Institutional Layering: A Review of the Use of the Concept

van der Heijden, Jeroen

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Institutional Layering: A Review of the Use of the Concept

Politics, Volume 31, Issue 1, pages 9-18, 2011

10 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2012 Last revised: 25 Apr 2013

See all articles by Jeroen van der Heijden

Jeroen van der Heijden

Victoria University of Wellington, School of Government; Australian National University, School of Regulation & Global Governance (RegNet)

Date Written: January 10, 2010

Abstract

Over the years layering has gained increasing attention in studies of institutional change. Notably, the concept has been subject to the exact mechanism it tries to explain: incremental change. This article reviews the use of the concept over a 60-year time span in order to elucidate its value for studying institutional change. The article especially looks at the use of the concept by one of the leading authors in the field: Kathleen Thelen. It concludes that layering provides a bridge between – seemingly conflicting – ideas on incremental change and punctuated equilibrium.

Keywords: layering, institutional change

JEL Classification: D7

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

van der Heijden, Jeroen, Institutional Layering: A Review of the Use of the Concept (January 10, 2010). Politics, Volume 31, Issue 1, pages 9-18, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2086658