Coronavirus policies spread quickly across the U.S. Are cities and states learning — or just copying?

As the novel coronavirus has spread across U.S. cities and states, so have public policies aimed at stopping the pandemic. Batten's Craig Volden and co-author Charles R. Shipan examine how some states have learned from others’ policy successes, while others simply copy their neighbors or even compete against them, and why that matters.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

As the novel coronavirus has spread across U.S. cities and states, so have public policies aimed at stopping the pandemic. Sometimes, states learn from others’ policy successes. Other times, they simply copy neighbors or even compete against them.

So far, state and local government policy choices to stem the tide of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, look more like simple imitation and harmful competition than thoughtful learning and innovation. But we see opportunities for learning going forward.

Here’s why.


Read in The Washington Post

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