Policy Transfer and International Cooperation: Lessons from the South
In this blogpost, Osmany Porto de Oliveira highlights three policy innovations from Brazil as examples of policy transfer from the Global South.
Introduction
For a long time, governments have been drawing lessons from their peers across the globe. The transnational flow of policy ideas, models, and instruments has increased with the growth of globalization, as well as with the proliferation of international forums addressing public issues such as education, health, hunger, and climate change. In the field of policy studies, this phenomenon is known as “policy transfer”.
The first generation of policy transfer studies focused on the movement of ideas between Northern countries, as well as the transfer of policies from these countries and international organizations to the Global South. Over the past few decades, however, various policy instruments developed in the Global South—especially in Latin America—have gained international recognition and spread worldwide. These examples provide new perspectives on how, who, what, when, and where policy transfers occur.
Focusing on three policy innovations from Brazil, the article highlights their global recognition and adoption, from the perspective of their education component. It also explores the role of power, politics, and geopolitics in policy transfers, offering insights into the contributions of the Global South to the global “marketplace of policy solutions.”
North-North and North-South Policy Transfers
Policy exchanges have often occurred among national governments, such as Anglo-Saxon countries. The United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom frequently look to one another for policy inspiration. International organizations have played a key role in globalizing policies. The OECD, for example, shares common principles, conducts peer reviews, and produces indicators that influence policymaking within member states and beyond. Notably, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has become a central tool shaping educational reforms worldwide, including in non-member countries, such as Brazil, which adopted PISA in 2000.
The European Union has become a key center for policy transfers, with member states harmonizing their policies. The Bologna Process, a reform launched in the late 1990s, transformed European higher education and spread to countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. International organizations can use soft power to promote their models and leverage conditionality mechanisms, like the International Monetary Fund. These dynamics highlight the power asymmetry between countries and international organizations, influencing government policies in varying ways.
Lessons from the Global South
Countries in the Global South have long adopted models from the Global North and international organizations. Among the many reasons for this, colonial ties and economic dependence stands out. This dynamic of policy adoption persists across various sectors to this day. However, recently a new movement has emerged, with numerous policy innovations developed in the Global South diffusing across various countries. These innovations were born out of contexts marked by poverty and the need to tackle deep social inequalities. Some of these initiatives have been internationally recognized as “best practices.” The case of Brazil is particularly illustrative of these dynamics and offers valuable insights, especially from the perspective of education.
Participatory Budgeting as Schools of Democracy and Management Instrument
The first example discussed here is Participatory Budgeting (PB) as a “school of democracy.” In the 1980s, Brazil was transitioning to democracy after military rule. Simultaneously, the country was experiencing rapid urbanization and the growth of large metropolises. Issues such as poverty, social inequality, and lack of infrastructure were prevalent in many cities across the country.
The municipal government developed a methodology to include citizens in the process of municipal budgeting. Simply put, citizens could participate directly or through voluntary, elected neighborhood representatives, deliberating on public policies at various stages over the course of a year. This policy innovation not only decentralized infrastructure from the city center, bringing development to peripheral areas and promoting social justice, but it also served as a “school of democracy”. Over time, through participatory experiences, citizens could learn public speaking, argumentation, and mobilizing support for common causes. They also gained a deeper understanding of public policymaking and municipal budgets. As a result, PB became an empowering tool for the poor.
PB spread to cities around the world, such as Chicago, Lima, Maputo, and Lausanne, taking on various forms and incorporating different methodologies. This diffusion was driven by international organizations like the World Bank, as well as by transnational networks such as Démocratiser Radicalement la Démocratie (Radically Democratize Democracy), and by individuals committed to the promotion of participatory democracy. In the region of Poitou-Charentes (France), PB was used in schools to allocate funds for small projects, involving students, parents, teachers, and staff in decision-making. The initiative also served as a tool for teaching citizenship and civic engagement to students.
Experiences like PB illustrate the longevity of policy diffusion. Indeed, PB has been spreading for over 35 years. The Porto Alegre model has been modified to fit different contexts and interests. While its methods have changed, the “school of democracy” experience provided by PB remains important for marginalized groups, fostering democratic engagement. In times of democratic backsliding, participatory budgeting is an interesting tool for preserving democratic values.
Conditional Cash Transfers: Universalizing Education and Ensuring School Attendance
The second experience is Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT), now implemented globally from Peru to the Philippines, following the innovative programs in Brazil and Mexico in the mid-1990s. In Brazil, the School Allowance program was designed at the national level to universalize education, ensuring and facilitating access to schooling for children and teenagers. This was achieved by providing allowances to poor families, which were conditional on children’s and teenagers’ enrollment and regular attendance in school.
Later, the Family Allowance (Bolsa Família), a more complex program, was created, merging various existing allowances and incorporating a health conditionality, besides school enrolment and attendance. In addition, families were required to participate in nutrition education activities promoted by public services. The program sought not only to provide immediate relief to poverty but also to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Family Allowance gained international recognition and served as a model for many countries’ CCT programs globally.
The World Bank played a key role in promoting CCTs in developing countries, offering technical assistance, organizing meetings, and providing funding for their implementation. The Brazilian government helped spread the program through various initiatives, such as Presidential diplomacy and South-South cooperation projects to share knowledge. Additionally, the Ministry of Social Development hosted numerous foreign delegations, offering presentations and technical visits to learn about the program.
School Feeding: Education and Food Security
In contexts of poverty and hunger, attending school alone may not be sufficient for effective learning. As a staff member from the Center for Excellence against Hunger stated, children need sufficient energy to study and actively participate in class. Brazil developed and refined a policy model starting in the 1960s called the National School Feeding Program (PNAE). This program involves several key components: it provides well-balanced, culturally appropriate, and diverse nutrition; the menu respects the regional cultural traditions and healthy eating habits specific to different parts of Brazil; a portion of the food products used in the program are sourced from family farming. This design creates a virtuous cycle by supporting family farming production and ensuring its sales through government procurement, while also promoting food security and nutrition for children, alongside educational outcomes.
School feeding programs have expanded across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with presidential diplomacy and South-South Cooperation playing key roles in promoting global recognition of the concept. Brazilian South-South cooperation is characterized by its implementation by expert civil servants, making it more cost-effective than other forms of international aid. It is also based on solidarity and horizontality ideas, without imposing conditionalities.
Another key component in the diffusion of this policy has been the creation of the Center for Excellence against Hunger, established in 2011 through a partnership between the Brazilian government and the World Food Programme (WFP). The Center operates through training and knowledge-sharing on food security, focusing on school feeding programs. Its dual support ensures sustainability and overcomes bureaucratic challenges, even amid political changes in Brazil.
Conclusion
Policy transfers are complex, non-linear processes shaped by power relations, politics, and the specific contexts in which they are adopted. These dynamics vary across different actors, scales, and regions, particularly between the Global South and North. As a multifaceted process, policy transfers encompass multiple-temporalities. Analyzing policy transfers within the Global South offers several insights.
Countries in the Global South might often have more relevant policy models for one another due to shared contexts, making adaptation easier. Policy transfer is rarely a simple “copy and paste” process; policies must be “translated” to fit local political, cultural, and social contexts. Moreover, there is no universal solution, and policies often require testing and experimentation to work effectively in new settings. The involvement of various agents—government officials, international organizations, and local stakeholders—is also crucial in facilitating, recognizing, and implementing policy transfers.
Studying policy transfers reveals how international and national policymaking processes can be deeply intertwined. Education plays an important role in participatory democracy and social policies, as illustrated in cases like PB, CCTs, and School Feeding. Despite their significance, Global South countries remain underexplored in policy transfer studies. Their experiences offer valuable lessons that can enrich research on policy transfer, particularly in areas like education and social policy.
To Learn More:
Eta, E. A, Z. Mngo. 2021. “Policy Diffusion and Transfer of the Bologna Process in Africa’s National, Sub-Regional and Regional Contexts.” European Educational Research Journal 20 (1): 59–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904120951061.
Morais de Sá e Silva, M., Porto de Oliveira, O. 2023. Incorporating Time into Policy Transfer Studies: A Comparative Analysis of the Transnational Policy Process of Conditional Cash Transfers and Participatory Budgeting. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 25 (4): 418–438.
Parcerisa, L, Clara F., Antoni V.. 2021. “Understanding the PISA Influence on National Education Policies: A Focus on Policy Transfer Mechanisms”. In: International Perspectives on School Settings, Education Policy and Digital Strategies. A Transatlantic Discourse in Education Research, 182–94. Toronto: Barbara Budrig Verlag.
Porto de Oliveira, O. (Ed.). 2021.Handbook of Policy Transfer, Diffusion and Circulation. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
The Author:
Osmany Porto de Oliveira is a Tenured Assistant Professor at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), where he coordinates the Laboratory of International Public Policies (Laboppi). The lab’s mission is to democratize access to knowledge by expanding academic research beyond the boundaries of the university. His research focuses on public policy, international relations, policy transfer, development cooperation, participatory democracy, poverty and hunger, climate change, and urban policies.
He employs transnational policy ethnography as a primary research method and has conducted fieldwork in Brazil, Mozambique, Peru, Senegal, Kenya, the United States, South Africa, Ecuador, France, and Spain. One of his latest research projects analyzes the relationship between public policies and diplomacy in the process of Brazil’s accession to the OECD.
Contact: osmanyporto@gmail.com