Ideas are transformed as they transfer: a comparative study of eco-taxation in Scandinavia

In this article, insights from diverging institutional perspectives on the concept of ideas are integrated into a sequential analysis of mechanisms of transfer and transformation. The analysis of the introduction of eco-taxation into two policy sectors in the Scandinavian countries shows that, as the idea of eco-taxation transfers, a well-known instrument can be framed as rational and legitimate, and policy-makers 'hook' on to the idea in order to solve problems with institutionalized areas of responsibility. In this way, what at one point may be regarded as a virus-like attack of a regulatory idea is influenced by the more stable configuration of administrative bias and organized interests when transformed into actual regulation.