Studying Policy Design Quality in Comparative Perspective

This article is a first attempt to systematically examine policy design and its influence on effectiveness in comparative perspective. We begin by providing novel concept measure of design. Our Average Instrument Diversity (AID) index captures whether governments tend reuse the same instruments instrument combinations or produce solutions that are carefully tailored problem at hand. Second, we demonstrate our AID valid reliable quality with strong explanatory power for outcome variables tested. Analyzing composition environmental portfolios 21 OECD countries, show higher levels positively associated country’s matters. Based this finding, analyze, third step, factors lead countries adopt more less diverse portfolios. find significantly improved when makers not bound high institutional constraints and, importantly, backed well-equipped bureaucracies.