The shift in classical approaches to public policy analysis: From absolute rationality to the centrality of institutions

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay provides an evolutionary analysis of how classical theoretical approaches in public policy implicitly or explicitly conceptualize institutional change. Early public policy analysis was guided by a behaviorist and rationalist perspective, which viewed change as an automatic consequence of sound, science-based policy formulation and implementation. The emphasis lay more on administrative rationality than on the complexity of the political system. The classical literature is organized into four periods, each of which is examined in terms of how it conceptualizes change and which elements it prioritizes within its analytical framework. Over time, criticism of the technocratic vision, together with influences from other disciplines-such as political science, sociology, institutional economics, and innovation economics-led to a shift in focus from the centrality of government toward broader systemic factors, including actors, political dynamics, historical context, institutional learning, and the temporal sequences of events. Finally, the article discusses the extent to which classical approaches recognize the autonomy of governments and central actors in promoting change within already consolidated public policies.