The Limits of Demand-Side Explanations

This chapter presents the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of all twenty-three EU policies that were successfully challenged before the WTO with reasonable periods to comply expiring before the end of 2019 and for which policy change was necessary for compliance. The chapter discusses how the conditions associated with compliance in the literature—the power of the complainant, the nature of the policy, and the number of veto players—are operationalized. The QCA finds that none of the conditions were necessary for compliance. It does, however, suggest (in line with expectations) that trade policy was sufficient for prompt and sufficient policy change. Contrary to expectations, however, the QCA strongly suggests that the power of the complainant was not associated with policy change. The analysis also found no association between the number of veto players and policy change. The QCA, therefore, contradicts the demand-side explanation of compliance and is consistent with the supply-side explanation. The chapter explores why the power of the complainant is not associated with policy change. It also contextualizes and justifies the case studies.