Does policy advice really matter in designing policies in Italy? Structures, flows and effects of policy analysis capacity

This project aims to investigate the features and the causal influence of policy analysis capacity (the stock and quality of capabilities that are present in a policy field thanks to which problems are analyzed and possible policy solutions designed) in Italian policy design. By capitalizing in an innovative way on 2 streams of literature (regarding, respectively, policy advisory systems and policy capacity), the study will examine whether, and how, policy analysis capacity influences the quality of policy design (in terms of innovation and coherence between adopted solutions and expected goals). From the descriptive point of view, the project will focus on of policy analysis capacity by: 1. analyzing the analytical capacities that actually characterize Italian governments at both national and regional levels; 2. reconstructing the policy advisory systems in 4 policy fields (the reform of education, health, the labour market and the public administration); 3. conducting a longitudinal analysis (over the last 25 years) of the evolution of policy analysis capacity in the four chosen policy fields. From the explanatory point of view, the study will focus on the direct influence that policy analysis capacity has had, and currently has, on those policy solutions adopted.