Bounded Rationality and Policy Diffusion

Social Sector Reform in Latin America

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, International, Foreign Legal Systems, International Relations
Cover of the book Bounded Rationality and Policy Diffusion by Kurt Weyland, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kurt Weyland ISBN: 9781400828067
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: February 9, 2009
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Kurt Weyland
ISBN: 9781400828067
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: February 9, 2009
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

Why do very different countries often emulate the same policy model? Two years after Ronald Reagan's income-tax simplification of 1986, Brazil adopted a similar reform even though it threatened to exacerbate income disparity and jeopardize state revenues. And Chile's pension privatization of the early 1980s has spread throughout Latin America and beyond even though many poor countries that have privatized their social security systems, including Bolivia and El Salvador, lack some of the preconditions necessary to do so successfully.

In a major step beyond conventional rational-choice accounts of policy decision-making, this book demonstrates that bounded--not full--rationality drives the spread of innovations across countries. When seeking solutions to domestic problems, decision-makers often consider foreign models, sometimes promoted by development institutions like the World Bank. But, as Kurt Weyland argues, policymakers apply inferential shortcuts at the risk of distortions and biases. Through an in-depth analysis of pension and health reform in Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Peru, Weyland demonstrates that decision-makers are captivated by neat, bold, cognitively available models. And rather than thoroughly assessing the costs and benefits of external models, they draw excessively firm conclusions from limited data and overextrapolate from spurts of success or failure. Indications of initial success can thus trigger an upsurge of policy diffusion.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Why do very different countries often emulate the same policy model? Two years after Ronald Reagan's income-tax simplification of 1986, Brazil adopted a similar reform even though it threatened to exacerbate income disparity and jeopardize state revenues. And Chile's pension privatization of the early 1980s has spread throughout Latin America and beyond even though many poor countries that have privatized their social security systems, including Bolivia and El Salvador, lack some of the preconditions necessary to do so successfully.

In a major step beyond conventional rational-choice accounts of policy decision-making, this book demonstrates that bounded--not full--rationality drives the spread of innovations across countries. When seeking solutions to domestic problems, decision-makers often consider foreign models, sometimes promoted by development institutions like the World Bank. But, as Kurt Weyland argues, policymakers apply inferential shortcuts at the risk of distortions and biases. Through an in-depth analysis of pension and health reform in Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Peru, Weyland demonstrates that decision-makers are captivated by neat, bold, cognitively available models. And rather than thoroughly assessing the costs and benefits of external models, they draw excessively firm conclusions from limited data and overextrapolate from spurts of success or failure. Indications of initial success can thus trigger an upsurge of policy diffusion.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book The Presidential Difference by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book Justice and the Politics of Difference by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book Wittgenstein Reads Freud by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book The Promise of American Life by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book After Liberalism by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book Trustworthy Men by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "Letters and Papers from Prison" by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book Structuring the State by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book The Evolution of a Nation by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book Self-Regularity by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book Tolstoy's Art and Thought, 1847-1880 by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book The End of Theory by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book Exam Schools by Kurt Weyland
Cover of the book Erased by Kurt Weyland
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy