Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Does policy analysis matter in the policymaking process? Specifically, do non-partisan research organizations infuse the policymaking process with information that significantly alters policy outcomes? An important question for the design of institutions for promoting better public policy is the extent to which such analyses actually influence legislative and executive decision making. To investigate this question, I assess the impact of reports on health insurance mandates prepared though the California Health Benefits Review Program. I find mixed evidence of impact at the institutional level. On the one hand, predictions of the costs to state programs of mandates appear to be influential. On the other hand, assessments of the quality of evidence supporting the proposed mandates do not. At the legislator level, the most consistent and pronounced findings indicate that moderate legislators are most susceptible to factual information to shape their policy decision while ideologues on both sides of the political spectrum are unfazed. More limited influence is found for male and non-expert legislators, as well as those with lower levels of education.