Diffusion of the Micro and Small Business Law in municipalities of São Paulo

Abstract

Abstract This article analyzes the implementation of the General Law for Micro and Small Business by municipalities in São Paulo. The theory of policy diffusion was used to study the process of adopting this public policy in the different contexts of coercion. The article presents theoretical discussions on the diffusion mechanism “coercion” and answers the question: what is the influence of the vertical coercion mechanism in the diffusion of the General Law in the municipalities of São Paulo? The survival analysis technique was applied to identify explanatory factors of policy diffusion, considering institutional, political, and party design variables, neighborhood effect, internal needs, organizations/social actors, and structural factors. The results show that as the institutional rules of coercion vary, the explanatory factors of the diffusion change so that local aspects, including social actors, regional factors, and structural issues, matter for the diffusion, varying according to the coercive context.