Path Dependency, or Why History Makes It Difficult but Not Impossible to Reform Health Care Systems in a Big Way

David Wilsford

Journal of Public Policy, 1994, vol. 14, issue 3, 251-283

Abstract: The idea of path-dependency is applied to an examination of health policy reform in Germany, France, Great Britain and the United States. In the path-dependent model, actors are hemmed in by existing institutions and structures that channel them along established policy paths. Therefore, in any system, big (non-incremental) change is unlikely. However, sometimes we do observe big change. Why? By developing the interplay of structure with conjuncture, the occasional accomplishment of big change - in spite of path dependency - can be systematically understood.

Date: 1994
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (32)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/ ... type/journal_article link to article abstract page (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:jnlpup:v:14:y:1994:i:03:p:251-283_00

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Public Policy from Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press, UPH, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8BS UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Kirk Stebbing ().