A new method for policy evaluation? longstanding challenges and the possibilities of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

Innovative Comparative Methods for Policy Analysis: Beyond the Quantitative-Qualitative Divide

Volumn , Issue , 2006, Pages 213-236

  Varone, Frédéric ^a   Rihoux, Benoît ^a   Marx, Axel ^b  

^a UNIVERSITÉ CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN   (Belgium)

^b Hogeschool Antwerpen   (Belgium)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 33747179969     PISSN: None     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book    
DOI: 10.1007/0-387-28829-5_10     Document Type: Chapter

References (9)

1. Note that a policy evaluation can also be undertaken before the public policy is formally adopted (ex ante evaluation) or during its implementation process (on-going or mid-term evaluation).
2. In QCA terminology, a condition stands for an «explanatory variable», or an « independent variable ». NB : it is not an independent variably in the statistical sense of the term.
3. In QCA terminology, as indeed in evaluation terminology, the outcome is the ultimate « dependent variable »., .
4. For more information, see the "software" page on the COMPASSS resource site (http://www.compasss.org). See also Cronqvist (2004).
5. For an accessible presentation of some key elements of Boolean logic, see (Ragin 1987: 103-163). For more details on the concrete steps of the analysis and use of the software, .
6. see (De Meur and Rihoux 2002; Ragin and Rihoux 2004; Rihoux etal 2003).
7. The TOSMANA software also allows multivalue coding.
8. In QCA notation, [NEW] (uppercase) stands for a "1" score and [new] (lowercase) for a "0" score.
9. Note that QCA has already been used in quite numerous policy analysis applications (see full list via: http://www.compasss.org), but indeed not specifically policy evaluation, with a few exceptions (see note 1 above).