On Concepts, Analytics, and Statistics in Comparative Policy Studies: An Introduction from the New Section Editors

Abstract

Effective comparative public policy research necessitates three key aspects. Firstly, it requires concepts that allow the differences in policies and policy developments across various domains to be discerned. Secondly, even with robust concepts established, they typically must be “put into practice”. This means scholars need analytical tools that can either provide theoretical insights helpful in creating careful research designs or extract relevant information from laws, legislation, and other governmental sources and organize it meaningfully. Lastly, the objective of these endeavors is to produce statistics on policies or their effects that permit robust conclusions to be drawn about policy efficacy and impact. Building upon this “trinity” as the foundation of successful comparative policy research, the new section editors of the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis (JCPA) are seeking contributions in the areas of policy concepts, analytics, and statistics. This introductory article further clarifies what these aspects entail and presents examples from existing research that may align with this section.