Theories on policy learning: Existing approaches and future challenges
(2018) Policymaking and Learning for European Cities and Regions. From Research to Practice — ISBN: [978-1-137-59574-4], published
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- Policy learning designates the cognitive and social dynamic leading policy actors to revise or strengthen their policy beliefs and preferences over time. In this chapter, we propose a synthesis of existing research on policy learning. We distinguish three main sets of approaches – namely, the ‘managerialist’ approaches, ‘diffusion and convergence’ approaches, as well as ‘social learning’ approaches – before pointing to their common characteristics: a consideration for the long run; a focus on the role of state but also non-state actors in policy processes; and a recognition that policy actors’ rationality is ‘bounded’. Then, we discuss three challenges of future research: deepening our knowledge on the behavioural aspects of policy learning; recognizing and studying the multiple outcomes of policy learning; and looking for settings and practices fostering or impeding policy learning.
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Moyson, S., & Scholten, P. (2018). Theories on policy learning: Existing approaches and future challenges. In Dotti, Nicola (ed.) (ed.), Policymaking and Learning for European Cities and Regions. From Research to Practice. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/223945