Policy convergence as a multi-faceted concept: the case of renewable energy policies in the EU

The literature on policy convergence has identified numerous facets and causal drivers of convergence. Distinguishing four dimensions of convergence (object, benchmark, drivers, and directed process) helps to clarify why and in what form policy convergence may occur (or not). Thus, depending on, e.g., the object of analysis (policy outcome or instruments used), the same empirical case may give rise to opposing assessments. Furthermore, both economic and political drivers are necessary to account for successful policy convergence: economic convergence partly explains why countries may face similar problems and political mechanisms explain why they might choose similar policies to solve a given problem. The paper illustrates the multi-faceted character of convergence for the dynamic field of renewable energy policies in the EU. The empirical results indicate temporary convergence in the case of policy support instrument choices and conditional convergence in terms of renewables shares. However, the results suggest divergence of public R&D subsidies targeting renewables.