Economic rents cannot explain all path-dependent political decisions.

Evidence

The example of the restriction of seasonal farm workers in Germany shows that economic criteria such as rents created by a policy do not always provide a comprehensive explanation of path-dependent political decisions. Instead, there have to be different sources of positive, potentially self-reinforcing feedback processes in the political system. Therefore, for theoretically better substantiated and empirically sound explanations of the reasons for path-dependent processes, the framework needs to be enriched by an alternative theoretical concept. — Georg Schreyögg and Jörg Sydow, The Hidden Dynamics of Path Dependence, 992

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: ‘When nobody profits: how policies survive without beneficiaries’ — building on this case to argue persistence often runs on discourse, not interest.