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This book explores how policy ideas are spread -- or diffused -- in an age in which policymaking has become increasingly complex and specialized. Using the concept of enterprise zones as a case study in policy diffusion, Karen Mossberger compares the process of their adoption in Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, New York, and Massachusetts over a twelve-year period.Enterprise zones were first proposed by the Reagan administration as a supply-side effort to reenergize inner cities, and they were eventually embraced by liberals and conservatives alike. They are a compelling example of a policy idea that spread and evolved rapidly. Mossberger describes the information networks and decisionmaking processes in the five states, assessing whether enterprise zones spread opportunistically, as a mere fad, or whether well-informed deliberation preceded their adoption.
List of contents
Preface Introduction: Diffusion and Decision Making in Five States Decision Making Models Washington's Most Successful Nonprogram Diffusion in the States: Old Wine in New Bottles? Polydiffusion in an Intergovernmental Network The Diffusion of a Policy Label Informed Decision Making A Decision-Making Continuum Conclusion: Diffusion, Decision Making, and the Politics of Ideas Postscript Appendix 1. Methodology Appendix 2. Legislative Questions Appendix 3. Administrative Questions Appendix 4. Washington Interviews Appendix 5. Respondents Chapter Notes References Index
About the author
Karen Mossberger is associate professor of public administration, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Summary
Explores how policy ideas are spread - or diffused - in an age in which policymaking has become increasingly complex and specialized. Using the concept of enterprise zones as a case study in policy diffusion, this book compares the process of their adoption in Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, New York, and Massachusetts over a twelve-year period.
