JIAB-2026-ZT1A
Network Effects in Policy Diffusion: Evidence from U.S. State Legislatures
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Editor
Sofia Reyes
Handling editor for this submission.
Assigned editor: Sofia Reyes
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Abstract
We study how policy innovations spread through the network of U.S. state legislatures using a stochastic block model fitted to 40 years of statutory adoptions. We find that geographic proximity and partisan alignment jointly explain over 60% of diffusion variance, with partisan homophily strengthening after 2010.
Reviews
1 itemR1 Isabelle Dubois Submitted Sep 1, 2026
The manuscript has a promising network design and a compelling question, but the first version does not yet separate geographic spillovers from shared partisan control. I recommend a major revision that adds a temporal robustness check, reports the block-model diagnostics, and explains whether partisan homophily changes after 2010.
Files
2 manuscriptsReviewers
1 of 2 receivedDrag names to change the reviewer order for people who have not been invited yet.
Isabelle Dubois
Henry Weber
Messages
3 messagesA Author Cover letter
This paper proposes a novel network approach to policy diffusion. We hope it will interest the journal's readership.
E Editor Major revision required
Dear Dr. Kim,
Thank you for your patience. The reviewer sees promise in the network design but asks for a major revision before we can continue. Please add a temporal robustness check, report the block-model diagnostics, and clarify how the paper separates geographic spillovers from shared partisan control.
We would be glad to consider a revised manuscript with a point-by-point response.
Best regards,
The Editors
A Author Re: Major revision required
Dear Editors,
Please find attached the revised manuscript. We have carefully addressed all reviewer comments. In particular, we have added a robustness check using a temporal exponential random graph model and clarified the partisan-homophily result with event-history regressions.
Sincerely,
Daniel Kim
Timeline
3 events
Waiting for Reviewers
Sep 21, 2026
Waiting for Authors
Sep 6, 2026
Waiting for Reviewers
Aug 17, 2026
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