Transnational Policy Innovation: The OECD and the Diffusion of Regulatory Impact Analysis

This book analyses the role of the OECD in diffusing policy innovations. Through the case study of regulatory impact analysis (RIA), this study shows how transnational networks have an impact on national policy process. The analytical framework encompasses the institutional features as well as internal and international determinants of a policy innovation such as RIA. Drawing on original data sets, three empirical analyses assess to what extent government decisions to adopt, implement, and evaluate RIA was driven by the OECD.

Transnational Policy Innovation argues that concepts of policy innovation diffusion provide an useful framework for understanding the dynamics of transnational governance. It shows that the OECD has been successful in framing and diffusing a template of evidence-based decision making. However, downplaying RIA as an instrument of political control has limited the influence of the OECD's peer review and comparative indicators on the administrative and institutional setting.