Linking policy design and policy diffusion to advance both theories: Evidence from the elements, attributes, and adoptions of Uniform Law Commission model legislation

Abstract We integrate the study of policy design and diffusion theoretically and empirically to advance each and raise novel research questions. We argue that policy dissemination is an important rationale in the design of model legislation and present a theory for how each of the five elements of design map onto the policy innovation attribute of complexity. Empirically, we both hand code policy design elements and use a novel textual approach to measure policy complexity across 84 model policies promulgated by the Uniform Law Commission, an interstate organization that writes model laws with input from 50 state delegations of lawmakers and disseminates the bills for passage in as many states as possible. We assess how the elements of policy design map onto a policy's textual complexity. Additionally, we find that more complex policies are less likely to be adopted and are slower to be adopted, though the strength of this relationship depends on the measurement approach. We conclude with the future directions of this research, including how new text analysis tools and large policy datasets can help to solve important measurement and analysis challenges.