Policy innovation from local governments in the Global South: the case of Popular Pharmacy in Chile

Cecilia Osorio Gonnet (), Antoine Maillet () and Rodrigo Aynol Gallardo ()
Additional contact information
Cecilia Osorio Gonnet: Universidad de Chile
Antoine Maillet: Universidad de Chile
Rodrigo Aynol Gallardo: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Policy Sciences, 2025, vol. 58, issue 3, No 7, 600 pages

Abstract: Abstract Policy innovation faces many obstacles. This article analyzes the factors that explain how it occurs in an unpropitious context. The case studied is the Recoleta Popular Pharmacy in Chile, an innovative local response to the national problem of access to affordable medicines. The research questions are: How does policy innovation emerge at the local level in unpropitious contexts, and what role do actors in different positions within a multilevel governance system play in its development? We answer these questions through a multilevel case study, using a process-tracing method based on interviews with key actors. The findings show that policy innovation occurred due to the interaction between visionary municipal leadership and the initiative of a municipal official who gained support both from within the municipality and from mid-level managers at the central government. The case contributes to the discussion of facilitators and obstacles to policy innovation at the local level, demonstrating that multilevel collaboration can overcome challenges such as centralism, a focus on rule compliance, and resource scarcity. Consequently, the results contribute to the broader discussion of the obstacles to policy innovation at the local level in the Global South.

Keywords: Policy innovation; Municipalities; Recoleta Popular Pharmacy; Chile; Mid-level managers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11077-025-09585-6 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

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:kap:policy:v:58:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11077-025-09585-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... ce/journal/11077/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s11077-025-09585-6

Access Statistics for this article

Policy Sciences is currently edited by Michael Howlett

More articles in Policy Sciences from Springer, Society of Policy Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().