Comparative Public Policy Analysis: Shortcomings, Pitfalls, and Avenues for the Future

Abstract Comparative public policy is a blooming research area. It also suffers from some curious blind spots. In this paper we discuss four of these: (1) the obsession with covariance, which means that important phenomena are ignored; (2) the lack of agency, which leads to underwhelming explanatory...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Politische Vierteljahresschrift. - Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 1960. - 63(2022), 2 vom: 05. Apr., Seite 295-313
1. Verfasser: Wenzelburger, Georg (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Jensen, Carsten
Format: Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2022
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Politische Vierteljahresschrift
Schlagworte:Comparative Public policy Comparative political economy Policy process Quantitative methods
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Abstract Comparative public policy is a blooming research area. It also suffers from some curious blind spots. In this paper we discuss four of these: (1) the obsession with covariance, which means that important phenomena are ignored; (2) the lack of agency, which leads to underwhelming explanatory models; (3) the unclear universe of cases, which means the inferential value of theories and the empirical results are unclear; and (4) the focus on outputs, even though most theories contain strong assumptions about the political process leading to certain outputs. Following this discussion, we then outline how a closer integration of policy process theories may be fruitful for future research.
Beschreibung:© The Author(s) 2022
ISSN:0032-3470
DOI:10.1007/s11615-022-00390-x