Policy Diffusion: The Role of Norms in Environmental Policy

Diffusion of Innovation in Mental Health Policy Adoption: What Should We Ask about the Quality of Policy and the Role of Stakeholders in this Process?; Comment on “Cross-National Diffusion of Mental Health Policy”

In his recent study, Gordon Shen analyses a pertinent question facing the global mental health research and practice community today; that of how and why mental health policy is or is not adopted by national governments. This study identifies becoming a World Health Organization (WHO) member nation, and being in regional proximity to countries which have adopted a mental health policy as suppor...

Financing Long-term Care: The Role of Culture and Social Norms; Comment on “Financing Long-term Care: Lessons From Japan”

Based on the experiences of Japan and Germany, Ikegami argues that middle-income countries should introduce public long-term care insurance (LTCi) at an early stage, before benefits have expanded as a result of ad hoc policy decisions to win popular support. The experience of the Netherlands, however, shows that an early introduction of public LTCi may not prevent, but ...

Policy-driven tobacco control

BACKGROUND Since the passage of Proposition 99, California's comprehensive tobacco control programme has benefited from a localised policy adoption process that allows for the innovation and diffusion of strong local tobacco control policies throughout the state. METHODS The policy adoption continuum is described in the context of California's smoke-free workplace movement, and the influence ...

Cross-National Diffusion of Mental Health Policy

Background Following the tenets of world polity and innovation diffusion theories, I focus on the coercive and mimetic forces that influence the diffusion of mental health policy across nations. International organizations’ mandates influence government behavior. Dependency on external resources, namely foreign aid, also affects governments’ formulation of national policy. And finally, mounting...

Identity and Foreign Policy