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During EU-level turbulence, even member states with decentralised coordination systems need to centralise to promote their preferences on the EU-level. Why does this not result in permanent centralisation? We argue that situational centralisation during turbulence triggers a three-step 'reactive sequence' that reinforces a decentralised system in the long run. First, exceptional problem pressure enables prime ministerial offices to shift the formalised, bureaucratic and horizontal 'ordinary mode' of coordination to an informal, politicised and hierarchical 'turbulence mode'. Second, the turbulence mode's characteristics depend on the bargaining goals. If a country wishes to change the existing EU policy framework, the prime minister assumes a hierarchical position; if a country favours the status quo or gradual change, the lead ministry is established as a domestic veto player. Third, when turbulence subsides, a decentralised system's underlying institutional factors endow the losers of centralisation with opportunity structures to push back. As line ministries acquire additional competences during turbulence, this sequence eventually strengthens the main defenders of the decentralised coordination system. We illustrate the suggested mechanism in a within-case comparison of the adaptation of German EU policy coordination to the Eurozone and refugee crises.

Objective. To review Australian mental health initiatives involving coordination of care. Methods. Commonwealth government websites were systematically searched for mental health policy documents. Database searches were also conducted using the terms 'coordination' or 'integration' and 'mental health' or 'mental illness' and 'Australia'. We assessed the extent to which informational, relational and management continuity have been addressed in three example programs. Results. The lack of definition of coordination at the policy level reduces opportunities for developing actionable and measurable programs. Of the 51 mental health initiatives identified, the three examples studied all demonstrated some use of the dimensions of continuity to facilitate coordination. However, problems with funding, implementation, evaluation and competing agendas between key stakeholders were barriers to improving coordination. Conclusions. Coordination is possible and can improve both relationships between providers and care provided. However, clear leadership, governance and funding structures are needed to manage the challenges encountered, and evaluation using appropriate outcome measures, structured to assess the elements of continuity, is necessary to detect improvements in coordination. What is known about the topic? The issues of integration of services and coordination of care have been a part of the National Mental Health Strategy documents for almost 20 years, but reports and evaluations continually note a lack of solid progress on these reforms. What does this paper add? This paper examines how the key elements of continuity that underpin coordination have been addressed in three examples of Australian mental health initiatives aimed at improving integration and coordination. What are the implications for practitioners? Coordination of care for mental health is possible and can improve both relationships between providers and care provided, but attention should be paid to the role of informational, relationship and management continuity in program design and implementation.

We posit that sound, growth-promoting economic policy is more likely to be formulated when major political players have incentives to cooperate. Using Portugal as an arena to test this theory, we provide an in depth analysis of its policymaking environment, finding that Portuguese institutional arrangements are what we term "dry." That is, they are not well suited to provide incentives for cooperation among actors in the policymaking process. Portugal has had difficulty sustaining economic growth in the long term. Our arguments are supported with both contextual analyses and a statistical examination, in which we find a strong link between single-party majority government and positive economic and fiscal performance. These findings have broad implications for democratic economies across the world.

Impact of international capital market integration on economic policies between the 1960s and the 1980s. Identifies a shift away from coordination of balance-of-payments financing and toward coordination of monetary and fiscal policies.

Since 1945, systems of policy coordination can be classified as rule-governed (decentralized national decisions) or discretionary bargaining (collective decisions of coordination at the international level). The European Monetary System is proposed as a combination of these two models, & is discussed in this light. A discretionary bargaining model will be more successful when national leaders devise a policy that separates their own domestic political factions. The role of international organizations in a rule-governed system is to facilitate policy coordination, &, in a discretionary bargaining system, to broker, provide information, & build models. 1 Figure, 31 References. S. G. Yates

AbstractCoordinating and integrating different policies and public sector organizations is a major challenge for practitioners and a continuing topic of interest for researchers. This Viewpoint essay argues that research on this topic needs reorientation to provide better insights for practice and theory of policy making, as well as policy implementation. The authors offer four suggestions on how future research could advance: (1) combining existing conceptual and epistemological approaches more systematically; (2) complementing case studies and surveys with large‐N analyses and novel research tools and methods; (3) more systematic analysis of the causal mechanisms in policy coordination and integration; and (4) more thorough study of the real‐world impact of policy coordination and integration.

The industrial rise of the Third Italy has been characterized by the growth of dynamic networks of flexible small and medium–sized enterprises (SMEs) that are spatially concentrated in specialized industrial districts. This network type of coordination has been associated with horizontal, trust–based relations rather than vertical relations of power and dependency between local organizations. This would lower transaction costs (essential for local systems with an extreme division of labor), facilitate the transmission and exchange of (tacit) knowledge (and thus, learning and innovation), encourage cooperation mechanisms (such as the establishment of research centers), and stimulate political–institutional performance (e.g. through regulation of potential social conflicts).From an evolutionary perspective, the focus is on the dynamics of industrial districts drawing from current experiences in Italy. In this respect, this paper concentrates on two main features of industrial districts that have largely contributed to their economic success in the past, that is, their network organization and the collective learning process. The evolution of industrial districts is described in terms of organizational adjustments to structural change. The way in which the size distribution of firms has changed is discussed (in particular the role of large companies), how the (power) relationships between local organizations have evolved, what are the current sources and mechanisms of learning, and to what extent institutional lock–in has set in. Finally, a number of trajectories districts may go through in the near future are presented.

The Treaty of Amsterdam committed EU member states to tackle social exclusion. This book aims to explore, from an inter-disciplinary perspective, the possibilities and limitations of the attempts by the EU to co-ordinate and 'Europeanize' member states' strategies and policies