CHAPTER 3 Mechanisms and Actors in the Diffusion of Policies: State of the Issue and Theoretical Proposal 3.1 The Policy Diffusion Approach 1 The policy diffusion approach emerges from studies on diffusion of inno- vations in different social disciplines. One of the emblematic definitions states that “diffusion is the process through which an innovation is spread through certain communication channels over time among the members of a society” (Rogers 2004: 13). From the ’60s this approach would begin to be applied to the field of public policies. 2 Walker (1969) carried out one of the first works, which had as an objective to develop propositions that could be used as guides for the diffusion of innovations and also applied to the analysis of decision making (Walker 1969). Its object of 1 There is a discussion regarding the meeting points and distinctions between the diffusion and transfer approach (e.g. Dolowitz and Marsh 2000; Marsh and Sharman 2009; Jakobi 2012). For example, Learning and Emulation are mechanisms that are also observed in a transfer process. New concepts such as policy transnationalization and policy mobilization are also being discussed in Peck and Theodore (2010a, b) and Peck & Theodore (2012). This debate needs to be taken into account in order to properly identify the process and apply the relevant concept. In this case, the diffusion approach works since it would be observed the components described by the literature. 2 Meseguer and Gilardi (2008, 2009) points out that the first works on diffusion of policies date back to the end of the nineteenth century and that it is briefly mentioned under the rubric of Galton’s problem. However, the most notorious set of research has been observed since the middle of the twentieth century. © The Author(s) 2020 C. Osorio Gonnet, Conditional Cash Transfer Programs in Ecuador and Chile, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51008-4_3 61