Agents of Transgovernmental Policy Transfer

Abstract

This chapter sets out the empirical findings of primary research taken from interviews and government documents in the US, the UK and Australia. The empirical findings suggest that the UK’s use of US welfare-to-work policy was predicated upon the superiority of the US regime of experimentation and evaluation: the use of evaluations in particular is seen to be the most crucial element adopted by the UK and showcased in the New Deal. Subsequently, I show how the qualitatively different relationship between the UK and Australia was nevertheless founded upon a mutual regard for evidence-based policy. Interview data supports claims that the UK-Australia relationship is culturally and historically based, yet also show how this relationship is politically contingent. Importantly, the research indicates that the 1989 JET program (Jobs, Education, Training for Sole Parents) in Australia was, in fact, heavily based on a US policy. Finally, the chapter turns to the identification—deserving of further research—of an elite policy transfer network with Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, the US and Canada as members.