Policy transfer was a key element in the unification of both German states. Although a policy of "no experiments" initially prevailed, it proved to have multidimensional consequences that varied across policy sectors and included imitation, adaptation, and limited innovation. Later, triadic forces of unification, Europeanization, and globalization pressured and enabled a new wave of reforms. Depending on the policy area (e.g., welfare policy, municipal charters, education), these forces acted as a catalyst for reform, predicted developments, and exposed diffusion patterns in unified Germany, at times by resurrecting old ideas to new prominence.
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