The The shift in classical approaches to public policy analysis: From absolute rationality to the centrality of institutions

de la racionalidad absoluta a la centralidad de las instituciones

Abstract

This article aims to conduct an evolutionary analysis of how classical theoretical approaches in the field of public policy implicitly or explicitly conceived of the issue of institutional change. Initially, public policy analysis was guided by a behaviorist and rationalist perspective, which viewed change as an automatic consequence of sound, science-based policy formulation and implementation. The focus was more on administrative rationality than on the complexity of the political system. We separate classical studies into four periods and analyze how each approach conceived of change and which elements they prioritized in their theoretical frameworks. We found that, over time, criticism of the technocratic vision and influences from other disciplines (such as political science, sociology, institutional economics, and innovation economics) led to a shift in focus from the centrality of government to broader factors of the political system, such as actors, political dynamics, historical context, institutional learning, and the temporal chain of events. Finally, we address the possibilities highlighted by the classics regarding the autonomy of governments and central actors to promote changes in already consolidated public policies.