Policy Capacity Matters for Education System Reforms: A Comparative Study of Two Brazilian States

Abstract It is increasingly recognized that various competencies are needed for education systems in the developing world to succeed in fulfilling SDG4. However, reform efforts are often hampered by a lack of conceptual clarity regarding what these competencies are and how they matter. This article fills the gap by developing a comprehensive conception of policy capacity to explain the educational outcomes in two states in Brazil. The comparative case analysis reveals how variations in analytical, operational and political capacity are the differentiating factor behind their variegated reform effectiveness. While these findings put a cautionary note over the viability of copying policy interventions without considering their capacity underpinnings, they also show how a synergized combination of these three dimensions of capacity can lead to remarkable improvement of educational outcomes despite unfavorable socioeconomic conditions.