Looping to success (and failure): second-order mechanisms and policy outcomes

Abstract

The premise of a dynamic policy model – for example, that sequence matters or decision-making is constrained by what has already happened – applies to many, if not most, social-political phenomena. Yet, when contextualized with defined scope conditions, the same mechanism might explain not just stability and change, but the success or otherwise of public policies. In this chapter, the authors first discuss the value of a dynamic and mechanistic perspective to the study of policy success, they elaborate a three-dimensional concept of policy success (programmatic, process, and political performance), and examine how both first- and second-order mechanisms can reinforce or work against these dynamics. Developing a typology of policy loops (driven by configurations of first- and second-order mechanisms) the authors explore how such a perspective can not only inform analytical explanations of policy success and failure, but also purposeful attempts by policy actors to work towards their preferred outcomes.

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