The Political Dynamics of Expert Group Influence: the Case of Norwegian Advisory Commissions

Abstract: Government-appointed expert commissions are important institutions in the policy process in the Nordic countries. Many commissions have significant influence on policy by laying the groundwork for major reforms. Yet, we so far know little about how the influence of expert commissions is conditioned by political partisan dynamics. On the one hand, we might expect commissions to be partisan vehicles for developing policy, which would imply that recommendations from commissions appointed by right-wing governments are more likely to be followed up by right-wing governments than by left-wing governments, and vice versa. On the other hand, commissions may serve as technocratic devices that lay the foundation for bipartisan agreements on policy reform by providing ‘neutral’ expert solutions, which would imply that recommendations from commissions appointed by right-wing governments are equally – or even more – likely to be followed up by left-wing cabinets than right-wing cabinets. The paper examines these two competing hypotheses through a large-n analysis of Norwegian ad hoc advisory commissions appointed over the past 50 years and the extent to which their reports are cited in white papers produced by left-wing and right-wing governments. The paper contributes to literature on expertise and technocracy, the politics of policy-making and political parties.