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The causal effects of ideas on policies

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  • Yee, Albert S.

Abstract

Behavioral, institutional, and discursive analyses of the causal effects of ideas on policies present various difficulties. Meaning-oriented behavioralism is hampered by its reliance on statistical associations and quasi-experimentation to make causal claims. Ideational institutionalism avoids these problems by focusing on institutional causal mechanisms. However, these mechanisms suffer from other problems and need to be complemented by an analysis of ideational causal mechanisms of capacities. Broadly construed “discursive” approaches, meanwhile, present important analyses of these ideational capacities but unfortunately routinely neglect their causal effects on policies. These dilemmas suggest that ideational analysis can be enhanced if discursivists attend more closely to the causal effects of ideational factors, while behavioralists and institutionalists pay greater attention to interpretive understanding, intersubjective meanings, and discursive practices. In so doing, opposing analytical approaches might engage in fruitful dialogue, or at the very least raise the level of their “third debate.”

Suggested Citation

  • Yee, Albert S., 1996. "The causal effects of ideas on policies," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(1), pages 69-108, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:intorg:v:50:y:1996:i:01:p:69-108_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Aligica, Paul Dragos, 2013. "Institutional Diversity and Political Economy: The Ostroms and Beyond," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199843909.
    2. Ecker-Ehrhardt, Matthias, 2002. "Die deutsche Debatte um die EU-Osterweiterung: Ein Vergleich ihres ideellen Vorder- und Hintergrundes," Discussion Papers, Research Group International Politics P 02-303, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    3. Jan Mayrhofer & Joyeeta Gupta, 2016. "The politics of co-benefits in India’s energy sector," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(7), pages 1344-1363, November.
    4. Natalie Nitsche & Ansgar Hudde, 2022. "Countries embracing maternal employment opened schools sooner after Covid-19 lockdowns," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-008, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    5. Meseguer Yebra, Covadonga, 2000. "Learning and economic policy choices with an application to IMF agreements," ISER Working Paper Series 2000-02, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    6. Holzscheiter, Anna, 2015. "Interorganisationale Harmonisierung als sine qua non für die Effektivität von Global Governance? Eine soziologisch-institutionalistische Analyse interorganisationaler Strukturen in der globalen Gesund," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 56(SH 49), pages 322-348.
    7. Francesco S. Montesano & Frank Biermann & Agni Kalfagianni & Marjanneke J. Vijge, 2023. "Balancing or prioritising for sustainable development? Perceptions of sustainability integration among professionals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1921-1936, June.
    8. Andrea Terlizzi, 2021. "Narratives in power and policy design: the case of border management and external migration controls in Italy," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 54(4), pages 749-781, December.
    9. Baxandall, Phineas, 2002. "Explaining differences in the political meaning of unemployment across time and space," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 469-502.
    10. Adriano Cozzolino, 2020. "The Discursive Construction of Europe in Italy in the Age of Permanent Austerity," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(3), pages 580-598, May.
    11. Jan Beyers & Sarah Arras, 2021. "Stakeholder consultations and the legitimacy of regulatory decision‐making: A survey experiment in Belgium," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(3), pages 877-893, July.
    12. Christoph Engel, 2003. "Market Definition As a Social Construction (Marktabgrenzung als soziale Konstruktion)," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2003_11, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    13. Tomas Maltby, 2022. "Consensus and entrepreneurship: The contrasting local and national politics of UK air pollution," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 40(3), pages 685-704, May.
    14. Falk Reckling, 2000. "Das Grollen und Donnern der Volkswirtschaftslehre," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 1(2), pages 251-255, May.
    15. Klimov, Blagoy, 2010. "Challenging path dependence? Ideational mapping of nationalism and the EU’s transformative power: The case of infrastructural politics in SEE," MPRA Paper 30985, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Ferguson, Julie & Huysman, Marleen & Soekijad, Maura, 2010. "Knowledge Management in Practice: Pitfalls and Potentials for Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1797-1810, December.
    17. Eduardo Araral & Alberto Asquer & Yahua Wang, 2017. "Regulatory Constructivism: Application of Q Methodology in Italy and China," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(8), pages 2497-2521, June.

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