ABSTRACT
The notion of copying, along with concepts such as policy learning, diffusion, lesson drawing and convergence, sits under the broad conceptual umbrella of policy transfer, an idea explored extensively (see for example Dolowitz and Marsh 1996; Dolowitz 2009; Duncan 2009; Marsh and Sharman 2009; Benson and Jordan 2011). Dolowitz and Marsh (1996: 344) define policy transfer as the ‘process in which knowledge about policy, administrative arrangements, institutions etc. in one time and/or place is used in the development of policy, administrative arrangements and institutions in another time/place’. This transfer can be voluntary or involuntary, and can also include ideology and rhetoric, policy ideas, and electoral processes and strategies. It can also be simple or complex. Copying is an example of simple policy transfer while complex transfer involves a more elaborated process of adaptation and refinement (Dolowitz 2009).
