Policy Entrepreneurs and Agenda Change

• In Event: Advances in Theories of the Policy Process

Abstract

Policy entrepreneurs are said to be instrumental in defining and bringing attention to problems, advancing policy issues onto the agenda and building coalitions. We ask when and under what conditions do entrepreneurs set the influence legislative agenda change? Theories of agenda setting tend to describe these seemingly mythic issue advocates as the single most important catalyst for agenda setting and policy change. The goal of this study is to systematically and quantitatively test the activities of policy entrepreneurs. According to the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF), policy entrepreneurs are uniquely positioned to capitalize on so-called “windows of opportunity” and pushing new items onto the policy agenda. It is assumed that no single actor is more adept at reading and reacting to new opportunities for policy change than the policy entrepreneurs. Without them, agenda setting, let alone policy change, is highly unlikely. However, despite stressing their importance, MSF scholars have yet to quantitatively measure the activities of entrepreneurs and develop predictive models of agenda change. This paper examines the agenda setting effects of entrepreneurs relative to other elements of the MSF, namely the problem, politics, and policy streams. Using data from a national survey of state legislators in 2017, we examine whether entrepreneurs help set the agenda on disaster preparedness and relief. We have three key findings. First, policy entrepreneurs are the most important drivers of agenda change. Second, we find that policy entrepreneurs are more important predictors of policy change, relative other aspects of the MSF like the politics, problem and alternative solutions. Third, there are no significant differences between the influence of entrepreneurs on disaster preparedness and disaster recovery. Our study confirms decades of qualitative research on entrepreneurs by showing that committed individuals play an essential role in coupling the streams and, in some instances, fomenting agenda change.

Authors

• Rob A. DeLeo, Bentley University

• Sarah Anderson, University of California, Santa Barbara

• Kristin Taylor, Wayne State University