Valence, Policy Ideas, and the Rise of Sustainability

Abstract

This article introduces to policy studies the concept of valence, which we define as the emotional quality of an idea that makes it more or less attractive. We argue that valence explains why some ideas are more successful than others, sometimes gaining paradigmatic status. A policy idea is attractive when its valence matches the mood of a target population. Skilled policy entrepreneurs use ideas with high valence to frame policy issues and generate support for their policy proposals. The usefulness of the concept of valence is illustrated with the case of sustainability, an idea that has expanded from the realm of environmental policy to dominate discussions in such diverse policy areas as pension reform, public finance, labor markets, and energy security. As the valence of sustainability has increased, policy entrepreneurs have used the idea to reframe problems in these various policy areas and promote reforms.

Assessing the Financial Sustainability of China’s Rural Pension System

“…Because old-age pensions involve long-term financial commitments on the part of employers, workers and, especially, governments, pension reform is a key policy area in which the concept of sustainability has, in recent times, proven increasingly influential [41]. This situation is related to the rise of sustainability as a key concept that is ever present in debates about both environmental and socio-economic issues, which points to the distinction between environmental and human sustainability.…”

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“…De las políticas económicas en Europa (Campbell 1998; Oliver y Pemberton 2004; Hodson y Mabbett 2009) y América Latina (Babb 2013), se ha difundido a las políticas de cultura en Francia (Surel 1997), forestal en Estados Unidos (Cashore y Howlett 2007), migratoria en Israel (Shpaizman 2014), de desarrollo sostenible y energía (Cox y Béland 2013;Kern y Kuzemko 2014). En la teoría de las revoluciones científicas de Thomas Kuhn, un paradigma designa una serie de resultados reconocidos universalmente por una comunidad científica que la provee con unos patrones comunes de problemas y soluciones (Kuhn 1971, 14).…”

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