Policy transfer in Asia

Owing to the institutional diversity within the region, policy transfer among countries in Asia is often not used to explain domestic policy changes. But the growing evidence of the spread of policies in various areas within the region suggests otherwise. Rather than dismissing the concept altogether, this chapter argues that policy transfer within Asia occurs in a specific pattern of cautious, adaptive learning, driven not by institutional or cultural similarities but by pragmatic considerations. Such an ‘Asian-style’ to policy transfer is manifested in the reluctance to attribute policies adapted from the neighboring originating countries. The subtle nature policy transfer generates two implications to how the transnational movement of moves within Asia can be understood. First, there is a tendency for Asian countries to transfer the ‘soft’ elements of the policy, making the process more focused on rhetoric than content of public policies. Second, local governments and businesses invariably play an important role as city-to-city cooperation dissociates the policy with the originating country.