Policy Failure Revisited: Conceptual Implications from the Chilean Case of Transantiago

The article analyzes the ability of policy failure frameworks to characterize and explain the reform of Santiago’s public transport system. It focuses on the following questions: When a policy may be deemed a failure, what sources led to the failure, and what lesson may be drawn from the case? It suggests that these three questions must be addressed simultaneously to integrally understand a policy failure. The case proposes areas of further investigation to elaborate a conceptual framework for a better understanding of why a particular policy may fail. Information comes from 53 interviews, official documents, academic bibliography, and the media. © The Author(s) 2018.