Policy Learning in the Midst of Controversy: A Comparative Survey of Biotechnology Policy Actors.

Three currents in the political science literature propose hypotheses on policy learning. First, rational choice, in its purest version, treats beliefs as epiphenomena: beliefs are always subordinated to interests and change only when interests change. Second, and in a similar way, historical institutionalists relate beliefs to institutions and therefore consider changes in actors' beliefs most likely when institutions change. In both theoretical strands, rational choice and historical institutionalism, change is often related to sudden events that are external to the network of policy-making participants. Some rational choice and historical institutionalism, however, depart from the original forms, drawing from social psychology. Social psychology and recent constructivist perspectives have made significant contributions to knowledge about learning, offering an alternative to sudden external events to explain belief change. Unlike institutionalists, constructivists acknowledge the fluidity of relationships policy-making participants develop and sustain with other network actors outside the boundary provided by their organization. Unlike rational choice, social psychologists argue that beliefs are constructed through relationships among actors, influenced by norms of trust and deliberation. This paper tests these hypotheses with an online survey sent to individuals who participated in biotechnology policy development, in the human genetics and agri-food sectors, in four countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and France. Potential respondents were invited to participate in June 2006 and the survey was closed in December 2006. 270 individuals involved in human genetics and agri-food biotechnology policy development responded to the survey. The survey indicates that a significant proportion of policy-making participants have changed their beliefs. Learning, this analysis suggests, is most frequent among actors who belong to wide scope networks and who have a trusting attitude. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]