The European Union and New Zealand: converging approaches to the knowledge-based economy?

Abstract: Since 2000, the European Union (EU) and New Zealand (NZ) have adopted strikingly similar policy approaches towards the knowledge economy despite being different and distant political actors. By way of explanation, historical as well as socio-cultural ties between European member states and NZ may be brought forward but they do not constitute satisfactory explanatory factors. Evidence suggests that policy transfer between the EU and NZ is visible not only in the ideational dimension but also as an external source of legitimacy of NZ's political strategies. In this article we discuss the shared normative basis of their broad policy approaches and the orientation of public policy prescriptions. The aim is to seek to develop a more nuanced understanding of policy transfer processes on the international level between two different polities by considering their respective responses to the knowledge-based economy with the emphasis put on voluntary transfer of policy and lesson-drawing.