Diffusion and adaptation of the regulatory agency model in Brazil

Abstract This article examines the diffusion of independent regulatory agencies (IRAs) in Brazil, demonstrating how important domestic factors interplayed with traditional mechanisms of diffusion lead to an expressive process of agencification. Although top-down, bottom-up and horizontal mechanisms played an important role in the Brazilian agencification process, they fail to explain the creation of IRAs in unexpected sectors or the frequent modifications that occurred at subnational levels in a short period of time. To understand how local political actors adapted the regulatory agency model to the Brazilian institutional legacies, field research was conducted, based on bibliographical, documental, and interviews with key political actors. The specificities of Brazilian federalism and the strategic role of the film industry, bureaucrats and politicians in (re)interpreting the agency model helped to boost the diffusion of IRAs in Brazil.