When the birds sing. A framework for analysing domestic factors behind policy convergence

This paper proposes a framework for analysing domestic factors behind policy diffusion and convergence. Three basic factors are distinguished, determining the extent to which countries are likely to take up different types of new policies. These factors are: culture, institutions and economy. They are operationalized with the help of three indicators: dominant religious tradition (culture), the prevailing orientation towards public/private relations (institutions), and the level of economic development (economy). It is argued that these factors may be important to different degrees, dependent on whether policy change involves the basic goals and ideas of a policy, the instruments applied, or the setting or ‘calibration’ of these instruments. This leads to the hypothesis that countries that are culturally, institutionally or economically close may be expected to adopt similar ideas, instruments or settings in public policy, respectively, and thus are likely to converge on these points. While the argument proposed in this paper applies to policy change generally, we focus on environmental policy for illustration.