Policy mixes for sustainability transitions: An extended concept and framework for analysis

By Karoline S. Rogge, Kristin Reichardt. 2016

1,211 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Reaching a better understanding of the policies and politics of transitions presents a main agenda item in the emerging field of sustainability transitions. One important requirement for these transitions, such as the move towards a decarbonized energy system, is the redirection and acceleration of technological change, for which policies play a key role. In this regard, several studies have argued for the need to combine different policy instruments in so-called policy mixes. However, existing policy mix studies often fall short of reflecting the complexity and dynamics of actual policy mixes, the underlying politics and the evaluation of their impacts. In this paper we take a first step towards an extended, interdisciplinary policy mix concept based on a review of the bodies of literature on innovation studies, environmental economics and policy analysis. The concept introduces a clear terminology and consists of the three building blocks elements, policy processes and characteristics, which can be delineated by several dimensions. Based on this, we discuss its application as analytical framework for empirical studies analyzing the impact of the policy mix on technological change. Throughout the paper we illustrate the proposed concept by using the example of the policy mix for fostering the transition of the German energy system to renewable power generation technologies. Finally, we derive policy implications and suggest avenues for future research.

Subfields: Economics and Econometrics, Global and Planetary Change

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c80e50ce2812a8fb8da3d4ffa5260804a2531d0f

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Citations in the corpus

Harnessing theories of the policy process for analysing the politics of sustainability transitions: A critical survey (2017, background): “Finally, opening up the black box of policy processes may assist in developing policy recommendations that are better informed about the politics of policymaking and implementation and therefore potentially stand a better chance at being adopted and sustained (Rogge and Reichardt 2016; Edmondson et ”
Green, circular, bio economy: A comparative analysis of sustainability avenues (2017, background): “Enriching and improving the overall landscape of policy instruments implementing these concepts (Rogge and Reichardt, 2013), with particular attention to the efficacy, efficiency and consistency.”
Conceptual and empirical advances in analysing policy mixes for energy transitions (2017, background): “As such, fruitful dialogue between the different approaches calls for an explicit positioning of research work in this emerging literature, conceptual clarity and the provision of unambiguous definitions, for example regarding the definition and operationalization of the particularly problematic ter”
Entrepreneurs for a low carbon world: How environmental knowledge and policy shape the creation and financing of green start-ups (2020, neutral): “While we manage to provide evidence at the granular policy instrument level, and how it affects new rates of entrepreneurship, we are unable to distinguish between the relative coherence, credibility or comprehensiveness of the policy instruments at the country level which ultimately influence the e”
The need for comprehensive and well targeted instrument mixes to stimulate energy transitions: The case of energy efficiency policy (2017, positive): “Drawing on contributions from different bodies of literature based in environmental economics, innovation and policy studies, Rogge and Reichardt (2016) have proposed an initial set of core policy mix characteristics which include the consistency of instrument mixes and policy strategies, the…”
Do policy mix characteristics matter for low-carbon innovation? A survey-based exploration of renewable power generation technologies in Germany (2018, methodology): “In particular, we are interested in answering the research question whether policy mix characteristics indeed matter for innovation, and focus here on the four characteristics proposed by Rogge and Reichardt (2016): consistency, credibility, comprehensiveness and coherence (the 4Cs).”
Mobilizing private finance for low-carbon innovation – A systematic review of barriers and solutions (2017, neutral): “Policy makers possess a range of options to encourage the redirection of private finance from ‘dirty’ to clean innovation and hence to achieve the low-carbon transition [34,58,59].”
An in-depth analysis of the evolution of the policy mix for the sustainable energy transition in China from 1981 to 2020 (2020, background): “A policy strategy suggests a long-run strategic orientation serving the abstract policy goal(s), consisting of policy objectives and principal plans to achieve the objectives [27].”