The Role of Policy Transfer in Assessing the Impact of American Ideas on British Social Policy

This article assesses the contribution of existing work on policy transfer to our understanding of policy change on the international stage. It explores the impact of American ideas and practices on aspects of social policy in the UK. It argues for a focus on the role of ‘epistemic communities’ and policy learning in the development of generic international agendas such as the ‘Americanized medical model’ of evidence-based practice adopted by the New Labour government in health and education. It argues that international social policy analysis should take account of the movement of ideas and practices at three levels: global/international, national and inter-organizational.