Evidence-Based Policy Making in the UK and the Implications for Japan from the Viewpoint of Supply and Demand for Evidence

         
Author Name UCHIYAMA Yu (The University of Tokyo) / KOBAYASHI Yohei (Consulting Fellow, RIETI) / TAGUCHI Sosuke (Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting) / KOIKE Takahide (MOF)
Creation Date/NO. December 2018 18-P-018
Research Project Promoting Evidence-based Policy in Japan
Download / Links

Abstract

This paper examines the progress of Evidence-Based Policy Making (EBPM) in the UK since the late 1990s. We particularly focus on "Modernising government" published by the Blair Administration, the role of the Green Book and Magenta Book, the relationship between the Spending Review and Result-oriented Management, the actual situation of appraisal (ex-ante evaluation) and evaluation (ex-post evaluation) in the UK government, the role of Analytical Professions, and the role of independent institutions such as What Works Centres. We summarise the progress of EBPM in the UK from the viewpoint of supply and demand for evidence, and we indicate its implication for promoting EBPM in Japan. The following are thought to be important for promoting EBPM in Japan; (1) commitment to promoting EBPM in order to stimulate the public demand for evidence, (2) a system for utilizing evidence in policy formation, (3) enhancing evidence supply capabilities using analytical professions, (4) facilitating the generation and translation of evidence by arm's length institutions; (5) eliminating the evidence supply-demand gap by better communicating the government's needs for evidence.