Self-interest often drives US states’ adoption of evidence based policy measures

In the US, lawmaking at the state level is often heavily linked to the ideology of the party which controls the legislature. Evidenced Based Policy, on the other hand, provides a means for lawmakers to develop measures based on research and data. In new research, Luke Yingling and Daniel J. Mallinson look at what drives the adoption of Evidence Based Policy across the states, finding that it is often motivated by reasons of practicality and electoral self-interest rather than a desire to improve policy outcomes.