Linking representations and policy adoption: The effect of bureaucratic and political representations on policy outcomes

Abstract

This study explores the impact of representation in terms of types and loci on the intended outcomes of a child abuse protection policy implemented over 9 years (2011–2019), during which Erin’s Law was introduced in the U.S. states. Using state-level data, we find that gender and minority representation in the political and administrative arena have distinctive effects on policy outcomes and that policy adoption moderates the link between representation and implementation. Our analysis shows that bureaucratic representation significantly decreases child abuse reports per capita and increases investigation rates, with these effects being more pronounced when Erin’s Law is adopted. The marginal effects of bureaucratic representation on reports and investigation rates decrease and indicate non-linear relationships. This study finds that bureaucratic representation provides benefits beyond co-identity groups, but there is little evidence that political representation is moderated by policy adoption when different sources of representation are considered.

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