Use of the OECD in justifying policy reforms: the case of Finland

The paper addresses the question, how nation‐states as sovereign actors adopt and implement worldwide policy models, thus creating isomorphic developmental trends, by analyzing the ways in which international governmental organizations are used to promote and legitimize policy reforms at the national level. The use of the OECD knowledge production in governmental documents in Finland is used as a case example. The results show that by appealing to the OECD both as a source of information and policy recommendations justified by scientific knowledge, national policy‐makers contribute to creating and reproducing an epistemic community, which makes it understandable why advanced economies follow isomorphic developmental paths.