Interest in policy feedback processes in energy transitions has grown rapidly in recent years. However, while it has provided interesting accounts of the mechanisms of stability or change, the policy feedback framework begs the question of why policy feedback dynamics vary so widely across cases. Existing accounts have tended to focus on the influence of ideas on policy design and on the role of interest groups. By contrast, the role of background institutional context in shaping policy feedback processes has been understudied. In this article, I develop a framework for identifying relevant types of institution that potentially shape policy feedback across different analytical stages of the feedback cycle. This approach is illustrated through the example of support policies for solar PV, where it is argued that a relatively small set of political, political economy and social institutions are likely to be important. The argument is then applied through a comparison of the evolution of solar PV policy in the UK and Germany, and the role of institutional context in explaining divergent policy pathways.

近年来，对能源转型政策反馈过程的兴趣迅速增长。然而，虽然它提供了关于稳定性或变化机制的有趣说明，但政策反馈框架提出了一个问题，即为什么政策反馈动态在不同情况下差异如此之大。现有账户倾向于关注思想对政策设计的影响以及利益集团的作用。相比之下，背景制度背景在塑造政策反馈过程中的作用一直未被充分研究。在本文中，我开发了一个框架，用于识别可能在反馈周期的不同分析阶段形成政策反馈的相关机构类型。这种方法通过太阳能光伏支持政策的例子来说明，其中认为相对较小的一组政治、政治经济和社会制度可能很重要。然后通过比较英国和德国太阳能光伏政策的演变以及制度背景在解释不同政策路径中的作用来应用该论点。