Into the Words: Using Statutory Text to Explore the Impact of Federal Courts on State Policy Diffusion

Rachael K. Hinkle

American Journal of Political Science, 2015, vol. 59, issue 4, 1002-1021

Abstract: I examine the impact federal appellate courts have on state policy diffusion through the use of computational text analysis. Using a dyadic framework, I model the impact courts have on the decision to adopt a policy and, if adopted, how much text to borrow directly from another state's preexisting law. A court decision ruling a statute unconstitutional can generate up to a 28% relative reduction in the probability of adoption, and a ruling of constitutionality can both increase the probability of adoption by a similar amount and more than double the amount of borrowed text. These findings shed light on how states learn from one another.

Date: 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12160

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:amposc:v:59:y:2015:i:4:p:1002-1021

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