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Ideology and Networks: The Politics of Social Policy Diffusion in Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Natasha Borges Sugiyama
Natasha Borges Sugiyama*
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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Abstract

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Brazil's constitution (1988) granted municipalities the responsibility of providing social services. Many observers anticipated that this newfound authority would produce policy diversity, as local governments would tailor programs to constituents' needs. Instead, many municipalities chose to replicate programs made famous elsewhere. What explains this diffusion of social policies across Brazil? In particular, what motivates policy makers to emulate “innovative” policies? This study compares three approaches that seek to explain political behavior: political self-interest, ideology, and socialized norms. It draws on two policies, Bolsa Escola, an education program, and Programa Saúde da Família, a family health program, in four exemplary cities, to uncover the mechanisms that led to diffusion. Surprisingly, political incentives, such as electoral competition, cannot explain diffusion. Rather, ideology and socialized norms, transmitted through social networks, drive policy emulation. Diffusion occurs when politicians are ideologically compelled to replicate these programs and when policy specialists seek to demonstrate that they follow professional norms.

Resumo

Resumo

La constitución de Brasil (1988) otorgó a las municipalidades la responsabilidad de proveer servicios sociales. Para muchos esta facultad se traduciría en políticas diversas, pues los gobiernos locales diseñarían sus programas en función de las necesidades de sus electores. No obstante muchas municipalidades eligieron replicar programas reconocidos en otros lugares. ¿Qué explica esta difusión de políticas sociales? ¿Qué motiva a los policy makers a emular políticas innovadoras? Este estudio contrasta tres aproximaciones que buscan explicar este comportamiento político: interés político propio, ideología y normas socialmente difundidas. A partir de dos iniciativas, Bolsa Escola, un programa educativo, y Saúde da Familia, un programa de salud para las familias, y con base en cuatro ciudades, se pretende descubrir los mecanismos detrás de la difusión. Sorprendentemente los incentivos políticos, vinculados a la competencia electoral, no explican la difusión, en contraste con la ideología y las normas difundidas a través de redes sociales. La difusión ocurre cuando los políticos están ideológicamente inclinados a replicar programas, y cuando especialistas en la materia buscan demostrar que éstos se ajustan a normas profesionales.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 43 , Issue 3 , 2008 , pp. 82 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

*

The author thanks Wendy Hunter, Kurt Weyland, Raúl Madrid, Brian Wampler, and LARR's anonymous reviewers for comments on earlier drafts of this article. The Fulbright and AED-Boren fellowship programs generously provided funding for fieldwork included in this article. The writing of this article was also facilitated by grants from the Spencer Foundation and the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin.

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