Policy Diffusion Research Articles

Can I borrow this? Policy transfer from Chile to Paraguay in the wave of diffusion of Conditional Cash Transfer programs in Latin America

AbstractThis article discusses the transfer process of the psychosocial support component of the Chile Solidario program to the Tekoporã program in Paraguay, which occurs within the diffusion wave of Conditional Cash Transfer programs in Latin America. Applying the process‐tracing method, we unpack the transfer mechanism in a temporal sequence of events and identify the actors involved and their motivations and capacities. The findings indicate the development of a mechanism of emulation due to the weak institutional capacities present in Paraguay's social protection system. The case study contributes to the understanding of transfer processes in the Global South and enriches the literature on the transfer and diffusion of policies in Latin America, and the link between the two processes.

Multi-scale policy diffusion of marine emissions governance

Maritime transport is a global industry governed by a multi-scale regulatory system. This paper employed an innovative iterative policy review methodology for examining policy diffusion in maritime governance systems across different jurisdictions including both the public and industrial sectors. We applied the framework to investigate cross-level policy diffusion in controlling marine emissions and policy dynamics in China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA), one of the world’s most prominent and competitive port clusters. Drawing on empirical evidence from international conventions, regional and state-level directives, port-level policies, and industry initiatives, we identified the variables driving China’s policy evolution on governing marine emissions, highlighting the role of the GBA port cluster in bridging governance practices across different administrative levels. From a public policy perspective, this study shows that the GBA has demonstrated potential for advancing policy innovation in China’s maritime affairs and contributing to the global transition towards sustainable shipping.

Following neighbors or regional leaders? Unpacking the effect of geographic proximity in local climate policy diffusion

Following neighbors or regional leaders? Unpacking the effect of geographic proximity in local climate policy diffusion

Disability policies, transnationalism and policy diffusion: ‘Asocial’ models of inclusion for children and youth in low and middle-income countries (LMICs)

This paper examines the advances made by low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the inclusion of children with disabilities and youth within mainstream policies on education, employment, health, and social care provisions and the implications on their outcomes. Theoretically, this paper advances critical disability studies and addresses stigma and discrimination as barriers to progressive social policies. It also critically examines the diffusion of the social model of disability, which finds expression in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Methodologically, this paper uses latent class analysis (LCA) to analyse clusters of LMICs, regarding the adoption of social-legal provisions as stipulated by the CRPD. Finally, the paper concludes with a paradigm shift within the sociology of disability towards a sociology of enablement within the fold of emancipatory politics that addresses stigma and discrimination.

Diffusion of innovation, innovation studies, and innovation policies: cross-fertilisation to improve smart specialisation strategies (S3)

The paper reviews the diffusion research approach to the analysis of innovations and its impact on innovation studies. This social approach brought a new understanding of the innovation process by focusing on analysing the factors that influence the spread of innovations instead of focusing on its technical basis. We also review the different approaches to the study of the spread of policies – policy diffusion, policy transfer and policy mobility. We review the reception of diffusion research in innovation studies to recover some insights and to integrate them into current innovation policy debate. We use the innovation policy of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) as an example of how this integration could be done. After reviewing the main challenges of S3, we show the importance of improving the implementation phase of innovation policies through different mechanisms. For example, we indicate the need of paying more attention to mechanisms of policy diffusion, such as learning and, specially, socialisation as these could lead to more stable and long-term policy changes.

A State-Society Approach to Climate Policy Diffusion for Sustainable Development in East Asia

Abstract Increasingly, global efforts to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have invoked national climate policies in the past decades. The Paris Agreement provides general guidelines for climate policy with which signatory countries are expected to comply. East Asia’s economic and political significance is rising in achieving these goals globally, but countries in the region are somewhat behind international climate norms and face criticism from global society. Moreover, despite government initiatives to achieve a sustainability transition domestically, East Asian societies are less aligned with international climate norms, prioritizing economic development over issues like climate change. As a result, governments in the region face different incentives for their policy options. This paper discusses three East Asian examples from the global norm-diffusion perspective by taking a state-society approach. It argues that the top-down efforts initiated by global society will fail without domestic societies embracing international efforts.

Explaining transgender policy change: Policy momentum in Canada and Australia

AbstractWestern democracies are experiencing a widespread shift towards greater recognition of transgender rights in public policy, yet the timing of change differs across states. To explain this variation, I present a novel theoretical framework called “policy momentum.” Unlike existing work on policy diffusion, which typically emphasizes domestic or international processes, I theorize how the combined pressure from each level creates the conditions for policy change to occur. Empirically, I contrast the creation of national human rights policies to protect transgender individuals in Canada (2017) and Australia (2013). Using process‐tracing and within‐case analyses, and drawing on elite interviews, primary documents, and Hansard records, I demonstrate the decisive interaction of subnational legislative changes with an emerging global norm to produce transgender policy change. This paper thus contributes to our understanding of LGBTQ+ public policy while also providing a framework for explaining the conditions for cross‐national policy change more broadly.

Does National Culture Influence Global Policy Diffusion: Evidence From Gender Mainstreaming Policy Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

This study aims to pinpoint the combinations of national cultural traits that influence the global diffusion of gender mainstreaming. First, we have updated national culture indices using factor analysis. Then, we employ fuzzy-set QCA to identify potential configurations in line with theories of cultural contingency. A sample of 41 countries is examined. We find that the current diffusion requires a non-Islamic environment, while a high level of autonomy, weak uncertainty avoidance, and gender quotas are sufficient. This study serves as the starting point for further research on the relationship between national culture and the diffusion of gender mainstreaming policy.

Policy diffusion, policy transfer, and policy mobilities revisited: A call for more interdisciplinary approaches in human geography

AbstractGeographers and urban studies scholars tend to rely on policy mobilities approaches to explain processes of policy spread, whereas political scientists and public policy scholars usually draw on either policy diffusion or policy transfer. I challenge this widespread scholarly practice of selecting approaches based on the association with a certain discipline. Instead, first and foremost, the specific research aim(s) and question(s) should shape the choice of theoretical lens. Analytical or policy outcome‐oriented studies should rely on policy diffusion and policy transfer, while a policy mobilities approach is best suited for more (policy) critical analysis. The approaches can also complement each other to a certain degree. Analytical and policy outcome‐oriented approaches need a stronger critical perspective while policy mobilities scholars need to underpin their critique with constructive suggestions on how to improve established practices.

A proposed typology of improvement science in state ESSA plans

This study aims to illustrate how states include an improvement science approach to educational improvement in their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plan. Through a qualitative content analysis of 52 state ESSA plans, we propose an introductory organizational typology to categorize states based on their explicit inclusion of improvement science-related terminology in their plan. Our typology included three categories: Non-Presence, Emergent Presence, and Presence. Our findings suggest that states varied in how much improvement science language was included in their state plans. Findings also show there is little evidence of geographic diffusion of improvement science policy. This research connects a practice to policy gap highlighting educational stakeholders including educational professionals are increasingly using improvement science to address pressing problems of practice in their contexts in service of making the educational system more equitable; however, improvement science language is rarely included through the formalized state ESSA plans.

The future of the international financial system: The emerging CBDC network and its impact on regulation

AbstractCentral bank digital currency (CBDC) is a digital form of fiat currency. CBDC has the potential to be a game challenger in the international financial system, bringing increased complexities arising from technology and regulatory considerations, as well as generating greater currency competition. As more states begin exploring CBDC, the interactions between actors may lead to the emergence of a new CBDC network. What shape would the emerging CBDC network take? What would its network effects be? What would be the impact of the CBDC network on the international financial system, or the global financial network? This article explores these questions by examining the emerging CBDC network and its regulatory implications. It argues that the CBDC network would likely be both decentralized and uncoordinated, making it unlikely to lead to convergence in CBDC regulation. The CBDC network would probably bring policy diffusion effects, with states behaving instrumentally, while shaking up the power balance between different actors, generating both cooperation and conflict. The CBDC network also has the potential to push international financial system toward becoming more decentralized.

Heterogeneous Diffusion of Government Microblogs and Public Agenda Networks during Public Policy Communication in China.

During public policy information diffusion, policy interpretation on government microblogs and public attention interact, but there are certain differences. We construct a research framework for the heterogeneous diffusion of public policy information on government microblogs. An empirical study is conducted based on the Network Agenda Setting (NAS) model. First, a combination of topic mining and content analysis is used to identify the issues discussed by government microblogs and citizens. Then, we use the importance of nodes in Degree Structure (DS) and Flow Structure (FS) entropy to measure their attention to different issues. Finally, the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) correlation and regression analysis explore the degree of heterogeneity and causal relationship between government microblog agenda networks (GMANs) and public agenda networks (PANs). We find that GMANs influence PANs and the degree of heterogeneity between them is relatively low at the beginning of policy implementation. However, as government microblogs reveal positive effects of policy implementation, they fail to influence PANs effectively, and there is a greater degree of heterogeneity between them. Moreover, PANs do not significantly affect GMANs. The dynamic leading relationship between GMANs and PANs in public policy diffusion is clarified, helping to shape the image of digital government in public opinion.

Diffusion Mechanism of China’s Long-term Care Insurance System—An Empirical Analysis Based on 31 Provinces

ABSTRACT A long-term care insurance system provides basic living assistance, medical care cost compensation, and service assurance for people with disabilities. In China, it was first piloted in Qingdao, Shandong Province, in 2012, and has now been implemented in 27 provinces as pilot areas. The locally started policy was adopted by the central government and extended to the whole country in eight years. We focus on answering two questions: How did the diffusion of the policy occur? What were its determining factors? Based on the perspective of policy innovation and diffusion, this study empirically analyzes the main factors influencing the diffusion of the long-term care insurance system using a Cox proportional-hazards model and data from 31 Chinese provinces. The study found that the main internal factors were the local aging coefficient and degree of socioeconomic development, and the main external factors were national competition pressure and central policy pressure.

Agricultural development policy diffusion associated with leading cadre’s experience and expansion of protected agriculture in China

Protected agriculture has notably expanded since 2010 in China and many factors have influenced protected agricultural expansion. Yet little attention has been paid to how the successful experiences of protected agriculture demonstration areas have been diffused. Leading cadres are considered to play an important role in the policy diffusion process, yet little attention has been paid to the influence of leading cadres with connections to industry demonstration regions on industry development. Thus, this study examined the impact of mayors and municipal party secretaries connected to four protected agriculture demonstration regions—Shandong Province, Jiangsu Province, Hebei Province, and Liaoning Province—on the expansion of protected agriculture. This study used panel data from 314 prefectural-level cities and 1792 counties for the period 2014–2018 and the multidimensional fixed-effects model for a quantitative study. The results show that connected mayors significantly contribute to the expansion of protected agriculture, with the scale of protected agriculture in the county-level areas under their jurisdiction being on average 10.8% higher than that in areas under the jurisdiction of unconnected mayors. The effect of connected municipal secretaries on the expansion of protected agriculture was not significant. In addition, there were geographical differences in the impact of leading cadres on the expansion of protected agriculture. The positive impact of leading cadres on the protected agriculture expansion is significantly weakened when the area under their jurisdiction is located in the less economically developed western region or is part of the comprehensive climate unsuitable area during the March-June sowing period. The leading cadres connected to Shandong Province, Liaoning Province, and Jiangsu Province respectively had significantly different but positive impacts on the expansion of protected agriculture.

Embracing policy innovations from abroad: the role of learning in Chile’s anti-cartel reforms

Why and how do policymakers initially sceptical of policy innovations from abroad eventually transfer them to their own countries? Focusing on Chile’s reforms to combat business cartels in 2009 and 2016, this article answers that question. Policy diffusion and transfer literatures maintain that coercion, competition, learning or emulation could account for foreign inspirations in policymaking. However, these literatures overplay the role of coercion and emulation in policy transfer to countries in the global south, and have difficulty distinguishing between different mechanisms in empirical studies. To address these limitations, I suggest analysing three intermediate causal steps in policy transfer: first, policymakers’ motivations in initiating policy reforms, second, their reflections on how the foreign-inspired model responds to the policy problem at hand, and third, their reflections on the fit between the foreign model and domestic conditions. Through process-tracing of two anti-cartel reforms in Chile, I find that policymakers introduced foreign-inspired policy measures to combat business cartels through a process of learning from other countries and international organisations, rather than coercion or emulation. Learning was evident in three ways. First, in the initiation of the reform, as policymakers responded to a clearly identified policy problem; second, in policymakers’ careful reflection on how the foreign-inspired model responded to these problems; and third, in the adjustments made to fit the foreign model to domestic conditions. The analysis demonstrates the utility of analysing intermediate causal steps in policy transfer, and of paying more attention to local actors and political processes.

Turkey’s asylum policies over the last century: continuity, change and contradictions

ABSTRACT This article explores Turkey’s century-long asylum policies by highlighting two enduring policy considerations. The first is Turkey's process of convergence with the norms and principles of the global refugee regime. The second is the persistent practice of granting refugees protection of a temporary nature. These two policy considerations are discussed by employing the conceptual frameworks of ‘policy diffusion’ and the ‘nationalizing migration state.’ The study concludes that Turkey’s asylum policies have been shaped by the tension between these two policy considerations over the past century.

Italy's return to Africa: between external and domestic drivers

AbstractA steadily increasing number of European countries recently adopted their own ‘Africa policies’. The temporal and geographical clustering of such plans suggests that a policy diffusion process might have been at play, with the introduction and the shape of a policy in a given country being influenced by those of other countries. This paper tests the policy diffusion hypothesis through an in-depth analysis of the case of Italy, a country that in recent times stepped up substantially its engagement with sub-Saharan Africa. Tracing the origins and features of Rome's policy towards the region, however, shows that external influences were much more limited than expected. It was primarily two country-specific drivers – namely, the enduring effects of the European debt crisis on the Italian economy and a sudden and massive, if temporary, increase in irregular migration – which pushed Italy towards Africa and shaped its approach. The paper thus sheds light on how the marked resemblance of policies almost contemporaneously adopted by distinct EU member states – that is, a tight succession and a highly interconnected environment strongly pointing at cross-country influences – can hide motives and processes that are actually highly specific to each of them and essentially by-pass policy diffusion dynamics.

Policy diffusion theory, evidence-informed public health, and public health political science: a scoping review

ObjectivesOur aim was to synthesize published scholarship that applies policy diffusion—a theory of the policy process that considers the interdependence of government-level public health policy choices. We paid particular attention to the role of scientific evidence in the diffusion process, and to identifying challenges and gaps towards strengthening the intersection of public health, public policy, and political science.MethodsWe systematically searched 17 electronic academic databases. We included English-language, peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2021. For each article, we extracted the following information: public health policy domain, geographic setting, diffusion directions and mechanisms, the role of scientific evidence in the diffusion process, and author research discipline.SynthesisWe identified 39 peer-reviewed, primary research articles. Anti-smoking and tobacco control policies in the United States (n = 9/39) were the most common policy domain and geographic context examined; comparatively fewer studies examined policy diffusion in the Canadian context (n = 4/39). In terms of how policies diffuse, we found evidence of five diffusion mechanisms (learning, emulation, competition, coercion, and social contagion), which could moreover be conditional on internal government characteristics. The role of scientific evidence in the diffusion process was unclear, as only five articles discussed this. Policy diffusion theory was primarily used by public policy and political science scholars (n = 19/39), with comparatively fewer interdisciplinary authorship teams (n = 6/39).ConclusionPolicy diffusion theory provides important insights into the intergovernmental factors that influence public health policy decisions, thus helping to expand our conceptualization of evidence-informed public health. Despite this, policy diffusion research in the Canadian public health context is limited.

A multicriteria decision framework for governance of PPP projects towards sustainable development

The lack of a suitable decision framework for the governance of public-private partnership (PPP) projects in Africa, especially Ghana, is a major setback to project success, retarding sustainable development. This study develops a hierarchical decision framework for prioritizing project governance factors and their relationships using the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. We employ 30 experts to evaluate two main PPP governance factors and eleven subfactors. We found that contractual governance factors of PPP are more prominent than noncontractual ones for sustainable PPP projects. However, noncontractual governance factors have the highest net effect on contractual factors. Again, policy diffusion is the contractual factor with the highest net effect, while best practice team norm is the noncontractual factor with the highest net effect. Additionally, effective risk allocation is the most prominent contractual subfactor of PPP, while effective communication of project information is the most prominent noncontractual governance factor. The results imply that PPP project managers should improve governance factors for the sustainable development of PPP projects in Africa. However, they should emphasize the prominent and high net effect governance factors but not wholly disregard the less prominent ones.

CORRUPTING PERCEPTIONS: THE IMPACT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION ON CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX SCORES

This paper examines the impact early ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption has on a country’s Corruption Perceptions Index score. It builds on much of the recent scholarly work that explores policy diffusion and the role of early adopters (or leaders) in creating the space for later adopters (or laggards) to adopt particular policies and the broader impact this has on country performance in a key international index. It tests empirically the impact of early ratification upon both the diffusion of policy and, more generally, the role of international legal instruments in comparative public policy.