Policy-taking styles: a typology and an empirical application to anti-Covid policies

ABSTRACT

Several studies have investigated the variety of governance strategies adopted by European countries to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. Some nations relied on a more liberal approach, based on recommendations and a lack of mandatory constraints;others trusted more top-down regulations and long-lasting restrictions. The feasibility and success of the different strategies also depend on the way in which policy-takers react. The article uses this exemplary policy case to propose a novel theoretical framework which maps the variety of policy-taking styles applying March and Olsen's (2006) logics of conditionality and appropriateness. Using mobility data, it then employs the new typology to explore the diverse styles adopted by policy-takers reacting to anti-Covid workplace regulations in 29 European countries. The categories proposed can be applied also in different contexts, especially where policy success crucially depends on countless individual behaviours, and policy-makers need to choose the most effective mix of enforcement tools. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.