Public policy in multi-level systems: A new research agenda for the study of regional-level policy

ABSTRACT While there is a cumulative research programme on the causes of decentralization to regional and local governments, research on its policy consequences is less integrated. This article takes stock of the existing research on the policy consequences of decentralisation. It highlights the existence of disparate lines of investigation while pointing to ways in which they can connect. To do so, we review 102 articles from 20 top generalist and subfields journals, from 1998-2018. We find that there is an important geographical divide in research traditions: US scholars tend to focus the pressures of competitive ‘race-to-the-bottom’ dynamics or on mechanisms of policy diffusion; comparative and non-US scholars instead emphasise institutional diversity across decentralized countries and drivers of variation in subnational policy choices, including structural and cultural factors, partisanship and vertical and horizontal linkages. In the conclusion, we develop five conclusions that highlight how this sub-field can develop a coherent research programme.