In recent years there has been a growing body of literature within political science and international studies that directly and indirectly uses, discusses and analyzes the processes involved in lesson-drawing, policy convergence, policy diffusion and policy transfer. While the terminology and focus often vary, all of these studies are concerned with a similar process in which knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in one political setting (past or present) is used in the development of policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in another political setting.

Given that this is a growing phenomenon, it is something that anyone studying public policy needs to consider. As such, this article is divided into four major sections. The first section briefly considers the extent of, and reasons for, the growth of policy transfer. The second section then outlines a framework for the analysis of transfer. From here a third section presents a continuum for distinguishing between different types of policy transfer. Finally, the last section addresses the relationship between policy transfer and policy “failure.”

Learning from Abroad: The Role of Policy Transfer in Contemporary Policy‐Making

In the emergent literature of social policy transfer, very considerable attention has been directed to the processes of policy exchange between North America and the UK. This paper reports the findings of an investigation into the processes of policy transfer between Australia and the UK under the auspices of the Australian Labor Party in the early 1990s. Particular attention is given to the raft of policies promoting more active labour markets and the reform of student funding. Evidence is found of a real, though qualified impact of Australian policy-making mediated by the very different institutional contexts in Australia and Britain.

https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/41748/3/No86Pierson.pdf

Learning from Labor? Welfare policy transfer between Australia and Britain

This paper is concerned with the measurement of individual welfare in labour supply models which allow for the impact of income taxation and income support schemes on labour supply decisions. The paper is motivated by the concern over the need to have measures which can be interpreted easily, which can be compared with net income, and which can be meaningfully aggregated. To illustrate the issues we use estimates of a discrete choice model of labour supply for United Kingdom lone mothers to compute alternative welfare measures which might be considered as having intuitive appeal to policy-makers. We compute welfare change based on these measures arising from a recent reform of the child support payments system.

Welfare measurement in labour supply models with nonlinear budget constraints

This article offers an alternative “Circle of Courage” paradigm of education, derived from Native American culture, for creating inclusive high schools that welcome, value, support, and facilitate the learning of adolescents with differing abilities. From this perspective, we examine (a) ways to reorganize the structure of secondary schools; (b) emerging best practices for improving curriculum, instruction, assessment, and student social life on campus; and (c) a process and set of communication tools to ensure needed supports for individual students. We conclude by discussing the application of the Circle of Courage paradigm of education.

The Evolution of Secondary Inclusion

The reform of child support arrangements, including their treatment by the welfare system, has been on the policy agenda in a number of countries in recent years. This paper simulates the impact of a reform that recently has been implemented in the United Kingdom. The analysis is based on estimates of a model of discrete choice labor supply for a sample of U.K. lone mothers. We suggest that reform will induce a major reduction in welfare expenditures on lone mothers and a significant rise in their labor force participation due to greater work incentives associated with the changes.

John Coe

Papers

Children Come First.

In their Own Way

Helping Teachers To Grow.