The author analyses the goals and instruments of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), discusses approaches which theorise its functioning, examines its policy content and develops a framework for its evaluation

Consumption surveys often record zero purchases of a good because of a short observation window. Only mean consumption rates can then be inferred. We show that propensity scores can be used to estimate each unit's consumption rate, revealing the distribution. We demonstrate the method using the...

The environment has become an increasingly prominent consideration across the third sector in the UK. However, while there has been an ‘audit explosion’ in relation to demonstrating the social mission of third sector organisations (TSOs), this has not transferred to the management of...

Does the association between household characteristics and household CO2 emissions differ for areas such as home energy, transport and indirect emissions? This question is policy relevant because distributional implications of mitigation policies may vary depending on the area of emissions that...

Two dimensions of state transformation often analysed separately can be identified as vertical authority shifts between different levels of government and horizontal authority transfers between state and non-state domains. This article firstly reviews three existing approaches that highlight...

This article argues that the OMC's legitimacy can be improved only by strengthening parliamentary channels of input-legitimacy since output-legitimacy alone is inappropriate and cannot be achieved without input-legitimacy. In addition, concepts and practices of direct 'stakeholder' participation...

This article re-examines the division between 'optimists' and 'pessimists' within the literature on the Open Method of Coordination’s (OMC) effectiveness. Each of those 'camps' tends to focus on a different question. 'Optimists' are more concerned with the question of whether the OMC exerts an...