Politics, Policies and Consequences:* A Cross‐national Analysis of Public Policy‐formation in Advanced Capitalist Democracies (1967–1981)

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Abstract
In this article the growing dissent and tension with regard to the relationship between political factors, public policy‐formation and the consequences (in terms of economic performance) will be investigated. Our point of departure is to find out to what extent political variables matter and which other factors may account for the above relationship. The main result is that, apart from the impact of ‘politics’, the existence of a corporatist mode of interest‐mediation and conflict‐regulation consistently strengthens the explanation of policy‐formation and policy‐performance. In addition, it appears that, especially after 1974, political factors gain influence, albeit more often than not in circumstances of political consensus and where right‐wing parties are relatively weak. If the interdependence between ‘politics’ and ‘economics’ is managed in a consensual fashion, it will lead to a better economic performance and may be an adequate response to the ongoing crisis.

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