Political institutions and public policy

The chapter delves into the relationship between political institutions and public policies, particularly examining the impact of veto players, systems of interest intermediation, and vertical policy process integration. It scrutinizes their influence on three key aspects: (1) policy growth; (2) policy change; and (3) the quality of policy design. Utilizing empirical data from social and environmental policies in 23 OECD countries over 45 years, the study finds corporatism to be the most consistent and significant predictor of policy variations. A higher degree of corporatism is shown to boost policy growth, enhance diversity in policy measures, and lead to more stable patterns of policy change. Although veto players and vertical process integration do have an impact, their influence is less consistent across these policy patterns. The chapter aims to provide a nuanced understanding of how political institutions affect public policies.