Boundary spanning regimes and public policy change

The Convergence of Welfare and Immigration Policies

Bibliographic Data

ID6233978
AuthorsAnna Boucher (0000-0002-6200-8951, The University of Sydney, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume52
Issue1
Pages19-36
Publication date2017-01-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1036-1146 • E-ISSN: 1363-030X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10361146.2016.1260682
OpenAlexW2566475770
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited52

The concept of boundary spanning regimes has emerged to describe activity across policy subsystems that seek to manage ‘wicked’ public policy problems. This paper examines two existing public policy theories, namely those of exogenous shocks and the Advocacy Coalition Framework theories and assesses their capacity to explain why boundary spanning regimes emerge. It argues that broad structural conditions play an important role in shaping boundary spanning activity in the case studies discussed in this paper, indicating limitations in these theories which tend to overlook such conditions. The paper tests the explanations for policy change through original qualitative analysis of incremental convergence across the welfare and immigration policy fields in Australia from 1947 to 1996

Boundary (topology · Boundary spanning · Convergence (economics · Economic growth · Economics · Immigration · Immigration policy · Political economy · Political science · Positive economics · Public economics · Public policy · Welfare · Computer Science · Law · Mathematics · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Policy Transfer and Learning · Social Policy and Reform Studies