Policy as Symbolic Statement: International Response to National Population Policies

Abstract

Traditional studies of statepolicies tend tofocus on the achievement ofthepolicies'stated ends. But policies, as systems of meaning and expressions of legitimate statehood, signal various meanings to national and international audiences. In this article; we demonstrate the importance of the symbolic and international realms by investigating the impact of population policies on patterns of financial assistance from international donor organizations. We find that developing countries with policies are more likely to (1) receive population assistance, and (2) receive greater amounts offunding than are countries withoutpolicies. These results suggest that studies ofpolicy outcomes should not only evaluate local, intended consequences, but how national policies as international symbols mayfoster other types of consequences. Research on national policies often focuses on questions of effectiveness. This conventional framework overlooks two aspects of national policies: their significant symbolic value (which may bring unanticipated effects) and their international relevance. Drawing on interpretative and institutionalist perspectives, we consider policies as national symbols and explore consequences attributable to their meaning within global society. We focus on policies within an area of sociology where the policy evaluative