LIST OF PANELS

Latin America is a region of the World that shares similar socio-cultural, political, institutional, and administrative characteristics. At a first glance, pressing public problems are similar in many policy domains, as well as public administration and societal capacities to tackle such problems. At the same time, many legal-administrative caveats, country size differences and political idiosyncrasies make comparisons in the region difficult to achieve, resulting in descriptions limited to a “Latin American mosaic”.

The objective of this panel is to bring together scholars and practitioners interested in policy issues, policy analysis and policy solutions from/for Latin America. 

A Lasswellian “policy orientation” is used to convene professors, students, researchers, and practitioners interested in the accumulation of theoretical and applied knowledge on policy topics, taking single Latin American countries as units of analysis or adopting a comparative perspective. 

The research questions are:

- What are and how are used the main policy analysis approaches (descriptive and prescriptive) in Latin American countries?
- What original policy analysis approaches (descriptive and prescriptive) are emerging in Latin America?
- What methods are applied and policy domains are currently drawing attention in comparative research in the region?
- How does the interplay of public policy and public administration in single countries affect the current challenges and perspectives for the development of the region?

Regarding scientific relevance, as noted by Geva-May, Hoffmann and Muhleisen (2018), most internationally published scholarships in public policy focus on countries from Europe, Asia, and North America. The same point was advanced by Jreisat (2005, 2011) on public administration research. The authors explicitly indicate a lack of comparative publications from the Global South, in general, and from the Latin American region, specifically. This shortage of publications hinders the diffusion of knowledge and administrative solutions between the Global North and the Global South, and within the Latin American region.

Besides stimulating the production and accumulation of theoretical and practical knowledge on the region, this panel envisions the strengthening of a network of scholars and practitioners to publish together on public policy and administration in Latin America.

Dear researcher/practitioner,

If you are a policy scholar or practitioner from Latin America or interested in policy issues, policy analysis and policy solutions from/for Latin America you are invited to send your paper to this panel on Public Policy in Latin America. We adopt a Lasswellian “policy orientation” perspective to promote in the accumulation of theoretical and applied knowledge on policy topics, taking single Latin American countries as units of analysis or adopting a comparative perspective. 

We welcome theoretical, methodological or empirical papers on the following topics:

- Descriptive policy analysis (research using analytical approaches in single Latin American countries or with a regional comparative perspective). The following analytical approaches are particularly of interest: Multiple Streams Model, Advocacy Coalition Framework, Punctuated Equilibrium Theory, Critical Policy Studies, Narrative policy framework (descriptive), Policy transfer and diffusion, and original descriptive approaches indigenous to the region.

- Prescriptive policy analysis (policy recommendation/formulation/design used to solve public problems). The following analytical approaches are particularly of interest: rational/empiricist policy analysis, public policy evaluation, evidence-based policy analysis, argumentative policy analysis, participation, deliberation, Narrative policy analysis (prescriptive), policy advocacy, policy analytics, big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning applied to policy analysis, and original prescriptive approaches used in sub-national entities, single countries or across the region.

- The interplay between policy and administration in sub-national entities, single countries or across the region. The following topics are particularly of interest: Policy and Public Administration relations, Transparency and accountability, Participation and democratic innovations, Regional and local governance, Transnational governance, Regulatory policy, Gender issues and social justice, Human rights, Public Policy research and teaching in Latin America.

The topics above are only indications of interest. This call for paper is open for other themes, as long as related to public policy or public administration in Latin America. Besides stimulating the production and accumulation of theoretical and practical knowledge on the region, this panel envisions the strengthening of a network of scholars and practitioners to publish together on public policy and administration in Latin America.