Abstract
This chapter presents the realist approach that provided our analytical framework. It defines the causal mechanism of a policy outcome from a realist methodology, then it displays a method of cross-case comparison for policy design, including the case selection, and it unpacks the causal mechanism linking resource nationalism to a deficit of public accountability. Section 2 is dedicated to unpack the causal mechanism of a policy outcome in policy design. It starts with defining causality as necessity and causal mechanisms as causal forces, then it proceeds with optimizing case selection for small-n comparison. Section 3 explains how to conduct a cross-case comparison of this causal mechanism. It starts presenting the basics of set-theoretic research design, then it explains how the Bayesian logic of likelihood can be utilized to assess empirical evidence, and it proposes a template for comparative policy design.
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Notes
- 1.
Causality is a relationship between cause and effect, and causation is the act of causing something.
- 2.
We refer to T and O instead of X and Y, in order to avoid any confusion with the probabilistic language of independent, dependent and intervening variables used in neo-positivist process tracing.
- 3.
For instance treasure instruments could provide doubly decisive tests, since there is a high probability to find a treasure instrument in any policy, and finding a treasure instrument in absence of a policy would be awkward.
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Fontaine, G., Medrano Caviedes, C., Narváez, I. (2020). A Realist Approach to Policy Design. In: The Politics of Public Accountability. International Series on Public Policy . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28995-9_3
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