Policy Styles : zur Genese des Politikstilkonzepts und dessen Einbindung in Evaluationsstudien

"This paper provides a review of theoretical and empirical research on the concept of policy styles as well as a discussion on the merits of its integration in impact analysis of labour market policies. We argue for focusing on administrative organizations' heterogeneity in the implementation process - in particular when those potential agents of change may undergo a fundamental intra-organizational reform process. By means of the concept of policy styles their behavior and openness for the implementation of new policies could be categorized and systematically be integrated in evaluation studies. Furthermore, the formulation and testing of hypotheses on their learning and reform ability may enrich theory building in political and administrative science. But policy style analyses often have been lacking a clear cut definition and operationalization. With this review we therefore aim at structuring the related literature and at showing how impact evaluation may benefit by additionally utilizing this concept. Since the concept also sheds light on some complex phenomena (like f.i. informal aspects and cultural roots of (organizational) policies), even seemingly irrational patterns of variable policy implementations might be captured systematically. Particularly in the context of an analysis of labour market programs this is a valuable addition to economic and sociological perspectives, especially if the evaluation of choice and/or application of policy instruments and its impact on participants' individual labour market integration are at the core of the research interest. Combining contextual knowledge of Political Science and Sociology with the analytical clarity of Econometrics promises to form a fruitful symbiotic relationship." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))