Policy Diffusion or Insulation? Global Policy Choices and American Public Opinion

Abstract

We study the diffusion of policy by examining how the policy opinions of Americans are influenced by the policy choices of foreign governments. Using survey experiments, we find limited evidence that foreign governments' policy choices influence American public opinion. Our results show that Americans remain divided on tax and environmental policy, largely along partisan lines, and broadly skeptical of international trade across partisan lines. Our strongest positive finding is in the area of corporate tax policy, where we find that respondents are more likely to support corporate tax reforms when competitor governments have reduced their tax rates. This result, which is driven by respondents with the lowest levels of political knowledge, suggests that policy diffusion across borders might be influenced by public perceptions of competition. Yet, the extent of this effect depends on the level of political knowledge in the voting population as well as the specific issue area.