Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2021
Publication Title
Political Research Quarterly
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a new measure to understand policy connections between the states. For decades, diffusion scholars have relied on the largely untested assumption that contiguous states are more similar than noncontiguous states, despite evidence that similarity is more complex than geographic proximity. We use a unique survey of citizens’ perceptions of other states to construct a national network of similarity ties between the states. We apply this new measure with a data set of state policy adoptions in a dyadic and monadic event history analysis and find that similar state adoptions are a reliable predictor of policy innovation. We argue that perceived state similarity is a more complete measure of how states look to each other than contiguity.
Keywords
diffusion, event history, policy, similarity, state politics
Volume
74
Issue
2
First Page
377
Last Page
387
DOI
10.1177/1065912920906611
ISSN
10659129
Rights
© 2020 University of Utah
Recommended Citation
Bricker, Christine and LaCombe, Scott, "The Ties that Bind Us: The Influence of Perceived State Similarity on Policy Diffusion" (2021). Government: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/gov_facpubs/46
Comments
Archived as published. Open access article.