Where does learning take place? The role of intergovernmental cooperation in policy diffusion

Abstract

Although it is widely accepted that a decentralised system can enhance policy learning and the spread of best practices, an under‐researched question is where that learning process takes place. Using data on the diffusion of health care policies in Switzerland, this article analyses the role of institutionalised intergovernmental cooperation and its impact on the spread of successful policies. The results show that joint membership of policy makers in health policy specific intergovernmental bodies is related to the diffusion of best practices.

Mitigating climate change in a federal country committed to the Kyoto Protocol: how Swiss federalism further complicated an already complex challenge

“…To accommodate for these vertical interactions and those among cantonal governments, Switzerland relies on a ''gigantic infrastructure'' (Tschäni 1987: 90) of coordination that aims to reconcile cantonal and federal interests (Bolleyer 2006: 8;Vatter 2008: 22;Füglister 2012;Füglister and Wasserfallen 2014). Because federal and cantonal governments share many responsibilities, one could even say that vertical interactions mark ''business as usual'' in Swiss policy-making (Fleiner 2009).…”

“…Nevertheless, reaching common policy goals is often a tricky and timeconsuming process that can entrench inefficiencies, dilute reform efforts and yield incremental changes (Germann 1996;Swenden 2006: 192;Ingold and Varone 2012: 336). In the past, cantonal heterogeneity sometimes enabled the Federal Council to adopt narrow federal legislation and even capture what used to be cantonal competences if problems persisted (Vatter 1999(Vatter , 2004Bolleyer 2006: 14;Füglister 2012). Thus, an effective coordination of positions became an increasingly important concern for cantons to limit federal influence (Füglister and Wasserfallen 2014: 405).…”

Policy innovation in Dutch municipalities

“…Therefore we use a more direct conceptualization. To do so, we take into account the places where policy-makers exchange or acquire their information (Füglister, 2011). Policy Network Hypothesis: Municipalities will realize a CYF earlier when there are more municipalities in the same policy network that already have realized a CYF.…”

Kamu Poli̇ti̇kalarinin Yayilimi: Kuramsal Bi̇r İnceleme

“…Federalist sistemlerde aynı devlet içerisindeki farklı eyaletler arasında politika yayılımı görülmektedir. Fuglister (2012) tarafından yapılan ve İsviçre kantonları arasında sağlık politikalarının yayılımının nasıl gerçekleştiğinin analizini içeren çalışmada, farklı kantonların politika yapıcılarının kurumsallaşmış yapılar içerisindeki etkileşiminin politika yayılımına neden olduğu tespiti yapılmıştır. Sağlık…”