ABSTRACT
Policy diffusion describes the process through which policies spread among a group of jurisdictions or even globally. It can be observed at and across different scales of governance, from the local to the global. Mechanisms describe a sequence of events that explains how one policy triggers or influences a policy change in another jurisdiction. Coercion is the imposition of a policy change by one jurisdiction on another, mainly by means of sanctions and conditionality. Competition is based on jurisdictions’ struggle to retain or attract resources and investment. Policymakers use other jurisdictions’ experiences and material for inspiration and to gauge the consequences of possible policy options. Emulation is the adoption of policy similar to another jurisdiction’s policy based on normative grounds. Despite the growing academic interest in policy diffusion, it has a strong bias for the Global North.
