Policy Attributes and State Policy Innovation

This paper generates new hypotheses for research on policy innovations. Some of these hypotheses explore the extent and speed of the diffusion of innovations across states. Others consider the circumstances and conditions when later adopters either expand the scope of innovations or reinvent the policy of leaders. The focus here is on the attributes of innovations rather than the characteristics of adopters. The goal is to encourage studies that compare diffusion patterns among policies as well as among states.