Weinstein, Matthew Alexander
(2007)
TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES:A STUDY OF PEER DIFFUSIONBY AMERICAN PUBLIC RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Political scientists examining the phenomenon of policy diffusion have routinely found that states within a similar geographical region tend to adopt similar policies over time. This result has been proven over a wide range of social policies and time periods. The theoretical logic behind the "contiguous state" explanation is twofold. First, states are in constant economic competition with each other for valuable resources such as industries and productive citizens, which in turn places pressure on state legislatures to emulate the public policies enacted by their adjacent neighbor so as not to lose the inter-state battle. Second, state governments and agencies lack the necessary resources (in terms of money, time, and information) to conduct a thorough investigation of potential policies to address their specific public issues. Thus they engage in a form of "satisficing" where instead of enacting the ideal policy solution, state policy-makers simply adopt familiar and convenient policies from their neighboring states. Unfortunately political scientists have only primarily applied this theory to the institution of state legislatures, raising the question about its generalizability to other public policy institutions. This dissertation tests this question by applying the theory to the institution of public research universities while concurrently exploring a novel alternative explanation for policy diffusion - peer pressure. Using an original data set of three highly salient higher education policies (establishing a technology transfer office, launching a capital campaign, and raising tuition) this dissertation finds that the actions of one's peers (universities that share similar levels of prestige) can have a greater influence than the actions of one's geographical neighbors in determining the eventual implementation of specific policies. This finding highlights the importance of professional reputation when creating policy networks that lead to institutional innovations.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Weinstein, Matthew Alexander | maw28@pitt.edu | MAW28 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
26 June 2007 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
4 April 2007 |
| Approval Date: |
26 June 2007 |
| Submission Date: |
18 April 2007 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Political Science |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Fundraising Campaign; Technology Transfer Office; Tuition |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04182007-094531/, etd-04182007-094531 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 19:38 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:40 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/7287 |
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