Understanding institutional changes in economic restructuring and innovation policies in Slovenia and Estonia

Abstract

This paper analyses the evolution of two interlinked policy trajectories — economic restructuring and innovation policies — in two different economies: Slovenia and Estonia. We distinguish two sets of theoretical frameworks that explain institutional changes in these policies: rational-choice institutionalism (varieties of capitalism), and a mix of historical and sociological institutionalisms (systems of innovation). We show that they are both rather ill-equipped for explaining institutional changes in Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies. We argue that greater attention to politico-administrative context — or, the institutional setting of policy design and implementation — and a more elaborate use of the tools of discursive institutionalism could enlighten the analyses of the evolution of economic policies and forms of socio-economic coordination in CEE.