In search of the worlds of compliance: culture and transposition performance in the European Union

Abstract: This paper tests the argument that assigning countries into three worlds of compliance helps to explain transposition performance in the European Union. Looking into what cultural features distinguish the 'culture of compliance' worlds shows that attitudes towards law-abidingness and rule-following, and trust in the EU institutions, are not directly related to membership in the three types. Then, focusing on the explanatory potential of the typology, the study finds that levels of non-transposition are consistent with the argument although the differences between the groups are only marginally significant. The implications of the typology for the variability of transposition performance and the differentiated impact of domestic politics in the compliance worlds are not, however, supported by the empirical analysis of yearly policy-specific data on non-transposition rates (1998-2005).

In search of the worlds of compliance: a brief reply, by Gerda Falkner, Miriam Hartlapp, Simone Leiber and Oliver Treib

In search of the worlds of compliance? A response, by Dimiter Toshkov