Site Visits, Policy Learning, and the Diffusion of Policy Innovation: Evidence from Public Bicycle Programs in China

Interjurisdictional learning is a key mechanism of policy mobility and diffusion, but the literature on this mechanism is scarce and its prominence is often underestimated. In this paper we use the case of public bicycle programs (PBPs) in China to examine the effect of intercity learning, specifically site visits, on policy diffusion. Hangzhou’s PBP is regarded as one of the most successful models and many city officials visit and learn from its best practices. We find that adjacent cities characterized by similar attributes are more inclined to learn from Hangzhou’ PBP, which facilitate these cities to adopt PBPs. More frequent site visits attended by more delegates and for more days are more likely to elicit policy adoption, while the leaders’ rank of delegations does not matter. Leadership turnover, prudent decision-making (e.g., incompatibility of PBP), and alternative solutions (e.g., metro) are found to be the missing links in transforming policy learning into policy adoption. We document the process of policy learning and diffusion, which deepens our understanding of the process of local government innovation in China.