The Imitation-innovation Trade-off

Abstract

This article examines the proposition that there is a trade-off between imitation and innovation when state elites try to “borrow” institutional designs from other polities. After synthesizing theoretical propositions both for and against a trade-off, the article develops evidence from case studies of two periods in which such institutional borrowing was widely practiced: the post-World War II American occupation of Germany and German reunification after 1989. It concludes that imitation sparked innovation in both periods, although for two very different reasons. The article emphasizes the relation of the research findings to theories of institutional creation and change.