Policy diffusion is the idea that the policy decisions of one place influence the policies of another place. While policies can diffuse because the policies are effective and popular, the reality of policy decision making is often much more complicated. A variety of factors can influence how a policymaker selects what policies. This memo will outline how policies diffuse by exploring some of the various factors-or mechanisms-that enable policy diffusion. While numerous mechanisms can encourage a policy's diffusion, this memo focuses on the mechanisms that are most prominent in education policy, including problem definition and policy entrepreneurs. Finally, we'll explore how these mechanisms can shift depending on the varied contexts of policy …show more content…
Policy development is often portrayed as starting with a specific, objective problem that is then addressed by policies that are meant to perfectly address those problems (Lindblom, DATE). However, in reality, the resources available to policymakers are limited and access to information is finite. Consequently, policy development depends on a problem definition that is subjective and shifts as value goals are leveraged (Lindblom, DATE). The subjective nature of a problem definition is critical to policy diffusion because certain policies are more or less appropriate for certain problems. If a policymaker's decisions are based on a flexible and changing problem definition, then policies are selected not based on research and empirical evidence but are more often selected based on a variety of influencing factors. This is an important aspect of policy diffusion because it means that the vast adoption of a policy is not because a policy particularly good or effective, but because a variety of factors enabled the spread of that …show more content…
As Craig Volden suggests, isolating diffusion mechanisms is difficult (2010). Policymakers might identify problems and determine solutions based on the influence of policy entrepreneurs, but other external pressures are also influential in the decisions of policymakers. Some policies diffuse because policymakers are left with few policy options. In those instances, the line between volunteerism and cohesion is muddled. This can be seen in the national adoption of 21 as the national drinking age. While state policymakers could technically choose to make 21 the legal drinking age, those states would lose federal funding for highways. Thus, the national drinking age policy diffused because state policymakers were left with few alternatives. However, policies are often diffused through multiple policy mechanisms that work simultaneously rather than diffusing through one mechanism alone. For example, in their study of performance-accountability policies in higher education, Michael McLendon et. al. examined several mechanisms that enabled the diffusion of these policies. Their study found that states with a larger Republican legislative presence were more likely to adopt these performance-accountability policies-possibly due to the fact that it is politically advantageous for Republican policymakers to support these policies (DATE). That political gaming is
One of the key aspects to consider when evaluating domestic political actors preferences towards policies pertaining to illegal drug use in both the Netherlands and Germany is to evaluate their ideological differences. The Netherlands attitude towards drug policy revolves around limiting the negative impacts illegal drug use has on society by implementing laws catered towards decriminalization. On the other hand, Germany considers drugs a detriment to society and promotes legislation that proactively restricts the flow of supply and demand of illegal drugs within the country. Now that both countries ideological differences have been brought to light, we must also consider the origins of those ideas and how they transcended into public policy. One of the significant driving forces behind the shaping of any policy are those political actors who reside in the country. The objective of any political actor is to influence public preference by sponsoring changes in policy. Just like the United States, both Germany and the Netherlands have organizations within their own country that promote policies to the public in an attempt to sway their opinion on an issue. The investigation of political actors in Germany and the Netherlands will allow one to obtain a greater understand of why their stance on illegal drug use is the way it is.
"Americans Still Oppose Lowering the Drinking Age." Gallup Poll Briefing. (24 July 2014). Web. 19 Feb. 2016. The article provides the views of those who wish to keep the legal drinking age at 21. It states that almost 75% of Americans are still against lowering the drinking age. They believe that the higher age has reduced drinking and driving accidents. Also stated is the belief that since it has been in act for thirty years it should be left the same. The articles also provides statistics based on the specific classes of Americans who are for or against the issue. The purpose of the article is to show readers the benefits of keeping the drinking age as is. It was published on a website that is used to report new and political issues, therefore, allowing it to draw the attention of many people. It is unique in the fact that it provides surveys and information about the specific kinds of people that were surveyed. This article helps me with my thesis because it provides me with the views of people who do not agree with it, therefore, allowing me to show both sides of the
In the contents of this paper, four points of view will be discussed on an extremely controversial issue that has an effect on a large percentage of citizens in the United States. The issue at hand is whether the legal age to consume alcohol should be lowered from 21 to 18, and will state a pro and con side, as well as 2 stakeholders for each side of the argument. The stakeholders on the pro side are as follows: Underage consumers of alcohol, businesses that sell and the companies that produce alcohol. The people on the con side of the argument that would want the legal age to remain at 21 include State and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, as well as the demographic of Parents that would prefer to keep their children from being exposed to alcohol at a potentially young age. As you continue to read the stakeholders opinions and arguments will be explained, after which the author’s personal opinion will be advanced. After doing my own in depth research on the topic, the legal age to consume alcohol should remain at 21 as set by the United States Congress when they passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDAA) in July of 1984. This act punished every state that allowed persons below 21 years of age to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by ten percent. (National Minimum Drinking Age Act) This caused all fifty continental U.S. states to set their legal drinking age to 21, and it has remained there for thirty years.
For decades, certain people have been contemplating on how to go about the issue of underage drinking; people of the government, parents, and other individuals concerned in global affairs. The problem is, the issue of underage drinking and the nationwide ineffectiveness of the drinking age law of twenty-one isn't debated and discussed as much and as aggressively as it should be. And the main components of discussion ought to be the matter of binge drinking among teenagers and college students, drinking issues and statistics in foreign countries, and finally, possible solutions for this problem. The main point is that the states of our country can only attempt to enforce the law rather than try approaching the problem in any other way. So for that reason, states should be allowed to figure out and experiment on possible ways to solve this matter on their own without government interference.
...one, D. Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making. New York: Norton, 2012. Book.
John Kingdon's policy stream model revolves around a particular policy or agenda. The policy once supported by a policy community becomes a public policy. At a macro level, the basis of Kingdon’s policy model is the description of what is happening in actual current policy development. This model has three separate streams, which represent a window into the politics of modelling policy at macro stages. The model holds that three separate streams - problem, policy, and political streams which all are interlinked, will come together at a decisive moment and then transform into a workable policy. ...
The legal drinking age in the United States will always be a point of contention. No one can settle upon a drinking age that everyone is in agreement with; should it be 18 or 21? Ages 18 and 21 are the most popular options, yet neither one has 100% of the vote. With the current legal drinking age in America standing at 21, meaning that people under the age of 21 cannot purchase or consume alcoholic food or beverages, there is the question of whether or not to lower it to 18 or 19 years old. This paper will argue that the drinking age should be lowered, and examine its impact on State University.
There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen like most of the world or if it should stay at twenty-one. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years, yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, drink, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen; the most obvious reason is too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one. Liquor stores, bars, and clubs all want to make money and if they can get away with selling to underage teens then they will. A study done by the Academic Search Premier agrees that, ?By now it is obvious that the law has not succeeded in preventing the under-21 group from drinking? (Michael Smith 1).
In the 1960s, the drinking age was set as 21, to match the voting age. However, around the time of the Vietnam War, the public began to argue that if an 18-year-old was old enough to fight and die for his country, then he should be able to vote as well. As a result, the voting age was lowered to 18. Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered their legal drinking age as well. In the words of Carla Main, author of Bulldozed and various other published works concerning law and society, the results were “catastrophic,” as “[h]ighway deaths among teenagers and young adults skyrocketed” (Main 33). Many states began raising the legal drinking age up again. In 1984, under the supervision of Ronald ...
Wheelan, C. (2011). Introduction to Public Policy (1st ed.). United States: W.W. Nortion & Company, INC. (Original work published 2011).
In 1984 the national government raised the drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one with the intention of lowering the number of deaths that resulted from drunk driving. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act enforced this change by informing states that if they did not comply they would face a reduction in highway funds under the Federal Aid Act. Upon the ratification of the law the number of traffic fatalities among 18 to 20 year olds dropped thirteen percent. If the minimum legal drinking age were to be changed for eighteen year olds the United States could see a significant n...
Policy in my perspective illustrates as a decision making, planning and or action taken to achieve a certain specific goal within our society. According to Longest B. (2010), his definition stated in his text book states that a policy is defined as ” authoritative decisions made in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches of government that are intended to direct or influence the actions, behaviors, or decisions of others.” In developing a policy, certain steps need to be taken in act to implement the policy. The crucial steps in implementing a policy are: recognizing the problem, agenda setting, formulating the policy, and finally implementing the policy (N.A., 2015).
“By lowering the minimum drinking age to 21. It would give high schoolers and even middle schoolers easier access to alcohol”. As said in drinking age ProCons.org. Newly legal drinking often purchase alcohol for their underage peers, creating a trickle-down effect. surveys show that the common source of alcohol among 18-21 year olds is there 21-24 year old peers. Believing that their is a purchase to alcohol for their underage peers meaning even if you ...
The most prominent of those scholars is Everett M. Rogers who is considered to be the foremost authority on the diffusion of innovation theory. He published his first book The Diffusion of Innovation in 1962, in it he compiled about five hundred different studies conducted by other researchers and from that he postulated that a unifying theory could explain why, how and at what rate innovations would be adopted by a certain culture (Singhal 2003). E.M. Rogers as stated compiled other people’s research, which were predominately surveys of individuals, from that research he was able find the elements that he believed had an impact on diffusion. One of the strengths of this theory is that it can be used on an individual, group, or some other social order, which makes it qui...
Therefore, the freedom of action of the policy maker is restricted, as the new policy must function along side existing international policies. Most policies are designed against the background of a theoretical model. However, there is no ‘true’ model and so different policy makers and economists may have different views to certain economic variables. Therefore, each policy maker will formulate different policies based on their views in order to achieve the same objective. For example, Keynesians view that consumption expenditure depends upon current disposable income.