Diffusion of CCTs from Latin America to Asia: the Philippine 4Ps case

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the role of international and domestic actors, ideas and processes in the diffusion of public policies. It argues that existing studies on the subject do not provide an adequate explanation of the mechanisms through which diffusion takes place, nor do they sufficiently address the roles of actors affecting the policy transfer process. We address these shortcomings by studying the diffusion of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs from Brazil and Mexico to the Philippines over the past decade. We use the concept of an 'instrument constituency' to delineate and trace the various actors and channels involved in the diffusion of CCTs. The case study shows that these groups of actors dedicated to the articulation, adoption and expansion of particular policy instruments are central players in transnational diffusion of policies and offer a robust explanation of the phenomenon. Keywords: policy diffusion; CCT; instrument constituency. Difusão dos PTCs da América Latina para a Ásia: o caso do programa 4Ps nas FilipinasO objetivo deste estudo é compreender o papel de atores, ideias e processos nacionais e internacionais no que diz respeito à difusão de políticas públicas. Observa-se que os estudos existentes sobre esse tema não oferecem uma explicação adequada sobre os mecanismos pelos quais essa difusão ocorre, bem como não abordam definitivamente os papéis dos atores envolvidos no processo de transferência de políticas. Em virtude desse quadro, este trabalho busca contribuir por meio do estudo do processo de difusão, ao longo da última década, de programas de transferência condicionada de renda (PTCs) do Brasil e do México para as Filipinas. Ainda, usamos o conceito de "grupo de defesa de instrumento de política pública" para delinear e compreender os diversos atores e canais envolvidos com a difusão dos PTCs. O estudo de caso mostra que esses grupos de atores dedicados a articulação, adoção e expansão de políticas específicas são centrais para sua difusão para outros países e para explicar esse fenômeno com maior propriedade. Palavras-chave: difusão de políticas; PTC; grupo de defesa de instrumento de política pública. Difusión de los PTC de América Latina en Asia: el caso del programa 4Ps en FilipinasEl objetivo de este estudio es comprender el papel de actores, ideas y procesos nacionales e internacionales en lo que respecta a la difusión de políticas públicas. Se observa que los estudios existentes sobre ese tema no ofrecen 265una explicación adecuada sobre los mecanismos por los cuales se da esa difusión; asimismo, no abordan definitivamente los papeles de los actores involucrados en el proceso de transferencia de políticas. En virtud de ese panorama, este trabajo se propone contribuir mediante el estudio del proceso de difusión -durante la última década -de los programas de transferencia monetaria condicionada (PTC) de Brasil y de México en las Filipinas. Además, usamos el concepto de "grupo de defensa de instrumento de política pública" para delinear y comprender lo...

Policy Transfer and Instrument Constituency: Explaining the Adoption of Conditional Cash Transfer in the Philippines

“…Instrument constituencies actively develop comprehensive knowledge about specific policy instruments and advocate for its adoption. Cases of instrument constituencies include emissions trading schemes (Voß & Simons, ), experimental sustainability management (Voß, ), public participation (Amelung & Grabner, ; Voß & Amelung, ) and social policies (Béland & Howlett, ) including conditional cash transfers (Foli, Béland, & Fenwick, ; Howlett, Ramesh, & Saguin, ). They are found to mobilize resources with the intention of deploying these tools in developing and developed countries alike, regardless of policy context.…”

“…The idea of social development remains the same but other elements became a by‐product of local contestations. Howlett et al () used the three categories of policy elements identified by Cashore and Howlett () to show the influence of instrument constituency on the journey of CCT from Latin America to the Philippines. The authors argued that the fundamental ideas (or high‐level abstraction) about goals and instrument logic emanated from United States and Chile but the program‐level content on specific policy objectives and instrument mechanism became a concoction of various practices from Latin America including Brazil and Mexico.…”

“…The choice of targeting scheme reflects nuances in the implementation of the CCT since PMTs are particularly useful when income is difficult to measure while Brazil's self‐targeting scheme is the logical choice when the poor regularly avails of public goods and services (Ravallion 2016). The Brazilian model eventually found its way in many countries including Ecuador (Lana & Evans, ) and Ghana (Foli et al, ) while PMTs are primarily used in newer adoptions in the Philippines and Indonesia (Howlett et al, ).…”

“…These experts and consultants previously worked in other CCTs, and were actively employed by IOs like the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Australian Aid (AusAid). Their expertise became crucial in the first stage of CCT diffusion of CCT within Latin America from Mexico and Brazil (Jenson, ; Sugiyama, ) and in other parts of the world, notably in Asia (Howlett et al, ).…”

“…The third edition of the conference, which the World Bank co‐sponsored with the Turkish government in 2006, sought to bring together participants from 40 countries with representatives from governments with extensive experience of implementing CCTs and other governments interested in adopting the program. This conference became pivotal in the adoption of CCT in the Philippines and Indonesia (Debonneville & Diaz, ; Howlett et al, ; Kim & Yoo, ; Kwon & Kim, ). Knowledge products about CCT, particularly those published by the instrument constituency, also became widespread.…”