The Power of International Actors in Transfers

In this article, I explore the role of international organizations and private firms in the process of policy transfer, taking the case of hospital design modernization in Ukraine and Moldova. I argue that international organizations are more powerful than private practices in transferring their experience: while the first can exert coercion, the second need to “sell” their hospital model. My results show that the World Bank use coercive pressure all along the Moldavian project, while in Ukraine, the private firms use commercial strategies to transfer their hospital model. Nevertheless, the economic actors are also capable of using coercive pressures, in case all the other “soft” strategies are unsuccessful.