Breaking down ideas and institutions: the politics of tax policy in the USA and the UK

Béland, Daniel; Waddan, Alex

doi:10.1080/01442872.2014.1000845

Cited by 22 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…It proposes that functional pressure be measured through the examination of contemporaneous expert evaluations, public opinion data (where available) and the timing and sequence of media and elite attention. It is also argued (following Béland and Waddan ) that ideas need to ‘broken down’ into more manageable sub‐categories, namely policy solutions, policy theories and programmatic beliefs. Policy theories serve much the same ideational function as described in the original OFA (linking problem and solution).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Implicit in this expanded role for ideas is the notion that they come in a variety of types. Hence, I follow Béland and Waddan's () suggestion to ‘break down’ ideas into more usable categories. Here, I choose to make use of a slightly modified version of the tripartite framework proposed by Mehta (), consisting of: Policy solutions Policy theories Programmatic beliefs …”

Section: Expanding (And Limiting) the Open Functional Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rethinking the ‘open functional’ approach: Ideas, problem pressure and reform in the contemporary welfare state

Hannah

2018

Public Administration

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Recognition that welfare states continue to change has fostered debate about the relationship between ideas and policy problems in driving governments towards reform. To move the debate forward, this article proposes a modification of Barbara Vis and Kees van Kersbergen's ‘open functional approach’. It first argues that while policy problems may provide ‘functional pressure’ to reform, this pressure is significant only in so far as inaction would risk electoral punishment. Reform pressure is hence best evaluated with reference to contemporaneous expert advice, public opinion data and the timing of elite and media attention. Second, it suggests that ideas may also lead parties to act as reform seekers, using policy problems as justification for cherished solutions or long‐held programmatic goals. The modified approach is demonstrated through comparative application to two case studies, attempts at pension reform in Sweden and the United States.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Expanding (And Limiting) the Open Functional Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking the ‘open functional’ approach: Ideas, problem pressure and reform in the contemporary welfare state

Hannah

2018

Public Administration

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“…As recent scholarship suggests, in order to study how ideational and institutional forces might help produce policy change, it is necessary to break down ideational and institutional factors into more specific categories (Béland & Waddan, 2015). In the following analysis, the ideational factor we focus on is narrative stories as defined by Stone (2012).…”

Section: Narrative Stories and Institutional Rulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Narrative stories, institutional rules, and the politics of pension policy in Canada and the United States

Béland

2019

Policy and Society

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Deborah Stone's Policy Paradox stresses the role of narrative stories in the construction of policy problems. This article takes a critical look at the Policy Paradox and at the claim that paying close attention to narratives is essential to the analysis of policy change. Drawing on recent scholarship on the role of ideas in public policy, the article shows that the analysis of narratives is part of a broader intellectual project associated with the ideational turn in policy analysis. The article explains how the analysis of narrative stories should take institutional factors into account, which can shape policy decisions. To illustrate these theoretical claims, the article analyzes the debate over public pension reform in the United States and Canada during the last 25 years. More specifically, the article compares the reform of the Canada Pension Plan during the mid-1990s and the failed push to privatize US Social Security during the Bill Clinton and the George W. Bush presidencies. The analysis stresses that, while narrative stories shape problem definition, institutional legacies influence policy adoption.

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“…Some researchers suggest that analyses based on policy ideas have failed to clearly specify the constructs by which policy ideas may be observed and measured (Béland and Waddan ; Berman ). Béland and Waddan (: 191) admonished scholars to “clearly define ‘ideas’ at the outset” and to break down the concept into more specific subcategories. Policy ideas can be operationalized effectively by adhering to Campbell's () framework, which proposed four types amenable to qualitative assessment.…”

Section: Policy Ideasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some researchers suggest that analyses based on policy ideas have failed to clearly specify the constructs by which policy ideas may be observed and measured (B eland and Waddan 2015;Berman 2013). B eland andWaddan (2015: 191) admonished scholars to "clearly define 'ideas' at the outset" and to break down the concept into more specific subcategories.…”

Section: Policy Ideasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Federal policy ideas and involvement in Canadian urban transit, 2002‐2017

Towns¹,

Henstra²

2018

Can Public Adm

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Although provincial and local governments bear primary responsibility for urban transit projects and operations in Canada, the Government of Canada engages intermittently in this policy field, mainly through research and short‐term funding programs. This article analyzes federal policy concerning urban transit over the period 2002‐2017, with a substantive focus on policy ideas—the cognitive and normative concepts that provide direction for, and shape the perceived legitimacy of, policy choices. Through a thematic content analysis of policy documents, this article explicates the paradigms, programmatic foci, frames and public sentiments that have underpinned federal urban transit policy over this 15‐year period.

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Breaking down ideas and institutions: the politics of tax policy in the USA and the UK

Cited by 22 publications

References 27 publications

Rethinking the ‘open functional’ approach: Ideas, problem pressure and reform in the contemporary welfare state

Rethinking the ‘open functional’ approach: Ideas, problem pressure and reform in the contemporary welfare state

Narrative stories, institutional rules, and the politics of pension policy in Canada and the United States

Federal policy ideas and involvement in Canadian urban transit, 2002‐2017

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