Regional policy capacity for environmental governance: institutional dynamics in Brazil’s subnational context

Vanessa Elias de Oliveira, Klaus Frey, Ana L. Mafra Salla and Marcio Anderson Kontopp

Public Administration and Policy: An Asia-Pacific Journal, 2026, vol. 29, issue 1, 22-35

Abstract: Purpose This paper examines the concept of “regional policy capacity” in multilevel governance. Two questions are addressed: First, what conditions allowed the institutionalization of regional governance in a constitutional order that lacks institutionalized mechanisms of coordination? Second, under which conditions do such governance arrangements build regional policy capacity?Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on qualitative analysis of two critical cases of regional environmental governance in Sao Paulo, Brazil: the Intermunicipal Consortium of the ABC region, and the Piracicaba-Capivari-Jundiaí River Basin Committee (CBH-PCJ).Findings The cases demonstrate that regional governance is a prerequisite for managing subnational problems that cross municipal boundaries. It can be successfully implemented through both bottom-up and top-down initiatives. Under conditions of limited statehood, the effectiveness of these capacities depends on a robust institutional design, binding collective objectives, and the ability to mobilize capacities across different institutional levels for regional problem-solving.Originality/value The paper advances the concept of regional policy capacity, addressing a gap in the literature and enriching the policy capacity framework for understanding the conditions for effective regional decision-making.

Keywords: Regional policy capacity; Multilevel governance; Environmental policy; Brazil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:pappps:pap-01-2025-0009

DOI: 10.1108/PAP-01-2025-0009

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