Policy entrepreneurs have more power in the policy process than we give them credit for

Just how important are individuals in the policymaking process in the US? In new research, Joel Vallett studies the impact of so-called policy entrepreneurs in how policies are adopted by and diffused through the US states. Using Erin’s Law, a child sex abuse prevention education policy, as a case study he finds that the influence of a policy entrepreneur was the most important factor in the law’s adoption by state legislatures. He writes that lawmakers do listen to enthusiastic policy entrepreneurs, especially when they lack the resources to make a quick policy decision.