2010/06/21 by Fabrizio Gilardi · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Business, Management and Accounting · #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Policy Transfer and Learning #Political Influence and Corporate Strategies #Retrenchment #Argument (complex analysis) #Politics #Unemployment #Political science #Positive economics #Policy learning #Economics #Political economy #Economic growth #Public administration #Computer science
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1540-5907.2010.00452.x
openalex publication_date 2010/06/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The idea that policy makers in different states or countries may learn from one another has fascinated scholars for a long time, but little systematic evidence has been produced so far. This article improves our understanding of this elusive argument by distinguishing between the policy and political consequences of reforms and by emphasizing the conditional nature of learning processes. Using a directed dyadic approach and multilevel methods, the analysis of unemployment benefits retrenchment in OECD countries demonstrates that policy makers learn selectively from the experience of others. Right governments tend to be more sensitive to information on the electoral consequences of reforms, while left governments are more likely to be influenced by their policy effects.