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Simon Kiss
Legislation By Agenda-setting
Assessing The Media’s Role In the Regulation of Bisphenol A In The US States
Simon J. Kiss
published: 2012 | Research publication | BPA
Starting in 2008, debate about potential hazardous effects from exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) migrated from the pages of scientific journals to the US media, regulatory authorities and state legislatures. In the context of deep scientific conflict about the existence of adverse health effects attributable to BPA, this paper asks why it was the case that some state legislatures considered or adopted legislative bans on products made from BPA, while others did not. Drawing on existing theories of agenda-setting and policy change via punctuated equilibrium as well as a well-defined methodology (event history analysis), evidence of agenda- setting is presented. Particularly, it is argued that routine and high-impact health coverage were significantly related to the chance that a state legislature considered legislation banning products made with BPA. This was indirectly, but importantly, related to the actual adoption by state legislatures of legislative bans on products made with BPA.
Download: PDF (615k) bpa_revisions_3.pdf
revised Dec 4/12
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