What Qualitative Comparison of Subnational Policies Does to Theoretical Debates

From a methodological point of view, this paper focuses on the theoretical contributions that small-N comparative studies of subnational policies can lead to. Drawing on the congruence method, also called systematic process tracing, and on the notion of mechanism, it argues that these studies can bring two main contributions: first, testing existing theories and drawing causal inferences from empirical observations; and second, generating new hypotheses and explanatory frameworks. Assessing the theories of interregional competition in the case of French regional education policy, the paper dismisses the “race to the bottom” approach and suggests complementing the “yardstick competition” model. It shows that competition among French regions can best be described as a race to the middle.