to their natural resources when they joined the Canadian federation.

7 That figure was lower in the past. For example, it was 26% in 1956 (https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-550/table/t1-eng.cfm).

8 In 2016, the rate of individual bilingualism in Québec was 44.5% compared with 4.7% in Saskatchewan, 6.6% in Alberta, 6.8% in British Columbia and 8.6% in Manitoba (https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016009/98-200-x2016009-eng.cfm).

9 The Reform Party changed its name to Canadian Alliance in 2000. It formed the official opposition between 2000 and 2003.

10 In recent years, only Saskatchewan has been closely aligned with Alberta on the governance of the federation.