Rational Learning and Bounded Learning in the Diffusion of Policy Innovations

By Covadonga Meseguer. 2006

142 citations recorded by the source corpus.

In political science, rational learning and bounded learning are commonly studied as two opposing theories of policy choice. In this article, I use a rational learning approach to reach conclusions about bounded learning, showing that the two theories are not necessarily incompatible. By examining a rational learning model and the decisions of a set of developing countries to open up their trade regimes, I show that countries are particularly influenced by the choices of neighbouring countries and by particularly successful policy experiences. These are two typical contentions of the bounded learning literature. I argue that bounded learning and rational learning yield the same results as soon as one drops the rational learning assumption that there are zero costs to gathering new information. I use the discussion on rational learning versus bounded learning as a basis for exploring more general issues concerning the diffusion of policy innovations.

Subfields: Development, Political Science and International Relations, Strategy and Management

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/737829ba92b6598f119d01c823b7a5a58cb8a0f7

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Citations in the corpus

When the Claim Hits: Bilateral Investment Treaties and Bounded Rational Learning (2013, unknown): “For, while it may not have necessarily violated standard 66 Meseguer 2006, 1.”
Learning From Others (2009, background): “…influenced each other in a wide range of domains, such as foreign economic policy (Simmons and Elkins 2004), marketoriented reforms (Meseguer 2004; Meseguer 2006a; Henisz, Zelner, and Guillén 2005), public-sector downsizing (Lee and Strang 2006), tax policy (Swank 2006), pension reform (Brooks…”
The politics of policy diffusion (2019, background): “As a result of policy innovation and careful evaluations, successful new policies gain acceptance and spread (Meseguer 2006; Gilardi et al. 2009).”
Empirical Modeling of Policy Diffusion in Federal States: The Dyadic Approach (2008, background): “…policies diffuse internationally in a wide range of domains, including economic policies (Elkins, Guzman, and Simmons 2006; Simmons and Elkins 2004; Meseguer 2006a; Meseguer 2004; Swank 2006), regulatory policies (Jordana and Levi-Faur 2005; Levi-Faur 2005; Gilardi 2005), and social policies…”