A policy mix that has become very popular in times of globalized labour and capital markets is ‘flexicurity’. Flexicurity refers to a flexible labour market in combination with a high level of social security and active labour market policies. Flexicurity appears as a prime example of a policy idea that has diffused across borders in recent years. While most scholars would agree that diffusion processes has to be taken into account, three important issues still remain underexplored in this debate. First, does diffusion differ depending on central characteristics of the policy itself (e.g. its complexity)? Secondly, does the compatibility of a policy with national preconditions affect the likelihood of diffusion? Finally, what role do the networks relevant for the reform (e.g. economic linkages vs. expert networks) play in this process?
Analysing job assistance and the deregulation of employment protection as two prominent and very different examples of ‘flexicurity’, I systematically include policy characteristics and the actor constellation into a policy diffusion approach. In the macro quantitative empirical analysis, network analytical and epidemiological methods are combined with spatial regression techniques. The sample encompasses 21 OECD countries between 1990 and 2010.
I argue that in the case of job assistance that normally implies the combination of several specific tools such as counselling or job search programmes the policy consequences are difficult to anticipate. This complexity makes the diffusion process slow and the role of expert networks highly relevant. In contrast, economic linkages are more important when deregulating employment protection due to the direct impact on the capacity to compete in international markets. Moreover, the deregulation of employment protection diffuses fast (often in contrast to regulation policies) since the policy complexity is relatively low. Furthermore, the rate of adoption is accelerated if the reform is highly compatible with national past practices.
