International development cooperation as one of the triggers for the process of public policy transfer

Abstract

On the one hand, transfer is a process by which governments intentionally use ideas about how policies in other countries work to design or redesign their own public policies (Dussauge, 2012). On the other hand, cooperation is a process that recognizes the existence of an interdependence between states and the international arena. This article aims to discuss and clarify the relation between international cooperation and policy transfer. Drawing on the analysis of development cooperation in Brazil and Chile, we discuss how technical cooperation agreements between these countries and third parties, encourage the transfer of public policies, in particular of those considered as models in the area of social policy, namely Bolsa Família and Chile Solidario. This article demonstrates that international development cooperation facilitates the existence of processes that allow for the transfer of specific components of social policies to other contexts. The analysis is based on a literature review and on information gathered through interviews conducted with relevant actors.