Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T20:11:21.707Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Problems (and solutions) in the measurement of policy diffusion mechanisms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Martino Maggetti  and
Fabrizio Gilardi
Martino Maggetti
Affiliation:
Institute of Political and International Studies, University of Lausanne, Switzerland E-mail: [email protected]
Fabrizio Gilardi
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A growing literature in public policy, comparative politics and international relations has studied how the policies of one unit (e.g. country, federal state or city) are influenced by the policies of other units – that is, how policies diffuse. This article provides a meta-analysis of 114 studies, demonstrating persisting inconsistencies in the measurement of the mechanisms driving policy diffusion processes. Different indicators are used to measure the same mechanism, and the same indicators are used to measure different mechanisms. To improve this state of affairs, this article puts forward a conceptual structure that serves as a guide for the application of diffusion arguments, a starting point for theoretical refinement and a benchmark to assess measurement validity. In addition to paying more attention to the conceptual consistency of indicators, overcoming the problems currently found in the literature requires the construction of original, innovative research designs instead of the replication of widely used templates.

Keywords

meta-analysispolicy diffusionpolicy learningQCA
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 36 , Supplement 1 , March 2016 , pp. 87 - 107
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press, 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adcock, R. and Collier, D. (2001) Measurement Validity: A Shared Standard for Qualitative and Quantitative Research. American Political Science Review 95(3): 529–546.Google Scholar
Basinger, S. and Hallerberg, M. (2004) Remodeling the Competition for Capital: How Domestic Politics Erases the Race to the Bottom. American Political Review 98(2): 261–276.Google Scholar
Bennett, C. J. (1991) Review Article: What is Policy Convergence and What Causes it? British Journal for Political Science 21(2): 215–233.Google Scholar
Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J. P. T. and Rothstein, H. R. (2011) Introduction to Meta-Analysis. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
Braun, D. and Gilardi, F. (2006) Taking “Galton’s Problem” Seriously: Towards a Theory of Policy Diffusion. Journal of Theoretical Politics 18(3): 298–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cao, X. (2009) Networks of International Organizations and Convergence in Domestic Economic Policies. International Studies Quarterly 53: 1095–1130.Google Scholar
Cao, X. (2010) Networks as Channels of Policy Diffusion: Explaining Worldwide Changes in Capital Taxation, 1998–2006. International Studies Quarterly 54(3): 823–854.Google Scholar
Cooper, H., Hedges, L. V. and Valentine, J. C. (2009a) Handbook of Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysi s . New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Cooper, H., Patall, E. A. and Lindsay, J. J. (2009b) Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis. In L. Bickman and D. J. Rog (eds.), Handbook of Applied Social Research Methods. London: SAGE Publications, 344–370.Google Scholar
Dobbin, F., Simmons, B. and Garrett, G. (2007) The Global Diffusion of Public Policies: Social Construction, Coercion, Competition or Learning? Annual Review of Sociology 33: 449–472.Google Scholar
Dolowitz, D. P. and Marsh, D. (2000) Learning from Abroad: The Role of Policy Transfer in Contemporary Policy-Making. Governance 13(1): 5–24.Google Scholar
Dunlop, C. A., Maggetti, M., Radaelli, C. M. and Russel, D. (2012) The Many Uses of Regulatory Impact Assessment: A Meta-Analysis of EU and UK Cases. Regulation & Governance 6(1): 23–45.Google Scholar
Elkins, Z., Guzman, A. and Simmons, B. (2006) Competing for Capital: The Diffusion of Bilateral Investment Treaties, 1960-2000. International Organization 60(4): 811–846.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Exadaktylos, T. and Radaelli, C. M. (2012) Research Design in European Studies: Establishing Causality in Europeanization. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Fernandez, J. J. and Lutter, M. (2013) Supranational Cultural Norms, Domestic Value Orientations and the Diffusion of Same-Sex Union Rights in Europe, 1988–2009. International Sociology 28(1): 102–120.Google Scholar
Fiss, P. C. (2011) Building Better Causal Theories: A Fuzzy Set Approach to Typologies in Organization Research. Academy of Management Journal 54(2): 393–420.Google Scholar
Genschel, P. and Schwarz, P. (2011) Tax Competition: A Literature Review. Socio-Economic Review 9(2): 339–370.Google Scholar
Gilardi, F. (2010) Who Learn from What in Policy Diffusion Processes? American Journal of Political Science 54(3): 650–666.Google Scholar
Gilardi, F. (2012) Transnational Diffusion: Norms, Ideas, and Policies. In W. Carlsnaes, T. Rise and B. Simmons (eds.), Handbook of International Relations, 2nd ed. Zurich: SAGE Publications, 453–477.Google Scholar
Gilardi, F. (2015) Four Ways We Can Improve Policy Diffusion Research. University of Zurich, Zurich.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goertz, G. (2006) Social Science Concepts. A User’s Guide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, E. R., Shipan, C. R. and Volden, C. (2013) The Diffusion of Policy Diffusion Research in Political Science. British Journal of Political Science 43(3): 673–701.Google Scholar
Greenhill, B. (2010) The Company You Keep: International Socialization and the Diffusion of Human Rights Norms. International Studies Quarterly 54: 127–145.Google Scholar
Greenland, S. and O’Rourke, K. (1998) Meta-Analysis. Modern Epidemiology 2: 643–673.Google Scholar
Henisz, W. J., Zelner, B. A. and Guillén, M. F. (2005) The Worldwide Diffusion of Market-Oriented Infrastructure Reform, 1977–1999. American Sociological Review 70(6): 871–897.Google Scholar
Jensen, N. M. and Lindstädt, R. (2012) Leaning Right and Learning from the Left: Diffusion of Corporate Tax Policy Across Borders. Comparative Political Studies 45(3): 283–311.Google Scholar
Jordana, J. and Levi-Faur, D. (2005) The Diffusion of Regulatory Capitalism in Latin America: Sectoral and National Channels in the Making of New Order. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences 598: 102–124.Google Scholar
Knill, C. (2005) Introduction: Cross-National Policy Convergence: Concepts, Approaches and Explanatory Factors. Journal of European Public Policy 12(5): 764–774.Google Scholar
Krook, M. L. and True, J. (2010) Rethinking the Life Cycles of International Norms: The United Nations and the Global Promotion of Gender Equality. European Journal of Political Science 55(3): 678–695.Google Scholar
Linos, K. (2011) Diffusion Through Democracy. American Journal of Political Science 55(3): 678–695.Google Scholar
Lipsey, M. W. and Wilson, D. (2000) Practical Meta-Analysis. London: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Marsh, D. and Sharman, J. C. (2009) Policy Diffusion and Policy Transfer. Policy Studies 30(3): 269–288.Google Scholar
Meseguer, C. (2004) What Role for Learning? The Diffusion of Privatisation in OECD and Latin American Countries. Journal of Public Policy 24(3): 299–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ragin, C. C. (2006) Set Relations in Social Research: Evaluating Their Consistency and Coverage. Political Analysis 14: 291–310.Google Scholar
Ragin, C. C. (2008) Redesigning Social Inquiry: Fuzzy Sets and Beyond. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Ragin, C. C. and Fiss, P. C. (2008) Net Effects Versus Configurations: An Empirical Demonstration. In Ragin C. C. (ed.), Redesigning Social Inquiry: Fuzzy Sets and Beyond. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 190–212.Google Scholar
Rihoux, B. and Lobe, B. (2009) The Case for Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): Adding Leverage for Thick Cross-Case Comparison. In David Byrne and Charles C. Ragin (eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Case-Based Methods. London: SAGE Publications, 222–242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rihoux, B. and Ragin, C. (2008) Configurational Comparative Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Sager, F. (2006) Policy Coordination in the European Metropolis: A Meta-Analysis. West European Policies 29(3): 433–460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schneider, C. Q. and Wagemann, C. (2012) Set-Theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences: A Guide to Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Shipan, C. R. and Volden, C. (2006) Bottom-Up Federalism: The Diffusion of Antismoking Policies from U.S. Cities to States. American Journal of Political Science 50(4): 825–843.Google Scholar
Shipan, C. R. and Volden, C. (2008) The Mechanisms of Policy Diffusion. American Journal of Political Science 52(4): 840–857.Google Scholar
Simmons, B., Dobbin, F. and Garrett, G. (2006) Introduction: The International Diffusion of Liberalism. International Organization 60(4): 781–810.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simmons, B. A. and Elkins, Z. (2004) The Globalization of Liberalization: Policy Diffusion in the International Political Economy. American Political Science Review 98(1): 171–189.Google Scholar
Strang, D. (1991) Adding Social Structure to Diffusion Models: An Event History Framework. Sociological Methods & Research 19(3): 324–353.Google Scholar
Volden, C. (2006) States as Policy Laboratories: Emulating Success in the Children’s Health Insurance Program. American Journal of Political Science 50(2): 294–312.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Maggetti and Gilardi supplementary material

Appendix

Download Maggetti and Gilardi supplementary material(File)
File 53 KB