Abstract
This chapter investigates patterns in the application of policy analytical techniques by government officials across different types of policy sectors in three subnational administrations in Belgium. Even when there is general consensus about the importance of policy analytical capacity, government officials’ deployment of policy analytical tools may vary across policy sectors, both in terms of frequency as well as in terms of type. To explain these variations, the chapter examines the role of three explanatory conditions that were originally identified to account for variance in policy analytical practice at the national level of analysis, but may also be relevant for the diffusion of policy analytical praxis across different types of policy sectors. These conditions are the role of social scientists in a particular sector, the degree of government spending per sector, and the receipt of EU subsidies. The analysis draws on recent survey material in Belgium carried out in three different subnational administrations: the Flemish government administration (Flanders), the administration of the Walloon Regional government (Walloon Region), and the administration of the government of the French-speaking community of Belgium (French-speaking Community).
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Fobé, E., Pattyn, V., Brans, M., Aubin, D. (2018). Policy Analytical Practice Investigated: Exploring Sectoral Patterns in Use of Policy Analytical Techniques. In: Wu, X., Howlett, M., Ramesh, M. (eds) Policy Capacity and Governance. Studies in the Political Economy of Public Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54675-9_8
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