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Policy Transfer in the European Union: Institutional Isomorphism as a Source of Legitimacy
Author(s) -
Radaelli Claudio M.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
governance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.46
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1468-0491
pISSN - 0952-1895
DOI - 10.1111/0952-1895.00122
Subject(s) - isomorphism (crystallography) , legitimacy , european union , political science , politics , economic system , public administration , political economy , economics , international economics , law , chemistry , crystal structure , crystallography
This article examines public policy in the European Union (EU) by drawing upon the framework of policy transfer, which has been recently refined by comparativists, and the concept of isomorphism developed within organizational theory. Three case studies—namely, the single currency, tax policy and media ownership policy—are discussed and compared with the aim of assessing the potential of isomorphism for the analysis of policy dif‐fusion. The author argues that European institutions, which have a serious limitation in terms of legitimacy, stimulate policy transfer by catalyzing isomorphic processes. Policy transfer, however, is constrained when there are no national cases to be imitated. Yet European institutions, most notably the European Commission, can overcome the problem by “inseminating” solutions into national political systems.