Diffusion of Public Policy Innovation Among the American States

This study contains data on the diffusion of innovative legislation and public programs among the 48 continental states of the United States during the 19th and 20th centuries. Information is provided for the year in which each state initiated each of 85 innovative programs and for the date when the state became a territory. Variables provide information on the programs enacted and on the innovative score, which was calculated for each state on each issue. Based on the number of years that elapsed between the first and the last legislative enactment of a program, each state received a score corresponding to the percentage of time that elapsed between the first adoption of the program and the state's own acceptance of the program.