European and North American policy change. Drivers and dynamics

Abstract:
The issue of policy dynamics is a key one in policy studies and one which is particularly amenable to comparative policy research. This edited volume examines the definition, conceptualization and operationalization of policy change.

Drawing on empirical materials from a variety of longitudinal studies of Europe and North American policy development, this book assesses some of the major existing and unresolved issues currently challenging the discipline. It assesses existing approaches to understanding the multiplicity of drivers of policy change and provides a general map of the composite, multidimensional world of policies in action. The book features case studies on welfare reform, education reform, the World Bank, tobacco control policy, energy policy, agricultural policy, pension reform and the impact of public opinion. Features of the volume include:

- A focus on both the domestic and international drivers of policy change.
- Extensive qualitative data on policy change covering a range of different topics and countries.

Contents:

Part 1: Introduction
1. Introduction: The Multidimensional World of Policy Dynamics

Part 2: Evaluating Existing Frameworks and Models: Empirical Tests of Multiple Models
2. Explaining the Policy Impact of the 1991 and the 2000 Firework Blasts in the Netherlands by the Core of Five Policy Change Models
3. Policy Flexibility vs. Policy Inertia: Coalitional Dynamics in German Pension Reform

Part 3: International Drivers of Policy Change
4. Tobacco Control Policy in Western Europe: A Case of Protracted Paradigm Change
5. Internationalization and Policy Paradigm Change: The Case of Agriculture
6. Policy Change: The Case of World Bank and Pension Reforms

Part 4: Domestic Drivers of Policy Change
7. The Influence of Public Opinion on Policy Dynamics: Party and Policy Responsiveness in the European Union
8. Pension Reforms in Italy and US: Policy Change Through Political and Institutionalized Policy ‘Gates’
9. Ideational Leadership and Structural Policy Change: Comparing German Welfare State Reforms
10. Going with the Flow: Policy Leadership, U .S. Energy Paradigm Shift and Policy Displacement from 1975 to 2006

Part 5: Conclusion
11. Conclusion: A Research Agenda for Policy Dynamics