Imitation. Government A imitates government B when A adopts a policy adopted by B simply “in order to look like [B]” (Shipan and Volden 2008, 842–843). Imitation occurs because policymakers in A perceive B as worthy of emulation, prompting A to adopt any policy that B adopts independently of any evaluation of the character of the policy or its effectiveness (Simmons, Dobbin, and Garrett 2006; Meseguer 2006; Karch 2007).
