Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Policy feedback and pathways: when change leads to endurance and continuity to change

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Policy Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The policy feedback literature was initially concerned with explaining how positive feedback could lead to self-reinforcing policy trajectories. More recently, policy scholars have devoted more attention to negative feedbacks which can result in self-undermining policy trajectories. This article moves beyond these two well-known pathways to policy endurance and change by conceptually outlining two additional pathways to endurance and change. We argue that positive and negative feedback may be observed simultaneously within the same policy trajectory. The existing literature fails to distinguish adequately between policy feedback processes operating at the ideational and instrument levels of policy. We outline a pathway to endurance in which negative feedbacks at the policy instrument level result in instrument change which can be a necessary condition for sustained positive feedback processes at the ideational level of policy. Somewhat counterintuitively, we argue a policy pathway in which positive instrument feedbacks undermine the ideational foundation of policy. With positive instrument feedback overshadowing negative feedbacks, misalignment between policy and the broader context, eventually undermining the policy, is likely to occur at some point. These new insights are important for policy planning with longer time horizons.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arestis, P. (2012). Fiscal policy: A strong macroeconomic role. Review of Keynesian Economics,1(1), 93–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arestis, P., & Sawyer, M. (2008). A critical reconsideration of the foundations of monetary policy in the new consensus macroeconomics framework. Cambridge Journal of Economics,32(5), 761–779.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arestis, P., & Sawyer, M. (2012). The ‘new economics’ and policies for financial stability. International Review of Applied Economics,26(2), 147–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, A. (2013). The new political economy of the macroprudential ideational shift. New Political Economy,18(1), 112–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, A. (2018). Macroprudential regimes and the politics of social purpose. Review of International Political Economy,25(3), 293–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakir, C., & Woo, J. J. (2016). Financial sector reform and policy design in an age of instability. Policy and Society,35(3), 193–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumgartner, F. R., & Jones, B. D. (1993). Agendas and instabilities in American politics. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Béland, D. (2009). Ideas, institutions, and policy change. Journal of European Public Policy,16(5), 701–718.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Béland, D. (2010). Reconsidering policy feedback: How policies affect politics. Administration and Society,42(5), 568–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Béland, D., & Cox, R. H. (2011). Introduction: Ideas and politics. In D. Béland & R. H. Cox (Eds.), Ideas and politics in social science research (pp. 3–20). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Béland, D., Rocco, P., & Waddan, A. (2019). Policy feedback and the politics of the Affordable Care Act. Policy Studies Journal,47(2), 395–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Béland, D., & Schlager, E. (2019). Varieties of policy feedback research: Looking backward, moving forward. Policy Studies Journal,47(2), 184–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berman, S. (2013). Ideational theorizing in the social sciences since ‘policy paradigms, social learning, and the state’. Governance,26(2), 217–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blyth, M. (2002). Great transformations: Economic ideas and institutional change in the twentieth century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Boushey, H., Nunn, R., & Shambaugh, J. (2019). Recession ready: Fiscal policies to stabilize the American economy. Washington: Brookings Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. L. (2002). Ideas, politics, and public policy. Annual Review of Sociology,28, 21–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capano, G., & Woo, J. J. (2017). Resilience and robustness in policy design: A critical appraisal. Policy Sciences, 50(3), 399–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Capano, G., Pritoni, A., & Vicentini, G. (2019). Do policy instruments matter? Governments’ choice of policy mix and higher education performance in Western Europe. Journal of Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0143814X19000047.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cashore, B., & Howlett, M. (2007). Punctuating which equilibrium? Understanding thermostatic policy dynamics in Pacific Northwest forestry. American Journal of Political Science,51(3), 532–551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crouch, C., & Farrell, H. (2004). Breaking the path of institutional development? Alternatives to the new determinism. Rationality and Society,16(1), 5–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daigneault, P.-M. (2014). Reassessing the concept of policy paradigm: Aligning ontology and methodology in policy studies. Journal of European Public Policy,21(3), 453–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daugbjerg, C. (2009). Sequencing in public policy: The evolution of the CAP over a decade. Journal of European Public Policy.,16(3), 395–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daugbjerg, C., & Swinbank, A. (2016). Three decades of policy layering and politically sustainable reform in the European Union’s agricultural policy. Governance,29(2), 265–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goss, K. A., Barnes, C., & Rose, D. (2019). Bringing organizations back in: Multilevel feedback effects on individual civic inclusion. Policy Studies Journal,47(2), 451–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, P. A. (1993). Policy paradigms, social learning, and the state: The case of economic policy making in Britain’. Comparative Politics,25(3), 275–296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, P. A., & Taylor, R. C. R. (1996). Political science and the three institutionalisms. Political Studies,44(4), 936–957.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hindmoor, A., & McConnell, A. (2013). Why didn’t they see it coming? Warning signs, acceptable risks and the Global Financial Crisis. Political Studies,61(3), 543–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodson, D., & Mabbett, D. (2009). UK economic policy and the global financial crisis: Paradigm lost? Journal of Common Market Studies,47(5), 1041–1061.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood, C. (1983). The tools of government. London: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hood, C. (2007). Intellectual obsolescence and intellectual makeovers: Reflections on the tools of government after two decades. Governance,20(1), 127–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howlett, M. (2009). Process sequencing policy dynamics: Beyond homeostasis and path dependency. Journal of Public Policy,29(3), 241–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howlett, M. (2014). From the ‘old’ to the ‘new’ policy design: Design thinking beyond markets and collaborative governance. Policy Sciences,47(3), 187–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howlett, M., & Ramesh, M. (2017). The two orders of governance failure: Design mismatches and policy capacity issues in modern governance. Policy and Society,33(4), 317–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howlett, M., & Rayner, J. (2006). Understanding the historical turn in the policy sciences. A critique of stochastic, narrative, path dependency and process-sequencing models of policy-making over time. Policy Sciences,39(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, A. M., & Weaver, R. K. (2015). When policies undo themselves: Self-undermining feedback as a source of policy change. Governance,28(4), 441–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, C. (2011). Focusing events, policy dictators and the dynamics of reform. Policy Studies,32(2), 143–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, A., & Matt, E. (2014). Designing policies that intentionally stick: Policy feedback in a changing climate. Policy Sciences,47(3), 227–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kay, A. (2003). Path dependency and the CAP. Journal of European Public Policy,10(3), 405–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kay, A. (2005). A critique of the use of path dependency in policy studies. Public Administration,83(3), 53–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kay, A. (2011). UK monetary policy change during the financial crisis: Paradigms, spillovers, and goal co-ordination. Journal of Public Policy,31(2), 143–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingdon, J. (1984). Agendas, alternatives and public policies. Boston: Little Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin, K., Cashore, B., Bernstein, S., & Auld, G. (2012). Overcoming the tragedy of super wicked problems: Constraining our future selves to ameliorate global climate change. Policy Sciences, 45(2), 123–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowi, T. J. (1964). American business, public policy, case-studies, and political theory. World Politics,16(4), 677–715.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahoney, J. (2000). Path dependence in historical sociology. Theory and Society,29(4), 507–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • May, P., & Jochim, A. (2013). Policy regime perspectives. Policy Studies Journal,41(3), 426–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ossewaarde, R. (2017). Unmasking scenario planning: The colonization of the future in the ‘local governments of the future’ program. Futures,93, 80–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Page, S. E. (2006). Path dependence. Quarterly Journal of Political Science,1(1), 87–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pahle, M., Burtraw, D., Flachsland, C., Kelsey, N., Biber, E., Meckling, J., et al. (2018). ‘Sequencing to ratchet up climate policy stringency. Nature Climate Change,8, 861–867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patashnik, E. (2003). After the public interest prevails: The political sustainability of policy reform. Governance,16(2), 203–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patashnik, E. M., & Zelizer, J. E. (2013). The struggle to remake politics: Liberal reform and the limits of policy feedback in the contemporary American state. Perspectives on Politics,11(4), 1071–1087.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pierson, P. (1993). When effect becomes cause: Policy feedback and political change. World Politics,45(4), 595–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pierson, P. (2000). Increasing returns, path dependence and the study of politics. American Political Science Review,94(2), 251–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rayner, J. (2009). Understanding policy change as a historical problem. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis,11(1), 83–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, R. (1990). Inheritance before choice in public policy’. Journal of Theoretical Politics,2(3), 263–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sabel, C. F., & Zeitlin, J. (2012). Experimentalist governance. In D. Levi-Faur (Ed.), The oxford handbook of governance (pp. 169–83). Oxford University Press.

  • Schattschneider, E. E. (1935). Politics, pressures and the tariff. New York: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, T. S., Schmid, N., & Sewerin, S. (2019). Policy goals, partisanship and paradigmatic change in energy policy—Analyzing parliamentary discourse in Germany over 30 years. Climate Policy,19(6), 771–786.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, A., & Ingram, H. (1993). Social construction of target populations: Implications for politics and policy. American Political Science Review,87(2), 334–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, A., & Sidney, M. (2009). What is next for policy design and social construction theory? Policy Studies Journal,37(1), 103–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, W. R. (2008). Institutions and organizations: Ideas and interests (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skogstad, G. (2008). Canadian agricultural policy programs and paradigms: The influence of international trade agreements and domestic factors. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics,56(4), 493–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skogstad, G., & Schmidt, V. (2011). Introduction: Policy paradigms, transnationalism, and domestic politics. In G. Skogstad (Ed.), Policy paradigms, transnationalism, and domestic politics (pp. 3–35). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Thelen, K. (1999). Historical institutionalism in comparative politics. Annual Review of Political Science,2, 369–404.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thelen, K. (2003). How institutionalism evolve: Insights from comparative historical analysis. In J. Mahoney & D. Rueschemeyer (Eds.), Comparative historical analysis in the social sciences (pp. 208–240). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • van der Steen, M. (2017). Anticipation tools in policy formulation: Forecasting, foresight and implications for policy planning. In M. Howlett & I. Mukherjee (Eds.), Handbook of policy formulation (pp. 182–197). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • van Dorsser, C., Walker, W., Taneja, P., & Marchau, V. (2018). Improving the link between the futures field and policymaking. Futures,104, 75–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vedung, E. (1998). Policy instruments: Typologies and theories. In M. Bemalmans-Videc, R. C. Rist, & E. Vedung (Eds.), Carrots, sticks and sermons: Policy instruments and their evaluation (pp. 21–58). New Brunswick: Transaction Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, K. (2010). Paths and forks or chutes and ladders? Negative feedbacks and policy regime change. Journal of Public Policy,30(2), 137–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver, R. K. (2014). Compliance regimes and barriers to behavioral change. Governance,27(2), 243–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, J. Q. (1980). The politics of regulation. In J. Q. Wilson (Ed.), The politics of regulation (pp. 357–394). New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, R. S. (2006). Tobacco’s tipping point: The master settlement agreement as a focusing event. Policy Studies Journal,34(3), 419–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This paper is the outcome of a ‘slow-cooking’ process in which three quite different versions have been presented at three different IPPA events from 2015 to 2018. We thank the audience at these three events, particularly Frode Veggeland, the three reviewers and the guest editors of this special issue for constructive suggestions on how to move the paper out of the impasse.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Carsten Daugbjerg

  2. Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Carsten Daugbjerg & Adrian Kay

Authors
  1. Carsten Daugbjerg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adrian Kay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carsten Daugbjerg.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Daugbjerg, C., Kay, A. Policy feedback and pathways: when change leads to endurance and continuity to change. Policy Sci 53, 253–268 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-019-09366-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-019-09366-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation