Understanding Variation in Processes of Institutional Formation

Bibliographic Data

ID7973005
AuthorsVivien Lowndes (0000-0002-6935-2720, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK, corresponding author), Maximilian Lemprière (University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK)
Year2018
Volume66
Issue1
Pages226-244
Publication date2018-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-3217 • E-ISSN: 1467-9248
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0032321717724325
OpenAlexW2762724253
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited30

The article asks why institutional reforms work in one place and not another and why old ways of doing things can prove so resilient. It argues in favour of a concept of institutional formation, which is different from ‘institutional design’ as a time-limited event or ‘institutional change’ as an open-ended historical trajectory. Institutional formation is conceptualised as an animated, nested and embedded process. A multi-level framework is developed that specifies the links between institutional actors, institutional rules and institutional contexts. The model is elaborated with reference to a case study of local government reform in England, specifically the devolution of responsibilities from central government to voluntary collaborations of elected local authorities (‘combined authorities’). The model is used to explain variation in the process of institutional formation in two different city-regions, focusing on the role of leaders, legacies and localities

Central government · Devolution (biology · Government (linguistics · Institutional change · Institutional theory · Local government · Political economy · Political science · Process (computing · Social science · Sociology · Variation (astronomy · Work (physics · Computer Science · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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