The Politics of Ideas and the Spread of Enterprise Zones

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The Politics of Ideas and the Spread of Enterprise Zones is written by Karen Mossberger and published by Georgetown University Press. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 1589014596 (ISBN 10) and 9781589014596 (ISBN 13).

This book explores how policy ideas are spread—or diffused—in an age in which policymaking has become increasingly complex and specialized. Using the concept of enterprise zones as a case study in policy diffusion, Karen Mossberger compares the process of their adoption in Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, New York, and Massachusetts over a twelve-year period. Enterprise zones were first proposed by the Reagan administration as a supply-side effort to reenergize inner cities, and they were eventually embraced by liberals and conservatives alike. They are a compelling example of a policy idea that spread and evolved rapidly. Mossberger describes the information networks and decisionmaking processes in the five states, assessing whether enterprise zones spread opportunistically, as a mere fad, or whether well-informed deliberation preceded their adoption.