The role of policy analysis and its impact on decision-making in local governments: the case of the Seoul Metropolitan Government

ABSTRACT This paper examines the case of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s new initiative for an independent pre-feasibility study, which is intended to enhance its capacity for decision-making in public investment. A cost-benefit analysis is optimistic when co-opted external policy analysts perform it. However, an independent research center specializing in feasibility studies significantly reduces this tendency and improves the quality of analyses. Moreover, a pre-feasibility study plays a catalytic role in bringing the policy community to embrace high-quality analytic information during policymaking. Our findings suggest that some allegedly incompetent local governments can make better and more correct public investment decisions through appropriate institutionalization of the policy analysis process.