This panel invites contributions that examine the relationship of policy learning and political learning. Researchers in political science have distinguished different forms of learning, amongst them political learning and policy learning. The latter refers to the infusion of innovative ideas in the political process with the goal to solve a problem. On the other hand, political learning refers to policymakers’ learning by adapting their behavior in order to pursue their interests and use knowledge and innovative ideas to that end. There is a lack of empirical research that explicitly connects these two forms of learning. This panel invites contributions that focus on the question of different relations between policy learning and political learning in public policy analysis. We are interested in papers which analyze configurations of, for example, learning processes in social and fiscal policies, but also environmental or energy policy. We especially seek papers that take a comparative perspective, either of the same policy in different countries or different policies within a country. Contributions may look at specific time periods, such as reactions to the financial and economic crisis or the evolution of the relation between political and policy learning over a longer time period. Papers presenting empirical findings are especially welcome. Overall, this panel aims at improving our understanding of how complex learning processes influence policymaking.

Chairs: 
Philipp Trein, Thenia Vagionaki
Discussant(s): 
Prof. Claudio Radaelli (Philipp Trein)
 
Deadline for submitting Papers: October 7