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Inheritance Before Choice in Public policy

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  • Richard Rose

Abstract

When a group of politicians enters office, there is no choice: the inherited commitments of past government must be accepted as givens. The legacy that they inherit is carried forward by institutional commitments grounded in laws, organizations and budgets that are more important than the preferences of individuals. This paper first explains why this is so. The extent to which public policies are durable, that is, persisting from one administration or one decade to another, is tested in the second section, using public expenditure data for hundreds of programmes of British government over a period of 40 years since the end of the Second World War. The third section tests whether the introduction or termination of programmes tends to reflect party differences, changes in the economic climate, or differences between social programmes integral to the individual life-cycle as against those responding to market conditions. The conclusion shows how changes can occur as the unforeseeable consequences of programme commitments entered into in the distant past, and carried forward by political inertia. The result of this legacy is change without choice.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Rose, 1990. "Inheritance Before Choice in Public policy," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 2(3), pages 263-291, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jothpo:v:2:y:1990:i:3:p:263-291
    DOI: 10.1177/0951692890002003002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rose, Richard, 1985. "The Programme Approach to the Growth of Government," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 1-28, January.
    2. Holzmann, Robert, 1989. "Pension Policies in OECD Countries: Background, Trends and Implications," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(4), pages 467-491, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Haffert, Lukas, 2016. "Permanent budget surpluses as a fiscal regime," MPIfG Discussion Paper 16/1, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    2. Peter Z. Grossman, 2019. "Utilizing Ostrom’s institutional analysis and development framework toward an understanding of crisis-driven policy," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 52(1), pages 3-20, March.
    3. Streeck, Wolfgang, 2015. "The rise of the European consolidation state," MPIfG Discussion Paper 15/1, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    4. Hongyun Han & Shu Wu, 2019. "Determinants of the Behavioral Lock-in of Rural Residents’ Direct Biomass Energy Consumption in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-25, January.
    5. Streeck, Wolfgang & Mertens, Daniel, 2010. "Politik im Defizit: Austerität als fiskalpolitisches Regime," MPIfG Discussion Paper 10/5, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    6. Kincsö Izsak & Paresa Markianidou & Slavo Radošević, 2015. "Convergence of National Innovation Policy Mixes in Europe – Has It Gone Too Far? An Analysis of Research and Innovation Policy Measures in the Period 2004–12," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 786-802, July.
    7. Paul Cairney, 2015. "Debate: What is complex government and what can we do about it?," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 3-6, January.
    8. Lobna M. Abdellatif & Mohamed Zaky & Mohamed Ramadan, 2019. "Transparency of law making and fiscal democracy in the Middle East," Public Sector Economics, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 43(1), pages 49-77.
    9. Streeck, Wolfgang & Mertens, Daniel, 2011. "Fiscal austerity and public investment: Is the possible the enemy of the necessary?," MPIfG Discussion Paper 11/12, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    10. Peter Mair, 2011. "Bini Smaghi vs. the Parties: Representative Government and Institutional Constraints," EUI-RSCAS Working Papers 22, European University Institute (EUI), Robert Schuman Centre of Advanced Studies (RSCAS).

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