PART 1 - INTRODUCTION: WHY STUDY POLICY MECHANISMS? 1. Disentangling the mechanistic chain for better policy design - Giliberto Capano, Michael Howlett and M Ramesh 2. Policy process research and the causal mechanism movement: reinvigorating the field? - Evert Lindquist and Adam Wellstead PART II - FIRST-ORDER MECHANISMS AND CASES 3. Structural mechanisms affecting policy subsystems activity: beyond individual and group behavioral propensities in policy design and policy change - Michael Howlett 4. The mechanism of food waste prevention: theory, design, and practice for changing behaviours - Simone Busetti and Bruno Dente 5. How neglecting policy mechanisms can lead to policy failure: insights from public-private partnerships in India's health sector - Altaf Virani and M Ramesh 6. Design activation in multi-level settings - Maria Tullia Galanti and Sarah Giest PART III - SECOND-ORDER MECHANISMS AND CASES 7. Policy instruments, policy learning and politics: impact assessment in the European Union - Claire A. Dunlop and Claudio M. Radaelli 8. Accountability mechanisms: the case of the European banking union - Mattia Guidi 9. Advancing the theory and practice of public sector reform through the analysis of social mechanisms - Edoardo Ongaro PART IV - USING MECHANISTIC METHODS FOR POLICY DESIGN AND ANALYSIS 10. Reverse engineering and policy design - R. Kent Weaver 11. Looping to success (and failure): second-order mechanisms and policy outcomes - Mallory E. Compton and Paul 't Hart Index