The more the better? Rule growth and policy impact from a macro perspective

Do more rules improve overall policy performance? To answer this question, we look at rule growth in the area of environmental policy from an aggregate perspective. We argue that impactful growth in rules crucially depends on implementation capacities. If such capacities are limited, countries are a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of political research 2021-05, Vol.60 (2), p.438-454
Main Authors: LIMBERG, JULIAN, STEINEBACH, YVES, BAYERLEIN, LOUISA, KNILL, CHRISTOPH
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
bureaucratic capacity
Environmental policy
policy change
Policy implementation
rule growth
Statehood
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Do more rules improve overall policy performance? To answer this question, we look at rule growth in the area of environmental policy from an aggregate perspective. We argue that impactful growth in rules crucially depends on implementation capacities. If such capacities are limited, countries are at risk of ‘empty’ rule growth where they lack the ability to implement their ever‐growing stock of policies. Hence, rules are a necessary, yet not sufficient condition for achieving sectoral policy objectives. We underpin our argument with an analysis of the impact of a new, encompassing measure of environmental rule growth covering 13 countries from 1980 to 2010. These findings call for ‘sustainable statehood’ where the growth in rules should not outpace the expansion in administrative capacities.
ISSN:0304-4130
1475-6765
DOI:10.1111/1475-6765.12406