Contagious Procurement Policies: Explaining the Diffusion of Sustainable Timber Requirements in Mid- and High-Income Countries

This study delves further into the global dynamics of transnational forestry standards and government timber procurement policies by focusing on how changes in one country’s policies has influenced the policymaking process of others. I will test the hypotheses that (a) the diffusion of these policies is driven by firms seeking to level the regulatory playing field across multiple national jurisdictions (i.e. the so-called ‘California Effect’) (Vogel, 1995), and (b) whether these policies are being used as non-tariff barriers to protect domestic markets.