How does Europeanization produce domestic policy change? Corporate tax policy in Italy and the United Kingdom

This article raises the question whether corporate tax policies in Italy and the United Kingdom have been changed by the emergence of an embryonic tax regime at the European Union (EU) level. The author argues that Europeanization can occur both directly, when domestic policy is constrained by the implementation of EU directives, and indirectly, when policy makers conceive of a domestic issue in European frames of references and modify public policy, thus producing policy change. Indirect Europeanization focuses on how European policy paradigms and ideas are transmitted into the national policy process. The author finds evidence of indirect Europeanization for the United Kingdom but not for Italy. Macro-administrative variables and national attitudes do not perform well in the explanation of Europeanization. Insights provided by the literature on knowledge utilization are useful instead: The relationship between European integration and domestic policies appears to be mediated by the cognitive structure of public policy.