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Strangers at the gate: the role of multidimensional ideas, policy anomalies and institutional gatekeepers in biofuel policy developments in the USA and European Union

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  • Grace Skogstad

    (University of Toronto)

  • Matt Wilder

    (University of Toronto)

Abstract

This article contributes to scholarly understanding of how policy ideas and institutions interact to affect policy change by investigating why legislation mandating the use of biofuels in transport vehicles has been upheld in the USA but scaled back in the European Union. To explain this puzzle, the article advances propositions regarding the role of multidimensional policy ideas, policy anomalies and institutional gatekeepers in legislative agenda-setting. Using structural topic modelling and qualitative methods, the analyses demonstrate that differences in action frames follow from agenda-setting institutions. The corporate structure of the European Commission ensures that EU agenda-setters are reasonably attentive to policy anomalies. By contrast, individuals with agenda-setting authority in the US Congress are liable to discount anomalies by limiting their focus to certain aspects of multidimensional policy issues. Moreover, individuals with gatekeeping authority may prevent repeal bills from accessing the legislative agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Grace Skogstad & Matt Wilder, 2019. "Strangers at the gate: the role of multidimensional ideas, policy anomalies and institutional gatekeepers in biofuel policy developments in the USA and European Union," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 52(3), pages 343-366, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:policy:v:52:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11077-019-09351-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11077-019-09351-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Muscat, A. & de Olde, E.M. & Candel, J.J.L. & de Boer, I.J.M. & Ripoll-Bosch, R., 2022. "The Promised Land: Contrasting frames of marginal land in the European Union," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    2. Abdulelah Aljaafari & I. M. R. Fattah & M. I. Jahirul & Yuantong Gu & T. M. I. Mahlia & Md. Ariful Islam & Mohammad S. Islam, 2022. "Biodiesel Emissions: A State-of-the-Art Review on Health and Environmental Impacts," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-24, September.
    3. Grace Skogstad, 2020. "Mixed feedback dynamics and the USA renewable fuel standard: the roles of policy design and administrative agency," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 53(2), pages 349-369, June.
    4. Adam Hannah & Erik Baekkeskov, 2020. "The promises and pitfalls of polysemic ideas: ‘One Health’ and antimicrobial resistance policy in Australia and the UK," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 53(3), pages 437-452, September.
    5. Kam, Hermann & Smith, Heather & Potter, Clive, 2023. "Public money for public goods: The role of ideas in driving agriculture policy in the EU and post-Brexit UK," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).

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